by Katie Mounts Published in the Register Citizen on January 27, 2010. Whether you are reading this article in Tampa or Tucson, Los Angeles or Long Island, one thing is for certain: It’s six minutes to midnight. While this may not be the normal mode of timekeeping for your dinner plans, it’s true for the […]
Obama at One Year: "A" for Transforming Nuclear Policy, Incomplete For Execution
How’d Obama do on nuclear weapons issues during his first year in office?
The title gives it away, but click here for the Center’s report card. A few excerpts are pasted below…
John Isaacs, the Center’s executive director, praised the President for “elevating the attention of the world on the 23,000 nuclear weapons remaining across the globe and the danger that some of these weapons could fall into the hands of terrorists.”
Isaacs added: “President Obama’s forthrightness about the dangers of nuclear weapons and the need to take immediate action to avoid a nuclear holocaust constitute the most significant remarks by an American President on nuclear disarmament in the last half century.”
Lt. Gen. Robert Gard (U.S Army, ret.) the Center’s chairman, emphasized that “while Obama’s first year vision was vital, the ultimate judgment on Obama’s performance will be based on how he begins to realize this vision over the coming months and years.”
“This President deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his vision and the initiatives he has launched, and we will work closely with him to realize that vision,” concluded Gard.
Nuclear Testing is a Toxic Relic
Kirk and I have an op-ed in the Register Citizen today on the CTBT. But, judging by our names in size 20 font and in all caps, it could just be about us. Here are a few highlights:
Nuclear weapons tests are a toxic relic of a past characterized by arms races and fallout shelters. Except for outlaw nations like North Korea, the world today has quit the business of testing nuclear weapons.
And adding a touch of bipartisan flavor…
Republicans in favor of the Test Ban Treaty include former Secretaries of State George P. Shultz and Henry Kissinger, and Colin Powell and former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft. These aren’t naïve idealists. They’re men who have devoted their lives to protecting the United States.
And finally, because it can’t be avoided in any CTBT discussion…
Due to technological advances, the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile no longer requires nuclear tests…The United States knows more about maintaining its nuclear weapons today than ever before, and its stockpile is more advanced, safer, and stronger than any other country’s in the world.
And there we have an easily digestible and nicely packaged op-ed. Enjoy!
2009-2010 College Debate Topic on Nuclear Weapons: A Guide to Background Materials, Publications, &Organizations
by Travis Sharp and Kingston Reif Updated December 3, 2009 DEBATE TOPIC Resolved: The United States Federal Government should substantially reduce the size of its nuclear weapons arsenal, and/or substantially reduce and restrict the role and/or missions of its nuclear weapons arsenal. BACKGROUND MATERIALS BY TOPIC 1. Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) START Resource Center (Center […]
Factsheet on the Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT)
By Kingston Reif and Madeleine Foley PURPOSE OF FISSILE MATERIAL CUTOFF TREATY A fissile material cutoff treaty would ban the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons purposes. Fissile materials, principally highly enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium, are the essential ingredients for building nuclear weapons and powering nuclear reactors. The effective control and elimination […]
