My Blog Posts

• The Next Generation Speaks: Briefing on Critical U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy Initiatives
  04/14/2010 01:52:02 PM EST
  Invitation: Nuclear Weapons Policy Conference Call for Youth/Student Leaders, 4/20/10 Are you a member of your school’s debate team that has focused on U.S. nuclear weapons policy this year? Or a member of a campus-based group working on peace and security issues? Or simply a young person concerned about the future and wanting to be more involved? You are cordially invited to participate in a national conference call, The Next Generation Speaks – A Briefing and Discussion on Critical U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy Initiatives, on Tuesday, April 20, 7- 8:15pm EDT. To RSVP, please contact Sean Meyer at the Union of Concerned Scientists at smeyer@ucsusa.org or 617-301-8065. Please provide your full name, school and email address. The purpose of the call is to engage and inform young people on a range of timely, critical nuclear weapons issues and related events, including the recently completed START nuclear reductions agreement with Russia, the May Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, the Administration’s Nuclear Posture Review and prospects for the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). President Obama’s Deputy National Security Advisor, Ben Rhodes will join the call to provide his perspective on the policy landscape for critical and current nuclear weapons issues. In addition, there will be brief presentations by other experts, including senior policy experts and national nuclear weapons advocacy organizers. More details after the jump.
• Center Executive Director John Isaacs Discusses START on Russia Today
  01/29/2010 01:41:02 PM EST
  Last night, Center Executive Director John Isaacs was interviewed on the Russia Today news program on START. Watch the video to see John's views on the impact of the December 5th expiration of START and the timeline for finalizing its successor. Read the brief excerpt below, and then watch the video on our YouTube channel.

  Here we are, almost 20 years after the Cold War ended, and both the US and Russia still have huge [numbers of] – many tens of thousands – nuclear weapons. There are about 23,000 nuclear weapons across the globe, and Russia and the US have over 90% of them. And this treaty is designed to begin the reduction process, which then has to go much further beyond this treaty. The US Senate takes a long time to deal with this treaty, so even if the two presidents of Russia and the United States signed an agreement let’s say the next month, by February, it still will take several months, maybe many months, before the US Senate ratifies.

• 100 days into the Obama Administration
  04/28/2009 04:00:16 PM EST
  If you're paying any attention to the news, you know that this week marks 100 days into the Obama administration. While some media is downplaying its significance in light of other events, almost everyone is talking about it. And so are we. Given Obama's high approval ratings - as high as 69% by some counts - most reports are providing a largely positive analysis of his first 100 days. Some of our highlights? •    Made public statements with Russian President Medvedev of intentions to negotiate a successor to START by the end of 2009.
  •    Committed to “immediately and aggressively” pursue ratification of a Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty;
  •    Sent a video message to the people and leaders of Iran, indicating a willingness for dialogue between the two countries.
  •    Stated intention to host a Global Summit on Nuclear Security within the next year and secure all vulnerable nuclear material around the world within four years. Of course, there are always some reliable adversaries and even those who would prefer not to talk about it. But we're neither. Find the complete analysis on Obama's first 100 days from Center ED John Isaacs here.
• Center fellow appointed U.N. deputy envoy to Afghanistan
  03/26/2009 06:05:04 PM EST
  We're pleased to announce that just yesterday, the Center's Senior Diplomatic Fellow, Ambassador Peter Galbraith, was appointed U.N. deputy envoy to Afghanistan. His new appointment undoubtedly will be a challenging one as Amb. Galbraith will handle political issues in war-torn Afghanistan, as well as security reform and human rights issues. Under U.N. special envoy to Afghanistan Kai Eide, Amb. Galbraith will play a crucial role in setting the stage for the presidential election scheduled to occur in August.