An important dialogue about Iran and nuclear weapons

How can we best enforce our own obligations and those of others—in particular the Islamic Republic of Iran—on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament? Is there an opportunity under present conditions for a distinctly U.S.-Iranian dialogue on regional Middle Eastern and nuclear issues, and if so, how could such dialogue be promoted by civil society, NGO’s, and interfaith communities? Are there prospects for serious dialogue among the U.S., Iran, Israel, and other Middle East states on a regional solution to the nuclear threat? These are some of the questions that will be posed - and hopefully answered by a panel of experts - at the February 11  Iran, Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Middle East Regional Solutions Congressional Briefing hosted by the Project for Nuclear Awareness. The briefing takes place at the Washington, DC United Methodist Church from 2:15-4pm and is co-sponsored by a number of groups including Beyond Nuclear. More details here.



Bulletin of Atomic Scientists turns back Doomsday Clock

The board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has turned its Doomsday Clock back by one minute - from five minutes to midnight to six minutes. In a statement today, made during a live, web-cast conference, the board members stated: "We are poised to bend the arc of history toward a world free of nuclear weapons. For the first time since atomic bombs were dropped in 1945, leaders of nuclear weapons states are cooperating to vastly reduce their arsenals and secure all nuclear bomb-making material. And for the first time ever, industrialized and developing countries alike are pledging to limit climate-changing gas emissions that could render our planet nearly uninhabitable". The full statement can be found on the Bulletin's Web site.

Arms control experts meet to build pressure on White House

A group of experts in the field of arms control met recently at the DC offices of the Ploughshares Fund to develop a strategy that will push the Obama administration to fulfill its global disarmament pledge made during a speech by the president last April in Prague. As reported in Foreign Policy, there are many major developments pending on the non-proliferation front: "The next six months will see either the significant advancement or the defeat of a host of arms-control priorities. The agenda includes ratification of the still-pending START follow-on agreement with Russia, the February release of the president's budget, the March release of the Nuclear Posture Review, a major summit on nuclear terrorism in Washington in April, and the Nonproliferation Treaty conference in May. A push for U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) is also coming."

Japanese survivor of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombings dies of stomach cancer at age 93

Tsutomu Yamaguchi , who as fate would have it was present and injured in Hiroshima on August 6th, 1945, only to arrive back to his home in Nagasaki to experience the second atomic bombing on August 9th, has passed away. After his ordeal, he devoted his life -- as have many Hibakusha, survivors of the atom bombs -- to sharing his tragic experience with others, in hopes of the abolition of atomic weapons. While Yamaguchi is the only person officially certified by the Japanese government as having survived both atomic bombings, there are others who did as well. To advance the cause of nuclear weapons abolition, please sign yourself, your friends, and family onto the Mayors for Peace "Cities Are Not Targets" (CANT) online petition. Mayors for Peace, initiated by the Cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, has grown to nearly 3,500 cities in 135 countries. If your city has not joined joined, urge your city leaders to do so. Latent cancer deaths among survivors from radiation exposure during the atomic bombings are now grudgingly acknowledged by the atomic establishment, although this was not always the case. As Amy and David Goodman has exposed, William L. Laurence, science writer for the New York Times who was also on the payroll of the U.S. War Department, a propogandist for the Manhattan Project, and who rode on the plane that destroyed Nagasaki, won a Pulitzer Prize for his atomic bomb reporting despite intentionally covering up the deadly radiation effects on human health, truth censored by the U.S. military when other journalists attempted to report it.

START off to a good start

Reproduced from the Daisy Alliance newsletter: One of the more prominent nuclear issues in 2010 is the U.S. Nuclear Posture Review.  Will the U.S. finally decrease their reliance on nuclear weapons as a policy tool or continue with its same Cold War attitudes?  A recent Arms Control Wonk blog post by Jeffrey Lewis, "Declaratory Policy," reviews the nuclear posture review deliberations and analyzes potential policy outcomes.Good news in the ongoing Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 1) extension negotiations.  Guy Faulconbridge reports in Reuters India that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated Tuesday that both Russia and the U.S. are planning to make unprecedented reductions to their nuclear arsenals.  Negotiators failed to produce an extension document prior to the expiration of START 1 in December.  This article also discusses some of the technical issues that have prevented a completed extension treaty.