NATO Watch director and former BASIC executive director, Ian Davis, wrote this timely piece for The Hill's Congress Blog about build up to the NATO Summit in Chicago on May 20-21, 2012 and the elements that should be discussed amongst policymakers.
Programmes
Shadow NATO Summit
On May 14-15, BASIC joins the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, NATO Watch, and Strategy International at the Elliott School of International Affairs in Washington, DC for a Shadow NATO Summit. Experts and senior officials will grapple with the tough issues facing the Alliance ahead of next week's summit in Chicago.
Shadow NATO Summit III: Conference in Washington, DC
BASIC, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Elliott School of International Affairs, NATO Watch, and Strategy International are holding a conference on May 14 and 15, a week before the NATO Summit in Chicago.
Emphasis on the Middle East at NPT PrepCom
Diplomats at the 2012 NPT Preparatory Committee have been discussing an extraordinary range of issues, but the highlight of this week’s agenda was Jaakko Laajava, Finnish Ambassador and facilitator of the 2012 Conference on a WMD free zone in the Middle East, on Tuesday morning giving his first official presentation of his consultations throughout the past seven months.
Strategic Dialogue on Nuclear Deterrence
The British American Security Information Council in association with the Hudson Institute held a Strategic Dialogue breakfast on May 8, 2012 in Washington, DC.
NATO’s Deterrence and Defence Posture Review and the Future of Nuclear Weapons
This report is a synthesis of an expert roundtable discussion held in Paris on the Alliance's approach to nuclear arms control. The Arms Control Association, BASIC, the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy Hamburg, and the Institut de Relations Internationales et Strategique, jointly organized this event two months before NATO's conclusion of its Deterrence and Defense Posture Review and the upcoming summit in Chicago.
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.
Evidence submitted by the Conservative Way Forward
APRIL 2012
1. Should the UK remain a nuclear weapon state?
Yes. The first responsibility of government is the security of its citizens. The United Kingdom’s nuclear deterrent guards against the most dangerous threat which British citizens could face. The UK’s nuclear deterrent is the last line of defence against a nuclear attack. It provides a deterrent effect which no other military capability could match. The Trident nuclear deterrent system is the UK’s ultimate insurance policy…