Bill Proposes Cuts in Excessive Nuclear Spending

On the radar: Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures Act; Not shouting at Iran; A structured agreement with Iran; CMRR cost explosion; When North Korea went nuclear; Steppe toward a fuel bank; Pentagon budget trade-offs; and Safety first for Oak Ridgers.

February 8, 2012 | Edited by Benjamin Loehrke and Mary Kaszynski

SANE Act for smart nuclear cuts - A group of lawmakers led by Rep. Ed. Markey is set to unveil a bill calling for “fundamental reevaluation of whether the Cold War defense budget approach makes sense any longer for the 21st century.” The Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures Act outlines $100 billion in nuclear budget savings over the next ten years. Cuts include reducing the size of the SSBN fleet, delaying the new bomber, and cancelling the new ICBM. http://owl.li/8WSAP

How to talk to Iran - “Three decades of demonization and hostility have accomplished nothing. Both sides need to stop shouting and start listening,” writes John Limbert in Foreign Affairs.

--Limbert’s recommendations for how to talk to Iran: Don’t underestimate the risks of miscalculation and escalation. “Be measured, clear, and cautious.” Address both sides’ concerns, not just Iran’s nuclear program. And “manage expectations...If there is any progress, it will be slow, and it will measured in small achievements.” http://owl.li/8WSCI

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Structure of an agreement with Iran - “The international community should act now to use all diplomatic means to persuade Iran that it is in its best interest to fully cooperate with the IAEA and to dissuade Iran from withdrawing from the NPT and manufacturing and testing a nuclear weapon,” writes Pierre Goldschmidt of the Carnegie Endowment.

--Goldschmidt sketches a potential agreement with Iran. Included elements: Getting Iran to implement the Additional Protocol and a Tempotary Complementary Protocol, giving Iran a grace period for coming clean to the IAEA on past safeguards violations, having Iran export LEU until the IAEA can reach a “broad conclusion” on the peaceful nature of Iran’s program, and creating a roadmap for how cooperation would see sanctions lifted while defining additional sanctions to be implemented if Iran takes steps toward weaponization. http://owl.li/8WSFz

Infographic: Nuclear Boondoggle - Since 2001 DOE’s cost estimate for CMRR has grown from $375 million for the entire project to a minimum of $3.7 billion for just one building. The Project on Government notes in the intro to their new infographic, “It's hard to look into the future, but the Department of Energy (DOE) is especially bad at it.” http://owl.li/8WSHe

Warning signs - When North Korea went nuclear, writes Micah Zenko, the U.S. had five markers on its progress: An intel assessment of its plutonium production, an assessment that the North had a weapon, a statement from the North about producing weapons, a nuclear test, and a few missile tests. “In the case of Iran, the U.S. IC does not believe that Iran has reached any of the five steps along the nuclear weapons spectrum,” writes Zenko. http://owl.li/8WSLr

Fuel bank - “Kazakhstan believes the international community's first nuclear fuel bank can be up and running on Kazakh soil by late next year, potentially supporting the Obama administration's broader efforts to combat the spread of nuclear weapons.” Jay Solomon of the WSJ has the story. http://owl.li/8WSNH

Event - New START at One Year: Implementation and Looking to the Future. Panel 1: Rose Gottemoeller, Ted Warner and Michael Elliott discuss how the treaty has worked thus far and next steps the U.S. government is considering. Brookings Institution. Feb. 10 from 1:00-3:30pm. RSVP and details here. http://owl.li/8PKli

Nukes for the Troops? - “Does the fact that we possess thousands of nuclear warheads and massive nuclear overkill help the troops?” Not so much Bill Hartung says. “Building more [nukes]-- or modernizing the ones we have -- will serve no purpose other than to encourage other countries to develop or expand their own arsenals...Cutting nuclear weapons spending would make us all safer, including our men and women in uniform.” http://owl.li/8WSPE

Tweet - @MicahZenko: WSJ's daily bomb Iran piece. 200 bunker buster + 3 aerial-refuelers to Israel. Oh, and 1 naval blockade http://on.wsj.com/zSgOu1

For your protection - Being an atomic-era worker at Oak Ridge National Laboratory had its risks, including exposure to campy posters on radiation safety. The Daily Mail has a set of 1947-vintage posters reminding you that “radiation need not be feared, but it must command your respect.” http://owl.li/8WSRI