The United Kingdom is a member of the NPT as a nuclear weapon state. The country faces the decision on the renewal of its Trident nuclear weapon system in 2016. BASIC monitors the progress on this decision and other news relevant to the UK nuclear weapons policy in its Getting to Zero update. Read the summaries below in reverse chronological order.
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Country Report: United States
Under legal obligations of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the United States must make continuous efforts towards nuclear disarmament, and yet, the U.S. continues to make plans to modernize their nuclear forces. BASIC monitors the nuclear policies and the nuclear reduction efforts of the United States in our Getting to Zero updates. Read the summaries below in reverse chronological order.
NATO Continues Dangerous Delays over Nuclear Decisions
Paul Ingram's piece on NATO's contradictions on nuclear deployments and delayed decisions on nuclear weapons was featured on the website of The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Ingram highlights that NATO members are divided on how they view relations with Russia and “the Alliance is failing to recognize that the Cold War is over, and so it lives with a cancerous contradiction”.
NATO military budget: together, slim is better
John Feffer, co-director of Foreign Policy in Focus at the Institute for Policy Studies, wrote an op-ed for the German newspaper Die Tageszeitung on NATO's defense 'obesity problem'. This was based on his presentation to the Shadow NATO Summit III in Washington D.C. earlier in May.
C-SPAN broadcast: U.S. and Europe NATO Capabilities Gap
Coverage of the first day of BASIC's Shadow NATO Summit III was broadcast live on C-SPAN. This session on smart defense and burden sharing with a special focus on closing the U.S.-Europe capabilities gap with a human security approach featured Ms. Julianne Smith, Ambassador Andras Simonyi, Mr. John Feffer, and Dr. Marios Efthymiopoulos. It was chaired by Dr. Ian Davis.
C-SPAN broadcast: NATO New Security Challenges
Coverage of the first day of BASIC's Shadow NATO Summit III was broadcast live on C-SPAN. This session on emerging security challenges and NATO's response to terrorism, proliferation, piracy and cyber attacks featured Mr. Philip Worre from ISIS Europe, Dr. Jean-Loup Samaan from the NATO Defense College, Mr. Geneve Mantri of Amnesty International, and Dr. Sean Lawson from the University of Utah. It was chaired by Ms. Lorelei Kelly of the New America Foundation.
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.
David Shaman at the Shadow NATO Summit
Mr. David Shaman, former World Bank official, speaks on Transparency and NATO reform with regard to his experience with the World Bank 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