Alliance Foreign Ministers meet near the end of this week, and whilst the media will be talking Libya and Afghanistan, Ministers will also be agreeing the work plan for NATO’s deterrence and defence posture review (DDPR), as well as the work of the newly-formed WMD Control and Disarmament Committee.
Programmes
NATO’s Nuclear Deterrence Posture and Baltic Security
NATO is in the throes of a review of its deterrence and defence posture. BASIC and ICDS organised a roundtable on NATO’s nuclear deterrence policy in Tallinn on 15th March.
Next steps in nuclear negotiations: briefing on Capitol Hill
BASIC held a small, private briefing for Hill staff and non-proliferation experts on March 31, 2011. The meeting covered: negotiating with Russia on next steps in nuclear arms control after New START, the prospects for bringing into force the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), and the capabilities associated with the CTBT to monitor test explosions.
Visions for a New Century
Just Launched! Visions for a New Century is a short film taken at a BASIC event hosted at Brian Eno’s studio last year. Visions for a New Century is a collection of interviews around the issue of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Interviewees include Peter Gabriel, Rory Bremner, Des Browne, Joe Cirincione from the Ploughshares Fund, Baroness Shirley Williams and Brian Eno.
This Week – Next steps for arms control
It’s a busy week for nuclear non-proliferation advocates. On Thursday, BASIC is hosting a joint briefing with VERTIC (Verification Research, Training and Information Centre) in Washington on the Next Steps after New START with a particular focus on the global nuclear test ban treaty.
NATO’s Nuclear Deterrence Posture and Baltic Security
BASIC and the International Centre for Defence Studies convened a roundtable on 15th March 2011 in Tallinn, Estonia to discuss the dimensions of involved in NATO’s deterrence and defence posture review. The current reality is that the risk of nuclear war has evaporated and Russia is a partner; yet there remain strong suspicions of Russia’s intentions, the commitment to nuclear deterrence remains universal amongst NATO’s members, and the Strategic Concept implies continued commitment to the deployment of US theater nuclear weapons (TNWs) in Europe.
Getting to Zero Update
Russia and the United States have begun the exchange of information on their nuclear arsenals under the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty as they assess next steps on arms control and also try to resolve their differences over missile defense.