40+ countries seeking nuclear power, raising proliferation concerns.

Posted by Deborah Bain
on May 12, 2008; From Washington Post

At least 40 developing countries have recently signalled to the UN their interest in starting nuclear power programs, writes Joby Warrick in today's Washington Post, including at least a half dozen who plan to build uranium enrichment or reprocessing facilities.  Proliferation experts warn that such developments could provide the building blocks of nuclear arsenals. "This is not primarily about nuclear energy. It's a hedge against Iran," said Ploughshares Fund president Joseph Cirincione. "They're saying, 'If there's going to be an arms race, we're going to be in it.'"

Iran and the presidential candidates.

Posted by Deborah Bain
on May 08, 2008; From NPR

Who can forget Senator John McCain singing "bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran," at a campaign appearance last year? Or Senator Hillary Clinton saying recently that the U.S. would "totally obliterate" Iran if it were to consider attacking Israel with a nuclear weapon.  Fortunately, reports NPR's Mike Shuster, all three candidates offer more nuanced and less bellicose language when asked detailed, substantive questions, as posed to them by the Ploughshares-funded Institute for Science and International Security.

Nuclear fuel recycling: not worth the trouble.

on May 02, 2008; From Scientific American

• Ploughshares Fund Advisor Frank von Hippel argues in this month’s Scientific American against U.S. Department of Energy calls to revive nuclear fuel “reprocessing.”  In his feature article Nuclear Fuel Recycling: More Trouble Than It’s Worth, von Hippel lays out the debate.

Keeping the North Korea process on track.

Posted by Paul Carroll
on May 02, 2008; 

Last week we wrote about the highly charged atmosphere surrounding an administration intelligence briefing to Congress about details on the alleged Syrian nuclear reactor, a site that was bombed by Israel in September.  Currently, there is a healthy debate about the timing and intention of the administration’s action.  Was it timed to help the case for continuing the Six Party process and agreement and garner congressional support? Or was it the result of a sub-set of administration players attempting to undermine the deal, those who have opposed it from the start? 

Cirincione, Coyle warn Congress on missile defense failures.

Posted by Deborah Bain
on Apr 30, 2008; 

Calling ballistic missile defense “a placebo strategy that gives the troops and the nation the illusion of defense,” Ploughshares Fund president Joseph Cirincione testified again today before the House Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs. "Instead of soaring performance, we have a record unblemished by success," he said.  Cirincione was joined at the witness table by Philip Coyle, senior advisor at the Ploughshares-funded Center for Defense Information, who provided a point-by-point technical critique of each element of the program, along with an analysis of the strategic costs of the 60-year pursuit of missile defenses.