Arming the New Bomber with Nukes: We Can, But Should We?

New nuclear bomber is a bad idea - Adding nuclear weapons capability to the new stealth bomber won’t be particularly costly, write James Hasik and Rachel Rizzo for The National Interest. “The bigger question, however, may be how useful the LRS-B is for American nuclear strategy.”

--“A nuclear-armed bomber force makes little marginal contribution to deterring a large-scale nuclear attack. Without wartime dispersal, airfields for USAF bombers comprise just five well-known aim points, easily destroyed with a handful of nuclear explosions… [A Cato Institute] report recommended basing the entire nuclear force on submarines, as the United Kingdom does today, or perhaps retaining just the land-based missiles, as they’re not that expensive.” Read the full story here. http://bit.ly/1WXcys1

Tweet - l@W_Nuclear_News: #Nuclear industry pays respects to Spanish victim of #ParisAttacks http://bit.ly/1S1BibW

Iran deal showdown - “Tensions between the Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, and more conservative authorities over the country’s nuclear agreement and its future are turning increasingly bitter, punctuated by public exchanges and growing signs of an anti-American backlash, including arrests. Mr. Rouhani is insisting that the nuclear deal signed… will create the basis for an end to Iran’s prolonged economic isolation [and] could be the start of new relations with the United States under certain conditions. Yet even his cautious statement of optimism has provoked a stormy reaction.”

--“The reaction has been stoked in some ways by Ayatollah Khamenei, who while endorsing the accord has also warned of what he calls an American desire to infiltrate Iran’s culture, economics and politics… Gary G. Sick, a Middle East scholar at Columbia University… said he was not surprised by the heightened tensions. The Revolutionary Guards and other conservative elements that control the media, judiciary and the police, he said, ‘are really terrified that this agreement between the United States and Iran is a precursor to a breakdown in the old revolutionary leadership.’” Read the full story here. http://nyti.ms/1OOOrY8

Tweet - @SinaZerbo: An excellent advocate @FedericaMog "#IranDeal opens new opportunities to relaunch process on #CTBT entry into force" http://bit.ly/1HVSkm9

Putting Iran PMD to rest - “The question [surrounding possible military dimensions] might be answered on Dec. 2, when investigators plan to publish a report on Iran’s nuclear past,” writes Jonathan Tirone for Bloomberg Business. “While the International Atomic Energy Agency’s report is unlikely to allay all suspicion, it will set the stage for the July nuclear accord to be implemented. [The] publication will give Iranian technicians the green light to start removing the nuclear gear stipulated under the agreement.”

--“Understanding possible military dimensions of Iran’s program is a core part of the IAEA’s job of ensuring nuclear material is used for exclusively peaceful purposes. Should the agency conclude illicit activities took place, it will need verified records from the people, places and technologies involved to make sure the activities ceased… Inspectors have said they’re in possession of ‘credible’ information showing Iran may have experimented with nuclear-weapons technologies.” Iran denies these allegations. Read the full story here. http://bloom.bg/1Sq2Zv1

Tweet - @BulletinAtomic : Wm. Perry: Putin by next yr may agree 2 request from RUS nuke designers 2 test again. Partly 2 blame: US failure 2 ratify CTBT #Bulletin70

Rubio overestimates North Korean arsenal - “‘You have a lunatic in North Korea,’ [Marco] Rubio said [at a meet-and-greet in Sioux City on Friday], referring to North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un. ‘A lunatic. Except he has over two-dozen nuclear warheads. And a long-range missile that can already reach the United States with that warhead on it,’” writes Jason Noble for Politifact.

--“Numerous credible arms and security organizations estimate North Korea’s nuclear arsenal at six to 16 nuclear weapons. Even at the high side of those estimates, Rubio is overestimating the North Korean nuclear threat by about 50 percent… A wide consensus exists that North Korea has the capability to construct up to eight plutonium-fueled nuclear weapons. This view is shared by think tanks including the Nuclear Threat Initiative, the Arms Control Association and the Stockholm International Peace and Research Institute.” Get the full story here. http://bit.ly/1kCeMMv

Tweet - @shoggitaler: Tomorrow we will know which #Swiss banks continue to invest in #nuclearweapons @DontBankonBomb @GSoASchweiz @UBS https://youtu.be/Fkipas4Oqdo

Disarmament before peace treaty - “North Korea criticized the top U.S. nuclear envoy Friday for urging it again to denuclearize first for a peace treaty,” reports Yonhap News Agency. “The North's foreign ministry reiterated a call for immediate talks on replacing the 1953 Armistice Agreement with a peace treaty. It was countering remarks by Sung Kim, special representative for North Korea policy, earlier this week at a Washington forum.”

--“‘Before we can get to a peace mechanism to replace the armistice, I think we need to make significant progress on the central issue of denuclearization,’ [stated Kim]. The North Korean ministry said, ‘This is the height of impudence. Its insistence on the order of discussion is... little short of refusing to roll back its hostile policy toward the DPRK,’ its unnamed spokesperson was quoted as telling the Korean Central News Agency.” Read the full story here. http://bit.ly/1LjNEGJ

Quick Hits:

--“Which cities are at greatest risk of nuclear war?,” by Peter Apps for City Metric. http://bit.ly/1SzVPUR

--“How to survive a nuclear fallout,” by Amanda Williams for Daily Mail. http://dailym.ai/1kCbQPQ

--“A 'Nuclear Pearl Harbor': America's Master Plan to Nuke Japan's Navy,” by Steve Weintz for The National Interest. http://bit.ly/1lsKNqn

--“Hypersonic Missiles and Global Security,” by Nayef Al-Rodhan for The Diplomat. http://bit.ly/1Oaf0DR

--“Game Design Competition Will Award $10K For Games That Address Risk of Nuclear Weapons,” by Jim Dallke for ChicagoInno. http://bit.ly/1Odx6F1

Events:

--“Analysis and Testing of Missile Defenses,” featuring Michael Gilmore, from the Department of Defense. Thursday, November 19th from 12:00 to 1:15 PM at University of Maryland, 1203 Van Munching Hall, College Park, MD. Read more here. http://bit.ly/1O5JqY3

--“The Billion Dollar Spy Brown Bag Lunch,” featuring author David Hoffman. Friday, November 20th from 12:00 PM - 1:30 PM at Union of Concerned Scientists, 1825 K St NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC. Email Stephen Young to RSVP here: SYoung@ucsusa.org.

--“PONI 2015 Winter Conference,” featuring Tom Countryman and TBA feature panel. Wednesday, December 9th and Thursday, December 10th at Center for Strategic and International Studies, 1616 Rhode Island Ave., Washington, DC. Visit here for more information. http://bit.ly/1QsAWxq

--“3-D Printing the Bomb? The Challenge for Nuclear Nonproliferation,” featuring Tristan Volpe, Matthew Kroenig, and Bruce Goodwin. Tuesday, December 1st from 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 1779 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC. RSVP here. http://ceip.org/1j5BjiR