Russia will hold its presidential election on Sunday and Vladimir Putin is expected to move from his current role as Prime Minister back to the presidential helm, for at least the next six years. Ahead of the election, he has ramped up the rhetoric on strengthening Russia’s strategic posture, and has posed Russia as still being the only true global counterweight to U.S. military power.
The Obama Administration’s budget and nuclear weapons
Today, the Obama Administration will roll out the FY2013 federal budget and nuclear weapons watchers will be scanning through the details of the financial plans released for the Departments of Defense and Energy.
Getting to Zero Update
BASIC recently wrapped up a series of events in Cairo, including a joint press workshop with the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization and an off-the-record seminar on the politics of regional nuclear proliferation.
BASIC in Cairo – Preparing for the 2012 conference
BASIC and the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs held a conference in Cairo on January 29th 2012 on “Preparing for the 2012 conference: towards a zone free of nuclear weapons and all other WMD in the Middle East.”
Iran, the IAEA, and the U.S. Presidential Race
The International Atomic Energy Agency has sent special representatives to Tehran. The senior team will be there to discuss with Iranian officials outstanding questions related to a possible military dimension in the country’s nuclear program.
New U.S. Global Military Strategy could hint at future moves to reduce dependence on tactical nuclear weapons in Europe
President Barack Obama made an historic visit to the Pentagon on January 5, 2012 to deliver his remarks on the release of the United States’ “New Global Military Strategy”.
Iran Update: Number 154
- Iran invites IAEA to visit; latest Board of Directors report more detailed and critical
- Attack on the British Embassy in Tehran
- European efforts to coordinate sanctions
- New U.S. sanctions package targets Iran’s Central Bank and oil sector
New START anniversary and old nuclear baggage
Thursday of this week marks the first anniversary of the U.S. Senate’s vote in favor of ratifying the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which established verifiable limits on Russian and U.S. strategic nuclear weapons.