U.S. should amend nuclear deal with South Korea
The nuclear power deal between the U.S. and South Korea should be revised to allow the Asian nation to reprocess spent fuel rods for peaceful purposes, according to this editorial. This comes after a U.S. official this past year stated that there was no need to change the agreement and the U.S. Senate doubted South Korea's intentions. Relations between the two countries could be affected should the U.S. decide to stop South Korea from reprocessing. Chosun Ilbo (South Korea)
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/02/16/2010021600765.html
Michele Kearney's Nuclear Wire - Major Energy and Environmental News and Commentary affecting the Nuclear Industry. Nuclear Activities
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Monday, February 15, 2010
Nuclear industry official: U.S. lagging
Nuclear industry official: U.S. lagging
http://www.trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_1ef52a26-2db4-5ffb-af90-0a7dfa9b06b5.html
http://www.trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_1ef52a26-2db4-5ffb-af90-0a7dfa9b06b5.html
China is ramping up nuclear energy sector, Areva executive says
China is ramping up nuclear energy sector, Areva executive says
The U.S., which has 104 nuclear reactors, is the biggest nuclear energy producer in the world, but China is catching up, according to Areva executive Robert W. Poyser. Speaking at a forum in Wyoming sponsored by the Citizens for Uranium Resource Education, Poyser said that "China is going to be producing up to 100 reactors over the next 20 years, and we're sitting here trying to figure out what to do." Star-Tribune (Casper, Wyo.)
http://www.trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_1ef52a26-2db4-5ffb-af90-0a7dfa9b06b5.html
The U.S., which has 104 nuclear reactors, is the biggest nuclear energy producer in the world, but China is catching up, according to Areva executive Robert W. Poyser. Speaking at a forum in Wyoming sponsored by the Citizens for Uranium Resource Education, Poyser said that "China is going to be producing up to 100 reactors over the next 20 years, and we're sitting here trying to figure out what to do." Star-Tribune (Casper, Wyo.)
http://www.trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_1ef52a26-2db4-5ffb-af90-0a7dfa9b06b5.html
Official: U.S. to award Southern first nuclear loan guarantee
Official: U.S. to award Southern first nuclear loan guarantee
Southern this week is expected to receive a loan guarantee to construct and operate two nuclear reactors, an unidentified administration official said. The loan guarantees, which are meant to show President Barack Obama's support for the power source, will go toward the first new nuclear plants in almost 30 years, the official added. Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1213242020100212?type=marketsNews
Southern this week is expected to receive a loan guarantee to construct and operate two nuclear reactors, an unidentified administration official said. The loan guarantees, which are meant to show President Barack Obama's support for the power source, will go toward the first new nuclear plants in almost 30 years, the official added. Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN1213242020100212?type=marketsNews
Saturday, February 13, 2010
U.S. Airborne Laser Eliminates Target Missile
Friday, Feb. 12, 2010
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency used its Airborne Laser to eliminate a mock ballistic missile during a test yesterday, Reuters reported (see GSN, Aug. 20, 2009).
The test occurred at 8:44 p.m. Pacific Standard Time at the Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Center-Weapons Division Sea Range not far from Ventura, Calif., Reuters reported.
"The Missile Defense Agency demonstrated the potential use of directed energy to defend against ballistic missiles when the Airborne Laser Testbed successfully destroyed a boosting ballistic missile," the agency stated.
"This was the first directed energy lethal intercept demonstration against a liquid-fuel boosting ballistic missile target from an airborne platform," it added.
The weapon is carried aboard a converted Boeing 747 and is intended to destroy ballistic missiles in the early stage of flight.
"The revolutionary use of directed energy is very attractive for missile defense, with the potential to attack multiple targets at the speed of light, at a range of hundreds of kilometers (miles), and at a low cost per intercept attempt compared to current technologies," the agency said (Wolf/Alexander, Reuters, Feb. 12).
Shortly after the first test, the Airborne Laser yesterday successfully targeted but intentionally did not destroy a solid fuel short-range missile, according to an agency press release. The weapon had been used to eliminate an identical missile on Feb. 3 (U.S. Missile Defense Agency release, Feb. 11).
http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20100212_9329.php
Friday, Feb. 12, 2010
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency used its Airborne Laser to eliminate a mock ballistic missile during a test yesterday, Reuters reported (see GSN, Aug. 20, 2009).
The test occurred at 8:44 p.m. Pacific Standard Time at the Point Mugu Naval Air Warfare Center-Weapons Division Sea Range not far from Ventura, Calif., Reuters reported.
"The Missile Defense Agency demonstrated the potential use of directed energy to defend against ballistic missiles when the Airborne Laser Testbed successfully destroyed a boosting ballistic missile," the agency stated.
"This was the first directed energy lethal intercept demonstration against a liquid-fuel boosting ballistic missile target from an airborne platform," it added.
The weapon is carried aboard a converted Boeing 747 and is intended to destroy ballistic missiles in the early stage of flight.
"The revolutionary use of directed energy is very attractive for missile defense, with the potential to attack multiple targets at the speed of light, at a range of hundreds of kilometers (miles), and at a low cost per intercept attempt compared to current technologies," the agency said (Wolf/Alexander, Reuters, Feb. 12).
Shortly after the first test, the Airborne Laser yesterday successfully targeted but intentionally did not destroy a solid fuel short-range missile, according to an agency press release. The weapon had been used to eliminate an identical missile on Feb. 3 (U.S. Missile Defense Agency release, Feb. 11).
http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20100212_9329.php
Boeing 747 uses laser to destroy missile
Boeing 747 uses laser to destroy missile
A U.S. military aircraft, equipped with an airborne laser device, successfully shot down a test missile in the sky off the central California coast Thursday night.
The high-energy laser, mounted on the nose of a modified Boeing 747-400F, was focused on the missile target during its boosting phase. The laser beam burned a hole in the side of the missile.
It was the first time that a laser weapon has engaged and destroyed an in-flight ballistic missile, and is the first time that any system has accomplished destroyed a missile as it was in its boosting phase.
More here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35369649/ns/lo...ews-seattle_wa/
A U.S. military aircraft, equipped with an airborne laser device, successfully shot down a test missile in the sky off the central California coast Thursday night.
The high-energy laser, mounted on the nose of a modified Boeing 747-400F, was focused on the missile target during its boosting phase. The laser beam burned a hole in the side of the missile.
It was the first time that a laser weapon has engaged and destroyed an in-flight ballistic missile, and is the first time that any system has accomplished destroyed a missile as it was in its boosting phase.
More here:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35369649/ns/lo...ews-seattle_wa/
The Rise of U.S. Nuclear Primacy | Foreign Affairs by KA Lieber
The Rise of U.S. Nuclear Primacy | Foreign Affairs
by KA Lieber - 2008 - Cited by 36 - Related articles
Could the U.S. government really destroy all of an adversary's nuclear weapons in a nuclear first strike? Does Washington want that ability? ...
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/61508/keir-a-lieber-and-daryl-g-press/the-rise-of-us-nuclear-primacy
by KA Lieber - 2008 - Cited by 36 - Related articles
Could the U.S. government really destroy all of an adversary's nuclear weapons in a nuclear first strike? Does Washington want that ability? ...
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/61508/keir-a-lieber-and-daryl-g-press/the-rise-of-us-nuclear-primacy
America's Nuclear Strategy: Defensive or First Strike?
America's Nuclear Strategy: Defensive or First Strike?
Apr 18, 2000 ... The systems itemized above are the five essential ingredients of a first-strike capability. The US is vigorously pursuing each one and some ...
www.antiwar.com/orig/aldridge1.html
Apr 18, 2000 ... The systems itemized above are the five essential ingredients of a first-strike capability. The US is vigorously pursuing each one and some ...
www.antiwar.com/orig/aldridge1.html
Friday, February 12, 2010
Europe's Five "Undeclared Nuclear Weapons States"
Europe's Five "Undeclared Nuclear Weapons States"
Are Turkey, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands and Italy Nuclear Powers?
- by Michel Chossudovsky - 2010-02-12
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=17550
Are Turkey, Germany, Belgium, The Netherlands and Italy Nuclear Powers?
- by Michel Chossudovsky - 2010-02-12
http://globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=17550
Thursday, February 11, 2010
IAEA Suggests Iran's New Enrichment Modest
IAEA Suggests Iran's New Enrichment Modest
George Jahn, Associated Press
AhmadinejadIran expects to produce its first batch of higher enriched uranium in a few days but its initial effort is modest, using only a small amount of feedstock and a fraction of its capacities, according to a confidential document shared Wednesday with The Associated Press.
But the document also indicated that Iran was keeping silent on whether or not it would ramp up production, which would bring it closer to the ability to produce the fissile core of nuclear weapons.
Full Article
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100210/ap_on_re_eu/iran_nuclear
* February 10, 2010 IAEA Report on Iran (PDF)
* ISIS Report: Iran's Enrichment for the Tehran Research Reactor
http://isis-online.org/isis-reports/detail/irans-enrichment-for-the-tehran-research-reactor-update/
George Jahn, Associated Press
AhmadinejadIran expects to produce its first batch of higher enriched uranium in a few days but its initial effort is modest, using only a small amount of feedstock and a fraction of its capacities, according to a confidential document shared Wednesday with The Associated Press.
But the document also indicated that Iran was keeping silent on whether or not it would ramp up production, which would bring it closer to the ability to produce the fissile core of nuclear weapons.
Full Article
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100210/ap_on_re_eu/iran_nuclear
* February 10, 2010 IAEA Report on Iran (PDF)
* ISIS Report: Iran's Enrichment for the Tehran Research Reactor
http://isis-online.org/isis-reports/detail/irans-enrichment-for-the-tehran-research-reactor-update/
Iran Is Now A Nuclear State
Iran Is Now A Nuclear State
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses tens of thousands of Iranians gathered in Azadi (Freedom) Square in southwestern Tehran today, marking the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution
Iran is now a 'nuclear state', President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced this morning.
He spoke as tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Tehran to mark the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution.Today Ahmadinejad told scores of cheering Iranians that the Islamic Republic is capable of producing weapons-grade uranium.
Read more
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1250127/Iran-Revolution-day-protests-Islamic-Republic-nuclear-state.html
More News On Iran
'Tense' Iran marks anniversary, confirms nuclear breakthrough -- CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/02/11/iran.revolution.anniversary/index.html?section=cnn_latest
Iran Claims Nuclear Gain as Protesters Clash -- New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/world/middleeast/12iran.html
Ahmadinejad hails 'nuclear' Iran -- AFP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hr1C01cHw8vZOgCpWHa6CxpgnAnA
Iran 'makes first batch of 20% enriched uranium' -- BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8510451.stm
Iran Makes Batch of Highly Enriched Uranium -- Time Magazine/AP
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1963604,00.html
Technical setbacks cause Iran to falter in push to enrich uranium, report says -- Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/10/AR2010021003988.html
US wants UN sanctions resolution on Iran within weeks -- Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN092228220100209
US to Target Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps with New Sanctions -- Voice of America
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/US-Target-Irans-Revolutionary-Guard-Corps-New-Sanctions--84038362.html
Treasury Dept. sanctions four firms for ties to Iran's arms programs -- Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/10/AR2010021003415.html
ANALYShttp://in.news.yahoo.com/137/20100211/760/twl-analysis-china-silence-signals-softe.html
IS - China silence signals softening on Iran sanctions -- Yahoo News/Reuters
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100211/ap_on_re_as/as_china_iran_sanctions_3
Renewed focus on China position on Iran sanctions -- Yahoo News/AP
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses tens of thousands of Iranians gathered in Azadi (Freedom) Square in southwestern Tehran today, marking the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution
Iran is now a 'nuclear state', President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced this morning.
He spoke as tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Tehran to mark the 31st anniversary of the Islamic revolution.Today Ahmadinejad told scores of cheering Iranians that the Islamic Republic is capable of producing weapons-grade uranium.
Read more
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/worldnews/article-1250127/Iran-Revolution-day-protests-Islamic-Republic-nuclear-state.html
More News On Iran
'Tense' Iran marks anniversary, confirms nuclear breakthrough -- CNN
http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/02/11/iran.revolution.anniversary/index.html?section=cnn_latest
Iran Claims Nuclear Gain as Protesters Clash -- New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/12/world/middleeast/12iran.html
Ahmadinejad hails 'nuclear' Iran -- AFP
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hr1C01cHw8vZOgCpWHa6CxpgnAnA
Iran 'makes first batch of 20% enriched uranium' -- BBC
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8510451.stm
Iran Makes Batch of Highly Enriched Uranium -- Time Magazine/AP
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1963604,00.html
Technical setbacks cause Iran to falter in push to enrich uranium, report says -- Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/10/AR2010021003988.html
US wants UN sanctions resolution on Iran within weeks -- Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN092228220100209
US to Target Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps with New Sanctions -- Voice of America
http://www1.voanews.com/english/news/middle-east/US-Target-Irans-Revolutionary-Guard-Corps-New-Sanctions--84038362.html
Treasury Dept. sanctions four firms for ties to Iran's arms programs -- Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/10/AR2010021003415.html
ANALYShttp://in.news.yahoo.com/137/20100211/760/twl-analysis-china-silence-signals-softe.html
IS - China silence signals softening on Iran sanctions -- Yahoo News/Reuters
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100211/ap_on_re_as/as_china_iran_sanctions_3
Renewed focus on China position on Iran sanctions -- Yahoo News/AP
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
TVA board nominees support nuclear growth from World Nuclear News by Jeremy Gordon
TVA board nominees support nuclear growth
from World Nuclear News by Jeremy Gordon
Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA's) proposed expansion of its nuclear power plant fleet is likely to get the backing of its board of directors after four nominees to the board expressed support for nuclear energy during a US Senate confirmation hearing.
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/C-TVA_board_nominees_support_nuclear_growth-1002104.html
from World Nuclear News by Jeremy Gordon
Tennessee Valley Authority's (TVA's) proposed expansion of its nuclear power plant fleet is likely to get the backing of its board of directors after four nominees to the board expressed support for nuclear energy during a US Senate confirmation hearing.
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/C-TVA_board_nominees_support_nuclear_growth-1002104.html
Jordan and U.S. Move Closer to Nuclear Pact Washington Seeks Civilian-Cooperation Deal, With Limits, as Prospect of Mideast Arms Race Looms
Jordan and U.S. Move Closer to Nuclear Pact
Washington Seeks Civilian-Cooperation Deal, With Limits, as Prospect of Mideast Arms Race Looms
Jordan is continuing discussions to finalize a civilian nuclear-cooperation deal with the U.S., officials said. The completion of the talks would make Jordan the second Arab state to get nuclear aid from the U.S.
Wall Street Journal, The
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704182004575055684101873228.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
Washington Seeks Civilian-Cooperation Deal, With Limits, as Prospect of Mideast Arms Race Looms
Jordan is continuing discussions to finalize a civilian nuclear-cooperation deal with the U.S., officials said. The completion of the talks would make Jordan the second Arab state to get nuclear aid from the U.S.
Wall Street Journal, The
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704182004575055684101873228.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
Eximbank to financially support nuclear energy exports, exec says
Eximbank to financially support nuclear energy exports, exec says
The Export-Import Bank of Korea seeks to play an important role in nuclear-export business by establishing a lenders group to manage financing for local companies, Chairman Kim Dong-soo said. The financial institution will take part in the United Arab Emirates nuclear energy business and will do what it can to turn South Korea into an industry powerhouse, he added.
Korea Times, The
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/02/123_60551.html
The Export-Import Bank of Korea seeks to play an important role in nuclear-export business by establishing a lenders group to manage financing for local companies, Chairman Kim Dong-soo said. The financial institution will take part in the United Arab Emirates nuclear energy business and will do what it can to turn South Korea into an industry powerhouse, he added.
Korea Times, The
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/02/123_60551.html
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Wash. lawmaker touts Hanford site as "ideal" for nuclear expansion
Wash. lawmaker touts Hanford site as "ideal" for nuclear expansion
Washington Republican Rep. Norman "Doc" Hastings said he supports the construction of another nuclear energy facility at the Hanford site. Speaking at a clean-energy gathering in Washington state, Hastings said that Hanford is an "ideal" site to expand nuclear production. KNDO-TV/KNDU-TV (Yakima, Wash.)
http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=11951828
Washington Republican Rep. Norman "Doc" Hastings said he supports the construction of another nuclear energy facility at the Hanford site. Speaking at a clean-energy gathering in Washington state, Hastings said that Hanford is an "ideal" site to expand nuclear production. KNDO-TV/KNDU-TV (Yakima, Wash.)
http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=11951828
Yucca Mountain seen as possible reprocessing site Nuclear waste still up in air
Yucca Mountain seen as possible reprocessing site
Nuclear waste still up in air
Republican Senate and gubernatorial candidates in Nevada have stated their support for studying nuclear-waste reprocessing at Yucca Mountain, a week after a plan to store such material at the site suffered a setback. "If the safety precautions are there, we should do it," said U.S. Senate hopeful Danny Tarkanian, who placed reprocessing on top of his list of steps to diversify the state's economy. Las Vegas Review-Journal
http://www.lvrj.com/news/yucca-mountain-seen-as-possible-reprocessing-site-83787692.html
Nuclear waste still up in air
Republican Senate and gubernatorial candidates in Nevada have stated their support for studying nuclear-waste reprocessing at Yucca Mountain, a week after a plan to store such material at the site suffered a setback. "If the safety precautions are there, we should do it," said U.S. Senate hopeful Danny Tarkanian, who placed reprocessing on top of his list of steps to diversify the state's economy. Las Vegas Review-Journal
http://www.lvrj.com/news/yucca-mountain-seen-as-possible-reprocessing-site-83787692.html
Monday, February 8, 2010
Iran moves closer to nuclear warheads
Iran moves closer to nuclear warheads
from The Washington Times stories: News by George Jahn ASSOCIATED PRESS
VIENNA, Austria -- Iran moved closer to being able to produce nuclear warheads Monday with formal notification that it will enrich uranium to higher levels, even while insisting that the move was meant only to provide fuel for its research reactor. Iranian envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh told the Associated Press that he informed the International Atomic Energy Agency of the decision to enrich at least some of its low-enriched uranium stockpile to 20 percent, considered the threshold value for highly enriched uranium. Mr. Soltanieh, who represents Iran at the Vienna-based IAEA, also said that the U.N. agency's inspectors now overseeing ...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/08/iran-moves-closer-nuclear-warheads/
from The Washington Times stories: News by George Jahn ASSOCIATED PRESS
VIENNA, Austria -- Iran moved closer to being able to produce nuclear warheads Monday with formal notification that it will enrich uranium to higher levels, even while insisting that the move was meant only to provide fuel for its research reactor. Iranian envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh told the Associated Press that he informed the International Atomic Energy Agency of the decision to enrich at least some of its low-enriched uranium stockpile to 20 percent, considered the threshold value for highly enriched uranium. Mr. Soltanieh, who represents Iran at the Vienna-based IAEA, also said that the U.N. agency's inspectors now overseeing ...
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/feb/08/iran-moves-closer-nuclear-warheads/
Official: Argentina's third nuclear plant to be completed this year
Official: Argentina's third nuclear plant to be completed this year
Work on the Atucha II nuclear power plant in Argentina will be finished by the end of the year, Planning Minister Julio De Vido said. The facility, which is projected to generate about 700 megawatts, will supply about 3% of the country's total electricity. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100205-710936.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
Work on the Atucha II nuclear power plant in Argentina will be finished by the end of the year, Planning Minister Julio De Vido said. The facility, which is projected to generate about 700 megawatts, will supply about 3% of the country's total electricity. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100205-710936.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
GE Hitachi is looking to build nuclear facility in India's Gujarat state
GE Hitachi is looking to build nuclear facility in India's Gujarat state
GE Hitachi Nuclear said it is eager to construct its nuclear-power project in India's Gujarat state -- one of the sites the Indian government selected for U.S. reactor vendors. The company is seeking to bring in its next-generation 1,520-megawatt Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor model for the venture. The Hindu Business Line (India)
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/02/06/stories/2010020653130100.htm
GE Hitachi Nuclear said it is eager to construct its nuclear-power project in India's Gujarat state -- one of the sites the Indian government selected for U.S. reactor vendors. The company is seeking to bring in its next-generation 1,520-megawatt Economic Simplified Boiling Water Reactor model for the venture. The Hindu Business Line (India)
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2010/02/06/stories/2010020653130100.htm
Commentary: Pragmatic rules required to advance nuclear energy
Commentary: Pragmatic rules required to advance nuclear energy
President Barack Obama has emphasized the need to be realistic in the development of energy sources, including nuclear, according to this editorial. Regulatory agencies must follow through on Obama's pledge and craft pragmatic policies to develop and advance nuclear and other clean-energy sources, the editorial argues. The Detroit News
http://detnews.com/article/20100201/OPINION01/2010303/Energy-realism-includes-nuclear-power
President Barack Obama has emphasized the need to be realistic in the development of energy sources, including nuclear, according to this editorial. Regulatory agencies must follow through on Obama's pledge and craft pragmatic policies to develop and advance nuclear and other clean-energy sources, the editorial argues. The Detroit News
http://detnews.com/article/20100201/OPINION01/2010303/Energy-realism-includes-nuclear-power
Exelon's Rowe to Serve on Nuclear Waste Disposal Panel
Exelon's Rowe to Serve on Nuclear Waste Disposal Panel
More details are emerging on a plan by the Obama administration to set up a Blue Ribbon Commission to study and develop long-term solutions for storing spent nuclear fuel rods from the nation's power plants (DEN, Jan. 29, Ex-Rep. Hamilton, Scowcroft to Lead New DOE Nuclear Waste Panel), the Phoenix Business Journal reported. The panel, which will be led by former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., and ex-National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, will include 15 commission members. Named to the panel were Exelon President and CEO John Rowe, former Sens. Pete V. Domenici, R-N.M., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., ex-FERC commissioner Vicky Bailey and ex-NRC commissioner Richard A. Meserve. The commission was given 18 months to ready an interim report and 24 months to submit the final version, but Hamilton said he hoped progress would "move on a faster track than that."
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said President Obama's endorsement of nuclear power, the commission and higher loan guarantees for construction would "enable the United States to catch up with the rest of the world in building the most reliable way to produce cheap, carbon-free electricity." The announcement of the commission, following news of the raised loan guarantees, rapidly spurred opposition from some environmentalists, Sustainable Business reported.
The Nuclear Information and Resource Service said 3,000 letters against nuclear power plants were sent to the White House in 48 hours. The group's president, Michael Mariotte, said Obama "needs to remember what Candidate Obama promised: no more taxpayer subsidies for nuclear power." Ellen Vancko, Union of Concerned Scientists nuclear energy and climate change project manager, said: "At a time when our country is struggling economically, it is a mistake to force U.S. taxpayers to assume financial risks that the private sector will not by guaranteeing tens of billions of dollars in risky loans to an industry with a track record of cancellations and defaults."
Sustainable Business via Reuters.com, Feb. 6; Phoenix (Ariz.) Business Journal, Feb. 5.
DOE news release, Jan. 29.
More details are emerging on a plan by the Obama administration to set up a Blue Ribbon Commission to study and develop long-term solutions for storing spent nuclear fuel rods from the nation's power plants (DEN, Jan. 29, Ex-Rep. Hamilton, Scowcroft to Lead New DOE Nuclear Waste Panel), the Phoenix Business Journal reported. The panel, which will be led by former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind., and ex-National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft, will include 15 commission members. Named to the panel were Exelon President and CEO John Rowe, former Sens. Pete V. Domenici, R-N.M., and Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., ex-FERC commissioner Vicky Bailey and ex-NRC commissioner Richard A. Meserve. The commission was given 18 months to ready an interim report and 24 months to submit the final version, but Hamilton said he hoped progress would "move on a faster track than that."
Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said President Obama's endorsement of nuclear power, the commission and higher loan guarantees for construction would "enable the United States to catch up with the rest of the world in building the most reliable way to produce cheap, carbon-free electricity." The announcement of the commission, following news of the raised loan guarantees, rapidly spurred opposition from some environmentalists, Sustainable Business reported.
The Nuclear Information and Resource Service said 3,000 letters against nuclear power plants were sent to the White House in 48 hours. The group's president, Michael Mariotte, said Obama "needs to remember what Candidate Obama promised: no more taxpayer subsidies for nuclear power." Ellen Vancko, Union of Concerned Scientists nuclear energy and climate change project manager, said: "At a time when our country is struggling economically, it is a mistake to force U.S. taxpayers to assume financial risks that the private sector will not by guaranteeing tens of billions of dollars in risky loans to an industry with a track record of cancellations and defaults."
Sustainable Business via Reuters.com, Feb. 6; Phoenix (Ariz.) Business Journal, Feb. 5.
DOE news release, Jan. 29.
Dangerous steps in Iran's nuclear dance
Dangerous steps in Iran's nuclear dance
Just days after Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said Tehran's nuclear fuel could be processed abroad, he ordered stockpiles of uranium to be enriched to a high degree domestically. Tehran's dualistic diplomacy is designed to increase Iran's bargaining ability in regards to a fuel deal, while proving a point to hawks in the United States. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Feb 8, '10)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LB09Ak01.html
Just days after Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said Tehran's nuclear fuel could be processed abroad, he ordered stockpiles of uranium to be enriched to a high degree domestically. Tehran's dualistic diplomacy is designed to increase Iran's bargaining ability in regards to a fuel deal, while proving a point to hawks in the United States. - Kaveh L Afrasiabi (Feb 8, '10)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LB09Ak01.html
Iran threat real, but Al-Qaeda danger greater: Clinton
Iran threat real, but Al-Qaeda danger greater: Clinton
Washington (AFP) Feb 7, 2010 - The Iranian nuclear threat is real but the United States faces an even greater danger from Al-Qaeda, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned in an interview Sunday. "In terms of a country, obviously a nuclear-armed country like North Korea or Iran pose both a real or a potential threat," Clinton told CNN's "State of the Union", making it clear the Iranians don't yet possess an atomic weapo ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iran_threat_real_but_Al-Qaeda_danger_greater_Clinton_999.html
Washington (AFP) Feb 7, 2010 - The Iranian nuclear threat is real but the United States faces an even greater danger from Al-Qaeda, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned in an interview Sunday. "In terms of a country, obviously a nuclear-armed country like North Korea or Iran pose both a real or a potential threat," Clinton told CNN's "State of the Union", making it clear the Iranians don't yet possess an atomic weapo ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iran_threat_real_but_Al-Qaeda_danger_greater_Clinton_999.html
Moscow 'concerned' by US-Romania missile shield deal
Moscow 'concerned' by US-Romania missile shield deal
Moscow (AFP) Feb 5, 2010 - Russia's foreign ministry voiced its concern Friday at Romania's plans to host part of a new US missile shield system in Europe, saying it would seek explanations from Europe and Washington. "This is a serious matter which we will be analysing with care," the ministry said in a statement. "Naturally, we are concerned by this. There is a need to obtain clarifications. "We will raise this ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Moscow_concerned_by_US-Romania_missile_shield_deal_999.html
Moscow (AFP) Feb 5, 2010 - Russia's foreign ministry voiced its concern Friday at Romania's plans to host part of a new US missile shield system in Europe, saying it would seek explanations from Europe and Washington. "This is a serious matter which we will be analysing with care," the ministry said in a statement. "Naturally, we are concerned by this. There is a need to obtain clarifications. "We will raise this ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Moscow_concerned_by_US-Romania_missile_shield_deal_999.html
Defiant Ahmadinejad orders higher enrichment of uranium
Defiant Ahmadinejad orders higher enrichment of uranium
Tehran (AFP) Feb 7, 2010
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday ordered Iran's atomic chief to begin higher uranium enrichment, raising the stakes in a dispute with the West days after seeming to accept a UN-drafted nuclear deal.
Ahmadinejad's declaration drew immediate fire from Britain, which said it was "clearly a matter of serious concern," while US Defence Secretary Robert Gates called for mounting "international pressure" on the Islamic republic.
In a speech at an exhibition on laser technology broadcast live on state television, Ahmadinejad blamed world powers for the stalemate over the nuclear fuel deal, but left the door open for possible negotiation over the proposal.
"I had said let us give them (world powers) two to three months and if they don't agree, we would start ourselves," he said.
"Now Dr (Ali Akbar) Salehi, start to make the 20 percent with the centrifuges," the hardliner told Iran's atomic chief, who was in the audience, referring to high-enriched uranium required as fuel to power a Tehran reactor.
Britain said that if Iran ploughed ahead with higher uranium enrichment, it would be in breach of five United Nations Security Council resolutions.
"Reports that Iran is planning to enrich some of their fuel to 20 percent level of enrichment are clearly a matter of serious concern," a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry said in a statement issued in London.
Gates, meanwhile, called on the international community to stand united against Iran.
"The international community has offered the Iranian government multiple opportunities to provide reassurance of its intentions. The results have been very disappointing," Gates said after meeting his Italian counterpart Ignazio La Russa in Rome.
"If the international community will stand together and bring pressure on the Iranian government, I believe there is still time for sanctions and pressure to work. But we must all work together."
Analysts called Ahmadinejad's comments an attempt to pressure Washington and drive a wedge between the six world powers, some of whom are still hesitant to back fresh sanctions against Tehran.
"Ahmadinejad wants to put pressure on the West, especially the US. He was responding to those in the West who do not want Iran to strike a deal," Iranian analyst Mohammad Saleh Sadeghian told AFP.
"I think that Iran prefers a swap deal over the option of producing the fuel" of 20 percent enriched uranium itself, he added.
A Western analyst who asked not to be named said Iranian declarations such as Ahmadinejad's on Sunday were attempts to "delay potential sanctions by dividing the six world powers without backing down on the nuclear programme."
World powers fear that Tehran wants to enrich uranium to very high levels for use in an atomic weapons programme, and hence want to remove its low-enriched uranium (LEU) through the UN-drafted deal.
Iran insists its nuclear enrichment drive is purely peaceful.
Tehran and world powers are locked in a stalemate over the UN-drafted deal, which envisages the Iran's 3.5 percent LEU being sent to Russia and France for enrichment to 20 percent and then returned as fuel for the Tehran reactor.
Ahmadinejad insisted that world powers "unconditionally" accept exchanging Iran's LEU for high purity 20 percent enriched uranium to be used as nuclear fuel for the Tehran reactor, which makes medical isotopes.
His statement comes after he indicated in an interview on state television last Tuesday that Iran was ready to send its LEU abroad for conversion into 20 percent nuclear fuel.
Iranian officials have opposed the UN-brokered proposal, saying they would prefer a simultaneous exchange on Iranian soil, a plan rejected by world powers.
Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that if the world powers "come forward and say 'we will exchange (uranium) unconditionally and cooperate on your reactors and medicine'... fine then we will cooperate" too.
Salehi also emphasised that world powers have little time left on a fuel deal with Iran.
"If they do not enter this fuel exchange we have to be ready for 20 percent enrichment," Fars news agency quoted him as saying.
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Defiant_Ahmadinejad_orders_higher_enrichment_of_uranium_999.html
Tehran (AFP) Feb 7, 2010
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday ordered Iran's atomic chief to begin higher uranium enrichment, raising the stakes in a dispute with the West days after seeming to accept a UN-drafted nuclear deal.
Ahmadinejad's declaration drew immediate fire from Britain, which said it was "clearly a matter of serious concern," while US Defence Secretary Robert Gates called for mounting "international pressure" on the Islamic republic.
In a speech at an exhibition on laser technology broadcast live on state television, Ahmadinejad blamed world powers for the stalemate over the nuclear fuel deal, but left the door open for possible negotiation over the proposal.
"I had said let us give them (world powers) two to three months and if they don't agree, we would start ourselves," he said.
"Now Dr (Ali Akbar) Salehi, start to make the 20 percent with the centrifuges," the hardliner told Iran's atomic chief, who was in the audience, referring to high-enriched uranium required as fuel to power a Tehran reactor.
Britain said that if Iran ploughed ahead with higher uranium enrichment, it would be in breach of five United Nations Security Council resolutions.
"Reports that Iran is planning to enrich some of their fuel to 20 percent level of enrichment are clearly a matter of serious concern," a spokeswoman for the foreign ministry said in a statement issued in London.
Gates, meanwhile, called on the international community to stand united against Iran.
"The international community has offered the Iranian government multiple opportunities to provide reassurance of its intentions. The results have been very disappointing," Gates said after meeting his Italian counterpart Ignazio La Russa in Rome.
"If the international community will stand together and bring pressure on the Iranian government, I believe there is still time for sanctions and pressure to work. But we must all work together."
Analysts called Ahmadinejad's comments an attempt to pressure Washington and drive a wedge between the six world powers, some of whom are still hesitant to back fresh sanctions against Tehran.
"Ahmadinejad wants to put pressure on the West, especially the US. He was responding to those in the West who do not want Iran to strike a deal," Iranian analyst Mohammad Saleh Sadeghian told AFP.
"I think that Iran prefers a swap deal over the option of producing the fuel" of 20 percent enriched uranium itself, he added.
A Western analyst who asked not to be named said Iranian declarations such as Ahmadinejad's on Sunday were attempts to "delay potential sanctions by dividing the six world powers without backing down on the nuclear programme."
World powers fear that Tehran wants to enrich uranium to very high levels for use in an atomic weapons programme, and hence want to remove its low-enriched uranium (LEU) through the UN-drafted deal.
Iran insists its nuclear enrichment drive is purely peaceful.
Tehran and world powers are locked in a stalemate over the UN-drafted deal, which envisages the Iran's 3.5 percent LEU being sent to Russia and France for enrichment to 20 percent and then returned as fuel for the Tehran reactor.
Ahmadinejad insisted that world powers "unconditionally" accept exchanging Iran's LEU for high purity 20 percent enriched uranium to be used as nuclear fuel for the Tehran reactor, which makes medical isotopes.
His statement comes after he indicated in an interview on state television last Tuesday that Iran was ready to send its LEU abroad for conversion into 20 percent nuclear fuel.
Iranian officials have opposed the UN-brokered proposal, saying they would prefer a simultaneous exchange on Iranian soil, a plan rejected by world powers.
Ahmadinejad said on Sunday that if the world powers "come forward and say 'we will exchange (uranium) unconditionally and cooperate on your reactors and medicine'... fine then we will cooperate" too.
Salehi also emphasised that world powers have little time left on a fuel deal with Iran.
"If they do not enter this fuel exchange we have to be ready for 20 percent enrichment," Fars news agency quoted him as saying.
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Defiant_Ahmadinejad_orders_higher_enrichment_of_uranium_999.html
US doubts Iran claim nuclear deal 'close'
US doubts Iran claim nuclear deal 'close'
Ankara (AFP) Feb 6, 2010 - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed doubts Saturday that a deal was close on Iran's disputed nuclear programme, as the UN atomic chief said Tehran presented no new proposals at talks in Germany. The comments come amid growing Western impatience with Iran for failing to respond clearly to a proposal for sending some of its uranium abroad for enrichment, amid fears Tehran may be trying ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/US_doubts_Iran_claim_nuclear_deal_close_999.html
Ankara (AFP) Feb 6, 2010 - US Defense Secretary Robert Gates expressed doubts Saturday that a deal was close on Iran's disputed nuclear programme, as the UN atomic chief said Tehran presented no new proposals at talks in Germany. The comments come amid growing Western impatience with Iran for failing to respond clearly to a proposal for sending some of its uranium abroad for enrichment, amid fears Tehran may be trying ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/US_doubts_Iran_claim_nuclear_deal_close_999.html
Iran opens two new missile plants
Iran opens two new missile plants
File image courtesy AFP.
by Staff Writers
Tehran (AFP) Feb 6, 2010
Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi opened two new missile production plants on Saturday, just three days after Iran fired a rocket carrying live animals into space, state television reported.
The plants will produce a ground-to-air missile dubbed the Qaem (Rising) and a surface-to-surface missile dubbed Toofan 5 (Storm), the broadcaster said.
The Qaem is designed to target helicopters at low and medium altitudes, it added.
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iran_opens_two_new_missile_plants_999.html
File image courtesy AFP.
by Staff Writers
Tehran (AFP) Feb 6, 2010
Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi opened two new missile production plants on Saturday, just three days after Iran fired a rocket carrying live animals into space, state television reported.
The plants will produce a ground-to-air missile dubbed the Qaem (Rising) and a surface-to-surface missile dubbed Toofan 5 (Storm), the broadcaster said.
The Qaem is designed to target helicopters at low and medium altitudes, it added.
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iran_opens_two_new_missile_plants_999.html
Indian govt hails test of nuclear-capable missile
Indian govt hails test of nuclear-capable missile
Bhubhaneswar, India (AFP) Feb 7, 2010 - India successfully tested a nuclear-capable missile on Sunday, a defence ministry spokesman said, days after the government proposed a resumption of talks with arch-rival Pakistan. The surface-to-surface Agni-III missile with a range of more than 3,000 kilometres (2,000 miles) was fired from Wheeler Island, off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa. "It hit the target with pin-point a ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Indian_govt_hails_test_of_nuclear-capable_missile_999.html
Bhubhaneswar, India (AFP) Feb 7, 2010 - India successfully tested a nuclear-capable missile on Sunday, a defence ministry spokesman said, days after the government proposed a resumption of talks with arch-rival Pakistan. The surface-to-surface Agni-III missile with a range of more than 3,000 kilometres (2,000 miles) was fired from Wheeler Island, off the coast of the eastern state of Orissa. "It hit the target with pin-point a ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Indian_govt_hails_test_of_nuclear-capable_missile_999.html
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Obama Budget Seeks 13.4 Percent Increase for National Nuclear Security Administration Walter Pincus, The Washington Post
Obama Budget Seeks 13.4 Percent Increase for National Nuclear Security Administration
Walter Pincus, The Washington Post
President Obama's fiscal 2011 budget blueprint calls for an increase in funding of more than 13 percent for the agency that oversees the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, a greater percentage increase than for any other government agency.
Full Article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/02/AR2010020203884.html
President Obama's fiscal 2011 budget blueprint calls for an increase in funding of more than 13 percent for the agency that oversees the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, a greater percentage increase than for any other government agency.
The request could help reduce opposition to a new strategic arms control treaty with Russia. Republicans have argued that the Obama administration will jeopardize national security if it agrees to cuts in the U.S. nuclear arsenal without modernizing the country's remaining weapons.
The $11.2 billion request for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) represents a 13.4 percent increase for the agency from the previous fiscal year. Most agencies across the rest of the government saw either no increase in the spending plan announced this week or a single-digit percentage increase.
At the NNSA, the Obama administration is seeking a funding increase of 25 percent, to $2 billion, for the continued safety and surety of the nuclear weapons stockpile. That would ensure funds for the agency to reach full production of the refurbished Navy W-76 Trident submarine warhead, to refurbish the B-61 bomb, and to study options for maintaining the W-78, the warhead in the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.
In addition, the budget request provides for a 10.4 percent increase, to $1.6 billion, in funds for additional work in science and technology to enhance confidence in the annual certification of the nuclear stockpile. An additional $2 billion would go to the long-term program to upgrade weapons-complex facilities, including a new plutonium facility for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and a uranium manufacturing plant at Oak Ridge, Tenn.
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Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), who has actively followed negotiations over a new nuclear treaty with Russia, said the increase in the budget was "a definite improvement over previous years." But he said he will be meeting with administration officials to make certain that the budget correlates with the upcoming Nuclear Posture Review and the 10-year modernization plan that could help in dealing with any future treaty.
Other observers already see the new budget as a boon for arms-control advocates.
"The budget signals that the price for the START follow-on agreement with Russia and Senate certification of the CTBT [Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty] is additional money for nuclear weapons modernization and production facilities," said Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project of the Federation of American Scientists. He said the additional funds for research will provide continued employment for scientists so that skills remain to build new nuclear weapons if needed.
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said the proposed budget figures show that the administration is not allowing the nuclear arsenal to be degraded, as some critics have charged. Instead, Kimball said, the budget shows that there is "a major effort to extend the service lives of warheads."
"Even without the additional funding proposed by the administration, confidence in the ability to maintain U.S. warheads in the absence of nuclear test explosions has been increasing," he said.
Other large increases in funding requests at the NNSA pertain to nonproliferation, which President Obama has stressed as part of his arms-control agenda. An estimated $100 million will go to Russia as part of a $400 million commitment to help it dispose of plutonium.
Obama also requested $559 million for the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, an increase of 68 percent from the previous year. This is to aid in bringing under control additional nuclear materials from overseas and to convert research reactors fueled with highly enriched uranium to low-enriched uranium.
Walter Pincus, The Washington Post
President Obama's fiscal 2011 budget blueprint calls for an increase in funding of more than 13 percent for the agency that oversees the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, a greater percentage increase than for any other government agency.
Full Article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/02/AR2010020203884.html
President Obama's fiscal 2011 budget blueprint calls for an increase in funding of more than 13 percent for the agency that oversees the U.S. nuclear weapons complex, a greater percentage increase than for any other government agency.
The request could help reduce opposition to a new strategic arms control treaty with Russia. Republicans have argued that the Obama administration will jeopardize national security if it agrees to cuts in the U.S. nuclear arsenal without modernizing the country's remaining weapons.
The $11.2 billion request for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) represents a 13.4 percent increase for the agency from the previous fiscal year. Most agencies across the rest of the government saw either no increase in the spending plan announced this week or a single-digit percentage increase.
At the NNSA, the Obama administration is seeking a funding increase of 25 percent, to $2 billion, for the continued safety and surety of the nuclear weapons stockpile. That would ensure funds for the agency to reach full production of the refurbished Navy W-76 Trident submarine warhead, to refurbish the B-61 bomb, and to study options for maintaining the W-78, the warhead in the Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.
In addition, the budget request provides for a 10.4 percent increase, to $1.6 billion, in funds for additional work in science and technology to enhance confidence in the annual certification of the nuclear stockpile. An additional $2 billion would go to the long-term program to upgrade weapons-complex facilities, including a new plutonium facility for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico and a uranium manufacturing plant at Oak Ridge, Tenn.
ad_icon
Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), who has actively followed negotiations over a new nuclear treaty with Russia, said the increase in the budget was "a definite improvement over previous years." But he said he will be meeting with administration officials to make certain that the budget correlates with the upcoming Nuclear Posture Review and the 10-year modernization plan that could help in dealing with any future treaty.
Other observers already see the new budget as a boon for arms-control advocates.
"The budget signals that the price for the START follow-on agreement with Russia and Senate certification of the CTBT [Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty] is additional money for nuclear weapons modernization and production facilities," said Hans M. Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project of the Federation of American Scientists. He said the additional funds for research will provide continued employment for scientists so that skills remain to build new nuclear weapons if needed.
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said the proposed budget figures show that the administration is not allowing the nuclear arsenal to be degraded, as some critics have charged. Instead, Kimball said, the budget shows that there is "a major effort to extend the service lives of warheads."
"Even without the additional funding proposed by the administration, confidence in the ability to maintain U.S. warheads in the absence of nuclear test explosions has been increasing," he said.
Other large increases in funding requests at the NNSA pertain to nonproliferation, which President Obama has stressed as part of his arms-control agenda. An estimated $100 million will go to Russia as part of a $400 million commitment to help it dispose of plutonium.
Obama also requested $559 million for the Global Threat Reduction Initiative, an increase of 68 percent from the previous year. This is to aid in bringing under control additional nuclear materials from overseas and to convert research reactors fueled with highly enriched uranium to low-enriched uranium.
US certifies India-IAEA Safeguards Agreement on civil n-facilities
US certifies India-IAEA Safeguards Agreement on civil n-facilities
WASHINGTON: In yet another step towards full implementation of the India-US civil nuclear deal, President Barack Obama has certified that India
has placed its nuclear facilities under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
Obama made the Congressionally-mandated certification Wednesday in a presidential memorandum to the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking her to have it inserted in the Federal Register that records all government actions.
Obama's confirmation that India has formally agreed to provide the UN nuclear watchdog access to a specified number of nuclear reactors takes the deal yet another step closer to implementation of the landmark deal. Military facilities are excluded from the safeguards agreement.
But a couple of other crucial steps are still pending. India and the US are still negotiating an agreement on reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. The two sides are said to be on track to complete the talks by August as provided under the deal.
India also needs to approve liability protection for US companies. The Indian cabinet has approved the necessary legislation, but it has yet to be placed before parliament.
In a presidential memorandum released by the White House, Obama wrote: "I hereby determine and certify that:
1. The agreement between the government of India and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the application of safeguards to civilian nuclear facilities, as approved by the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency on August 1, 2008 (the 'Safeguards Agreement'), has entered into force; and
2. The government of India has filed a declaration of facilities pursuant to paragraph 13 of the Safeguards Agreement that is not materially inconsistent with the facilities and schedule described in paragraph 14 of the Separation Plan present in the national Parliament of India on May 11, 2006, taking into account
the later initiation of safeguards that was anticipated in the Separation Plan."
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Politics/Nation/US-certifies-India-IAEA-Safeguards-Agreement-on-civil-n-facilities-/articleshow/5534227.cms
WASHINGTON: In yet another step towards full implementation of the India-US civil nuclear deal, President Barack Obama has certified that India
has placed its nuclear facilities under the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
Obama made the Congressionally-mandated certification Wednesday in a presidential memorandum to the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking her to have it inserted in the Federal Register that records all government actions.
Obama's confirmation that India has formally agreed to provide the UN nuclear watchdog access to a specified number of nuclear reactors takes the deal yet another step closer to implementation of the landmark deal. Military facilities are excluded from the safeguards agreement.
But a couple of other crucial steps are still pending. India and the US are still negotiating an agreement on reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel. The two sides are said to be on track to complete the talks by August as provided under the deal.
India also needs to approve liability protection for US companies. The Indian cabinet has approved the necessary legislation, but it has yet to be placed before parliament.
In a presidential memorandum released by the White House, Obama wrote: "I hereby determine and certify that:
1. The agreement between the government of India and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the application of safeguards to civilian nuclear facilities, as approved by the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency on August 1, 2008 (the 'Safeguards Agreement'), has entered into force; and
2. The government of India has filed a declaration of facilities pursuant to paragraph 13 of the Safeguards Agreement that is not materially inconsistent with the facilities and schedule described in paragraph 14 of the Separation Plan present in the national Parliament of India on May 11, 2006, taking into account
the later initiation of safeguards that was anticipated in the Separation Plan."
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Politics/Nation/US-certifies-India-IAEA-Safeguards-Agreement-on-civil-n-facilities-/articleshow/5534227.cms
Iran Urged to Follow Up on Nuclear U-Turn Andrew Gully, Agence France-Presse
Iran Urged to Follow Up on Nuclear U-Turn
Andrew Gully, Agence France-Presse
AhmadinejadThe United States and key allies urged Iran Wednesday to follow up on a surprise U-turn from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by formally committing to a UN-brokered deal to swap enriched uranium for nuclear fuel.
But there was also alarm and the renewed threat of new sanctions as Ahmadinejad's apparent overture to the West on the nuclear issue was quickly followed by a rocket launch into space deemed by the White House "a provocative act."
Full Article
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gmGiZJEAAlvQazyWzxdCrk75rK2g
Andrew Gully, Agence France-Presse
AhmadinejadThe United States and key allies urged Iran Wednesday to follow up on a surprise U-turn from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad by formally committing to a UN-brokered deal to swap enriched uranium for nuclear fuel.
But there was also alarm and the renewed threat of new sanctions as Ahmadinejad's apparent overture to the West on the nuclear issue was quickly followed by a rocket launch into space deemed by the White House "a provocative act."
Full Article
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gmGiZJEAAlvQazyWzxdCrk75rK2g
Pakistan nuclear arsenal safe: Top US spy chief
Pakistan nuclear arsenal safe: Top US spy chief
Washington (AFP) Feb 3, 2010 - Pakistan's military knows there were would "catastrophic consequences, primarily for Pakistan," if any of its nuclear bombs fell into the wrong hands, the top US intelligence official said Wednesday. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair's comments came one day after he told the Senate Intelligence Committee that "vulnerabilities exist" in Pakistan's nuclear safeguards. "The Pak ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Pakistan_nuclear_arsenal_safe_Top_US_spy_chief_999.html
Washington (AFP) Feb 3, 2010 - Pakistan's military knows there were would "catastrophic consequences, primarily for Pakistan," if any of its nuclear bombs fell into the wrong hands, the top US intelligence official said Wednesday. Director of National Intelligence Dennis Blair's comments came one day after he told the Senate Intelligence Committee that "vulnerabilities exist" in Pakistan's nuclear safeguards. "The Pak ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Pakistan_nuclear_arsenal_safe_Top_US_spy_chief_999.html
# White House plan for Yucca Mountain draws concern from NEI
# White House plan for Yucca Mountain draws concern from NEI
The Nuclear Energy Institute expressed concern about the Obama administration's plan to revoke the license bid for Nevada's Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste project in a legally binding way that would keep it from being revived. The sector "does not support the termination of this program but believes that, if it is going to happen, it should occur in an orderly manner to permit the licensing process to be restarted if ever warranted," NEI President and CEO Marvin Fertel said. Las Vegas Review-Journal/Stephens Washington News Bureau
http://www.lvrj.com/news/breaking_news/-Yuccas-death-spiral-might-hit-NEI-snag-83411407.html
The Nuclear Energy Institute expressed concern about the Obama administration's plan to revoke the license bid for Nevada's Yucca Mountain nuclear-waste project in a legally binding way that would keep it from being revived. The sector "does not support the termination of this program but believes that, if it is going to happen, it should occur in an orderly manner to permit the licensing process to be restarted if ever warranted," NEI President and CEO Marvin Fertel said. Las Vegas Review-Journal/Stephens Washington News Bureau
http://www.lvrj.com/news/breaking_news/-Yuccas-death-spiral-might-hit-NEI-snag-83411407.html
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
ooperative Threat Reduction Program to Expand Mission
ooperative Threat Reduction Program to Expand Mission
Global Security Newswire
Recent legislation could help the U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction program more easily exploit opportunities to eliminate WMD materials while increasing its work outside the former Soviet Union, U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) announced yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 22, 2009).
Full Article
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100128_7901.php
Global Security Newswire
Recent legislation could help the U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction program more easily exploit opportunities to eliminate WMD materials while increasing its work outside the former Soviet Union, U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) announced yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 22, 2009).
Full Article
http://www.globalsecuritynewswire.org/gsn/nw_20100128_7901.php
The President's Nuclear Vision
The President's Nuclear Vision
Joe Biden, The Wall Street Journal
BidenThe United States faces no greater threat than the spread of nuclear weapons. That is why, last April in Prague, President Obama laid out a comprehensive agenda to reverse their spread, and to pursue the peace and security of a world without them.
He understands that this ultimate goal will not be reached quickly. But by acting on a number of fronts, we can ensure our security, strengthen the global nonproliferation regime, and keep vulnerable nuclear material out of terrorist hands.
Full Article
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704878904575031382215508268.html
Joe Biden, The Wall Street Journal
BidenThe United States faces no greater threat than the spread of nuclear weapons. That is why, last April in Prague, President Obama laid out a comprehensive agenda to reverse their spread, and to pursue the peace and security of a world without them.
He understands that this ultimate goal will not be reached quickly. But by acting on a number of fronts, we can ensure our security, strengthen the global nonproliferation regime, and keep vulnerable nuclear material out of terrorist hands.
Full Article
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704878904575031382215508268.html
Saudi Arabia to take part in U.N. nuclear-safety accord
Saudi Arabia to take part in U.N. nuclear-safety accord
The government of Saudi Arabia declared it is joining the U.N.'s Nuclear Safety Convention. While the country does not have nuclear facilities, it is believed to have an interest in exploring the energy source. Under the convention, parties are required to comply with the standards set to maintain safety at plants. Zawya.com (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)/Agence France-Presse
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidANA20100201T164656ZCMU82/Saudi%20to%20join%20nuclear%20safety%20pact
The government of Saudi Arabia declared it is joining the U.N.'s Nuclear Safety Convention. While the country does not have nuclear facilities, it is believed to have an interest in exploring the energy source. Under the convention, parties are required to comply with the standards set to maintain safety at plants. Zawya.com (Dubai, United Arab Emirates)/Agence France-Presse
http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm/sidANA20100201T164656ZCMU82/Saudi%20to%20join%20nuclear%20safety%20pact
DOJ seeks $11.4M for defense fund against nuclear-waste litigation
DOJ seeks $11.4M for defense fund against nuclear-waste litigation
President Barack Obama is requesting that Congress provide the Justice Department with an additional $11.4 million to bolster its legal resources against lawsuits filed by utilities over the government's delay in collecting used nuclear fuel. The department said utilities have filed 72 suits representing more than $50 billion in alleged damages. "Defending these cases will involve intensive resources due to their complexity and high financial stakes," the DOJ wrote in its budget summary. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100201-716852.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
President Barack Obama is requesting that Congress provide the Justice Department with an additional $11.4 million to bolster its legal resources against lawsuits filed by utilities over the government's delay in collecting used nuclear fuel. The department said utilities have filed 72 suits representing more than $50 billion in alleged damages. "Defending these cases will involve intensive resources due to their complexity and high financial stakes," the DOJ wrote in its budget summary. The Wall Street Journal/Dow Jones Newswires
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20100201-716852.html?mod=dist_smartbrief
Obama's energy budget earmarks $36 billion in loan guarantees
Obama's energy budget earmarks $36 billion in loan guarantees
President Barack Obama's budget request for 2011 includes $36 billion to back loans for new nuclear power plants -- twice as much as the current program. Nuclear energy proponents hope the guarantees will spur the construction of at least six nuclear power plants. The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/01/AR2010020101794.html?nav=emailpage
President Barack Obama's budget request for 2011 includes $36 billion to back loans for new nuclear power plants -- twice as much as the current program. Nuclear energy proponents hope the guarantees will spur the construction of at least six nuclear power plants. The Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/02/01/AR2010020101794.html?nav=emailpage
The great uranium stampede
The great uranium stampede
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article7009629.ece
The Sunday Times January 31, 2010
The great uranium stampede
Everybody wants supplies as nuclear power comes roaring back
Australia's Olympic Dam deposit is the world's largest
Danny Fortson
It’s an odd place for a group of Frenchmen to pitch a tent city. Bakouma is one of the deepest, darkest corners of African jungle. From Bangui, the capital of the land-locked Central African Republic, it takes days to navigate the 800km of dirt track to this patch of virgin forest in the middle of the continent. Usually they go by light aircraft to a nearby landing strip.
Most of the 160 or so jungle dwellers are scientists but they are not there to count butterflies. They are drawing up plans for a uranium mine. Areva, France’s state-owned nuclear giant, is behind the project. It hopes to begin clearing forest next year after the government approves its plan.
Bakouma is not an isolated case. It’s just one example of a silent landgrab unfolding around the globe. After decades as a forgotten commodity, uranium, the radioactive element used as the primary fuel for nuclear power, is hot property again. Agents for companies, many of them government-controlled, are fanning out across the globe to gain access to the powdery, radioactive ore.
The scramble has been set off by the comeback of nuclear power. In the past couple of years countries that for decades had shunned it as an expensive, pariah technology have embraced it anew. Britain is leading the charge. The government envisages a new generation of reactors to replace the rickety old stations that will be retired in the coming years. The renaissance has taken hold elsewhere, from America to the Middle East and China.
For some, the resulting uranium rush is worrying. Rianne Teule, a nuclear campaigner at Greenpeace, said: “A lot of new countries in Africa are opening up to uranium mining but it is non-African companies that are exploiting the resource — Chinese, Canadian and French firms. It’s a whole new phase of colonialism.”
It’s also a serious business. As with oil, companies and governments are seeking to ensure supplies of a fuel that will play an increasing role as economies move away from traditional fossil-fuelled power.
Last year Kazakhstan leapfrogged Australia and Canada to become the largest supplier of uranium, producing about 14,000 tonnes, a fifth of global consumption.
Niger has also begun drawing the attention, and money, of big multinationals. Areva is investing more than €1 billion (£870m) in a giant new mine in the impoverished desert nation. CNNC, China’s state-owned nuclear firm, bought a stake in a project there last week. And Obtala Resources, a London-listed group run by Frank Scolaro, former chairman of Regal Petroleum, is in the final stages of negotiating licences for two new prospects.
“These are the kinds of projects we like,” said Scolaro. “The world is going nuclear and they will need the fuel.”
Today there are 439 reactors operating in the world. According to Steve Kidd at the World Nuclear Association, another 142 are in the pipeline, and 53 of these are already under construction. Of the latter, 20 are in China. “We forget that in France in the 1970s they were building five new reactors a year,” he said. “The Chinese are just doing what the French did, but on a Chinese scale.”
The mining boom has been boosted by a surge in the uranium price. “For three decades uranium cost $10 a pound because nuclear power wasn’t seen as very desirable. Now that we have all these concerns about the environment and going low-carbon, it’s different. It hit $137 [a pound] two years ago,” said Joe Kelly, head of nuclear fuel markets at Icap Energy. Today the spot price for unenriched uranium is $42 a pound, enough for most projects to go ahead.
The Cigar Lake mine in Saskatchewan, Canada, the world’s largest undeveloped high-grade deposit, jointly owned by Areva and Cameco of Canada, will open next year. It is one of eight that will begin producing in the next 12 months.
A couple of the biggest sources, meanwhile, could soon run out. America and Russia supply up to a fifth of the world’s needs from decommissioned bombs or stockpiles built up during their nuclear arms race. They are gradually releasing these into the market. “There is a worry that when the cold-war stocks run out we won’t be able to meet demand,” said Kelly.
The US Department of Energy has pledged not to flood the market. If it did, the price would crash and bring many new projects to an abrupt halt.
That would be no bad thing, said Greenpeace’s Teule, who argued that many of the new mining areas are virtually unregulated. A recent investigation in Niger uncovered radioactive shovels on sale in the local market in Arlit, a company town next to Areva’s mine there. The country is the world’s sixth-largest producer and has ambitions to move up the rankings. It employs only three nuclear inspectors to keep watch on the industry.
Areva acknowledged the problem but said the company has instituted a plan to stop radioactive “waste rock” and scrap metal from finding its way into the local community.
Teule said: “We are using this as a specific example to other countries about the problems they can get themselves into and to ensure there is proper regulation and reports on the environmental impact.”
Indeed, even as investors flood into Niger, companies are starting new projects in other poor countries such as Namibia and Malawi.
“Getting a mine going in Texas takes two bookshelves full of authorisations,” said one commentator. “In Niger you give a shovel to a guy on
$2 a day and you’re mining uranium.”
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article7009629.ece
The Sunday Times January 31, 2010
The great uranium stampede
Everybody wants supplies as nuclear power comes roaring back
Australia's Olympic Dam deposit is the world's largest
Danny Fortson
It’s an odd place for a group of Frenchmen to pitch a tent city. Bakouma is one of the deepest, darkest corners of African jungle. From Bangui, the capital of the land-locked Central African Republic, it takes days to navigate the 800km of dirt track to this patch of virgin forest in the middle of the continent. Usually they go by light aircraft to a nearby landing strip.
Most of the 160 or so jungle dwellers are scientists but they are not there to count butterflies. They are drawing up plans for a uranium mine. Areva, France’s state-owned nuclear giant, is behind the project. It hopes to begin clearing forest next year after the government approves its plan.
Bakouma is not an isolated case. It’s just one example of a silent landgrab unfolding around the globe. After decades as a forgotten commodity, uranium, the radioactive element used as the primary fuel for nuclear power, is hot property again. Agents for companies, many of them government-controlled, are fanning out across the globe to gain access to the powdery, radioactive ore.
The scramble has been set off by the comeback of nuclear power. In the past couple of years countries that for decades had shunned it as an expensive, pariah technology have embraced it anew. Britain is leading the charge. The government envisages a new generation of reactors to replace the rickety old stations that will be retired in the coming years. The renaissance has taken hold elsewhere, from America to the Middle East and China.
For some, the resulting uranium rush is worrying. Rianne Teule, a nuclear campaigner at Greenpeace, said: “A lot of new countries in Africa are opening up to uranium mining but it is non-African companies that are exploiting the resource — Chinese, Canadian and French firms. It’s a whole new phase of colonialism.”
It’s also a serious business. As with oil, companies and governments are seeking to ensure supplies of a fuel that will play an increasing role as economies move away from traditional fossil-fuelled power.
Last year Kazakhstan leapfrogged Australia and Canada to become the largest supplier of uranium, producing about 14,000 tonnes, a fifth of global consumption.
Niger has also begun drawing the attention, and money, of big multinationals. Areva is investing more than €1 billion (£870m) in a giant new mine in the impoverished desert nation. CNNC, China’s state-owned nuclear firm, bought a stake in a project there last week. And Obtala Resources, a London-listed group run by Frank Scolaro, former chairman of Regal Petroleum, is in the final stages of negotiating licences for two new prospects.
“These are the kinds of projects we like,” said Scolaro. “The world is going nuclear and they will need the fuel.”
Today there are 439 reactors operating in the world. According to Steve Kidd at the World Nuclear Association, another 142 are in the pipeline, and 53 of these are already under construction. Of the latter, 20 are in China. “We forget that in France in the 1970s they were building five new reactors a year,” he said. “The Chinese are just doing what the French did, but on a Chinese scale.”
The mining boom has been boosted by a surge in the uranium price. “For three decades uranium cost $10 a pound because nuclear power wasn’t seen as very desirable. Now that we have all these concerns about the environment and going low-carbon, it’s different. It hit $137 [a pound] two years ago,” said Joe Kelly, head of nuclear fuel markets at Icap Energy. Today the spot price for unenriched uranium is $42 a pound, enough for most projects to go ahead.
The Cigar Lake mine in Saskatchewan, Canada, the world’s largest undeveloped high-grade deposit, jointly owned by Areva and Cameco of Canada, will open next year. It is one of eight that will begin producing in the next 12 months.
A couple of the biggest sources, meanwhile, could soon run out. America and Russia supply up to a fifth of the world’s needs from decommissioned bombs or stockpiles built up during their nuclear arms race. They are gradually releasing these into the market. “There is a worry that when the cold-war stocks run out we won’t be able to meet demand,” said Kelly.
The US Department of Energy has pledged not to flood the market. If it did, the price would crash and bring many new projects to an abrupt halt.
That would be no bad thing, said Greenpeace’s Teule, who argued that many of the new mining areas are virtually unregulated. A recent investigation in Niger uncovered radioactive shovels on sale in the local market in Arlit, a company town next to Areva’s mine there. The country is the world’s sixth-largest producer and has ambitions to move up the rankings. It employs only three nuclear inspectors to keep watch on the industry.
Areva acknowledged the problem but said the company has instituted a plan to stop radioactive “waste rock” and scrap metal from finding its way into the local community.
Teule said: “We are using this as a specific example to other countries about the problems they can get themselves into and to ensure there is proper regulation and reports on the environmental impact.”
Indeed, even as investors flood into Niger, companies are starting new projects in other poor countries such as Namibia and Malawi.
“Getting a mine going in Texas takes two bookshelves full of authorisations,” said one commentator. “In Niger you give a shovel to a guy on
$2 a day and you’re mining uranium.”
Monday, February 1, 2010
IAEA still in 'dialogue' on Iran enrichment deal: Amano
IAEA still in 'dialogue' on Iran enrichment deal: Amano
Davos, Switzerland (AFP) Jan 29, 2010 - UN nuclear watchdog chief Yukio Amano said Friday his agency was still trying to negotiate a uranium enrichment deal amid new Western warnings to the Islamic state over its atomic programme. "Our proposal is on the table. Dialogue is continuing," the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Amano, who took over as hea ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/IAEA_still_in_dialogue_on_Iran_enrichment_deal_Amano_999.html
Davos, Switzerland (AFP) Jan 29, 2010 - UN nuclear watchdog chief Yukio Amano said Friday his agency was still trying to negotiate a uranium enrichment deal amid new Western warnings to the Islamic state over its atomic programme. "Our proposal is on the table. Dialogue is continuing," the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency told reporters at the World Economic Forum in Davos. Amano, who took over as hea ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/IAEA_still_in_dialogue_on_Iran_enrichment_deal_Amano_999.html
President Obama to seek $54M for nuclear boost, source says
President Obama to seek $54M for nuclear boost, source says
President Barack Obama is reportedly expected to request that Congress provide $54 million in additional loan guarantees for nuclear energy in his 2011 budget proposal, according to a source in the administration. Obama endorsed nuclear energy in his State of the Union address, partly to win over Republican and moderate Democratic legislators in passing a comprehensive climate-and-energy measure. ABC News/The Associated Press
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9709897
President Barack Obama is reportedly expected to request that Congress provide $54 million in additional loan guarantees for nuclear energy in his 2011 budget proposal, according to a source in the administration. Obama endorsed nuclear energy in his State of the Union address, partly to win over Republican and moderate Democratic legislators in passing a comprehensive climate-and-energy measure. ABC News/The Associated Press
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9709897
Nuclear must play key role in in U.S. energy mix
Nuclear must play key role in in U.S. energy mix
The U.S. should consider nuclear as one of the energy solutions apart from solar, wind and geothermal power, writes Oregon State University professor emeritus John Ringle in this opinion article. Nuclear has no emissions and supplies power even at times when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine. To keep the country's economy on track, the need for more nuclear facilities must be acknowledged. Statesman-Journal (Salem, Ore.)
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100130/OPINION/1300303/1049
The U.S. should consider nuclear as one of the energy solutions apart from solar, wind and geothermal power, writes Oregon State University professor emeritus John Ringle in this opinion article. Nuclear has no emissions and supplies power even at times when the wind does not blow and the sun does not shine. To keep the country's economy on track, the need for more nuclear facilities must be acknowledged. Statesman-Journal (Salem, Ore.)
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/article/20100130/OPINION/1300303/1049
Blue-ribbon panel to find "new strategy" on nuclear-waste storage
Blue-ribbon panel to find "new strategy" on nuclear-waste storage
The newly formed Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future will study the "full range of scientific and technical options" available as alternatives to Nevada's Yucca Mountain site for storage and disposal of radioactive waste, according to Energy Department Secretary Steven Chu. "The debate over Yucca Mountain is over, as the president has made clear many times," said White House adviser Carol Browner. "It is time to move forward with a new strategy based on the best science and the advice of a broad range of experts." Las Vegas Review-Journal/Stephens Washington News Bureau
http://www.lvrj.com/news/federal-panel-to-examine-nuclear-waste-storage-83143397.html
The newly formed Blue Ribbon Commission on America's Nuclear Future will study the "full range of scientific and technical options" available as alternatives to Nevada's Yucca Mountain site for storage and disposal of radioactive waste, according to Energy Department Secretary Steven Chu. "The debate over Yucca Mountain is over, as the president has made clear many times," said White House adviser Carol Browner. "It is time to move forward with a new strategy based on the best science and the advice of a broad range of experts." Las Vegas Review-Journal/Stephens Washington News Bureau
http://www.lvrj.com/news/federal-panel-to-examine-nuclear-waste-storage-83143397.html
Friday, January 29, 2010
Obama eyes significant increase for nuclear loan guarantees
* Sources: Obama eyes significant increase for nuclear loan guarantees
President Barack Obama will reportedly recommend increasing loan guarantees for new nuclear projects to more than $54 billion. The move reflects Obama's call in his State of the Union speech to boost nuclear-energy generation in the country. Industry groups including the Nuclear Energy Institute said the guarantees are vital because many companies lack the available capital to fund such facilities. BusinessWeek/Bloomberg (1/29) Email this Story
* GE exec lauds Obama's endorsement of nuclear power
President Barack Obama's support for nuclear energy may generate jobs and strengthen national security, General Electric Vice Chairman John Krenicki said. The power source "has to be a part of the solution for good energy policy, so we were delighted to hear President Obama endorsing nuclear," Krenicki said during the World Economic Forum. BusinessWeek/Bloomberg (1/28) Email this Story
* GE is still targeting nuclear deals in Middle East, chief says: General Electric said it still seeks to secure nuclear-power deals in the Middle East, even though it lost out on a contract worth $40 billion to construct four nuclear reactors for the United Arab Emirates, Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said. The company would "love to do a nuclear project" in the region, he added, where more countries are aiming for nuclear as an energy alternative to fossil fuels. ArabianBusiness.com
President Barack Obama will reportedly recommend increasing loan guarantees for new nuclear projects to more than $54 billion. The move reflects Obama's call in his State of the Union speech to boost nuclear-energy generation in the country. Industry groups including the Nuclear Energy Institute said the guarantees are vital because many companies lack the available capital to fund such facilities. BusinessWeek/Bloomberg (1/29) Email this Story
* GE exec lauds Obama's endorsement of nuclear power
President Barack Obama's support for nuclear energy may generate jobs and strengthen national security, General Electric Vice Chairman John Krenicki said. The power source "has to be a part of the solution for good energy policy, so we were delighted to hear President Obama endorsing nuclear," Krenicki said during the World Economic Forum. BusinessWeek/Bloomberg (1/28) Email this Story
* GE is still targeting nuclear deals in Middle East, chief says: General Electric said it still seeks to secure nuclear-power deals in the Middle East, even though it lost out on a contract worth $40 billion to construct four nuclear reactors for the United Arab Emirates, Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said. The company would "love to do a nuclear project" in the region, he added, where more countries are aiming for nuclear as an energy alternative to fossil fuels. ArabianBusiness.com
Thursday, January 28, 2010
US Asks Pakistan to Stop Blocking Nuclear Talks
US Asks Pakistan to Stop Blocking Nuclear Talks
Eliane Engeler, Associated Press
Pakistan is delaying international talks on a ban on the production of new nuclear bomb material, insisting that any deal must also require its archrival India to reduce its existing stockpile.
Full Article
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/us-asks-pakistan-to-283912.html
Eliane Engeler, Associated Press
Pakistan is delaying international talks on a ban on the production of new nuclear bomb material, insisting that any deal must also require its archrival India to reduce its existing stockpile.
Full Article
http://www.ajc.com/news/nation-world/us-asks-pakistan-to-283912.html
U.S. to Discuss S. Korea's Demand for Nuclear Reprocessing: Campbell
U.S. to Discuss S. Korea's Demand for Nuclear Reprocessing: Campbell
Hwang Doo-hyong, Yonhap News
The United States will discuss next week South Korea's demand for the right to reprocess spent nuclear fuel to help South Korean firms make inroads into the global nuclear energy market, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday.
Full Article
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/01/28/69/0301000000AEN20100128001300315F.HTML
Hwang Doo-hyong, Yonhap News
The United States will discuss next week South Korea's demand for the right to reprocess spent nuclear fuel to help South Korean firms make inroads into the global nuclear energy market, a senior U.S. official said Wednesday.
Full Article
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/national/2010/01/28/69/0301000000AEN20100128001300315F.HTML
U.S. to Outline New Iran Sanctions
U.S. to Outline New Iran Sanctions
Jay Solomon and Joe Lauria, The Wall Street Journal
State of the UnionEditor's Note: With President Barack Obama warning North Korea and Iran of increased isolation in his first State of the Union address, the United States will reportedly present the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany, a list of Iranian individuals and firms to target with sanctions, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel signals support for broad-based sanctions as Siemens, Europe's biggest engineering conglomerate, announced an end to business with Iran.
Full Article
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704094304575029692904293082.html
Jay Solomon and Joe Lauria, The Wall Street Journal
State of the UnionEditor's Note: With President Barack Obama warning North Korea and Iran of increased isolation in his first State of the Union address, the United States will reportedly present the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany, a list of Iranian individuals and firms to target with sanctions, according to the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, German Chancellor Angela Merkel signals support for broad-based sanctions as Siemens, Europe's biggest engineering conglomerate, announced an end to business with Iran.
Full Article
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704094304575029692904293082.html
Monday, January 25, 2010
Mitsubishi is close to its first European reactor deal, executive says
Mitsubishi is close to its first European reactor deal, executive says
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said there is a "high possibility" it will secure its first nuclear power plant contract in Europe next year. A utility in northern Europe is close to awarding a contract for Mitsubishi's 1,700-megawatt model with advanced fault-detection technology, said Akira Sawa, the head of atomic business at the firm. Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=aqelzhM83i.w
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries said there is a "high possibility" it will secure its first nuclear power plant contract in Europe next year. A utility in northern Europe is close to awarding a contract for Mitsubishi's 1,700-megawatt model with advanced fault-detection technology, said Akira Sawa, the head of atomic business at the firm. Bloomberg
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=aqelzhM83i.w
South Korea aims to take part in Dutch research reactor project
South Korea aims to take part in Dutch research reactor project
The Netherlands' decision to stop the contractor-selection process for the building of the PALLAS research reactor presents a new opportunity for South Korean firms to bid for the project, the South Korean government said. If the Dutch government decides to push through with the project, South Korean firms will take measures to get the deal, the government said, citing that although the bidding process has been stopped, the project itself has not been canceled. Yonhap News Agency (Korea)
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2010/01/25/73/0501000000AEN20100125002100320F.HTML
The Netherlands' decision to stop the contractor-selection process for the building of the PALLAS research reactor presents a new opportunity for South Korean firms to bid for the project, the South Korean government said. If the Dutch government decides to push through with the project, South Korean firms will take measures to get the deal, the government said, citing that although the bidding process has been stopped, the project itself has not been canceled. Yonhap News Agency (Korea)
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/business/2010/01/25/73/0501000000AEN20100125002100320F.HTML
Feds must begin repayment to utilities for nuclear storage
Feds must begin repayment to utilities for nuclear storage
The federal government should begin paying back the billions of dollars owed to utilities nationwide after a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of Nebraska Public Power District over the government's nonpayment of $159 million for nuclear-waste storage. The court rejected the government's excuse of unavoidable delays at the proposed permanent storage facility at Nevada's Yucca Mountain, according to this editorial. Lincoln Journal Star (Neb.)
http://journalstar.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_f9e37f9c-0895-11df-b193-001cc4c03286.html
The federal government should begin paying back the billions of dollars owed to utilities nationwide after a federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., ruled in favor of Nebraska Public Power District over the government's nonpayment of $159 million for nuclear-waste storage. The court rejected the government's excuse of unavoidable delays at the proposed permanent storage facility at Nevada's Yucca Mountain, according to this editorial. Lincoln Journal Star (Neb.)
http://journalstar.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_f9e37f9c-0895-11df-b193-001cc4c03286.html
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Kuwait, Emirates sign up for reactors
Kuwait, Emirates sign up for reactors
Kuwait City (UPI) Jan 20, 2009 - Kuwait has signed a 20-year agreement with France to develop the Gulf state's nuclear industry, beefing up the Gulf states' leadership of an Arab drive to develop nuclear power that will reshape the region's energy policy. The United Arab Emirates sealed a $20.4 billion deal in December for the construction of four 1,400-megawatt nuclear power plants with a consortium led by South Korea ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Kuwait_Emirates_sign_up_for_reactors_999.html
Kuwait City (UPI) Jan 20, 2009 - Kuwait has signed a 20-year agreement with France to develop the Gulf state's nuclear industry, beefing up the Gulf states' leadership of an Arab drive to develop nuclear power that will reshape the region's energy policy. The United Arab Emirates sealed a $20.4 billion deal in December for the construction of four 1,400-megawatt nuclear power plants with a consortium led by South Korea ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Kuwait_Emirates_sign_up_for_reactors_999.html
South Korea Warns North on a First Nuclear Strike
South Korea Warns North on a First Nuclear Strike
Choe Sang-Hun, The New York Times
South Korea would launch a pre-emptive conventional strike against the North if there were clear indications of an impending nuclear attack, the South Korean defense minister said Wednesday in Seoul, even as both countries were holding talks about improvements at their jointly operated industrial park.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/world/asia/21korea.html
Choe Sang-Hun, The New York Times
South Korea would launch a pre-emptive conventional strike against the North if there were clear indications of an impending nuclear attack, the South Korean defense minister said Wednesday in Seoul, even as both countries were holding talks about improvements at their jointly operated industrial park.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/21/world/asia/21korea.html
Gates Wants Nuclear Talks with China
Gates Wants Nuclear Talks with China
Bill Gertz, The Washington Times
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates discussed China's military buildup with Indian leaders in New Delhi on Wednesday and told reporters he wants talks with China on nuclear weapons, something Beijing has resisted.
Full Article
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/21/gates-wants-nuclear-talks-with-china/
Bill Gertz, The Washington Times
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates discussed China's military buildup with Indian leaders in New Delhi on Wednesday and told reporters he wants talks with China on nuclear weapons, something Beijing has resisted.
Full Article
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/21/gates-wants-nuclear-talks-with-china/
Iran Snubs Nuclear Fuel Deal: Diplomats
Iran Snubs Nuclear Fuel Deal: Diplomats
Simon Morgan, Agence France-Presse
Iran has effectively rejected a UN-brokered nuclear fuel supply deal, diplomats here said Wednesday, but the UN's atomic watchdog, the IAEA, insisted the offer was "still on the table."
Full Article
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jE3pxVq3i-X7WBWT5okVqSexEYQg
Simon Morgan, Agence France-Presse
Iran has effectively rejected a UN-brokered nuclear fuel supply deal, diplomats here said Wednesday, but the UN's atomic watchdog, the IAEA, insisted the offer was "still on the table."
Full Article
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jE3pxVq3i-X7WBWT5okVqSexEYQg
How to Protect Our Nuclear Deterrent George P. Shultz et al., The Wall Street Journal
How to Protect Our Nuclear Deterrent
George P. Shultz et al., The Wall Street Journal
WSJThe four of us have come together, now joined by many others, to support a global effort to reduce reliance on nuclear weapons, to prevent their spread into potentially dangerous hands, and ultimately to end them as a threat to the world. We do so in recognition of a clear and threatening development.
The accelerating spread of nuclear weapons, nuclear know-how, and nuclear material has brought us to a tipping point. We face a very real possibility that the deadliest weapons ever invented could fall into dangerous hands.
Full Article
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704152804574628344282735008.html
George P. Shultz et al., The Wall Street Journal
WSJThe four of us have come together, now joined by many others, to support a global effort to reduce reliance on nuclear weapons, to prevent their spread into potentially dangerous hands, and ultimately to end them as a threat to the world. We do so in recognition of a clear and threatening development.
The accelerating spread of nuclear weapons, nuclear know-how, and nuclear material has brought us to a tipping point. We face a very real possibility that the deadliest weapons ever invented could fall into dangerous hands.
Full Article
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704152804574628344282735008.html
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Egyptian government requests nuclear training from Korea
Egyptian government requests nuclear training from Korea
The Egyptian government has requested that South Korea conduct a training program for Egyptian nuclear technicians, according to the Korea International Cooperation Agency. The training will reportedly include a three- to four-year study program at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. Chosun Ilbo (South Korea)/Arirang News (South Korea)
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/01/19/2010011900793.html
The Egyptian government has requested that South Korea conduct a training program for Egyptian nuclear technicians, according to the Korea International Cooperation Agency. The training will reportedly include a three- to four-year study program at the Korea Atomic Energy Research Institute. Chosun Ilbo (South Korea)/Arirang News (South Korea)
http://english.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/01/19/2010011900793.html
Going Nuclear for the Election
Going Nuclear for the Election
World Nuclear News
As Ukraine's presidential election approaches, hopeful candidate Yulia Tymoshenko has embarked on a remarkable pro-nuclear campaigning spree.
Full Article
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP_Going_nuclear_for_the_election_1501101.html
World Nuclear News
As Ukraine's presidential election approaches, hopeful candidate Yulia Tymoshenko has embarked on a remarkable pro-nuclear campaigning spree.
Full Article
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP_Going_nuclear_for_the_election_1501101.html
South Korea Likely to Win Nuclear Power Plant Bid in Turkey: Report
South Korea Likely to Win Nuclear Power Plant Bid in Turkey: Report
MarketWatch
South Korea is likely to win the bid for building two nuclear power plants in Sinop of Turkey, Yonhap News Agency reported Saturday, citing Turkish media.
Full Article
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/south-korea-likely-to-win-nuclear-power-plant-bid-in-turkey-report-2010-01-16
MarketWatch
South Korea is likely to win the bid for building two nuclear power plants in Sinop of Turkey, Yonhap News Agency reported Saturday, citing Turkish media.
Full Article
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/south-korea-likely-to-win-nuclear-power-plant-bid-in-turkey-report-2010-01-16
Germany Warns Iran It Faces New Sanctions
Germany Warns Iran It Faces New Sanctions
Allyn Fisher-Ilan, Reuters
Iran faces further sanctions unless it changes stance in talks over its nuclear program, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday, even if there is no United Nations agreement to act against Tehran.
Full Article
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60H4PG20100118
Allyn Fisher-Ilan, Reuters
Iran faces further sanctions unless it changes stance in talks over its nuclear program, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Monday, even if there is no United Nations agreement to act against Tehran.
Full Article
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60H4PG20100118
Review Says Iran Never Halted Nuke Work in '03
Review Says Iran Never Halted Nuke Work in '03
Eli Lake, The Washington Times
U.S. intelligence agencies now suspect that Iran never halted work on its nuclear arms program in 2003, as stated in a national intelligence estimate made public three years ago, U.S. officials said.
Full Article
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/19/review-says-iran-never-halted-nuke-work-in-2003/
* Newsweek: Coming Around on Iran
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/declassified/archive/2010/01/15/coming-around-on-iran.aspx
Eli Lake, The Washington Times
U.S. intelligence agencies now suspect that Iran never halted work on its nuclear arms program in 2003, as stated in a national intelligence estimate made public three years ago, U.S. officials said.
Full Article
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2010/jan/19/review-says-iran-never-halted-nuke-work-in-2003/
* Newsweek: Coming Around on Iran
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/declassified/archive/2010/01/15/coming-around-on-iran.aspx
Pakistan Blocks Agenda at U.N. Disarmament Conference
Pakistan Blocks Agenda at U.N. Disarmament Conference
Jonathan Lynn, Reuters
PakistanArms negotiators failed to start talks on Tuesday on cutting nuclear weapons when Pakistan blocked the adoption of the 2010 agenda for the U.N.-sponsored Conference on Disarmament.
The conference, the world's sole multinational negotiating forum for disarmament, spent much of 2009 stuck on procedural wrangles raised by Pakistan after breaking a 12-year deadlock to agree to a programme of work.
The impasse on Tuesday suggested 2010 would be another year of halting progress.
Full Article
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60I26U20100119
Jonathan Lynn, Reuters
PakistanArms negotiators failed to start talks on Tuesday on cutting nuclear weapons when Pakistan blocked the adoption of the 2010 agenda for the U.N.-sponsored Conference on Disarmament.
The conference, the world's sole multinational negotiating forum for disarmament, spent much of 2009 stuck on procedural wrangles raised by Pakistan after breaking a 12-year deadlock to agree to a programme of work.
The impasse on Tuesday suggested 2010 would be another year of halting progress.
Full Article
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60I26U20100119
Friday, January 15, 2010
Taiwan firm put on watch list after sales to Iran
Taiwan firm put on watch list after sales to Iran
Taipei (AFP) Jan 6, 2010 - Taiwan has placed a local company on a watch list after the firm sold specialised equipment to Iran, an official said on Wednesday. "The company is on an observation list, which means it must obtain prior export permits, after it imported 108 pressure sensors from Europe and sold them to Iran in March 2008," said an official at the Bureau of Foreign Trade. Pressure sensors can measure al ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Taiwan_firm_put_on_watch_list_after_sales_to_Iran_999.html
Taipei (AFP) Jan 6, 2010 - Taiwan has placed a local company on a watch list after the firm sold specialised equipment to Iran, an official said on Wednesday. "The company is on an observation list, which means it must obtain prior export permits, after it imported 108 pressure sensors from Europe and sold them to Iran in March 2008," said an official at the Bureau of Foreign Trade. Pressure sensors can measure al ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Taiwan_firm_put_on_watch_list_after_sales_to_Iran_999.html
Murdered Iran atomic scientist mired in mystery
Murdered Iran atomic scientist mired in mystery
Tehran (AFP) Jan 13, 2010 - "Hezbollahi" or staunch supporter of Iran's regime, active backer of the opposition, even apolitical scientist -- the political affiliation of murdered atomic scientist Massoud Ali Mohammadi was unclear on Wednesday. Official media and regime hardliners reacted to Tuesday's deadly bombing by calling the victim "a revolutionary teacher who was martyred," state television reported, while Tehra ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Murdered_Iran_atomic_scientist_mired_in_mystery_999.html
Tehran (AFP) Jan 13, 2010 - "Hezbollahi" or staunch supporter of Iran's regime, active backer of the opposition, even apolitical scientist -- the political affiliation of murdered atomic scientist Massoud Ali Mohammadi was unclear on Wednesday. Official media and regime hardliners reacted to Tuesday's deadly bombing by calling the victim "a revolutionary teacher who was martyred," state television reported, while Tehra ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/Murdered_Iran_atomic_scientist_mired_in_mystery_999.html
France, Kuwait sign nuclear cooperation deal
France, Kuwait sign nuclear cooperation deal
Kuwait City (AFP) Jan 14, 2010 - Kuwait and France signed on Thursday a cooperation agreement for the peaceful use of nuclear energy, officials said. The oil-rich emirate had announced plans to set up a civilian nuclear project mainly to produce power and also established a national committee for the peaceful use of nuclear energy. "This is the first step of cooperation and to share experience in the nuclear field," the ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/France_Kuwait_sign_nuclear_cooperation_deal_999.html
Kuwait City (AFP) Jan 14, 2010 - Kuwait and France signed on Thursday a cooperation agreement for the peaceful use of nuclear energy, officials said. The oil-rich emirate had announced plans to set up a civilian nuclear project mainly to produce power and also established a national committee for the peaceful use of nuclear energy. "This is the first step of cooperation and to share experience in the nuclear field," the ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/France_Kuwait_sign_nuclear_cooperation_deal_999.html
S.Korea signs deal to build nuclear reactor in Jordan
S.Korea signs deal to build nuclear reactor in Jordan
Seoul (AFP) Jan 14, 2010 - South Korea has agreed to build Jordan's first atomic research reactor, just two weeks after winning a landmark 20.4 billion dollar deal in the United Arab Emirates, officials said Thursday. The contract, estimated at 200 billion won (178 million dollars), is to build a five megawatt reactor in Jordan by 2014, the South Korean science ministry said. The consortium that won the deal is le ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/S.Korea_signs_deal_to_build_nuclear_reactor_in_Jordan_999.html
Seoul (AFP) Jan 14, 2010 - South Korea has agreed to build Jordan's first atomic research reactor, just two weeks after winning a landmark 20.4 billion dollar deal in the United Arab Emirates, officials said Thursday. The contract, estimated at 200 billion won (178 million dollars), is to build a five megawatt reactor in Jordan by 2014, the South Korean science ministry said. The consortium that won the deal is le ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/S.Korea_signs_deal_to_build_nuclear_reactor_in_Jordan_999.html
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Iran accuses US, Israel of murdering nuclear scientist
Iran accuses US, Israel of murdering nuclear scientist
Tehran (AFP) Jan 12, 2010 - A leading Iranian nuclear scientist was murdered in Tehran on Tuesday in a rare bomb attack that the government quickly blamed on "mercenaries" in the pay of archfoes the United States and Israel. The daylight killing came amid an increasingly bitter standoff between Iran and world powers over Tehran's controversial nuclear drive, which the West suspects is masking an atomic weapons programm ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iran_accuses_US_Israel_of_murdering_nuclear_scientist_999.html
Tehran (AFP) Jan 12, 2010 - A leading Iranian nuclear scientist was murdered in Tehran on Tuesday in a rare bomb attack that the government quickly blamed on "mercenaries" in the pay of archfoes the United States and Israel. The daylight killing came amid an increasingly bitter standoff between Iran and world powers over Tehran's controversial nuclear drive, which the West suspects is masking an atomic weapons programm ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iran_accuses_US_Israel_of_murdering_nuclear_scientist_999.html
German govt. rows over nuclear revival
German govt. rows over nuclear revival
Berlin (UPI) Jan 12, 2009 - The German government is bickering over how many nuclear power plants it should save from closure. When Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union was re-elected in a team with the pro-business Free Democratic Party in September 2009, it was widely believed that nuclear would get a quick boost. Both parties had campaigned in favor of nuclear power, arguin ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/G...evival_999.html
Berlin (UPI) Jan 12, 2009 - The German government is bickering over how many nuclear power plants it should save from closure. When Chancellor Angela Merkel's center-right Christian Democratic Union was re-elected in a team with the pro-business Free Democratic Party in September 2009, it was widely believed that nuclear would get a quick boost. Both parties had campaigned in favor of nuclear power, arguin ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/G...evival_999.html
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Ukraine's Nuclear Nostalgia (PDF)
Ukraine's Nuclear Nostalgia (PDF)
Mykola Riabchuk, World Policy Institute
Editor's Note: Ukraine agreed to relinquish nuclear weapons left on its soil after the collapse of the Soviet Union and to forego their acquisition in the future, but some Ukrainians increasingly question whether that decision benefited the nation. In this article, Mykola Riabchuk argues that Ukraine's nuclear nostalgia, stemming from the perceived threat of Russia and the feeling that Ukraine is being ignored by the West, is irrational and distracts society from tackling real political and economic problems. "Ukrainians are not politically mobilized on the issue of acquiring nuclear arms," Riabchuk writes, "yet they occasionally regret that nuclear weapons were surrendered. This is a discrepancy between the rational and emotional, between the reasonable recognition of objective international and domestic constraints and the feelings and displays of insecurity from abroad." Riabchuk's article offers important insights into the politics and psychology of nuclear disarmament and proliferation.
Full Article
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/static/npp/pdf/riabchuk_wpj.pdf
Mykola Riabchuk, World Policy Institute
Editor's Note: Ukraine agreed to relinquish nuclear weapons left on its soil after the collapse of the Soviet Union and to forego their acquisition in the future, but some Ukrainians increasingly question whether that decision benefited the nation. In this article, Mykola Riabchuk argues that Ukraine's nuclear nostalgia, stemming from the perceived threat of Russia and the feeling that Ukraine is being ignored by the West, is irrational and distracts society from tackling real political and economic problems. "Ukrainians are not politically mobilized on the issue of acquiring nuclear arms," Riabchuk writes, "yet they occasionally regret that nuclear weapons were surrendered. This is a discrepancy between the rational and emotional, between the reasonable recognition of objective international and domestic constraints and the feelings and displays of insecurity from abroad." Riabchuk's article offers important insights into the politics and psychology of nuclear disarmament and proliferation.
Full Article
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/static/npp/pdf/riabchuk_wpj.pdf
Iran Formally Demands Uranium Proposal Changes, Official Says
Iran Formally Demands Uranium Proposal Changes, Official Says
Global Security Newswire
Iran rejected key terms of an International Atomic Energy Agency proposal for enriching the nation's uranium in its official response to the plan late last month, a U.S. nonproliferation official told Politico yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 8).
Full Article
http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20100111_7675.php
Global Security Newswire
Iran rejected key terms of an International Atomic Energy Agency proposal for enriching the nation's uranium in its official response to the plan late last month, a U.S. nonproliferation official told Politico yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 8).
Full Article
http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20100111_7675.php
Global Implications of the U.S.-India Deal
Global Implications of the U.S.-India Deal
George Perkovich, Daedalus
US-IndiaEditor's Note: The U.S.-India nuclear deal, signed in October 2008, remains in limbo as U.S. and Indian civil nuclear legislation face scrutiny in both countries before the deal can be made operational. In a special issue of Daedalus on the "Global Nuclear Future," George Perkovich explores the implications of the U.S.-India deal and how it transformed into an agreement by the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) exempting India from nonproliferation rules. Although the United States and India undermined the cause of nonproliferation and disarmament, Perkovich argues, all members of the NSG were ultimately complicit in the deal. Now, they should all feel compelled to cooperate in the refurbishment of the nonproliferation regime.
Full Article
http://carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=24674
George Perkovich, Daedalus
US-IndiaEditor's Note: The U.S.-India nuclear deal, signed in October 2008, remains in limbo as U.S. and Indian civil nuclear legislation face scrutiny in both countries before the deal can be made operational. In a special issue of Daedalus on the "Global Nuclear Future," George Perkovich explores the implications of the U.S.-India deal and how it transformed into an agreement by the 45-member Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) exempting India from nonproliferation rules. Although the United States and India undermined the cause of nonproliferation and disarmament, Perkovich argues, all members of the NSG were ultimately complicit in the deal. Now, they should all feel compelled to cooperate in the refurbishment of the nonproliferation regime.
Full Article
http://carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=24674
Iran places trust in 'passive defense'
Iran places trust in 'passive defense'
Contrary to reports claiming Iran wanted to hide the existence of nuclear facilities from the outside world, it actually wanted Western intelligence to conclude that it was putting some of its key nuclear facilities deep underground. Tehran believed it needed to convince United States and Israeli military planners that, in the event of an attack, they wouldn't be able to find and destroy a number of Iran's nuclear sites. - Gareth Porter
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LA13Ak06.html
Contrary to reports claiming Iran wanted to hide the existence of nuclear facilities from the outside world, it actually wanted Western intelligence to conclude that it was putting some of its key nuclear facilities deep underground. Tehran believed it needed to convince United States and Israeli military planners that, in the event of an attack, they wouldn't be able to find and destroy a number of Iran's nuclear sites. - Gareth Porter
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LA13Ak06.html
Iran's Ahmadinejad dismisses nuclear sanctions
Iran's Ahmadinejad dismisses nuclear sanctions
Tehran (AFP) Jan 9, 2010 - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday that further UN Security Council sanction will not deter Tehran from pursuing its controversial nuclear programme. The hardliner also vowed that Iran will not back down "one iota" in the face of international pressures over the atomic work, which the West fears may be a cover for weapons development despite Iran's persistent denial. ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Irans_Ahmadinejad_dismisses_nuclear_sanctions_999.html
Tehran (AFP) Jan 9, 2010 - Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday that further UN Security Council sanction will not deter Tehran from pursuing its controversial nuclear programme. The hardliner also vowed that Iran will not back down "one iota" in the face of international pressures over the atomic work, which the West fears may be a cover for weapons development despite Iran's persistent denial. ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Irans_Ahmadinejad_dismisses_nuclear_sanctions_999.html
Iranian Nuclear Plant
Iranian nuclear plant
Baghdad (AFP) Jan 11, 2010 - The Iraqi government on Monday called for "explanations" from the UN nuclear watchdog on a reported plan for Iran to build a nuclear reactor near the border between the two countries. "The Iraqi government has asked for explanations from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) on information concerning the construction of an Iranian nuclear reactor near the border with Iraq," it said. ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iraq_wants_explanations_on_Iran_border_nuclear_plant_999.html
Baghdad (AFP) Jan 11, 2010 - The Iraqi government on Monday called for "explanations" from the UN nuclear watchdog on a reported plan for Iran to build a nuclear reactor near the border between the two countries. "The Iraqi government has asked for explanations from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) on information concerning the construction of an Iranian nuclear reactor near the border with Iraq," it said. ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Iraq_wants_explanations_on_Iran_border_nuclear_plant_999.html
New EU foreign chief distances herself from anti-nuclear past
New EU foreign chief distances herself from anti-nuclear past
Brussels (AFP) Jan 11, 2010 - The EU's new foreign affairs chief, Catherine Ashton, distanced herself Monday from her anti-nuclear past, as European lawmakers grilled her about her suitability for the post. "The relevance of the 1970s is not the relevance of 2010," she told deputies in Brussels. "I'm not a member of CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) and have not been a member of CND for 28 or 29 years. "I do not ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/New_EU_foreign_chief_distances_herself_from_anti-nuclear_past_999.html
Brussels (AFP) Jan 11, 2010 - The EU's new foreign affairs chief, Catherine Ashton, distanced herself Monday from her anti-nuclear past, as European lawmakers grilled her about her suitability for the post. "The relevance of the 1970s is not the relevance of 2010," she told deputies in Brussels. "I'm not a member of CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) and have not been a member of CND for 28 or 29 years. "I do not ... more
http://www.nuclearpowerdaily.com/reports/New_EU_foreign_chief_distances_herself_from_anti-nuclear_past_999.html
US Biofuels Policies Flawed
US Biofuels Policies Flawed
Houston TX (SPX) Jan 12, 2010 - The United States needs to fundamentally rethink its policy of promoting ethanol to diversify its energy sources and increase energy security, according to a new policy paper by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. The paper, "Fundamentals of a Sustainable U.S. Biofuels Policy," questions the economic, environmental and logistical basis for the billions of dollars in federa ... more
http://www.biofueldaily.com/reports/US_Biofuels_Policies_Flawed_999.html
Houston TX (SPX) Jan 12, 2010 - The United States needs to fundamentally rethink its policy of promoting ethanol to diversify its energy sources and increase energy security, according to a new policy paper by Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy. The paper, "Fundamentals of a Sustainable U.S. Biofuels Policy," questions the economic, environmental and logistical basis for the billions of dollars in federa ... more
http://www.biofueldaily.com/reports/US_Biofuels_Policies_Flawed_999.html
India plans construction of energy parks to raise nuclear generation
India plans construction of energy parks to raise nuclear generation
India seeks to build up to five energy parks by 2032 in an effort to boost its nuclear-power capacity. The country intends to have 35,000 megawatts of installed capacity by 2020 and 60,000 megawatts by 2032, said Srikumar Banerjee, chairman of the nation's Atomic Energy Commission. Press Trust of India
http://www.ptinews.com/news/462704_India-to-have-five-nuclear-energy-parks-by-2032
India seeks to build up to five energy parks by 2032 in an effort to boost its nuclear-power capacity. The country intends to have 35,000 megawatts of installed capacity by 2020 and 60,000 megawatts by 2032, said Srikumar Banerjee, chairman of the nation's Atomic Energy Commission. Press Trust of India
http://www.ptinews.com/news/462704_India-to-have-five-nuclear-energy-parks-by-2032
U.S. to work with industry on nuclear-plant construction
U.S. to work with industry on nuclear-plant construction
The White House intends to assist the nuclear sector with construction of a power plant as part of efforts to combat climate change and diversify energy supplies, climate adviser Carol Browner said. "The president believes that nuclear needs to be a part of our energy future," she added. Officials have been studying ways to increase nuclear energy's role in the Senate's climate bill to gain support from Republicans. Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60B04920100112
The White House intends to assist the nuclear sector with construction of a power plant as part of efforts to combat climate change and diversify energy supplies, climate adviser Carol Browner said. "The president believes that nuclear needs to be a part of our energy future," she added. Officials have been studying ways to increase nuclear energy's role in the Senate's climate bill to gain support from Republicans. Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE60B04920100112
Yucca Haunts Admin's Lagging Efforts on Nuclear Waste Study Panel
Nuclear-waste panel delays won't affect new projects, NEI says
Delays in the appointment of a commission that would recommend a waste-disposal alternative to Nevada's Yucca Mountain should not hamper the industry's plans for additional facilities, said Derrick Freeman of the Nuclear Energy Institute. But the industry and electricity ratepayers still pay fees on generated power, adding to a waste fund that lacks a goal. "If the administration does defund or eliminate Yucca, we should be able to suspend our fees or put them into an escrow account," he said. The New York Times/Greenwire
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/01/11/11greenwire-yucca-haunts-admins-lagging-efforts-on-nuclear-24943.html
Delays in the appointment of a commission that would recommend a waste-disposal alternative to Nevada's Yucca Mountain should not hamper the industry's plans for additional facilities, said Derrick Freeman of the Nuclear Energy Institute. But the industry and electricity ratepayers still pay fees on generated power, adding to a waste fund that lacks a goal. "If the administration does defund or eliminate Yucca, we should be able to suspend our fees or put them into an escrow account," he said. The New York Times/Greenwire
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2010/01/11/11greenwire-yucca-haunts-admins-lagging-efforts-on-nuclear-24943.html
Monday, January 11, 2010
Libya moves forward with civilian nuclear energy program
Libya moves forward with civilian nuclear energy program
Libya has taken "practical measures" in its bid to utilize nuclear energy for power and desalination purposes, according to the country's Atomic Energy Institute. Committees have been formed to draft a nuclear law and to identify potential sites for nuclear power plants, said Ali Mohamed Gashout, an executive with the institute. World Nuclear News
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Libya_moving_forward_with_nuclear_power_plans-0801107.html
Libya has taken "practical measures" in its bid to utilize nuclear energy for power and desalination purposes, according to the country's Atomic Energy Institute. Committees have been formed to draft a nuclear law and to identify potential sites for nuclear power plants, said Ali Mohamed Gashout, an executive with the institute. World Nuclear News
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/NP-Libya_moving_forward_with_nuclear_power_plans-0801107.html
Israeli General, Formerly Head of Nuclear Weapons, Denies Iran as a Nuclear Threat
Israeli General, Formerly Head of Nuclear Weapons, Denies Iran as a Nuclear Threat
Posted: 10 Jan 2010 05:56 PM PST
Needless to say, it isn’t often that a retired, well respected general disputes official policy. But war leader and “pillar of the defence establishment” Brigadier-General Uzi Eilam has gone public with his views that Iran is a very long way from having nuclear weapons capability. Eilam contends that the official view is “hysterical” and attributes it to political objectives on behalf of both the military and government leaders.
From the Times Online (hat tip reader Marshall):
A general who was once in charge of Israel’s nuclear weapons has claimed that Iran is a “very, very, very long way from building a nuclear capability”.
Brigadier-General Uzi Eilam…believes it will probably take Iran seven years to make nuclear weapons…
Israeli forces have been in training to attack Iranian nuclear installations and some analysts believe airstrikes could be launched this year if international sanctions fail to deter Tehran from pursuing its programme.
Eilam, who is thought to be updated by former colleagues on developments in Iran, calls his country’s official view hysterical. “The intelligence community are spreading frightening voices about Iran,” he said.
He suggested that the “defence establishment is sending out false alarms in order to grab a bigger budget” while some politicians have used Iran to divert attention away from problems at home.
“Those who say that Iran will obtain a bomb within a year’s time, on what basis did they say so?” he asked. “Where is the evidence?”…
According to well-placed defence sources, Israel is speeding up preparations for a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear sites…
But Eilam argues “such an attack [against Iran] would be counter-productive”.
“One strike is not practical. In order to delay the Iranian programme for three to four years, one needs an armada of aircraft, which only a super-power can provide. Only America can do it.”
Readers may have taken note of the fact that the US is now of the view that Iran’s long-term stability is in doubt and is more actively looking to back the opposition. But as we found with Iraq, reports from the opposition and/or exiles seeking US aid can be less than reliable (remember the claim that US troops would be welcomed with flowers? Since when has a foreign occupier been welcomed by the locals?). Moreover, efforts that are so open that the US newspapers are writing about them are likely to backfire. The opposition then can be portrayed as a tool of the US, and painted as serving the interests of Israel, not the Iranian people.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/01/isreali-general-formerly-head-of-nuclear-weapons-denies-iran-as-a-nuclear-threat.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29
Posted: 10 Jan 2010 05:56 PM PST
Needless to say, it isn’t often that a retired, well respected general disputes official policy. But war leader and “pillar of the defence establishment” Brigadier-General Uzi Eilam has gone public with his views that Iran is a very long way from having nuclear weapons capability. Eilam contends that the official view is “hysterical” and attributes it to political objectives on behalf of both the military and government leaders.
From the Times Online (hat tip reader Marshall):
A general who was once in charge of Israel’s nuclear weapons has claimed that Iran is a “very, very, very long way from building a nuclear capability”.
Brigadier-General Uzi Eilam…believes it will probably take Iran seven years to make nuclear weapons…
Israeli forces have been in training to attack Iranian nuclear installations and some analysts believe airstrikes could be launched this year if international sanctions fail to deter Tehran from pursuing its programme.
Eilam, who is thought to be updated by former colleagues on developments in Iran, calls his country’s official view hysterical. “The intelligence community are spreading frightening voices about Iran,” he said.
He suggested that the “defence establishment is sending out false alarms in order to grab a bigger budget” while some politicians have used Iran to divert attention away from problems at home.
“Those who say that Iran will obtain a bomb within a year’s time, on what basis did they say so?” he asked. “Where is the evidence?”…
According to well-placed defence sources, Israel is speeding up preparations for a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear sites…
But Eilam argues “such an attack [against Iran] would be counter-productive”.
“One strike is not practical. In order to delay the Iranian programme for three to four years, one needs an armada of aircraft, which only a super-power can provide. Only America can do it.”
Readers may have taken note of the fact that the US is now of the view that Iran’s long-term stability is in doubt and is more actively looking to back the opposition. But as we found with Iraq, reports from the opposition and/or exiles seeking US aid can be less than reliable (remember the claim that US troops would be welcomed with flowers? Since when has a foreign occupier been welcomed by the locals?). Moreover, efforts that are so open that the US newspapers are writing about them are likely to backfire. The opposition then can be portrayed as a tool of the US, and painted as serving the interests of Israel, not the Iranian people.
http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2010/01/isreali-general-formerly-head-of-nuclear-weapons-denies-iran-as-a-nuclear-threat.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+NakedCapitalism+%28naked+capitalism%29
Sunday, January 10, 2010
A new approach for Obama on Iran, not new deadlines Tony Karon
A new approach for Obama on Iran, not new deadlines
Tony Karon
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100110/OPINION/701099962/1080
The US president Barack Obama, when confronted with tough choices, tends to split the difference. Those instincts have been shown over the past year as he first allowed himself to be painted into a corner by setting a January 1 deadline for Iran to accept western demands on its nuclear programme and then manoeuvred adroitly out of that same corner as the New Year dawned.
The Obama administration had threatened “crippling sanctions” should the Iranians fail to comply – and the US House of Representatives has already passed legislation aimed at cutting off Iran’s gasoline imports by punishing its third-country suppliers — but last week, Team Obama abruptly changed its tune.
“We want to keep the door to dialogue open,” said the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, adding that “although the United States has avoided using the term deadline, it cannot wait indefinitely to hear from Iran.” That took the wind out of the sails of hawks proclaiming that Tehran had squandered its final chance, and would now face a sharp escalation of economic pressure. Instead, Clinton said, the administration would focus its sanctions efforts on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, the key player in the current crackdown on opposition protesters, “without contributing to the suffering of ordinary [Iranians], who deserve better than they are currently receiving”. In other words, don’t expect to see Mr Obama try and apply gasoline sanctions.
The pretext for this shift was the resurgence of street protests in Iran during the Shiite commemoration Ashura. With the opposition proving its resilience, the administration could argue that adopting sanctions such as the gasoline embargo that would hurt ordinary Iranians was unconscionable, and would strengthen the hand of those in power. But the deeper reason for the shift was simply that shutting off engagement and ratcheting up economic pressure was clearly not going to change Tehran’s position on its nuclear programme.
Iran’s domestic political turmoil has limited its ability to engage with the West; even the opposition flatly rejected the terms being demanded by the US and its allies; and China and Russia – and a host of neighbouring countries – oppose a significant increase in sanctions. The sticks-and-ultimatums track required by his deadline would have left Mr Obama, a year from now, being pressed by Israel and its hawkish allies in Washington to recognise the failure of sanctions and order the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities, setting off a potentially disastrous war.
The US will still press for sanctions in the weeks ahead, but it knows support will be limited. China’s ambassador to the UN made clear last week that Beijing believes there is no need for new sanctions at this point. While western officials complain that this position is simply a product of China’s trade interests in Iran, Beijing simply does not share Washington’s view of the situation. American journalists visiting China recently report that most of that country’s foreign policy advisers don’t believe Iran has a military nuclear programme. They argue that engagement should be given years to integrate it into the international mainstream.
The Chinese may have a point. Despite the continuous stream of innuendo and hype in western media outlets, there is no credible evidence that Iran is currently at work building nuclear weapons. What is reliably known is that Iran is assembling, under the rubric of a civilian nuclear programme, the “breakout” capacity to build a weapon. Its lack of transparency has raised questions over its ultimate intentions. The rest is hypothesis, and it’s worth noting that those who are most shrill in proclaiming that Iran is one to three years away from building a nuclear weapon have been saying the same thing since 1992.
Sure, Iran has sufficient low-enriched uranium that if it were reprocessed into highly enriched uranium it would be enough for a simple nuclear bomb. But that’s a very big if. To do so, Iran would have to kick out inspectors, unambiguously declaring its intentions, and then still have a year or two to go before being able to create and deploy a weapon. The Obama administration has lately begun acknowledging that Iran is only currently using about half of its centrifuge enrichment capability.
In short, there’s no imminent danger of Iran building nuclear weapons, and the fact that the West approached the recent nuclear-fuel negotiations on the basis that separating Iran from its uranium stockpile by the end of this year was somehow a pressing matter of international security may have contributed to their failure.
The fact that Mr Obama has walked back from his dysfunctional deadline is to be welcomed. But it’s worth remembering why he had adopted it in the first place. He came into office having promised to seek engagement with Iran in order to break the nuclear stalemate, but immediately faced a barrage of scepticism from hawkish interests in Washington. It was in dealing with the impatient Israelis that Mr Obama first came out with the idea that he’d give engagement until the end of 2009 to show results. And to further placate the hawks, he warned that tough sanctions would follow if Iran was not forthcoming. Perhaps with an eye over his right shoulder, he also refrained from adjusting the demands western powers were making of Iran, despite Tehran having made clear that it had no intention of relinquishing the right to enrich uranium for energy purposes no matter who was asking.
Mr Obama, in other words, had arrived at his Iran policy by splitting the difference with the hawks, pursuing engagement, but in pursuit of the same demands as his predecessor, on a limited deadline that effectively created ultimatums backed by threats. Rather than rushing to impose new sanctions, the Obama administration would be better served by thoroughly reviewing its Iran policy, basing it on a realistic appraisal of any “threat” from Iran, analysing the failures of the past and realistic goals, and developing an approach whose goal is to integrate the Islamic Republic into a set of security arrangements aimed at promoting regional stability.
Tony Karon
http://www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100110/OPINION/701099962/1080
The US president Barack Obama, when confronted with tough choices, tends to split the difference. Those instincts have been shown over the past year as he first allowed himself to be painted into a corner by setting a January 1 deadline for Iran to accept western demands on its nuclear programme and then manoeuvred adroitly out of that same corner as the New Year dawned.
The Obama administration had threatened “crippling sanctions” should the Iranians fail to comply – and the US House of Representatives has already passed legislation aimed at cutting off Iran’s gasoline imports by punishing its third-country suppliers — but last week, Team Obama abruptly changed its tune.
“We want to keep the door to dialogue open,” said the US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, adding that “although the United States has avoided using the term deadline, it cannot wait indefinitely to hear from Iran.” That took the wind out of the sails of hawks proclaiming that Tehran had squandered its final chance, and would now face a sharp escalation of economic pressure. Instead, Clinton said, the administration would focus its sanctions efforts on Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, the key player in the current crackdown on opposition protesters, “without contributing to the suffering of ordinary [Iranians], who deserve better than they are currently receiving”. In other words, don’t expect to see Mr Obama try and apply gasoline sanctions.
The pretext for this shift was the resurgence of street protests in Iran during the Shiite commemoration Ashura. With the opposition proving its resilience, the administration could argue that adopting sanctions such as the gasoline embargo that would hurt ordinary Iranians was unconscionable, and would strengthen the hand of those in power. But the deeper reason for the shift was simply that shutting off engagement and ratcheting up economic pressure was clearly not going to change Tehran’s position on its nuclear programme.
Iran’s domestic political turmoil has limited its ability to engage with the West; even the opposition flatly rejected the terms being demanded by the US and its allies; and China and Russia – and a host of neighbouring countries – oppose a significant increase in sanctions. The sticks-and-ultimatums track required by his deadline would have left Mr Obama, a year from now, being pressed by Israel and its hawkish allies in Washington to recognise the failure of sanctions and order the bombing of Iran’s nuclear facilities, setting off a potentially disastrous war.
The US will still press for sanctions in the weeks ahead, but it knows support will be limited. China’s ambassador to the UN made clear last week that Beijing believes there is no need for new sanctions at this point. While western officials complain that this position is simply a product of China’s trade interests in Iran, Beijing simply does not share Washington’s view of the situation. American journalists visiting China recently report that most of that country’s foreign policy advisers don’t believe Iran has a military nuclear programme. They argue that engagement should be given years to integrate it into the international mainstream.
The Chinese may have a point. Despite the continuous stream of innuendo and hype in western media outlets, there is no credible evidence that Iran is currently at work building nuclear weapons. What is reliably known is that Iran is assembling, under the rubric of a civilian nuclear programme, the “breakout” capacity to build a weapon. Its lack of transparency has raised questions over its ultimate intentions. The rest is hypothesis, and it’s worth noting that those who are most shrill in proclaiming that Iran is one to three years away from building a nuclear weapon have been saying the same thing since 1992.
Sure, Iran has sufficient low-enriched uranium that if it were reprocessed into highly enriched uranium it would be enough for a simple nuclear bomb. But that’s a very big if. To do so, Iran would have to kick out inspectors, unambiguously declaring its intentions, and then still have a year or two to go before being able to create and deploy a weapon. The Obama administration has lately begun acknowledging that Iran is only currently using about half of its centrifuge enrichment capability.
In short, there’s no imminent danger of Iran building nuclear weapons, and the fact that the West approached the recent nuclear-fuel negotiations on the basis that separating Iran from its uranium stockpile by the end of this year was somehow a pressing matter of international security may have contributed to their failure.
The fact that Mr Obama has walked back from his dysfunctional deadline is to be welcomed. But it’s worth remembering why he had adopted it in the first place. He came into office having promised to seek engagement with Iran in order to break the nuclear stalemate, but immediately faced a barrage of scepticism from hawkish interests in Washington. It was in dealing with the impatient Israelis that Mr Obama first came out with the idea that he’d give engagement until the end of 2009 to show results. And to further placate the hawks, he warned that tough sanctions would follow if Iran was not forthcoming. Perhaps with an eye over his right shoulder, he also refrained from adjusting the demands western powers were making of Iran, despite Tehran having made clear that it had no intention of relinquishing the right to enrich uranium for energy purposes no matter who was asking.
Mr Obama, in other words, had arrived at his Iran policy by splitting the difference with the hawks, pursuing engagement, but in pursuit of the same demands as his predecessor, on a limited deadline that effectively created ultimatums backed by threats. Rather than rushing to impose new sanctions, the Obama administration would be better served by thoroughly reviewing its Iran policy, basing it on a realistic appraisal of any “threat” from Iran, analysing the failures of the past and realistic goals, and developing an approach whose goal is to integrate the Islamic Republic into a set of security arrangements aimed at promoting regional stability.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Arab Nation May be Going Nuclear
Arab Nation May be Going Nuclear
January 09, 2010
Military.com|by Bryant Jordan
http://www.military.com/news/article/arab-nation-may-be-going-nuclear.html
January 09, 2010
Military.com|by Bryant Jordan
http://www.military.com/news/article/arab-nation-may-be-going-nuclear.html
Friday, January 8, 2010
Shaw sees potential in nuclear-reactor uprate market
Shaw sees potential in nuclear-reactor uprate market
More U.S. companies are electing to uprate their nuclear reactors, creating a market worth $25 billion, the Shaw Group said. Thirty-seven of the country's 104 reactors have finished or are in the process of raising their generating capacities, with the engineering company taking part in more than half of them, Shaw Chairman Jim Bernhard said. World Nuclear News
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/C-Shaw_eyes_US_reactor_uprate_market-0701104.html
Shaw's chairman Jim Bernhard said that 37 reactors out of the USA's total of 104 had already completed or were in the process of implementing power uprates. He added that Shaw had participated in over half of these uprates, helping to add over 3000 MWe to the grid - roughly the equivalent of three new reactors.
This, Bernhard said, leaves a further 67 American reactors that could potentially be uprated. With the average cost of uprating a unit at $250-500 million, he put the value of this potential market at around $25 billion. Shaw noted that both Exelon and Entergy have announced plans to uprate some of their reactors, to which Shaw already provides fleet-wide maintenance services.
Uprate options
The NRC recognises three categories of power uprates:
'Measurement uncertainty recapture' power uprates, which involve implementing enhanced techniques for calculating reactor power and can typically increase reactor capacity by up to 2%;
'Stretch' power uprates, which usually involve changes to instrumentation settings but are within the design capacity of the plant and can typically add up to about 7% capacity; and
'Extended' power uprates, which involve significant modifications to major plant equipment and can result in up to 20% capacity increases.
Since 1977, the NRC has approved some 124 nuclear power plant uprates, representing about 5640 MWe of added capacity.
Exelon operates the largest nuclear fleet in the USA and the third largest fleet in the world. The company's ten plants - comprising 17 reactors - currently represent some 20% of the US nuclear industry's power capacity. In June 2009, Exelon launched a series of power uprates at its reactors, which in total will add between 1300 and 1500 MWe of additional generating capacity by 2017. According to Shaw, the total cost of these uprates will be in the region of $3.5 billion, making them more economic and far less risky than a new nuclear build project of the same capacity.
Uprates are underway at Exelon's Quad Cities, Dresden and LaSalle plants in Illinois, as well as the Limerick and Peach Bottom plans in Pennsylvania. These are expected to account for almost one-quarter of the new generating capacity. Additional uprate projects at nine other Exelon reactors, beginning this year, will add the remainder of the new capacity by 2017.
More U.S. companies are electing to uprate their nuclear reactors, creating a market worth $25 billion, the Shaw Group said. Thirty-seven of the country's 104 reactors have finished or are in the process of raising their generating capacities, with the engineering company taking part in more than half of them, Shaw Chairman Jim Bernhard said. World Nuclear News
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/C-Shaw_eyes_US_reactor_uprate_market-0701104.html
Shaw's chairman Jim Bernhard said that 37 reactors out of the USA's total of 104 had already completed or were in the process of implementing power uprates. He added that Shaw had participated in over half of these uprates, helping to add over 3000 MWe to the grid - roughly the equivalent of three new reactors.
This, Bernhard said, leaves a further 67 American reactors that could potentially be uprated. With the average cost of uprating a unit at $250-500 million, he put the value of this potential market at around $25 billion. Shaw noted that both Exelon and Entergy have announced plans to uprate some of their reactors, to which Shaw already provides fleet-wide maintenance services.
Uprate options
The NRC recognises three categories of power uprates:
'Measurement uncertainty recapture' power uprates, which involve implementing enhanced techniques for calculating reactor power and can typically increase reactor capacity by up to 2%;
'Stretch' power uprates, which usually involve changes to instrumentation settings but are within the design capacity of the plant and can typically add up to about 7% capacity; and
'Extended' power uprates, which involve significant modifications to major plant equipment and can result in up to 20% capacity increases.
Since 1977, the NRC has approved some 124 nuclear power plant uprates, representing about 5640 MWe of added capacity.
Exelon operates the largest nuclear fleet in the USA and the third largest fleet in the world. The company's ten plants - comprising 17 reactors - currently represent some 20% of the US nuclear industry's power capacity. In June 2009, Exelon launched a series of power uprates at its reactors, which in total will add between 1300 and 1500 MWe of additional generating capacity by 2017. According to Shaw, the total cost of these uprates will be in the region of $3.5 billion, making them more economic and far less risky than a new nuclear build project of the same capacity.
Uprates are underway at Exelon's Quad Cities, Dresden and LaSalle plants in Illinois, as well as the Limerick and Peach Bottom plans in Pennsylvania. These are expected to account for almost one-quarter of the new generating capacity. Additional uprate projects at nine other Exelon reactors, beginning this year, will add the remainder of the new capacity by 2017.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
A False Nuclear Alarm Joseph Cirincione, Foreign Policy
A False Nuclear Alarm
Joseph Cirincione, Foreign Policy
With its latest editorial calling for more nuclear weapons and more weapons spending, the Wall Street Journal has gone over a journalistic cliff. The serious factual errors in its Jan. 5 screed, "A False Nuclear Start," raise serious questions about the newspaper's credibility and integrity.
Full Article
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/01/06/a_false_nuclear_alarm
Joseph Cirincione, Foreign Policy
With its latest editorial calling for more nuclear weapons and more weapons spending, the Wall Street Journal has gone over a journalistic cliff. The serious factual errors in its Jan. 5 screed, "A False Nuclear Start," raise serious questions about the newspaper's credibility and integrity.
Full Article
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/01/06/a_false_nuclear_alarm
Iran Shielding Its Nuclear Efforts in Maze of Tunnels William J. Broad, The New York Times
Iran Shielding Its Nuclear Efforts in Maze of Tunnels
William J. Broad, The New York Times
Last September, when Iran's uranium enrichment plant buried inside a mountain near the holy city of Qum was revealed, the episode cast light on a wider pattern: Over the past decade, Iran has quietly hidden an increasingly large part of its atomic complex in networks of tunnels and bunkers across the country.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/world/middleeast/06sanctions.html
William J. Broad, The New York Times
Last September, when Iran's uranium enrichment plant buried inside a mountain near the holy city of Qum was revealed, the episode cast light on a wider pattern: Over the past decade, Iran has quietly hidden an increasingly large part of its atomic complex in networks of tunnels and bunkers across the country.
Full Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/world/middleeast/06sanctions.html
Think Again: Nuclear Weapons John Mueller, Foreign Policy
Think Again: Nuclear Weapons
John Mueller, Foreign Policy
President Obama's pledge to rid the world of atomic bombs is a waste of breath. But not for the reasons you might imagine.
Full Article
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/01/04/think_again_nuclear_weapons
John Mueller, Foreign Policy
President Obama's pledge to rid the world of atomic bombs is a waste of breath. But not for the reasons you might imagine.
Full Article
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2010/01/04/think_again_nuclear_weapons
Nuclear Threat Demands a Sustained U.S. Effort
Nuclear Threat Demands a Sustained U.S. Effort
Howard James Hubbard and Leon Lederman, Atlanta Journal Constitution
The end of the Cold War changed the world, and 9/11 changed it again. But despite new threats to our security, we continue to rely on outdated thinking when it comes to nuclear weapons.
Full Article
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/nuclear-threat-demands-a-268753.html
Howard James Hubbard and Leon Lederman, Atlanta Journal Constitution
The end of the Cold War changed the world, and 9/11 changed it again. But despite new threats to our security, we continue to rely on outdated thinking when it comes to nuclear weapons.
Full Article
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/nuclear-threat-demands-a-268753.html
U.S. Nuclear Posture Review Delayed Until March
U.S. Nuclear Posture Review Delayed Until March
Elaine M. Grossman, Global Security Newswire
ObamaThe Obama administration will not unveil the results of a major review of U.S. nuclear weapons strategy until March 1, a senior Defense Department official told Congress late last month (see GSN, Jan. 4).
Initially anticipated for release last month, the Defense Department-led Nuclear Posture Review is a major assessment of nuclear forces, strategy and readiness, sometimes dubbed the "NPR." A congressional deadline for submitting the report was subsequently set for the end of January, just prior to the due date for the fiscal 2011 budget request.
Full Article
http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20100106_9016.php
Elaine M. Grossman, Global Security Newswire
ObamaThe Obama administration will not unveil the results of a major review of U.S. nuclear weapons strategy until March 1, a senior Defense Department official told Congress late last month (see GSN, Jan. 4).
Initially anticipated for release last month, the Defense Department-led Nuclear Posture Review is a major assessment of nuclear forces, strategy and readiness, sometimes dubbed the "NPR." A congressional deadline for submitting the report was subsequently set for the end of January, just prior to the due date for the fiscal 2011 budget request.
Full Article
http://gsn.nti.org/gsn/nw_20100106_9016.php
Time not right for new Iran sanctions: Chinese envoy
Time not right for new Iran sanctions: Chinese envoy
United Nations (AFP) Jan 5, 2010 - China's UN ambassador Zhang Yesui said Tuesday it is too early to contemplate new sanctions against Iran over its refusal to halt sensitive nuclear fuel work, and called for more diplomacy. His comments came after the United States on Monday said "the door is still open" for Iran to meet world demands on its nuclear aims, but warned it was discussing with its allies the "next steps," which c ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Time_not_right_for_new_Iran_sanctions_Chinese_envoy_999.html
United Nations (AFP) Jan 5, 2010 - China's UN ambassador Zhang Yesui said Tuesday it is too early to contemplate new sanctions against Iran over its refusal to halt sensitive nuclear fuel work, and called for more diplomacy. His comments came after the United States on Monday said "the door is still open" for Iran to meet world demands on its nuclear aims, but warned it was discussing with its allies the "next steps," which c ... more
http://www.spacewar.com/reports/Time_not_right_for_new_Iran_sanctions_Chinese_envoy_999.html
South Korean opposition leader seeks revisions to U.S. nuclear pact
South Korean opposition leader seeks revisions to U.S. nuclear pact
South Korea must renegotiate its 1974 nuclear treaty with the U.S. so it can expand its commercial nuclear program, said Lee Hoi-chang, leader of the conservative Liberty Forward Party. South Korea is prohibited from reprocessing spent fuel under the agreement, which will expire in 2014. Some experts, however, think the U.S. may not be amenable to such a move because it could complicate international efforts to scale back North Korea's nuclear program. The Korea Herald (Seoul)
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/01/06/201001060112.asp
South Korea must renegotiate its 1974 nuclear treaty with the U.S. so it can expand its commercial nuclear program, said Lee Hoi-chang, leader of the conservative Liberty Forward Party. South Korea is prohibited from reprocessing spent fuel under the agreement, which will expire in 2014. Some experts, however, think the U.S. may not be amenable to such a move because it could complicate international efforts to scale back North Korea's nuclear program. The Korea Herald (Seoul)
http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2010/01/06/201001060112.asp
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
The Nuclear Posture Review, now and later By Joshua Pollack
The Nuclear Posture Review, now and later
By Joshua Pollack | 6 January 2010
The long-awaited report of the third Nuclear Posture Review is now scheduled for delivery to Congress on March 1. According to a recent New York Times article, the posture review will consider the prevention of nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism to be equally as important as the nuclear deterrence mission. It remains to be seen how this mission will be accomplished, but these choices will form the substance of what could be a refreshing departure from tradition.
There is nothing new about any of the three ideas, taken separately. Deterrence is the core mission of strategic nuclear forces. The prevention of nuclear proliferation is enshrined in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. And preventing terrorism with nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons has been a sustained concern of the U.S. government since at least the mid-1990s. Since 2004, when the U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 1540, keeping WMD out of the hands of "non-state actors" has been, in principle, a global priority.
If the overwhelmingly powerful U.S. nuclear arsenal sufficed to check the spread of nuclear weapons and the potential for nuclear terrorism, then our concerns about these problems wouldn't be growing today."
Connecting nonproliferation to deterrence isn't entirely new, either. A 2009 Strategic Posture Commission report stated that extended deterrence, in the form of guarantees to the allies of the United States and the Soviet Union, "strongly inhibited" nuclear proliferation during the Cold War. The same report also tied counterterrorism to nonproliferation, anticipating "the imminent danger of nuclear terrorism if we pass a tipping point in nuclear proliferation."
Indeed, one way to link deterrence, nonproliferation, and counterterrorism would be to assert, without much further elaboration, that each mission supports the next, in the order above. But this reasoning makes for cold comfort. If the overwhelmingly powerful U.S. nuclear arsenal sufficed to check the spread of nuclear weapons and the potential for nuclear terrorism, then our concerns about these problems wouldn't be growing today.
Fresh thinking is needed.
The Times reports that the posture review will call for added support for collecting intelligence on would-be nuclear smugglers or terrorists and for advancing the science of nuclear forensics. While the timing of the review means that it cannot affect these programs in the fiscal year 2010 budget, it could have an influence in future years.
Still, there are at least two ways that the posture review might quickly and usefully address the threats of nuclear proliferation or terrorism. Neither requires any special technology or innovation. Both are simple, straightforward ideas involving traditional aspects of nuclear posture--nothing too exotic or complex.
The first proposal concerns declaratory policy, an issue I discussed in my October column. According to a Los Angeles Times article, an internal debate is raging over whether to recommend making a statement that the U.S. nuclear arsenal exists solely to deter attack against the United States and its allies. Making this type of announcement comes at little, if any, price and would strengthen Washington's hand in its efforts to reinforce the nuclear nonproliferation regime. It would underscore that U.S. nuclear weapons do not play any coercive role that could be seen as legitimizing proliferation.
The second proposal concerns the security of U.S. nuclear weapons. A 2008 Air Force blue-ribbon review PDF observed that security at the NATO air bases designated capable of hosting tactical nuclear weapons "varies from country to country in terms of personnel, facilities, and equipment," and in most places was well short of Defense Department standards. It recommended the consideration of "consolidation of resources," implying a withdrawal of bombs from less secure facilities. Carrying out a consolidation could help to keep U.S. nuclear weapons away from criminals or terrorists.
There are undoubtedly other ways of trying to address proliferation and terrorism, but some of them should be avoided. One particularly counterproductive idea would be to return to a proposal featured in the 2001 nuclear posture review: to acquire and deploy conventionally armed "strategic strike systems," either in the form of intercontinental ballistic missiles or submarine-launched ballistic missiles. This idea has found little favor in Congress. Regardless, a 2008 report of a panel of National Research Council called for a conventional modification of the submarine-launched Trident missile deemed capable of delivering strikes anywhere in the world against "fleeting targets" such as WMD smugglers or terrorists, even in as little as an hour's time.
With counterterrorism and counterproliferation as features of the posture review, this idea may seem attractive at first glance. But for reasons I examined in detail in a Bulletin article last year, the conventional Trident concept would be, at best, beside the point. Experience with pursuing "high-value targets" has shown that the most persistent difficulties do not involve range, speed, accuracy, lethality, or any other weapons-system characteristic. The main challenge is correctly identifying the target. This point isn't lost on anyone associated with the USS Vincennes-Iran Air 655 disaster of 1988 or the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in 1999. Nor must it be explained to the commanders in Afghanistan who have imposed restrictive rules of engagement on the use of air power after multiple incidents involving civilian casualties.
The development of reliable intelligence on a fleeting target is a painstaking, time-consuming process that requires assets in theater. A prime example is the successful pursuit of the Jordanian terrorist Abdu Musab Al Zarqawi in Iraq. When this sort of high-quality intelligence cannot be had, as in the pursuit of Pakistani Taliban commander Beitullah Mehsud, it is possible to end up shooting at the wrong target, even repeatedly. If anything, relying on long-range strikes would compound the difficulty of correctly identifying targets, since it allows no possibility of pre-attack visual confirmation. Using ballistic missiles also would magnify the consequences of error.
As unorthodox as it may be to incorporate nonproliferation and counterterrorism into a nuclear posture review, the idea could be a net gain for national security. If the drafters make the right choices in deciding how to pursue it, the posture review might have a lasting and constructive legacy.
http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/columnists/joshua-pollack/the-nuclear-posture-review-now-and-later
By Joshua Pollack | 6 January 2010
The long-awaited report of the third Nuclear Posture Review is now scheduled for delivery to Congress on March 1. According to a recent New York Times article, the posture review will consider the prevention of nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism to be equally as important as the nuclear deterrence mission. It remains to be seen how this mission will be accomplished, but these choices will form the substance of what could be a refreshing departure from tradition.
There is nothing new about any of the three ideas, taken separately. Deterrence is the core mission of strategic nuclear forces. The prevention of nuclear proliferation is enshrined in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. And preventing terrorism with nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons has been a sustained concern of the U.S. government since at least the mid-1990s. Since 2004, when the U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 1540, keeping WMD out of the hands of "non-state actors" has been, in principle, a global priority.
If the overwhelmingly powerful U.S. nuclear arsenal sufficed to check the spread of nuclear weapons and the potential for nuclear terrorism, then our concerns about these problems wouldn't be growing today."
Connecting nonproliferation to deterrence isn't entirely new, either. A 2009 Strategic Posture Commission report stated that extended deterrence, in the form of guarantees to the allies of the United States and the Soviet Union, "strongly inhibited" nuclear proliferation during the Cold War. The same report also tied counterterrorism to nonproliferation, anticipating "the imminent danger of nuclear terrorism if we pass a tipping point in nuclear proliferation."
Indeed, one way to link deterrence, nonproliferation, and counterterrorism would be to assert, without much further elaboration, that each mission supports the next, in the order above. But this reasoning makes for cold comfort. If the overwhelmingly powerful U.S. nuclear arsenal sufficed to check the spread of nuclear weapons and the potential for nuclear terrorism, then our concerns about these problems wouldn't be growing today.
Fresh thinking is needed.
The Times reports that the posture review will call for added support for collecting intelligence on would-be nuclear smugglers or terrorists and for advancing the science of nuclear forensics. While the timing of the review means that it cannot affect these programs in the fiscal year 2010 budget, it could have an influence in future years.
Still, there are at least two ways that the posture review might quickly and usefully address the threats of nuclear proliferation or terrorism. Neither requires any special technology or innovation. Both are simple, straightforward ideas involving traditional aspects of nuclear posture--nothing too exotic or complex.
The first proposal concerns declaratory policy, an issue I discussed in my October column. According to a Los Angeles Times article, an internal debate is raging over whether to recommend making a statement that the U.S. nuclear arsenal exists solely to deter attack against the United States and its allies. Making this type of announcement comes at little, if any, price and would strengthen Washington's hand in its efforts to reinforce the nuclear nonproliferation regime. It would underscore that U.S. nuclear weapons do not play any coercive role that could be seen as legitimizing proliferation.
The second proposal concerns the security of U.S. nuclear weapons. A 2008 Air Force blue-ribbon review PDF observed that security at the NATO air bases designated capable of hosting tactical nuclear weapons "varies from country to country in terms of personnel, facilities, and equipment," and in most places was well short of Defense Department standards. It recommended the consideration of "consolidation of resources," implying a withdrawal of bombs from less secure facilities. Carrying out a consolidation could help to keep U.S. nuclear weapons away from criminals or terrorists.
There are undoubtedly other ways of trying to address proliferation and terrorism, but some of them should be avoided. One particularly counterproductive idea would be to return to a proposal featured in the 2001 nuclear posture review: to acquire and deploy conventionally armed "strategic strike systems," either in the form of intercontinental ballistic missiles or submarine-launched ballistic missiles. This idea has found little favor in Congress. Regardless, a 2008 report of a panel of National Research Council called for a conventional modification of the submarine-launched Trident missile deemed capable of delivering strikes anywhere in the world against "fleeting targets" such as WMD smugglers or terrorists, even in as little as an hour's time.
With counterterrorism and counterproliferation as features of the posture review, this idea may seem attractive at first glance. But for reasons I examined in detail in a Bulletin article last year, the conventional Trident concept would be, at best, beside the point. Experience with pursuing "high-value targets" has shown that the most persistent difficulties do not involve range, speed, accuracy, lethality, or any other weapons-system characteristic. The main challenge is correctly identifying the target. This point isn't lost on anyone associated with the USS Vincennes-Iran Air 655 disaster of 1988 or the bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade in 1999. Nor must it be explained to the commanders in Afghanistan who have imposed restrictive rules of engagement on the use of air power after multiple incidents involving civilian casualties.
The development of reliable intelligence on a fleeting target is a painstaking, time-consuming process that requires assets in theater. A prime example is the successful pursuit of the Jordanian terrorist Abdu Musab Al Zarqawi in Iraq. When this sort of high-quality intelligence cannot be had, as in the pursuit of Pakistani Taliban commander Beitullah Mehsud, it is possible to end up shooting at the wrong target, even repeatedly. If anything, relying on long-range strikes would compound the difficulty of correctly identifying targets, since it allows no possibility of pre-attack visual confirmation. Using ballistic missiles also would magnify the consequences of error.
As unorthodox as it may be to incorporate nonproliferation and counterterrorism into a nuclear posture review, the idea could be a net gain for national security. If the drafters make the right choices in deciding how to pursue it, the posture review might have a lasting and constructive legacy.
http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/columnists/joshua-pollack/the-nuclear-posture-review-now-and-later
More doubts over Iran's 'nuclear trigger'
More doubts over Iran's 'nuclear trigger'
A major British newspaper published leaked documents purporting to be compelling evidence of an Iranian nuclear-weapons program, but problems in the translation - and belated acknowledgements in the newspaper itself - have damaged the credibility of this "evidence". - Gareth Porter (Jan 6, '10)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LA07Ak04.html
A major British newspaper published leaked documents purporting to be compelling evidence of an Iranian nuclear-weapons program, but problems in the translation - and belated acknowledgements in the newspaper itself - have damaged the credibility of this "evidence". - Gareth Porter (Jan 6, '10)
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/LA07Ak04.html
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
South Korea Consortium Gets $20.4B UAE Nuclear Contract
South Korea Consortium Gets $20.4B UAE Nuclear Contract
Margaret Coker, The Wall Street Journal
A South Korean-led consortium won on Sunday a landmark contract, valued at around $20.4 billion, to build four nuclear reactors in the United Arab Emirates, in what officials in this Persian Gulf country have said is the region's largest-ever energy deal.
Full Article
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091227-702726.html
Margaret Coker, The Wall Street Journal
A South Korean-led consortium won on Sunday a landmark contract, valued at around $20.4 billion, to build four nuclear reactors in the United Arab Emirates, in what officials in this Persian Gulf country have said is the region's largest-ever energy deal.
Full Article
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091227-702726.html
Intel Report: Iran Seeking to Smuggle Raw Uranium
Intel Report: Iran Seeking to Smuggle Raw Uranium
George Jahn, Associated Press
Iran is close to clinching a deal to clandestinely import 1,350 tons of purified uranium ore from Kazakhstan, according to an intelligence report obtained by The Associated Press. The assessment is heightening international concern about Tehran's nuclear activities, diplomats said.
Full Article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/30/AR2009123000210.html
George Jahn, Associated Press
Iran is close to clinching a deal to clandestinely import 1,350 tons of purified uranium ore from Kazakhstan, according to an intelligence report obtained by The Associated Press. The assessment is heightening international concern about Tehran's nuclear activities, diplomats said.
Full Article
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/30/AR2009123000210.html
France Rejects Iran's Nuclear Counter-Proposal
France Rejects Iran's Nuclear Counter-Proposal
Agence France-Presse
France rejects Iran's latest move to set a new deadline to end the standoff over its contested nuclear programme, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Monday.
Full Article
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jPn8cninMh0Wlab01yoBhYJ_5bOg
Agence France-Presse
France rejects Iran's latest move to set a new deadline to end the standoff over its contested nuclear programme, Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Monday.
Full Article
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jPn8cninMh0Wlab01yoBhYJ_5bOg
Obama's Nuclear-Free Vision Mired in Debate
Obama's Nuclear-Free Vision Mired in Debate
Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times
President Obama's ambitious plan to begin phasing out nuclear weapons has run up against powerful resistance from officials in the Pentagon and other U.S. agencies, posing a threat to one of his most important foreign policy initiatives.
Full Article
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-obama-nuclear4-2010jan04,0,2198537,full.story
Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times
President Obama's ambitious plan to begin phasing out nuclear weapons has run up against powerful resistance from officials in the Pentagon and other U.S. agencies, posing a threat to one of his most important foreign policy initiatives.
Full Article
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-obama-nuclear4-2010jan04,0,2198537,full.story
A Radioactive Situation
A Radioactive Situation
Mark Hibbs, Foreign Policy
Strategists in the United States and Iran are now wrestling with a question central to their high-stakes game of nuclear chicken: Who is Yukiya Amano?
Full Article
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/12/22/a_radioactive_situation
Mark Hibbs, Foreign Policy
Strategists in the United States and Iran are now wrestling with a question central to their high-stakes game of nuclear chicken: Who is Yukiya Amano?
Full Article
http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/12/22/a_radioactive_situation
Uncovering Syria's Covert Reactor
Uncovering Syria's Covert Reactor
Gregory L. Schulte, Policy Outlook
Assad"Essentially, no progress..." Thus stated bluntly the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in its November 2009 report on the agency’s investigation of undeclared nuclear activities in Syria.
The absence of progress is no fault of the IAEA’s professional cadre of inspectors. Indeed, the IAEA Department of Safeguards has uncovered more than the Syrian government ever wanted to be known about the reactor destroyed by an Israeli air strike in September 2007.
Full Article
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=24651
Gregory L. Schulte, Policy Outlook
Assad"Essentially, no progress..." Thus stated bluntly the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in its November 2009 report on the agency’s investigation of undeclared nuclear activities in Syria.
The absence of progress is no fault of the IAEA’s professional cadre of inspectors. Indeed, the IAEA Department of Safeguards has uncovered more than the Syrian government ever wanted to be known about the reactor destroyed by an Israeli air strike in September 2007.
Full Article
http://www.carnegieendowment.org/publications/index.cfm?fa=view&id=24651
Study: Demand for nuclear energy is expected to grow
Study: Demand for nuclear energy is expected to grow
Nuclear power will gain importance amid rising demand for a stable energy supply and concerns about climate change, according to a report from South Korea-based POSCO Research Institute. Emissions-reduction technologies, efforts against resource depletion and environment-friendly vehicles are other promising industries, the report added. The Korea Times
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/01/123_58348.html
Nuclear power will gain importance amid rising demand for a stable energy supply and concerns about climate change, according to a report from South Korea-based POSCO Research Institute. Emissions-reduction technologies, efforts against resource depletion and environment-friendly vehicles are other promising industries, the report added. The Korea Times
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/biz/2010/01/123_58348.html
Report touts nuclear as a safe alternative power source
Report touts nuclear as a safe alternative power source
Lawmakers should permit the expanded use of nuclear energy now that many states require a portion of their electricity to be generated from renewable sources, a National Center for Policy Analysis report concluded. Nuclear is "one of the safest and most reliable forms of energy available, and it emits no greenhouse gases," said H. Sterling Burnett, a co-author of the study. Recycling used fuel could also ease the country's nuclear-waste disposal issues, the report added. Environmental Protection
http://eponline.com/articles/2010/01/04/ncpa-report-nuclear-power-is-safe-could-answer-energy-mandates.aspx
Lawmakers should permit the expanded use of nuclear energy now that many states require a portion of their electricity to be generated from renewable sources, a National Center for Policy Analysis report concluded. Nuclear is "one of the safest and most reliable forms of energy available, and it emits no greenhouse gases," said H. Sterling Burnett, a co-author of the study. Recycling used fuel could also ease the country's nuclear-waste disposal issues, the report added. Environmental Protection
http://eponline.com/articles/2010/01/04/ncpa-report-nuclear-power-is-safe-could-answer-energy-mandates.aspx
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