House Members See Opportunity for Engagement on Iran

On the radar: 128 House members push for negotiated solution; Nukemap 3D; Silliness over Snowden; Critics, boosters and porkers; Nuclear nominees; Aegis shore in New England; and Surfin’ DMZ.

July 19, 2013 | Edited by Benjamin Loehrke

House on engagement - A bipartisan letter lead by Reps. Charlie Dent (R-PA) and David Price (D-NC) circulating in the House of Representatives is urging President Obama to engage with Iran and seek an agreement that prevents Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

--"[W]e believe it would be a mistake not to test whether Dr. Rouhani's election represents a real opportunity for progress toward a verifiable, enforceable agreement...In order to test this proposition, it will be prudent for the United States to utilize all diplomatic tools to reinvigorate ongoing nuclear talks," says the letter. The letter has garnered the signature of 128 members of Congress. Steven Nelson at US News has the story. http://bit.ly/15Rqk2u

DIY nuclear blasts - A new online tool gives users a chance for “do-it-yourself nuclear war.” Nukemap 3D, created by historian Alex Wellerstein, combines Google Earth and nuclear blast effects calculations to allow online users to pick a city, pick a bomb and observe the mushroom cloud towering over ground zero.

--The latest edition of the doomsday simulator shows the size of the explosion, height of the mushroom cloud, fallout pattern and humanitarian impact of a nuclear blast. Try it for yourself at http://nuclearsecrecy.com/nukemap3d/

--Here’s what it would look like if you dropped a B61 nuclear bomb on Chicago’s Soldier Field. Wrigley Field appears to be spared from immediate destruction, though the same cannot be said for U.S. Cellular Field nor Chicago’s skyline. http://bit.ly/12OXP4Q

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Silliness - “Obama May Cancel Moscow Trip as Tensions Build Over Leaker” by Peter Baker in The New York Times. http://nyti.ms/114a2lh

Tweet - @strobetalbott: If #Snowden flap is allowed to scuttle Obama-Putin summit, U.S. will have lost perspective on & control of the issue. http://t.co/Uz1X0fNh1P

BMD hearing - Missile defense discussions tend to be split between the true believers and nonbelievers, notes Mark Thompson after a recent Senate Appropriations hearing on the missile defense budget. Thompson sorts through the hearing transcript to show which senators are critics, boosters or porkers on missile defense spending.

--Hearing highlights: “What troubles me is this is a system that still hasn’t been proven to be able to protect America. And the notion of spending additional billions of dollars at this moment in time, I can understand our goal, it’s a worthy one, to protect our nation, but spending more on weapons that are not proven I don’t believe meets the president’s test of weapons, both proven and cost-effective,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL).

--”I know in my state of Maine, it is a very welcoming place for military installations of this sort,” said Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in her best pitch for new missile defense spending in her state. http://ti.me/197CNlY

And the nominees are - President Obama announced a slate of new nominations to key nuclear policy posts. Frank Rose is nominated to the position of Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance. Adam Scheinman is nominated to the position of Special Representative of the President for Nuclear Nonproliferation, with the rank of Ambassador. http://1.usa.gov/18szYfN

--Rumor: Lt. Gen. Frank Klotz (USAF, ret.) is reportedly to be named the next administration of the National Nuclear Security Administration. Frank Munger at the Knoxville News Sentinel has the story. http://bit.ly/14mS3cv

CRS Report - “Arms Control and Nonproliferation: A Catalog of Treaties and Agreements” by Amy Woolf, Paul Kerr and Mary Beth Nikitin. Congressional Research Service. July 15, 2013. (pdf) http://bit.ly/13FIvDb

Aegis on East Coast - The Missile Defense Agency is looking into using Aegis missile defense systems for a controversial site proposed on the East Coast.

--”Thus far, many have speculated that were an East Coast missile defense site to be built, it would involve silo-based Ground-based Interceptors, as is the case with the two existing West Coast locations. However, the long-range GBI missile has had a problematic testing track record and some Democrats continue to doubt the merits of expanding use of the technology,” writes Rachel oswald for Global Security Newswire. link

Interdiction - Panama’s interdiction of a North Korea-bound ship hauling sugar and elements of surface-to-air missile systems from Cuba was a success for UN sanctions, writes Jeffrey Lewis in a post reviewing details of the Chong Chon Gang interdiction and how the Security Council can improve sanctions implementation. Full post at Arms Control Wonk. http://bit.ly/114eaBv

Tweet - @insidedefense: CAPE Pegged PTSS Price Tag At $17.5B, Nearly 40 Percent Above MDA's 2014 POM. Story: (paywall) http://t.co/raWmrlOPH7

Talk about talks - ”Biden: U.S. ready to engage with North Korea if talks 'genuine'” by Roberta Rampton in Reuters. http://reut.rs/15Q9ChU

Events:

--”Contemporary Role of US Nuclear Weapons” Luncheon talk with Barry Blechman and Robert Butterworth, part of the Peter Huessy Breakfast Series. July 25th from 12:30-1:30pm at the Capitol Hill Club. RSVP here. http://conta.cc/149kH0N

--“European Perspectives on Nuclear Burden-Sharing,” breakfast discussion with Oliver Meier and Francois Rivasseau, July 26 from 8-9:00am; at the Capitol Hill Club; Part of the BASIC Strategic Dialogue series. RSVP and Details here. http://bit.ly/12DF2cH

Dessert:

38th Parallel Beach - Just past the guard towers, barbed wire, spotlights and sentries, 38th Parallel Beach provides South Korean surfers some of the best waves south of the DMZ. Shannon Aston documents the beach’s growing surf culture with a new photo gallery at Foreign Policy. http://atfp.co/14mzIwi