Earlier this year, both relevant House and Senate subcommittees decided to fully fund non proliferation programs despite competing funding demands. However, the Continuing Resolutions passed to keep the government running through December funded most government programs, including non-proliferation programs, at last year’s levels. In response, the Fissile Materials Working Group (FMWG) put together a letter […]
New START Key Issues and Responses to Critics
New START and Missile Defense According to Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, New START “will not constrain the United States from deploying the most effective missile defenses possible, nor impose additional costs or barriers on those defenses.” While Russia is concerned about U.S. missile defense plans, the Obama administration kept missile defense on a separate […]
What the 2010 elections mean for national security issues
by John Isaacs Published in Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on November 29, 2010. It goes without saying that the mid-term elections were a disaster for Democrats: Republicans took control of the House of Representatives — winning over 60 seats — and also picked up six Senate seats. The Senate will remain in Democratic hands, […]
CTBT At Fourteen: Prospects For Entry Into Force
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test- Ban Treaty (CTBT) opened for signature 14 years ago today on 24 September 1996. Signed by 185 of the UN’s 192 Member States, the Treaty is designed to constrain the research and development of nuclear weapons by banning all nuclear test explosions in all environments, indefinitely. Given the undeniable security and non-proliferation […]
Game Time for New START
By Alex Rothman Published in The Asheville Citizen-Times on September 26, 2010. Despite the near-unanimous support for the treaty by prominent experts, most Republicans have yet to take a position on the arms control pact. After 20 hearings and more than four months of debate, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is gearing up to vote […]
