Opportunities for Arms Control

In the coming years, important decisions are due on the global control of military capabilities. START I will be terminated in 2009, the NPT-Review conference in 2010 must be brought to a successful outcome and the blockade of CFE must be overcome. In all these cases US engagement is indispensable for success. A number of trends in the US, says Kimball in the talk with German security policy experts, seem to point to a change of the unilateral American nuclear policy. US Congress has withheld money for nuclear weapons development and has demanded a START follow-up. Former security politicians from the conservative field, like Henri Kissinger and George Schultz, plead for a devaluation of nuclear weapons. Barack Obama has supported this approach. The „confluence of thought“ of Democrats and Republicans might open a window of opportunity to regain American leadership for strengthening the Nonproliferation regime. Europe, says the arms control expert, should take influence now: The partners should press the US to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and to start a dialogue about the counting rules in a new START agreement. Europe should stand for recognizing Russian concerns about US-missile defense. In the discussion, some ideas were voiced in agreement – such as expanding START to other nuclear weapons states – and criticism – finally, its not a lack of disarmament that put the NPT in danger, but a lack of compliance.

The ACA s the leading American NGO working for arms control and nonproliferation. The talk was organized on cooperation between DGAP and ACA.

Dr. Henning Riecke was responsible for organizing the event.