Publications about Trident
Programmes
Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty
An FMCT would require that all member states refrain from producing additional bomb-grade fuel for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, but would not obligate them to reduce existing stockpiles. There is no agreed-upon text for such a treaty. The Conference on Disarmament (CD) has been the main venue for negotiations.
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
The Obama Administration committed itself to submitting the CTBT to the Senate for ratification, but support there is uncertain (it requires the support of 67 Senators). This is crucial to several other key states' ratification, and necessary for the Treaty to come into force.
Treaty text (has not entered into force), Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization
Non-Proliferation Treaty
The NPT is the corner-stone of the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime. The NPT Review Conference in May 2010 was a key moment for the global debate around nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and the agreement at its conclusion sets the framework for international negotiations over the period 2010 to 2015.
New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START)
Signed by Presidents Obama and Medvedev on April 8, 2010, New START replaces the 1991 START treaty limiting U.S. and Russian strategic nuclear weapon systems. The agreement introduces lower ceilings for the numbers of deployed warheads and delivery systems, and continues many of the necessary verification procedures. New START entered into force on February 5, 2011.
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Treaty text (U.S. State Department)
Strategic Dialogue External Resources
External Resources:
BASIC NEWS: OCTOBER-DECEMBER 2012
BASIC Update from October to December 2012: BASIC Trident Commission ; WMD Free Zone in the Middle East ; Strategic Dialogue
This Week – Looking to the Year Ahead
This week there is much wrangling within the media about the likely appointment of former Senator Chuck Hagel as Secretary of Defense. As a politician apparently immune to the usual herd instinct and the pressures of the lobbyists, such lobbyists are attempting to block the possible appointment. Some whisper the principal reason lies in his belief that a military attack on Iran would be a mistake.