Readers can find the report here. More on the report and reactions to it latter.
Archive for December 2nd, 2008
Report Released: Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism
Posted by K.E. White on December 2, 2008
Posted in Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruc | Tagged: Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruc | Leave a Comment »
Blog-On-Blog– The Ties that Bind, And the Ties That Don’t: US-India Nuclear Deal
Posted by K.E. White on December 2, 2008
Nima Maleki argues that the nuclear deal between the United States and India “explicitly binds India into several foreign relations policies demanded of it by the US in exchange for cooperation on limited access civilian nuclear technology and fuel.”
That would make the US-India nuclear deal quite the twilight accomplishment for the Bush administration. Unfortunately, such a superficial reading on the deal misses both the letter of the agreement and it’s practical impact.
First, let’s inspect the agreement itself. While Maleki is correct in noting that American presidents now have the right to suspend the nuclear cooperation if India is found to be proliferating weapons technology, performing nuclear tests or using this cooperation to enlarge their arsenal, such restrictions have proven toothless in the past.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged: India, Nuclear Deal, U.S. India Nuclear Deal, United States | Leave a Comment »
Japanese Nuclear Flare Up Running Only On Fumes? Removed Air Force Chief Defends Revisionist Wartime History Views & Calls for Nuclear Weapon Debate
Posted by K.E. White on December 2, 2008
Gen. Toshio Tamogami, the former Air Self-Defense Force Chief of Staff who was fired after publishing an essay that opposed viewing WWII-era Japan as an aggressor nation, has now called for national debate over whether to develop nuclear weapons.
But does this comment merit sounding the nuclear alarm bell? No. Not only is Japan’s governing party—the LDP—backing away from Tamogami’s comments, polls for Japan’s upcoming elections suggest ballot-box disaster for the LDP and the military-nationalistic ambitions some LDP members hold.
Instead it appears any changes to Japan’s pacific constitution will be aimed at charting a ‘middle power’ path: where Japan aims to flex more military muscle, but within the confines of its alliance with the United States and current constitutional parameters.
Bloomberg News reports on Tamogami’s call for a nuclear weapons debate in Japan:
Posted in Japan, Nuclear Weapons | Tagged: Japan, Nuclear Weapons, Toshio Tamogami | Leave a Comment »
Michael Krepon & Shuja Nawaz discuss India-Pakistan Relations After Last Week’s Terrorist Attacks on PBS
Posted by K.E. White on December 2, 2008
Below is the transcript from tonight’s NewsHour discussion of India-Pakistan relations days after the Mumbai terrorist attacks. Michael Krepon, co-founder of the Stimson Center, and Shuja Nawaz, author of Crossed Swords: Pakistan, Its Army, and the Wars Within, offer a refreshingly nuanced discussion about the challenges facing Pakistan, India and America after last week’s deadly events. Ray Suarez moderates the discussion.
One can listen to the program here, but reading the transcript—which includes helpful hyperlink resources—may help flesh-out the discussion.
Highlights:
- Pakistan’s military stress in combating terrorist groups in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas
- Pakistan’s past links—through Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence Service—to the group thought responsible for the India attacks, Lashkar-e-Taiba
- India’s frustrating position: facing public pressure for decisive action, but all options in front of it—full scale military movement in Pakistan, a limited military response, or air-strikes against terrorist bases in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir—have serious drawbacks
- America’s delicate role as mediator. On the one hand, the United States must stand with India—a critical new partner in the region, with whom a nuclear deal was just approved. On the other hand, Pakistan—a domestically turbulent nuclear power—plays a critical role in battling Al Qaeda and other terrorists along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Below is the transcript from the NewsHour segment:
Ray Suarez: “Michael Krepon, today India pointed to Pakistan and said it is demanding strong action against those who perpetrated this action. What does that mean? What can Pakistan do at this point?”
Posted in India, Pakistan, Terrorism | Tagged: Cold Start, India, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Michael Krepon, Pakistan, Shuja Nawaz, Terrorism | Leave a Comment »
