Report: Toshiba, other companies aim to develop small nuclear reactors
Banking on a possible shift to nuclear energy as the world tries to cut down its carbon emissions, Toshiba, Hitachi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries reportedly are working on small, less expensive nuclear reactors that can be used by developing countries. Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE59N0CN20091024
Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire - Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry. Nuclear Activities
Monday, October 26, 2009
EU-South Korean deal to benefit nuclear power sector
EU-South Korean deal to benefit nuclear power sector
The European Commission has unveiled details of how a new trade agreement between South Korea and the European Union will benefit the nuclear energy sector. The deal should boost trade in equipment and fuel inputs in both Europe and South Korea.
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-EU_South_Korean_deal_to_benefit_nuclear_power_sector-2210095.html
The European Commission has unveiled details of how a new trade agreement between South Korea and the European Union will benefit the nuclear energy sector. The deal should boost trade in equipment and fuel inputs in both Europe and South Korea.
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-EU_South_Korean_deal_to_benefit_nuclear_power_sector-2210095.html
Survey: U.S. public strongly supports nuclear energy
Survey: U.S. public strongly supports nuclear energy
A survey of 1,000 Americans found that 75% agreed with expanding the use of nuclear energy as a means to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The survey, commissioned by the Nuclear Energy Institute, also found that 61% of those polled supported the use of nuclear energy in the country, marking the ninth straight year that favorability levels exceeded 60% in surveys. World Nuclear News
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-US_public_support_for_nuclear_remains_high-2310096.html
Support for reprocessing and action on waste
26 March 2009
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A clear majority of US citizens would support recycling and reprocessing of used nuclear fuel, according to a new opinion poll which also found good all-round support for nuclear.
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Support_for_reprocessing_and_action_on_waste_2603094.html
A survey of 1,000 Americans found that 75% agreed with expanding the use of nuclear energy as a means to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. The survey, commissioned by the Nuclear Energy Institute, also found that 61% of those polled supported the use of nuclear energy in the country, marking the ninth straight year that favorability levels exceeded 60% in surveys. World Nuclear News
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-US_public_support_for_nuclear_remains_high-2310096.html
Support for reprocessing and action on waste
26 March 2009
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A clear majority of US citizens would support recycling and reprocessing of used nuclear fuel, according to a new opinion poll which also found good all-round support for nuclear.
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Support_for_reprocessing_and_action_on_waste_2603094.html
Group agrees on creation of international market for nuclear fuel
Group agrees on creation of international market for nuclear fuel
The world's largest nuclear-power users have agreed to find ways to curb nuclear weapons proliferation by establishing "cradle-to-grave fuel services," a global market to supply and dispose of nuclear fuel for civilian use, a U.S. official said after a meeting of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. The proposal calls for large fuel suppliers to work with smaller countries interested in building nuclear power plants without spending too much on uranium processing, disposal and the fuel's safe use. The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125639181336205887.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
The world's largest nuclear-power users have agreed to find ways to curb nuclear weapons proliferation by establishing "cradle-to-grave fuel services," a global market to supply and dispose of nuclear fuel for civilian use, a U.S. official said after a meeting of the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership. The proposal calls for large fuel suppliers to work with smaller countries interested in building nuclear power plants without spending too much on uranium processing, disposal and the fuel's safe use. The Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125639181336205887.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
* Nuclear energy plays important role as Senate tackles climate bill
* Nuclear energy plays important role as Senate tackles climate bill
Nuclear energy has become a key bargaining chip for Democratic senators seeking Republican support for the climate-change bill. While nuclear energy still faces challenges, particularly on the issue of reactor waste, the energy source supplies one-fifth of the country's electricity as well as generates 70% of carbon-free power. "If you want to address climate change and produce electricity, nuclear has got to be a significant part of the equation," said Nuclear Energy Institute President and CEO Marvin Fertel. The Washington Post/The Associated Press (10/25)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/25/AR2009102500536.html?sub=AR
Nuclear energy has become a key bargaining chip for Democratic senators seeking Republican support for the climate-change bill. While nuclear energy still faces challenges, particularly on the issue of reactor waste, the energy source supplies one-fifth of the country's electricity as well as generates 70% of carbon-free power. "If you want to address climate change and produce electricity, nuclear has got to be a significant part of the equation," said Nuclear Energy Institute President and CEO Marvin Fertel. The Washington Post/The Associated Press (10/25)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/25/AR2009102500536.html?sub=AR
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Enrichment at heart of Iran nuclear programme
Enrichment at heart of Iran nuclear programme
Paris (AFP) Sept 25, 2009 - Enriching uranium for nuclear power -- or building a weapon of mass destruction -- lies at the heart of the controversy surrounding Iran's nuclear programme. The point of enrichment -- which is to be discussed again at talks between Iran and the western powers in Vienna on Wednesday -- is to boost the ratio in uranium of the uranium-235 isotope, which splits in a chain reaction and releases ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Enrichment_at_heart_of_Iran_nuclear_programme_999.html
Paris (AFP) Sept 25, 2009 - Enriching uranium for nuclear power -- or building a weapon of mass destruction -- lies at the heart of the controversy surrounding Iran's nuclear programme. The point of enrichment -- which is to be discussed again at talks between Iran and the western powers in Vienna on Wednesday -- is to boost the ratio in uranium of the uranium-235 isotope, which splits in a chain reaction and releases ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Enrichment_at_heart_of_Iran_nuclear_programme_999.html
Senior Iran MP says 'better' to buy nuclear fuel
Senior Iran MP says 'better' to buy nuclear fuel
Tehran (AFP) Oct 24, 2009 - Iran would be better off buying nuclear fuel directly than entering into a UN-brokered deal for a third party to enrich its uranium, a senior lawmaker said on Saturday. Alaeddin Borujerdi, head of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, also said Iran's low-enriched uranium (LEU) should be retained and used in power plants. "It is better to buy 20 percent enriched ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Senior_Iran_MP_says_better_to_buy_nuclear_fuel_999.html
Tehran (AFP) Oct 24, 2009 - Iran would be better off buying nuclear fuel directly than entering into a UN-brokered deal for a third party to enrich its uranium, a senior lawmaker said on Saturday. Alaeddin Borujerdi, head of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, also said Iran's low-enriched uranium (LEU) should be retained and used in power plants. "It is better to buy 20 percent enriched ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Senior_Iran_MP_says_better_to_buy_nuclear_fuel_999.html
Japanese firms to develop small nuclear reactors: report
Japanese firms to develop small nuclear reactors: report
Tokyo (AFP) Oct 24, 2009 - Japan's major nuclear reactor manufacturers have begun developing small nuclear power systems for both developed and emerging countries, a report said on Saturday. Toshiba Corp. is developing an ultra-compact reactor with an output of about 10,000 kilowatts and has started procedures for approval in the United States, the Nikkei business daily said. The new reactor, the Toshiba 4S, is ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Japanese_firms_to_develop_small_nuclear_reactors_report_999.html
Tokyo (AFP) Oct 24, 2009 - Japan's major nuclear reactor manufacturers have begun developing small nuclear power systems for both developed and emerging countries, a report said on Saturday. Toshiba Corp. is developing an ultra-compact reactor with an output of about 10,000 kilowatts and has started procedures for approval in the United States, the Nikkei business daily said. The new reactor, the Toshiba 4S, is ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Japanese_firms_to_develop_small_nuclear_reactors_report_999.html
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Will U.S. Tactical Nuclear Weapons Be Positioned In South Korea?
Will U.S. Tactical Nuclear Weapons Be Positioned In South Korea?
from War News Updates by Bookyards
U.S. soldiers take part in a joint military drill with South Korean soldiers north of Seoul in early June. KIM JIN-TAE / AFP / Getty
Calls For Nuclear Weapons In South Korea -- UPI
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- With the U.S. defense chief in Seoul for security talks, a group of scholars and retired military officials have called for a redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea to counter North Korea's nuclear drive.
They also urged the United States to delay the planned transfer of wartime control of South Korean troops to Seoul beyond 2012, citing lingering threats from the North.
Read more ....http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2009/10/21/Calls-for-nuclear-weapons-in-South-Korea/UPI-51191256130461/
from War News Updates by Bookyards
U.S. soldiers take part in a joint military drill with South Korean soldiers north of Seoul in early June. KIM JIN-TAE / AFP / Getty
Calls For Nuclear Weapons In South Korea -- UPI
SEOUL, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- With the U.S. defense chief in Seoul for security talks, a group of scholars and retired military officials have called for a redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea to counter North Korea's nuclear drive.
They also urged the United States to delay the planned transfer of wartime control of South Korean troops to Seoul beyond 2012, citing lingering threats from the North.
Read more ....http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Special/2009/10/21/Calls-for-nuclear-weapons-in-South-Korea/UPI-51191256130461/
How Big Is North Korea's Nuclear Program
How Big Is North Korea's Nuclear Program
from War News Updates by Bookyards
North Korean Nuclear Arms Program Has 20 Sites, 3,000 Workers, South Says -- Global Security Newswire
South Korea said yesterday that North Korea's nuclear-weapon operations involve 20 facilities employing 3,000 personnel, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Oct. 22).
Lawmaker Lee Mi-kyung, reading from a South Korean Unification Ministry report, said that there are roughly 200 scientists and researchers among the North's nuclear work force. The Yongbyon nuclear complex contains 11 of the nuclear-related sites, while nine uranium mines and related facilities are found at two other locations.
The Unification Ministry did not dispute the data.
Read more ....
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20091023_6221.php
from War News Updates by Bookyards
North Korean Nuclear Arms Program Has 20 Sites, 3,000 Workers, South Says -- Global Security Newswire
South Korea said yesterday that North Korea's nuclear-weapon operations involve 20 facilities employing 3,000 personnel, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Oct. 22).
Lawmaker Lee Mi-kyung, reading from a South Korean Unification Ministry report, said that there are roughly 200 scientists and researchers among the North's nuclear work force. The Yongbyon nuclear complex contains 11 of the nuclear-related sites, while nine uranium mines and related facilities are found at two other locations.
The Unification Ministry did not dispute the data.
Read more ....
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20091023_6221.php
Major Nuclear Agreement Reached In The Middle East .... But No One Is Reporting It from War News Updates by Bookyards
Major Nuclear Agreement Reached In The Middle East .... But No One Is Reporting It
from War News Updates by Bookyards
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (right) shakes hands with United Arab Emirates Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The two countries are now completing an unprecedented cooperation deal for nuclear power in the Middle East. Jonathan Ernst / Reuters-Landov
Yes, Virginia, There is a Mideast Nuke Deal -- Newsweek
While negotiations with Iran are hitting snags at every turn, the U.S. has quietly inked a massive nuclear deal with Iran's neighbor, the United Arab Emirates.
On Friday, the world awaited Iran's decision on a proposal by Western powers that the country outsource its uranium enrichment. Enriching uranium is the key step to making a bomb, so, the thinking went, if Iran is indeed sincere about wanting a peaceful nuclear-power program, a perfect fix would be to unload the supersensitive process to one of the big nuclear states, such as Russia. Iran would build its own power plants, and everyone would be happy. No such agreement was reached, however. Iran's counteroffer remains private, but what's known is that Iran offered to buy fuel abroad but made no commitment to halt enrichment.
Read more .... http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2009/10/major-nuclear-agreement-reached-in.html
I find it amazing that on such an important issue, there is no discussion or debate in Congress, the media, or among those in the Middle East who are concerned about nuclear issues. Even those who are concerned about nuclear proliferation issues are quiet ....
Kudos to Newsweek for covering this story .... a story that (probably) everyone will forget about tomorrow.
http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2009/10/major-nuclear-agreement-reached-in.html
from War News Updates by Bookyards
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (right) shakes hands with United Arab Emirates Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The two countries are now completing an unprecedented cooperation deal for nuclear power in the Middle East. Jonathan Ernst / Reuters-Landov
Yes, Virginia, There is a Mideast Nuke Deal -- Newsweek
While negotiations with Iran are hitting snags at every turn, the U.S. has quietly inked a massive nuclear deal with Iran's neighbor, the United Arab Emirates.
On Friday, the world awaited Iran's decision on a proposal by Western powers that the country outsource its uranium enrichment. Enriching uranium is the key step to making a bomb, so, the thinking went, if Iran is indeed sincere about wanting a peaceful nuclear-power program, a perfect fix would be to unload the supersensitive process to one of the big nuclear states, such as Russia. Iran would build its own power plants, and everyone would be happy. No such agreement was reached, however. Iran's counteroffer remains private, but what's known is that Iran offered to buy fuel abroad but made no commitment to halt enrichment.
Read more .... http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2009/10/major-nuclear-agreement-reached-in.html
I find it amazing that on such an important issue, there is no discussion or debate in Congress, the media, or among those in the Middle East who are concerned about nuclear issues. Even those who are concerned about nuclear proliferation issues are quiet ....
Kudos to Newsweek for covering this story .... a story that (probably) everyone will forget about tomorrow.
http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2009/10/major-nuclear-agreement-reached-in.html
Friday, October 23, 2009
Suicide bomber strikes suspected nuclear weapons site in Pakistan
Suicide bomber strikes suspected nuclear weapons site in Pakistan
By Saeed Shah | McClatchy Newspapers
ISLAMABAD — A suspected nuclear weapons site in Pakistan was hit by a suicide bomb attack, raising fears about the security of the nuclear arsenal, while two other terrorist blasts made it another bloody day in the country’s struggle against extremism.
Increasingly daring and sophisticated attacks by terrorists allied to al Qaida on some of Pakistan’s most sensitive and best protected installations have led to warnings that extremists could damage a nuclear facility or seize some nuclear material. The country’s nuclear sites are located mostly in the northwest of the country, close to the capital Islamabad, to keep them away from the border with arch-enemy India. However, that places them close to Pakistani Taliban extremists, who are massed in the northwest. Al Qaida has made clear its ambitions to get hold of a nuclear bomb or knowledge of nuclear technology. Several other sites associated with Pakistan’s nuclear weapons have previously been hit.
Pakistan is reeling from a wave of terrorist violence that’s coincided with the launch of a U.S.-backed ground operation by the military against the country’s al Qaida and Taliban heartland of South Waziristan, on the Afghan border.
Friday morning a suicide attacker struck a check post on the boundary of the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, an Air Force base at Kamra, about 40 miles outside Islamabad, killing eight people, including two security personnel, and wounding a further 15.
"There were strict security arrangements, so he [the bomber] was intercepted at the first check post," local police chief Fakhar Sultan told reporters.
More…
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/77650.html
By Saeed Shah | McClatchy Newspapers
ISLAMABAD — A suspected nuclear weapons site in Pakistan was hit by a suicide bomb attack, raising fears about the security of the nuclear arsenal, while two other terrorist blasts made it another bloody day in the country’s struggle against extremism.
Increasingly daring and sophisticated attacks by terrorists allied to al Qaida on some of Pakistan’s most sensitive and best protected installations have led to warnings that extremists could damage a nuclear facility or seize some nuclear material. The country’s nuclear sites are located mostly in the northwest of the country, close to the capital Islamabad, to keep them away from the border with arch-enemy India. However, that places them close to Pakistani Taliban extremists, who are massed in the northwest. Al Qaida has made clear its ambitions to get hold of a nuclear bomb or knowledge of nuclear technology. Several other sites associated with Pakistan’s nuclear weapons have previously been hit.
Pakistan is reeling from a wave of terrorist violence that’s coincided with the launch of a U.S.-backed ground operation by the military against the country’s al Qaida and Taliban heartland of South Waziristan, on the Afghan border.
Friday morning a suicide attacker struck a check post on the boundary of the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, an Air Force base at Kamra, about 40 miles outside Islamabad, killing eight people, including two security personnel, and wounding a further 15.
"There were strict security arrangements, so he [the bomber] was intercepted at the first check post," local police chief Fakhar Sultan told reporters.
More…
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/77650.html
Thursday, October 22, 2009
From Secrecy News: NOZETTE AND NUCLEAR ROCKETRY
NOZETTE AND NUCLEAR ROCKETRY
Stewart D. Nozette, who was arrested and charged this week under the Espionage Act, is an unusually gifted and accomplished technologist. The allegation that he provided classified information to an FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer in exchange for cash is distressing on several levels. http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/the-scientist-who-mistook-himself-for-a-spy/
Among other things, Nozette had exceptionally broad access to a range of classified programs in defense, space and nuclear technology. According to an FBI affidavit
http://www.fas.org/irp/ops/ci/nozette-complaint.pdf, (pdf), Nozette stated that he "held a DOE Q clearance from 1990-2000, which involved insight into all aspects of nuclear weapons programs. Held TS/SI/TK/B/G clearance 1998-2006,... Held at least 20+ SAP [special access program clearances]... from 1998-2004."
In fact, however, Nozette's participation in Department of Defense special access programs dates back even earlier, to 1990 or so. At that time he was read into an unacknowledged special access program called Timber Wind (pdf), which was an effort by the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization to develop a rocket engine powered by a nuclear reactor. Dr. Nozette's name appears on a Timber Wind master access list we obtained which identified the several hundred persons who were authorized to be briefed on that nuclear rocket program.
The discovery of the hyper-classified Timber Wind program http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/dod/tw.pdf, was an inspiration for the FAS Project on Government Secrecy, since we considered it a compelling instance of classification abuse. On a number of occasions I asked Dr. Nozette about the program, but he was always quite scrupulous about rebuffing my inquiries.
Timber Wind was canceled shortly after it became public, and other nuclear rocket initiatives likewise faded away in the 1990s, as the effort to develop nuclear rocketry for military or civilian applications surged and then collapsed, leaving behind only a bunch of good stories.
An idiosyncratic new memoir by Tony Zuppero, one of the would-be nuclear rocketeers, tells those stories as he recalls them, with sometimes alarming candor, humor, and disappointment. Dr. Zuppero had his own concept of a nuclear rocket that would open a path for human expansion into the solar system. But, he laments, "after all the effort, all the visions, I got old instead of making it happen."
Dr. Nozette, myself and the Federation of American Scientists make a few cameo appearances in Dr. Zuppero's new memoir, entitled "To Inhabit the Solar System" (pdf).http://www.neofuel.com/inhabit/inhabit.pdf
Stewart D. Nozette, who was arrested and charged this week under the Espionage Act, is an unusually gifted and accomplished technologist. The allegation that he provided classified information to an FBI agent posing as an Israeli intelligence officer in exchange for cash is distressing on several levels. http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/the-scientist-who-mistook-himself-for-a-spy/
Among other things, Nozette had exceptionally broad access to a range of classified programs in defense, space and nuclear technology. According to an FBI affidavit
http://www.fas.org/irp/ops/ci/nozette-complaint.pdf, (pdf), Nozette stated that he "held a DOE Q clearance from 1990-2000, which involved insight into all aspects of nuclear weapons programs. Held TS/SI/TK/B/G clearance 1998-2006,... Held at least 20+ SAP [special access program clearances]... from 1998-2004."
In fact, however, Nozette's participation in Department of Defense special access programs dates back even earlier, to 1990 or so. At that time he was read into an unacknowledged special access program called Timber Wind (pdf), which was an effort by the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization to develop a rocket engine powered by a nuclear reactor. Dr. Nozette's name appears on a Timber Wind master access list we obtained which identified the several hundred persons who were authorized to be briefed on that nuclear rocket program.
The discovery of the hyper-classified Timber Wind program http://www.fas.org/sgp/othergov/dod/tw.pdf, was an inspiration for the FAS Project on Government Secrecy, since we considered it a compelling instance of classification abuse. On a number of occasions I asked Dr. Nozette about the program, but he was always quite scrupulous about rebuffing my inquiries.
Timber Wind was canceled shortly after it became public, and other nuclear rocket initiatives likewise faded away in the 1990s, as the effort to develop nuclear rocketry for military or civilian applications surged and then collapsed, leaving behind only a bunch of good stories.
An idiosyncratic new memoir by Tony Zuppero, one of the would-be nuclear rocketeers, tells those stories as he recalls them, with sometimes alarming candor, humor, and disappointment. Dr. Zuppero had his own concept of a nuclear rocket that would open a path for human expansion into the solar system. But, he laments, "after all the effort, all the visions, I got old instead of making it happen."
Dr. Nozette, myself and the Federation of American Scientists make a few cameo appearances in Dr. Zuppero's new memoir, entitled "To Inhabit the Solar System" (pdf).http://www.neofuel.com/inhabit/inhabit.pdf
U.S. Pressures Japan on Military Package John Pomfret and Blaine Harden, The Washington Post
U.S. Pressures Japan on Military Package
John Pomfret and Blaine Harden, The Washington Post
Worried about a new direction in Japan's foreign policy, the Obama administration warned the Tokyo government Wednesday of serious consequences if it reneges on a military realignment plan formulated to deal with a rising China.
Full Article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR2009102100746.html
* Japan-U.S. Missile Defense Faces Budget Limits
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE59K1G220091021
John Pomfret and Blaine Harden, The Washington Post
Worried about a new direction in Japan's foreign policy, the Obama administration warned the Tokyo government Wednesday of serious consequences if it reneges on a military realignment plan formulated to deal with a rising China.
Full Article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/21/AR2009102100746.html
* Japan-U.S. Missile Defense Faces Budget Limits
http://www.reuters.com/article/politicsNews/idUSTRE59K1G220091021
Poland to Accept U.S. Offer on Shield Judy Dempsey, The New York Times
Poland to Accept U.S. Offer on Shield
Judy Dempsey, The New York Times
Poland, smarting after President Obama announced last month that he would scrap Bush-era plans to deploy an antiballistic missile system in Eastern Europe, will accept an offer to host parts of a new, more mobile, missile defense system, Polish officials said Tuesday.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/world/europe/21biden.html?_r=1
Judy Dempsey, The New York Times
Poland, smarting after President Obama announced last month that he would scrap Bush-era plans to deploy an antiballistic missile system in Eastern Europe, will accept an offer to host parts of a new, more mobile, missile defense system, Polish officials said Tuesday.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/world/europe/21biden.html?_r=1
Iran, 3 Powers Have Till Friday to OK Nuclear Deal Mark Heinrich and Sylvia Westall, Reuters
Iran, 3 Powers Have Till Friday to OK Nuclear Deal
Mark Heinrich and Sylvia Westall, Reuters
The U.N. nuclear watchdog presented on Wednesday a draft deal to Iran and three world powers for approval within two days to reduce Tehran's stockpile of enriched uranium, seen by the West as a nuclear weapons risk.
Full Article
http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-43326520091022?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
Mark Heinrich and Sylvia Westall, Reuters
The U.N. nuclear watchdog presented on Wednesday a draft deal to Iran and three world powers for approval within two days to reduce Tehran's stockpile of enriched uranium, seen by the West as a nuclear weapons risk.
Full Article
http://in.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idINIndia-43326520091022?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0
Iran Brings Urgency to U.S.'s Need to Ratify Nuclear-Test Treaty
Iran Brings Urgency to U.S.'s Need to Ratify Nuclear-Test Treaty
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=24023#
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=24023#
This Time, Ban the Test Jessica Tuchman Mathews, International Herald Tribune
This Time, Ban the Test
Jessica Tuchman Mathews, International Herald Tribune
Nuclear TestTen years ago, the Senate rejected a treaty to ban nuclear testing.
To many, this was shocking. After more than 1,000 tests there was nothing of military value left for the United States to learn unless it wanted new warheads. The Cold War had been over for a decade and the U.S. arsenal already had more warheads than imaginable targets. American conventional superiority was enormous and growing. Full Article
http://carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=24021
Jessica Tuchman Mathews, International Herald Tribune
Nuclear TestTen years ago, the Senate rejected a treaty to ban nuclear testing.
To many, this was shocking. After more than 1,000 tests there was nothing of military value left for the United States to learn unless it wanted new warheads. The Cold War had been over for a decade and the U.S. arsenal already had more warheads than imaginable targets. American conventional superiority was enormous and growing. Full Article
http://carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=24021
Nuclear Weapons In The News
Nuclear Weapons In The News
Clinton Says Atomic Agency Need Broader Authority to Find Nuclear Storage Sites
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=art3luRBJP8s
Terror threat to Pakistan increasing but nukes safe for now: Clinton
http://blog.taragana.com/n/terror-threat-to-pak-increasing-but-nukes-safe-for-now-clinton-203026/
Sec. Clinton: Sanctions On A Nuclear North Korea Will Not Be Relaxed
http://talkradionews.com/2009/10/clinton-sanctions-on-a-nuclear-north-korea-will-not-be-relaxed/
Sec Clinton: You Can Have Too Many Nuclear Weapons
http://www.democracyarsenal.org/2009/10/sec-clinton-you-can-have-too-many-nuclear-weapons.html
Clinton Says Atomic Agency Need Broader Authority to Find Nuclear Storage Sites
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=art3luRBJP8s
Terror threat to Pakistan increasing but nukes safe for now: Clinton
http://blog.taragana.com/n/terror-threat-to-pak-increasing-but-nukes-safe-for-now-clinton-203026/
Sec. Clinton: Sanctions On A Nuclear North Korea Will Not Be Relaxed
http://talkradionews.com/2009/10/clinton-sanctions-on-a-nuclear-north-korea-will-not-be-relaxed/
Sec Clinton: You Can Have Too Many Nuclear Weapons
http://www.democracyarsenal.org/2009/10/sec-clinton-you-can-have-too-many-nuclear-weapons.html
Iran OKs Draft of Deal on Exporting Nuclear Fuel
Iran OKs Draft of Deal on Exporting Nuclear Fuel
http://news.antiwar.com/2009/10/21/iran-agrees-on-uranium-enrichment-deal/
Iran 'Has Not Paid Russia' in 'Frozen' Missile Deal
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091021/wl_mideast_afp/russiairanmilitarydefence
Clinton Calls for Strengthened IAEA Powers
http://original.antiwar.com/lobe/2009/10/21/clinton-calls-for-strengthened-iaea-powers/
http://news.antiwar.com/2009/10/21/iran-agrees-on-uranium-enrichment-deal/
Iran 'Has Not Paid Russia' in 'Frozen' Missile Deal
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091021/wl_mideast_afp/russiairanmilitarydefence
Clinton Calls for Strengthened IAEA Powers
http://original.antiwar.com/lobe/2009/10/21/clinton-calls-for-strengthened-iaea-powers/
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
U.S. climate bill needs more nuclear energy incentives, Chu says
U.S. climate bill needs more nuclear energy incentives, Chu says
The U.S. must lead in the advancement of clean-energy technologies, a move that would help spur economic growth, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said. He also urged inclusion of more nuclear-power incentives in proposed climate legislation, which would help the country generate more carbon-free power and could win the support of Republican senators. Reuters (10/20)
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE59J4PT20091020
The U.S. must lead in the advancement of clean-energy technologies, a move that would help spur economic growth, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said. He also urged inclusion of more nuclear-power incentives in proposed climate legislation, which would help the country generate more carbon-free power and could win the support of Republican senators. Reuters (10/20)
http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-GreenBusiness/idUSTRE59J4PT20091020
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
U.S. Seeks to Keep Watching Russia's Weapons
U.S. Seeks to Keep Watching Russia's Weapons
Thom Shanker and Peter Baker, The New York Times
With a key arms control treaty set to expire soon, the Obama administration is searching for ways to keep inspectors in Russia or else it risks losing American eyes on the world’s second most formidable nuclear weapons arsenal for the first time in decades.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/world/europe/20arms.html
Thom Shanker and Peter Baker, The New York Times
With a key arms control treaty set to expire soon, the Obama administration is searching for ways to keep inspectors in Russia or else it risks losing American eyes on the world’s second most formidable nuclear weapons arsenal for the first time in decades.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/world/europe/20arms.html
International Commission Weighs No-First Use of Nukes
International Commission Weighs No-First Use of Nukes
Atsuko Tannai and Hiroyuki Maegawa, The Asahi Shimbun
Discussions by an international commission that started Sunday are expected to focus on the need to call on nations to pledge not to use nuclear weapons except in retaliation against a nuclear attack.
Full Article
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200910190053.html
Atsuko Tannai and Hiroyuki Maegawa, The Asahi Shimbun
Discussions by an international commission that started Sunday are expected to focus on the need to call on nations to pledge not to use nuclear weapons except in retaliation against a nuclear attack.
Full Article
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200910190053.html
Nuclear Talks Delayed as Iran Objects to France
Nuclear Talks Delayed as Iran Objects to France
Simon Morgan, Agence France-Presse
Nuclear talks between Iran and world powers were held up Tuesday after Iran said it did not want France to be part of any deal on uranium enrichment.
Full Article
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jWloScbNGHhrQtQcZcIAKasg-xjA
Simon Morgan, Agence France-Presse
Nuclear talks between Iran and world powers were held up Tuesday after Iran said it did not want France to be part of any deal on uranium enrichment.
Full Article
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jWloScbNGHhrQtQcZcIAKasg-xjA
Why a Month Matters
Why a Month Matters
Nima Gerami and James M. Acton, Foreign Policy
AhmadinejadSince the Oct. 1 meeting between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany), the fuel-supply agreement for the Tehran research reactor has dominated expert discussion about Iran's nuclear program. This focus has obscured another potentially important but less positive development -- Iran's delay in permitting inspectors to visit its previously undeclared enrichment facility near Qom. Iran, as required by its safeguards obligations, has promised to grant the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to the Qom facility. Although this is certainly welcome, access to the site will not be granted until Oct. 25, more than a month after Iran first acknowledged the facility's existence in a Sept. 21 letter to the IAEA.
Full Article
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=24009
* Dealing with Iran: The Power of Legitimacy
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=23971&prog=zgp&proj=znpp
Nima Gerami and James M. Acton, Foreign Policy
AhmadinejadSince the Oct. 1 meeting between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany), the fuel-supply agreement for the Tehran research reactor has dominated expert discussion about Iran's nuclear program. This focus has obscured another potentially important but less positive development -- Iran's delay in permitting inspectors to visit its previously undeclared enrichment facility near Qom. Iran, as required by its safeguards obligations, has promised to grant the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) access to the Qom facility. Although this is certainly welcome, access to the site will not be granted until Oct. 25, more than a month after Iran first acknowledged the facility's existence in a Sept. 21 letter to the IAEA.
Full Article
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=24009
* Dealing with Iran: The Power of Legitimacy
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=23971&prog=zgp&proj=znpp
Saudi-Iranian hostility hits boiling point
Saudi-Iranian hostility hits boiling point
Escalating tensions between Riyadh and Tehran may have played a role in Sunday's suicide strike that killed seven senior commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps as well as 42 other people in Iran's southeast. Riyadh is concerned that Iran's growing power will erode Saudi pre-eminence in the region, and the Saudis might have a vested interest in disrupting the United States-Iran nuclear talks. - M K Bhadrakumar (Oct 20, '09)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KJ21Ak03.html
Escalating tensions between Riyadh and Tehran may have played a role in Sunday's suicide strike that killed seven senior commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps as well as 42 other people in Iran's southeast. Riyadh is concerned that Iran's growing power will erode Saudi pre-eminence in the region, and the Saudis might have a vested interest in disrupting the United States-Iran nuclear talks. - M K Bhadrakumar (Oct 20, '09)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KJ21Ak03.html
Government aid may quicken pace of nuclear revival
Government aid may quicken pace of nuclear revival
The success of the nuclear renaissance hinges on three aspects -- the cost of new reactors, future competition from renewable sources and future fossil fuel prices, according to this opinion article. The U.S. nuclear industry touts unprecedented safety and efficiency records and stands ready to expand in the near future. MIT Technology Review
http://www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_article.aspx?id=23709&c
The success of the nuclear renaissance hinges on three aspects -- the cost of new reactors, future competition from renewable sources and future fossil fuel prices, according to this opinion article. The U.S. nuclear industry touts unprecedented safety and efficiency records and stands ready to expand in the near future. MIT Technology Review
http://www.technologyreview.com/printer_friendly_article.aspx?id=23709&c
Special Report - Energy - The Dilemma of Aging Nuclear Plants ...
Special Report - Energy - The Dilemma of Aging Nuclear Plants ...
The 40-year life span was a design specification, said Guillaume Wack, director for nuclear plants at the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire, or A.S.N., ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/business/global/20renuke.html?scp=1&sq=Guillaume%20Wack&st=cse
The 40-year life span was a design specification, said Guillaume Wack, director for nuclear plants at the Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire, or A.S.N., ...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/business/global/20renuke.html?scp=1&sq=Guillaume%20Wack&st=cse
Considering an Alternative Fuel for Nuclear Energy
Considering an Alternative Fuel for Nuclear Energy
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/business/global/20renthorium.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=%20Rajendran%20Raja&st=cse
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/20/business/global/20renthorium.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=%20Rajendran%20Raja&st=cse
Pakistani nuclear forces, 2009 BY ROBERT S. NORRIS AND HANS M. KRISTENSEN
Pakistani nuclear forces, 2009
BY ROBERT S. NORRIS AND HANS M. KRISTENSEN
Pakistan is enhancing its nuclear weapon capabilities across the board by developing and deploying new nuclear-capable missiles and expanding its capacity to produce fissile materials for use in weapons.
http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/f828323447768858/?p=acb64a3f200e4a5bb5a76a65804b0802&pi=7
BY ROBERT S. NORRIS AND HANS M. KRISTENSEN
Pakistan is enhancing its nuclear weapon capabilities across the board by developing and deploying new nuclear-capable missiles and expanding its capacity to produce fissile materials for use in weapons.
http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/f828323447768858/?p=acb64a3f200e4a5bb5a76a65804b0802&pi=7
India's quest for dual-use technology Premium BY MATTHEW HOEY
India's quest for dual-use technology Premium
BY MATTHEW HOEY
Over the last 10 years, India has taken on a significant challenge: become a great power in space-, missile-, and nanotechnology, and do it with the help of a new friend--the United States. But is U.S.-Indian technology-sharing still seen as harmless international engagement?
http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/f7u36363444757v8/?p=5b7aa5de8cef466fa33441a027d51e5c&pi=4
BY MATTHEW HOEY
Over the last 10 years, India has taken on a significant challenge: become a great power in space-, missile-, and nanotechnology, and do it with the help of a new friend--the United States. But is U.S.-Indian technology-sharing still seen as harmless international engagement?
http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/f7u36363444757v8/?p=5b7aa5de8cef466fa33441a027d51e5c&pi=4
Manipulating Public Perceptions Game Plan: If Israel Strikes Iran First By Dan Raviv
Manipulating Public Perceptions
Game Plan: If Israel Strikes Iran First
By Dan Raviv
Retired General Says Israeli Attack to Take Out Iran's Nuclear Facilities Not Only Possible, the U.S. Should Join In. Continue
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23750.htm
Game Plan: If Israel Strikes Iran First
By Dan Raviv
Retired General Says Israeli Attack to Take Out Iran's Nuclear Facilities Not Only Possible, the U.S. Should Join In. Continue
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23750.htm
Iranian Nuclear Threat Hyped: ElBaradei:
Iranian Nuclear Threat Hyped: ElBaradei:
By Jerusalem Post Staff
The greatest danger in the region, according to ElBaradei, comes from the possibility of an Israeli air strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. Continue
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23751.htm
By Jerusalem Post Staff
The greatest danger in the region, according to ElBaradei, comes from the possibility of an Israeli air strike on Iran's nuclear facilities. Continue
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article23751.htm
Iran warns the West ahead of new nuclear talks
Iran warns the West ahead of new nuclear talks
Vienna (AFP) Oct 19, 2009 - Iran headed into new talks with world powers on its nuclear programme on Monday vowing to step up it uranium enrichment if it does not get what it wants from the negotiations. Iran is to hold talks at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on a proposal for Russia and France to enrich fuel for a research reactor. This would require Iran to hand over the uranium which many western ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iran_warns_the_West_ahead_of_new_nuclear_talks_999.html
Vienna (AFP) Oct 19, 2009 - Iran headed into new talks with world powers on its nuclear programme on Monday vowing to step up it uranium enrichment if it does not get what it wants from the negotiations. Iran is to hold talks at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on a proposal for Russia and France to enrich fuel for a research reactor. This would require Iran to hand over the uranium which many western ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iran_warns_the_West_ahead_of_new_nuclear_talks_999.html
China pointing about 1,500 missiles at Taiwan: Taipei official
China pointing about 1,500 missiles at Taiwan: Taipei official
Taipei (AFP) Oct 19, 2009 - China now has about 1,500 missiles pointed at Taiwan, with no signs that the build-up is about to stop anytime soon, a spokesman for the island's government said Monday. The figure includes short-range ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, the defence ministry spokesman told AFP on condition of anonymity. "The number of missiles has been rising. We don't know when it will stop ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/China_pointing_about_1500_missiles_at_Taiwan_Taipei_official_999.html
Taipei (AFP) Oct 19, 2009 - China now has about 1,500 missiles pointed at Taiwan, with no signs that the build-up is about to stop anytime soon, a spokesman for the island's government said Monday. The figure includes short-range ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, the defence ministry spokesman told AFP on condition of anonymity. "The number of missiles has been rising. We don't know when it will stop ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/China_pointing_about_1500_missiles_at_Taiwan_Taipei_official_999.html
Monday, October 19, 2009
IAEA Discussing Uranium-Enrichment Plan with Iran
IAEA Discussing Uranium-Enrichment Plan with Iran
from VOA News: Top Stories
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-19-voa23.cfm?rss=topstories
from VOA News: Top Stories
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-10-19-voa23.cfm?rss=topstories
Companies set sights on UAE nuclear project worth $41B
* Companies set sights on UAE nuclear project worth $41B
Local and international companies reportedly are setting up offices in Abu Dhabi to be part of a civilian nuclear-power project in the United Arab Emirates that could generate about $41 billion over the next decade. A U.S. commercial nuclear energy mission, which would be coordinated by the Nuclear Energy Institute and the U.S.-UAE Business Council, is scheduled to visit the UAE in December. The visit aims to build and expand relationships with UAE civilian suppliers, contractors and potential partners. Emirates Business 24/7 (United Arab Emirates) (10/18)
http://www.business24-7.ae/Articles/2009/10/Pages/17102009/10182009_4a730c461230417abe1e634a5f9d623b.aspx
Local and international companies reportedly are setting up offices in Abu Dhabi to be part of a civilian nuclear-power project in the United Arab Emirates that could generate about $41 billion over the next decade. A U.S. commercial nuclear energy mission, which would be coordinated by the Nuclear Energy Institute and the U.S.-UAE Business Council, is scheduled to visit the UAE in December. The visit aims to build and expand relationships with UAE civilian suppliers, contractors and potential partners. Emirates Business 24/7 (United Arab Emirates) (10/18)
http://www.business24-7.ae/Articles/2009/10/Pages/17102009/10182009_4a730c461230417abe1e634a5f9d623b.aspx
India allocates nuclear sites to U.S.-led consortia
* India allocates nuclear sites to U.S.-led consortia
India has agreed to allocate sites in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh for the construction of nuclear facilities by U.S.-led groups as part of an expanded cooperation agreement between the two countries to promote peaceful uses of nuclear power. "This development not only promises to deliver greater access to clean and affordable energy and electricity for all Indians, it will also produce jobs and economic opportunities for the people of both India and the U.S.," said U.S. Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer. The Hindu (India) (10/19)
http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/19/stories/2009101957560100.htm
India has agreed to allocate sites in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh for the construction of nuclear facilities by U.S.-led groups as part of an expanded cooperation agreement between the two countries to promote peaceful uses of nuclear power. "This development not only promises to deliver greater access to clean and affordable energy and electricity for all Indians, it will also produce jobs and economic opportunities for the people of both India and the U.S.," said U.S. Ambassador to India Timothy Roemer. The Hindu (India) (10/19)
http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/19/stories/2009101957560100.htm
Iran to seek guaranteed supply of nuclear fuel at Vienna
Iran to seek guaranteed supply of nuclear fuel at Vienna
Tehran (AFP) Oct 18, 2009 - Iran will enter Vienna talks with the major powers on Monday seeking a guaranteed supply of 20 percent enriched uranium and insisting it will make up any shortfall by domestic production, officials say. Iranian analysts say Tehran will also attempt to allay concerns over its nuclear programme, which Western governments suspect is cover for a drive for a bomb, something the Islamic republic ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Iran_to_seek_guaranteed_supply_of_nuclear_fuel_at_Vienna_999.html
Tehran (AFP) Oct 18, 2009 - Iran will enter Vienna talks with the major powers on Monday seeking a guaranteed supply of 20 percent enriched uranium and insisting it will make up any shortfall by domestic production, officials say. Iranian analysts say Tehran will also attempt to allay concerns over its nuclear programme, which Western governments suspect is cover for a drive for a bomb, something the Islamic republic ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Iran_to_seek_guaranteed_supply_of_nuclear_fuel_at_Vienna_999.html
Sunday, October 18, 2009
The Arms Build-Up In India Is Now Getting Attention from War News Updates by Bookyards
The Arms Build-Up In India Is Now Getting Attention
from War News Updates by Bookyards
The medium range, surface-to-surface Prithvi-2 missiles being test fired from mobile launchers at the Integrated Test Range, Balasore off the Orissa coast. Hindu Business
India’s Border Build-Up -- War Is Boring
China’s hostile attitude towards India and its continuing supply of advanced weaponry to Pakistan — most recently the Z9EC anti-submarine helicopter — is driving India into a weapons-acquisition and -modernization spree. Just in the last few weeks, Indian media reported that China has been issuing loose-sheet visas to Indian citizens from the state of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), in effect saying for the first time that China does not recognize J&K as Indian territory. Further, the impressive display of Chinese military power at its National Day parade on October 1 has not gone unnoticed in India.
Read more ....
http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2009/10/arms-build-up-in-india-is-now-getting.html
More News On India's Military Build-Up
And It's Relations With China
India, Russia agree arms pact likely worth $5 bln -- Reuters
http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-43190720091015
India, Russia to launch fifth generation fighter jets -- Economic Times of India
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/India-Russia-to-launch-fifth-generation-fighter-jets/articleshow/5127502.cms
India, Russia agree to extend military cooperation for 10 years -- Trak.in
http://trak.in/news/india-russia-agree-to-extend-military-cooperation-for-10-years/14488/
India tests nuclear-capable missiles -- Times of The Internet
http://www.timesoftheinternet.com/118348.html
India tests nuclear-capable missiles -- UPI
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2009/10/13/India-tests-nuclear-capable-missiles/UPI-27661255473720/
India Tests Nuke-Capable Missile Twice -- Defense News
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4321067&c=AIR&s=TOP
India, China will continue talks to resolve differences -- The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/17/stories/2009101758060100.htm
India and China in a tit-for-tat spat -- L.A. Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-india-china-tiff15-2009oct15,0,6951444.story
China worried over US-India military cooperation -- Rediff
http://news.rediff.com/column/2009/sep/24/china-worried-over-us-india-military-cooperation.htm
India and China: On A Collission Course? -- Reality Zone
http://realityzone-realityzone.blogspot.com/2009/10/india-and-china-on-collission-course.html
Geo-Strategic Chessboard: War Between India and China? -- Global Research
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7453
Chinese Threat on Border and India’s Defence Preparedness -- Mainstream
http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article1691.html
Dangerous Crossroads: U.S. Expands Asian NATO Against China, Russia -- Global Research
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15719
Bordering on Danger: A Sino-Indian boundary dispute risks flaring up -- Wall Street Journal opinion
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107204574474433189540954.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
from War News Updates by Bookyards
The medium range, surface-to-surface Prithvi-2 missiles being test fired from mobile launchers at the Integrated Test Range, Balasore off the Orissa coast. Hindu Business
India’s Border Build-Up -- War Is Boring
China’s hostile attitude towards India and its continuing supply of advanced weaponry to Pakistan — most recently the Z9EC anti-submarine helicopter — is driving India into a weapons-acquisition and -modernization spree. Just in the last few weeks, Indian media reported that China has been issuing loose-sheet visas to Indian citizens from the state of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), in effect saying for the first time that China does not recognize J&K as Indian territory. Further, the impressive display of Chinese military power at its National Day parade on October 1 has not gone unnoticed in India.
Read more ....
http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2009/10/arms-build-up-in-india-is-now-getting.html
More News On India's Military Build-Up
And It's Relations With China
India, Russia agree arms pact likely worth $5 bln -- Reuters
http://in.reuters.com/article/topNews/idINIndia-43190720091015
India, Russia to launch fifth generation fighter jets -- Economic Times of India
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/news-by-industry/transportation/airlines-/-aviation/India-Russia-to-launch-fifth-generation-fighter-jets/articleshow/5127502.cms
India, Russia agree to extend military cooperation for 10 years -- Trak.in
http://trak.in/news/india-russia-agree-to-extend-military-cooperation-for-10-years/14488/
India tests nuclear-capable missiles -- Times of The Internet
http://www.timesoftheinternet.com/118348.html
India tests nuclear-capable missiles -- UPI
http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2009/10/13/India-tests-nuclear-capable-missiles/UPI-27661255473720/
India Tests Nuke-Capable Missile Twice -- Defense News
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4321067&c=AIR&s=TOP
India, China will continue talks to resolve differences -- The Hindu
http://www.hindu.com/2009/10/17/stories/2009101758060100.htm
India and China in a tit-for-tat spat -- L.A. Times
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-india-china-tiff15-2009oct15,0,6951444.story
China worried over US-India military cooperation -- Rediff
http://news.rediff.com/column/2009/sep/24/china-worried-over-us-india-military-cooperation.htm
India and China: On A Collission Course? -- Reality Zone
http://realityzone-realityzone.blogspot.com/2009/10/india-and-china-on-collission-course.html
Geo-Strategic Chessboard: War Between India and China? -- Global Research
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=7453
Chinese Threat on Border and India’s Defence Preparedness -- Mainstream
http://www.mainstreamweekly.net/article1691.html
Dangerous Crossroads: U.S. Expands Asian NATO Against China, Russia -- Global Research
http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15719
Bordering on Danger: A Sino-Indian boundary dispute risks flaring up -- Wall Street Journal opinion
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107204574474433189540954.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
Is Kazakhstan Providing Nuclear Tech And Materials To Iran?
Is Kazakhstan Providing Nuclear Tech And Materials To Iran?
from War News Updates by Bookyards
Photo: Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev (left) and Iranian President Ahmadinejad in Kazakhstan
Next Nuclear Worry For US: Kazakhstan? -- Christian Science Monitor
So far, the former Soviet state has cooperated with the US on nuclear issues. But a new report suggests that Kazakhstan might be looking to do business with other, less responsible regimes, too.
Washington - Does Kazakhstan want to increase its nuclear commerce – doing deals with other nations that have mixed records when it comes to weapons proliferation? That is a sensitive issue which US intelligence appears to be following closely.
Since it gained independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan has cooperated with the US on key denuclearization activities. Nuclear weapons stationed on Kazakh territory were returned to Russia and their delivery systems destroyed.
Read more ....
http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2009/10/is-kazakhstan-providing-nuclear-tech.html
Update: Kazakh Nuclear Intentions Questioned in U.S. -- Global Security Newswire
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20091016_1476.php
Another worry for the Obama administration. So much for international sanctions against Iran.
from War News Updates by Bookyards
Photo: Kazakhstan President Nazarbayev (left) and Iranian President Ahmadinejad in Kazakhstan
Next Nuclear Worry For US: Kazakhstan? -- Christian Science Monitor
So far, the former Soviet state has cooperated with the US on nuclear issues. But a new report suggests that Kazakhstan might be looking to do business with other, less responsible regimes, too.
Washington - Does Kazakhstan want to increase its nuclear commerce – doing deals with other nations that have mixed records when it comes to weapons proliferation? That is a sensitive issue which US intelligence appears to be following closely.
Since it gained independence following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Kazakhstan has cooperated with the US on key denuclearization activities. Nuclear weapons stationed on Kazakh territory were returned to Russia and their delivery systems destroyed.
Read more ....
http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2009/10/is-kazakhstan-providing-nuclear-tech.html
Update: Kazakh Nuclear Intentions Questioned in U.S. -- Global Security Newswire
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20091016_1476.php
Another worry for the Obama administration. So much for international sanctions against Iran.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Dangerous Crossroads: U.S. Expands Asian NATO Against China, Russia
Dangerous Crossroads: U.S. Expands Asian NATO Against China, Russia
- by Rick Rozoff - 2009-10-17
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15719
- by Rick Rozoff - 2009-10-17
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=15719
Friday, October 16, 2009
How Can We Tell If A Country Is Making Nuclear Power Or Nuclear Weapons?
How Can We Tell If A Country Is Making Nuclear Power Or Nuclear Weapons?
Bombs or Power?: Centrifuges are usually arranged in a triangular cascade; the layout tips inspectors to its purpose. Weapons require heavily enriched uranium, so the triangle is long and narrow; power takes more fuel, so the cascade is short and fat. McKibillo
From Popular Science:
It's all about enrichment.
Just about everyone insists that Iran’s nuclear program is aimed at building weapons. Iran claims it only wants nuclear power. So how do weapons inspectors get at the truth? They study the country’s supply and treatment of uranium, one of the most abundant nuclear materials on the planet.
Read more ....
http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-can-we-tell-if-country-is-making.html
Comment: Kudos to Popular Science for writing a post that is easy for the layman to understand.
Bombs or Power?: Centrifuges are usually arranged in a triangular cascade; the layout tips inspectors to its purpose. Weapons require heavily enriched uranium, so the triangle is long and narrow; power takes more fuel, so the cascade is short and fat. McKibillo
From Popular Science:
It's all about enrichment.
Just about everyone insists that Iran’s nuclear program is aimed at building weapons. Iran claims it only wants nuclear power. So how do weapons inspectors get at the truth? They study the country’s supply and treatment of uranium, one of the most abundant nuclear materials on the planet.
Read more ....
http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2009/10/how-can-we-tell-if-country-is-making.html
Comment: Kudos to Popular Science for writing a post that is easy for the layman to understand.
The Language Of Limbo
The Language Of Limbo
From Threats Watch:
Language Indicates US Ceding Leadership And Principle To Russia On Iran.
Are we winning the diplomatic battle with Iran? Are we, for that matter, winning the diplomatic battle with Russia, which, with China, serves as Iran's principal protectorate? To put it necessarily bluntly, there is no indication that we are and every indication that we are indeed losing. Not simply losing, but ceding. A brief but careful examination of language reveals the unfortunate and frustrating truth.
Read more ....
My Comment: The short answer is no .... we are not winning the diplomatic battle with Iran, and what is worse is that Iran knows this.
Posted by Bookyards at 4:00 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: iran nuclear crisis
http://threatswatch.org/commentary/2009/10/the-language-of-limbo/
From Threats Watch:
Language Indicates US Ceding Leadership And Principle To Russia On Iran.
Are we winning the diplomatic battle with Iran? Are we, for that matter, winning the diplomatic battle with Russia, which, with China, serves as Iran's principal protectorate? To put it necessarily bluntly, there is no indication that we are and every indication that we are indeed losing. Not simply losing, but ceding. A brief but careful examination of language reveals the unfortunate and frustrating truth.
Read more ....
My Comment: The short answer is no .... we are not winning the diplomatic battle with Iran, and what is worse is that Iran knows this.
Posted by Bookyards at 4:00 AM 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: iran nuclear crisis
http://threatswatch.org/commentary/2009/10/the-language-of-limbo/
Areva plans nuclear fuel facility in Japan
Areva plans nuclear fuel facility in Japan
France's Areva announced it intends to construct a nuclear fuel-processing plant in Japan, more than doubling the nation's nuclear capacity in the face of rising demand. The facility, a joint project with Mitsubishi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, will be used to turn enriched uranium into uranium oxide, according to Areva executive Remy Autebert. Japan will add 12 reactors over the next 10 years, with its nuclear dependency expected to reach 40% by 2030. Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=aphLWO01YX6M
France's Areva announced it intends to construct a nuclear fuel-processing plant in Japan, more than doubling the nation's nuclear capacity in the face of rising demand. The facility, a joint project with Mitsubishi and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, will be used to turn enriched uranium into uranium oxide, according to Areva executive Remy Autebert. Japan will add 12 reactors over the next 10 years, with its nuclear dependency expected to reach 40% by 2030. Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=aphLWO01YX6M
Report: India forges civilian nuclear deal with Argentina
Report: India forges civilian nuclear deal with Argentina
India has signed a civilian nuclear agreement with Argentina. The nations' nuclear experts will join forces to "encourage and support scientific technical and commercial co-operation for mutual benefit in this field," according to a joint statement. Argentina became the seventh country to strike such a deal since the Nuclear Suppliers Group lifted its decades-long moratorium on nuclear commerce with India. The Hindu Business Line (India)
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/10/15/stories/2009101551491500.htm
India has signed a civilian nuclear agreement with Argentina. The nations' nuclear experts will join forces to "encourage and support scientific technical and commercial co-operation for mutual benefit in this field," according to a joint statement. Argentina became the seventh country to strike such a deal since the Nuclear Suppliers Group lifted its decades-long moratorium on nuclear commerce with India. The Hindu Business Line (India)
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/10/15/stories/2009101551491500.htm
Obama emphasizes need for nuclear energy to cut carbon emissions
Obama emphasizes need for nuclear energy to cut carbon emissions
President Barack Obama voiced support for the use of nuclear energy as the country looks for ways to curb greenhouse-gas emissions. "There's no reason why technologically we can't employ nuclear energy in a safe and effective way," Obama said during a conference in New Orleans. Reuters
http://in.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idINN1531614920091015
President Barack Obama voiced support for the use of nuclear energy as the country looks for ways to curb greenhouse-gas emissions. "There's no reason why technologically we can't employ nuclear energy in a safe and effective way," Obama said during a conference in New Orleans. Reuters
http://in.reuters.com/article/oilRpt/idINN1531614920091015
Israel will ensure 'survival' against Iran threat: minister
Israel will ensure 'survival' against Iran threat: minister
Brussels (AFP) Oct 15, 2009 - Israel reserves the right to take whatever action is needed to survive in the face of Iran's nuclear ambitions, the Jewish state's far-right infrastructure minister, Uzi Landau, said. "We'll take the actions that are necessary for our survival, we'll do whatever is necessary at that time," he told AFP late Wednesday, expressing regret that EU nations did not see the Islamic republic as a maj ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Israel_will_ensure_survival_against_Iran_threat_minister_999.html
Brussels (AFP) Oct 15, 2009 - Israel reserves the right to take whatever action is needed to survive in the face of Iran's nuclear ambitions, the Jewish state's far-right infrastructure minister, Uzi Landau, said. "We'll take the actions that are necessary for our survival, we'll do whatever is necessary at that time," he told AFP late Wednesday, expressing regret that EU nations did not see the Islamic republic as a maj ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Israel_will_ensure_survival_against_Iran_threat_minister_999.html
NKorea sees peace pact with US as key to nuclear disarmament
NKorea sees peace pact with US as key to nuclear disarmament
Seoul (AFP) Oct 14, 2009 - North Korea called Wednesday for a peace pact with the United States, saying this was a "most reasonable and practical" way to end the long standoff over its nuclear weapons programme. "A peace accord should be concluded between (North Korea) and the US if the nuclear issue on the peninsula is to be settled," the ruling communist party newspaper Rodong Sinmun said in a commentary. Such ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/NKorea_sees_peace_pact_with_US_as_key_to_nuclear_disarmament_999.html
Seoul (AFP) Oct 14, 2009 - North Korea called Wednesday for a peace pact with the United States, saying this was a "most reasonable and practical" way to end the long standoff over its nuclear weapons programme. "A peace accord should be concluded between (North Korea) and the US if the nuclear issue on the peninsula is to be settled," the ruling communist party newspaper Rodong Sinmun said in a commentary. Such ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/NKorea_sees_peace_pact_with_US_as_key_to_nuclear_disarmament_999.html
Obama's new missile defense plan
Obama's new missile defense plan
Warsaw, Poland (UPI) Oct 15, 2009 - Experts are optimistic that U.S. President Barack Obama's new missile defense plan for Eastern Europe is better than the old one. Obama's new plan, the so-called "phased, adaptive approach" for a European missile defense system features a combination of fixed (ground-based) and relocatable (on U.S. warships) Standard Missile 3 interceptors and radars that focuses mainly on the threat fr ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Obamas_new_missile_defense_plan_999.html
Warsaw, Poland (UPI) Oct 15, 2009 - Experts are optimistic that U.S. President Barack Obama's new missile defense plan for Eastern Europe is better than the old one. Obama's new plan, the so-called "phased, adaptive approach" for a European missile defense system features a combination of fixed (ground-based) and relocatable (on U.S. warships) Standard Missile 3 interceptors and radars that focuses mainly on the threat fr ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Obamas_new_missile_defense_plan_999.html
Too early' to focus on Iran sanctions: Russia's Putin
Too early' to focus on Iran sanctions: Russia's Putin
Beijing (AFP) Oct 14, 2009 - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that it was "too early" to discuss new sanctions against Iran, as world powers try to defuse the standoff over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme. Putin's comments, which came during a visit to Beijing, were his first since the revelation late last month that Iran is building a new uranium enrichment plant near its holy city of Qom, reviv ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Too_early_to_focus_on_Iran_sanctions_Russias_Putin_999.html
Beijing (AFP) Oct 14, 2009 - Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that it was "too early" to discuss new sanctions against Iran, as world powers try to defuse the standoff over Tehran's disputed nuclear programme. Putin's comments, which came during a visit to Beijing, were his first since the revelation late last month that Iran is building a new uranium enrichment plant near its holy city of Qom, reviv ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Too_early_to_focus_on_Iran_sanctions_Russias_Putin_999.html
US documents point to secret Japan nuclear pact
US documents point to secret Japan nuclear pact
Washington (AFP) Oct 13, 2009 - Despite decades of denials by Washington and Tokyo, US officials believe they enjoyed a secret pact to transport nuclear weapons through Japan, newly declassified documents showed. The disclosure came after Japan's left-leaning government ended more than half a century of conservative rule and launched a probe into thousands of files to settle longstanding suspicions of a hush-hush pact. ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/US_documents_point_to_secret_Japan_nuclear_pact_999.html
Washington (AFP) Oct 13, 2009 - Despite decades of denials by Washington and Tokyo, US officials believe they enjoyed a secret pact to transport nuclear weapons through Japan, newly declassified documents showed. The disclosure came after Japan's left-leaning government ended more than half a century of conservative rule and launched a probe into thousands of files to settle longstanding suspicions of a hush-hush pact. ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/US_documents_point_to_secret_Japan_nuclear_pact_999.html
Thursday, October 15, 2009
OSC VIEWS NUCLEAR COMMERCE IN KAZAKHSTAN
OSC VIEWS NUCLEAR COMMERCE IN KAZAKHSTAN
"Kazakhstan, which is second only to Australia in uranium reserves and exceptionally appealing to nuclear nations that require uranium, has entered into agreements or joint ventures with many countries and corporations," a new analysis (pdf) from the DNI Open Source Center observes. http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/kazakhstan/osc100609.pdf
Kazakhstan has embarked on cooperative civilian nuclear projects with countries including the U.S., Russia, China, Brazil, Canada, France, India, and others, possibly including Iran.
"Some serious issues lurk behind the veneer of the government's political and commercial success," the OSC analysis says. These include "an unclear line of power succession,... which could facilitate nuclear deals with international partners with mixed proliferation records."
"The country is corrupt and has corrupt practices," the OSC declares. "Kazakhstan's mineral riches have supplied many a thief with wealth." See "Kazakhstan -- Opening Up for Nuclear Collaboration," Open Source Center, October 6, 2009.
Kazakhstan relinquished the nuclear weapons that it inherited from the former Soviet Union in 1995. It has also accepted IAEA safeguards and the Additional Protocol.
"Kazakhstan, which is second only to Australia in uranium reserves and exceptionally appealing to nuclear nations that require uranium, has entered into agreements or joint ventures with many countries and corporations," a new analysis (pdf) from the DNI Open Source Center observes. http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/kazakhstan/osc100609.pdf
Kazakhstan has embarked on cooperative civilian nuclear projects with countries including the U.S., Russia, China, Brazil, Canada, France, India, and others, possibly including Iran.
"Some serious issues lurk behind the veneer of the government's political and commercial success," the OSC analysis says. These include "an unclear line of power succession,... which could facilitate nuclear deals with international partners with mixed proliferation records."
"The country is corrupt and has corrupt practices," the OSC declares. "Kazakhstan's mineral riches have supplied many a thief with wealth." See "Kazakhstan -- Opening Up for Nuclear Collaboration," Open Source Center, October 6, 2009.
Kazakhstan relinquished the nuclear weapons that it inherited from the former Soviet Union in 1995. It has also accepted IAEA safeguards and the Additional Protocol.
The Cato Institute invites you to a Book Forum Atomic Obsession: Nuclear Alarmism from Hiroshima to Al Qaeda (Oxford University Press, 2009)
Cato Institute
The Cato Institute invites you to a Book Forum
Atomic Obsession: Nuclear Alarmism
from Hiroshima to Al Qaeda
(Oxford University Press, 2009)
featuring the author
John Mueller
Woody Hayes Chair of National Security Studies, Ohio State University
with comments by
Michael Krepon
Co-Founder, Henry L. Stimson Center
and
Jeffrey G. Lewis
Director, Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative,
New America Foundation
moderated by
Justin Logan
Associate Director of Foreign Policy Studies, Cato Institute
Atomic Obsession: Nuclear Alarmism from Hiroshima to Al Qaeda
Purchase at AmazonHaving informed readers in previous books that their fears of war and terrorism are overblown, iconoclastic political scientist John Mueller has set his sights on nuclear weapons. For Mueller, nuclear weapons have never represented much of a threat given states' fundamental unwillingness to use them. Moreover, our current worries about terrorists obtaining such weapons are essentially baseless. As Mueller points out, there is a multitude of reasons why terrorists will not be able to obtain nuclear weapons, much less build them themselves and successfully transport them to targets. Atomic Obsession concludes with a judgment that our efforts to prevent the spread of WMDs have produced much more suffering and violence than would have been the case if we took a more realistic view of such weapons.
Please join us for a discussion of this provocative new book.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
11:00 a.m.
(Luncheon to follow)
Cato Book Forums and luncheons are free of charge.
To register, visit www.cato.org, fax (202) 371-0841,
or call (202) 789-5229 by 12:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 28.
News media inquiries only (no registrations), please call (202) 789-5200.
If you can't make it to the Cato Institute, watch this Forum live online at www.cato.org.
The Cato Institute invites you to a Book Forum
Atomic Obsession: Nuclear Alarmism
from Hiroshima to Al Qaeda
(Oxford University Press, 2009)
featuring the author
John Mueller
Woody Hayes Chair of National Security Studies, Ohio State University
with comments by
Michael Krepon
Co-Founder, Henry L. Stimson Center
and
Jeffrey G. Lewis
Director, Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative,
New America Foundation
moderated by
Justin Logan
Associate Director of Foreign Policy Studies, Cato Institute
Atomic Obsession: Nuclear Alarmism from Hiroshima to Al Qaeda
Purchase at AmazonHaving informed readers in previous books that their fears of war and terrorism are overblown, iconoclastic political scientist John Mueller has set his sights on nuclear weapons. For Mueller, nuclear weapons have never represented much of a threat given states' fundamental unwillingness to use them. Moreover, our current worries about terrorists obtaining such weapons are essentially baseless. As Mueller points out, there is a multitude of reasons why terrorists will not be able to obtain nuclear weapons, much less build them themselves and successfully transport them to targets. Atomic Obsession concludes with a judgment that our efforts to prevent the spread of WMDs have produced much more suffering and violence than would have been the case if we took a more realistic view of such weapons.
Please join us for a discussion of this provocative new book.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
11:00 a.m.
(Luncheon to follow)
Cato Book Forums and luncheons are free of charge.
To register, visit www.cato.org, fax (202) 371-0841,
or call (202) 789-5229 by 12:00 p.m., Wednesday, October 28.
News media inquiries only (no registrations), please call (202) 789-5200.
If you can't make it to the Cato Institute, watch this Forum live online at www.cato.org.
The Lost Prestige of Nuclear Physics
The Lost Prestige of Nuclear Physics
Nuclear physics was once considered the pinnacle of man’s effort to know reality; its image was tarnished by association with the bomb’s destructive violence. In EPPC's journal The New Atlantis, N. J. Slabbert traces the drop in public esteem and argues that a return to nuclear science and technology is crucial to American vitality.
http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-lost-prestige-of-nuclear-physics
Nuclear physics was once considered the pinnacle of man’s effort to know reality; its image was tarnished by association with the bomb’s destructive violence. In EPPC's journal The New Atlantis, N. J. Slabbert traces the drop in public esteem and argues that a return to nuclear science and technology is crucial to American vitality.
http://www.thenewatlantis.com/publications/the-lost-prestige-of-nuclear-physics
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
India tests nuclear-capable missiles
India tests nuclear-capable missiles
New Delhi (UPI) Oct 13, 2009 - In quick succession, India test-fired short-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The two advanced versions of the Prithvi-II surface-to-surface ballistic missiles have a range of up to 217 miles. They were launched from Chandur in the east state of Orissa into the Bay of Negal. "The two P-II missiles, which can carry 500kg warheads were successfully ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/India_tests_nuclear-capable_missiles_999.html
New Delhi (UPI) Oct 13, 2009 - In quick succession, India test-fired short-range ballistic missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The two advanced versions of the Prithvi-II surface-to-surface ballistic missiles have a range of up to 217 miles. They were launched from Chandur in the east state of Orissa into the Bay of Negal. "The two P-II missiles, which can carry 500kg warheads were successfully ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/India_tests_nuclear-capable_missiles_999.html
ASEAN Response to Nuclear Risks Mark Fitzpatrick, The Japan Times
ASEAN Response to Nuclear Risks
Mark Fitzpatrick, The Japan Times
As the nuclear renaissance comes to Southeast Asia, the countries of the region face an important turning point. Decisions taken today will help determine whether nuclear energy will play a positive role in their economic development, or whether a shadow of nuclear danger will accompany the benefits of this energy source.
Full Article
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20091011a1.html
Mark Fitzpatrick, The Japan Times
As the nuclear renaissance comes to Southeast Asia, the countries of the region face an important turning point. Decisions taken today will help determine whether nuclear energy will play a positive role in their economic development, or whether a shadow of nuclear danger will accompany the benefits of this energy source.
Full Article
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20091011a1.html
North Korea Fires 5 Missiles
North Korea Fires 5 Missiles
Blaine Harden, The Washington Post
North Korea fired five short-range missiles into the sea Monday and declared a navigation ban in waters off its eastern and western coasts, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
Full Article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/12/AR2009101200650.html
Blaine Harden, The Washington Post
North Korea fired five short-range missiles into the sea Monday and declared a navigation ban in waters off its eastern and western coasts, according to South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
Full Article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/10/12/AR2009101200650.html
How to Manage a Nuclear Iran
How to Manage a Nuclear Iran
Gregory L. Schulte, Foreign Policy
On Sept. 25, flanked by his French and British counterparts, Barack Obama announced that Iran was building a second underground facility for uranium enrichment. The U.S. president warned that Iran's decision to build yet another nuclear facility without notifying the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) represented a direct challenge to the nonproliferation regime.
Full Article
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/10/08/how_to_manage_a_nuclear_iran
* Dealing with Iran: The Power of Legitimacy
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=23971&prog=zgp&proj=znpp
Gregory L. Schulte, Foreign Policy
On Sept. 25, flanked by his French and British counterparts, Barack Obama announced that Iran was building a second underground facility for uranium enrichment. The U.S. president warned that Iran's decision to build yet another nuclear facility without notifying the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) represented a direct challenge to the nonproliferation regime.
Full Article
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/10/08/how_to_manage_a_nuclear_iran
* Dealing with Iran: The Power of Legitimacy
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=23971&prog=zgp&proj=znpp
Russia Moves on Iran Sanctions
Russia Moves on Iran Sanctions
Charles Clover and James Blitz, Financial Times
Russian president Dmitry Medevdev told Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, that sanctions should be imposed on Iran if it does not implement promises to the international community on its nuclear programme, a US official told reporters last night.
Full Article
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/ed6c641e-b7f9-11de-8ca9-00144feab49a,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fed6c641e-b7f9-11de-8ca9-00144feab49a.html&_i_referer=
Charles Clover and James Blitz, Financial Times
Russian president Dmitry Medevdev told Hillary Clinton, US secretary of state, that sanctions should be imposed on Iran if it does not implement promises to the international community on its nuclear programme, a US official told reporters last night.
Full Article
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/ed6c641e-b7f9-11de-8ca9-00144feab49a,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fed6c641e-b7f9-11de-8ca9-00144feab49a.html&_i_referer=
S., Russia Must Lead on Arms Control
S., Russia Must Lead on Arms Control
Brent Scowcroft, Joseph Nye, Nicholas Burns and Strobe Talbott, Politico
G-20The United States faces the urgent challenge of using the year ahead to limit the risks of nuclear proliferation and to lower the level of nuclear weapons in the world. Achieving these goals is crucial to a peaceful century. President Barack Obama has undertaken a variety of initiatives to reduce American and Russian nuclear arsenals, dissuade states that have forgone nuclear weapons from acquiring them, stop the production of fissile material for military purposes, tighten measures to keep nuclear weapons from ever being used, prevent dangerous technology from falling into the hands of terrorists and promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Full Article
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28201.html
Brent Scowcroft, Joseph Nye, Nicholas Burns and Strobe Talbott, Politico
G-20The United States faces the urgent challenge of using the year ahead to limit the risks of nuclear proliferation and to lower the level of nuclear weapons in the world. Achieving these goals is crucial to a peaceful century. President Barack Obama has undertaken a variety of initiatives to reduce American and Russian nuclear arsenals, dissuade states that have forgone nuclear weapons from acquiring them, stop the production of fissile material for military purposes, tighten measures to keep nuclear weapons from ever being used, prevent dangerous technology from falling into the hands of terrorists and promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Full Article
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1009/28201.html
Russia Reserves Preemptive Nuke Right
Russia Reserves Preemptive Nuke Right
Kremlin announces non-specific revisions to doctrine
http://news.antiwar.com/2009/10/13/russia-retains-option-of-pre-emptive-nuclear-strike/
Kremlin announces non-specific revisions to doctrine
http://news.antiwar.com/2009/10/13/russia-retains-option-of-pre-emptive-nuclear-strike/
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Obama's Nuclear Agenda -- Joseph Nye, RealClearWorld
Obama's Nuclear Agenda -- Joseph Nye, RealClearWorld
http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2009/10/13/obamas_nuclear_agenda_97256.html
http://www.realclearworld.com/articles/2009/10/13/obamas_nuclear_agenda_97256.html
Moscow’s “No” Paints Obama And Clinton Into A Corner On Iran -- Jonathan Tobin, Commentary Magazine
Moscow’s “No” Paints Obama And Clinton Into A Corner On Iran -- Jonathan Tobin, Commentary Magazine
What was the bottom line of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov? America’s punting on a request for sanctions on Iran, as the Washington Post reported (and Jennifer discussed)? Or was it instead a case of “Russia Resists U.S. on Iran Sanctions,” as the Associated Press reported? Of course, both amount to the same thing. Clinton’s statement that it wasn’t yet time for sanctions on Iran to pressure it to stop its nuclear program is merely an admission that the administration’s plan to gain international support for restraining Iran is dead in the water.
Read more ....
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/tobin/125732
What was the bottom line of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov? America’s punting on a request for sanctions on Iran, as the Washington Post reported (and Jennifer discussed)? Or was it instead a case of “Russia Resists U.S. on Iran Sanctions,” as the Associated Press reported? Of course, both amount to the same thing. Clinton’s statement that it wasn’t yet time for sanctions on Iran to pressure it to stop its nuclear program is merely an admission that the administration’s plan to gain international support for restraining Iran is dead in the water.
Read more ....
http://www.commentarymagazine.com/blogs/index.php/tobin/125732
# Gore needs to back nuclear power, newspaper says
# Gore needs to back nuclear power, newspaper says
Former Vice President Al Gore has avoided the nuclear issue, but coming out in support of nuclear-generated electricity will do more to promote his climate-change goals than anything else he could do, writes the editorial board of the Wisconsin State Journal. "Nuclear technology needs to be a big part of the solution," argues this editorial. "Gore should stress his support for more nuclear power today." Wisconsin State Journal (Madison)
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/opinion/editorial/article_1334da66-b4e7-11de-947a-001cc4c03286.html
Former Vice President Al Gore has avoided the nuclear issue, but coming out in support of nuclear-generated electricity will do more to promote his climate-change goals than anything else he could do, writes the editorial board of the Wisconsin State Journal. "Nuclear technology needs to be a big part of the solution," argues this editorial. "Gore should stress his support for more nuclear power today." Wisconsin State Journal (Madison)
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/opinion/editorial/article_1334da66-b4e7-11de-947a-001cc4c03286.html
Expert touts nuclear in curbing greenhouse-gas emissions
Expert touts nuclear in curbing greenhouse-gas emissions
Lawmakers who believe that technology for capturing and storing carbon can aid in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from coal power facilities are "being unrealistic," writes Carolyn Heising in this opinion article. Such technology is extremely expensive, basically untested and energy intensive, adds Heising, who is a nuclear engineering professor at Iowa State University. A significant boost in nuclear energy and improvements in energy efficiency could help achieve the country's energy needs and simultaneously lower carbon emissions to acceptable levels, she writes. The Des Moines Register (Iowa)
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20091013/OPINION01/910130340/1036/Opinion
Lawmakers who believe that technology for capturing and storing carbon can aid in reducing greenhouse-gas emissions from coal power facilities are "being unrealistic," writes Carolyn Heising in this opinion article. Such technology is extremely expensive, basically untested and energy intensive, adds Heising, who is a nuclear engineering professor at Iowa State University. A significant boost in nuclear energy and improvements in energy efficiency could help achieve the country's energy needs and simultaneously lower carbon emissions to acceptable levels, she writes. The Des Moines Register (Iowa)
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20091013/OPINION01/910130340/1036/Opinion
Iran agrees to ship enriched uranium to Russia: official
Iran agrees to ship enriched uranium to Russia: official
Washington (AFP) Oct 1, 2009 - Iran agreed in principle Thursday to ship most of its declared enriched uranium stockpile to Russia, where it would be refined as fuel for a small reactor producing medical isotopes, a US official said. The agreement came after seven and a half hours of talks between Iran and world powers just outside Geneva, where Tehran also agreed to grant the United Nations access to a newly-revealed cov ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Iran_agrees_to_ship_enriched_uranium_to_Russia_official_999.html
Washington (AFP) Oct 1, 2009 - Iran agreed in principle Thursday to ship most of its declared enriched uranium stockpile to Russia, where it would be refined as fuel for a small reactor producing medical isotopes, a US official said. The agreement came after seven and a half hours of talks between Iran and world powers just outside Geneva, where Tehran also agreed to grant the United Nations access to a newly-revealed cov ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Iran_agrees_to_ship_enriched_uranium_to_Russia_official_999.html
Westinghouse Backs US Nuclear Energy Agreement With Italy
Westinghouse Backs US Nuclear Energy Agreement With Italy
Pittsburgh PA (SPX) Oct 13, 2009 - An agreement signed earlier yesterday between the United States and Italy drew strong support from Westinghouse Electric Company as the two countries took a major step closer to opening the Italian market to U.S. nuclear technology. Claudio Scajola, Italy's minister for economic development, Dr. Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of Energy, and Deputy Secretary of Commerce Dennis F. Hightower met ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Westinghouse_Backs_US_Nuclear_Energy_Agreement_With_Italy_999.html
Pittsburgh PA (SPX) Oct 13, 2009 - An agreement signed earlier yesterday between the United States and Italy drew strong support from Westinghouse Electric Company as the two countries took a major step closer to opening the Italian market to U.S. nuclear technology. Claudio Scajola, Italy's minister for economic development, Dr. Steven Chu, U.S. Secretary of Energy, and Deputy Secretary of Commerce Dennis F. Hightower met ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Westinghouse_Backs_US_Nuclear_Energy_Agreement_With_Italy_999.html
Monday, October 12, 2009
NRC approves Constellation-EDF nuclear deal
NRC approves Constellation-EDF nuclear deal
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved Electricite de France's bid to acquire almost 50% of Constellation Energy's nuclear assets, a deal reportedly worth $4.5 billion. The regulatory approval removes an obstacle to the proposed construction of a new nuclear plant in Maryland. EDF has "all necessary approvals at the federal level and clearance from the New York Public Service Commission," the companies said in a statement. Google/Agence France-
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i3uNHFIpvGh2GsiVFGmyeTaqDRnQ
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has approved Electricite de France's bid to acquire almost 50% of Constellation Energy's nuclear assets, a deal reportedly worth $4.5 billion. The regulatory approval removes an obstacle to the proposed construction of a new nuclear plant in Maryland. EDF has "all necessary approvals at the federal level and clearance from the New York Public Service Commission," the companies said in a statement. Google/Agence France-
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i3uNHFIpvGh2GsiVFGmyeTaqDRnQ
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Wars, Political Battles Complicate Obama Effort to Prevent Spread of Nuclear Weapons
Wars, Political Battles Complicate Obama Effort to Prevent Spread of Nuclear Weapons
President Obama's decision to order a nuclear review comes as he takes the rare step of chairing a watershed session of the UN security council.
From Global Security:
WASHINGTON -- Well before the 2008 election, foreign-policy hands predicted that the next commander in chief would confront an incendiary in-box without precedent in the modern American presidency. Recently, Barack Obama has begun to grasp what they meant (see GSN, Sept. 23).
After spending his honeymoon wrestling with the Great Recession and health care, and with cap-and-trade and climate change on deck, Obama will soon enter a stretch of his young presidency that includes deciding how to end an unpopular war in Iraq, salvage a failing war in Afghanistan, and avoid a potential war with Iran. All are likely to affect his signature initiative to check what many experts see as the greatest long-term threat to U.S. national security -- the spread of doomsday weapons.
Read more .... http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2009/10/wars-political-battles-complicate-obama.html
My Comment: An interesting analysis on what appears to be the priorities for President Obama and his agenda. While I do not have any disagreement with its view on what President Obama wants .... the article does not properly focus on the component that will greatly influence and impact both his domestic and foreign agenda.
That component is the economy and the Federal Government's trillion dollar deficits.
This is the 800 lb gorilla and 2 ton elephant in the room. If President Obama cannot reverse the deterioration of the economy .... both his domestic and foreign agenda will be crippled, and the Democrats will be paying a heavy political price in the 2010 and Presidential elections in 2012.
Nuclear proliferation is important .... but in today's world no one is listening to the U.S. and President Obama. Our economic and financial strength was always adequate to sway countries to our side .... but that is rapidly becoming an option that we are not able to fulfill. The genie is out of the bottle and we are now living in an environment where numerous countries are now positioning themselves to acquire nuclear weaponry .... and there is nothing that we can do to change this.
Posted by Bookyards
War News Updates: Wars, Political Battles Complicate Obama Effort to Prevent Spread of Nuclear Weapons
President Obama's decision to order a nuclear review comes as he takes the rare step of chairing a watershed session of the UN security council.
From Global Security:
WASHINGTON -- Well before the 2008 election, foreign-policy hands predicted that the next commander in chief would confront an incendiary in-box without precedent in the modern American presidency. Recently, Barack Obama has begun to grasp what they meant (see GSN, Sept. 23).
After spending his honeymoon wrestling with the Great Recession and health care, and with cap-and-trade and climate change on deck, Obama will soon enter a stretch of his young presidency that includes deciding how to end an unpopular war in Iraq, salvage a failing war in Afghanistan, and avoid a potential war with Iran. All are likely to affect his signature initiative to check what many experts see as the greatest long-term threat to U.S. national security -- the spread of doomsday weapons.
Read more .... http://warnewsupdates.blogspot.com/2009/10/wars-political-battles-complicate-obama.html
My Comment: An interesting analysis on what appears to be the priorities for President Obama and his agenda. While I do not have any disagreement with its view on what President Obama wants .... the article does not properly focus on the component that will greatly influence and impact both his domestic and foreign agenda.
That component is the economy and the Federal Government's trillion dollar deficits.
This is the 800 lb gorilla and 2 ton elephant in the room. If President Obama cannot reverse the deterioration of the economy .... both his domestic and foreign agenda will be crippled, and the Democrats will be paying a heavy political price in the 2010 and Presidential elections in 2012.
Nuclear proliferation is important .... but in today's world no one is listening to the U.S. and President Obama. Our economic and financial strength was always adequate to sway countries to our side .... but that is rapidly becoming an option that we are not able to fulfill. The genie is out of the bottle and we are now living in an environment where numerous countries are now positioning themselves to acquire nuclear weaponry .... and there is nothing that we can do to change this.
Posted by Bookyards
War News Updates: Wars, Political Battles Complicate Obama Effort to Prevent Spread of Nuclear Weapons
Friday, October 9, 2009
Obama submits report on Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement to Congress
Obama submits report on Indo-U.S. nuclear agreement to Congress
President Barack Obama has transmitted to Congress a report on the civilian nuclear deal that the U.S. signed with India. The U.S.-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act requires regular confirmation from the president of the country's policy to collaborate with members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and to work on further limiting the transfer of technology and equipment used in uranium enrichment and reprocessing of used nuclear fuel. Press Trust of India
http://www.ptinews.com/news/322043_Obama-sends-report-to-Congress-on-Indo-US-nuclear-deal
President Barack Obama has transmitted to Congress a report on the civilian nuclear deal that the U.S. signed with India. The U.S.-India Nuclear Cooperation Approval and Nonproliferation Enhancement Act requires regular confirmation from the president of the country's policy to collaborate with members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group and to work on further limiting the transfer of technology and equipment used in uranium enrichment and reprocessing of used nuclear fuel. Press Trust of India
http://www.ptinews.com/news/322043_Obama-sends-report-to-Congress-on-Indo-US-nuclear-deal
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Nuke Pact Deniers Face New 'Refuter' Kyodo News
Nuke Pact Deniers Face New 'Refuter'
Kyodo News
The Foreign Ministry kept a written record of a meeting with the U.S. ambassador in 1968 in which he reminded ministry officials of a secret 1960 bilateral nuclear deal, a former senior ministry official said Tuesday, further contradicting government claims that no such pact existed.
Full Article
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20091008a4.html
Kyodo News
The Foreign Ministry kept a written record of a meeting with the U.S. ambassador in 1968 in which he reminded ministry officials of a secret 1960 bilateral nuclear deal, a former senior ministry official said Tuesday, further contradicting government claims that no such pact existed.
Full Article
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20091008a4.html
Egypt Opposition Wants to Make ElBaradei President Agence France-Presse
Egypt Opposition Wants to Make ElBaradei President
Agence France-Presse
Whether President Hosni Mubarak runs for re-election in 2011 or gives way to his son Gamal, an opposition party sees UN nuclear watchdog head Mohamed ElBaradei as a strong contender for Egypt's top job.
Full Article
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=318704&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17
Agence France-Presse
Whether President Hosni Mubarak runs for re-election in 2011 or gives way to his son Gamal, an opposition party sees UN nuclear watchdog head Mohamed ElBaradei as a strong contender for Egypt's top job.
Full Article
http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=318704&version=1&template_id=37&parent_id=17
China Aims to Steady North Korea Choe Sang-Hun, The New York Times
China Aims to Steady North Korea
Choe Sang-Hun, The New York Times
North Korea's leader gave an unusually exuberant welcome this week to the prime minister of China, whose trip was intensely monitored by the rest of the world for progress on efforts to halt North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/world/asia/07korea.html?_r=1&hpw
Choe Sang-Hun, The New York Times
North Korea's leader gave an unusually exuberant welcome this week to the prime minister of China, whose trip was intensely monitored by the rest of the world for progress on efforts to halt North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/world/asia/07korea.html?_r=1&hpw
US 'Bunker Buster' Bomb to be Ready Soon: Pentagon Agence France-Presse
US 'Bunker Buster' Bomb to be Ready Soon: Pentagon
Agence France-Presse
The Pentagon said a giant "bunker buster" bomb will be ready within months, adding a powerful weapon to the US arsenal amid tensions over Iran's nuclear program.
Full Article
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jwIaLotSkaw29J0t9eD1EF7Ct8VQ
Agence France-Presse
The Pentagon said a giant "bunker buster" bomb will be ready within months, adding a powerful weapon to the US arsenal amid tensions over Iran's nuclear program.
Full Article
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jwIaLotSkaw29J0t9eD1EF7Ct8VQ
Struggle Looms to Build on Iranian Nuclear Deals Mark Heinrich, Reuters
Struggle Looms to Build on Iranian Nuclear Deals
Mark Heinrich, Reuters
U.N. inspectors about to descend on a hitherto secret Iranian nuclear site may score a small victory for non-proliferation, but face a long, hard struggle to achieve full transparency in Tehran's atomic ambitions.
Full Article
http://www.reuters.com/article/gc08/idUSTRE5973BV20091008
Mark Heinrich, Reuters
U.N. inspectors about to descend on a hitherto secret Iranian nuclear site may score a small victory for non-proliferation, but face a long, hard struggle to achieve full transparency in Tehran's atomic ambitions.
Full Article
http://www.reuters.com/article/gc08/idUSTRE5973BV20091008
Dealing with Iran: The Power of Legitimacy George Perkovich, Policy Outlook
Dealing with Iran: The Power of Legitimacy
George Perkovich, Policy Outlook
ElBaradeiTalks last week between Iran and world powers in Geneva—and the first public, bilateral negotiations between the United States and Iran in 30 years—yielded unexpected progress. Iran has been forced onto the defensive by its loss of legitimacy, exacerbated by the gains President Obama made by demonstrating resolve to negotiate a peaceful accommodation with the Islamic Republic, contends George Perkovich.
Full Article
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=23971&prog=zgp&proj=znpp
George Perkovich, Policy Outlook
ElBaradeiTalks last week between Iran and world powers in Geneva—and the first public, bilateral negotiations between the United States and Iran in 30 years—yielded unexpected progress. Iran has been forced onto the defensive by its loss of legitimacy, exacerbated by the gains President Obama made by demonstrating resolve to negotiate a peaceful accommodation with the Islamic Republic, contends George Perkovich.
Full Article
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=23971&prog=zgp&proj=znpp
French nuclear company Areva has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on nuclear energy and radioactive materials cooperation with Mongolia's At
* Areva forges nuclear energy deal with Mongolia
Mongolia's Atomic Energy Department has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding involving nuclear energy and cooperation on radioactive materials with France's Areva. The signing comes a day after Areva made a deal with Kazakhstan's KazAtomProm for a joint project to produce nuclear fuel for the Asian market. World Nuclear News (10/7)
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Areva_signs_Mongolian_memorandum-0710098.html
Mongolia's Atomic Energy Department has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding involving nuclear energy and cooperation on radioactive materials with France's Areva. The signing comes a day after Areva made a deal with Kazakhstan's KazAtomProm for a joint project to produce nuclear fuel for the Asian market. World Nuclear News (10/7)
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Areva_signs_Mongolian_memorandum-0710098.html
Senate Democrats welcome discussions on nuclear to pass climate bill
Senate Democrats welcome discussions on nuclear to pass climate bill
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said he and fellow Democratic senators are willing to discuss nuclear power with Republicans if it would help get the 60 votes needed to advance a comprehensive energy and global-warming bill. The climate legislation unveiled by Kerry and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., contains a preliminary section on nuclear energy that offers more funding to study extending the lives of commercial reactors and adds incentives for research and personnel training. "There's a nuclear title, and it invites discussion on that," he said. The New York Times (free registration)/ClimateWire
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/10/07/07climatewire-senate-dems-opening-to-nuclear-as-path-to-go-28815.html
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=247854211242866212
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., said he and fellow Democratic senators are willing to discuss nuclear power with Republicans if it would help get the 60 votes needed to advance a comprehensive energy and global-warming bill. The climate legislation unveiled by Kerry and Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., contains a preliminary section on nuclear energy that offers more funding to study extending the lives of commercial reactors and adds incentives for research and personnel training. "There's a nuclear title, and it invites discussion on that," he said. The New York Times (free registration)/ClimateWire
http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/10/07/07climatewire-senate-dems-opening-to-nuclear-as-path-to-go-28815.html
http://www.blogger.com/post-create.g?blogID=247854211242866212
Saudis consider Russian air defense system
Saudis consider Russian air defense system
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (UPI) Oct 7, 2009 - Saudi Arabia is considering buying Russia's most advanced air-defense system in a deal that Riyadh hopes may deter Moscow from selling a similar defense system to potentially nuclear Iran, experts argue. Experts cited in a string of media reports from the region said Moscow and Riyadh were close to signing a deal on the purchase of Russia's S-400 anti-missile shield. The deal is valued ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Saudis_consider_Russian_air_defense_system_999.html
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (UPI) Oct 7, 2009 - Saudi Arabia is considering buying Russia's most advanced air-defense system in a deal that Riyadh hopes may deter Moscow from selling a similar defense system to potentially nuclear Iran, experts argue. Experts cited in a string of media reports from the region said Moscow and Riyadh were close to signing a deal on the purchase of Russia's S-400 anti-missile shield. The deal is valued ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Saudis_consider_Russian_air_defense_system_999.html
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Technical flaws in the Obama missile defense plan BY DAVID WRIGHT AND LISBETH GRONLUND
Technical flaws in the Obama missile defense plan
BY DAVID WRIGHT AND LISBETH GRONLUND
In some ways, the Obama administration's plan for missile defense in Europe only exchanges one unproven weapons system for another.
http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/op-eds/technical-flaws-the-obama-missile-defense-plan
BY DAVID WRIGHT AND LISBETH GRONLUND
In some ways, the Obama administration's plan for missile defense in Europe only exchanges one unproven weapons system for another.
http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/op-eds/technical-flaws-the-obama-missile-defense-plan
JOSHUA POLLACK Deconstructing the Iranian challenge
JOSHUA POLLACK
Deconstructing the Iranian challenge
How the international community handles Iran in the coming days far transcends Tehran's nuclear ambitions; it also directly affects the legitimacy of the U.N. Security Council and NPT.
http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/columnists/joshua-pollack/deconstructing-the-iranian-challenge
Deconstructing the Iranian challenge
How the international community handles Iran in the coming days far transcends Tehran's nuclear ambitions; it also directly affects the legitimacy of the U.N. Security Council and NPT.
http://thebulletin.org/web-edition/columnists/joshua-pollack/deconstructing-the-iranian-challenge
COLLECTION Of Premium Content from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
COLLECTION Of Premium Content from the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
The Armageddon test: Preventing nuclear terrorism Premium
BY ROLF MOWATT-LARSSEN
It might not be easy for a terrorist group to obtain a nuclear weapon, but the opportunities are out there. One way to stop them--form an elite intelligence team tasked solely with preventing a nuclear terrorist attack.
http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/f742246536817321/?p=a50531ed63ee485893e18fbd2785e377&pi=5
The ElBaradei legacy Premium
BY MARK HIBBS AND ANDREAS PERSBO
As the International Atomic Energy Agency's director-general, Mohamed ElBaradei stood up to the United States, prevented a widening Middle East conflict, and won the Nobel Peace Prize. Yet as he prepares to leave, the future of the agency is in doubt.
http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/f15114mg646m1g81/?p=a50531ed63ee485893e18fbd2785e377&pi=1
Shifting from a nuclear triad to a nuclear dyad Premium
BY JEFF RICHARDSON
A senior scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory outlines the rationale for retiring land-based ballistic missiles and leaving a strategic dyad of submarine-launched missiles and air-delivered weapons as the backbone of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/f36h7r5624w18035/?p=afa13b46d0ce408db7a42d9543f1e80d&pi=3
Richard Rhodes' Reykjavik Premium
BY RICHARD RHODES
Would the Reykjavik summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev have rid the world of nuclear weapons if only J. Robert Oppenheimer had been present? In this dramatization, Richard Rhodes explores the "what if" of the low-profile but high-level conference.
http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/f37178k308402468/?p=a50531ed63ee485893e18fbd2785e377&pi=6
Pakistani nuclear forces, 2009
BY ROBERT S. NORRIS AND HANS M. KRISTENSEN
Pakistan is enhancing its nuclear weapon capabilities across the board by developing and deploying new nuclear-capable missiles and expanding its capacity to produce fissile materials for use in weapons.
http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/f828323447768858/?p=acb64a3f200e4a5bb5a76a65804b0802&pi=7
The Armageddon test: Preventing nuclear terrorism Premium
BY ROLF MOWATT-LARSSEN
It might not be easy for a terrorist group to obtain a nuclear weapon, but the opportunities are out there. One way to stop them--form an elite intelligence team tasked solely with preventing a nuclear terrorist attack.
http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/f742246536817321/?p=a50531ed63ee485893e18fbd2785e377&pi=5
The ElBaradei legacy Premium
BY MARK HIBBS AND ANDREAS PERSBO
As the International Atomic Energy Agency's director-general, Mohamed ElBaradei stood up to the United States, prevented a widening Middle East conflict, and won the Nobel Peace Prize. Yet as he prepares to leave, the future of the agency is in doubt.
http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/f15114mg646m1g81/?p=a50531ed63ee485893e18fbd2785e377&pi=1
Shifting from a nuclear triad to a nuclear dyad Premium
BY JEFF RICHARDSON
A senior scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory outlines the rationale for retiring land-based ballistic missiles and leaving a strategic dyad of submarine-launched missiles and air-delivered weapons as the backbone of the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/f36h7r5624w18035/?p=afa13b46d0ce408db7a42d9543f1e80d&pi=3
Richard Rhodes' Reykjavik Premium
BY RICHARD RHODES
Would the Reykjavik summit between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev have rid the world of nuclear weapons if only J. Robert Oppenheimer had been present? In this dramatization, Richard Rhodes explores the "what if" of the low-profile but high-level conference.
http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/f37178k308402468/?p=a50531ed63ee485893e18fbd2785e377&pi=6
Pakistani nuclear forces, 2009
BY ROBERT S. NORRIS AND HANS M. KRISTENSEN
Pakistan is enhancing its nuclear weapon capabilities across the board by developing and deploying new nuclear-capable missiles and expanding its capacity to produce fissile materials for use in weapons.
http://thebulletin.metapress.com/content/f828323447768858/?p=acb64a3f200e4a5bb5a76a65804b0802&pi=7
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Iran Commentary Update
Establishing the Right Precedent in Supplying Fuel to Iran
George Perkovich and Pierre Goldschmidt, Proliferation Analysis
TRRThe purported agreement to refuel the Tehran research reactor by shipping Iranian-made low enriched uranium (LEU) to other states for further enrichment and fuel fabrication could be a good precedent for meeting Iran’s future and potentially larger nuclear fuel needs. This precedent could be seen as a first step to accept at a later stage that the UN Security Council would reverse its present decision and allow Iran to continue its ongoing practice of enriching uranium to less than five percent under what should be rigorous safeguards (including having a so-called "Additional Protocol" in force).
Full Article
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=23954&prog=zgp&proj=znpp
Iran Plans to Use New Centrifuge at Nuclear Plant
Hashem Kalantari, Reuters
Iran plans to use a new generation of faster centrifuges to enrich uranium at a newly-revealed nuclear site, its atomic energy chief said in remarks published Tuesday.
Full Article
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5951Z920091006?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
* Report Says Iran Has Data to Make Bomb
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/world/middleeast/05iran.html?_r=1&hp
Untangling Iran's Nuclear Web
Dmitri Trenin, The Moscow Times
Thursday's Geneva meeting of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany regarding Iran’s nuclear program did not lead to a breakthrough or a decisive showdown. It did, however, demonstrate more unity among the major powers vis-a-vis Tehran, and we witnessed the first meeting of President Barack Obama’s administration between U.S. and Iranian diplomats.
Full Article
http://carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=23940&prog=zgp,zru&proj=znpp
George Perkovich and Pierre Goldschmidt, Proliferation Analysis
TRRThe purported agreement to refuel the Tehran research reactor by shipping Iranian-made low enriched uranium (LEU) to other states for further enrichment and fuel fabrication could be a good precedent for meeting Iran’s future and potentially larger nuclear fuel needs. This precedent could be seen as a first step to accept at a later stage that the UN Security Council would reverse its present decision and allow Iran to continue its ongoing practice of enriching uranium to less than five percent under what should be rigorous safeguards (including having a so-called "Additional Protocol" in force).
Full Article
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=23954&prog=zgp&proj=znpp
Iran Plans to Use New Centrifuge at Nuclear Plant
Hashem Kalantari, Reuters
Iran plans to use a new generation of faster centrifuges to enrich uranium at a newly-revealed nuclear site, its atomic energy chief said in remarks published Tuesday.
Full Article
http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE5951Z920091006?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
* Report Says Iran Has Data to Make Bomb
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/world/middleeast/05iran.html?_r=1&hp
Untangling Iran's Nuclear Web
Dmitri Trenin, The Moscow Times
Thursday's Geneva meeting of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany regarding Iran’s nuclear program did not lead to a breakthrough or a decisive showdown. It did, however, demonstrate more unity among the major powers vis-a-vis Tehran, and we witnessed the first meeting of President Barack Obama’s administration between U.S. and Iranian diplomats.
Full Article
http://carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=23940&prog=zgp,zru&proj=znpp
Monday, October 5, 2009
+ Nuclear deals lucrative for North Korea
+ Nuclear deals lucrative for North Korea
Seoul (UPI) Oct 5, 2009 - North Korea has won about $2.3 billion worth of aid from South Korea and other negotiating partners in return for false promises to give up its nuclear weapons drive, a report by the South Korean government said Monday. Despite the prolonged nuclear standoff, the North has received an additional $3.4 billion worth of humanitarian aid over the past decade, the report by the Foreign Minis ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Nuclear_deals_lucrative_for_North_Korea_999.html
Seoul (UPI) Oct 5, 2009 - North Korea has won about $2.3 billion worth of aid from South Korea and other negotiating partners in return for false promises to give up its nuclear weapons drive, a report by the South Korean government said Monday. Despite the prolonged nuclear standoff, the North has received an additional $3.4 billion worth of humanitarian aid over the past decade, the report by the Foreign Minis ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Nuclear_deals_lucrative_for_North_Korea_999.html
Russia launches new Mideast arms push
Russia launches new Mideast arms push
Tripoli, Libya (UPI) Oct 5, 2009 - Russia's state arms exporter is launching a big drive at the Tripoli air show to sell combat jets, missiles and air-defense systems to Middle Eastern states, including the state-of-the-art S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile that Iran and Syria desperately want to acquire. But the Russians are likely to find considerable competition at the 4th Arab-African Aviation Exhibition and Confer ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Russia_launches_new_Mideast_arms_push_999.html
Tripoli, Libya (UPI) Oct 5, 2009 - Russia's state arms exporter is launching a big drive at the Tripoli air show to sell combat jets, missiles and air-defense systems to Middle Eastern states, including the state-of-the-art S-400 Triumf surface-to-air missile that Iran and Syria desperately want to acquire. But the Russians are likely to find considerable competition at the 4th Arab-African Aviation Exhibition and Confer ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Russia_launches_new_Mideast_arms_push_999.html
UN to inspect Iran's new nuclear plant on Oct 25
UN to inspect Iran's new nuclear plant on Oct 25
Tehran (AFP) Oct 4, 2009 - Experts will inspect Iran's new uranium enrichment plant on October 25, UN atomic watchdog head Mohamed ElBaradei said on Sunday, praising Tehran's shift "from conspiracy to cooperation" but warning that "concerns" remain over its nuclear aims. ElBaradei told a news conference in Tehran that Iran had given the assurance International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors would be given acce ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/UN_to_inspect_Irans_new_nuclear_plant_on_Oct_25_999.html
Tehran (AFP) Oct 4, 2009 - Experts will inspect Iran's new uranium enrichment plant on October 25, UN atomic watchdog head Mohamed ElBaradei said on Sunday, praising Tehran's shift "from conspiracy to cooperation" but warning that "concerns" remain over its nuclear aims. ElBaradei told a news conference in Tehran that Iran had given the assurance International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors would be given acce ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/UN_to_inspect_Irans_new_nuclear_plant_on_Oct_25_999.html
New doubt on US's Iran plant claim
New doubt on US's Iran plant claim
Washington's charge that construction on Iran's second uranium-enrichment facility is part of a covert decision to violate its International Atomic Energy obligations is being questioned. Further analysis of satellite photos of the site suggests Iran is not in the wrong. - Gareth Porter (Oct 5,
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KJ06Ak02.html
Washington's charge that construction on Iran's second uranium-enrichment facility is part of a covert decision to violate its International Atomic Energy obligations is being questioned. Further analysis of satellite photos of the site suggests Iran is not in the wrong. - Gareth Porter (Oct 5,
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/KJ06Ak02.html
Iran Tests Shahab-3 Missile Ahead of Nuclear Talks Bloomberg - September 28, 2009
Iran Tests Shahab-3 Missile Ahead of Nuclear Talks
Bloomberg - September 28, 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abF02OIbrRm4
Bloomberg - September 28, 2009
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abF02OIbrRm4
Experts Weigh In on Obama's Explanation of Iran's Nuclear Facility The Washington Independent - September 28, 2009
Experts Weigh In on Obama's Explanation of Iran's Nuclear Facility
The Washington Independent - September 28, 2009
http://washingtonindependent.com/61063/experts-weigh-in-on-significance-of-irans-nuclear-facility
The Washington Independent - September 28, 2009
http://washingtonindependent.com/61063/experts-weigh-in-on-significance-of-irans-nuclear-facility
How Do We Know There Are Only 3000 Centrifuges At Qom?
How Do We Know There Are Only 3000 Centrifuges At Qom?
http://washingtonindependent.com/61285/how-do-we-know-there-are-only-3000-centrifuges-at-qom
http://washingtonindependent.com/61285/how-do-we-know-there-are-only-3000-centrifuges-at-qom
Inspections Won't Solve Iran's Nuke Mystery
Inspections Won't Solve Iran's Nuke Mystery
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/09/inspections-wont-solve-irans-nuke-mystery/
http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2009/09/inspections-wont-solve-irans-nuke-mystery/
US Sea-Based Missiles Seen as "Core" Nukes, Maybe at ICBM Expense Global Security Newswire - October 1, 2009
US Sea-Based Missiles Seen as "Core" Nukes, Maybe at ICBM Expense
Global Security Newswire - October 1, 2009
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20091001_4226.php
Global Security Newswire - October 1, 2009
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20091001_4226.php
The U.S.-India nuclear deal--one year later BY J. SRI RAMAN
The U.S.-India nuclear deal--one year later
BY J. SRI RAMAN
October 8 marks the one-year anniversary of former President George W. Bush signing into law the so-called U.S.-India nuclear deal. The deal proved controversial from its inception because it ended a 34-year U.S. ban on nuclear trade with India, a non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). And yet despite heavy criticism of the deal--especially from arms control and disarmament advocates--one year later, it appears solidly entrenched as long-term policy.
As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the U.S.-India Business Council's Synergies Summit in June, "The first stage of Indo-U.S. relations was ushered in when President Bill Clinton opened a new chapter of engagement with India. Then President George [W.] Bush took it to the second level with the Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement. The Obama administration is determined to take it to the third stage, which would allow the countries to move beyond concerns about the status of India's nuclear program to a framework of economic and technical cooperation."
At its heart, the U.S.-India deal is really about big business, which has boomed since the agreement entered into force. In fact, intensive lobbying by corporate sectors in both the United States and India helped overrule the concerns of the arms control community. For Ron Somers, the president of the U.S.-India Business Council, the calculus was simple: "[The U.S.-India nuclear deal] will present a major opportunity for U.S. and Indian companies," he promised in July 2007. He added that the deal would create...Read entire article
http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/the-us-india-nuclear-deal-one-year-later
BY J. SRI RAMAN
October 8 marks the one-year anniversary of former President George W. Bush signing into law the so-called U.S.-India nuclear deal. The deal proved controversial from its inception because it ended a 34-year U.S. ban on nuclear trade with India, a non-signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). And yet despite heavy criticism of the deal--especially from arms control and disarmament advocates--one year later, it appears solidly entrenched as long-term policy.
As Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told the U.S.-India Business Council's Synergies Summit in June, "The first stage of Indo-U.S. relations was ushered in when President Bill Clinton opened a new chapter of engagement with India. Then President George [W.] Bush took it to the second level with the Indo-U.S. civilian nuclear agreement. The Obama administration is determined to take it to the third stage, which would allow the countries to move beyond concerns about the status of India's nuclear program to a framework of economic and technical cooperation."
At its heart, the U.S.-India deal is really about big business, which has boomed since the agreement entered into force. In fact, intensive lobbying by corporate sectors in both the United States and India helped overrule the concerns of the arms control community. For Ron Somers, the president of the U.S.-India Business Council, the calculus was simple: "[The U.S.-India nuclear deal] will present a major opportunity for U.S. and Indian companies," he promised in July 2007. He added that the deal would create...Read entire article
http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/features/the-us-india-nuclear-deal-one-year-later
Sunday, October 4, 2009
ElBaradei says nuclear Israel number one threat to Mideast: report
ElBaradei says nuclear Israel number one threat to Mideast: report
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/04/content_12181647.htm
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-10/04/content_12181647.htm
New Doubt Cast on U.S. Claim Qom Plant is Illicit by Gareth Porter
New Doubt Cast on U.S. Claim Qom Plant is Illicit
by Gareth Porter / October 3rd, 2009 (1)
WASHINGTON (IPS) — An Iranian assertion that construction on its second enrichment facility began only last year and further analysis of satellite photos of the site have cast fresh doubts on the Barack Obama administration’s charge that the construction of the plant near Qom involved a covert decision to violate Iran’s obligations to report immediately to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on any decision to build a new facility.
At a Sep. 25 briefing on the site, senior administration officials refused to provide any specific information to back up the claim that construction had begun before the March 2007 Iranian …
(Full article …)
http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/10/new-doubt-cast-on-u-s-claim-qom-plant-is-illicit/
by Gareth Porter / October 3rd, 2009 (1)
WASHINGTON (IPS) — An Iranian assertion that construction on its second enrichment facility began only last year and further analysis of satellite photos of the site have cast fresh doubts on the Barack Obama administration’s charge that the construction of the plant near Qom involved a covert decision to violate Iran’s obligations to report immediately to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on any decision to build a new facility.
At a Sep. 25 briefing on the site, senior administration officials refused to provide any specific information to back up the claim that construction had begun before the March 2007 Iranian …
(Full article …)
http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/10/new-doubt-cast-on-u-s-claim-qom-plant-is-illicit/
Report Says Iran Has Data to Make a Nuclear Bomb By WILLIAM J. BROAD and DAVID E. SANGER
Report Says Iran Has Data to Make a Nuclear Bomb
By WILLIAM J. BROAD and DAVID E. SANGER
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/world/middleeast/04nuke.html?hp
A U.N. analysis says Iran has “sufficient information to be able to design and produce a workable” bomb, going well beyond the public position taken by Washington.
* U.N. Sets Date for Iran Inspection 6:38 AM ET
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/04/world/AP-ML-Iran.html?hp
By WILLIAM J. BROAD and DAVID E. SANGER
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/world/middleeast/04nuke.html?hp
A U.N. analysis says Iran has “sufficient information to be able to design and produce a workable” bomb, going well beyond the public position taken by Washington.
* U.N. Sets Date for Iran Inspection 6:38 AM ET
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2009/10/04/world/AP-ML-Iran.html?hp
U.S. Not Seeking Disclosure of Israeli Nuclear Arsenal
U.S. Not Seeking Disclosure of Israeli Nuclear Arsenal
Friday, Oct. 2, 2009
U.S. President Barack Obama, left, speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the White House in May. Obama's administration does not plan to pressure Israel to open its nuclear sites to international scrutiny, officials said (White House photo/Getty Images).
The Obama administration does not intend to press Israel to give international monitors access to its nuclear weapons, the Washington Times reported today (see GSN, Sept. 29).
Israel has never officially acknowledged possession of what is believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal, which is roughly estimated at between 100 and 200 warheads.
Then-U.S. President Richard Nixon and former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meier in 1969 reportedly agreed that Washington would not challenge Jerusalem on the issue. The deal -- of which there is no official accounting -- essentially means that "the United States passively [accepts] Israel's nuclear weapons status as long as Israel does not unveil publicly its capability or test a weapon," according to expert Avner Cohen.
See Full Article...
http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20091002_7204.php
Friday, Oct. 2, 2009
U.S. President Barack Obama, left, speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the White House in May. Obama's administration does not plan to pressure Israel to open its nuclear sites to international scrutiny, officials said (White House photo/Getty Images).
The Obama administration does not intend to press Israel to give international monitors access to its nuclear weapons, the Washington Times reported today (see GSN, Sept. 29).
Israel has never officially acknowledged possession of what is believed to be the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal, which is roughly estimated at between 100 and 200 warheads.
Then-U.S. President Richard Nixon and former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meier in 1969 reportedly agreed that Washington would not challenge Jerusalem on the issue. The deal -- of which there is no official accounting -- essentially means that "the United States passively [accepts] Israel's nuclear weapons status as long as Israel does not unveil publicly its capability or test a weapon," according to expert Avner Cohen.
See Full Article...
http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20091002_7204.php
Administration Defends Changes to European Missile Shield
Administration Defends Changes to European Missile Shield
Friday, Oct. 2, 2009
By Martin Matishak
Global Security Newswire
A U.S. ground-based missile interceptor is lowered into a silo at Fort Greely, Alaska, in 2004. The arsenal of interceptors in Alaska and California would provide "full protection of the homeland" from an Iranian long-range missile threat by the end of next year, a senior Pentagon official said yesterday (U.S. Missile Defense Agency photo).
WASHINGTON -- Key officials from the U.S. Defense and State departments yesterday vigorously defended the Obama administration's decision to retool a proposed Europe-based missile defense shield (see GSN, Oct. 1).
"We are not scrapping missile defense in Europe. We are strengthening it," Defense Undersecretary Michele Flournoy told the House Armed Services Committee.
The White House announced two weeks ago that it would shelve a Bush administration plan to deploy 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic as a hedge against a developing missile threat from Iran (see GSN, Sept. 17). The plan proved controversial in the proposed host countries and was vehemently opposed by Russia as a threat to its strategic security.
See Full Article...
http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20091002_8280.php
Friday, Oct. 2, 2009
By Martin Matishak
Global Security Newswire
A U.S. ground-based missile interceptor is lowered into a silo at Fort Greely, Alaska, in 2004. The arsenal of interceptors in Alaska and California would provide "full protection of the homeland" from an Iranian long-range missile threat by the end of next year, a senior Pentagon official said yesterday (U.S. Missile Defense Agency photo).
WASHINGTON -- Key officials from the U.S. Defense and State departments yesterday vigorously defended the Obama administration's decision to retool a proposed Europe-based missile defense shield (see GSN, Oct. 1).
"We are not scrapping missile defense in Europe. We are strengthening it," Defense Undersecretary Michele Flournoy told the House Armed Services Committee.
The White House announced two weeks ago that it would shelve a Bush administration plan to deploy 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic as a hedge against a developing missile threat from Iran (see GSN, Sept. 17). The plan proved controversial in the proposed host countries and was vehemently opposed by Russia as a threat to its strategic security.
See Full Article...
http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20091002_8280.php
Iran Offers to Ship Uranium for Enrichment by Other Nations
Iran Offers to Ship Uranium for Enrichment by Other Nations
Friday, Oct. 2, 2009
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, left, and other Iranian officials speak to reporters yesterday at U.N. headquarters in New York City. Tehran yesterday indicated it was willing to send much of its uranium supply abroad for further enrichment (Mario Tama/Getty Images).
Iran yesterday signaled willingness to send much of its low-enriched uranium stockpile to France and Russia for further refinement, a move that could address concerns that the Middle Eastern state intends to use the material in a nuclear weapon, the Wall Street Journal reported (see GSN, Oct. 1).
"This limits Iran's ability to have the breakout ability needed to produce nuclear weapons," said one high-level U.S. official involved in yesterday's meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, of diplomats from Iran, the five permanent U.N. Security Council member nations and Germany. Iran is widely believed to possess enough low-enriched uranium to power a nuclear weapon if the country withdrew from international nonproliferation safeguards and continued to enrich the material.
See Full Article...
http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20091002_8995.php
Friday, Oct. 2, 2009
Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, left, and other Iranian officials speak to reporters yesterday at U.N. headquarters in New York City. Tehran yesterday indicated it was willing to send much of its uranium supply abroad for further enrichment (Mario Tama/Getty Images).
Iran yesterday signaled willingness to send much of its low-enriched uranium stockpile to France and Russia for further refinement, a move that could address concerns that the Middle Eastern state intends to use the material in a nuclear weapon, the Wall Street Journal reported (see GSN, Oct. 1).
"This limits Iran's ability to have the breakout ability needed to produce nuclear weapons," said one high-level U.S. official involved in yesterday's meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, of diplomats from Iran, the five permanent U.N. Security Council member nations and Germany. Iran is widely believed to possess enough low-enriched uranium to power a nuclear weapon if the country withdrew from international nonproliferation safeguards and continued to enrich the material.
See Full Article...
http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20091002_8995.php
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