Clock Ticking on Nuclear Policy Guidance

Today's top nuclear policy stories, with excerpts in bullet form.

Stories we're following today: Thursday, August 11, 2011.

A Presidential Policy Directive for a New Nuclear Path - Robert S. Norris and Hans M. Kristensen in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists [link]

• President Obama's Nuclear Posture Review is now being implemented throughout a national security bureaucracy that has a stake in the nuclear status quo.
• Obama's goals -- reduced nuclear danger and, eventually, a world without nuclear weapons -- cannot be realized without a break from longstanding "counterforce" nuclear war doctrine.
• To advance his goals, Obama should issue a Presidential Policy Directive that explains a new nuclear deterrence plan focused on destroying essential enemy infrastructure.

DOE’s Previously Unreleased Budget Analysis - Nick Roth in Nukes of Hazard [link]

• In 2010, the [Department of Energy] examined cost overruns for 15 of its most expensive programs over the past decade. Of the 15 programs, six are managed by NNSA.
• In 2010, the total increase for all of these programs from their initial baseline cost estimate was $11 billion. In every case, construction cost $100 million more than the original baseline. Four of the programs … more than doubled in cost before NNSA signed off on their design.
• Congress should make the best use of our resources and shouldn’t waste precious tax dollars on questionable programs that are constantly over budget … Congress could also demand greater accountability from NNSA in cases when facilities that are not completely designed have increased in cost by more than 100%.

Breaking the Cold War Limbo - Victoria Naselskaya in The Moscow Times [link]

• One should not underestimate the huge political significance underpinning any agreement on [joint missile defense] … deep cooperation on missile defense between Russia and the United States is possible from a military and technical angle, but the success of a joint initiative depends on the political readiness of both parties.
• Why does the creation of joint missile defense play such a big role in NATO-Russia relations? … Moscow is afraid to be excluded from the decision-making process on joint missile defense or, in the best case, be relegated to an insignificant role.
• Thus … the parties should bear in mind that trust, inclusion and equality between Russia, the United States and Europe and an ability to compromise for the sake of common pan-European security are the main preconditions for reaching an accord on joint missile defense.

Israel, Arabs Back Nuke Meeting - George Jahn in Associated Press [link]

• Israel and Arab nations have tentatively accepted an invitation by the U.N. nuclear agency for preliminary talks on a Middle East free of nuclear weapons … But whether the talks take place may depend on willingness to compromise on preconditions.
• [Shaul Chorev, head of Israel's atomic energy commission] emphasized in his response to [IAEA Director General Yukiya] Amano's overture that his country views any Vienna meeting as "solely an informational and discussion event and not a forum for negotiations."
• Newfound Arab and Iranian willingness to sit at the same table with the Jewish state was already reflected in a little-publicized closed-door meeting convened in Brussels by the European Union last month, where the two sides exchanged views on nonproliferation and confidence-building.