Tactical Nuclear Weapons Likely to Remain in Germany

Today's top nuclear policy stories, with excerpts in bullet form.

Stories we're following today: Tuesday October 12, 2010.

Nuclear Weapons Likely to Stay in Germany – Spiegel International [link]

• German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has long shown an interest in having the remaining atomic weapons based in Germany removed.
• Now, with NATO foreign ministers meeting this week to prepare for November's summit in Lisbon, it looks as though Westerwelle isn't going to get his way.
• In a secret draft of the new NATO Strategic Concept currently under development -- and which has been seen by SPIEGEL -- the nuclear weapons stationed in Germany are not mentioned. Furthermore, the document urges that NATO's nuclear posture must take into account the disparity with the larger Russian arsenal of nuclear short-range missiles.
• In a speech at the German Marshall Fund in Brussels last Friday, NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, while avoiding specifics, said that "our job remains to deter attack against our citizens, which means that as long as there are nuclear weapons in the world, NATO must retain nuclear weapons as well."
• The issue of Russian nuclear weapons is sure to come up during the NATO foreign ministers meeting…The draft Strategic Concept includes a reference to cooperation with Russian in the creation of a missile defense system.

Iran Says It Will Be Ready for Nuclear Talks Within a Month – Bridget Johnson in The Hill [link]

• Iran's foreign minister said Saturday the Islamic Republic will be ready for talks with the U.S. and other world powers on its nuclear program within a month.
• The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council — the United States, China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom — plus Germany have been pressuring Iran to come to the table on its nuclear program, which Tehran claims is for energy purposes.
• Iran has repeatedly said the sanctions levied against its country over the nuclear program have not had a negative effect.
• Iran's first nuclear plant is expected to be fully loaded with fuel by mid-November.
• Mottaki said the exact date of talks, the level of talks and a venue for discussions are being negotiated, Mehr News Agency reported.

NATO Needs a Missile Defense – Anders Fogh Rasmussen in The New York Times [link]

• Next month, NATO’s leaders will meet in Lisbon and decide whether the alliance should build a missile defense for Europe.
• We are already working to provide missile defense for the protection of our troops deployed on operations. By expanding this program and connecting it with the United States’ missile defenses, NATO would be able to defend European populations and territory from missile attack as well.
• Missile defense won’t be cheap, but neither will it break the bank. The current NATO program to provide a NATO missile defense system for troops deployed on operations is costing €800 million spread over 14 years, and shared by all allies. For less than €200 million more from our common budget, over 10 years, this program could be expanded to enable NATO to defend European populations and territory.
• The Lisbon summit should be the occasion for NATO to make the decision to expand the capability to protect our populations and territories — and, at the same time, reach out to Russia to cooperate with us and share the benefits.

N. Korea Starts Leadership Succession Process – AFP [link]

• North Korea has officially begun a succession process from leader Kim Jong-Il to his youngest son, South Korea's president said Monday, a day after Pyongyang put the son on show at a massive parade.
• The North Sunday staged a huge military parade attended by Kim Jong-Il and the son Kim Jong-Un, who late last month was given key promotions to solidify his status as heir apparent.
• The North's parade, broadcast live on television in a rare move, gave many North Koreans their first extensive look at the young heir apparent.
• Jong-Un, believed to be aged about 27, was catapulted into the limelight in late September with promotions to four-star general and to powerful ruling party posts.

The Lighter Side

Russia Inflates Its Military With Blow-up Weapons - Steve Rosenberg of BBC News [link]

• The Russian military has come up with an inventive way to deceive the enemy and save money at the same time: inflatable weapons.
• When the men pump up their next piece of plastic, this one expands into a S-300 rocket launcher, complete with giant truck and inflatable rockets. It is a cross between a ballistic missile and a bouncy castle.
• The decoys are a hundred times cheaper than the real thing, which means Moscow will save a lot of money by blowing up its own weapons.
• They are also very realistic. They are made of a special material that tricks enemy radar and thermal imaging into thinking they are real weapons.
• What they lack in firepower, they make up for in flexibility: they are light and can be deployed quickly to deceive the enemy.