Current Nuclear Threat Worse Than During Cold War

File image of the first Soviet nuclear test.

U.S. NGOs want to ban Kazakhstan from nuclear technologies
Washington (RIA) Jul 20 - Four non-governmental organizations in the United States have called on the Bush administration to ban Kazakhstan from nuclear technologies and from buying 10% in the Westinghouse nuclear power company from Japan's Toshiba. Greenpeace, Essential Action, Knowledge Ecology International, and Nuclear Information and Resource Service opposed the deal between Kazakhstan's state company Kazatomprom and Westinghouse, saying it would undermine non-proliferation efforts and hand over sensitive nuclear technologies to the Kazakh regime, which they described as cruel, repressive and undemocratic. The organizations' letter, which has been sent to a U.S. Treasury committee for foreign investment, also said Kazakhstan's nuclear facilities and materials were not protected, and added some people in the country were involved in illegal trade in nuclear materials.

by Staff Writers
Washington (RIA Novosti) Jul 20, 2007
The risks of an accidental nuclear war have increased since the Cold War as Russia's early warning capability has deteriorated, a former U.S. defense official said. William J. Perry, who is a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution and co-Director of the Preventive Defense Project at Stanford University, said in congressional testimony Wednesday that "the danger of nuclear war occurring by accident" still existed.

"Both American and Russian missiles remain in a launch-on-warning mode," Perry, who served as U.S. defense secretary in 1994-97, said. "And the inherent danger of this status is aggravated by the fact that the Russian warning system has deteriorated since the ending of the Cold War."

After the collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s, Russia has heavily depended on its radars located abroad, particularly the Daryal facility in Azerbaijan and two Dnepr stations in Ukraine, near Sebastopol and Mukachevo.

Some reports said the outdated radar facilities that Moscow is renting on the territories of former Soviet republics were in poor conditions, and Russia had developed "holes" in its early-warning missile threat coverage.

In the same testimony, Perry blasted the Bush administration for concentrating its efforts on building defenses to protect the U.S. from a potential ballistic missile threat, while downplaying the danger of nuclear terrorism.

"The centerpiece of our government's strategy for dealing with a nuclear attack is the

National Missile Defense system now being installed in Alaska," he said.

"But the greatest danger today is that a terror group will detonate a nuclear bomb

in one of our cities," the expert said.

"Terrorists would not use a ballistic missile to deliver their bomb, they would use a truck or a freighter," Perry said, adding that a missile shield alone would not reduce the nuclear threat to the country.

Source: RIA Novosti

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NUKEWARS

Missiles In Kaliningrad

Washington (UPI) Jul 05, 2007
The ballistic missile defense showdown in Central Europe between the United States and Russia took another grim leap forward this week: Russian First Deputy Premier and former Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that if the Bush administration pushed ahead with its plans, Russia would respond by openly deploying ballistic missiles targeted on the bases in its oblast or region of Kaliningrad.

SUPERPOWERS Russia Rejects NATO Offer As Crisis Looms Over CFE Bush And Putin Still Partners Russia Has Everything To Win By Freezing Treaty Russia Pulls Out Of Key European Arms Treaty	NUKEWARS Korean Nuke Talks End Without Deadline But Skeletons Remain Current Nuclear Threat Worse Than During Cold War North Korea Willing To Disable All Nuke Programs Russia Ready To Consider Dismantling North Korea Reactors
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AEROSPACE Sensors May Monitor Aircraft For Defects Continuously Sarkozy, Merkel To Tackle Airbus Problems Sukhoi Super Jet: The Great White Hope Of The Russian Aircraft Industry Goodrich Contributes Technology For Environmentally-Friendly Engine Research Program	UAV NEWS US Marine Corps Begins Transitioning To Shadow Tactical UAS South Korea Seeks To Acquire Sensitive Spy Planes Air Force Chief Of Staff Initiates MQ-1 Predator Plus-up Northrop Grumman Proves BAMS Mission Control System Design
IRAQ WARS Broad Failure In Middle East Facing Realities In Iraq Part 3 US Troops Find Iranian Rockets Aimed At Iraq Base More GOP Senators Break Ranks With Bush Administration	MILTECH Northrop Grumman Begins Work To Equip B-2 Bomber With Massive Penetrator Weapon BAE Systems Delivers First Lightweight RPG Protection Kits For RG-31 Air Force Uses New Technology In Cleanup See Acquire And Target For Destruction

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