Nuclear Non-Proliferation News
July 9, 2007
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Welcome to Nuclear Non-Proliferation News, a monthly news service from
the Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy. We aim to provide links
to a selection of UK and international news stories relevant to UK and
NATO nuclear weapons issues. An archive of press coverage is available
on our website at: www.acronym.org.uk/news. We
welcome your comments and feedback. Please send your comments to info@acronym.org.uk.
In this month's edition
UK News
International
Gordon Brown's New Cabinet and Washington's Reaction
Washington
uneasy over Brown's anti-war ministers
Tom Baldwin in Washington, The Times, July 2, 2007
Gordon Brown's appointment of ministers critical of the Bush Administration
and the Iraq war has triggered unease in Washington after the departure
of its close ally, Tony Blair. Although the new Prime Minister emphasises
his belief in the importance of Britain's relationship with President
Bush and the US, he has also delivered what one Pentagon source described
yesterday as "some conflicting signals".
Lib
Dems' Williams agrees to advise Brown
Press Association, July 6, 2007
The ultimate aim should be the abolition of nuclear weapons, she said,
and moving towards that would require "a clear commitment by the nuclear
powers that they'll move towards a substantial reduction".
"In fairness to the government, we've moved some way towards a reduction,
but we've got further to go and we've got to take others with us," she
said.
Mr Brown has rejected calls to scrap plans to replace the Trident nuclear
submarine missile system. Last month he said: ""I want to see a reduction
in nuclear weapons, but as part of multilateral disarmament."
Go
to Australia or use your own judgment
Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian, June 28, 2007
After the pomp and ceremony of his departure from Buckingham Palace,
his speech on the doorstep at No 10, and a partial reshuffle, Gordon Brown's
role as prime minister began with an onerous and somewhat sobering task.
Tony Blair, when faced with the duty, immediately went white in the face,
said onlookers. John Major couldn't face it: he went home for the weekend.
Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett signals new focus
on disarmament
UK
to push for nuclear disarmament
James Blitz, FT.com, June 24, 2007
In a speech in Washington, Margaret Beckett, the UK foreign secretary,
will on Monday spell out details of how Britain wants to become a “disarmament
laboratory”, unveiling concrete steps to champion multilateral nuclear
reductions.
Mrs Beckett, who has been foreign secretary for little more than a year,
might lose her post when Mr Brown unveils his government line-up on Thursday.
However, senior British diplomats say she has discussed Monday’s disarmament
speech at length with Mr Brown.
Beckett
signals renewed focus on disarmament
Politics.co.uk, June 26, 2007
Britain will push for bilateral nuclear disarmament when Gordon Brown
takes over as prime minister, the foreign secretary indicated last night...
Ms Beckett said: ... "Almost no one - politician, military strategist
or scientist - thinks that warheads in those numbers are still necessary
to guarantee international security. "It should not therefore be controversial
to suggest that there remains room for further significant reductions."
Scottish Parliament votes against Trident
MSPs
vote against Trident renewal
BBC News Online, June 14, 2007
The Scottish Parliament has voted against renewing Trident nuclear weapons
- the first time Holyrood has taken a clear position on the issue. The
motion, backed by 71 MSPs to 16, with 39 abstentions, also congratulated
the majority of Scots MPs for voting against a replacement system.
Holyrood
defies Westminster over Trident submarines replacement
Louise Gray, The Scotsman, June 15, 2007
THE Scottish Parliament, including four Labour MSPs, last night voted
to reject Tony Blair's plans to replace Trident. It is the first time
Holyrood has taken a clear position against the nuclear weapons system
based on the Clyde.
New Navy Aircraft Carriers could be based at Faslane
Navy’s
new carriers could be based at Faslane
Ian Bruce, The Herald, July 5, 2007
The Faslane submarine base on the Clyde could end up as home port to Britain's
planned £3.8bn aircraft carriers as well as the Trident nuclear deterrent
squadron, under proposals being considered by naval chiefs. Insiders say
plans to scrap one of the Royal Navy's three remaining bases - Faslane,
Portsmouth or Devonport - have now been abandoned in favour of efficiency
savings of more than £30m a year at each site and a redistribution of
warships.
AWE opens its doors to the media for the day
How
to build a greener H-bomb
Daily Telegraph, June 26, 2007
Super-lasers could help to develop Britain's next generation of nuclear
weapons, reports Roger Highfield
The steel skeleton of a building the shape of a teardrop rears high above
the barbed wire that surrounds the sprawling site where Britain maintains
its home-grown nuclear weapons.
Aldermaston's
bomb factory opens its gates
Reading Evening Post, June 21, 2007
Every few years the nuclear bomb factory in Aldermaston throws open its
gates to the press. Actually, the gates are opened just a chink and a
selection of heavily vetted reporters and broadcasters file past Ministry
of Defence police officers carrying big guns before they are allowed in.
Lifting
the lid on AWE
Newbury Weekly News, June 29 2007
Atomic Weapons Establishment invites newburytoday behind the scenes to
take a sneak peek at work on its new laser
THE UK's nuclear research centre at Aldermaston is more used to sealing
its gates off to peace protestors than opening itself up to the public
gaze. Last week, however, and for the first time in more than ten years,
the nation's press were allowed to peer inside one of the nation's most
secretive organisations.
Demonstrations at Aldermaston and Faslane
Police
look to combat AWE demonstrators
By Eleanor Stride, This is Hampshire.net, July 1, 2007
POLICE may lobby for extra powers to combat demonstrators blocking roads
around the Atomic Weapons Establishment, in Aldermaston.
Students
Against Trident blockade North and South gates at Faslane nuclear base
Indymedia.co.uk, June 29, 2007
9 students were arrested this morning at Faslane nuclear base after blockading
the road for 40 minutes.
US reduces Nuclear Weapons based in Germany
US
Withdraws Nuclear Weapons From Main German Base
Hans M. Kristensen, Strategic Security Blog, July 9, 2007
The U.S. Air Force appears to have quietly removed nuclear weapons from
its main base at Ramstein in Germany, leaving only one nuclear base in
the country. The removal reduces the estimated number of U.S. nuclear
weapons in Europe from approximately 440 to around 350, an arsenal roughly
the size of the entire French nuclear arsenal. The remaining weapons are
deployed at seven bases in six NATO countries.
Nuclear weapons funding progresses through the US Senate
U.S.
Senate OKs $66M for Reliable Replacement Warhead
William Matthews, Defense News, June 28, 2007
Senate appropriators voted June 28 to spend $66 million on the Reliable
Replacement Warhead in 2008.
Senate
funding plan advances
Roger Snodgrass, Monitor Assistant Editor, Los Alamos Monitor, July
2, 2007
An appropriation bill that includes funding for Los Alamos National Laboratory
sailed out of committee Thursday with a unanimous 28-0 endorsement. The
Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), as well as the Bureau of Reclamation
and Army Corps of Engineers.
If passed by the Senate after the holiday recess, the measure would contrast
with a bill now waiting for approval in the House on funding for nuclear
projects at LANL. Senate Appropriation Committee approved a $32.7 billion
bill containing funds for the Department of Energy and its nuclear weapons
activities under the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA),
as well as the Bureau of Reclamation and Army Corps of Engineers.
STRATFOR on US missile defence plans
U.S.:
The Real Reason Behind Ballistic Missile Defense
STRATFOR, June 18, 2007
The U.S. ballistic missile defense system slated for Poland and the Czech
Republic has been continually touted as intended to counter long-range
Iranian missiles -- which is true -- but it is also entirely consistent
with long-term U.S. strategy.
Russian Ballistic Missile Test
Russia
carries out successful missile test
AFP, June 29, 2007
MOSCOW, June 28, 2007 (AFP) - Russia has carried out a successful test
of a sea-based intercontinental missile from a nuclear submarine, the
military said Thursday. The test on the new Bulava ballistic missile was
conducted in the White Sea off Russia's northwest coast, military spokesman
Igor Dygalo told AFP.
First images of Chinese nuclear submarine
Top-secret
Chinese sub surfaces on internet maps
Eric Rosenberg in Washington, The Sydney Morning Herald, July 9, 2007
THE first publicly available pictures have emerged of China's new
Jin-class nuclear-powered submarine, which is capable of firing intercontinental
ballistic missiles against the US.
Inching towards fissile material talks
Fissile
material ban talks inch towards consensus
Siddharth Varadarajan, The Hindu, July 2, 2007
Pakistan, China, Iran not satisfied with United Nations Disarmament
plan
New Delhi: The United Nations' Conference on Disarmament ended its second
session of the year in Geneva on Friday with all 65 members barring Pakistan,
China and Iran indicating their willingness to begin immediate negotiations
towards the conclusion of a treaty banning the production of fissile material
for weapons purposes.
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