“Bold leadership from the White House is needed,” said Lt. General (ret. USA) Robert Gard PhD, Chairman of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and member of the Council on Foreign Relations. “After decades of stagnation, hopping from one crisis to another with Iran, the negotiators are in a position to develop a proposal that will ensure that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon and put its nuclear program under stricter controls by the International Atomic Energy Agency.”
North Korea Vows “High Level” Nuclear Test; Diplomacy Needed Now
Lt. General (ret. USA) Robert Gard Jr. PhD, Chairman of the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation, stressed, “Even if the North Koreans engage in provocative behavior that should not dissuade us from engaging them.”
Bipartisan Arms Control Experts Rally Behind Hagel Nomination
“From reduced defense spending to developing an exit strategy in Afghanistan and a global community concerned with terrorism, the Pentagon faces many challenges in the 21st century. Hagel will effectively lead the institution in addressing these concerns,” said Amb. Graham. “As the U.S. and other nuclear arms countries consider further reductions in nuclear stockpiles to ensure greater national and global security, it is imperative that someone with Senator Hagel’s experience and keen insights lead the Department of Defense.”
Nuclear Black Market: Alive and Well
In a previous post, I detailed the important role that the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, spearheaded by former Senators Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar, has played in securing loose nuclear material in the former Soviet Union.
Despite Russia’s refusal to extend the program past 2013, there is still a large amount of material that needs to be protected from theft and ultimately, use. In his first foreign policy speech since his reelection at the National Defense University on December 3, President Obama praised this work and emphasized the need for it to continue. In his words, “there are still terrorists and criminal gangs doing everything they can to get their hands on [WMD materials].”
He was absolutely correct. On December 10, Desmond Butler released a chilling account of two Turkish men arrested for attempting to buy highly radioactive materials in Batumi, Georgia. From what the Georgian authorities could ascertain, there is a black market for nuclear materials being run out of Abkhazia, an unrecognized state of the former Soviet Union. Although it is clear the material is originating from one place, Georgian anti-smuggling chief Archil Pavlenishvili has no idea where exactly that place is.
Though the details are somewhat murky, the Georgian government has successfully apprehended nuclear smugglers in possession of a range of radiological materials, including, in some cases, highly-enriched uranium, one two possible ingredients for a nuclear bomb. However without US-led programs and investment in material security and protection as well as anti-smuggling, criminals would have an easier time successfully stealing, transporting, and selling dangerous material. Potential buyers could include rogue states pursuing a clandestine nuclear program. Even more concerning are terrorist groups seeking nuclear material either for a dirty bomb or for an actual nuclear weapon.
The US has led a global effort to ensure nuclear material remains secure, epitomized by the 2010 and 2012 Nuclear Security Summits, which encouraged states to take meaningful steps to protect their own nuclear materials. At the 2012 Summit, nineteen nations signed a Statement to Counter Nuclear Smuggling. The United States in particular has led the Megaports Initiative under the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) as well as Homeland Security’s Container Security Initiative to strengthen anti-smuggling efforts worldwide. Departing from the model of the Nunn-Lugar program which minimizes opportunity for smugglers to obtain nuclear and radiological materials, these programs work to detect and prevent those materials from crossing national borders.
The Megaports Intiative specifically works to transfer responsibility of anti-smuggling efforts to the host country after three years. However, due to lack of funding, the NNSA has completed less than half of its planned projects. While there is ample room for cuts in the defense budget, it is important to remember how essential anti-smuggling programs are.
Relative to other defense expenditures, the return on investment of these programs is enormous. The consequences of not investing in them are catastrophic. Nuclear terrorism, as Obama noted on December 3, remains one of the major threats to American national security. If we do not continue to assist other countries in creating counter nuclear smuggling frameworks, we risk endangering the security of both the United States and the world.
Nukes, the Shaheen Amendment, Afghanistan and Spending Money on Unneeded Programs
Key arms control and national security policy differences remain to be resolved by the House-Senate conference committee including the East Coast missile defense system, withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, strategic arms reductions under the New START Treaty, the Shaheen amendment to protect military victims of sexual violence and funding for the next generation of Ohio-class strategic nuclear submarines, long-range bombers and the plutonium research facility at Los Alamos.
