The Claremont Institute is happy to announce that the 2009 report of the Independent Working Group has now been released and is available for download. Entitled Missile Defense, the Space Relationship, and the Twenty-First Century, the report includes updated chapters on the ballistic missile threat, the politics of missile defense, and a summary of what must be done to defend America.
The Independent Working Group is co-chaired by Dr. Robert Pfaltzgraff, President of the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis, and by Dr. William R. Van Cleave, Professor Emeritus of the Department of Defense and Strategic Studies at Missouri State University. Distinguished members and advisors include missile defense, space, and security experts from the scientific, technical, and national security policy communities.
First released in 2007, the 2009 update recommends that the Pentagon build on the legacy of technologies developed under the Strategic Defense Initiative of the Reagan administration. Sea- and space-based assets should constitute the backbone of a robust, layered U.S. missile defense shield, which ground-based systems should support. Such a defense would be capable of protecting the U.S., its allies, and troops abroad against the threat of hostile missile attacks from any quarter. The missile threat continues to increase as rogue nations and transnational terrorist organizations attempt to acquire ballistic missile technology and weapons of mass destruction. The report praises the Bush Administration for withdrawing from the 1972 ABM Treaty and beginning modest deployments, but criticizes the Bush administration's failure to deploy a more robust system fully capable of defending the United States, our troops, and our allies.
Members of the Working Group also include Brian T. Kennedy, President of the Claremont Institute, and Thomas Karako, Director of Programs at the Claremont Institute and editor of Missilethreat.com. Sponsors and authors of the IWG report include eight think-tanks headquartered in Washington D.C., California, Alaska, Missouri, and Massachusetts.
Also new to the 2009 report is the rapporteurs' report of the Claremont Institute's 2008 conference Missile Defense Challenges for the Twenty-First Century, held in Dearborn, Michigan. Ambassador John Bolton delivered the conference's keynote address; Senator Jon Kyl and Representative Trent Franks also addressed conference participants. (Article) » 2007 Report
Published on Arms Control Association (http://www.armscontrol.org) The Nuclear Testing Tally Fact Sheets & BriefsComprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)Nuclear TestingNuclear Testing Category and Description Nuclear Testing Fact Sheet, February 2007 Press Contacts: Daryl Kimball, Executive Director, (202) 463-8270 x107 Negotiated and opened for signature in 1996, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) prohibits all nuclear explosions. The CTBT will formally enter into force after 44 designated "nuclear-capable states" have deposited their instruments of ratification with the UN secretary-general. To date, 138 countries have ratified the treaty and another 39 have signed the accord. Yet of the 44 specified countries, India, Pakistan, and North Korea still have not signed, while another seven countries (China, Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, and the United States) have not completed ratification.
United States (1,030) First tested: July 16, 1945. Last tested: Sept. 23, 1992. Signed CTBT: Sept. 24, 1996. USSR/Russia (715 tests) First tested: Aug. 29, 1949. Last tested: Oct. 24, 1990. Deposited CTBT Ratification: June 30, 2000..
United Kingdom (45 tests) First tested: Oct. 3, 1952. Last tested: Nov. 26, 1991. Signed CTBT: Sept. 24, 1996. Deposited CTBT Ratification: Apr. 6, 1998.
France (210 tests) First tested: Feb. 13, 1960. Last tested: Jan. 27, 1996. Signed CTBT: Sept. 24, 1996. Deposited CTBT Ratification: Apr. 6, 1998.
China (45 tests) First tested: Oct. 16, 1964. Last tested: July 29, 1996. Signed CTBT: Sept. 24, 1996.
India (3 tests1) First tested: May 18, 1974. Last tested: May 13, 1998. Not a CTBT signatory.
Pakistan (2 tests1) First tested: May 28, 1998. Last tested: May 30, 1998. Not a CTBT signatory.
North Korea (1 test) First tested: Oct. 9, 2006. Not a CTBT signatory.
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