How Biden Can Reduce the Danger of Nuclear War
George Perkovich | Defense One
Proportionality distinguishes sanity from insanity and justice from injustice. It would be insane to get into a gunfight over a parking space, much as it would be unjust to burn down a city to remove a dictator. By extending the New START Treaty with Russia, President Joe Biden will signal a measure of sanity. But more must be done to reassure Americans and the world that proportionality is at the heart of the United States’ nuclear policies and posture. With adversaries that can retaliate in kind, another step the Biden administration can take immediately is acknowledging that it would be insane and unjust to use nuclear weapons against threats that are less destructive than nuclear war would probably be.
Russian Parliament OKs New START Nuclear Treaty Extension
Vladmir Isachenkov | AP
Russian lawmakers on Wednesday quickly approved the extension of the last remaining nuclear Russia-U.S. arms control treaty, a fast-track action that comes just days before it’s due to expire. Both houses of parliament voted unanimously to extend the New START treaty for five years, a day after a phone call between U.S. President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin said they agreed to complete the necessary extension procedures in the next few days. Speaking via video link to the World Economic Forum’s virtual meeting, Putin hailed the decision to extend the treaty as “a step in the right direction,” but warned of rising global rivalries and threats of new conflicts.
Iran Diplomat Says ‘Window is Closing’ for Biden to Rejoin Nuclear Deal
Kim Hjelmgaard and Deirdre Shesgreen | USA Today
Iran's highest-ranking diplomat in the United States warned the Biden administration it “must act quickly” to return to the 2015 nuclear deal abandoned by former President Donald Trump “because the window is closing” on Tehran's deadline for Washington to lift economic sanctions. Iran's hardline-dominated parliament has set a Feb. 21 deadline for Biden to lift U.S. sanctions as part of a move back into the now-breached agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA. If the U.S. fails to act, Iran says, it will suspend some inspections of its nuclear sites by UN nuclear inspectors – a key provision of the accord – and further boost uranium enrichment.
North Korea, U.S. Should Aim for Initial Nuclear Freeze: South Korean PM
Hyonhee Shin | Reuters
North Korea and the United States should seek an initial denuclearisation deal that includes a halt to the North’s nuclear activity and a cut in its programme in exchange for some sanctions relief, South Korea’s prime minister said on Thursday. Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun, in his first interview with a foreign media outlet since taking office a year ago, told Reuters that “creative” thinking and mutual incentives were needed to get negotiations going again and prevent another breakdown. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and former U.S. President Donald Trump promised to build new relations and work towards the denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula at their first summit in 2018, but a second summit and ensuing working-level talks fell apart.
Biden UN Pick Wants China and Russia to Choke North Korean Nuclear Program
David Volodzko | NK News
In the first few days of the Biden-Harris administration, a top U.S. diplomat has called for greater sanctions enforcement against North Korea in order to stymie inflows of cash that could support the country’s nuclear program. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a longtime diplomat who has been nominated as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that Donald Trump’s administration failed to properly collaborate with allies and other countries to stop North Korea from illegally making money abroad. “Re-engaging with South Korea with Japan as well as with China and Russia, particularly to push for their respect of the sanctions regime against North Korea, is going to be really important,” she said during her confirmation hearing on Wednesday.
Biden’s Arms Control Team Eyes Nuclear Policy Overhaul
Bryan Bender | POLITICO
President Joe Biden is assembling a national security team with an unusually ambitious agenda to negotiate new arms control treaties, scale back the nuclear arsenal, and review decades of military doctrine. But veterans of the last administration fear this newly empowered group of progressives may be naive about what can be achieved without undermining U.S. security, and are already warning them to prepare for a shock when they read the latest intelligence. Taking up posts at the Pentagon, State Department and National Security Council are a cadre of experts who collectively have their sights on a renaissance in nuclear restraint, after President Donald Trump withdrew from three arms control pacts, threatened a nuclear war with North Korea and expanded the role of nuclear weapons in war planning.