Morning Joe: Lessons in Disarmament from the CWC

Stories we're following today:

Disarmament lessons from the Chemical Weapons Convention - Mikhail Gorbachev and Rogelio Pfirter in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists [link]

• The Chemical Weapons Convention has demonstrated that given the political will, eliminating weapons of mass destruction in an equitable and verifiable manner is feasible.
• With review conferences scheduled for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Biological Weapons Convention, and the CWC during the next three years, the international community should seize the moment and move decisively to rid the world of all weapons of mass destruction.

With Iran, Think Before You Speak - Sen. John Kerry in the New York Times [link]

• We can’t escape the reality that for reformers in Tehran to have any hope for success, Iran’s election must be about Iran — not America. And if the street protests of the last days have taught us anything, it is that this is an Iranian moment, not an American one.

ElBaradei Says Tight-fisted Donors "bastardising" IAEA - Reuters [link]

• Countries balking at raising the International Atomic Energy Agency's budget have "bastardised" the U.N. watchdog to the point where it is struggling to combat growing proliferation threats, the IAEA chief said on Tuesday.
• Nod to Nukes of Hazard for their post

My Interview Last Night with Rachel Maddow on the Situation in Iran

Lunar View

U.S. Shoots for the Moon, This Time to Stay - TIME [link]

• The goal is to station astronauts on the moon for months, not days, to conduct lunar studies and as training for later attempts to live on Mars. As NASA knew in the 1950s, however, before you can send humans to the moon, you need to send robotic scouts.