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"ACA's journal, Arms Control Today, remains the best in the market. Well focused. Solidly researched. Prudent."

– Hans Blix

Former IAEA Director-General

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Religious and Scientific Leaders Call for CTBT Toward Reducing Nuclear Risk

Authored by Meri Lugo on January 6, 2010

A prominent Catholic bishop and a Nobel laureate today called for a "step-by-step process to prevent the use and spread of [nuclear weapons]" in an Atlantic Journal Constitution op-ed, citing a consensus within the scientific and religious communities that nuclear weapons "are a global liability". Howard James Hubbard, chairman of the Committee on International Justice and Peace of the U.S Conference of Catholic Bishops and 1998 Nobel laureate in physics Leon Lederman argue that the CTBT will "include practical, verifiable steps that would make us more secure, prevent the spread of nuclear...

India's Singh Says U.S. CTBT Ratification Will Create "New Situation"

Authored by Meri Lugo on December 30, 2009

Indian newspaper The Hindu reported today that Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh indicated for the first time during his current administration that India may be amenable to signing onto the CTBT, once the United States and China ratify. Singh was probed by his Japanese counterpart, Yuki Hatoyama, during a meeting regarding nuclear energy cooperation between the two countries. Mr. Hatoyama, told reporters that he had emphasized Japan's desire for New Delhi to sign and ratify the treaty, remarking that, "Globally there is a rising momentum of [the CTBT] entering into force. I expressed my...

Vice President Briefed by Lab Directors

Authored by Meri Lugo on December 20, 2009

On December 16, 2009, the lab directors from Los Alamos National Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory met with Vice President Joe Biden for a private briefing in the White House. Biden was tapped to be the Administration's point person for CTBT ratification efforts in early 2009. Biden and the lab directors were joined by Secretary of Energy Steven Chu, Deputy Energy Secretary Dan Poneman, National Nuclear Security Administrator Tom D'Agostino, and officials from the State Department and the Department of Defense. A Los Alamos National Laboratory press...

CTBT Monitoring Station Completed Near Iran

Authored by Meri Lugo on December 8, 2009

A primary seismic station within the CTBT’s International Monitoring System (IMS), used to deter and detect nuclear tests, has finished construction in the Middle East. The station, named PS44, was recently completed near Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, a few kilometers from the border of Iran. It is one of 337 monitoring stations around the world designed to verify the CTBT. 75% of the IMS has already been built and certified, and is actively transmitting data. The station’s recording facility started transmitting seismic information to the CTBT’s International Data Cenre (IDC) on October 5, 2008...

Fall 2009 Highlights of CTBT News Coverage and Opinions

Authored by Meri Lugo on December 4, 2009

Some of the notable news articles and op-eds related to the CTBT from this fall include: Daryl G. Kimball, "The Case for the CTBT," Foreign Service Journal, December 2009 . Kaegan McGrath, "Verifiability, Reliability and National Security: The Case for U.S. Ratification of the CTBT," The Nonproliferation Review, November 2008, pp 407 - 433. David Hafemeister, "Assessing the Merits of the CTBT," The Nonproliferation Review, November 2008, pp. 473-482. Daryl G. Kimball, "Why We Don't Need to Resume Nuclear Testing: A Reply to Senator Jon Kyl's 'Why We Need to Test Nuclear Weapons',"...

JASON Report Concludes There is No Need for New Nuclear Warheads

Authored by Meri Lugo on December 1, 2009

In late November, the long-awaited executive summary of a JASON study on the Stockpile Stewardship Programs was released. Conducted by a select group of eminent independent scientists, the study concluded that the U.S. nuclear arsenal can be maintained indefinitely through existing stockpile stewardship programs, without nuclear testing or pursuing new warhead designs. The study stated that, "Lifetimes of today's nuclear warheads could be extended for decades, with no anticipated loss in confidence, by using approaches similar to those employed in LEPs to date."

Today Marks the 10th Anniversary of CTBT "no" vote

Authored by Meri Lugo on October 13, 2009

Today is the 10 year anniversary of the Senate’s failed attempt to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. In this month’s Arms Control Today, Daryl Kimball writes a “Looking Back” feature , reflecting on the mistakes made and lessons learned from the 1999 vote. Deeply involved in the NGO effort to support CTBT ratification in the 1990s, Kimball recalls the lack of high-level executive leadership on the treaty, and the overwhelming presence of non-substantive, partisan politicking. “The ‘no’ vote had less to do with the substantive issues,” Kimball writes, “and was more a consequence of the...

Article XIV Entry into Force Conference

Authored by Meri Lugo on September 28, 2009

On September 24-25th, the CTBTO held its 6th biennial Article XIV Entry into Force conference at the UN in New York. The CTBT treaty text contains a special mechanism to promote its entry into force through a conference, held every other year, designed to facilitate concrete steps to promote entry into force, which requires a group of 44 specific states to ratify. The conference was attended by representatives from 103 states, and several NGO representatives. Signaling the Obama administration’s deep commitment to ratification of the CTBT, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton represented the...

India's NSA: nuclear testing is not needed; time for a "full-fledged discussion on the CTBT"

Authored by Meri Lugo on September 9, 2009

Last week, a retired Indian defense scientist, K. Santhanam, claimed 10 years after the fact, that one of India's nuclear tests in 1998 was a fizzle. He said in a press interview that the yield in the thermonuclear device test was much lower than what was claimed. Mr. Santhanam, who only cited unspecified seismic measurements and expert opinion from world over, said that due to the failed test, India should not sign the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The Indian government has strongly refuted Santhanam's charges.Principal Scientific Adviser R. Chidambaram told The Hindu that those...

Obama Sets New Course on Arms Control

Authored by Cole Harvey on April 1, 2009

In recent public statements and congressional hearings, Obama administration officials have indicated that they will reverse Bush-era policies on a number of major arms control issues. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and other Obama appointees have said that they will actively pursue ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as well as a new strategic arms agreement with Russia and have revised the U.S. approach to negotiations on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons. The statements made clear that the new administration...