Digests and Blog

The Washington Post's editors are reinforcing the Iranian government's narrative with respect to Tehran's nuclear program. Last November, the editors criticized Defense Secretary Gates for "talking down military action [against Iran]." This week, they assert that a "better course [than pursuing negotiations] is to bet on a renewed popular uprising in Iran." These policy prescriptions play into Tehran's version of the dispute between the international community and the Islamic Republic – i.e., the United States and its allies are intent on forcing regime change; negotiations are a ruse to deny…

By Alfred NurjaAlan EyreThe Prague-based Radio Liberty (formerly known as Radio Free Europe) reported last weekend that the State Department has appointed Alan Eyre, as the first Persian-language spokesperson. Reportedly Mr. Eyre is authorized to appear on Iranian state-owned media and according to the article "the move seems to be part of an increased effort by the Obama administration to reach out to the Iranians directly."While it remains to be seen what kind of access to the Iranian public Tehran will grant to U.S. officials, the decision is also important for demonstrating the…

By Jeff Abramson In a live broadcast at 11:30 this morning, the State Department will release its annual human rights report. Among many hopes of what will become of this important yearly assessment, one is that it will spur an examination of U.S. arms transfer policies . As noted last week, ACA staff have cross-checked the list of 28 countries for which Congress was notified of foreign military sales last year against the State Department's last human rights reports. More than a third (11) of the states failed to guarantee freedom of speech, association, and assembly, as well as a free…

By Xiaodon Liang Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh (Image Source: Government of Yemen) On April 3 the New York Times published a news story citing U.S. administration officials that stated the United States had over the past week adopted a new position calling for the departure from office of Ali Abdullah Saleh, longtime President of Yemen. While a State Department spokesperson moved quickly to quash these reports of a firm change in policy, the case is drawing particular attention because Saleh, an American ally in the so-called global war against terror, has received considerable…

President Obama in 2009 at Hradcany Square Prague, Czech Republic (Image Source Christian Science Monitor) By Daryl G. Kimball In a stirring speech delivered two years ago in Prague's Hradcany Square, President Barack Obama outlined his vision for strengthening the global effort to curb the spread of nuclear weapons, moving forward on long-overdue disarmament measures, and preventing nuclear terrorism. He reiterated "clearly and with conviction America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons." To move forward, Obama…

By Greg Thielmann Last week's 2011 Carnegie International Nuclear Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. provided some revealing perspectives on the challenges and opportunities ahead for future strategic arms control agreements between the United States and Russia. The dynamics of strategic force planning described by Carnegie's panel participants suggests a way to enhance prospects for successful negotiations. The United States can easily achieve the modest reductions required by New START in half the seven-year timeframe allowed under the treaty with probable cost savings and no risk. As…

By Jeff Abramson As President Obama openly ponders whether to arm rebels in Libya and the media is reporting that the CIA is already on the ground to potentially support that cause, attention is now focused on Libya. But one take away from the broader Arab spring is that it's past time for a comprehensive review of U.S. arms transfer policy. Admittedly, the United States was not the major arms supplier to Libya, but it certainly has not shied away from supplying arms to other repressive regimes. As highlighted in an earlier post and in ACA fact sheets, last year's $100+ billion in potential…

By Tom Z. Collina and Daryl G. Kimball The Obama administration is "committed" to working with Senators of both parties to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), National Security Advisor Tom Donilon said March 29, "just as we did for New START." This was one of the most significant, high-level statements from a senior administration official on the test ban since April 2009, when President Obama called on the Senate to reconsider the treaty. Donilon said the administration would stress three essential points as it makes its case to the Senate and the American people. "First," he…

By Jeff Abramson As the year progresses, we'll revisit the mid-term grades given the Obama administration on their conventional weapons policies. For the moment, the D grade on cluster munitions remains unchanged because U.S. policy is unchanged, but there is much happening: Libya Earlier this month as air strikes against Libyan forces became increasingly likely, so did concerns that we'd see a new round of cluster munitions use, especially by the United States. The pro-Qaddafi forces to be attacked sounded very similar to those defined by Secretary Gates in 2008 as legitimate cluster…

RS-24 Yars ICBM, Associated Press By Greg Thielmann For more than a year, U.S. analysts responsible for monitoring Russia's nuclear arsenal have been traveling through a long and increasingly dark tunnel. The sensitive information that had flowed out of Russia for years on strategic forces under terms of the original Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) was abruptly stanched when the treaty expired on December 5, 2009. By that time, U.S. inspectors who had been monitoring Russian strategic weapons "up close and personal" at bases and other facilities for years had to leave. In losing the…