Iran's nuclear enrichment program is under close scrutiny from the international community, but the country's government officials insist that its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian purposes only. BASIC monitor's Iran's nuclear program and international responses to Iran's nuclear activities. Read below for the country report summaries from the Getting to Zero updates in reverse chronological order.
Risk
Country Report: North Korea
North Korea withdrew from the NPT to became a nuclear weapon state in 2006. BASIC monitors North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile capability developments and multilateral political talks regarding the country's nuclear program in its Getting to Zero updates. Read the GTZ update summaries in reverse chronological order below.
Country Reports
Read below to get the most up to date Getting to Zero country reports or click the links below for a chronological history.
Middle East free of nuclear weapons can become reality
BASIC's program director, Anne Penketh, discusses the security risks in the Middle East and the prospects of a WMD-free zone treaty in the region in this article for The National. She writes, “A WMD-free zone in the Middle East would take years to negotiate, but the alternatives, including possible military action against Iran, are chilling. This is not about only the security of a region, but of the world.”
Celeste Wallander at BASIC Shadow NATO Summit
Dr. Celeste Wallander, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Russia/Ukraine/Eurasia in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Policy), speaks about NATO partnerships with Russia and other countries and NATO's engagement in the Middle East and North Africa at the Shadow NATO Summit hosted by BASIC, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Elliott School of International Affairs, NATO Watch, and Strategy International in Washington, DC on May 14 and 15, 2012.
The Partnership
Book review of “The Partnership: Five Cold Warriors and Their Quest to Ban the Bomb” by Philip Taubman. At the height of the Cold War, eliminating nuclear weapons was seen as the province of dreadlocked hippies, peaceniks, and other “flower children” of the 1960s. It was a perspective that perversely marginalized the arms control agenda, just when it was needed the most.
Spotlight on Iran’s nuclear program
This week begins with Iranians celebrating their national day of nuclear technology today… and ends on Friday and Saturday with long-awaited critical talks between Iran and the E3+3 in Istanbul. Some may view the Iranian national day as a deliberately provocative act, but that would be to misunderstand the politics.
Romney’s Foreign Policy Fantasies: “Breathtaking Weakness?”
BASIC Board Member William Hartung wrote an opinion piece for Talking Points Memo (TPM) on the Obama Administration's engagement with Russia on arms control, notably New START, and what should be the focus between the two Presidential candidates on arms control in the 2012 US election.