Marshall Islands Sues Nuclear Powers

Taking on the nuclear Goliaths - “The Marshall Islands is on an unlikely mission — trying to press India, Pakistan and the United Kingdom to curb their nuclear programs. The Pacific archipelago, which was the site of dozens of U.S. nuclear tests in the '40s and '50s, is suing the three countries in the U.N.'s International Court of Justice. The Marshall Islands says the three countries haven't carried out in good faith their obligations to pursue negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament,” reports Merrit Kennedy for NPR.

--The U.S. tested nuclear weapons near the Marshall Islands while it was under U.S. governance. “Although islanders were relocated from Bikini and Eniwetok atolls — ground zero for the majority of the tests — three other Marshall atolls underwent emergency evacuations in 1954 after they were unexpectedly exposed to radioactive fallout. The Marshallese say they've suffered serious health issues ever since.” Full story here. http://n.pr/1p2RoJB

Video - “The Craziest Nuclear Weapons Policy That You’ve Never Heard Of,” by the Union of Concerned Scientists, explains the absurdity and danger of keeping nuclear weapons on hair-trigger alert. http://bit.ly/1QEh0qR

NNSA underestimated budget - A recent report from the Government Accountability Office found the National Nuclear Security Administration underestimated the cost of building up the nuclear stockpile. The GAO says its findings raise questions about the alignment of the NNSA’s plans with future budgets.

--“For some nuclear weapon refurbishment programs, the low end of NNSA’s internally developed cost ranges exceeds the estimates included in the budget materials. Further, some costs, such as those for certain infrastructure upgrades, are not included in NNSA’s budget estimates, and dependency on other NNSA programs could lead to increases in program costs.” Full report here. http://1.usa.gov/1TpzdKY

See Also - “Budget Would Raise Nuclear Spending,” by Kingston Reif for Arms Control Today. http://bit.ly/21ZnzYL

Lessons from the Iran Deal - “Hold your fire. Cool your jets. Keep your powder dry. As much as it may seem ‘tougher’ and more ‘presidential’ to use U.S. military force, recent history tells us that keeping it in the holster may be the best thing to do in the long run to improve regional and global security. If the Iran nuclear agreement taught us anything, it’s that diplomacy can bear great fruits for peace and security. And as we learned the hard way in Iraq and Libya, military interventions have an alarming way of coming out all wrong,” writes Ploughshares Policy Director Tom Collina for The National Interest.

--“Of these four examples — Iraq, Libya, Syria, Iran — only the diplomatic process in Iran can be called a success. Military intervention has produced two utter failures in Iraq and Libya. Syria is too soon to call. But if you’re looking to place bets on military intervention or diplomacy, the evidence is clear. It’s hard to argue with President Obama’s new, wiser mantra for U.S. foreign policy: ‘Don’t do stupid stuff.’” Full piece here. http://bit.ly/1M2Izon

Tweet - @WJPerry_Project: I urge Obama not to give up on ratifying CTBT before the end of his term-it is so obviously in the best interest of US

Test ban treaty “Today, it is clearly in the U.S. national interest to strengthen the legal and political barriers against nuclear testing by other states, which can be used to help them develop new types of nuclear weapons. It is also in our interest to improve global test monitoring capabilities to detect and deter clandestine nuclear explosions. But twenty years after the [Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty] was concluded, it has not yet entered into force,” writes Daryl Kimball in Real Clear Defense.

--Kimball says that Congress should reconsider the CTBT and take into consideration improvements to the international monitoring system and the uselessness of nuclear testing. “With the CTBT, the United States stands to lose nothing and would gain an important constraint on nuclear weapons proliferation that could pose a threat to its security. It is past time to reconsider and ratify the treaty.” Full article here. http://bit.ly/1pvCsUE

Tweet - @SinaZerbo: On #IWD2016 I pay tribute to all the women working at CTBTO to make sure no nuclear explosion goes undetected. http://bit.ly/1pdnfYK

Facing nuclear threats - In an interview with David Barno and Nora Bensahel for War on the Rocks, Former Secretary of Defense William Perry “reinforced the need to raise global awareness of the dangers of nuclear weapons, and remain focused here at home on the very real dangers of a terrorist group detonating a weapon in the United States.” Perry said he “believes that restoring cooperation in areas of mutual interest is the first step towards reducing the dependence on nuclear weapons.” Full story here. http://bit.ly/1RQ0hjd

Video - Philip Yun, Ploughshares Fund’s executive director and chief operating officer, analyzes Kim Jong-Un’s nuclear statements on CNN. http://bit.ly/1UbiauV

Planning for the nuclear summit - “A consensus document on nuclear security that will be released at the upcoming nuclear security summit in Washington will outline further steps to strengthen the global nuclear security architecture and spur progress on tangible nuclear security improvements, a senior White House official said last month… Given that the upcoming summit will be the final meeting in this format, the official said the United States hopes to ‘establish a mechanism to sustain momentum’ on the nuclear security agenda,” write Kelsey Davenport and Kingston Reif for Arms Control Today.

--“The summit participants, comprising 52 countries and four international organizations, are expected to endorse five action plans for key institutions and initiatives to carry on parts of the summit agenda… The action plans ‘will reflect the intent’ of the participating states ‘to promote and enhance the nuclear security contributions’ of these key organizations and initiatives, said the official.” Full story here. http://bit.ly/1OYx8xJ

Quick Hits:

--“U.S. Floats New Fissile Talks Formula,” by Daryl Kimball for Arms Control Today. http://bit.ly/1QApuOu

--“Russian Subs Are Reheating a Cold War Chokepoint,” by Magnus Nordenman for Defense One. http://bit.ly/1R3tMeq

--“Let’s heed the warning about nuclear weapons,” Kathy Boylan writes in the Washington Post. http://wapo.st/1LbsBgF

--“Donald Trump Is an Idiot Savant on Nuclear Policy,” by Jeffrey Lewis for Foreign Policy. http://atfp.co/1TEHkni

--“20 workers at Faslane nuclear base exposed to radiation after safety breach on Trident submarine,” by William Watkinson for International Business Times. http://bit.ly/1ntEOSn

--“Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Test Ballistic Missiles,” writes Thomas Erdbrink for The New York Times. http://nyti.ms/1QA8rw3

Events:

--“The Last Nuclear Security Summit: Continuous Improvement or Decline?” featuring Thomas Bunn, Harvard University. March 9 from 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. at Harvard University, 79 JFK St., Cambridge, MA. http://bit.ly/24OpPod

--Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water, hearing on "The Energy Budget," with Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz. March 9 at 2:30 p.m. at 138 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington. Webcast on the committee website. http://1.usa.gov/1IkA757

--Book talk on Nuclear Heartland, Revised: A Guide to the 450 Land-Based Missiles of the United States by John LaForge. 7:00 p.m. March 11 at Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, 503 Rock Creek Church Road NW, Washington. http://bit.ly/1RKpXxD

--Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on U.S. Strategic Command programs and budget, with Adm. Cecil Haney of the U.S. Strategic Command and other witnesses. 10:00 a.m. March 10 in room SD-G50 at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington. http://1.usa.gov/1RORlut