Looking Beyond the Nuclear File with Iran

December 18, 2013 | Edited by Benjamin Loehrke and Lauren Mladenka

Talks scheduled - “Iran Says Nuclear Talks with World Powers to resume on Thursday” report Marcus George and Fredrik Dahl of Reuters. http://reut.rs/19y9d8O

Positive steps - “The West can weaken the hardline Iranian narrative of confrontation and resistance and facilitate a comprehensive nuclear deal by collaborating with Iran on scientific projects that carry no proliferation risk,” according to a report released by the National Iranian American Council. The report recommends implementing “projects [that] range from collaboration on green energy to a high-profile U.S./E.U.-Iran Science Summit,” which it suggests will “greatly facilitate diplomatic progress toward a comprehensive nuclear deal and prevent a resurgence of the confrontational policies of the hardliners.”

--“Ultimately, how we respond to Iran’s diplomatic opening has consequences far beyond nuclear diplomacy. It will also determine the future course of Iran for decades to come,” says report co-author Trita Parsi. Read the full report: “Extending Hands and Unclenching Fists: How to Secure a Final Nuclear Deal with Iran” by Bijan Khajehpour, Reza Marashi and Trita Parsi. (pdf) http://bit.ly/1jigYG0

Hardliners - Achieving a nuclear deal with Iran could face serious difficulties thanks to revolutionary hardliners in Iran, writes David Ignatius for The Washington Post. While the average Iranian supports President Rouhani’s negotiations with the West to end the nuclear standoff, hardliners within the Revolutionary Guard could position themselves to block a deal. Read the full article here. http://wapo.st/1cACgWg

Choosing sides - “The line in the sand is drawn for Congress- you can side with voters and our national security experts in supporting a diplomatic path that gives America and our allies our best shot in a generation to disrupt and disarm Iran. Or you can poke holes in that policy with new sanctions that our allies don’t want and that will derail negotiations, put Israel at risk, and make war much more likely,” writes Adm. Stuart Platt (USN, ret.). Full article in The Hill. http://bit.ly/1dmNn74

NDAA analysis - The defense authorization bill, approved by the House and set for a Senate vote this week, includes $7.9 billion for nuclear weapons activities, $9.5 billion for missile defense, full funding for replacing the nuclear triad and a lot of language on restricting nuclear reductions. Kingston Reif at the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation gives the highlights below.

--”Analysis of the FY 2014 National Defense Authorization Bill, H.R. 3304” by the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation. http://bit.ly/1c0XMXN

Tweet - @USSTRATCOM_CD: Sad end to a sturdy warplane, but New START is right path. NOTE: USAF no longer flies B-52Gs, only B-52Hs http://t.co/i8iDTQcdst

Russia’s ICBM - Russia wants to begin deploying a new type of ICBM in 2018 to replace the SS-18, as part of Putin’s pledge to spend $23 trillion roubles ($700 billion) by 2020 to upgrade Russian defenses. Steve Gutterman at Reuters has the story. http://reut.rs/1i1maMT

Spending boost - “Fort Greely’s missile-defense base could get a big boost in spending this year if the U.S. Senate approves a measure worked out last week by a bipartisan group of lawmakers,” reports Tim Ellis. Legislation under consideration calls “for 80 million dollars in construction at the missile base. That’s in addition to upgrades at the base that will increase the number of interceptor missiles there from the current 26 to 40.” KUAC has the full story. http://bit.ly/1kVeLf6

Euro-Atlantic security - 70 former and serving European officials call for a new approach to Euro-Atlantic security in order to work toward a world without nuclear weapons. They lay out practical policy steps - on nuclear weapons, missile defense, conventional forces, cyber security and space - required to achieve such a goal. Read the full statement from the European Leadership Network. Signatories include Des Browne, Wolfgang ischinger and Igor Ivanov. http://bit.ly/1bQ4GhB

Tweet - @armscontrolnow: Who is the "2013 Arms Control Person(s) of the Year? Vote online here or write in your choice via @armscontrolnow http://bit.ly/1cAyHj2

Event:

--Joseph Cirincione, Ploughshares Fund, book discussion of Nuclear Nightmares: Securing the World Before It Is Too Late. January 4th @ 6:00 pm, at Politics and Prose in Washington DC. http://bit.ly/IPJMW5

Dessert:

Hypotheticals - “The U.S. foreign policy community does not seem overly concerned with existing nuclear stockpiles, particularly when compared with its excessive concerns over the hypothetical ones,” writes Zachary Keck, arguing that Americans tend to focus on prospective threats - North Korea, Iran or nuclear terrorism - rather than the thousands of nuclear weapons poised for use right now. Read the full article in The Diplomat. http://bit.ly/1i1tR5z