“International attempts to punish Iran for pursuing nuclear fuel production simply strengthen the legitimacy of the government’s stance to defy those attempts, as well as the very legitimacy of the government itself.” Paul Ingram, BASIC’s executive director said.
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Nations Weigh Taking Fissile Material Talks Outside Disarmament Forum
Independent and informal talks are pursued by nations on the fissile material cutoff treaty in attempts to smooth the way for negotiations at the International Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland
Middle East unrest complicates quest for WMD-free zone
The recent uprisings in the Middle East have clouded the picture for a planned 2012 conference on establishing a zone free of weapons of mass destruction, BASIC Program Director Anne Penketh writes.
IAEA Chief Presses Iran, Syria to Come Clean on Nuclear Activities
When the U.N. nuclear watchdog Director General Yukiya Amano reported to the IAEA Board of Governors this week, updating about Syrian and Iranian atomic activities, Paul Ingram, BASIC's executive director said “There is little in Amano's report that would enable the United States or other nations to press for new Iranian sanctions” ….”Tehran is already subject to four rounds of U.N. Security Council resolutions and independent penalties from a number of nations.”
Deterrence in the Age of Nuclear Proliferation
In their fourth The Wall Street Journal OpEd promoting the need for global nuclear disarmament, former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, former Defense Secretary William J. Perry, former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and former Senator Sam Nunn call for nations to begin moving now toward a new, safer and more stable form of deterrence with decreasing nuclear risks and an increasing measure of assured security.
The technology requires four fully-armed submarines to provide Britain’s nuclear deterrent
The UK Defence Secretary, Dr Liam Fox, argued against the cut in submarines on BBC Radio Scotland last night. He maintained that the UK requires all four submarines to provide a continuous at sea deterrent (CASD); and that to reduce that number reduces the United Kingdom's ability to deploy that deterrent.
Coalition split on post-Trident nuclear deterrent
Lord Browne of Ladyton, co-chair of BASIC's Trident Commission and defence secretary when the Blair government made its case for replacing Trident in 2007 – when it had to rely on Conservative votes – says he was not presented with sufficient facts and figures about the choices open to the government.
Iran will not stop enrichment, even if attacked
“If the United States genuinely think that it will only be pressure on Iran that forces a compromise, they will not offer anything substantial at this stage, preferring to stick with the sanctions route, and are likely to stymie any deal.”
Paul Ingram, BASIC's executive director, was quoted in Euronews. To read more:
http://www.euronews.net/2011/01/21/iran-will-not-stop-enrichment-even-under-military-strike/