US, Iran Look to Accelerate Talks

Getting the band back together - U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iran's foreign minister Mohammad Jawad Zarif met yesterday in Geneva, aiming to accelerate the pace of talks over Iran’s nuclear program. Full negotiations with diplomats from the P5+1 resume today. Matthew Lee reports for the Associated Press. http://abcn.ws/1C4d4I4

Double trouble - “The US House of Representatives has begun working on its own Iran sanctions bill rather than simply agreeing to pass whatever the Senate comes up with,” writes Julian Pecquet for Al-Monitor. “The dual-track effort presents an additional challenge for the White House, which has repeatedly warned Congress that new sanctions could derail nuclear talks. It could, however, end up buying time for negotiators to strike a final agreement.” Read the full story here. http://bit.ly/1xpPpLR

--See also: “Exclusive: U.S. lawmakers push ahead on Iran sanctions - senior senator,” by Patricia Zengerle for Reuters. http://reut.rs/1Bw5x4O

Tweet - @mattduss: Very interesting from @EliClifton : “United Against Nuclear Iran” is funded by a guy who has suggested nuking Iran. http://bit.ly/1DHt1WE

Lindsey who? - “Americans vastly overestimate their ability to develop grand strategies and to predict how foreign interventions of choice will play out over time. This has led the United States to treat war as a viable means of shaping the world rather than as an option of last resort that has wildly unpredictable consequences,” writes Connor Friesdorf in The Atlantic.

--“But even after Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, confident predictions by hawks remain a prominent feature of our foreign-policy debate, even when it comes to Iran. When will America learn?” Full column here. http://theatln.tc/1ycHIzz

Testing Kim - The U.S. State Department rejected North Korea’s recent offer to engage on the nuclear issue, but some experts say engagement is worth considering, writes The New York Times editorial board.

--“Mr. Obama pledged to reduce nuclear proliferation worldwide, but his policy has failed to curb North Korea’s nuclear development. It’s hard to understand what America would lose by testing the North’s intentions once again, especially as China may be ready to be a more responsible partner in finding a solution.” Full editorial here. http://nyti.ms/1519Dpa

Cutting the essentials - “For the second year in a row, lawmakers cut funding for programs essential to the United States’ fight against nuclear terrorism,” write Angela Canterbury and Greg Terryn for The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. These programs “limit the ability of rogue states and terrorist organizations to obtain the catalysts for a nuclear weapon or weapon of mass destruction.” Reducing the funding for such initiative could mean “back-tracking on hard-fought nuclear security gains.” Read the full analysis here. http://bit.ly/1Aj6w3Z

Quit MOXing around - The MOX Fuel Fabrication Facility, now under construction at the Savannah River Site, was originally intended as a nonproliferation project. "But the MOX project actually increases near-term risks by making it easier for terrorists to steal plutonium during processing, transport or storage. And using plutonium-based fuel in nuclear reactors increases the risk of a serious accident," explains Edwin Lyman, a physicist with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

--MOX costs keep ballooning too -- up from an initial estimate of $1.6 billion to more than $30 billion. “It’s time to pull the plug,” argues Elliott Negin in the Huffington Post. http://huff.to/1wceyt2

Acquisition reform - “U.S. Air Force Secretary Deborah James on Wednesday mapped out a series of initiatives aimed at lowering the cost of key weapons systems and getting them fielded sooner, saying that leaner budgets and growing threats made action imperative. ‘We have to stop spending more and more to get less and less,’ James told an event hosted by the Atlantic Council, a nonprofit Washington think tank. ‘We are simply too slow in all that we do.’” Full story by Andrea Shalal for Reuters. http://reut.rs/1xsZB6d

--See Also: Secretary James' prepared remarks. http://1.usa.gov/1CqHEKb

Deal still possible - “Despite the difficulties the negotiators have had trying to break through on the central issues, a nuclear deal is still possible,” writes Robert Einhorn in The National Interest.

--“To arrive at such a deal, many technically complex and politically sensitive issues will have to be resolved, including the design of the Arak reactor, the purpose of the Fordow facility, the disposition of excess centrifuges, centrifuge research and development, IAEA monitoring measures...and the phasing and pacing of sanctions removal. But enrichment capacity and duration remain the central issues. If they can be resolved, the others are likely to fall into place, although not so quickly or easily.” Full column here. http://bit.ly/1yhaRYL

Quick Hits:

--“Talks on Iran: The world can be hopeful for an agreement,” by the editorial board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://bit.ly/1x5q1ff

--“Iran indicts Washington Post reporter on unspecified charges,” by Ramin Mostaghim and Patrick McDonnell for the Los Angeles Times. http://lat.ms/1DIaHMV

--“How much monitoring of Iranian nuclear facilities is enough?” by Ariane Tabatabai for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. http://bit.ly/1sCqdWH

--“Reconsidering Deterrence Stability,” by Michael Krepon for Arms Control Wonk. http://bit.ly/1B5Txb9

--Governor “Otter agrees to 2 shipments of spent nuclear fuel,” reports NPG of Idaho.http://bit.ly/1E0QKOU

--“Feds say WIPP recovery efforts months behind,” by Patrick Malone in the Santa Fe New Mexican.http://bit.ly/1ynhiI4

Events:

--U.S. District Court for Northern California, hearing on a motion by the Justice Department to dismiss a lawsuit by the Marshall Islands to end the nuclear arms race and for nuclear disarmament, under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. January 16, 9:00 a.m., Oakland Courthouse, Courtroom 5, Second Floor, 1301 Clay St., Oakland, CA.

--“Strategic Deterrence in 2015 and Beyond," featuring Maj. Gen. Garrett Harencak, Air Force Assistant Chief of Staff for Strategic Deterrence and Nuclear Integration. January 20, 7:00-9:00 a.m. Sponsored by the Air Force Association. Key Bridge Marriot, 1401 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA. RSVP online.

--Senate Banking Committee, hearing on "Perspectives on the Strategic Necessity of Iran Sanctions." January 20, 10:00 a.m.-noon, 528 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington. committee website

--"Possible Game-Changing Technologies - Reinvent Nuclear Security." Online webinar on January 20, 2:00-3:30 p.m. EST. Part of the N-Square Roundtable Series. Register online.

--“Congress's Role in Verification After an Iranian Nuclear Deal." Featuring Christopher Bidwell, Federation of American Scientists; John Lauder, former CIA Chief of Nonproliferation; and Harvey Rishikof, American Bar Association. January 22, noon-2:00 p.m. Sponsored by Third Way. Located at HVC-215 Capitol Visitor Center, Washington. RSVP by email to rsvp@thirdway.org.

--"Australia and the Bomb." Featuring Christine Leah, Yale University; Christian Ostermann, Wilson Center; and Elbridge Colby, Center for a New American Security. January 28, 2:00-3:30 p.m., Wilson Center, Sixth Floor, Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington. RSVP online.

Dessert:

Silo for sale - Have you ever felt the desire to live deep underground in a Cold War missile silo? If you are willing to move to New Mexico that dream can come true for a mere $295,000.

--Real estate agent Jim More is managing the sale of the The 25-acre parcel that lies a 20-mile drive from Roswell’s downtown. A worn trailer sits in the lot “where the former owner lived and then that green door, which opens on a stairwell heading deep underground. There, visitors who do not fear enclosed spaces will find a marvel of military architecture.” Rick Rojas has the full story for The New York Times. http://nyti.ms/1y1C3KA

Tweet - @oldpicsarchive: U.S. soldiers pretending to touch a mushroom cloud created by a nuclear explosion in the Nevada desert, May 1952 http://bit.ly/151kD69