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Open Think Tank Articles
Jason Naselli: Demands that Iran (or anyone else) do not seek nuclear weapons are hard to swallow while the US clings to so many. The only real solution for solving problems like Iranian proliferation is a legitimate nuclear regime that treats all countries equally. This means getting more serious about disarmament.
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Editorial Team: Jamie Shea, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges, has answered your questions! Read his responses on a range of topics including cyber security, counter-terrorism, and NATO’s role in combating future non-military security challenges.
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Editorial Team: Join us for a Q&A session with Dr. Jamie Shea, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges. Dr. Shea will respond to your questions about how NATO deals with cyber defence, terrorism, the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and energy security.
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Gábor Iklódy: NATO’s new Emerging Security Challenges Division (ESCD) sends a strong political message and systematically brings together work on the areas that will increasingly affect the security of the Allies on both sides of the Atlantic: terrorism, cyber attacks, threats to energy supply, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
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Felix Haass: In the past, Transatlantic-Iranian relations have suffered from mutual mistrust on both sides. This has been a major impediment to a solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis. Any policy aimed at resolving the issue has to address these trust issues in one way or the other.
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Sascha Lohmann: A system of ‘concrete reciprocity’ is required between the Transatlantic partners and Tehran. Moreover, the psychological dimension and the domestic factors of Iranian nuclear politics also have to be taken into consideration.
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Felix F. Seidler: The situation in Iran will only change through the ousting of Ahmadinejad by democratic means. This will require the West to energize the opposition and youth of the country via the media.
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Alexandra Dobra: The apparent obligation of all States to ratify the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) faces three antagonistic variables; namely the State sovereignty, the global anarchy and the economic prospects.
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Saeb Sal Kasm: Successful resolution of the Iranian nuclear dilemma requires creative and skillful diplomatic engagement. Otherwise, the parties risk further isolation, politically charged rhetoric, and eventually escalation toward military confrontation.
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Video Stream: Atlantic-Community.org has broadcasted live from the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s conference “A World Without Nuclear Weapons or Nuclear Anarchy?” Speakers from international politics, industry and civil society discussed the dangers posed by nuclear weapons in the 21st century’s world order.
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Memo 19: A nuclear free world is an idealistic objective, but the aspiration towards it is an end in itself. The pursuit of Global Zero will discourage further nuclear proliferation. Atlantic-Community.org members recommend to focus on primary and intermediate steps towards nuclear abolition and not the ultimate goal of global zero.
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Robert G. Gard: Global Zero is dependent on compliance, which in turn relies on mutual trust between states in the international system that weapons will not be concealed. This appears remote and subsequently so too does the feasibility of such a goal as complete nuclear disarmament.
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Henry David Sokolski: Further proliferation of supposedly “peaceful” nuclear energy sources undermines the goal of Global Zero. We should replace the NPT concept of sharing technology in favor of limiting supplies, especially in trouble prone areas like the Middle East.
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Leon V. Sigal: The world needs to focus on first steps toward abolition, not the ultimate goal. Most importantly, before moving to Zero, the West has to achieve major efforts in its relations with North Korea and Iran.
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L. Korb and M. Wilkins: Even though a nuclear-free world may never be achieved, the aspiration is an end in itself. The steps towards Global Zero will help discourage nuclear proliferation. Ultimately, the feasibility of nuclear abolition will depend on the logic of nuclear deterrence being perceived as obsolete.
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Hall Gardner: There are five points political leaders must be convinced of if a consensus is to emerge on disarmament. Global proliferation destabilizes the political economy of whole regions and nuclear warfare is undeniably genetically genocidal. This is not to mention that empirical proof shows that nuclear weapons pose little deterrent to engaging in conventional warfare.
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Oliver Schmidt: In assessing whether Iran intends to build nuclear weapons, it can be concluded that whilst no evidence or ‘smoking gun’ for an Iranian nuclear program can be found, the available clues and arguments strongly suggest that Iran is pursuing a nuclear weapons option.
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Daryl Kimball: The next US president must take action towards nuclear disarmament in three distinct areas. He or she must pursue reductions in US and Russian nuclear arsenals, work towards ratifying the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and reassess and reduce the role of nuclear weapons.
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Marek Swierczynski: Brazil and Russia want to build fighter jets and rockets under the new agreement signed last week. The potential “superpower of the South” may be on its way out of the western camp and can speed up the creation of the world’s new order. Bad news.
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Matt Dupuis: The idea of bringing the production and storage of nuclear fuel under international control is gaining support once again. The US should take the lead in creating a global fuel bank which would make it possible to test countries’ intentions while limiting their access to nuclear technology.
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Alexander Bernhard Bitter: Missile defense for Europe is coterminous with NATO’s mission. The European policy of waiting for a new US administration is flawed, as the financial burden of the endeavor could shift heavily toward Europe.
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Dirk Niebel: Britain, France and Germany should get tough on Tehran through European economic pressure. Nuclear progress has already emboldened the government, and the West must take decisive action before it is too late.
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Global Must Read Articles
Three times during September’s UN General Assembly, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made an offer to stop weapons-grade uranium enrichment in exchange for access to specialized fuel for its research reactor. ++ President Obama should move quickly to take Iran up on their offer. ++ Though this will not solve the problem of a nuclear Iran, President Obama should ask himself the same
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A deal orchestrated by Russia for the swapping of Iranian low-enriched uranium has given the Kremlin a diplomatic victory over the US. Though Washington was quick to dismiss the deal as a delaying tactic that will not stall the implementation of tough new sanctions, president Medvedev insisted that the swap was an important step toward finding “a politico-diplomatic solution to the problem
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The Obama administration is currently working on new UN sanctions designed to cut off funding to Iranian nuclear and missile activities, as well as the Iranian Revolutionary Guard’s vast network of companies. ++ Chinese participation is a crucial component to any sanctions regime, yet so far, US overtures to Beijing to sign onto its sanctions campaign have been met with little success. ++
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The UN resolution banning North Korean weapons trade is ineffective as it requires the regime to consent to foreign inspection of its ships. ++ Yet, North Korea’s belligerent stance gives the US a go-ahead: announcing the end of the truce with South Korea, it allows the US, a combatant in the conflict and leader of the UN Command, to use force. ++ Risk of war is low, the danger of proliferation
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“A Q Khan, the […] self-confessed nuclear proliferator, is walking free.” ++ After announcing that his confession was made under duress, a secret agreement was made with the Pakistani government. ++ The international community will likely allow such lenience because of Pakistan’s strategic importance; US involvement in the deal remains under question. ++ It is more
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A petro-emboldened Russia is becoming resurgent in the Middle East. ++ With US power waning, Russia is seeking to fill the vacuum. ++ And they’re being well-received, as “autocratic and wealth-loving Russians” have more in common with the conservative majority of the region than “the US, with its pop culture and liberal democracy.” ++ Russia’s desire for a bloc
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India and the US are celebrating their new nuclear deal this week. ++ Critics fear an unraveling of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. ++ Notwithstanding, India will be one of the great world powers and there is an unfortunate, yet undeniable link between power and nuclear weapons. ++ Although it may be hypocritical to permit India and sanction Iran, India is a status quo power and a settled
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Israel faces a dilemma: If European diplomacy fails to halt Iran’s uranium enrichment program and Americans prove reluctant to launch another war in the Middle East under Bush, should Israel strike alone? ++ An attack could dangerously unite Iranians behind their president and influence the presidential race in the US. ++ But Israeli leaders believe in an emergency - estimates suggest Iran could
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The West is more concerned about who proliferates than whether someone degradates the Non-Proliferation Treaty. ++ A manageable relationship with Iran requires understanding its world view and equally and respectfully acknowledging its interests. ++ Security rewards should replace sanctions: Israel could for instance be warned “that any unilateral attack on Iran would force the US to reconsider
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Globalization means that international affairs no longer occur in a bipolar, unipolar, or even multipolar world, but rather “under conditions of nonpolarity.” ++ In this nonpolar world, coordination between actors is increasingly difficult, and agreements are rarely reached. ++ The problem of Iran, currently Israel’s top concern, will unlikely motivate the international community to act in
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The USA is not performing the transition to conventional weapons, which was meant to lessen the country’s dependence on nuclear weapons for defense. ++ US politicians and media are using the claim that Russia is boosting its military spending to justify the maintenance of the American nuclear arsenal. ++ Yet, even Russian generals are talking about the “weakness of Russia’s nuclear
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Bush and Olmert’s allusions to war with Iran are the result of their foreign and domestic policy predicaments. ++ Both leaders need to create a diversion to save themselves politically, and “if either - or both - should order a military strike against Iran, it will not be because Iran has done anything that could seriously threaten either Israel or the US.” ++ Since Iran has thus far remained a
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Cooperation between Russia and the US on issues of nonproliferation is vital for America’s national security. ++ The agreement now before the US Congress would help the US and Russia create an international fuel bank that could provide nuclear-fuel services internationally and thus undercut countries who falsely claim to be perusing uranium enrichment for civilian purposes. ++ While Russia should
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In foreign policy, both Republicans and Democrats favor negotiation. ++ Yet McCain realizes “where diplomacy is appropriate, and where more fortitude is required” and this creates a distinction. ++ There are real downsides to the unconditional upholding of soft diplomacy. ++ Besides the cost of negotiation in terms of time and resources, it provides terrorists or leaders of state sponsors of
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While Iran’s nuclear program frustrates the West and demonstrates “the limits of American power,” feelings of satisfaction and success unite Iranians. ++ Western incentives for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment - such as commercial contracts - are unimaginative and defective. ++ Since Iran’s regional hegemonic ambitions won’t ebb, the US and its EU Allies should encourage a plan that trades
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The National Nuclear Security Administration announced the US had reduced its nuclear warheads stockpile. ++ Yet the US continues to upgrade its nuclear arsenal which is the world’s largest. ++ Since the US has not ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and has never committed to “No First Use of Nuclear Weapons,” US policies could lead to an arms race with
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Having unwisely abandoned the 1994 Clinton deal that kept North Korea from producing plutonium, the Bush administration’s shift from past confrontational rhetoric is promising. ++ A first step is the assessment of plutonium production capacity thanks to disablement of Yongbyon reactor. ++ Easing of vilification and sanctions together with bipartisan support in the US are necessary to get
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During Merkel’s visit, Israel needs to clarify that Germany must support tougher sanctions, break diplomatic ties, and end governmental trade subsidies with Iran. ++ Brown and Sarkozy are already supportive of more restrictive sanctions, but if Germany remains indecisive, effective action against Iran will be impossible. ++ Israel only further endangers itself claiming that Germany is doing
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