FAS Strategic Security Blog

On July 1, 1968 the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was opened for signature, codifying for the first time a legally binding obligation to achieve nuclear disarmament. This year marks the 40^th anniversary of this historic arms control treaty, to which every state in the United Nations except three has been a party (India, Pakistan, and Israel have never been signatories - North Korea withdrew from the Treaty in 2003).

Much has been written about whether the NPT regime is failing, in need of revision, or simply outdated. The NPT regime faces many challenges: nuclear weapons now enjoy a prominent place in the security policies of nuclear weapon states and new plans have been designed for their use including preemptive and preventive actions; materials and technology obtained from the civilian nuclear cooperation promoted by the Treaty could be used to manufacture nuclear bombs; a black market in nuclear technology and materials has been discovered; and the global rise in energy demand has put nuclear energy into the mix of solutions to this emerging crisis, despite the proliferation risks associated with advanced fuel cycle technology. Some voices counter that, with very few exceptions, the principles of the Treaty have prevented the widespread proliferation of nuclear weapons envisaged in the 1960’s by President Kennedy. One thing is clear: renewed commitment from the highest levels of government will be necessary to achieve the goals of the NPT and enable the processes and norms associated with the Treaty to peacefully navigate through the challenges it is facing and maintain its relevance for the future. Continue reading »

written by agodsberg \\ tags: international law, npt, treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, UN

The nuclear base at Volkel is pixeled out on Google Earth (why, Google?). Click on image to download map of the base (note: 1 MB). Image: GoogleEarth (outline and label added)

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By Hans M. Kristensen

The Dutch Government today rejected the findings of the U.S. Air Force’s Blue Ribbon Review, saying the safety and security at the nuclear weapons base at Volkel Air Base in the Netherlands “are in good order.”

The Blue Ribbon Review final report in February concluded that “most” nuclear sites in Europe do not meet U.S. safety requirements and that it would take “significant additional resources” to bring them up to standard. The disclosure of the findings has led to calls in some European countries that the remaining tactical nuclear weapons should be withdrawn.

Continue reading »

written by hkristensen

On June 12, 2008 Senators Richard Burr (R- North Carolina) and Edward Kennedy (D- Massachusetts) introduced S.3127, a bill to reauthorize the Select Agent Program by amending the Public Health Service Act and the Agricultural Bioterrorism Protection Act of 2002 and to improve oversight of high containment laboratories. To provide a context for the content of the bill, the AAAS Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy hosted a briefing featuring Gigi Kwik Gronvall from the UPMC Center for Biosecurity, Nancy Connell from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and David Relman from Stanford University.

Gronvall gave a brief background of the Select Agent Program which is run jointly by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service at the US Department of Agriculture. She also made the point that the SA program is focused on security, but high containment laboratories and protocols are designed primarily to provide safety, not security.

Connell, a research scientist who works with select agents, contrasted the week or two it took to plan an experiment before the SA program was put in place to the 6-12 months it takes now. Experiments are also much more expensive, cumbersome, and according to Connell “what is missing now is an environment of transparency and collaboration.”

Relman, who is also a member of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) underscored the fact that there are risks associated with expanding biotechnology, but there are also enormous benefits. For example, he highlighted the new NIH Human Microbiome Project “basically the human genome project on steroids”, an initiative to map the genomes of all the microorganisms that live on the human body - providing a tremendous amount of information. Relman also expressed concerns about overusing and over-relying on the SA program because regulates access to agents that are found naturally and provides a very specific list that could be circumvented with synthetic or engineered agents.

The bill has now been referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

written by cvos

More than 100 U.S. nuclear bombs have been withdrawn from RAF Lakenheath, the forward base of the U.S. Air Force 48th Fighter Wing.  Image: GoogleEarth

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By Hans M. Kristensen

The United States has withdrawn nuclear weapons from the RAF Lakenheath air base 70 miles northeast of London, marking the end to more than 50 years of U.S. nuclear weapons deployment to the United Kingdom since the first nuclear bombs first arrived in September 1954.

The withdrawal, which has not been officially announced but confirmed by several sources, follows the withdrawal of nuclear weapons from Ramstein Air Base in Germany in 2005 and Greece in 2001. The removal of nuclear weapons from three bases in two NATO countries in less than a decade undercuts the argument for continuing deployment in other European countries.

Continue reading »

written by hkristensen

The Federation of American Scientists has joined 16 prominent scientific and engineering groups to ask all Congressional candidates seven questions on the science and technology policies that affect all of our lives.

The November election will be a critical moment for science and technology policy in the United States. Voters must know where the candidates stand on issues such as climate change, the environment, and soaring energy prices.

Innovation 2008 is a voter education initiative from Scientists and Engineers for America (SEA) to make science and technology a prominent part of the 2008 elections. Ask your candidates today!

For more information please visit: http://sharp.sefora.org/innovation2008/.

written by Michael Stebbins \\ tags: Congress, Elections

On June 18, 2008 the National Biodefense Science Board held their second meeting. The NBSB was created under the 2006 Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act and was established to provide expert advice and guidance to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on scientific, technical, and other matters of special interest to HHS regarding activities to prevent, prepare for, and respond to adverse health effects of public health emergencies resulting from chemical, biological, nuclear, and radiological (CBRN) events, whether naturally occurring, accidental, or deliberate. During the inaugural meeting of the NBSB on Dec 17-18, 2007 members were sworn in and working groups were formed to consider the issues members felt were important.

The meeting began with a presentation from Robin Robinson, the newly named the Director of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA), on “Old & New Perspectives at BARDA”. Whereas in the past initiatives for CBRN threats and Pandemic Flu were independent projects within BARDA, and BioShield was used for high risk acquisition tasks, these have all been integrated under the new BARDA strategy. During both this and a later presentation, Robinson described BARDA’s interest in the possibilities of personal preparedness. He described the progress made on small medical kits (MedKits) containing doxycline to treat anthrax that could be stored by individuals in their homes in case of an emergency. He also discussed the plans for influenza-focused antiviral MedKits. On what became the hot topic of the day, Robinson solicited input from the board on the issues surrounding home stockpiling, whether it is safe, effective, and worthwhile. He also asked for input on what should be the  right balance of government and personal strategies for preparedness.

Later in the day Robinson continued the discussion of personal preparedness and invited comments from Richard Besser of the CDC and Boris Lushniak of the FDA. Besser and Lushniak discussed public safety issues with personal stockpiling as well as some of the underlying problems with antibiotic resistance, drug expiration, product labeling and other regulatory issues.

In their December meeting, the NBSB had expressed an interest in biosurveillance. To address this, Capt. Daniel Sosin of the CDC briefed the board on the draft National Biosurveillance Strategic Plan. The NBSB has also indicated a concern for vulnerable populations in the event of pandemic of other major public health emergency, and therefore invited Susan Cooper from the Tennessee Department of Health to come and talk about this issue. Cooper gave an overview of the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) Guidance document on “At-Risk Populations and Pandemic Influenza: Planning Guidelines for State, Territorial, and Local Health Departments”.

The NBSB also heard from C. Norman Coleman from the Radiation Research Program at HHS and Richard J. Hatchett from the Radiation Countermeasures Research and Preparedness program at NIAID. Coleman presented some of the strategies within the Radiation Management System and Hatchett discussed providing support services for radiation countermeasures product development.

Amy Patterson, executive director of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) provided an overview of NSABB efforts to the NBSB. The NSABB has a similar mandate as the NBSB, and has been working since 2005 on issues of dual-use research of concern. Patterson focused on the NSABB’s recent recommendations on synthetic genomics and their draft oversight framework for dual-use research.

Throughout the day the Chairs of the working groups which were formed in December (Pandemic Influenza, U.S. Government Medical Countermeasures Processes for CBRN Agents, Markets and Sustainability, and Disaster Medicine) gave progress reports. In addition, a new subcommittee on Disaster Mental Health was introduced.

Finally, the NBSB discussed their recommendations and future activities. The members expressed interest in looking more carefully at the issue of personal preparedness. To this end it was decided that a working group be formed to deal specifically with the issue. It was also decided that no formal recommendations be made to Secretary Leavitt at this time, however, they would ask the Secretary to review the comments made by individual members on the topics of personal preparedness and home stockpiling during the meeting.

The next NBSB meeting will be held in November 2008.

written by cvos

Members of the 704 Munition Support Squadron at Ghedi Torre in Italy are trained to service a B-61 nuclear bomb inside a Munitions Maintenance Truck. Security at “most” nuclear bases in Europe does not meet DOD safety requirements, a newly declassified U.S. Air Force review has found. Withdrawal from some is rumored. Image: USAF

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By Hans M. Kristensen  [article updated June 26 following this report]

An internal U.S. Air Force investigation has determined that “most sites” currently used for deploying nuclear weapons in Europe do not meet Department of Defense security requirements.

A summary of the investigation report was released by the Pentagon in February 2008 but omitted the details. Now a partially declassified version of the full report, recently obtained by the Federation of American Scientists, reveals a much bigger nuclear security problem in Europe than previously known.

As a result of these security problems, according to other sources, the U.S. plans to withdraw its nuclear custodial unit from at least one base and consolidate the remaining nuclear mission in Europe at fewer bases. Continue reading »

written by hkristensen

Yesterday the CUBRC Center for International Science and Technology Advancement held a symposium entitled “Promoting Mutual Security and Development through Bioscience Cooperation”. The meeting focused on ways to promote cooperation and networking across organizations to create a more prosperous and secure world.

Dr. Leonard Marcus of the Department of Health Policy and Management at Harvard University began the day by discussing the qualities of leaders that successfully link disparate groups and organizations. His remarks were especially relevant considering the diverse background and expertise of individuals and organizations involved in cooperative bioscience projects.

Continue reading »

written by nhafer

On Thursday, June 12 the House Foreign Relations Committee met for over three hours and heard testimony from members of the Committee, a representative of the Bush administration, and expert witnesses regarding the pros and cons of supporting the Agreement Between the United States and Russia for Cooperation in the Field of Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy (Agreement) that President Bush submitted to Congress. As discussed in an earlier blog, the Agreement will have to sit before the Congress for 90 continuous days, and will pass unless Congress enacts a joint resolution of disapproval. Such legislation, H.J.Res 85, has already been submitted by Congressman Edward J. Markey (D – MA), a staunch opponent to nuclear power and thus to civilian nuclear cooperation agreements. The mood of those legislators at the hearing was generally one of skepticism, as members of Congress searched for reasons to support the Agreement. Continue reading »

written by agodsberg \\ tags: 123 Agreement, GNEP, nonproliferation, Russia

Today the American Association for Advancement in Science (AAAS) Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy sponsored a briefing on Capitol Hill entitled “Understanding President Bush’s FY2009 Biodefense Budget Request.” Dr. Alan Pearson of the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation was the featured speaker at the event and his presentation was followed up by comments from distinguished roundtable panelists.

Dr. Pearson has done an in-depth analysis of federal biodefense funding and his full report “Federal Funding for Biological Weapons and Defense, Fiscal Years 2001 to 2009″ is available online. Today Dr. Pearson presented data from this report and highlighted some trends. On the whole, since FY02, federal biodefense funding has remained relatively consistent between 5 and 7 billion dollars each year. In addition to this, Project BioShield received 3.3 billion dollars in FY04 and FY05 and is slated to receive an additional 2.175 billion in FY09 (which will bump total FY09 spending to nearly 9 billion). Overall, the bulk of funding is received by the Department of Defense, the National Institutes of Health, and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. More than half of the funding goes towards research, development, testing and evaluation (RDT&E) as well as medical countermeasures procurement and stockpiling. In general, funding for these activities as well as surveillance and food and agriculture needs has been increasing since FY03, but money provided for state and local hospital preparedness is actually declining.

Dr. Pearson also pointed out that funding for prevention projects as compared to RDT&E projects decreased to about 3% of total biodefense spending immediately following September 11, 2001. For FY08 and FY09, funding has returned to 7%, which is approximately equal to the pre-9/11 levels. Other trends Pearson mentioned were the increased focus on global engagement as opposed to focusing on the former Soviet Union, and an increased emphasis on infectious disease surveillance, biosafety and biosecurity.

Immediately following Dr. Pearson’s presentation the roundtable panelists each added a few comments of their own. Dr. Brad Smith of the UPMC Center for Biosecurity said a few words about medical countermeasures. Specifically he noted that this really isn’t a large amount of money in defense terms, and likely isn’t adequate for the long term nature of drug development and testing to protect the entire nation.

Dr. Gerald Epstein from the Center for Strategic and International Studies continued by pointing out that this really isn’t a problem that can be addressed using an export control model as has been done in the past for nuclear material. In this case the spread of biotechnology is necessary to promote long-term capacity building worldwide, and the dual-use nature of it presents the security problem.

Dr. Eric Toner of the UPMC Center for Biosecurity briefly brought up the lessons learned from the 2001 anthrax attacks. He noted that hospitals are better prepared today to handle an event and have greatly improved the communications networks within their region and with first responders.

Dr. James Roth from Iowa State University discussed agriculture and food defense. He argued that this sector is underfunded because the U.S., since the end of World War II, has always had plenty of (cheap) food available. This has dramatically changed, and now the lack of agriculture and food security present huge vulnerabilities.

Finally, Dr. Georges Benjamin from the American Public Health Association talked about infectious disease surveillance and public health preparedness. He highlighted the fact that within the U.S. there is no culture of civilian preparedness; that most people have not recognized this issue as part of their daily lives and have not made family disaster plans.

written by cvos