America’s diplomatic secrets go public

“If you hang around with diplomats, they might be smiling to you, on the one hand, while at the same time, they're stabbing you in the back. It's reassuring because they are sticking to the same talking points in private and in public, whether they're talking to government officials or to journalists or to non-government organizations.”

Anne Penketh, BASIC's Program Director, was interviewed about the WikiLeaks dump of U.S. cables with Michael Shire of the National Journal and Susan Glasser of Foreign Policy on WAMU radio.

Nato’s tactical nuclear weapons: the new doctrine

Nato's new strategic concept was described as a “conservative, backward-looking” document and “a missed opportunity” in a joint statement issued by BASIC and the Arms Control Association. To read more click here:

Countdown to Zero

The new film, Countdown to Zero, highlights the global nuclear threat and spells out, in chilling terms, the danger facing everyone if nuclear weapons end up in the hands of terrorists.

View the Countdown to Zero trailer.

Russian resurgence and diplomacy

Whether the Russian operation against Georgia was premeditated or not, the leadership has used it effectively to strengthen nationalistic support within the country, and to challenge the view domestically and internationally of expanding, unbridled US dominance.

Event on nuclear weapons, security, and moral leadership

Speakers including Sergio Duarte, Tyler Wigg-Stevenson, Jonathan Granoff, Jonathan Schell, Naila Bolus, Douglas Roche, and Emilie Townes will contribute to a Yale Divinity School conference on Nuclear Weapons, Security, and Moral Leadership.

Title: Are we safe yet? Vulnerability and security in an anxious age

Date: September 18-19, 2008

Place: Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Connecticut

US TV commercial heightens awareness over nuclear terrorism

The Partnership for a Secure America, a bipartisan group of government and foreign policy veterans, will start airing a television commercial in major cities to raise awareness about the threat of nuclear terrorism (see NTI report).

Getting to Zero Update

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Who are you calling petty?

What's the point of mentioning all the books about Dr Khan if one doesn't mention at least one book review? Thus, this article AQ Khan's Atomic Vision: How a petty postal inspector became the world's leading nuclear salesman by Douglas Farah in yesterday's Washington Post, which looks at three of the most recent. Though I think we disagree with the use of the word petty. Nobody who dreams of helping build nuclear weapons can be accused of being petty.