B-52’s Temporarily Deployed to Europe

June 5, 2014 | Edited by Lauren Mladenka and Geoff Wilson

Obama deploys bombers - “The U.S. Air Force plans to temporarily deploy heavy bombers capable of delivering nuclear weapons to Europe one day after President Obama announced he would increase the U.S. military presence in the region,” reports Oriana Pawlyk for the Air Force Times. “Two B-52 Stratofortresses bombers from Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana, and one B-52 from Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota… arrived at Royal Air Force Fairford, England, on Wednesday, where airmen will train and integrate with U.S. and allied military forces in the region, the Air Force said in a news release.”

--The release says that “during this deployment, which will span approximately two weeks, the multi-role heavy bombers will conduct training flights in the U.S. European Command area of operations, providing opportunities for aircrews to sharpen skills in several key operational sets and become familiar with airbases and operations in the region.” The move “comes amid Russian aggression in Eastern Europe where Moscow has invaded and annexed Crimea from Ukraine… Obama on Tuesday called for Congress to approve $1 billion dollars to boost a rotational U.S. troops presence in Europe.” Read the full report here. http://bit.ly/1ofijOe

Time crunch - “The United States on Wednesday welcomed Iran's recent efforts to alleviate concerns about its nuclear programme, but urged it to increase the pace of cooperation,” the AFP reports. “A recent report by the UN atomic watchdog IAEA found Iran was sticking to its agreements with the agency and implementing all newly agreed measures, even addressing matters related to bomb-making for the first time in six years.”

--“‘You can't see steps taking place and say it's not sufficient, those are good steps,’ the US delegate to the IAEA, Ambassador Joseph Macmanus, told journalists Wednesday on the sidelines of an IAEA board of governors meeting. ‘This is a long stairway to climb and each step is progress.’” However, “‘it is only a first step,’ he said of Iran's compliance with recent agreements, urging ‘accelerated progress’ and ‘full cooperation’ on other issues, including the scaling-down of uranium enrichment and sharing of information on weapons-related issues.” Read the full report here. http://yhoo.it/1xbLPs7

Tweet - @tparsi: Michael Douglas favors diplomacy w/ #Iran & supports Obama's efforts. His knowledge was impressive! @irannewsnow pic.twitter.com/GSxnTdVi04

Diplomatic chicanery - “In a move that’s likely to strain already tense relations with Iran, the House Foreign Affairs Committee announced Wednesday a series of hearings on the Islamic republic’s nuclear ambitions and the Obama administration’s negotiations with the country,” reports Matt Fuller for Roll Call. “The first hearing, titled ‘Verifying Iran’s Nuclear Compliance,’ will be held on Tuesday.” Full report here. http://bit.ly/1pI1jSG

Tweet - @CNSWolfsthal: Our team in Vienna @VCDNP just did an all-star even on #Iraq #WMD with Hans Blix, and other experts. Terrific event! http://bit.ly/1nS43NA

Seeking funds - “New Mexico lawmakers are seeking funds for changes at a nuclear-waste site paralyzed by a February leak,” Global Security Newswire reports. “Senators Martin Heinrich (D) and Tom Udall (D) called on President Obama to increase his proposed $220.5 million budget for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant near Carlsbad… The Energy Department has tentatively tied a container rupture at the repository to the February radiation release that spread contaminants to 22 workers and forced personnel to vacate much of the site.” Get the full story here. http://bit.ly/1ofdxQM

Incoming nuclear waste - “The U.S. Department of Energy said on Wednesday it will study the environmental risk of importing spent nuclear fuel from Germany that contains highly enriched uranium, a move believed to be the first for the United States,” writes Harriet McLeod in Reuters “The department said it is considering a plan to ship the nuclear waste from Germany to the Savannah River Site, a federal facility in South Carolina… The Energy Department said it wants to remove 900 kilograms (1,984 pounds) of uranium the United States sold to Germany years ago and render it safe under U.S. nuclear non-proliferation treaties.”

--“Some critics question whether the department has fully developed a clear plan to dispose of the radioactive waste. ‘They're proposing to extract the uranium and reuse it as fuel by a process that has never been done before,’ said Tom Clements, president of SRS Watch, a nuclear watchdog group in South Carolina. ‘There's no place to take high-level waste in the U.S.,’ he said. ‘Uranium that is turned into commercial fuel is not contained inside nuclear waste. It's pure material.’” Full article here. http://reut.rs/1pTEnNp

Tweet - @globalzero: Size doesn't matter. Here's a map of the most insecure countries as shown by the size of #nuclear arsenals. pic.twitter.com/N7dFrQw4kP

Conversion milestone - “The Y-12 National Security Complex recently fulfilled its commitment to provide low-enriched uranium, or LEU, as feedstock to fuel the ‘Safe LOW-POwer Kritical Experiment’ (SLOWPOKE) research reactor in Kingston, Jamaica,” Oak Ridge Today reports. “‘Our role is to produce the uranium dioxide feedstock and to manage fabrication of LEU fuel pins for the reactor core to enable conversion from highly enriched uranium, or HEU, to LEU,’ said John Creasy of Y‑12’s Nuclear Nonproliferation and Global Security Programs.”

--“The new pins, made of low enriched uranium dioxide powder, will replace those made with weapons-useable HEU, thus making the reactor fuel less desirable to terrorists. Y-12 has a long history of supporting the U.S. Department of Energy’s nuclear nonproliferation activities throughout the world. This project is just one of several HEU-to-LEU conversion efforts in which Y-12 has participated in support of the Department’s Global Threat Reduction Initiative, or GTRI.” Full story here. http://bit.ly/1ulCBHD

Heeding recommendations - “The top federal official overseeing the nation’s nuclear weapons complex confirmed Wednesday that the government plans to adopt an alternative strategy for upgrading and modernizing the uranium operations at the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge,” writes Frank Munger in Knox Blogs. “Frank G. Klotz, a retired Air Force lieutenant-general who heads the National Nuclear Security Administration, said the NNSA plans to use an expert team’s findings and recommendations as a preliminary blueprint for how to redo the project heretofore known as the Uranium Processing Facility.”

--“Klotz said the National Nuclear Security Administration is busy putting together a more detailed strategy for how to carry out the results of the Red Team’s work. He said a ‘working group’ was appointed ‘to take the next step’ and turn the recommendations into task orders.” Get the full story here. http://bit.ly/1nS3yTL

Crunch time - “The success or failure of an upcoming U.S. missile defense test could affect when the Pentagon deploys 14 more ground-based interceptors to defend against possible missile threats from North Korea,” reports Andrea Shalal for Reuters. “The test of the system, which is managed by Boeing Co , and the Raytheon Co ‘kill vehicle’ that it uses to destroy enemy targets, is planned for June 22, said two sources familiar with the plan, who are not authorized to speak about it publicly.”

--“The Raytheon kill vehicle failed to separate from the rest of the ground-based interceptor (GDI) during the last intercept test in July 2013. This triggered a series of internal and external reviews, an investigation by the Pentagon inspector general, and a push by the Pentagon to start work on a new kill vehicle.” Full report here. http://reut.rs/1pTDFQq

Interceptor options - “South Korea’s military is analyzing which U.S.-made missile interceptors best meet its defense needs, according to the Pentagon,” writes Tony Capaccio in Bloomberg. “President Park Geun Hye’s government has received information on both Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT)’s Patriot Pac-3 and its longer-range Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, known as Thaad, a U.S. Defense Department official said yesterday… ‘They’ve made no national decision to this point,’ so the U.S. continues to perform analysis with Korean officials, ‘trying to help them reach a decision about the capabilities they would have,’” the official said. Full article here. http://bloom.bg/1kN4Vem

Domestically developed - “South Korea on Tuesday outlined plans to indigenously develop a long-range missile interceptor as a countermeasure to North Korea's nuclear ambitions,” Global Security Newswire reports. “An unidentified South Korean military official told the Korea Times that the envisioned long-range, surface-to-air missile would be domestically developed, instead of Seoul pursuing acquisition of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system or another foreign antimissile system.” Full piece here. http://bit.ly/1ofglxg

Quick-hits:

--“France gets new Iran negotiator” by Laura Rozen in Al-Monitor. http://bit.ly/1jUPOzs

--“U.S. Sticking to Iran Nuclear Deadline as IAEA Resolution Looms” by Jonathan Tirone in Bloomberg. http://bloom.bg/UeFIVd

Events:

--“Nuclear Flashpoints: U.S.-Iran Tensions Over Terms and Timetables.” Discussion with Stephen Hadley, Jon Wolfsthal, Daryl Kimball and Robert Litwak. June 10 from 9:30 to 11:00 at the Wilson Center, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, floor 6. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1tqM3Hk

--“War With Iran? Should the United States Use Military Force Against Iran if Nuclear Diplomacy Fails?” Debate with Georgetown University and University of Michigan students; comments by Colin Kahl. June 13 from 9:00-12:00 at the Willard Intercontinental Hotel, The Willard Room, 1401 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1gXWlOJ

--“How to Unwind Iran Nuclear Sanctions.” Discussion with Kenneth Katzman and Cornelius Adebahr; moderated by Barbara Slavin. June 16 at 2:00 at The Atlantic Council, 1030 15th St. NW, 12th Floor (West Tower). RSVP here. http://bit.ly/1h9DpN2