The nuclear summit papers

The Guardian's Julian Borger blogs on Washington's Nuclear Security Summit and cites BASIC Research Director Dr. Ian Kearns's new paper: Keeping the Lid On: Nuclear Security and the Washington Summit.

Nuclear summit takes aim at unsecured bomb material

“If leaders at the summit get it right, they could render nuclear power safer to use in the fight against climate change, strengthen the non-proliferation regime, and build further international confidence in … nuclear disarmament.”

BASIC Research Director Ian Kearns quoted by Reuters in Sundays Zaman.

Getting to Zero Update

In the run up to the NPT Review Conference (3-28 May), there have been a number of critical developments. Russia and the United States have signed the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the Obama Administration just released its Nuclear Posture Review, and Washington is about to host one of its largest summits ever, on nuclear security.

Considering NATO’s Tactical Nuclear Weapons after the US Nuclear Posture Review

Essential questions for NATO as the alliance considers calls for the further drawdown of US tactical weapons in Europe.

Obama cuts US nuclear arsenal – but keeps sights trained on Iran

“Obviously it is to be welcomed that the US will not develop new nuclear warheads despite pressure from the weapons labs, and that President Obama has won the argument over his core policy of limiting the use of nuclear weapons.”

BASIC Program Director Anne Penketh quoted in The Independent on the U.S. Nuclear Posture Review.

Keeping the lid on: Nuclear security and the Washington summit

Far more remains to be done before the world can feel assured that nuclear security issues are being addressed seriously enough…..

Keeping the “Non” in the Non-Nuclear Weapon States

Nuclear weapons states must respond to security demands before non-nuclear weapons states will agree to additional non-proliferation obligations under the NPT.

Anne Penketh: Edging towards a nuclear-free world

The stage is set for the signing in Prague of the first arms control treaty of the Obama era. It is the initial step on the road to the US President's declared goal of a world without nuclear weapons, which he vibrantly described in the Czech capital a year ago.

But now that the applause has died down after the US and Russia reached agreement on capping their deployed long-range nuclear weapons in the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Start) follow-on pact, the treaty's limits have become apparent. T

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