Quote of the Day
They clearly have enough material for a [nuclear] bomb. They know how to do the enrichment. Whether they know how to design a bomb, well, that’s another matter.
--U.S. nuclear physicist Richard Garwin, on Iran's stockpile of low-enriched uranium.
Top Stories
Bush Administration Seeks to Leave Strategic Arms Treaty Option Open for Obama
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008
The Bush administration has enabled President-elect Barack Obama to negotiate a possible extension to a key U.S.-Russian arms control treaty (Justin Sullivan/
Getty Images).
WASHINGTON -- U.S. envoys meeting this week with their Russian counterparts in Geneva intend to keep open the option for President-elect Barack Obama to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, officials told Global Security Newswire (see GSN, Oct. 20).
Obama's national security team is said to be interested in preserving the option of maintaining the provisions of the 1991 accord, which otherwise would expire less than 12 months after Inauguration Day.
Under the terms of the treaty, diplomats were required to meet by early next month to discuss prospects for extending the treaty past December 2009. In addition to the United States and Russia, other parties to the treaty at the session include Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine.
U.S. CW Disposal to Face Major Delays
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008
A weapons storage igloo at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, where chemical-weapon destruction could be put off until 2021 (Kentucky Emergency Management Division photo).
The beginning of chemical weapons disposal in Colorado and Kentucky might be delayed by years, the Pueblo Chieftain reported today (see GSN, Nov. 6).
The "begin-operations" date for the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado has been pushed back from January 2015 to December 2016, while work at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky would begin in 2021, almost four years later than anticipated.
A number of factors forced the schedule change, including increasing costs for the disposal sites, heightened materials needs, the redesign of the Blue Grass disposal plant, and funding that does not provide sufficient support for the higher costs, said Kathy DeWeese, spokeswoman for the Defense Department's Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives program.
Iran Could Fuel One Nuclear Bomb, Experts Say
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008
Some experts believe that the low-enriched uranium produced at Iran's Natanz facility, shown above, contains enough material for a nuclear weapon if Tehran chose to enrich the material to weapon-grade levels (Getty Images).
Analysts have concluded from an International Atomic Energy Agency report released yesterday that Iran has enough uranium to create a nuclear weapon if it were to continue enriching the material, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Nov. 19).
Iran had manufactured 1,390 pounds of low-enriched uranium by early this month -- a 330-pound increase since an earlier report -- according to the U.N. nuclear watchdog, which monitors the country's Natanz enrichment complex. The United States and other Western countries have long suspected that Iran ultimately intends to develop a nuclear-weapon capability, but Tehran insists its nuclear program is strictly civilian in nature.
Iran's enrichment progress “underscored that they are marching down the path to developing the nuclear weapons option," said Siegfried Hecker, a nuclear expert at Stanford University.
Recent Stories
North Korean Stand Might Point to Interest in Talks
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008North Korea's recent behavior in its relations with South Korea and the United States might indicate an increased interest in diplomacy with at least one of its longtime antagonists, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Nov. 19).
Bad Sensor Foils Japanese Missile Interceptor Test
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008A missile interceptor malfunctioned yesterday, spoiling a $55 million attempt by a Japanese Aegis warship to destroy a ballistic missile target, Reuters reported (see GSN, Nov. 11).
Poland Seeks Signs of Obama's Missile Defense Plans
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski indicated yesterday he is looking for signs whether U.S. President-elect Barack Obama intends to move ahead with plans for missile defense installations in Europe, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Nov. 19).
CTR Program Dismantles Four ICBMs
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008The U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction program eliminated four ICBMs and upgraded security at a nuclear weapons storage facility last month, U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) announced yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 21).
Test Ban Treaty Proponents Raise Their Hopes
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008Official proponents of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty expressed hope this week that the pact, finished 12 years ago, could soon enter into force (see GSN, Nov. 10).
Group Urges Obama to Name WMD Defense Czar
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008President-elect Barack Obama should take quick steps to improve U.S. efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism, a nonproliferation group urged last week (see GSN, Nov. 18).
Instability Threatens Nuclear-Armed Pakistan, Ex-U.S. Lawmaker Says
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008Threats that Pakistan faces on several fronts raise concerns about the security of its nuclear arsenal, former U.S. Representative Lee Hamilton (R-Ind.) wrote in a column published Monday in the Indianapolis Star (see GSN, Sept. 2).
Israeli Firm to Sell U.S. Biodefense Drugs
Thursday, Nov. 20, 2008An Israeli pharmaceutical firm is set to handle distribution in its home country of biological-weapon treatments and vaccines produced by a U.S. biotechnology company, the Baltimore Business Journal reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 7).