Publications

• Op-Ed

Washington’s Iraq Dilemma: Why Engaging Iran Is a Good Idea

• George Perkovich
• December 12, 2006
• Yale Global Online

Refusal to talk cedes the high ground to Iran without any benefit to Washington, but Washington should think twice about whether changing Iran’s actions toward Iraq will improve international security as much as modifying Iran’s nuclear program or ending its material support of groups that practice violent politics in Lebanon and Palestine.

• Proliferation Analysis

Nuclear Lessons from Hanoi

• Rose Gottemoeller
• December 07, 2006

(Commentary by Rose Gottemoeller, Director of the Carnegie Moscow Center)

Two images caught my eye in the media coverage of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hanoi.  The first was the TV picture of President Bush and President Putin, wearing blue Vietnamese clothes that looked a bit like surgeon’s robes, a bit like nightgowns.  (Note to APEC leaders: It’s time to stop dressing up your colleagues in the national outfit for a photo-op.  Those clothes only look good on you.) 

The photo stuck with me though, for the matching blue that Bush and Putin were issued.  We might not like each other, but the rest of the world still pairs us together.  We are still expected to work on problems, find solutions, and hammer out compromises when they are needed.  That effect was clear this weekend, when the United States and Russia were at the pivot point of efforts to develop a way forward in the nuclear crises with Iran and North Korea. (Read More)

• Testimony

Speech given at the First Annual Nuclear Fuel Cycle Monitor Global Nuclear Renaissance Summit

• Jessica Tuchman Mathews
• December 05, 2006
• Global Nuclear Renaissance Summit

Without a viable, effective nonproliferation regime, nuclear energy will neither be accepted publicly, nor would it be a wise choice.

• Op-Ed

A Limited Time Offer to Iran

• George Perkovich, Pierre Goldschmidt
• December 02, 2006
• The New York Times
• • 中文

• Proliferation Analysis

Britain: Nuclear Business As Usual, or Catalyst for Change?

• Caterina Dutto
• November 28, 2006

The Acronym Institute published a report, Worse than Irrelevant? British Nuclear Weapons in the 21st Century, addressing the future of Britain’s nuclear weapons system and outlining potential replacement options for the existing stockpile.

Britain’s decision will have important ramifications for the nonproliferation regime and the commitment of nuclear weapons states towards their disarmament obligations under Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The report calls for a comprehensive review of Britain’s security and defense strategies, taking into account Britain’s commitment to nonproliferation and the efficacy of nuclear deterrence in the changing security environment of the 21^st century. The report contrasts the nuclear threats of the Cold War with the predominant security challenges in today’s post-Cold War environment such as climate change and environmental degradation, terrorism, poverty, transnational illicit trade, and failing states. The authors conclude that nuclear weapons have no useful role in protecting against today’s security challenges, adding that nuclear weapons are “not merely irrelevant,” but that they “have the potential to add greatly to other threats, notably terrorism, organised crime and trafficking.” (Read More)

• Op-Ed

Iran-U.S. Competition in Middle East Holds Seeds of ‘Tragedy’

• George Perkovich
• November 28, 2006
• Council on Foreign Relations Interview

The debate over Iran's nuclear program has now been widened, with Iran feeling emboldened to compete with the United States for dominance in the Middle East as a whole. This competition has the potential for "tragedy" if the United States feels it must use military power against Iran.

• Policy Outlook

“Democratic Bomb”: Failed Strategy

• George Perkovich
• November 21, 2006

Instead of treating nuclear weapons and materials as problems wherever they exist, the Bush administration has pursued a “democratic bomb” strategy, bending nonproliferation rules for friendly democracies and refusing to negotiate directly with “evil” nondemocratic regimes such as North Korea and Iran. This strategy is flawed and counterproductive.

• Op-Ed

The End of the Nonproliferation Regime?

• George Perkovich
• November 01, 2006
• Current History

The effort to constrain the acquisition and use of nuclear weapons is perhaps the most ambitious attempt ever made to extend the civilizing reach of the rule of law over humankind’s destructive capacity. The United States, the Soviet Union, and other states laid the foundation for this mission in the 1960s with the negotiation of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

• Proliferation Analysis

North Korea's Test and Congressional Delay: Implications for India-US Nuclear Deal

• Anirudh Suri
• October 24, 2006

The India-U.S. civilian nuclear deal, under which the U.S. would provide civilian nuclear technology to India, overturning decades of U.S. policy and marking a turning point in the evolution of the U.S.-India relationship, has faltered close to fruition. Even as a new counter-offensive has been launched to push through the deal during the lame duck session of the Senate in November, proponents of the deal are disappointed, and even slightly frustrated, that the Senate did not take up the bill in its recently concluded session.

Adding to their discomfort is North Korea’s recent nuclear test. North Korea’s test is likely to place the India-U.S. nuclear deal debate more firmly within the context of increasing proliferation in the world, instead of in the narrative about strengthening the bilateral relationship between the U.S. and India. The test has strengthened the voice of the critics of the India-U.S. nuclear deal. (Read More)

• Proliferation Analysis

ElBaradei Remarks at Georgetown University

• Caterina Dutto
• October 24, 2006

IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei addressed a wide range of nonproliferation challenges yesterday in a conversation with Robert Gallucci at Georgetown University.