Positive Signals from Moscow in Nuclear Talks

On the radar: Productive talks; India and the suppliers; Kyl on spending; Guam out of range; Demolishing silos; Some hot property in Florida, the Atomic heart; and Go Hoosiers!

March 22, 2013 | Edited by Benjamin Loehrke and Alyssa Demus

Progress - Recent meetings in Geneva between U.S. and Russian officials showed progress in nuclear weapons talks. The talks, between Acting Under Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov, were primarily aimed at renewing some of the efforts under the now-lapsed Nunn-Lugar program. David Herszenhorn of The New York Times has the story. http://nyti.ms/ZhskKc

Downright giddy, for Moscow - In a more upbeat response on the Pentagon’s recent missile defense announcement, Sergei Ryabkov said, "The causes for concern have not been removed, but dialogue is needed - it is in our interest and we welcome the fact that the American side also, it appears, wants to continue this dialogue.” Steve Gutterman at Reuters notes this signals progress, compared to earlier statements. http://reut.rs/105ftgs

Editors’ Note - Early Warning will power down next week, returning to regular schedules on April 2nd.

--From all of us in the Ploughshares Fund DC office: Go Hoyas. On Wisconsin. Heartfelt sympathies to Pitt. And, most importantly, Go Hoosiers!

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Nukes in the CR - Congress passed a continuing resolution yesterday that, when signed into law, will approve “full-year appropriations levels” for some agencies including the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and Commerce. Other agencies’ funding will remain at FY 2012 levels. The resolution also approves full funding for the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) reports Chris Schneidmiller at Global Security Newswire.

--Topline numbers: $7.6 billion for NNSA; $110 million for “domestic uranium enrichment research, development and demonstration ($40 million less than requested by the White House);” $519 million for the Cooperative Threat Reduction program. Full article here. http://owl.li/jjZlT

To Delhi, or not to Dehli - Members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) were divided over Indian membership to the organization at talks held on Wednesday. Some member states including China, Ireland, the Netherlands and Switzerland expressed reservations because if India joined, it would be the only member outside of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The U.S., France, Britain and Russia supported Indian membership, reports Fredrik Dahl at Reuters.

--Those in favor of Indian membership say “its better if the country is inside than outside the NSG. Skeptics “argue it could undermine the NPT, which is a cornerstone of global nuclear disarmament efforts. [...] Nuclear expert Daryl Kimball said India wanted to join the NSG because of prestige but that this would undercut the group's ability to ensure that New Delhi respects non-proliferation commitments” including halting weapons testing and fissile material production and compliance with site-specific safeguards, said Kimball. Full article here. http://owl.li/jk2S4

Breaking - Former Senator Jon Kyl wants more missile defense and is upset that Congress failed to fund nuclear programs associated with ratification of an arms control treaty that Sen. Kyl voted against. Though, he might have phrased it differently in his latest op-ed in The Wall Street Journal. http://on.wsj.com/16NlymO

Guam uncovered - Pentagon officials suggested recently that the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense system in Alaska covers “the entire United States.” Does that include Guam, asked Guam’s delegate to the House of Representatives.

--Answer: No. But, in a pinch, the Pentagon could put forward-deployed systems there. From George Lewis at Mostly Missile Defense. http://bit.ly/11s7qPQ

Demolishing phantoms - The U.S. is beginning work to demolish 103 former ICBM launch facilities, as part of the “Eliminate Phantom Silo” project to comply with the New START Treaty. Jane’s has the story. Preview here, full article behind paywall. http://bit.ly/ZF0BX3

Events:

--"2013 Public Policy and Nuclear Threats Winter Conference.” Linton Brooks, former administrator, NNSA, and 18 other speakers. March 22-23. @ Univ. of California Washington Center. Details here (pdf). http://owl.li/iVIvo

--”The Impact of Sanctions on Tehran’s Nuclear Calculations.” Bijan Khajehpour, Atieh International; Reza Marashi and Trita Parsi, National Iranian American Council. March 26, 12:00-1:30 p.m. @ Atlantic Council. Details here. http://owl.li/iWWtD

--”Nuclear Priorities 2013.” Anita Friedt, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Arms Control Verification and Compliance, Department of State. March 27, 12:30-1:30p.m. @ The American Security Project. Details here. http://owl.li/ja0JS

--Conference on Disarmament first session for 2013 ends. Geneva. http://owl.li/jhOW5

Dessert:

Tweet - @History_Pics: Bumper Cars in the ghost town of Pripyat, close to the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. http://owl.li/jjUvn

Why Lower Manhattan? - After a recent ABC News story used a map of New York to illustrate the destructive power of a North Korean bomb, Jon Stewart of The Daily Show asked "When did lower Manhattan become the standard unit of destruction measurement?"

--Answer: Since we pointed ABC News to Alex Wellerstein’s “Nukemap.” Backstory from Joe Cirincione here. http://huff.to/Xv9uzL

For Sale - Cold War-era bomb shelter in Florida. Only $499,500. Includes thick blast doors, decontamination showers, and some (antique?) milk solids still on the shelves. AOL Real Estate has the story. http://aol.it/14c5yuX

Kind of like Iron Man? - Who was “thinking [of] trying to stick a radioisotope generator into a human being's chest cavity?" The U.S. government, that’s who. In 1967 the National Heart Institute teamed up with the Atomic Energy Agency to “develop an artificial heart powered by plutonium-238. The atomic hearts would have pumped human blood with the energy provided by the radioactive decay of that isotope.” Alexis Madrigal of The Atlantic has the scoop. http://owl.li/jk9QH