FAS in the News

This weekly digest provides links to headlines that feature FAS projects, staff, and important issues. Stay up-to-date with FAS IN THE NEWS.

Roundup For Week Ending July 16, 2010

Mexican Drug Cartels’ Newest Weapon: Cold War Era Grenades Made in U.S.A – Washington Post – 16 July 2010:
“The administrations of Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush sent 300,000 hand grenades to friendly regimes in Central America to fight leftist insurgents in the civil wars of the 1980s and early 1990s, according to declassified military data obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by the Federation of American Scientists.”

Hard to Protect Helos From Insurgent RPG Fire – Army Times – 16 July 2010:
“Matt Schroeder, manager of the Arms Sales Monitoring Project at the Federation of American Scientists, said funding of these systems has been “money well spent,” as MANPADS have appeared in arms caches in Iraq and, to a lesser extent, in Afghanistan.”

Obama Plan Outlines Reductions in U.S. Nuclear Arsenal – Washington Post – 14 July 2010:
“The documents, which were sent in May to key members of the House and Senate Armed Services and Appropriations committees, were made public this week by the Federation of American Scientists and the Union of Concerned Scientists, two nonpartisan groups specializing in nuclear weapons…Hans M. Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists said his analysis of NNSA’s stockpile plan showed spending of “a whopping $175 billion over the next 20 years for new nuclear weapons factories, testing and simulation facilities, and warhead modernizations.”

U.S. Plans to Increase Nuclear Spending – Los Angeles Times – 14 July 2010:
“We have to think carefully about what signal we’re sending to other countries,” said Hans Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists.

Obama Plans to Cut Up To 40 Percent of Nukes – Salon – 14 July 2010:
“The document was presented to Congress in May and posted Tuesday on the websites of the Federation of American Scientists and the Union of Concerned Scientists.”

Obama Plans to Cut Up To 40 Percent of Nukes – Associated Press – 14 July 2010:
“The document was presented to Congress in May and posted Tuesday on the websites of the Federation of American Scientists and the Union of Concerned Scientists.”
* Also ran in Baltimore Sun, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, Orlando Sentinel.

Fewer Nukes, More Cash: Energy Department Wants $175 Billion for Weapons Complex – Wired – 13 July 2010:
“According to an Energy Department plan submitted to Congress in May that the Federation of American Scientists and the Union of Concerned Scientists obtained and published, the department’s National Nuclear Security Administration proposes to slash the 5,000-warhead nuclear arsenal down to “approximately 3,000 to 3,500″ warheads. So far, so clear. Nukes going down. President Obama’s plan for a nuke-free world going up. But then the hedges come in. The Federation points out that the nuclear-arms reduction treaty with Russia making its way through the Senate, known as New START, would create a substantially smaller arsenal, allowing the U.S. to maintain up to 1550 deployed warheads. When not speaking for attribution, administration officials express hope that before the Obama leaves office, they’ll be able to conclude another treaty with Russia that cuts the arsenal even further.”

U.S. Details Planned Nuclear Stockpile Cut, Funding Priorities – Global Security Newswire – 13 July 2010:
“The United States foresees eliminating between 30 and 40 percent of its nuclear weapons within 12 years, slashing its existing stockpile of more than 5,100 weapons down to fewer than 3,500 bombs, the Federation of American Scientists concluded yesterday in an analysis of the nation’s stockpile management plan (see GSN, May 4; Hans Kristensen, Federation of American Scientists, July 12). ”The 3,000 to 3,500 total warhead target is a ceiling,” Hans Kristensen, heads of the federation’s Nuclear Information Project, said in a statement. “Of course, the United States could reduce its arsenal to even lower levels through negotiated agreements with Russia and the other nuclear-weapon states.”

DOE Plan to Cut Nuke Weapons by 40 Percent – United Press International (UPI) – 13 July 2010:
“The Federation of American Scientists and the Union of Concerned Scientists released the U.S. Department of Energy’s fiscal 2011 budget, which calls for reducing the arsenal to 3,000 to 3,500 warheads — as much as a 40 percent reduction.”

Iran Vows to Increased Enriched Uranium Stock Sixfold by 2011 – BusinessWeek – 12 July 2010:
“Enriching uranium to 90 percent from 20 percent accounts for about half the time needed to get the raw heavy metal into the concentrated form needed for a weapon, Federation of American Scientists physicist Ivan Oelrich said in a May 19 note. Iran is “perfectly capable” of enriching to 90 percent, he said.”

Entering the Secret World of Wikileaks, National Public Radio (NPR), Show: Fresh Air – 14 July 2010:
“Now I read that Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists Secrecy News blog was invited at some point to get involved with WikiLeaks and looked it over, and he’s somebody who believes in disclosure, and declined. Do you have cases like this where people who are interested in whistle-blowing and exposing government wrongdoing look at WikiLeaks and say, not so sure about this?”

This weekly digest provides links to headlines that feature FAS projects, staff, and important issues. Stay up-to-date with FAS IN THE NEWS.

Roundup For Week Ending January 29, 2010

Energy, safety and nuclear capabilities intertwined – ScienceNews – 30 January 2010:
On January 1, Charles D. Ferguson became president of the Federation of American Scientists, a nongovernmental organization founded in 1945 by Manhattan Project scientists to promote humanitarian uses of science and technology. Ferguson worked at FAS 10 years ago as director of its nuclear policy project, and he returns after working from 2004 to 2009 at the Council on Foreign Relations as part of the Independent Task Force on U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy. Science News assistant managing editor Kristina Bartlett Brody asked Ferguson to discuss nuclear energy and nonproliferation.

New Palestinian Charter Drops Mention of Zionism, Sparking Questions – Huffington Post: 28 January 2010:
Fatah, led by Palestinian National Authority president Mahmoud Abbas, met last year to revise its charter for the first time in decades and that revision has just been translated by the Director of National Intelligence’s Open Source Center, a copy of which was obtained by the Federation of American Scientists’ Secrecy News blog.

START-ing Without China – Disarmament talks between the United States and Russia should include Beijing — Wall Street Journal: 27 January 2010:
How big is China’s arsenal? Beijing is not telling. Western analysts have been guessing, with wildly divergent assessments. The highly respected Federation of American Scientists believes the People’s Liberation Army now has 240 nuclear devices, of which 180 are strategic in nature.

Canadian Tamil Tiger Supporter Sentenced to 26 Years in Prison – Software engineer tried to buy guns, missiles for terrorist group – Ottawa Citizen: 23 January 2010:
Expert Matt Schroeder said the sentences sought by prosecutors were not out of line considering the grave threat posed by the illicit trafficking of missiles. “I think it’s perfectly reasonable to levy that kind of punishment.” “They’re highly sought after,” said Schroeder, manager of the arms sales monitoring project at the Federation of American Scientists. “Anybody who attempts to acquire missiles on U.S. soil really runs a risk of being nabbed in a sting operation,” he said.

Sarachandran jailed for 26 years for trying to aid Tamil Tigers Unlikely arms dealer – National Post: 23 January 2010:
Surface-to-air missiles are a hot commodity on the black market. Rebel groups want them to repel air strikes and terrorists want them to target commercial aviation, such as the 2002 Strela-2 missile attack on an Israeli airliner in Mombassa, Kenya. ”They’re highly sought after,” said Mr. Schroeder, manager of the arms sales monitoring project at the Federation of American Scientists.

Report Backs End of Bombers’ Nuclear Role – Air Force Times: 18 January 2010: “If they retire the cruise missile, that marks the end of the B-52 in the nuclear bomber business,” said Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists. Despite the report, the Air Force wants a next-generation bomber capable of delivering nuclear weapons, according to recently retired Lt. Gen. Bob Elder.