The international community's inability to respond quickly and effectively to safeguards violations is the principal weakness of the nonproliferation regime today. At the upcoming Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in May 2010, member states should address this problem by recognizing that safeguards non-compliance constitutes a violation of the NPT, according to a new policy outlook by James Acton. | Full Article
Missile Strategy Must Not Be Seen as a Retreat
Tomas Valasek, Financial Times
There are mounting indications that Barack Obama will soon abandon plans to put missile defence bases in Poland and the Czech Republic. These have become one of the main bones of contention between Russia and the west. The Pentagon is tight-lipped about what, if anything, will replace the sites: US officials have hinted that new bases, built closer to Iran and - crucially - jointly with Russia, could follow. | Full Article
Pentagon Checks Arsenal in Race for Nuclear Treaty
Thom Shanker and Mark Landler, The New York Times
With the clock ticking on a year-end deadline, President Obama is pressing ahead with a top-to-bottom review of America's nuclear weapons to see how much the arsenal can shrink, as his negotiators are racing to wrap up a major new strategic arms control treaty with Russia. | Full Article
Iran 'Closer' to Nuclear Weapon
Glenn Kessler and Thomas Erdbrink, The Washington Post
Iran "is now either very near or in possession" of enough low-enriched uranium to produce one nuclear weapon, a senior U.S. diplomat said Wednesday, as he offered some of the toughest remarks by an Obama administration official on Iran's nuclear ambitions. | Full Article
The Emerging Axis of Iran and Venezuela
Robert M. Morgenthau, The Wall Street Journal
Editor's Note: Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau, who last April indicted a Chinese executive and his company for financing components of Iran's nuclear program, charges in this article that Venezuela has established a financial system to covertly help Iran avoid economic sanctions. He references this Carnegie Proliferation Analysis from December 2008 on Venezuela's pursuit of nuclear power.
The diplomatic ties between Iran and Venezuela go back almost 50 years and until recently amounted to little more than the routine exchange of diplomats. With the election of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 2005, the relationship dramatically changed. | Full Article
U.S. Urges World to Enforce Key North Korea Sanctions
Mark Heinrich, Reuters
The United States pressed all nations on Tuesday to enforce toughened U.N. sanctions against North Korea, saying this was vital for any chance of getting it back onto the road toward nuclear disarmament. | Full Article
ABOUT US
Produced twice-weekly, Proliferation News provides a free summary of news and analysis on efforts to prevent the spread and use of nuclear weapons. Visit Carnegie's Nonproliferation website for further information and resources. Please send your comments and suggestions to the Editor at proliferationnews@carnegieendowment.org.
Unsubscribe | E-mail the Editor | Archive
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
1779 Massachusetts Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20036-2103
Phone: 202.483.7600 | Fax: 202.483.1840
E-mail: proliferationnews@carnegieendowment.org