Under legal obligations of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the United States must make continuous efforts towards nuclear disarmament, and yet, the U.S. continues to make plans to modernize their nuclear forces. BASIC monitors the nuclear policies and the nuclear reduction efforts of the United States in our Getting to Zero updates. Read the summaries below in reverse chronological order.
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Threat of Sequestration
The House of Representatives resumes debate tomorrow on the energy and water appropriations bill which covers nuclear weapons and the non-proliferation program of the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Trident In Question
Debate around the decision facing Britain on the renewal of its Trident nuclear weapon system continues after Financial Times published an Op-Ed by Sir Menzies Campbell, Lib Dem foreign policy grandee and co-chair of the BASIC Trident Commission. The decision to begin the process by engaging in concept studies, and later design was confirmed by Parliament in March 2007. Parliament was assured by ministers at the time that this was not a final decision to build the submarines.
NATO Continues Dangerous Delays over Nuclear Decisions
Paul Ingram's piece on NATO's contradictions on nuclear deployments and delayed decisions on nuclear weapons was featured on the website of The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Ingram highlights that NATO members are divided on how they view relations with Russia and “the Alliance is failing to recognize that the Cold War is over, and so it lives with a cancerous contradiction”.
Middle East free of nuclear weapons can become reality
BASIC's program director, Anne Penketh, discusses the security risks in the Middle East and the prospects of a WMD-free zone treaty in the region in this article for The National. She writes, “A WMD-free zone in the Middle East would take years to negotiate, but the alternatives, including possible military action against Iran, are chilling. This is not about only the security of a region, but of the world.”
Hopes Slowly rising as Iran Talks Continue
The IAEA has today been negotiating with Iran on the modalities around tighter nuclear inspections within Iran.
Iran’s Nuclear Impasse: Breaking the Deadlock
This report, published by Oxford Research Group, is based upon a series of consultations with individuals close to the decision making process on the Iranian nuclear file with the aim of envisioning a workable and realistic solution to the impasse. It looks into the principles that need to be observed in talks between the E3+3 and Iran over the coming months if they are to have any chance of success.
Press Release: NATO declaration on nuclear weapons is missed opportunity: BASIC Executive Director
NATO has missed an opportunity to clear up the divisive issue of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in Europe at its Chicago summit, BASIC Executive Director Paul Ingram said today.
“If the U.S. and its allies aren’t careful, they will find themselves scrambling to control disarmament by default , as the Germans and others take decisions about the future delivery systems of these Cold War relics which they all know serve no military purpose,” said Ingram.