December 19, 2011
U.S. Intelligence Assessment of Iran’s Nuclear Program: Essentials Remain the Same
ARN, 3 feb 2012.
The United States’ intelligence community’s judgments on Iran’s nuclear program have not fundamentally changed from those revealed in its controversial 2007 National Intelligence Estimate. In presenting the intelligence community’s annual “Worldwide Threat Assessment” to the Senate Committee on Intelligence on January 31, Director of National Intelligence James R. Clapper used language identical to that used in recent years on a number of critical points.
The First Nuclear Test at the Nevada Test Site
CTBTO, 3 feb 2012.
‘Able’ was the first air-dropped nuclear device to be exploded on American soil. The test took place on 27 January 1951 at Frenchman Flat, a dry lakebed in the Nevada Test Site. The 1-kiloton explosion launched the fourth U.S. nuclear test series code-named ‘Ranger’, which consisted of five air-dropped nuclear tests in early 1951.
Is Biosecurity the Low-Hanging Fruit?
CNS, 3 feb 2012.
The Seventh Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) took place in December 2011 in Geneva, Switzerland. The conference focused transparency in bio-industry and biodefense and on confidence-building measures. But the review conference might also contribute to the incremental approach to banning all weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the Middle East—an approach that will be promoted at a conference later this year in Finland.
Bulava missile ready to deploy
RIANOVOSTI, with comments by NPSGlobal, 27 Dec 2011.
The flight tests of the Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile have been completed and it will now be adopted for service with the Russian Navy, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Tuesday. “We have made a very important step - we have completed the cycle of flight tests… of the Bulava missile,” he said. “Now it will be put into service.”
Largest city evacuation since WWII
Cnn.com, by Rick Noack with comments by NPSGlobal, 4 Dec 2011.
Bomb squads in Germany successfully defused on Sunday two bombs and disposed of an additional air-dropped military device that had caused an evacuation of historic proportions in a city in the country's west. "It's the largest German evacuation since the end of the war," fire brigade spokesman Ronald Eppelsheim said Sunday.
Wave of bombings across Iraqi capital kills 60
AP, with comments by NPSGlobal, 22 Dec 2011.
A wave of at least 14 bombings ripped across Baghdad, killing at least 60 people in the worst violence in Iraq for months. The apparently coordinated attacks struck days after the last American forces left the country and in the midst of a major government crisis between Shiite and Sunni politicians that has sent sectarian tensions soaring.
NRC says it knew about cracks at Ohio nuke plant
Associated Press, 8 Dec 2011.
Federal regulators confirmed Thursday that they had been told by operators of a nuclear reactor about additional cracks found in the plant's concrete shell, which were discovered several weeks after workers initially discovered the concrete was cracked in other spots.
U.K. Plans Subterranean Plutonium Storage Site
Global Security Newswire, 2 Dec 2011.
The United Kingdom intends to transfer some of its 114.8-ton plutonium stockpile to a subterranean storage facility, in part to help secure the material against seizure by terrorists for potential use in a weapon, the Mainichi Daily News reported (see GSN, Nov. 29).
Turkey, Japan to Resume Atomic Trade Dialogue
Global Security Newswire, 10 Jan 2012.
Turkey and Japan have jointly decided to focus on relaunching formal talks for an atomic trade deal, Kyodo News reported on Sunday (see GSN, June 15, 2010).
Libya Should Ship Away Uranium Holdings: IAEA
Global Security Newswire, with comments by NPSGlobal, 23 Dec 2011.
Libya could face problems protecting 6,400 drums of unrefined uranium "yellowcake" against accidents or seizure over an extended period, prompting the International Atomic Energy Agency to press calls for the material to be sold and shipped abroad, the U.N. chief envoy to the North African state said on Thursday (see GSN, Nov. 23).
Michael Douglas about the CTBT
NPSGlobal supports this international campaign to bring the CTBT into force and, therefore, to get rid of nuclear explosions in the world. This is a critical step to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.
"Our vision: A World Free of Weapons of Mass Destruction"
