CTBT Ratification - A View from Utah

Nuclear Treaty - The Spectrum Editorial (Utah) [link]

• It's time to put the same principles that proved effective in stopping Divine Strake to pushing for the United States to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
• Why? We already have a nuclear arsenal that far outweighs any other on the globe. There have been proposals to reconfigure the existing weaponry into newer, "smarter" nukes that have, thankfully, been defeated. The fact is, if this nation was ever to begin launching nukes, there are more than enough to get the job done, even if some are not quite as powerful as others.
• Secondly, we are much smarter these days about the effects of the fallout that spread throughout the continental United States, Canada and even Europe during the Cold War testing. We know the numbers of dead, dying and severely diseased who, through no fault of their own, became victims of atomic fallout.

Iran Sends Mixed Signals on Enrichment Plan - Associated Press [link]

• Iranian officials sent mixed signals on a plan that would have Tehran ship out most of the material it would need to make a nuclear weapon, with the foreign minister saying Monday that option still exists and a senior diplomat suggesting the opposite.
• The contrasting messages appear designed to keep the international community off balance on how far Iran is ready to go in accepting the original proposal - having Tehran export 70 percent of its enriched uranium and having it returned as fuel for its research reactor.

U.S. Should Not Give Up on Iran Diplomacy Efforts - Andrew Parasiliti in the Houston Chronicle [link]

• Despite Iran's disappointing response, the U.S. should not give up on diplomacy, especially given Ahmadinejad's most forceful statement to date on the potential for nuclear cooperation.
• The diplomatic track with Iran, begun in Geneva on Oct. 1, has actually exceeded expectations. Iran is negotiating about its nuclear programs. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has just completed an inspection of the previously undeclared enrichment plant near Qom.
• If there is a deal to be had on Iran's nuclear programs, however, it will be primarily the result of engagement, including direct talks between Washington and Tehran — not sanctions. 
  

 Russia-U.S Weapons Talks on Track: Kremlin Adviser - Reuters [link]

• Russia and the United States are on track to sign a new deal to reduce their arsenals of nuclear weapons by the time a previous agreement expires next month, a Kremlin aide said at a policy conference in Morocco.
  
  

Reducing the Role of Nuclear Weapons - Joshua Pollack in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists [link]

• Given the prominence of the United States in the international system, the role of U.S. nuclear weapons will strongly influence the Obama administration's chances of finding support for strengthened nonproliferation measures at the May 2010 NPT Review Conference in New York.

The Lighter Side 

3 + 1 Top Arms Control Quotes - Nukes of Hazard [link]

#1 Ambassador Linton Brooks (United States Institute of Peace, October 26)The guy just knows how to quip. Examples:

• “Arms control’s gotta be a little bit painful; otherwise, why do you do it?”
• “In actual military capabilities there is no difference between 1,500 and 1,000 [nuclear weapons]; either level will ruin your day if used.”
• And on the fuss over Russian nonstrategic nuclear weapons: “I’ve never completely understood why something that only blows up in Russia is a threat to me unless I plan to invade.”