Ms. Antonella Cerasino, Head of NATO Countries, Public Diplomacy Division, speaks on transparency and NATO reform at the Shadow NATO Summit, hosted by BASIC, NATO Watch, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Strategy International, and the Elliott School of International Affairs, held in Washington D.C. on May 14-15, 2012.
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The NATO Summit: Recasting the Debate Over U.S. Nuclear Weapons in Europe
In this article from the front cover of Arms Control Today, Paul Ingram and Oliver Meier discuss the newly agreed draft of the DDPR for the Chicago Summit at the end of May. The authors highlight important points in the debate over U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in Europe and strategic relations with Russia, and explain various principles that should be kept in mind while leaders discuss the future of NATO's nuclear posture at the upcoming Summit.
Time to reframe the debate on the Iranian nuclear programme
In this Open Democracy article, BASIC's executive director, Paul Ingram urges us to move away from traditional Cold War thinking and the dichotomy of us versus them. He explains that in order to properly address the issue of nuclear nonproliferation, we must reframe the debate on the Iranian nuclear weapons programme.
With much at stake, GCC wants to participate in Iran negotiations
The Middle East has been left out of the P5+1's negotiations with Iran, and the GCC states want in. At a conference on nuclear non-proliferation in the Gulf, participants raised concerns of double standards for Iran and Israel. Gulf states view military action against Iran as a last resort, but also see the Iranian threat as a global one. Anne Penketh reports.
International Cooperation in Nuclear Security
Commenting on the Nuclear Security Summit II, Paul Ingram told Uranium Investing News: “Obama’s creation of an approach that pulls states into common objectives on this agenda is no small feat given the weeks of diplomatic wrangling and finger pointing that characterizes the diplomacy around the more established nuclear non-proliferation treaty process. However, such progress was incremental, and fell way short of what would be needed to meaningfully tackle threats to nuclear security.”
Hopes rising for Mideast WMD meeting
Amid rising optimism about the prospects for convening a 2012 conference on establishing a zone free of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the Middle East, Finnish diplomat Jaakko Laajava is to deliver his first briefing to states-parties to the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) in Vienna next month on his efforts to pull the meeting together. Anne Penketh reports on where things stand in the April edition of Arms Control Today.
Romney’s Foreign Policy Fantasies: “Breathtaking Weakness?”
BASIC Board Member William Hartung wrote an opinion piece for Talking Points Memo (TPM) on the Obama Administration's engagement with Russia on arms control, notably New START, and what should be the focus between the two Presidential candidates on arms control in the 2012 US election.
In nuclear crisis with Iran, GCC has a duty to be heard
Following BASIC's Conference on Non-Proliferation in the Gulf, Anne Penketh authored the following op-ed for The National on Gulf Cooperation Council participation in non-proliferation efforts.