Nuclear Non-Proliferation News
12 June 2008
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News
Welcome to Nuclear Non-Proliferation News, a digest of news on the UK
Trident, missile defence, and international nuclear non-proliferation
issues.
Trident faces renewed opposition
One year on from Parliament's vote on whether to replace the UK's ageing
Trident submarines, opposition to Trident continues to grow as the programme
experiences safety problems and increased costs. Following on from the
Wall Street Journal opeds by Shultz, Perry, Kissinger and Nunn et al,
a Guardian leader comments, "... if a target
can be set for cutting climate-change emissions to save humanity, why
not a global goal for getting rid of nuclear weapons? And why should Britain
not lead the way?" Writing in the Sunday Times, Michael
Bilton poses the question, "Are our Trident nuclear submarines
essential for peacekeeping, or are they just expensive relics of the cold
war?"
Opposition in Scotland, where Trident is based, continues to grow as
the Scottish Government (led by the Scottish National Party, which opposes
Trident), has established a working group chaired by Scottish
Minister Bruce Crawford MSP. The Group has been asked to consider
a five point remit which includes an examination of the adequacy of the
current licensing and regulatory framework that exists in relation to
environmental, planning and transport issues. More information is available
at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/swnw-working-group.
The establishment of the working group has been vociferously
opposed by some Labour MSPs close to the Westminster government. The
Scotsman quotes Jackie Baillie (Labour MSP for Dumbarton, which
includes the Faslane base) as saying that: "A quarter of the full-time
workforce in West Dunbartonshire depends on Faslane for employment. The
consequences of the loss of Faslane to towns like Helensburgh don't bear
thinking about."
Disputing that jobs would be lost if Trident were cancelled, BBC
News Online quotes Scottish TUC official Stephen Boyd:
"The funds currently earmarked to replace Trident represent a huge opportunity
for investment in the productive economy. With the necessary political
will and a little imagination these resources could provide a massive
boost to manufacturing industry in Scotland, help to secure energy supplies
and assist in the fight against climate change."
CND 50th anniversary protests
The fiftieth anniversary of the founding of CND and the
first Aldermaston marches was marked by demonstrations at Atomic Weapons
Establishment Aldermaston. The Independent was one of many national
and local newspapers to report that, "Thousands of protesters converged
on the Berkshire village of Aldermaston yesterday to commemorate the birth
of Britain's anti-nuclear movement in an act of mass defiance against
the Government's plans to curb protests at the headquarters of Britain's
nuclear weapons programme."
Trident Costs ...
Writing in the Guardian's Comment is Free, Security Editor Richard
Norton-Taylor notes that senior defence officials have admitted that the
lifetime costs of the new system "could amount
to well over twice the estimated £20 billion initial expense of replacing
the existing system." The cost of replacing Trident comes at a time
when the defence budget faces cuts in the region of £4.5bn.
Despite this spending, BBC News Online reports that Devonport Dockyard,
which refits the UK's Trident submarines is to cut 600
jobs.
... and Safety Problems
In May, the Daily Mirror reported that HMS Superb, one
of the UK's nuclear-powered hunter killer submarines had crashed
in the Red Sea in the latest of a long line of nuclear submarine accidents.
The Observer reports that, "Work
on Britain's Trident nuclear warhead programme was suspended for much
of the last year due to wide-ranging safety fears" at the Atomic
Weapons Establishment at Burghfield following flooding in Berkshire.
A letter from Di MacDonald of the Nuclear Information Service,
published in the Newbury Weekly News, notes that, "The 'gravel
gertie' buildings, where live nuclear warhead work takes place, have been
condemned as below modern safety standards for the past two years."
In March, Ian Sample reported in The Guardian that, "A hitch
in producing an explosive substance may delay indefinitely
the renewal of Britain's Trident nuclear missiles. "Fogbank", as the
substance is codenamed, is essential to extending the service life of
W76 warheads assembled at Aldermaston in Berkshire." Writing in New
Scientist, Rob Edwards warns that, "Politicians
are likely to come under pressure to fund the design of new warheads instead."
International Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiatives
In the last few days, many Australian news outlets have reported on new
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's call "for an end to nuclear
weapons" and the establishment of a new disarmament commission
headed by former Foreign Minister and current President of the International
Crisis Group Gareth Evans.
Republican Presidential candidate John McCain's May speech
calling for further measures to reduce dramatically the number of nuclear
weapons in the world's arsenal and to take "another look" at
the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), is widely reported in the US
and British media. Writing in the LA Times, Joseph
Cirincione comments, "It has been a long time since a Republican
candidate for president said anything close to this, let alone seemed
to think it would help him win election. But McCain senses what many may
have not: This is a rare moment in national and international politics,
a period of rapid change that promises a transformation in global nuclear
policy."
In April, Reuters' Mark Heinrich reported on wrangling
at the 2008 NPT PrepCom: "But where will the practical suggestions
go ... when many are dismissed as politically motivated?" asked Rebecca
Johnson, head of the Acronym Institute which tracks the NPT's performance.
"The NPT review process comes across more as theatre than real security-building
now. There is anxiety whether the NPT regime will survive another failure
like the 2005 conference."
In March, the Independent was one of very few British newspapers
to cover French President Nicholas Sarkozy's speech
announcing a reduction in French nuclear warheads to "less than 300"
days before his much publicised state visit to Britain. Sarkozy reasserted
that "nuclear deterrence is the ultimate guarantee" of French
security, national independence and decision-making autonomy.
NATO and Missile Defence
The Washington Post reports that "for reasons that aren't
entirely clear, all 26 members of NATO endorsed his [President
Bush's] plan to build a controversial missile defense system in Eastern
Europe" at the NATO Summit in Bucharest. Nonetheless, as the
Independent notes, Bush failed to sell the missile
defence plan to President Putin at their Socchi summit meeting: "Seven
years of personal summitry between George Bush and Vladimir Putin ended
yesterday as it began: with much bonhomie, but deep divisions on policy
- above all the US plan, approved by Nato but bitterly opposed by Russia,
to build parts of a missile defence system in central Europe."
In Foreign Policy Joseph Cirincione notes that what
makes US spending on missile defence "most remarkable is is that
the threat it seeks to counter is actually declining. There are far fewer
missiles, missile programs, and hostile states with missiles aimed at
the United States and its armed forces than there were 20 years ago."
Writing in the Guardian's Comment is Free, Martin
Butcher argues that "The problem with counterproliferation is
that it stimulates the threats it seeks to deter, as others seek WMD to
deter us. Nato needs to give up the nuclear war-fighting capability urged
on it by Field Marshal Inge and his friends, in order to pursue the vision
of a better world for all."
In this month's edition:
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.
Trident and Disarmament
Interview:
Hans Blix – the man who won't give up
Debora MacKenzie, New Scientist, 14 May 2008
The UK has said it must keep its Trident nuclear weapon because it
doesn't know what weapons its enemies may have in the future. Should it?
I don't think so. The UK has always been the most pro-disarmament of the
nuclear states. I think they would get a better place in world history
if they set the example of doing away with it. It would make quite a splash
- and with a change of president in the US...
Misguided
weapon
Bruce Kent, Comment is free, Guardian Online, 8 May 2008
Gordon Brown and Des Browne have both recently said that a world free
of all nuclear weapons is their ultimate destination. They won't get there
while a massive roadblock labelled Trident sits stubbornly in the way.
Trident
tested
Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian, 7 May 2008
The government is desperate to fit Trident into its national security
strategy, against mounting evidence it is too costly and worse, ineffective.
Marooned
by the special relationship
Ian Williams, guardian.co.uk, 25 February 2008
Surely it's time for a declaration of independence. The lease of Diego
Garcia is up for renewal in 2016. Britain should let the islanders back
immediately and let them take it over then and join the Seychelles if
they wish. And it should drop the pretensions to "independent" nuclear
power and give up on the Trident replacement.
Dive
bombers
Michael Bilton, The Sunday Times, 20 January 2008
They can wipe out entire nations, and the British government plans to
build even more. Are our Trident nuclear submarines essential for peacekeeping,
or are they just expensive relics of the cold war?
Disarmament
still matters
Leader, The Guardian, 7 January 2008
But if a target can be set for cutting climate-change emissions to save
humanity, why not a global goal for getting rid of nuclear weapons? And
why should Britain not lead the way?
Trident
Costs
UK
Nuclear Submarines Understaffed
By Geoff Meade Defence correspondent, Sky News online, 30 May 2008
Britain's nuclear deterrent submarines are starting to feel the manpower
shortage that's affecting the UK's armed forces.
Sky News has learned that the boats including those carrying the country's
Trident missiles are putting to sea with as little as 85% of their intended
crew complement.
Navy
face specialist staff shortages on some of its key Trident sections
Ian Bruce, The Herald, 30 May 2008
The Royal Navy's nuclear submarine force has shortages of trained specialists
amounting to more than one in five of certain key sections of its Trident
missile and hunter-killer boat crews. Figures obtained by The Herald show
that the four strategic and nine attack submarines have 28% shortfalls
in senior nuclear engineering officers, a 23% deficit in sonar and sensor
operators, and are 20% below requirement for strategic weapons systems'
junior ranks.
Scrapping
Britain’s commitment to replacing Trident would resolve our fiscal uncertainty
Letter from John Ainslie, Coordinator, Scottish Campaign for Nuclear
Disarmament, in The Herald, 14 May 2008
If Alistair Darling wants to balance his books, then perhaps he should
have a word with the Defence Secretary. On October 30, Des Browne announced
plans to spend £2bn a year on nuclear weapons. Annual expenditure on Britain's
weapons of mass destruction has increased by £500m and will rise further
if the government goes ahead with its plan to build a new nuclear weapon
system to replace Trident.
Lockheed
Martin wins Trident support deal
UPI, 15 April 2008
Lockheed Martin said Tuesday it has won an engineering support contract
for Britain's Trident missile. The Trident is a submarine-launched intercontinental
ballistic missile that is Britain's prime nuclear deterrent system.
RAF
and navy hardest hit by £4.5bn MoD cuts
David Hencke and Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian, 18 February
2008
The main blow for the navy will be a proposal to halve the number of Astute
submarines at Barrow. This could lead to job losses in the constituency
of John Hutton, the business secretary, who has been opposing the cuts.
Reducing the number of submarines by 50% would leave the Barrow yard with
a gap before the nuclear submarines to replace Trident need to be built
and there will be fears from the trade unions that workers could be laid
off, losing some of the country's skills base.
Ministers
face tough choices on weapons cuts
Richard Norton-Taylor, The Guardian, 1 February 2008
Along with a new Trident nuclear missile submarine fleet, which could
cost more than £20bn over a minimum 25-year lifespan, the £3.9bn project
to build two large aircraft carriers, the biggest warships to be built
in Britain, is sacrosanct for political and industrial reasons, defence
officials say.
Trident Safety Problems
Letter from
Di MacDonald, NIS
Newbury Weekly News, 11 June 2008
David Rendel's optimism that AWE Burghfield can be made 'safe again' [MP
should ask questions about safety at AWE,] is misplaced. The 'gravel gertie'
buildings, where live nuclear warhead work takes place, have been condemned
as below modern safety standards for the past two years. Mike Hancock
MP discovered last week, by way of a parliamentary question, that plans
to replace them will not be ready until the last quarter of 2008.
MP should ask questions about
safety at AWE site
Letter from David Rendel, Parliamentary spokesman for West Berks. Lib.
Dems to the Newbury Weekly News, 5 June 2008
In your paper last week, our MP said "it would be extraordinary to start
asking questions", [about safety at AWE Burghfield,] because the site
"is quite a long way outside the Newbury constituency." It beggars belief
that anyone who is the MP for Newbury does not see fit o ask questions
about safety at the site just because it is a few miles the other side
of a boundary between Newbury and Wokingham constituencies. How can he
be so indifferent to the safety and security of his constituents?
Storms
caused AWE factory to close
Reading Evening Post, 29 May 2008
The July storm which caused flooding across the country last year
forced the shutdown of the Burghfield atomic bomb factory, it has been
revealed. In a question in the House of Commons last week, Portsmouth
South MP Mike Hancock asked defence minister Bob Ainsworth on whose authority
the “live nuclear work was suspended at AWE Burghfield?”
Nuclear
sub crashes in Red Sea trapping 112 crewmen inside
By Stewart Maclean, Daily Mirror, 28 May 2008
A stricken British nuclear submarine was adrift in the Red Sea last night
with 112 crewmen trapped aboard. HMS Superb was submerged on a training
exercise when it ran head-on into rocks, seriously damaging its sonar
equipment.
Trident
plant shut down in safety alert
Jamie Doward, The Observer, 25 May 2008
Work on Britain's Trident nuclear warhead programme was suspended
for much of the last year due to wide-ranging safety fears, it has been
disclosed. Following suspension of work at the Atomic Weapons Establishment
(AWE) Burghfield in Berkshire last July, when flooding increased the risk
of fire at the plant, concerns about on-site safety became so acute that
a decision was taken in the autumn to stop all live nuclear work on missile
warheads.
Brit
nuke warhead plant closed
UPI, 25 May 2008
LONDON, May 25 (UPI) -- Britain's Trident nuclear warhead program was
temporarily suspended for most of the past year because of safety concerns,
papers reveal.
Y-12
resumes work on warheads
By Frank Munger, Knoxnews.com, 15 May 2008
OAK RIDGE - The Y-12 nuclear weapons plant has resumed work on Trident
warheads after reportedly fixing technical problems that stalled the high-priority
work for months. "Current production issues at Y-12 associated with the
W76 Life Extension Program have been resolved," Steven Wyatt, a spokesman
for the National Nuclear Security Administration, said in an e-mail response.
Trident
missiles delayed by mystery ingredient
Rob Edwards, New Scientist, 12 March 2008
Plans by the US and UK governments to prolong the life of Trident nuclear
weapons have hit a serious snag because of a dangerous and mysterious
ingredient codenamed Fogbank. As a result, politicians are likely to come
under pressure to fund the design of new warheads instead.
Technical
hitch delays renewal of nuclear warheads for Trident
Ian Sample, The Guardian, 6 March 2008
A hitch in producing an explosive substance may delay indefinitely the
renewal of Britain's Trident nuclear missiles. "Fogbank", as the substance
is codenamed, is essential to extending the service life of W76 warheads
assembled at Aldermaston in Berkshire. Last year, parliament voted to
renew Trident when its design life ends in the 2020s, and build a £20bn
fleet of new nuclear submarines to carry the missiles.
UK Nuclear Infrastructure
Nuclear
warheads convoy heads down motorway
Lancashire Evening Post, 12 May 2008
A controversial military convoy carrying nuclear warheads has passed through
Lancashire... It is believed the warheads were being transported between
the Trident nuclear base at Coulport in Scotland and the nuclear warhead
factory at Burghfield near Aldermaston in Berkshire.
Focus
on deadly convoys
Oxford Mail, 3 April 2008
John Tanner, the Lord Mayor of Oxford, has warned the city is at risk
of a radiation leak because nuclear weapons are being carried on local
roads. Mr Tanner said scores of military convoys had used the A34 and
M40 to transport weapons of mass destruction.
New
Fears over Dockyard
The Cornishman, 25 February 2008
The Westcountry's historic naval base at Plymouth is to close in five
years, according to reported claims made by senior defence sources. The
report suggests that Devonport, Britain's oldest naval base, is facing
defence cuts signalling the end of its use and that the decision is expected
within weeks. And an industry insider has told the WMN that the closure
is "entirely feasible" as the naval base in Plymouth could be left without
a clear role after a review of the country's bases last year. Senior defence
sources told reporters that Devonport would close, with the Royal Navy's
submarines moving to Rosyth in Scotland.
Submarines
yard to cut 600 jobs
BBC News Online, 13 February 2008
Devonport Dockyard, which maintains, upgrades and fuels the Royal Navy's
submarines, is shedding 600 jobs.
Green
light for AWE building
Reading Evening Post, 8 February 2008
PLANS for a new high explosives facility at the Aldermaston atomic bomb
factory were given the go-ahead by councillors on Wednesday. The 5,398
square metre building replaces 24 old smaller buildings at both the Aldermaston
and Burghfield AWE plc sites. It will be used for the "shaping and manipulation
of explosives material", not for its manufacture.
Atomic
body set for US control
Sylvia Pfeifer, FT.com, 10 January 2008
The UK Atomic Weapons Establishment, which manages the Aldermaston weapons
site on behalf of the Ministry of Defence, is set to come under the control
of US companies. Fluor and Jacobs, two US engineering groups, have emerged
as the only remaining bidders for the government's one-third stake in
AWE, which it put up for sale last summer.
Scottish Opposition to Trident intensifies
Kirk
asked to reaffirm opposition to nuclear arms
By Cameron Brooks, Aberdeen Press and Journal, 5 June 2008
The Church of Scotland was yesterday forced at the General Assembly to
reaffirm its opposition to nuclear weapons. Members criticised the view
that the UK’s own stockpile should not be linked to the argument to stop
Iran from developing them.
Delegates
fail to sway Kirk on nuclear disarmament
By Craig Brown, Scotsman, 21 May 2008
THE Kirk was forced to clarify its position on nuclear weapons yesterday
after linking the possible development of Iran's atomic arsenal to the
scrapping of Trident. A report before the General Assembly yesterday argued
it was hypocrisy for Britain to pursue the renewal of Trident while demanding
disarmament from others.
Jobs
impact from getting rid of Trident investigated
Glasgow Herald, 10 April 2008
The Scottish Government working group examining how Scotland could get
rid of Trident and cope with the jobs impact of its demise met for the
first time yesterday. With SNP policy backing the removal of Trident from
the Clyde, ministers have convened a group of experts covering industrial
diversification, the legal and moral position of the nuclear deterrent,
and local community views.
'Nuclear
war' on Westminster? SNP is accused over anti-Trident group
The Scotsman, 10 April 2008
MINISTERS last night defended the creation of a group to look into ways
of removing Trident submarines from Scotland, after claims that they had
no remit to fund such a body. The Trident Working Group, made up of anti-nuclear
campaigners, church representatives and lawyers, and financed by the Scottish
Government, met for the first time yesterday - in government offices in
Edinburgh.
Faslane
talks spark anger
Helensburgh Advertiser, 7 April 2008
A CRUCIAL meeting to decide the future of the Faslane base if its nuclear
weapons were removed was condemned this week as the move would leave the
town's economy in tatters. The proposal would result in the loss of thousands
of jobs and devastate the local economy, according to Helensburgh and
Lomond MSP Jackie Baillie, and an ex-Clyde Base navy chief.
SNP
group aims to dump Trident
Sunday Herald, 16 February 2008
THE SCOTTISH government has set up an expert group to investigate how
best to get rid of nuclear weapons, the Sunday Herald can reveal. The
group, to be chaired by Bruce Crawford MSP, the minister for parliamentary
business, is seen by many as a crucial step towards making Scotland a
nuclear-free nation - and could trigger a confrontation with Westminster.
The group - which includes religious leaders, academics, activists, a
lawyer and a trade unionist - has been given the task of finding legal,
planning, regulatory and diplomatic ways to block the plan to replace
the Trident nuclear weapons system on the Clyde.
Call
to 'invest' Trident funding
BBC News Online, 26 January 2008
Stephen Boyd, assistant secretary of the STUC, said: "The funds currently
earmarked to replace Trident represent a huge opportunity for investment
in the productive economy. With the necessary political will and a little
imagination these resources could provide a massive boost to manufacturing
industry in Scotland, help to secure energy supplies and assist in the
fight against climate change."
CND 50th anniversary protests
We'll
have a peace of that
The Observer, 6 April 2008
Fifty years on, the CND logo is the ultimate design for life
Today, the biggest threat from a Russian is getting trampled by an oligarch's
mistress in Harvey Nichols. But 50 years ago it was different. The Soviet
Union had an appalling arsenal of R-7 8K71 ballistic missiles aimed directly
at you and me, or at least our parents. Each one of these murderous horrors
carried 253 tons of T-1 kerosene and liquid oxygen, plus a very nasty
3.5 megaton thermonuclear warhead. Since an accurately applied R-7 8K71
could ruin your entire day, nuclear paranoia was, to a large extent, justified.
So on 27 January 1958, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament was founded.
Its president was the philosopher Bertrand Russell.
Activists
still hope to ban the atomic bomb
By Graham Tibbetts, Daily Telegraph, 26 March 2008
Thousands of protesters have gathered at Britain's main atomic weapons
base to mark the 50th anniversary of the first demonstration - and were
warned that the nuclear threat was now greater than ever.
Peaceful
Aldermaston anniversary
BBC News Online, 25 March 2008
A protest to mark the 50th anniversary of a march to the Atomic Weapons
Establishment (AWE) in Berkshire passed peacefully, police said. About
1,400 people gathered at the site at Aldermaston on Easter Monday.
5,000
take peace message to Aldermaston, 50 years on
Rachel Williams, The Guardian, 25 March 2008
As the hailstones bounced off the vintage CND badges on his fleece hat
yesterday, Robin Norbury thought about what had changed since he and his
late wife Margaret set off on the first march to Aldermaston half a century
ago, wheeling their two-year-old son George in his pushchair.
Aldermaston
protest recalls the birth of CND
By Jerome Taylor, The Independent, 25 March 2008
Thousands of protesters converged on the Berkshire village of Aldermaston
yesterday to commemorate the birth of Britain's anti-nuclear movement
in an act of mass defiance against the Government's plans to curb protests
at the headquarters of Britain's nuclear weapons programme.
CND:
a quiet voice of sanity for 50 years
Sunday Herald, 17 February 2008
HERE'S THE wall, old, thick and lovingly maintained. Here's your head,
soft and spongy, on most days more or less empty. Just remember which
of the two is liable to feel better when it ceases to make repeated contact
with the other. Sometimes this is known as the democratic process. We
have arrived, it turns out, at the 50th anniversary of the founding of
CND. Some newspapers have been indulging in nostalgia for the days of
duffel coats, trad jazz, Aldermaston marches, Bertie Russell, the Committee
of 100, and Polaris. Others have struggled with a question: if a campaign
reaches its half-century, are we celebrating heroic endurance and tenacity,
or marking five decades of abject failure?
I
have put it out of my mind for decades but as CND turns 50, I think it
may be time to re-join
Michele Hanson, The Guardian, 19 February 2008
My membership has lapsed and I haven't thought much about CND for decades,
having put it out of my mind soon after the Cuban missile crisis, because
I was too scared to think about nuclear holocaust any more and had been
spending rather too much time weeping with fright...Perhaps it's time
to re-join though, now that things are hotting up, what with Trident replacement
and the revival of the barking-mad US "Star Wars" project.
CND
veterans remain unbowed, 50 years on
Duncan Campbell and Rachel Williams, The Guardian, 16 February
2008
For the early anti-nuclear activists accustomed to plugging away in small
groups around the country, it was a watershed: arriving at Westminster's
Central Hall 50 years ago this weekend they found 5,000 people pouring
into the building amid an electric atmosphere.
CND celebrates 50th
anniversary
BBC News Online, 16 February 2008
Anti-nuclear activists are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Campaign
for Nuclear Disarmament. They are attending a two-day summit at London's
City Hall where speakers include peace activist Bianca Jagger.
Anti-Nuclear Protests Continue
12
arrested at Bangor anti-nuclear protest POULSBO, Wash.
The Seattle Times, 1 June 2008
Twelve people were arrested during an anti-nuclear weapon demonstration
at the Navy's Trident submarine base at Bangor. The demonstration Saturday
was peaceful.
Mass
action for peace at Upper Heyford
Letter to the Guardian from Kim Bewdly, Peace Camps, 31 May 2008
Protest now seems more necessary than ever. Resource wars and conflict
crucibles increase; nuclear rearmament and proliferation continue. The
breadth of the peace movement in the 1980s ranged from the anti-cruise
missile campaign, focused on the inspirational women's peace camp at Greenham
Common, to the anti-Trident efforts led (and continued) by Faslane Peace
Camp in Scotland as well as Upper Heyford. Remembering all these may inspire
a new generation to campaign for peace.
Arrests
over Rolls-Royce protest
BBC News Online, 28 April 2008
Ten people have been arrested after a protest outside a Rolls-Royce factory
in Derby. The protesters held a rally to oppose Rolls-Royce's production
of power plants used to drive Trident nuclear missile submarines.
Peaceful
Aldermaston anniversary
BBC News Online, 25 March 2008
A protest to mark the 50th anniversary of a march to the Atomic Weapons
Establishment (AWE) in Berkshire passed peacefully, police said. About
1,400 people gathered at the site at Aldermaston on Easter Monday.
Banned
anti-nuclear camps 'go on'
BBC News Online, 10 March 2008
Campaigners banned from holding monthly protests at Britain's nuclear
weapons factory in Berkshire have said they will continue demonstrations
elsewhere. The Aldermaston Women's Peace Camp was barred from land outside
the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) by the Ministry of Defence (MoD)
last May.
AWE
protesters – no case to answer
By Natalie Slater, Reading Evening Post, 15 May 2008
A pair of protesters before a court for blocking the entrance to AWE Aldermaston
in Burghfield during demonstrations last November have had their case
withdrawn.
International Disarmament Initiatives, Op-eds and Analysis
Australian
PM proposes new non-proliferation body
AFP, 10 June 2008
KYOTO, Japan (AFP) — Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd called Monday
for an end to nuclear weapons, proposing to set up a new commission to
advance the cause of non-proliferation... He started his visit in Hiroshima,
where he and his wife Therese laid a wreath at a memorial to the 140,000
people killed in the world's first atomic attack.
Rudd's
new plan to ban the bomb
The Age, 10 June 2008
PRIME Minister Kevin Rudd has committed Australia to leading a new international
fight against the spread of nuclear weapons, saying it is now the most
important issue facing the world.
Ban
nukes for good, says Evans
HeraldSun, 10 June 2008
AUSTRALIA can play a key role in banning nuclear weapons once and for
all, according to Gareth Evans, who will head a new disarmament commission.
It was time the world moved beyond stopping the spread of nuclear weapons,
and on to outlawing "these awful weapons" for good, Mr Evans said today.
A
critical mass for disarmament
By Joseph Cirincione, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2008
It has been a long time since a Republican candidate for president said
anything close to this, let alone seemed to think it would help him win
election. But McCain senses what many may have not: This is a rare moment
in national and international politics, a period of rapid change that
promises a transformation in global nuclear policy.
Nuclear
options
Leader, FT.com, 31 May 2008
New thinking is needed to stem the spread of nuclear weapons around the
world, a phenomenon that may represent the biggest threat to global security.
John McCain, the presumptive US Republican presidential candidate who
laid out his views on the subject this week, has signalled he may be ready
to change the direction of US policy.
PREVIEW-Divided
nations to meet on ailing atom control pact
By Mark Heinrich, Reuters, 27 April 2008
"But where will the practical suggestions go ... when many are dismissed
as politically motivated?" asked Rebecca Johnson, head of the Acronym
Institute which tracks the NPT's performance. "The NPT review process
comes across more as theatre than real security-building now. There is
anxiety whether the NPT regime will survive another failure like the 2005
conference."
Full text of article available on request from the Acronym Institute.
Just
how low can you go?
The Economist, 27 March 2008
Numbers shrink and attention wanders
SCARCITY usually drives up value, but not in the nuclear-bomb business.
At the height of the cold war, with tens of thousands of missiles on hair-trigger
alert and the world perpetually poised for Armageddon, a stint in the
nuclear chain of command was a fast track to military promotion. Now global
warhead stockpiles are at their lowest for almost 50 years, and the career-making
military action is elsewhere. In a sign of the times President Nicolas
Sarkozy vowed last week to trim France's force de frappe to under 300
warheads, half its maximum cold-war tally.
Shultz,
Other Experts Back Nuclear Disarmament
Global Security Newswire, 26 February 2008
OSLO, Norway - Former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz today led
a chorus of high-level experts supporting the eventual global elimination
of nuclear weapons, adding momentum to a renewed international focus on
the long-deferred goal of disarmament (see GSN, Jan. 23). "We are at a
tipping point. The danger is all too real," he told a conference hosted
by Norway's Foreign Ministry. "The simple continuation of present practice
with regard to nuclear weapons is leading in the wrong direction. We need
to change that direction."
UN
Nuclear Chief: US, Russia Must Disarm
Associated Press, 28 February 2008
OSLO, Norway (AP) - Russia and the United States should reduce their nuclear
arsenals and lead the way toward a world free of atomic weapons, the U.N.
nuclear watchdog chief said Tuesday. "Their continued reliance on nuclear
weapons as the cornerstone of their security sends the wrong message,"
Mohamed ElBaradei said at a nuclear disarmament conference in the Norwegian
capital, Olso.
International
disarmament conference in Oslo
Norway Post, 26 February 2008
Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere on Tuesday opened an international
conference in Oslo on disarmament, under the theme "The Vision of a World
Free of Nuclear Weapons". The aim of the two-day conference is to explore
how states can contribute to achieving the vision of a world free of nuclear
weapons. Peace Prize Laureate and IAEA Director General Mohammed ElBaradei,
former U.S. Secretary of State George Shultz and former senator and CEO/Co-chairman
of the Nuclear Threat Initiative Sam Nunn are keynote speakers at the
conference.
A
disarming proposal
Des Browne, Comment is free, The Guardian, 5 February 2008
Today, at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, I shall be announcing
an offer which will represent a significant step towards creating a world
free of nuclear weapons... At the centre of my offer are the skills and
expertise of our own scientists at the Atomic Weapons Establishment. Those
skills will form the basis of pioneering technical research into nuclear
disarmament - to become a nuclear disarmament "laboratory".
A
world without nuclear weapons
Bob Barry, guardian.co.uk, 22 January 2008
Many who once advocated the weapons now oppose them. But how can they
convince the world it's not all pacifist pie-in-the-sky?
Toward a Nuclear-Free
World
George P. Shultz, William J. Perry, Henry A. Kissinger, Sam Nunn
and others, Wall Street Journal, 15 January 2008
In some respects, the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons is like
the top of a very tall mountain. From the vantage point of our troubled
world today, we can't even see the top of the mountain, and it is tempting
and easy to say we can't get there from here. But the risks from continuing
to go down the mountain or standing pat are too real to ignore. We must
chart a course to higher ground where the mountaintop becomes more visible.
Trouble
ahead
Strobe Talbot, FT.com, 4 January 2008
At the dawn of the atomic age, Robert Maynard Hutchins, the chancellor
of the University of Chicago, saw the detonation of A-bombs over Hiroshima
and Nagasaki as heralding “the good news of damnation” – the ultimate
wake-up call – that would frighten the leaders of the world into taking
the steps necessary to avert catastrophe. The next US president must act
quickly on the hope that the clear and present dangers posed by proliferation
and climate change will similarly concentrate minds and political will
on what needs to be done – and the recognition that meeting those twin
challenges qualifies not just as very important but as truly urgent.
US Election
Traveling
the road to nuclear reduction
By Steven Pifer, Boston Globe, 9 June 2008
WITH HIS May 27 speech on nuclear security, Senator John McCain joined
Senator Barack Obama in endorsing an American return to nuclear arms control.
This is good news. Whatever the outcome of the election, the new president
will pursue a policy that can reduce the nuclear threat to America, restore
US leadership in the nonproliferation field, and provide a much-needed
impetus to the broader bilateral relationship with Russia.
McCain
Sharpens His Foreign Policy Attacks on Obama
By MICHAEL COOPER, New York Times, 3 June 2008
NASHVILLE — As the bitter Democratic presidential nomination battle was
consumed by rancorous maneuverings, Senator John McCain honed his national
security message before Jewish leaders on Monday, saying Senator Barack
Obama’s policies toward Iraq and Iran would create chaos in the Middle
East and endanger the United States and Israel.
A
Return to Arms Control
Washington Post, 2 June 2008
Fortunately, a speech by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) last week has confirmed
that these wrongheaded policies will not survive Mr. Bush's tenure. Declaring
that "we cannot achieve our nonproliferation goals on our own," Mr. McCain
pledged that as president he would "strengthen existing international
treaties and institutions to combat proliferation, and develop new ones."
Where
they stand on ... nuclear arms
Chicago Tribune, 30 May 2008
Barack Obama: Joins Clinton in supporting immediate ratification of the
Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. Worked with Sen. Richard Lugar
(R-Ind.) for a law to beef up U.S. efforts to keep nuclear materials out
of the wrong hands. Voted in 2005 to block funding for the Robust Nuclear
Earth Penetrator. Vows to negotiate with Russia to lower readiness level
of nuclear arsenals to avoid "hair-trigger" mistakes. Would seek global
ban on the production of fissile material for weapons.
Help
Russia Help Us
By RICHARD LUGAR and SAM NUNN, New York Times, 30 May 2008
IN a campaign speech this week, John McCain cited the “special responsibility”
of the United States and Russia to cooperate to prevent the spread and
use of nuclear weapons. There is a remarkable consensus among the presidential
candidates about this imperative. But we must not wait until a new administration
in 2009 to advance this vital work. An agreement the Bush administration
signed with Russia earlier this month is an essential step for this cooperation.
That agreement is now before Congress.
McCain:
Back to the future
The Boston Globe, 29 May 2008
JOHN McCAIN gave a sage and substantive speech Tuesday on his approach
to the dangers of nuclear proliferation. Without explicitly saying so,
McCain took positions that are, on most issues, diametrically opposed
to those of President Bush.
McCain
would work with Russia on nuclear disarmament
Los Angeles Times, 28 May 2008
DENVER -- Sen. John McCain attempted to distance himself from the Bush
administration Tuesday on one of the most contentious foreign policy issues
besides Iraq, saying he would work more closely with Russia on nuclear
disarmament and would ax plans for a nuclear weapon once coveted by the
current president.
McCain
Vows to Work With Russia on Arms
By ELISABETH BUMILLER, New York Times, 27 May 2008
DENVER — Senator John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential
nominee, distanced himself from the Bush administration on Tuesday by
vowing to work more closely with Russia on nuclear disarmament and by
calling for a reduction in tactical nuclear weapons in Europe.
Obama
lays out plan for confronting Iran
www.ynetnews.com, 29 February 2008
In exclusive interview, prospective Democratic candidate pledges to continue
'unshakeable' US commitment to Israeli security, pursue 'aggressive diplomacy'
vis-à-vis Iran, and make every effort to achieve peace for Israel 'without
dictating terms' Then he launched his US presidential campaign, only few
people knew that Democratic candidate Barack Obama's middle name is Hussein.
His political rivals, however, made sure to reveal this fact and attempted
to paint him as a pro-Arab Muslim. Over the past few weeks, his rivals
have spread rumors that Obama attended a madrasa (Islamic religious school)
in Indonesia, which served as a terrorist training camp. On Tuesday Obama
provided written answers to questions presented by the Yedioth Ahronoth
daily newspaper. In this exclusive interview, he presents his views on
Israel, the Palestinians and Iran.
Bush
Assails Democratic Candidates' Foreign Policy Views
Washington Post, 29 February 2008
President Bush has tried, with varying degrees of success, to avoid
playing the role of "pundit in chief" on daily campaign developments.
But yesterday he weighed in on some of the foreign policy issues that
have cropped up recently on the trail, criticizing the Democratic presidential
contenders for their positions on Iraq and trade and, in the case of Sen.
Barack Obama (Ill.), for his willingness to meet with U.S. adversaries.
New Nuclear Weapons Developments
Chinese
Sub Base Prompts Concerns in India
NPR, 10 June 2008
May 27, 2008 · Published images of a vast nuclear submarine base on China's
Hainan Island trouble Indian officials, who fear the base will enable
the Chinese navy to dominate crucial sea lanes in the Indian Ocean.
U.S.,
China expanding N-sub fleets Deployment of Jin-class sub at Hainan Island
sparks U.S. funding of more vessels
Yoshinari Kurose, Yomiuri Shimbun, 4 June 2008
WASHINGTON--The U.S. government has begun strengthening its submarine
fleets to counter China's growing buildup of naval forces in the Pacific
Ocean, partly because of the recent discovery of a Chinese submarine base
at Hainan Island in the South China Sea. The base for nuclear-powered
submarines with ballistic missile capabilities is located near an important
sea lane for maritime traffic in Southeast Asia. An increasing number
of military experts predict that competition between the United States
and China will intensify over their respective influence in the Pacific
region.
China's
new naval base triggers US concerns
AFP, 12 May 2008
The base's existence on the southern tip of Hainan Island was confirmed
for the first time by high resolution satellite images, according to Jane's
Intelligence Review, a respected defence periodical, this month. It could
hold up to 20 submarines, including a new type of nuclear ballistic missile
submarine, and future Chinese aircraft carrier battle groups, posing a
challenge to longstanding US military dominance in Asia.
Nuke Commander
Unhappy With Status Quo
Arms Control Today, April 2008
The top U.S. military commander in charge of deployed nuclear forces is
speaking out against the current state of the nuclear weapons enterprise
and advocating for new warheads and the infrastructure and people to produce
them. Meanwhile, Congress recently appointed a group of 12 experts to
evaluate the appropriate roles for nuclear weapons in future U.S. security
policy. General Kevin Chilton, the head of Strategic Command, is striking
a discordant note against a growing chorus supporting the eventual elimination
of nuclear weapons, ranging from former Republican Secretaries of State
George Shultz and Henry Kissinger to Democratic presidential candidate
Sen. Barack Obama (Ill.). Chilton Feb. 27 testified to lawmakers that
nuclear weapons would be "important for the remainder of this century"
and expressed discomfort with the notion of reducing U.S. deployed nuclear
forces to levels below the planned 2012 treaty limit of 1,700-2,200 strategic
warheads. Russia is imploring the United States to negotiate lower limits,
but so far the Bush administration has refused.
Sarkozy
launches submarine but wants nuclear ban
By John Lichfield in Paris, Independent, 22 March 2008
President Nicolas Sarkozy called for new limits on nuclear weapons yesterday
after accepting an advanced nuclear submarine called Le Terrible into
the French navy.
StratCom
chief backs investing in new nukes
Air Force Times, 27 February 2008
The nation's nuclear stockpile is safe and reliable now, but Strategic
Command boss Gen. Kevin Chilton told Congress Wednesday that more research
is needed to develop a nuclear warhead to replace those built for the
Cold War. Chilton made his case for Congress to invest in the Reliable
Replacement Warhead Design Definition and Cost Study at the U.S. Strategic
Posture Fiscal Year 2009 Budget Request for Strategic Programs hearing
in order to provide more information into the viability of building a
post-Cold War warhead.
After
Many Delays
Strategy Page, 21 February 2008
After many delays, Russia has finally launched the first of three new
Borei Class ballistic missile nuclear subs (SSBN, or "boomers"). When
completed next year, this one will be based in the Pacific. During the
Cold War, most of Russias SSBNs were based in the north, at several bases
east of the Norwegian border, and facing the Arctic ocean. But now Russia
is spending over $350 million to expand and improve its submarine base
on Kamchatka island. This will enable its new SSBNs to threaten China,
as well as the United States.
National
laboratories benefit in Bush budget
Albuquerque Tribune, 5 February 2008
WASHINGTON - The Bush administration gave Sen. Pete Domenici some negotiating
strength to defend the budgets of New Mexico's two nuclear weapons and
science laboratories. Under the spending plan for the next fiscal year,
Sandia National Laboratories would see a $25.3 million increase, to $1.42
billion, while Los Alamos National Laboratory would face a relatively
small cut of $14.5 million, to $1.83 billion. Included in the Los Alamos
plan is money for a new plutonium pit production facility.
NATO and Socchi Summits
Think
pipes not rockets
The European Union should worry about gas, not just missile defences
The Economist, 10 April 2008
BELIEVE the spin, and America and its European allies are doing a great
job in bolstering the future security of a Europe whole and free. The
NATO summit in Bucharest gave an (undated) promise of future membership
to Ukraine and Georgia and endorsed America's plans for a limited missile-defence
system in Poland and the Czech Republic.
Bush
fails to sell missile defence plans in last meeting with Putin
Luke Harding in Sochi, The Guardian, 7 April 2008
George Bush's attempts to patch up the US's battered relationship with
Russia failed yesterday when Vladimir Putin said he continued to oppose
the US's European missile defence plans.
Warm
words end Black Sea summit as leaders vow to bridge differences
The Independent, 6 April 2008
Seven years of personal summitry between George Bush and Vladimir Putin
ended yesterday as it began: with much bonhomie, but deep divisions on
policy - above all the US plan, approved by Nato but bitterly opposed
by Russia, to build parts of a missile defence system in central Europe.
Bush, Putin
Remain Divided on Missile Defense System
Voice of America, 6 April 2008
U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin have
ended their farewell summit without agreement on missile defense, but
with a blueprint for their successors. VOA's Paula Wolfson reports they
conferred at Mr. Putin's presidential retreat in the Black Sea resort
of Sochi.
Russia,
NATO fail to overcome gaps
Xinhua News Agency, 5 April 2008
Russia and NATO failed to make headway in overcoming gaps on thorny issues
at their first ever Council Summit on Friday, despite a transit deal was
forged. The two traditional foes have had long sharply disagreed on substantial
matters such as the military alliance eastward expansion, Kosovo and a
Cold War-time arms control treaty.
The
Missile Defense Obsession
Washington Post, 4 April 2008
President Bush's obsession with missile defense was a distraction pre-9/11,
is arguably an anachronism post-9/11, and has meant billions of dollars
spent on unproven technology. But no matter. Because Bush is on a roll.
Yesterday, for reasons that aren't entirely clear, all 26 members of NATO
endorsed his plan to build a controversial missile defense system in Eastern
Europe.
Nato
bows to US pressure for nuclear shield on new EU soil
The Scotsman, 4 April 2008
NATO leaders endorsed a controversial US missile shield for Europe yesterday,
and US and Czech officials agreed on deployment of the first element -
an advanced radar, despite strong Russian opposition. US officials have
confirmed a final communique on the missile defence system, parts of which
will be stationed in Poland and the Czech Republic, and said the deal
would "recognise the substantive contribution to the protection of the
allies".
NATO
orders missile study
The Australian, 4 April 2008
NATO leaders ordered experts today to draw up options for a missile system
that would complement the US anti-missile shield and provide cover to
some allies left out in the cold. They also urged Russia to consider linking
up its missile defences to the US shield - despite Moscow's hostility
towards it - and to the system the alliance plans to develop.
Posturing
over Afghanistan puts Nato at risk
Daily Telegraph, 4 April 2008
The Taliban must be rubbing their hands with glee. With the new fighting
season about to begin in earnest in Afghanistan, the West shows no sign
of resolving the deep divisions that have severely hampered its attempts
to rebuild the country after decades of misrule. The Nato summit in Bucharest
has been hailed as the most important meeting in the organisation's 59-year
history, the moment when the member states finally buried their differences
and agreed on a joint strategy that would define its relevance for the
21st century.
NATO
to Moscow: link to anti-missile defence system
France 24, 3 April 2008
In their summit declaration on Thursday, NATO leaders urged Russia to
consider linking up its missile defences to a US anti-missile shield and
another system the alliance plans to develop to provide cover to some
allies that would otherwise be left out. "We are ready to explore the
potential for linking United States, NATO and Russian missile defence
systems at an appropriate time," their statement said.
The
NATO Alliance at War
The Washington Post, 3 April 2008
Ahead of a presidential trip to Europe built around the summit of the
Atlantic alliance in Romania, President Bush said his chief goal was "to
make sure NATO stays relevant." The best way to do that, he said, was
to "deal with the threats of Afghanistan." Yet when Bush arrived in Bucharest
for the three-day summit, he found that his allies often define relevance
differently.
Putin
scores major diplomatic victory by blocking NATO's expansion plan
International Herald Tribune, 3 April 2008
By scuttling the NATO membership bids of two of Russia's westward-looking
neighbors, Vladimir Putin won what is arguably his biggest diplomatic
victory even before he arrived at an alliance summit. NATO's plan to expand
further into former Soviet turf collapsed Thursday when leaders - anxious
to avoid angering Moscow - opted not to put the strategically important
ex-Soviet nations of Ukraine and Georgia on track for membership.
The
first use fallacy
Martin Butcher, guardian.co.uk, 22 January 2008
The hawks in Nato are pushing for a policy of pre-emptive nuclear strike.
A more dangerous version of interventionism is hard to imagine.
Missile Defence and the Weaponisation of Space
The
Incredible Shrinking Missile Threat
By Joseph Cirincione, Foreign Policy, May/June 2008
If President George W. Bush’s budget requests are met, the United States
will spend more this year than it ever has on antiballistic missile defense—some
$12 billion, or nearly three times what the United States spent on antimissile
systems during any year of the Cold War. The United States would spend
more than $60 billion on missile defense in the next six years, an unprecedented
sum, even for the Pentagon. But what makes this spending most remarkable
is that the threat it seeks to counter is actually declining.
Poland
stalls Bush's 'lame duck' deal on missile shield
Ian Traynor, The Guardian, 28 May 2008
President George Bush's hopes of sealing agreement to site parts of the
Pentagon's missile shield in central Europe before he leaves office are
fading fast, according to senior Polish officials who despair of reaching
to reach a deal with the United States before the end of the year.
Japan
to allow military use of space
Justin McCurry, The Guardian, 21 May 2008
Japan's estrangement from its postwar pacifism continued today with the
enactment of a law ending its 40-year ban on the military use of space.
The law signals Tokyo's determination to expand its military capability
amid concern over China's ballooning defence budget and North Korea's
development of ballistic and nuclear missiles.
Outside
View: ABMs for Europe -- Part 2
UPI, 16 April 2008
MOSCOW, April 16 (UPI) -- There are some political and economic obstacles
on the road to creating an effective ballistic-missile defense system
for Europe. NATO members cannot agree what companies should supply the
hardware -- radars for reconnaissance, detection and tracking, and for
guidance of air-defense systems.
Outside
View: ABMs for Europe -- Part 1
UPI, 15 April 2008
MOSCOW, April 15 (UPI) -- The results of the Bucharest NATO summit, the
NATO-Russia Council meetings, and talks between U.S. President Bush and
Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi have been summed up in what
has now become a standard comment: The NATO summit made up for suspending
the Membership Action Plan for Ukraine and Georgia with the full support
for the deployment of an American missile shield in Europe.
Russia
demands permanent presence at US missile shield sites
RIA Novosti News Agency, 9 April 2008
Moscow, April 9 (RIA Novosti) Russia's main demand for the deployment
of a US missile shield in Central Europe is 'the constant presence of
our officers and reliable technical monitoring', the Russian foreign minister
said. 'It is important for us that we see where this radar looks every
second, what is happening at the interceptor base in Poland,' Sergei Lavrov
told the Moscow-based Ekho Moskvy radio Tuesday.
Czech
Greens against U.S. radar base
Ceské Noviny, 5 April 2008
Prague- The leadership of the Czech Greens today rejected the construction
of the U.S. anti-missile radar base in the Czech Republic, although the
North Atlantic alliance adopted a positive stand on the project at its
summit in Bucharest earlier this week.
Czech
opposition wants govt to connect radar with confidence vote
Ceské Noviny, 4 April 2008
Prague- The Czech opposition Social Democratic Party (CSSD) has called
on the government to connect the debate on the treaties on the stationing
of a U.S. radar base on Czech soil in the Chamber of Deputies with a vote
of confidence, party deputy chairman Milan Urban told.
US strikes
missile deal with Czechs
Julian Borger in Bucharest, guardian.co.uk, 3 April 2008
The US and Czech Republic have announced an agreement to establish an
element of a controversial missile defence system on Czech soil.
Edward
Davey: We must end this strange British silence over the Son of Star Wars
Yorkshire Post, 24 March 2008
It is 25 years since the launch of Ronald Reagan's "Star Wars" programme.
For many, the plan for a space-based system to shoot down nuclear missiles
was as far-fetched as its sci-fi namesake. Indeed, it remained largely
science-fiction. When the Soviet Union collapsed, the technology had failed
to get far from the drawing board. By the end of the Cold War, Russia
and the US maintained an agreement not to deploy anti-missile systems.
US-Russia
fail to end missile defence dispute
Agence France Presse, 18 March 2008
MOSCOW (AFP) - The United States and Russia failed in talks here Tuesday
to bridge gaps over US missile defence plans and the fate of the main
strategic arms treaty, but vowed to make a clean break with past tensions.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, flanked by US Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, told reporters that both sides had made "steady progress"
on work to combat nuclear terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass
destruction.
Cheney
Stresses Need For Missile Defense
CBS News, 12 March 2008
Says Next President Must Continue Push For Defense Installations In Eastern
Europe Borrowing a theme from the presidential contest, Vice President
Dick Cheney said Tuesday that the possibility of a 3 a.m. emergency call
to the White House is all the more reason for the next commander in chief
to follow through on President Bush's plans for a national missile defense.
"It's plain to see that the world around us gives ample reason to continue
working on missile defense," Cheney told the conservative Heritage Foundation
at a dinner recognizing the 25th anniversary of President Ronald Reagan's
Strategic Defense Initiative, a proposed network of rockets capable of
shooting down incoming intercontinental ballistic missiles.
Poles
win US pledge on missiles
Ian Traynor, The Guardian, 11 March 2008
President George Bush pledged yesterday to beef up Poland's defences against
Russia in return for Warsaw agreeing to host a US base of interceptor
rockets for Washington's missile defence project.
US
lobbies Poles on missile shield
BBC News, 8 March 2008
The controversial US plan to build a missile defence shield in Europe
is likely to dominate talks between President George Bush and Polish Prime
Minister Donald Tusk at the White House on Monday. It is Mr Tusk's first
visit to Washington as prime minister and many people in Poland had expected
that a deal on missile defence would be reached there.
Arms
race fear as US plans India missile shield
Daily Telegraph, 29 February 2008
The United States and India are in talks to join forces on a missile defence
system - despite fears it could trigger an arms race with China. The proposal,
still at an early stage, is part of an evolving strategic partnership
between the world's two largest democracies. But the fear in Beijing is
that the US is trying to "encircle" China by using India and allies such
as Japan and Australia as proxies, and thereby stifle its strategic rise.
Russia
warns of counter-measures against U.S. missile shield
Xinhua News Agency, 22 February 2008
MOSCOW, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- Russia has to adjust its military strategies
if the United States deploys missile defense systems in eastern Europe,
Russian Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov said here on Thursday. The
deployment of U.S. missile shield in eastern Europe will aggravate tensions
across the region and jeopardize the global strategic balance, Serdyukov
said in an article published on the website of the local newspaper Moskovskiye
Komsomolets. "It will also pose a threat to the national security of Russia,"
he added.
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