May 8th, 2009
That early approval of an agenda should be hailed as extraordinary progress speaks volumes about where the NPT review process has been, but this time around early success on the agenda supports realistic expectations for some more tangible achievements. But the first big challenge was still to get past the agenda dispute. In the failed […]
Read MoreMay 5th, 2009
Canada took the floor early in yesterday’s opening session of the 2009 PrepCom,[i] opting for what has to be regarded as a rather low-key approach. Details will come in subsequent statements on particular issues or themes, but two things stand out from Canada’s overview statement.[ii] The first is that Canada did not join the many […]
Read MoreMay 2nd, 2009
The final Preparatory Committee meeting (PrepCom) for the critically important 2010 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) begins Monday (and runs through to May 15) amid a radically improved political environment. For the first time in eight years, States assembling in New York for another NPT PrepCom will find nuclear disarmament, even abolition, […]
Read MoreApril 22nd, 2009
That was the debate question at a recent “wars with words” session at the Canadian War Museum.[i] The debaters were Major-General (ret’d) Lewis MacKenzie and myself. What follows is a slightly abbreviated version of my opening statement. It’s clear that historically, Canada has been prominently and sacrificially engaged in both peacekeeping and warfighting. And it […]
Read MoreApril 14th, 2009
For now it remains a proverbial trial balloon, but a possible US switch from a single-minded focus on suspending Iran’s uranium enrichment to an emphasis on transparency would be a positive step – and it would be a demand that Iran would find much more difficult to resist. The New York Times is reporting that the Obama administration […]
Read MoreApril 7th, 2009
Todays Globe and Mail responded to President Barack Obama’s Prague speech on nuclear disarmament with an editorial entitled, “The bomb is here to stay.” Mr. Obama, the editorial declares, “cannot seriously believe that a world without nuclear weapons is possible.” The following was sent to the G&M as a letter to the editor. The American […]
Read MoreApril 5th, 2009
As anticipated,[i] the just concluded 60thAnniversary NATO Summit in France and Germany launched a process to review the Alliance’s Strategic Concept, including its nuclear weapons doctrine, with a view to adopting a new strategy at the next Summit. The final paragraph of the declaration on Alliance Security[ii] speaks of “renovating the Alliance,” which begs the […]
Read MoreMarch 29th, 2009
Can the Taliban become allies in the campaign against al Qaeda? The Globe and Mail began its main story on President Barack Obama’s new approach to Afghanistan[i] by reporting that the President is “vowing to ‘disrupt, dismantle and defeat’ the Taliban and al Qaeda.” In fact, the President pointedly did not promise to “defeat” the […]
Read MoreMarch 26th, 2009
Some 2,000 of the world’s 25,000 nuclear warheads are on constant high alert on missiles that could be launched within minutes of an order to do so. Most governments and security experts have come to the conclusion that these missiles should be “de-alerted.” Why is Canada reluctant? During the 2008 US election campaign, Candidate Barack […]
Read MoreMarch 15th, 2009
In contrast to the United States, Canada largely manages to avoid exporting major Canadian military commodities directly to countries at war.[i] A recent report out of the US[ii] shows the Pentagon’s Foreign Military Sales program to have entered into arms sales agreements in 2006 and 2007 with 20 out of the 27 countries then at […]
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