atomicarchive.com Nuclear News

Sneak Peak

2008-05-01T19:43:00.001-07:00

We've been working on adding some Google Map work to the site. Here is a sample of our efforts (http://atomicarchive.com/Almanac/Testing-Google.shtml)

Feedback is welcomed!

On Nuclear Terrorism

2008-04-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

Council on Foreign Relations hosted a talk last November with Michael A. Levi author of On Nuclear Terrorism.
The audio can be heard here: http://uc.princeton.edu/main/images/stories/podcast/20071120MichaelLeviCFR.mp3

Korean Nuclear Declaration Could Arrive This Month

2008-04-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

North Korea appears ready to issue a full declaration of its nuclear holdings and activities this month, Bloomberg reported.

The list was expected Dec. 31 as part of the second phase of North Korean denuclearization, for which the isolated nation stands to receive economic, diplomatic and security benefits. However, the process has stumbled amid U.S. assertions that Pyongyang had failed to address key segments of its nuclear program.

Envoys from Pyongyang and Washington reportedly reached a tentative deal last week under which North Korea would provide details of its plutonium-based programs while acknowledging U.S. suspicions regarding uranium enrichment efforts and support for a Syrian nuclear program. [via Nuclear Threat Initiative]

New Book: Atomic Tragedy: Henry L. Stimson and the Decision to Use the Bomb Against Japan

2008-04-19T11:08:00.000-07:00

Cornell University Press is pleased to announce the release of Sean L. Malloy's newest title, Atomic Tragedy: Henry L. Stimson and the Decision to Use the Bomb Against Japan.

Atomic Tragedy offers a unique perspective on one of the most important events of the twentieth century. As Secretary of War during World War II, Henry L. Stimson (1867–1950) oversaw the American nuclear weapons program. In a book about how an experienced, principled man faltered when confronted by the tremendous challenge posed by the intersection of war, diplomacy, and technology, Sean L. Malloy examines Stimson’s struggle to reconcile his responsibility for “the most terrible weapon ever known in human history” with his long-standing convictions about war and morality.

Ultimately, Stimson’s story is one of failure; despite his beliefs, Stimson reluctantly acquiesced in the use of the atomic bomb against heavily populated Japanese cities in August 1945. This is the first biography of Stimson to benefit from extensive use of papers relating to the Manhattan Project; Malloy has also uncovered evidence illustrating the origins of Stimson’s commitment to eliminating or refining the conduct of war against civilians, information that makes clear the agony of Stimson’s dilemma.

Cornell Press is offering a 20% discount, to our readers.

Shultz on Nukes - Then & Now

2008-04-19T10:54:00.000-07:00

Former secretary of State George Shultz has joined several other former U.S. officials — Henry Kissinger, William Perry, and Sam Nunn — in directing the Nuclear Security Project, which is aimed at “ending nuclear weapons as a threat to the world.” According to Shultz, times have changed. The doctrine of deterrence that existed during the Cold War no longer applies. The number of nations pursuing nuclear weapons has metastasized, and the non-proliferation regime has unraveled. Hence, we need a new objective: a world free of nuclear weapons. [ via Uncommon Knowledge on National Review Online]

France to cut nuclear arsenal

2008-04-07T21:20:00.000-07:00

French President Nicolas Sarkozy announced cuts in France's atomic arsenal but vowed to keep a strong enough deterrent against threats such as the possibility of a nuclear-armed Iran.

He said the airborne nuclear strike force would be cut by a third, leaving France with fewer than 300 warheads.

2020 Vision Campaign

2008-03-19T19:04:00.000-07:00

The 2020 Vision Campaign was launched in 2003 by Mayors for Peace, an international association led by the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The purpose of the campaign is to eliminate all nuclear weapons by 2020. We have been quite successful at the UN and mayoral levels, but in order to succeed with our ambitious goal we absolutely must extend the campaign to the grassroots level. To do that, we need to raise more money for the campaign than Hiroshima and Nagasaki can provide on their own. Amazingly, the two A-bombed cities have donated more than a quarter of a million dollars each year to Mayors for Peace!

At present, Mayors for Peace has more than 2020 member cities in 127 countries. If we could raise a mere 1000 dollars from each member city, we would have $2 million. With that, we could greatly increase our capacity to raise public awareness and create the political will that just might prevent a nuclear catastrophe. Based on feedback from several of our 116 US members, we believe the most effective way to get 1000 dollars from each American city is for the residents to raise $500, then take that $500 to the mayor and ask him or her to match it. So, what we are suggesting is:

Go to http://www.mayorsforpeace.org/english/membercity/northamerica.html and find out if your mayor is a member of Mayors for Peace. If so, go directly to step 4.
If your mayor is NOT a member, contact Mihoko Ishizaki at: mayorcon@pcf.city.hiroshima.jp. Tell her you want to approach your mayor, and she will send you a recruiting package. (You can decide together whether you want it by physical mail or email.) Please also contact Mayors for Peace U.S. coordinator Jackie Cabasso at: jackie@2020visioncampaign.org and let her know what youre planning.
Gather a small group of constituents, visit your mayor and ask him or her to join Mayors for Peace. My guess is that most mayors will say yes.
Fill in the application and get Hiroshima to send you the exhibition materials (A-bomb posters, CDs, DVDs and books).
Find a room or corridor or even an outdoor space where you can put up about 35 posters (each poster is 3 feet by 2 feet). Hopefully, the exhibition can stay up for at least a couple weeks, but even if you have to put it up and take it down the same day, it would make for a good event.
Choose a day, invite a speaker, invite a poet or musician, and hold a 2020 Vision Campaign Fundraising Party. Please feel free to contact Jackie for ideas.
If you can get 50 people to give you $10, or 100 people to give you $5, or five people to give you $100, you will have your $500. If you get a few more people to give you a little more, you will have enough to pay yourself back for whatever you spend on the party.
When you have the $500, contact us and we will give you a letter from Mayors for Peace to your mayor asking him or her to match your $500. Take your money and the letter to your mayor and ask for the match. We are quite optimistic that your mayor will be happy to give it to you. Then, send us the $1000, and your city will have done its duty for the 2020 Vision Campaign!

For more information about Mayors for Peace and the 2020 Vision Campaign, please go to: www.mayorsforpeace.org and www.2020visioncampaign.org

Whether you hold a fundraising party, a peoples hearing or neither, please think of some way to use our exhibition materials to raise consciousness and help us protect our collective future. Detailed information about our A-bomb exhibitions and an application form are at: http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/images_e/poster/letter.html and http://www.pcf.city.hiroshima.jp/images_e/poster/application.html. Please help Hiroshima get this message out: What happened to us is so horrible that it must never happen to anyone else. No more Hiroshima! No more Nagasaki! No more Hibaksusha! The battle against nuclear weapons is one we can and must win.

The Manhattan Project and its Cold War Legacy

2008-02-13T09:11:00.000-08:00

The Manhattan Project and its Cold War Legacy
February 20, 2008 (4:00 - 6:00pm)
5th Floor Conference Room
Woodrow Wilson Center
Visit www.cwihp.org for more information and to RSVP The Wilson Center's
Cold War International History Project will sponsor an in-depth discussion of the Manhattan Project and its Cold War legacy. This session will feature William Lanouette and James Hershberg as well as veteran Robert Furman, who directed the first atomic intelligence unit. The panel will be moderated by Cynthia C. Kelly, editor of The Manhattan Project: The Birth of the Atomic Bomb in the Words of its Creators, Eyewitnesses, and Historians (Black Dog & Leventhal, 2007).

Wish I lived in the DC area.

New Book

2008-01-25T20:11:00.000-08:00

Atomic Tragedy: Henry L. Stimson and the Decision to Use the Bomb Against Japan

Atomic Tragedy offers a unique perspective on one of the most important events of the twentieth century. As secretary of war during World War II, Henry L. Stimson (1867–1950) oversaw the American nuclear weapons program. In a book about how an experienced, principled man faltered when confronted by the tremendous challenge posed by the intersection of war, diplomacy, and technology, Sean L. Malloy examines Stimson's struggle to reconcile his responsibility for “the most terrible weapon ever known in human history” with his long-standing convictions about war and morality.

Ultimately, Stimson's story is one of failure; despite his beliefs, Stimson reluctantly acquiesced in the use of the atomic bomb against heavily populated Japanese cities in August 1945. This is the first biography of Stimson to benefit from extensive use of papers relating to the Manhattan Project; Malloy has also uncovered evidence illustrating the origins of Stimson's commitment to eliminating or refining the conduct of war against civilians, information that makes clear the agony of Stimson's dilemma.

The ultimate aim of Atomic Tragedy is not only to contribute to a greater historical understanding of the first use of nuclear weapons but also to offer lessons from the decision-making process during the years 1940–1945 that are applicable to the current world environment. As the United States mobilizes scientists and engineers to build new and supposedly more “usable” nuclear weapons and as nations in Asia and the Middle East are replicating the feat of the Manhattan Project physicists at Los Alamos, it is more important than ever that policy makers and analysts recognize the chain of failures surrounding the first use of those weapons at Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

You can pre-order the book at amazon.com

North Korea miss Dec 31 declaration deadline

2008-01-02T08:57:00.000-08:00

Well it is now January 2nd, and North Korea as expected North Korea missed the deadline for “providing a complete and correct declaration of its nuclear programs.”

Although, this would a have made a great New Year's gift, this issue doesn't seem to as troublesome as Faux News would tell the world, yet.

For some much better thoughts on this take a read at armscontrolwonk.org and the Reuter's story about it.

I would write more about it, but today my twins turn 7!

U.S. to cut nuclear weapons stockpile

2007-12-19T14:49:00.000-08:00

The Bush administration said Tuesday that it would make a 15% reduction in the nation's stockpile of nuclear weapons, taking the overall inventory down to less than a quarter of its size at the end of the Cold War in 1991.

A major effort to retire older weapons was accomplished five years ahead of schedule, allowing the new round of cutbacks, said Thomas P. D'Agostino, chief of the National Nuclear Security Administration. The additional cuts would be done by 2012.

The overall size of the nation's nuclear inventory is classified. But under the terms of a 2002 treaty, the U.S. and Russia are committed to reducing deployed weapons on missiles and aircraft to between 1,700 and 2,200 by 2012.

It is believed the U.S. holds about 4,000 additional weapons in reserve status, though those numbers are classified.

Separately, the Energy Department on Tuesday unveiled a long-term plan to modernize and reduce the size of its weapons research and production complex, saying it would cut about 20% of its current 37,000 workers and close about one third of its facilities. [via Los Angeles Time]

NIE Report: Iran Halted Nuclear Weapons Program Years Ago

2007-12-03T10:21:00.000-08:00

ABC News' Martha Raddatz, Jonathan Karl, Luis Martinez and Kirit Radia Report: In a stunning reversal of Bush administration conventional wisdom, a new assessment by U.S. intelligence agencies concludes Iran shelved it's nuclear weapons program over four years ago.

"We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program," reads a declassified version of the National Intelligence Estimate key findings.

"We judge with moderate confidence that the earliest possible date Iran would be technically capable of producing enough highly enriched uranium (HEU) for a weapon is late 2009."

The entire NIE report will remain classified, however the office of the Director of National Intelligence released a declassifed version of the key findings that can be read HERE.

More analysis from the New York TImes.

5 Myths About the Bomb and Us

2007-12-03T09:10:00.000-08:00

Take a moment and read Jeffery Lewis' 5 Myths About the Bomb and Us, you will be glad you did.

Book Review: Spying on the Bomb

2007-11-30T20:32:00.000-08:00

The development of nuclear weapons in the 20th century changed the world like no other scientific event. For more than 60 years, the United States has monitored friends and foes seeking to develop nuclear weapons. In the book, Spying on the Bomb: American Nuclear Intelligence from Nazi Germany to Iran and North Korea, author Jeffrey T. Richelson, has written a detailed and authoritative account of the U.S. nuclear intelligence efforts. Richelson is a senior fellow at the National Security Archive and author of several books on American intelligence.

This book explores both the successes and failures--from the early days of World War II to the present day. Richelson examines the nuclear projects of Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, China, France, Israel, India, South Africa, Taiwan, Libya, Pakistan, Iran and North Korea, as well as Iraq. Each chapter chronologically focuses on the nuclear activities of one or more countries, intermingling what the United States believed was happening, with accounts of what actually occurred in each country's laboratories, test sites, and decision-making leadership. He draws heavily from recently declassified documents and interviews with scientists and spies involved in nuclear espionage.

Every nation that moved to join the nuclear club presented new problems for U.S. intelligence gathering. The book examines the work of the CIA and other intelligence agencies in identifying and providing the details about those nuclear programs as well as the agencies' efforts to monitor and evaluate nuclear testing. The book also highlights the methods used to detect nuclear tests including long-range aircraft mounted with filters to catch radioactive debris, a network of stations to measure seismic waves and early satellites that would eject film capsules to be caught mid-air by planes.

Of great interest is examining the failures by the intelligence community, such as the failure to detect Indian preparations for tests in May 1998. By far, the most serious failure of all was in Iraq in 2003, because in no other case did the intelligence assessments serve as justification for the use of military force. The book also examines the double flash detected by the Vela satellite over South Africa in 1979. Since it wasn't the South Africans (they weren't ready to test), was it an Israeli device or an equipment malfunction?

The 700-page book contains new information, photographs, maps, reference notes, a good index, and is well written. Although dense, it is perfect for wonks like me.

Book Review: Bomb Scare

2007-11-29T20:19:00.000-08:00

Today's headlines are filled with the real threats of nuclear proliferation. But how does the average person attempt to grasp these issues? In a new book, Bomb Scare, by Joseph Cirincione, this problem is addressed in a clear and understandable tone.

Bomb Scare offers a comprehensive review of the history and theory of nuclear weapons, as well as the options before us. Cirincione begins with the first atomic discoveries of the 1930s and covers the history of their growth all the way to the current crisis with Iran. He unravels the science, strategy, and politics that have fueled the development of nuclear stockpiles and increased the chance of a nuclear terrorist attack. He also explores why many nations choose NOT to pursue nuclear weapons.

But rather than leave the reader without hope of escaping from under the nuclear threat, Cirincione offers an outline of a solution to the world's proliferation problem: a balance of force and diplomacy, enforcement and engagement, that yields a steady decrease in these deadly arsenals.

The book is a straight forward, insightful and thought provoking work. It gives the general reader a clear understanding of this issue. For those not familiar with the author, he is the Vice President for National Security at the Center for American Progress in Washington, D.C., and teaches at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and has served as the director for nonproliferation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

Iran Running 3,000 Centrifuges, Ahmadinejad Says

2007-11-07T17:24:00.000-08:00

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said today that his nation is operating 3,000 uranium-enriching centrifuges, a milestone in a nuclear program that Western powers suspect could be aimed at nuclear weapons development, the Associated Press reported.

2008 Nonproliferation Challenge Essay Contest

2007-11-02T15:26:00.001-07:00

The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies and The Nonproliferation Review are pleased to announce the Doreen and Jim McElvany 2008 Nonproliferation Challenge Essay Contest, featuring a $10,000 grand prize and a $1,000 prize for the most outstanding student essay (students are eligible to win the grand prize).

We are looking for the best new ideas on how to address contemporary nonproliferation challenges from nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, including those involving both state and non-state actors.

Entries should not exceed 10,000 words (including endnotes) and must be the original, unpublished work of the author(s) and not under consideration for publication elsewhere. The submission deadline is March 31, 2008.

Complete contest rules and instructions can be found at

http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/npr/contest/index.htm

Why Did They Called It the Manhattan Project?

2007-11-02T13:46:00.000-07:00

The New York Times has a wonderful article on that question. In The Manhattan Project (Black Dog & Leventhal), published last month, Dr. Norris writes about the Manhattan Project’s Manhattan locations. He says the borough had at least 10 sites, all but one still standing. They include warehouses that held uranium, laboratories that split the atom, and the project’s first headquarters — a skyscraper hidden in plain sight right across from City Hall.

The article has a video interview with Stan, who I had a chance to meet a few years back. In addition, they also have nice interactive map of the various sites in NYC.

Inspectors in North Korea

2007-11-01T10:30:00.000-07:00

A team of US atomic inspectors arrived in North Korea on Thursday after expressing confidence that the historic disablement of the isolated nation's nuclear facilities would go smoothly.

North Korea has pledged to begin taking apart its nuclear facilities, going further than it ever has before in meeting foreign pressure to scrap atomic capabilities it has been building up since the 1950s.

The nine-member US team arrived in the North Korean capital Pyongyang on a flight from Beijing, China's state-run Xinhua news agency said.

They are destined for the main Yongbyon atomic reactor where they will supervise disablement work expected to begin next week. [via Yahoo! News]

Pilot of plane that bombed Hiroshima dies

2007-11-01T09:48:00.000-07:00

Paul Tibbets, who piloted the B-29 bomber Enola Gay that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, died Thursday.

Tibbets died at his Columbus home, said Gerry Newhouse, a longtime friend. He suffered from a variety of health problems and had been in decline for two months.

Tibbets had requested no funeral and no headstone, fearing it would provide his detractors with a place to protest, Newhouse said. [via MSNBC.com

Clean Up in Desert

2007-10-26T09:27:00.000-07:00

New satellite imagery show that a Syrian site believed to have been attacked by Israel last month no longer bears any obvious traces of what some analysts said appeared to have been a partly built nuclear reactor.

"It took down this facility so quickly it looks like they are trying to hide something," said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security, which analyzed the images.

An image taken Wednesday by a DigitalGlobe commercial satellite shows tractors or bulldozers and scrape marks on the ground where the building stood in photos taken prior to the September Israeli attack. The Syrians reported an attack by Israel in early September; the Israelis have not confirmed that.

Now that the site has been razed, it is going to be harder to figure what was there...

Infomation:
Arms Control Wonk
CNN
New York Times

US to begin disabling NKorean nuclear program in three weeks

2007-10-19T12:47:00.000-07:00

US experts are to begin disabling North Korea's nuclear weapons arsenal in about three weeks, the State Department said Thursday following talks in Pyongyang.

The timeframe was given by Sung Kim, the head of the US State Department's Korea desk, who completed talks with North Korean officials on the nuclear disablement mission, said Tom Casey, a department spokesman.

North Korea agreed earlier this month to disable key facilities at the Yongbyon complex and declare all other nuclear programs by the end of the year.

In exchange for these actions, China, South Korea, the United States, Japan and Russia would supply North Korea with energy and other aid and offer up diplomatic concessions to the isolated nation. [ via Yahoo! News]

New Doubts for U.S.-India Nuclear Deal

2007-10-18T13:54:00.000-07:00

[Sorry for all the posts, but I been busy with the 'real' job.]

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has raised new doubts about a nuclear trade deal with the United States, telling President Bush by telephone on Monday night that his government was having “certain difficulties” finalizing it. The agreement is bitterly opposed by Mr. Singh’s left-wing allies in Parliament, who maintain his government’s majority there and argue against closer ties to the United States. [via New York Times]

Israel-Syria

2007-10-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

Jeffery weighs in on the recent Israeli attack on 'something' in Syria. As always, a good read @ armscontrol.wonk

Russia plans new nuclear weapons

2007-10-18T13:46:00.000-07:00

President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Russia was working on new types of nuclear weapons as part of a "grandiose" plan to boost the country's defenses.

"We will develop missile technology including completely new strategic (nuclear) complexes, completely new." Putin said in an annual televised question-and-answer session with Russian citizens. "Work is continuing and continuing successfully."

"We have plans that are not only big, but grandiose, they are fully realistic. Our armed forces will be more compact but more effective and better ensure Russia defense," Putin said. [via Yahoo! New]