Avatar photoTune In Tokyo; NFIRE Set to Launch

Hey, all. I am in Tokyo, attending a conference, Collective Security in Space: Asian Perspectives on Acceptable Approaches sponsored by the Space Policy Institute, Center for Nonproliferation Studies and the Research Institute for Peace and Security. I was having breakfast with John Logsdon who reminded me that the Near Field Infra Red Experiment (NFIRE) is …

Avatar photoExtend START

Jennifer Mackby and Edward Ifft remind us that START is set to expire and that letting START expire would suck: The crowning international security agreement that reduced and stabilized nuclear forces in the former Soviet Union and the United States is set to expire in 2009. [snip] START established an ingenious and highly effective monitoring/verification …

Avatar photoWhat About the OTHER Bomb Factory?

Dafna Linzer helpfully confirms that the IC is sticking with its 2015 estimate for an Iranian bomb, noting that Iran still cannot operate continuously its cascades of centrifuges: “The whole game for the Iranians is to present a fait accompli,” said one U.S. official who agreed to discuss sensitive aspects of the program on the …

Avatar photo1,300 Centrifuges at the FEP

Ah, the mighty “told you so.” Paul and moi expressed skepticism last week that Iran had 3,000 centrifuges, sticking with the six cascades (984) reported at the end of March plus one or more 164-machine cascades after. Now, Paul points to AP, Reuters (Heinrich) and AFP reporting “Iran has provided information to the agency that …