Washington Gearing Up for Battle on Nuclear Trade Deals

On the radar: The anti-nonproliferation lobby; West calls for urgent practical steps; Iran talks after Sarko; Debunking the BMD myth; Shadow NATO summit; and Projectile dysfunction.

May 7, 2012 | Edited by Benjamin Loehrke and Mary Kaszynski

Lobbying against the “gold standard” - The House Foreign Affairs Committee passed a bill by unanimous vote that would restrict U.S. civilian cooperation deals with other countries and enhance nonproliferation standards. In an effort to kill the bill, the nuclear energy industry’s lobbying arm has sent more than two dozen lobbyists to the Hill - at a cost of more than $3 million.

--The House bill is currently hung up in the House Rules Committee, and the Obama administration is conducting an interagency review of nuclear trade policy. Elaine Grossman of Global Security Newswire has the story. http://owl.li/aKmNp

Quote of the month - “He must have been drunk,” said Barry Blechman about recent comments from Russia’s Chief of General Staff about the use of preventive force on NATO missile defense systems.

--"I hope the Russian political leadership takes him to task for it," said Blechman. The Washington Times had the original quote. Global Security Newswire has the story. http://owl.li/aKmHn

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Event - The Federation of American Scientists hosts “Bridging the Generational Divide on Nuclear Security,” a webcast and live blog with George Shultz, Rose Gottemoeller, James Goodby, David Holloway, Richard Rhodes, Christopher Stubbs, and Philip Taubman. May 8th at 3:30pm. Details here. http://owl.li/aKmFB

Iran at the PrepCom - "We seek a sustained process that produces concrete results, and call on Iran to take urgent practical steps to build confidence and lead to compliance with all its international obligations," said the U.S. envoy to the NPT PrepCom.

--The U.S. envoy emphasized IAEA access to Iranian facilities, particularly Parchin, while EU delegates called on Iran to halt uranium enrichment. http://owl.li/aKmCW

Tweets on Sarko - @Cirincione: Sarkozy's defeat may make a negotiated solution to the Iran crisis easier to reach.

--@TonyKaron: Many other issues, but Sarko had been pressing a zero-enrichment bottom line, which is untenable.

GAO Report - “Nuclear Weapons: Evaluation of Report on Feasibility of Increasing Air Transportation of Nuclear Weapons, Components, and Materials.” (pdf) http://owl.li/aKmxL

The missile defense myth - “There is simply no upside to a dysfunctional missile “defense” and plenty of downsides in addition to its gargantuan cost,” writes Yousaf Butt in The National Interest.

--“Missile defense will not counteract any possible future Iranian ICBMs with simple countermeasures—but it will erode relations with Russia and China right now. Because it encourages adversaries to assume the worst and creates incentives for them to increase their nuclear stockpiles, it will also lead to more nuclear weapons and a more dangerous world.” http://owl.li/aKmuN

Event - Shadow NATO Summit III in Washington. BASIC, The Bulletin, The Elliott School, NATO Watch and Strategy International hold a two day summit on implementing NATO’s new Strategic Concept. Topics include nuclear policy and relations with Russia.

--May 14-15 from 8:30am-5:00pm at The Elliott School of International Affairs. Details and RSVP here. http://owl.li/aKmro

Tweet - @lrozen: NSC's Denis McDonough says US Iran policy is working, Bibi & Obama have "workman-like" relationship: http://bit.ly/JKNfO2

Projectile dysfunction - Innuendo has been a common feature of the nuclear age - from Maj. Kong riding the bomb to Cold War missile envy. William Broad in the New York Times carries the theme into modern times by pointing out “North Korea’s Performance Anxiety” over its missile program.

--Says historian Spencer Weart, “Things like this never go away.” http://owl.li/aKmp3