Disarmament Times
by Rhianna Tyson
Spring 2009
With the ushering in of the Obama administration, the mood of the international security community has drastically changed. We have moved far from that low point in May 2005, when the Review Conference of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) collapsed in acrimony. Cooperation and respect for the rule of law have returned as primary principles of US policy, and President Barack Obama’s call for cautious optimism has been adopted by most. We can now reasonably expect concerted efforts towards advancing many of the “13 practical steps” toward nuclear disarmament agreed to at the 2000 NPT Review Conference, such as negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT), deeper cuts in the US and Russian arsenals, and even progress towards the entry-into-force of the Comprehensive nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)….
Jonathan Granoff is the President of the Global Security Institute, a representative to United Nations of the World Summits of Nobel Peace Laureates, a former Adjunct Professor of International Law at Widener University School of Law, and Senior Advisor to the Committee on National Security American Bar Association International Law Section.