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.
Programmes
This Week – U.S. Defense Budget
It’s a big week for the U.S. military budget for fiscal 2012 with details of the billion budget – the largest in the nation’s history – being unveiled today by the Pentagon. Also relevant to arms control will be the Energy Department budget and particularly that of the National Nuclear Security Administration.
Should Israel join NATO?
NATO secretary-general Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called for the alliance to expand cooperation with Israel. Israel has been part of the Mediterranean dialogue with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which includes Arab states such as Tunisia and Egypt, since 1994. But there have been recent calls for NATO to deepen the relationship still further by accepting Israel as a member.
UK defence minister: case for Trident is ‘thin’
Ian Kearns recently asked a government official what studies had been done into how long it would take and what it would cost to reconstitute the Trident deterrent if it were withdrawn from active deployment.”
The answer: none.
BASIC Trident Commission Launch
The BASIC Trident Commission was launched in Parliament on February 9. The evening demonstrated the Commission’s promise to be the most important initiative on nuclear weapons policy in 2011.
Nuclear weapons case to be examined by Commission
The new Trident Commission would be an “open-minded look at the issue from first principles ..… Should the UK be a nuclear power at all, and if it should, is Trident the only or best way to go about it?” proposed Ian Kearns, research director of BASIC.
BASIC Trident Commission Launch Film
A short film about the BASIC Trident Commission Launch
This Week – Time for a New Cross-Party Examination of Trident Renewal
On Wednesday of this week BASIC will launch a cross party Trident Commission to take advantage of the opportunity that was opened up by the British government to consider its nuclear weapons policy, when it decided to delay the timetable for the construction of the replacement submarines on which the Trident system crucially depends.