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"I find hope in the work of long-established groups such as the Arms Control Association...[and] I find hope in younger anti-nuclear activists and the movement around the world to formally ban the bomb."

– Vincent Intondi
Author, "African Americans Against the Bomb: Nuclear Weapons, Colonialism, and the Black Freedom Movement"
July 1, 2020
Arms Control NOW

Gottemoeller makes case for the CTBT

Authored by Meri Lugo on August 13, 2010
Assistant Secretary of State for Verification, Compliance and Implementation Rose Gottemoeller spoke at the U.S. Strategic Command Deterrence Symposium yesterday, enumerating the finer points of the administration's final push for New START ratification and reaffirming its commitment to pursuing CTBT ratification in the future. "Ratification of the CTBT is central to leading other nuclear weapons states toward a world of diminished reliance on nuclear weapons, reduced nuclear competition, and eventual nuclear disarmament," Secretary Gottemoeller said. Though ratifying the CTBT "will not be an...

Convention on Cluster Munitions Enters into Force without U.S. Signature

Authored by on August 12, 2010
By ACA Intern Valerie Pacer The Convention on Cluster Munitions entered into force on August 1, 2010 with thirty-eight ratifications and one hundred and eight signatories. The United States, Russia, China, India, Brazil are just some of the many states that have not signed or ratified this important treaty. Reuters named the United States as the world's largest producer of cluster munitions with a "stockpile of 800 million submunitions." Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions agree to: Neither use, produce, stockpile, nor sell cluster munitions Destroy existing stockpiles within eight...

Trident: Alternatives and potential cost cutting?

Authored by on August 12, 2010
Are there viable alternatives? By ACA Intern Daniel Salisbury The costs of the British Trident nuclear deterrent have emerged as an issue in British politics; with HM Treasury looking to cut costs and the Ministry of Defence insisting that cuts are unnecessary. While the current plan for a "like-for-like" renewal of the system was passed in 2007, the British government could choose to make more aggressive cuts to the program. Two pieces highlight the range of options facing the British government. In " Continuous at-Sea Deterrence: Costs and Alternatives ," Malcolm Chalmers of the Royal...

Mike Lee feels backlash for his anti-CTBT position

Authored by Meri Lugo on August 12, 2010
In an excellent editorial on August 11, The Salt Lake Tribune criticizes Mike Lee for his inconsistent and often misinformed position on the CTBT and urged Utah's Senate delegation to support the treaty. After signing a right-wing petition that included opposition to the treaty, then reconsidering and expressing support for ratification , the candidate for Senate announced last week that he was once again opposed to ratification of the CTBT. "Clearly, Lee is having difficulty deciding on this issue," the Tribune writes. "That's fine. It's complex. But we would urge him to return to the...

American Bar Association Calls for CTBT Approval

Authored by Meri Lugo on August 11, 2010
The American Bar Association's House of Delegates announced on August 10 that it "urges the United States to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty." The resolution passed the 561-member body by a unanimous voice vote, and no members spoke in opposition to the treaty. Similarly, the ABA House of Delegations passed a resolution in 1994 to call for the U.S. government to curb the spread of nuclear weapons through measures like a comprehensive test ban and further support and continuation of the NPT.

UN Statement on First Annual International Day Against Nuclear Tests Aug. 29

Authored by Eric Auner on August 10, 2010
According to the statement : The 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared 29 August as the International Day against Nuclear Tests through the unanimous adoption of its resolution 64/35 on 2 December 2009. The Day is meant to galvanize the efforts of the United Nations, Member States, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, youth networks and the media in informing, educating and advocating the necessity of banning nuclear tests as a valuable step to achieving a safer world. The Preamble of the resolution emphasizes “that every effort...

India Developing Laser-based Missile Defense

Authored by on August 9, 2010
By Eric Auner Global Security Newswire reports that the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization (DRDO) wants to protect itself from incoming missiles using a "directed energy" system. "Lasers are weapons of the future. We can, for instance, use laser beams to shoot down an enemy missile in its boost or terminal phase," the Times of India quoted Anil Kumar Maini, who heads the Indian Defense Research and Development Organization's Laser Science and Technology Center, as saying. One device under development would fire a 25-kilowatt laser at a ballistic missile to destroy the weapon...

Utah's Mike Lee Gets CTBT Facts Wrong

Authored by Meri Lugo on August 9, 2010
Utah Republican candidate for the Senate Mike Lee has reversed his earlier common-sense position against renewed nuclear testing, and is now indicating that if elected, he would not support the CTBT. In May , Lee announced that he would most likely vote for CTBT ratification. At the time, Lee remarked that, "I don't think we need [nuclear testing] and I think, on the whole, we as Americans would be safer if the treaty were in place." The Salt Lake Tribune reported that Lee's deputy campaign manager Dan Hauser said last Thursday, "[The treaty is] basically [stating] you could never use a...

Ban Ki-Moon Calls for CTBT Entry into Force by 2012

Authored by Meri Lugo on August 9, 2010
Last Friday, to commemorate the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon became the first sitting Secretary General to attend the memorial service for the bombing, where he called for the entry into force of the CTBT by 2012 . "Now is the time...The time for rapid entry into force of the (CTBT). Let us set the goal of 2012," he said. Members of the United States, French and British governments also attended the ceremony for the first time. Ban Ki-Moon also announced at the service that he will convene an annual high-level meeting in September to...

UK Strategic Defense and Security Review Avoids the Main Strategic Question

Authored by on August 7, 2010
HMS Vanguard, one of four Royal Navy SSBN vessels By ACA intern Daniel Salisbury The U.K. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne has been ruffling feathers in the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in recent weeks. He has ruled that Trident, the U.K. nuclear deterrent , will now be paid for by the MoD and not a special Treasury fund. This is putting the already strained MoD budget under even more pressure. The Financial Times reports that he made the following comment when questioned during his recent India trip: "All budgets have pressure. I don't think there's anything particularly unique about...

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