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Quote of the Day
Should Iran become a new nuclear weapon state, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey would be likely to follow suit and we could see ourselves in a new nuclear arms race.
--British Defense Secretary Liam Fox.
Top Stories
Agency Forgoes Proliferation Review of New Nuclear Technology, Despite Worries
Friday, July 30, 2010
The K-25 facility at Oak Ridge, Tenn., used gaseous diffusion to enrich uranium, before shutting down. A laser-based enrichment technology proposed for U.S. licensing could be housed in a much smaller structure, raising concerns that some nations might use similar processes to covertly produce weapon material (U.S. Energy Department/Christian Science Monitor).
This is the first in a five-part Global Security Newswire series on emerging technologies and scientific advances that might pose new proliferation risks.
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission is standing by a decision not to conduct an assessment of potential proliferation risks associated with licensing a new technology for uranium enrichment, despite the concerns of several leading physicists and issue experts (see GSN, April 12).
Pending NRC approval -- expected as early as January 2012 -- a consortium led by GE-Hitachi Nuclear Energy plans to construct a facility near Wilmington, N.C., that would employ a laser-based process to enrich uranium. The enriched uranium, in turn, would be used for fueling commercial nuclear power reactors worldwide. The venture in 2006 acquired sole rights to the process called "separation of isotopes by laser excitation," or SILEX, from Australia.
“New START” Negotiator Says Russia Complied With Old Pact
Friday, July 30, 2010
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, center, shown inside the Russian ballistic-missile submarine Svyatoy Georgiy Pobedonosets in 2008. Moscow in no respect cheated on implementation of the now-expired Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the top U.S. negotiator of the 1991 agreement's successor pact told lawmakers yesterday (Getty Images).
WASHINGTON -- The top U.S. negotiator for the successor agreement to the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty yesterday strongly refuted any suggestion that Russia had cheated on its obligations under the expired pact (see GSN, July 29).
"Russia was in compliance with START's central limits during the treaty's lifespan," Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "Moreover, the majority of compliance issues raised under START were satisfactorily resolved. Most reflected differing interpretations on how to implement START'S complex inspection and verification regime."
U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in April signed the "New START" agreement. The deal would require the two nations to cut their fielded strategic nuclear weapons to 1,550 warheads and limit their respective deployed nuclear delivery vehicles to 700, with another 100 platforms allowed in reserve.
Obama Officials to Seek Further Iran Isolation
Friday, July 30, 2010
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu, shown in 2006, today berated the European Union for imposing new unilateral sanctions against Iran. Senior U.S. officials plan to visit China and other countries in coming weeks to promote additional punitive measures aimed at curbing Tehran's atomic activities (Getty Images).
Senior Obama administration officials plan next week to begin visits to Asian, South American and the Middle Eastern countries to promote additional steps that would economically isolate Iran over its disputed nuclear activities, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 29).
The U.N. Security Council last month adopted its fourth sanctions resolution aimed at pressuring Iran to halt atomic work relevant to nuclear weapons development, and unilateral penalties against the Middle Eastern nation have since been announced by the United States, the European Union, Australia and Canada. Other nations have taken fewer measures to stem trade with Iran, which has insisted its nuclear work is strictly peaceful.
"China is of concern to us in this regard," U.S. State Department special adviser on nonproliferation and arms control Robert Einhorn told a House of Representatives panel, according to Agence France-Presse.
Recent Stories
Bioshield Funds Left Untouched
Friday, July 30, 2010The House of Representatives on Tuesday approved a $59 billion spending bill that leaves Project Bioshield funding untouched, a reversal from an earlier appropriations measure that could have cut $2 billion from the biodefense program, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy reported (see GSN, July 23).
Czech Republic Could Host Missile Warning Center
Friday, July 30, 2010The Obama administration's missile defense plans could include a warning center in the Czech Republic, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, July 6).
U.N. Command Holds Talks With North Korea
Friday, July 30, 2010North Korean military officers and U.N. Command officials met today for the third time to discuss an attack on a South Korean warship which has badly battered relations between the two neighbors, the Korea Herald reported (see GSN, July 29).
U.K. Defense Chief Backs Trident Replacement
Friday, July 30, 2010British Defense Secretary Liam Fox today defended a plan devised by the former Labor Party administration to replace the United Kingdom's submarine-based nuclear deterrent with an equal number of vessels, the Press Association reported (see GSN, July 28).
Russia Plans 60 Percent Defense Budget Boost
Friday, July 30, 2010Russia resolved yesterday to boost its defense budget by 60 percent within three years, increasing the allocation from roughly $41 billion to about $66 billion, the Xinhua News Agency reported (see GSN, Aug. 10, 2009).
Russia Refutes Purported Air Defense Sale to Azerbaijan
Friday, July 30, 2010The Russian state-controlled weapons firm Rosoboronexport yesterday refuted reports it would send advanced air defenses to Azerbaijan, RIA Novosti reported (see GSN, July 22).
Australia to Destroy Aging Mustard Agent Rounds
Friday, July 30, 2010Australia plans to use a contained disposal chamber to destroy a cache of munitions that contain mustard agent, the Toowoomba, Queensland, Chronicle reported today (see GSN, Nov. 12, 2009).
Finland to Provide Nonproliferation Funds
Friday, July 30, 2010Finland has pledged to provide $308,000 in support of U.S. efforts to counter nuclear smuggling in Kyrgyzstan, the National Nuclear Security Administration said yesterday (see GSN, April 8, 2009).