“I think the whole point of what Admiral Mullen said over the weekend was to tell the Iranians that actually the Americans mean business. Otherwise, if you look at the timeline, we are not talking about any kind of military action anytime soon.”
BASIC Program Director Anne Penketh interviewed by RT News. Read more and watch video:
http://rt.com/Top_News/2010-08-02/usa-behaves-irrationally-iran.html?fullstory
“The demonization of Iran is such that it appears we are on a one-track punitive response even though few believe it will work but lack the imagination or belief in other options.”
“It’s a game of threat from the Security Council and then a game of response by Iran, and they’re playing chicken with each other.”
BASIC Executive Director Paul Ingram quoted in Bloomberg News. Read more:
“Enriching to 20 percent is like going about 80 percent of the way towards having military material.”
BASIC Executive Director quoted by Bloomberg News. Read more:
This BASIC Backgrounder covers the essential developments in the Senate ratification hearings for the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) between the United States and Russia on reductions to their deployed long-range nuclear weapons arsenal.
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review conference concluded at the end of May on a positive note. However, the months ahead look uncertain. Diplomatic relations over the North Korean and Iranian programs continue to deteriorate, and there still lacks a firm indication on whether the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) will be ratified by the end of the year.
June was a busy month as BASIC’s Executive Director toured Europe to discuss nuclear disarmament in the aftermath of the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference.