Digests and Blog

By Alfred Nurja Image Source: CNS This month's issue of Arms Control Today carries an insightful article by Anne Penketh that reports on the potential impact that unrest in the Middle East may have on international efforts to host a 2012 regional conference on a Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone in the Middle East. At the 2010 NPT Review Conference, the sponsors of 1995 Middle East resolution, the United States, Russia and Great Britain committed to work together with the UN Secretary General to convene a conference in 2012 in the region, appoint a facilitator and identify a host…

Robert J. Einhorn, Special Advisor for Nonproliferation and Arms Control, Department of State The Arms Control Association organized a briefing today on "The Impact of Sanctions on Iran's Nuclear Program, which is the third in our Solving the Iranian Nuclear Puzzle Briefing Series. The session included a keynote presentation by Robert J. Einhorn, Special Advisor for Nonproliferation and Arms Control, Department of State, in which he provided a detailed overview of the Obama administration's approach to Iran's nuclear activities. Einhorn's address was followed by full panel of experts who…

Image Source: Wall Street Journal By Alfred Nurja Hossein Mousavian, Iran's former Ambassador to Germany, nuclear negotiator and current Princeton visiting research scholar, has just released an article on Iran's Nuclear Crises and the Way Out, an edited version of which appears here. As noted elsewhere, the Mousavian's articles bear watching not only for their material substance, coming from a former senior Iranian official intimately involved in nuclear negotiations, but also for the "insights into Tehran's decision making" that can be gleaned from it. Here are some of the…

In a February 3 post, Arms Exporters React to Middle East Unrest , Arms Control Now noted that the United States had not sold military goods to Libya and had maintained a unilateral embargo on arms sales to Col. Gaddafi's regime which was last updated in 2007. This picture of the U.S.-Libyan trade relationship is overly simplistic. Beginning in 2006 and continuing through 2009, the United States began to relax direct commercial sales rules for transfers to Libya of controlled items on the U.S. Munitions List. The 2007 changes to the embargo included an exemption for "non-lethal defense…

In a recently released Issue Brief, ACA Scoville Fellow Rob Golan-Vilella looks at the impact of the ongoing battles over the federal budget on government programs aimed at preventing terrorists from obtaining nuclear weapons-usable materials. While the Obama administration last year called for increased spending in these areas, Rob reports that the newly elected House of Representatives is proposing to reduce funding for many of these programs. There is an overwhelming, bipartisan consensus among America's leaders that nuclear terrorism is one of the most dangerous threats facing the United…

By Jeff Abramson (blogging from the UN) Today is the second day of a week of discussion at the UN on creating a legally binding Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). For a number of years, the Arms Control Association has been making the case for why the ATT offers an unparalleled opportunity to improve U.S. and international security. A few weeks ago on this blog, the U.S. administration earned a B grade for its approach to the treaty. For those interested in tracking this week's discussions in New York, and the ongoing U.S. and international approach, there are a number of great resources available,…

March 1 marks the 12th anniversary of the 1999 entry into force of the Mine Ban Treaty, which seeks to eliminate the use of one of the most destructive and indiscriminate weapons of war. It has been over a year since the Barack Obama administration began a comprehensive review of its landmines policy. During those months, U.S. and international leaders have made a clear case that now is the time for the United States to join with the global consensus and accede to the treaty. ACA's Deputy Director Jeff Abramson outlines the growing support and strong case for why the United States should the…

By Xiaodon Liang Source: ABC News Arms suppliers have scrambled to readjust their export policies in the face of political unrest against client governments in the Middle East and North Africa. Germany, France, and the United Kingdom, the three largest exporters of arms within the European Union (EU), in addition to the United States, have been criticized for their sales of not only tools of armed conflict (tanks and combat aircraft) to governments hovering on the brink of instability but also for sales of tools of domestic repression: armored vehicles, small arms, tear gas, and riot…

Image Source: AP By Greg Thielmann A panel of scientists provided a useful update today on the latest thinking about the climatic consequences of nuclear weapons use. The presentation provided a grim reminder that the nuclear Sword of Damocles still hangs over all nations of the earth, nuclear and non-nuclear powers alike – notwithstanding the significant achievement of New START ratification by the United States and Russia. At the annual meeting in Washington of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Georgiy Stenchikov (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology…

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller (Image Source: U.S. State Dept.) By Alfred Nurja In a little noted section of a speech before the Conference on Disarmament, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller reiterated a commitment made last year by Secretary Clinton to submit for "Senate advice and consent the ratification of protocols to the nuclear weapons-free zones established for Africa and South Pacific." It is indeed past time that the State Department submits these protocols and the U.S. Senate approves U.S. participation in these two important pillars of the…