The Boomer and Budget

On the radar: Hearing voices on the SSBN budget; Bolstering consensus on Iran; Pawning national security for more nuclear spending; Fordow getting gas; Questioning the Iranian presidency; North Korea and enrichment; and Partying like it’s 1959.

October 21, 2011 | Edited by Benjamin Loehrke and Mary Kaszynski

The nuclear bulge in the Navy budget - The Navy is planning to build 12 new ballistic missile submarines. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the subs will cost around $6.5 billion each, with $96-101 billion total for procurement. “Naval observers worry it could cost so much money the Navy might not have any left over to build the other ships it wants – and will need as its 1980s-vintage cruisers and destroyers begin to leave the fleet in large numbers,” reports Phil Ewing at DoDBuzz.

--”The Navy’s top logistics officer, Vice Adm. Bill Burke, acknowledged it’s still a common fear, and also that there are voices inside the Building that want to delay or even cancel a new boomer to afford other ships...Burke said he doesn’t agree; he thinks the Navy can prioritize and balance all its programs.”

--The article notes that, with tight procurement time lines, the sub program is sensitive to delays, overruns, congressional dysfunction. http://owl.li/74Hkq

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The bigger picture on Iran policy - “The [alleged assassination] plot as described might create the illusion of an emboldened Iran, the reality is that Iran is much weaker and more isolated now than when President Barack Obama took office,” argues Matt Duss. The reasons: multilateral economic sanctions, China’s pulling back on oil and gas investments, and diplomatic pressure over human rights abuses.

--“The revelation of the Iranian assassination plot should bolster the international consensus against Iran’s behavior rather than serve as an excuse for another needless war,” Duss concludes. http://owl.li/73YXe

Defense budget should be on the table - ”The supercommittee and Congress have an opportunity to rein in military spending, and they owe it to American taxpayers to negotiate realistic and fair cuts,” writes Patricia Morris in The San Antonio Express. http://owl.li/74Hu9

Nonpro for weapons: a bad trade - The wall between security and non-security spending under the Budget Control Act means that increases to nuclear weapons accounts will have to be offset by cuts to other security accounts, like nonproliferation. Cutting “our first line of defense against nuclear terrorism” for nuclear weapons is a bad idea, argues Kingston Reif. http://owl.li/74Hwp

UF6 heading to Fordow - Iran plans to soon start moving nuclear material to an underground site for the pursuit of sensitive atomic activities, diplomatic sources say...They said a first batch of uranium hexafluoride gas (UF6) -- material which is fed into machines used to refine uranium -- would be transferred to the Fordow site near the holy city of Qom in preparation for launching enrichment work there,” reports Fredrik Dahl of Reuters. http://owl.li/74Hnd

The last Iranian president? - “What we have here is a tussle between Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad over their respective legacies. And Khamenei is taking this matter so seriously that he’s threatening to remove the very position of the presidency altogether. For now, this is only a threat. But it’s one that can’t be ignored, especially by Ahmadinejad,” writes Meir Javedanfar in The Diplomat.

--”Khamenei may have decided that having a president could create division, division that the regime’s foes might exploit. With this in mind, and to ensure a smooth transition of power to the next supreme leader – and clear lines of authority after he takes the helm – it would be better to drop the post of president.” http://owl.li/74Hqe

North Korea talks drag over uranium enrichment - The 2005 agreement in which North Korea pledged to give up “all nuclear activities” did not specifically include uranium enrichment. Now, uranium enrichment is the sticking point in talks with Pyongyang, according to South Korean officials. From Reuters. http://owl.li/74HrM

Growing interest in CTBT - U.S. policymakers on both sides of the aisle are showing increasing interest in the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, said Tibor Toth in an interview with Reuters. "I welcome increased interest in what we are doing...I think it is important that there is no rushed decision." http://owl.li/74HsT

Tweet - @armscontrolnow: In nod to US missile defense, Russia rolls out Iskanders. To paraphrase Prince, its time to party like its 1959 http://bit.ly/ppNgYJ