Advisory Panel: Governance of Nuclear Enterprise “Inefficient and Ineffective”

December 12, 2014 | Edited by Jacob Marx and Will Saetren

Nuclear Enterprise Report - “The existing governance structures and many of the practices of the enterprise are inefficient and ineffective, thereby putting the entire enterprise at risk over the long term. These problems have not occurred overnight; they are the result of decades of neglect…[and] a dysfunctional system,” writes The Congressional Advisory Panel on the Governance of the Nuclear Security Enterprise in their much anticipated report to Congress.

--The report identifies five key failures in the enterprise. “First, a lack of sustained national leadership focus and priority….Second, inadequate implementation of the legislation establishing NNSA as a separately organized subelement of DOE...Third, the lack of proven management practices...Fourth, dysfunctional relationships between the government and its Management and Operating site operators...Fifth, insufficient collaboration between DOE/NNSA and DOD.”

--Full report: “A New Foundation for the Nuclear Enterprise Report of the Congressional Advisory Panel on the Governance of the Nuclear Security Enterprise” Co-Chairmen Norman Augustine and Adm. Richard Mies (USN, ret.). (pdf) http://bit.ly/1vIXOZN

Israeli signal on sanctions - “Israel not pushing for tougher Iran sanctions as talks go on,” reports Dan Williams for Reuters. http://reut.rs/1uvchs2

Next talks in Geneva - “Nuclear talks between Iran and six major powers will resume in Geneva next week, European Union officials said Friday.” The talks among senior officials will be the first since the self imposed November 24 deadline was missed, and an agreement was reached to extend the talks until June 30. Read the full report from Laurence Norman of The Wall Street Journal. http://on.wsj.com/12CrtNE

Tweet - @jabdi: US starting lineup for next week’s match with Iran http://1.usa.gov/1uviUKP

Tweet - @Cirincione: Ever wonder what the real agenda is of those opposing #IranTalks? Bachman tells Obama to "Bomb Iran." http://bit.ly/1so4vAq

MOX in Cromnibus - The Cromnibus spending bill passed by the House last night “includes a provision for $345 million to fund the contentious mixed oxide fuel fabrication facility in South Carolina. Citing lifetime costs that could surpass $30 billion, the Energy Department this year proposed shelving the half-completed project, but lawmakers in both chambers resisted that move.” Full story by Randy Leonard for Roll Call here. http://bit.ly/1GjG5jN

McKeon and Gottemoeller on INF - Earlier this week, Principal Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Brian Mckeon and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Rose E. Gottemoeller testified before the House Armed Services on Russian INF violations. Read their full remarks here.

--Under Secretary Gottemoeller. http://1.usa.gov/1BDvWi6

--Under Secretary Mckeon. http://1.usa.gov/1AkPDaj

Report: The Congressional Research Service has issued its report, “Nuclear Energy Cooperation with Foreign Countries: Issues for Congress.” Read the full report by Paul Kerr, Mary Nikitin and Mark Holt here. http://bit.ly/1vYOTZl

Vienna conference - Austria has released the official report and summary of the 2014 Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact on Nuclear Weapons, held earlier this week in Vienna. Among the report’s conclusions is that “the only assurance against the risk of a nuclear weapon detonation is the total elimination of nuclear weapons.” Read the full report here. (pdf) http://bit.ly/1GtFkmx

Not ready - “I have seen reports of the North Korean official’s statements in Moscow” that North Korea is ready to resume talks, U.S. special representative for North Korea policy Sung Kim said on Friday. “Frankly it’s hard to take that seriously. I think we still need to see more concrete indications from the North Koreans.” Full story by Julie Makinen for the Los Angeles Times. http://lat.ms/16eNMLm

Faded pledges - “Why President Obama Needs to Revive His Pledge for a Nuclear Free World: Obama was once a strong voice for nuclear abolition. What happened?” by James Carroll for The Nation. Full column here. http://bit.ly/1sjcHaH

Iran’s economic squeeze - Already “Beset by sanctions, Iran’s most important source of revenue is under attack not by Israeli or American war planners but by market forces.” As Amir Hanjani writes in The National Interest, “Hit hard by bearish prices and excess production, Iran must play for time until markets stabilize and recover. In the interim, it must do everything it can to break out of its international isolation so its energy sector can recover and become relevant again.” Full column here.http://bit.ly/1zHmNTr

Offer rejected - The IAEA on Thursday turned down an offer by Iran to visit Marivan, an area that the agency originally suspected might have been used in the possible military dimensions of Iran’s nuclear program. The agency said that visiting the site “would not help advance its probe of suspicions Tehran worked on atomic arms,” reports CBS News. “Diplomats have said that Iran first suggested a visit to Marivan instead of Parchin two years ago and the agency has repeatedly refused any tradeoff.” Read the full story here. http://cbsn.ws/1vJ0yqc

Paper Tigers - "Paper Tigers," a new book by Jeffrey Lewis on China’s nuclear posture, is out. Lewis “documents and explains the evolution of China’s nuclear forces in terms of historical, bureaucratic and ideological factors.” He argues that “there is a strategic logic at work, but that logic is mediated through politics, bureaucracy and ideology.” Full preview available via the Institute for International and Strategic Studies. http://bit.ly/1qEq1Fz

Report - “Iran and Nuclear Proliferation Concerns” by Shannon Kile. New report within the 2014 SIPRI yearbook. Read the full report here. (pdf) http://bit.ly/1qEDYDs

Quick Hits:

--Germany’s “Commerzbank to pay $1B on Iran sanction,” via AFP. http://bit.ly/1qEvfB1

--“N.K. shows no signs of preparations for nuclear test: think tank,” via the Yonhap News Agency. http://bit.ly/12VZMPM

Events:

--"Did the Nuclear Negotiations Include Iran's Ballistic Missiles?" Featuring Michael Elleman. Friday December 12 from 2:00p.m.-3:00 p.m. Located at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, 2121 K St, NW, Washington DC. RSVP online. http://bit.ly/12AAjft

--“Commission to Review the Effectiveness of the National Energy Laboratories,” public meeting on December 15 at the Institute for Defense Analyses. Located at 4850 Mark Center Drive, Room 1301, Alexandria, VA. RSVP by 5:00 p.m. on Dec. 10 to Karen Gibson by email at crenel@hq.doe.gov.

--“Breaking the Stalemate in U.S.-South Korea Nuclear Cooperation Negotiations,” featuring Scott Snyder. From noon-1:30 p.m. on December 17 at the Global America Business Institute. Located at 1001 Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 435, Washington. RSVP to Christina Sookyung Jung by email at csjung@thegabi.com.