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Nuclear Arms Control and Disarmament

Who are you calling petty?

What's the point of mentioning all the books about Dr Khan if one doesn't mention at least one book review? Thus, this article AQ Khan's Atomic Vision: How a petty postal inspector became the world's leading nuclear salesman by Douglas Farah in yesterday's Washington Post, which looks at three of the most recent. Though I think we disagree with the use of the word petty. Nobody who dreams of helping build nuclear weapons can be accused of being petty.

Pakistan tends to leak

In light of all the current angst about the turmoil in Pakistan and concern over its nuclear weapons and the possibility that they, or more likely, relevant technology, equipment, and material, might leak elsewhere, it seems relevant to note this synopsis by the Partnership For Global Security of its workshop, Building Confidence in Pakistan's Nuclear Security.

According to the press release:

Whoopee, it’s official – nuclear trafficking is a threat

You are not a truly significant global threat until someone significant holds a conference full of suitably distinguished people, complete with PhDs, talking about it. Thus, on that very reasonable premise, I am happy to note that the IAE is holding a junket, I mean a conference, next month, hosted by the British government.

This is, to be precise, the International Conference on Illicit Nuclear Trafficking: Collective Experience and the Way Forward, to be held November 19-22.

The P[b(j)] of Proliferation

The September 2006 issue of The Annals of The American Academy of Political and Social Science published, naturally, by The American Academy of Political and Social Science, had a special issue CONFRONTING THE SPECTER OF NUCLEAR TERRORISM (Oh dear, all caps; be afraid, be very afraid).

Anyway, one article, 'A Mathematical Model of the Risk of Nuclear Terrorism', by Matthew Bunn, ran the numbers, literally, for measuring the global risk of nuclear theft and terrorism. Warning, you may want to reach for your former algebra books before reading further.

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Sir Jeremy Greenstock, GCMG British diplomat

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Baron Rees of Ludlow Astronomer Royal

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Peter Jenkins CMG UK Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency 2001-06

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Baron Browne of Ladyton Vice Chairman, Nuclear Threat Initiative and former UK Secretary of State for Defence

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Andreas Persbo Director, Open Nuclear Network
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