U.S. Nuclear Scandals Continue While Spending Skyrockets

November 4, 2014 | Edited by Jacob Marx and Will Saetren

Pattern of failure- “The Air Force on Monday fired two more nuclear commanders and disciplined a third, fresh evidence of leadership lapses in a nuclear missile corps that has suffered a rash of recent setbacks, including the firing last year of its top commander.” Among those disciplined were Col. Carl Jones, the No. 2 commander of the 90th Missile Wing, Lt. Col. Jimmy "Keith" Brown, a missile squadron commander at Minot Air Force Base, and “Col. Richard Pagliuco, commander of the 91st Operations Group, which is in charge of the three missile squadrons at Minot, including Brown's.”

--“It is unusual for disciplinary action to be taken against senior officers at two of the Air Force's three nuclear missile bases on the same day. Officials said the timing was a coincidence.” However, as Robert Burns reports for the Associated Press, “It extends a pattern of leadership failures in the ICBM force over the past year,” including the firing of the nine officers at Malmstrom Air Force Base, and Maj. Gen. Michael Carey, commander of the entire ICBM force. Read the full report here. http://abcn.ws/1wuxwzc

Time to trim the fat - “The United States is planning to spend hundreds of billions of dollars it does not have to rebuild its nuclear arsenal to last another 50 years,” write Tom Collina and Kingston Reif in a piece for Defense News. “But the Cold War threats and budgets that sustained the stockpile in the past are long gone. Before we move forward with expensive plans to address yesterday’s threats, we should stop and ask, ‘Why?’ and ‘At what cost?’”

--“Rebuilding the arsenal in its Cold War image is unaffordable and unnecessary, and must be rethought. The payoff for doing so would be huge. Instead of investing scarce resources in unneeded nuclear weapons, the Pentagon could redirect funds to higher priorities, such as stopping Ebola, fighting the Islamic State and shoring up conventional forces.”

--A CBO report from December 2013 has estimated the cost of U.S. spending on nuclear weapons over the next decade at $355 billion. Over the next 30 years that price tag is expected to rise to $1 trillion. “A new report by the Arms Control Association outlines ways to save roughly $70 billion over the next decade across all three legs of the triad and the warheads they carry…Now is the time to re-evaluate nuclear weapons spending plans before long-term budget decisions are made...Washington can safely reduce spending on nuclear weapons and redirect funds to where they are needed most.” Read the full piece here. http://bit.ly/1A6hWgQ

See also: “Nuclear arms cuts could produce huge savings, says report,” by David Kramer for Physics Today. http://bit.ly/1phNKek

Russia aids negotiations - “Iran has tentatively agreed to ship much of its huge stockpile of uranium to Russia if it reaches a broader nuclear deal with the West, according to officials and diplomats involved in the negotiations.” As David Sanger reports in The New York Times, this is “potentially a major breakthrough in talks that have until now been deadlocked.”

--“Under the proposed agreement, the Russians would convert the uranium into specialized fuel rods for the Bushehr nuclear power plant, Iran’s only commercial reactor. Once the uranium is converted into fuel rods, it is extremely difficult to use them to make a nuclear weapon. That could go a long way toward alleviating Western concerns about Iran’s stockpile, though the agreement would not cut off every pathway that Tehran could take to obtain a nuclear weapon.” Read the full story here. http://nyti.ms/10pOsu6

Indebted - “Ali Khorram, the senior adviser to lead nuclear negotiator and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, told Reformist Shargh Daily that the Geneva interim nuclear deal was ‘indebted’ to the United States and after 35 years, it is time for Iran to address the storming of the US embassy in Tehran and taking of American hostages in 1979,” writes Arash Karami for Al-Monitor.

--In reference to the nuclear agreement signed by the P5+1 and Iran in Geneva in November 2013, Khorram said, “‘In my opinion, the agreement in Geneva was more indebted to America’s amicable attitude,’ using a word that is often translated into English as ‘friendly.’’ Khorram said that, “French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius was ‘completely displaying Israel’s positions’ by taking a hard line. According to Khorram, ‘It was the Americans who stood in front of the French and were able to reach an agreement.’” Read the full story here. http://bit.ly/1yUESLM

Looking for free lunches - “Air Force and Navy leaders are recommending the biggest nuclear weapons investment in decades, including a new fleet of ballistic missile submarines, a new class of bombers and major upgrades to the intercontinental ballistic missiles scattered across our great plains,” writes Matthew Letterman for The News & Observer. Yet no one promoting these investments is fully committed to the idea that they deserve top priority. Or, to explain that in financial terms, they want to have these purchases but not to pay for them.”

--“Secretary of the Air Force Deborah James... underscored the paradox recently. James oversees the bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile programs, and she started her State of the Air Force remarks this summer by naming the nuclear enterprise as ‘the No. 1 mission.’ Typically an organization’s top priority will get first billing in the budget, but when pressed on this point, James backpedaled. ‘This is a national asset. So it’s not just an Air Force issue per se.’ Her conclusion: ‘We do feel that additional monies could well be in order.’” Read the full story here. http://bit.ly/1tE7PLH

A deal, and soon - “The United States, Iran, and the other members of the so-called P5+1 are three weeks away from a decision that could re-shape the Middle East...speculation is rampant that the differences between the two sides are wide enough that another extension of the talks will be needed.” But as Michael Cohen writes in The Boston Globe, “A delay...could have dire consequences, and mainly because it risks giving a group of political hard-liners the opportunity to scuttle a possible deal. I don’t mean the hard-liners in Iran, but rather the ones in the U.S. Senate.”

--“A deal—and soon—is in everyone’s best interest.” Though major obstacles remain, “it seems increasingly clear that even an imperfect deal is likely better than the alternative. No deal means a ratcheting up of tensions in the region, increased pressure on the United States to act militarily, and potentially a push by Iran to move closer to nuclear breakout capability. And after the Tuesday election, reaching even a flawed agreement could become that much more difficult to achieve.” Read the full piece here. http://bit.ly/1wXOR5a

Tweet - @tparsi: #Iran think tank says US will accept 6k centrifuges (shifting from 500 to 1500, to 4k to 6k) via @rezameyqani @lrozen http://t.co/lS5mbJTgjE

Quick Hits:

--“Russia plans nuclear summit boycott,” via the Associated Press. http://wapo.st/1x7Neyg

--“An Unprecedented Look at Stuxnet, the World’s First Digital Weapon,” by Kim Zetter for Wired. http://wrd.cm/1qmcRra

--“US general paints grim picture of Russia relations,” via the Associated Press. http://wapo.st/1scUVji

--“Wendy Sherman named acting deputy secretary of U.S. State Department,” reports Lesley Wroughton for Reuters. http://reut.rs/10q3Gzi

--“Iran Nuclear Past Said Not Impediment to Ending Standoff,” by Jonathan Tirone for Bloomberg. http://bloom.bg/1xXJZtu

--“Apocalypse Averted: Lessons From the Man Who Saved the World” by Jennifer Ginsburg in Arms Control Now. http://bit.ly/1rYIers

--Letter to the Burlington Free Press: “Obama must lead on nuclear disarmament.” http://bfpne.ws/1x0i1k3

Events:

--"Nuclear Security in the 21st Century," featuring Rose Gottemoeller, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. 6:00 p.m. Nov. 5. Brown University, Building for Environmental Research and Teaching, Room 130, 85 Waterman St., Providence, RI. http://bit.ly/1x0o5ZX

--“Combatting Illegal Nuclear Trade” featuring Leonard Spector and Egle Murauskaiteat on November 7 from 10:00-11:45 a.m. at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Located at 1400 K St. NW, Suite 1250, Washington DC. RSVP online. http://bit.ly/1x0rUed

--"Nuclear Policy in the 21st Century," featuring Rose Gottemoeller, Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, 4:30-6:00 p.m., Nov. 7, University of New Hampshire Law School, 2 White St., Concord, NH. http://bit.ly/10RMbIW

--“The Impact & Implications of Iranian Nuclear Weapons on U.S. & Regional Security” featuring Robert Gallucci, Georgetown University on November 10 from 6:00-8:00 p.m. Sponsored by Johns Hopkins University. Located at the Marriott Residence Inn Pentagon City, 550 Army Navy Drive, Arlington, VA. RSVP online. http://bit.ly/1tyAAc5

--“Prospects for a Nuclear Agreement with Iran," featuring Robert Litwak, Wilson Center; Mark Mazzetti, New York Times; and Jay Solomon, Wall Street Journal. Nov. 12 3:00-4:30 p.m.,Wilson Center, Sixth Floor, Reagan Building, 1300 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington. RSVP online http://bit.ly/1wYWRkI

--“Radioactive Knowledge: State Control of Scientific Information in Post-Soviet Kazakhstan," featuring Magdalena Stawkowski, Stanford University. Nov. 13, 3:30-5:00 p.m. Stanford University, CISAC Conference Room, Encina Hall Central, Second Floor, 616 Serra St., Palo Alto, CA. RSVP online. http://stanford.io/1wkOxf8

--“Eyes on North Korea: Threats from the Hermit Kingdom," featuring Mark Tokola, former deputy chief of mission, U.S. Embassy in South Korea; Bruce Klingner, former CIA deputy division chief for Korea; Fred Fleitz, former CIA analyst; and Bruce Bechtol, former senior intelligence analyst, Defense Intelligence Agency. Nov. 20, Noon-1:30 p.m., International Spy Museum, 800 F St. NW, Washington. Tickets are $12. http://bit.ly/1tMxkvw

--Friends Committee on National Legislation, annual meeting. Nov. 22-23. Washington Plaza Hotel, 10 Thomas Circle NW, Washington, and on Capitol Hill. Register online. http://bit.ly/1zRq30A

Dessert:

Lassie meets Sputnik - The early days of the Cold War were strange times indeed. A new book by Olesya Turkina explores one peculiarity: the mythology surrounding the Soviet space program’s canine test subjects. In “Soviet Space Dogs” Turinka writes, “These dogs are the characters in a fairy tale that was created in the U.S.S.R.: They are the martyrs and saints of communism.” Read Dana Jennings full review in The New York Times. http://nyti.ms/1uqexqA