: ArmsControlWonk.com Home About Book Archive Contact At Year-End A Thinly-Veiled Pep Talk posted Wednesday December 30, 2009 under krepons-shoebox by michael_krepon Words matter , which helps explain the arms control community’s preoccupation with declaratory policies and treaties relating to nuclear weapons . But whatever phraseology emerges from the Obama administration’s Nuclear Posture Review and however long it takes for the CTBT to enter into force , the stock prices of nuclear weapons have never been lower for major powers . This is partly due to favorable circumstances : The P-5 have far less to fight about now than in previous decades . Another significant reason for devaluation is the fact that nuclear weapons have not been used on a battlefield since 1945. Every year that passes without the appearance of mushroom clouds increases the penalties for crossing this threshold . Weapons that haven’t been used for six decades have decreased military value , which also diminishes their political value . Nuclear weapon testing has become a surrogate for battlefield use , in the sense that every underground test is a demonstration of utility , and a reason for a potential: ArmsControlWonk.com Home About Book Archive Contact Emilio Largo's Revenge posted Friday December 25, 2009 under terrorism nato by joshua_pollack What better occasion than Christmas to ponder nuclear terrorism According to a Dec . 19 story by Thom Shanker and Eric Schmitt in the New York , Times the forthcoming Nuclear Posture review will be just as much about preventing nuclear terrorism as about nuclear . deterrence It’s a good idea , and in hindsight a perfectly natural one after the last decade’s worth of discussions of the role of non-state actors . 8221 But there’s a difficulty in the mismatch between counterterrorism and the notions that ordinarily fall under the rubric of nuclear posture : weapons systems , platforms , bases , stockpiles , alert rates , infrastructure , and so forth . So , the Times reports , the idea will translate to more support for intelligence and . forensics Oddly , though , the story doesn’t mention the one core” area of nuclear posture that does relate directly to the threat of terrorism , and always has : the security of U.S . nuclear . weapons To get a sense of how much a chestnut this is there’s the holiday , again look no further than the: ArmsControlWonk.com Home About Book Archive Contact Arms Control Person of the Year 2009 posted Tuesday December 22, 2009 under administrivia by jeffrey Sen . Richard Lugar and former Sen . Sam Nunn near Shchuchye , Russia in 2007 AP Photo Douglas Birch The Arms Control Association is holding their annual Arms Control Person of the Year” . contest Vote for the 2009 Arms Control Person(s of the Year As 2009 nears its end , it is time to recognize some of the most important arms control developments and achievements of the past 12 months . To help do that , the staff of the Arms Control Association have nominated several well-known and some lesser-known individuals and institutions for the title of 2009 Arms Control Person(s of the Year . 8221 You decide the winner by casting your vote here by January 8. And the nominees : are The governments of the 15 member states of the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS for achieving the entry into force of the 2006 Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons in September when Benin became the ninth state to deposit its instruments of ratification . The Convention bans arms transfers by member states with exceptions for the
The Human Face of War by Dr. Jim Storr
An important new book on military theory and history by British defense expert Dr. Jim Storr, a retired Lt. Colonel, King’s Regiment and an instructor at the UK Defence Academy, was reviewed in Joint Forces Quarterly ( hat tip Wilf Owen) by Col. Clinton J. Acker III:
The Human [...]
by Ivanka Barzashka
We have posted an updated version of our latest Issue Brief “Calculating the Capacity of Fordow” – the technical appendix to our November 23 article “A Technical Evaluation of the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant” published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.
This is the document summary:
This brief serves as a technical appendix to [...]
Last week, Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) and 26 other representatives sent a letter to President Obama urging him to ensure the Nuclear Posture Review puts the US on a path toward nuclear disarmament. Peace Action West worked closely with Rep. Stark’s office, encouraging representatives in the western states to sign on to the letter. With [...]