Tag: CTBT

Ban the Bomb Test

Hagel favors Senate approval of nuclear test ban treaty voted down in 1999

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AP

Defense secretary-designate Chuck Hagel favors amending the defeated Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) that was rejected by the Senate in 1999 as unverifiable and against United States security interests. According to a “dear colleague” letter sent to senators shortly after the treaty’s defeat, Hagel, who voted with Republicans in opposing ratification, stated that he strongly believed the treaty was not dead, and urged senators to begin work on a “verifiable nuclear test ban.”

Nuking the Nuke Ban

Inability to confirm nuclear blasts continues to dog test ban treaty despite new study and Obama’s push for ratification

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AP Images

An interagency intelligence assessment of the controversial Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) concludes that verifying the pact’s ban on nuclear tests remains difficult and that verification problems remain unresolved since the Senate first rejected the treaty in 1999. U.S. officials familiar with the assessment said the negative estimate contrasts with a new, more optimistic, assessment of the treaty set for release on Friday by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).