The Senate passed the New START nuclear arms treaty with Russia today, with a vote of 71-26.
See BASIC's Press Release, December 22:
http://tinyurl.com/2d5nxfd
Programmes
Barack Obama’s lame-duck wins let him enjoy his turkey
“Nuclear disarmament is one of the things that Obama really cares about, and he decided to stake his personal credibility on this vote,”…..”I wouldn't rule out the administration testing the water next year to see whether they can get the votes in the Senate to ratify the global test ban treaty, which would provide a crucial push towards it coming into force.”
NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2010
We approach the end of 2010 on the verge of a vote in the U.S. Senate on the new START treaty, brought to the floor on December 15th, and for a possible vote as early as tomorrow, December 22nd. Its ratification is significant for verification measures, as well as for the global nuclear disarmament agenda if only because it lays an important foundation stone for future initiatives between the United States and Russia, and helps to open the way for the Administration to bring the test ban treaty to the Senate.
North Korea nuclear tensions rise
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula are again running high. BASIC Intern Taek Jin Han summarizes the most relevant developments on North Korea’s nuclear program and the broader security situation – with a more detailed account than what is available in BASIC’s Getting to Zero Updates.
To read the North Korea backgrounder click here.
Iran Nuclear Negotiatiors Begin, No Breakthrough Seen
“Trust is going to take a long time to develop, and they’re not going to come out of this meeting with an agreement. There is an increased willingness now to discuss real issues.”
Paul Ingram, executive director of the BASIC, was quoted. To read more click here:
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-12-07/iran-has-positive-view-on-ge…
And here:
U.S. diplomatic cables reveal nuclear proliferation fears
The WikiLeaks cables have revealed that the United States has consistently rebuffed private appeals from the leaders of Arab states and Israel on the need for military action against Iran over its nuclear program, as successive administrations worked on a package of global economic sanctions.
The initial leak of 240 U.S. diplomatic cables from a total 251,000 provided to five newspapers in the UK, US, Germany, France and Spain contained the following information related to nuclear non-proliferation issues:
Iran
America’s diplomatic secrets go public
“If you hang around with diplomats, they might be smiling to you, on the one hand, while at the same time, they're stabbing you in the back. It's reassuring because they are sticking to the same talking points in private and in public, whether they're talking to government officials or to journalists or to non-government organizations.”
Anne Penketh, BASIC's Program Director, was interviewed about the WikiLeaks dump of U.S. cables with Michael Shire of the National Journal and Susan Glasser of Foreign Policy on WAMU radio.
New START Treaty hanging in Senate limbo
“The administration doesn’t want the whole thing to be reopened when they’ve already gone through 20 briefings, they’ve already answered 900 questions for the record,”Anne Penketh, BASIC's program director in Washington, told the Epoch Times.
Read the full article here: http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/46462/