ISSUE AREAS:

Nuclear and WMD

Latest Publications

• The real cost behind Trident Replacement and the Carriers, by , by Professor Paul Dunne, Dr Samuel Perlo-Freeman and Paul Ingram, 7 October 2007.
  This report outlines the annual opportunity cost of Trident Replacement and the Carriers to be £5bn, or 40% of the defence equipment budget, every year for the lifetime of the vessels, a cost unjustifiable at a time of tightening public budgets.

• Nuclear Terrorism: A U.S. Perspective, by Steve Monblatt, BASIC Notes, 25 April 2007. Also available as a pdf file at: http://www.basicint.org/pubs/Notes/BN070425.pdf

• The UK Trident Vote Explained, by Dr Ian Davis, BASIC Notes, 15 March 2007. Also available as a pdf file at: http://www.basicint.org/pubs/Notes/BN070315.pdf

• Don’t Rush: Premature replacement of Trident could be costly. The choice is clear: invest the money proposed for an early decision on Trident replacement in better equipment, pay and conditions for our troops. BASIC Trident Briefing Number 3, March 2007.

• Don’t Rush: The benefits of not replacing Trident could be considerable. On March 14 Parliament will decide whether the UK commits now to building a new generation of nuclear-armed submarines. But what kind of relationship do we want to have with the rest of the world? BASIC Trident Briefing Number 2, March 2007.

• Present at the Creation: U.S. Perspectives on the Origins and Future Direction of the Proliferation Security Initiative, by Ian Davis, David Isenberg and Katherine Miller, BASIC Paper No. 54, February 2007. Also available as a pdf file at: www.basicint.org/pubs/Papers/BP54.pdf.

• The Proliferation Security Initiative: Targeting Iran and North Korea? by Richard Bond, BASIC Paper No. 53, January 2007. Also available as a pdf file at: http://www.basicint.org/pubs/Papers/BP53.pdf.

• BASIC Report Oceans of Work: Arms Conversion Revisited, by Dr Steven Schofield. This report puts the case for diverting resources away from nuclear submarine manufacture to a 'national needs' programme of civil R&D and manufacture, including major investment in off-shore renewable energy, both for security of supply and to help tackle the growing international threat for climate change. 24 January 2007.

• BASIC Briefing: UK Trident Replacement, too important to rush into, 14 December 2006. In a White Paper published on 4 December 2006 the Government decided to maintain the current Trident based nuclear deterrent by procuring a new class of submarines. There are several reasons for believing that this decision is premature and can be delayed for a further 8-10 years. There are also significant military, strategic, procurement and diplomatic benefits to holding off a decision for another parliament. Given these advantages, the onus was on the Government to justify such an early decision. The White Paper fails to do this. See BASIC press release, 14 December 2006.

• BASIC Green Paper on Trident replacement, 1 December 2006. The government has announced that it intends to publish its White Paper on Monday 4 December 2006, with an announcement to the House soon after an emergency Cabinet meeting. BASIC's Green Paper highlights a number of reasons why it is unnecessary, and undesirable, to rush into a decision at this point. It also raises an alternative option that has so far been largely ignored within the debate, namely the strategy of Britain becoming a virtual nuclear weapon state. See BASIC press release, 1 December 2006.

• Launch of Briefing Book for the BWC Sixth Review Conference 2006, 9 November 2006. The British American Security Information Council (BASIC), the Harvard-Sussex Program and VERTIC have prepared a 'Briefing Book for the BWC Sixth Review Conference 2006.

• US-North Korean Relations Timeline: 1853-2006, BASIC background on the series of events that have influenced the current political stand-off over North Korea's nuclear program, 18 October 2006.

• Does Britain need to replace Trident: You Decide, Beyond Trident Briefing Paper, September 2006. Tony Blair has put the question of a replacement for Britain’s nuclear weapon system, Trident, onto the agenda for this parliament... Britain’s choice will not only have national implications; it will also have ramifications for the course of nuclear non-proliferation and international security for generations to come.

• Resolving the nuclear dispute with Iran by negotiation by Keith Putnam-Delaney and Paul Ingram, BASIC Notes, 1 September 2006. Also available as a pdf file at: http://www.basicint.org/pubs/Notes/BN060901.pdf.

• Trident: Do we really need to make the decision now? by Paul Ingram, BASIC Special Briefing, 25 July 2006. The current rush to decide on Trident replacement is unnecessary, reduces military flexibility and interoperability with the United States, further undermines the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and stymies an open debate. Also available as a pdf file at: http://www.basicint.org/pubs/SB060725.pdf.

• Nuclear Deterrence: a tried and tested defence strategy or an elaborate belief system masquerading as scientific theory? Tony Blair has turned a potential six year opportunity to discuss whether or not to replace the Trident nuclear weapon system into a six month rubber-stamping exercise glazed with a veneer of parliamentary accountability without a hint of the promised open debate... Some legacy, says Nigel Chamberlain, BASIC Notes, 20 July 2006.

• New Proposal to Iran: Will It Be Enough to Defuse the Nuclear Crisis? by Ian Davis and Paul Ingram, BASIC Notes, 9 June 2006. On June 6 Iran was presented with a revised package of incentives to persuade it to curb its uranium enrichment programme... This Note is a preliminary analysis of this draft P5+1 proposal. Also available as a pdf file at: http://www.basicint.org/pubs/
  Notes/BN060609.pdf.

• BASIC welcomes timely WMD report: British and French nuclear weapons programmes at "a crossroads", BASIC Media Advisory, 5 June 2006.

• Britain to Participate in US 'Sub-Critical' Nuclear Test , BASIC Press Release, 23 February 2006. The United Kingdom will participate today in a sub-critical nuclear test conducted by the United States at the Nevada Test Site. A Department of Energy video of the experiment is available at: http://www.nv.doe.gov/library/
  films/other.aspx?ID=152

• A Constructive EU-US Approach to the Iran Nuclear Dispute, Expert Statement, 6 December 2005.

• Proliferation Security Initiative: Combating Illicit WMD Trafficking, a new section on the BASIC website, November 2005.

• Raising the stakes: Iran's resumption of nuclear activities, by Andreas Persbo, BASIC Notes, 20 September 2005.

• Preliminary analysis of E3/EU proposal to Iran by Paul Ingram, BASIC Notes, 11 August 2005.

• EU3 negotiations with the Islamic Republic of Iran: Not out of the woods yet and time is short, very short, BASIC Notes, July 2005.

• Breakthrough or Bust in 2005? A series of BASIC and Oxford Research Group briefings published for the 2005 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, held in New York from 2 - 27 May 2005.

• The Missile Defence Debate Gap in Britain: As Wide As Ever in 2004, by Leyla Kattan and Nigel Chamberlain, BASIC Notes, 24 February 2005.
  
  
• Your BASIC Nuclear Weapons Policy Blog. Visit BASIC's nuclear weapons, nonproliferation, and missile defense blog at http://basicint.blogspot.com/
  
  
• Congress Stops 2005 Funding for New U.S. Nuclear Weapons, BASIC Deputy Director, Matt Martin, Explains Why and Adds a Note of Caution, Washington Nuclear Update, 24 November 2004.
  
  

• The IAEA and Iran: Crisis averted - for the time being, by Dave Andrews and Nigel Chamberlain, BASIC Notes, 23 November 2004

• The Proliferation Security Initiative: Towards a New Anti-Proliferation Consensus? by Fabrice Pothier, BASIC Notes, 18 November 2004

• 'The MDA and the NPT: A questionable relationship', presentation by Nigel Chamberlain to A Citizens' Inquiry into the Legality of Trident, 7 November 2004.
  
  
• 'Military and political aspects of British Nuclear Forces and Defence Policy', presentation by Nicola Butler to A Citizens' Inquiry into the Legality of Trident, 6 November 2004.
  
  

• The IAEA and Iran - Iran's check-mate prematurely called, BASIC Notes, September 2004

• After the Butler Report: Time to Take on the Group Think in Washington and London, BASIC Paper 46, July 2004

• NATO and Missile Defence: Stay Tuned This Could Get Interesting, BASIC Note, 30 June 2004.

• NATO Nuclear Doctrine and the NPT, BASIC Briefing, 29 June 2004.

• A BASIC guide to Missile Defence and the Weaponisation of Space, BASIC's latest information leaflet on Missile Defence is now available. To place order for printed copies, please contact Nigel Chamberlain on 020-7324 4684 or email nchamberlain at BASIC's usual email address.

• New Report on US-UK nuclear weapons collaboration: Shining a torch into the darker recesses of the ‘special relationship’, BASIC Press Release on the Amendment to the 1958 US-UK Mutual Defence Agreement, Wednesday 16 June 2004.

• The IAEA and Iran - Once More to the Brink?, BASIC Notes, 12 June 2004

• Sailing Into Uncharted Waters? The Proliferation Security Initiative and the Law of the Sea, by Andreas Persbo and Ian Davis, BASIC Research Report 2004.2, June 2004.

• NPT PrepCom 2004: Comment & Analysis, New York, 26 April to 7 May 2004
  
  
• The IAEA and Iran: No smoking guns so far but the smell of gunpowder lingering in the air, BASIC Notes, 5 March 2004
  
  
• Unravelling the Known Unknowns: Why no Weapons of Mass Destruction have been found in Iraq, by David Isenberg and Ian Davis, BASIC Special Report, 2004.1, January 2004
  
  
• Non-Governmental Organisations support the IAEA, Letter from BASIC and other NGOs to Dr ElBaradei, Director-General, International Atomic Energy Agency, 23 December 2003
  
  
• The Proliferation Security Initiative: Dead in the water or steaming ahead?, BASIC Notes, 12 December 2003.
  
  
• Initial comment on 'Delivering Security in a Changing World': UK Defence White Paper - December 2003, BASIC Notes, 12 December 2003.
  
  
• Statement to the November 17-18, 2003 Meeting of the Advisory Panel To Assess the Capabilities for Domestic Response to Terrorist Attacks Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, (PDF), by David Isenberg.
  
  
• NATO Ministerial Meetings in Brussels: Looking Ahead to the Istanbul Summit in 2004, BASIC Briefing, 3 December 2003



• IAEA Resolution on Iran's Nuclear Programme: The jury's still out but time is short, BASIC Notes, 2 December 2003
  
  
• Statement to the November 17-18, 2003 Meeting of the Advisory Panel To Assess the Capabilities for Domestic Response to Terrorist Attacks Involving Weapons of Mass Destruction, (PDF), by David Isenberg.
  
  

• BASIC Reports, No. 84, October 2003
  
  

• The IAEA and Iran's nuclear programme Entirely legitimate or clandestine intent? BASIC Paper 45, October 2003
  
  

• Interdiction Under the Proliferation Security Initiative: Counter-Proliferation or Counter-Productive? BASIC Briefing, 6 October 2003

• BASIC acquires ‘confidential’ document on missile defence, BASIC Press Release on US-UK Memorandum of Understanding on Ballistic Missile Defence, 9 September 2003.
  
  

• Pressure for enhanced IAEA inspections grows: Update on Response to Iran’s Nuclear Programme, BASIC Note, 19 June 2003
  

• US Foreign Policy: From Baghdad to Tehran - US fears of nuclear proliferation may lead to anticipatory defence measures against Iran, BASIC Note 16 June 2003

• Is NATO Coming Under Pressure to Change Its Nuclear Policy?, NATO, Foreign Ministers meeting in Madrid 3-4 June 2003. BASIC Note, 2 June 2003

• Putting Some Sparkle Into The Evian G-8 Summit: Cooperative Threat Reduction BASIC Note, 2 June 2003

• The Hunt for Chemical and Biological Weapons in Iraq, (PDF), A BASIC Special Briefing, which will be continually updated as events unfold, 30 April 2003

• The 2003 Non-Proliferation Treaty PrepCom in Geneva 28 April to 9 May. Issues, papers and analysis.

• Senate Hearings on NATO Expansion: Key Issues of Concern BASIC Note, 28 April 2003

• The Crisis in North Korea BASIC Note, 23 April 2003

• US Chemical 'Non-Lethal' Weapons in Iraq: A Violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention?, BASIC Paper 44, March 2003

• Smallpox Bioterrorism Unlikely, BASIC Note, 25 March  2003

• "Dirty Nukes": The Threat and the Response BASIC Note, 12 March  2003

• Response to the MoD's Public Discussion Paper on Missile Defence (PDF), 11 March 2003

• The Bush Nuclear Posture Review's First Budget In Congress, BASIC Paper 43, February 2003.

• Time for a Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone in Europe? BASIC Note, 27 February 2003
  
  

• European Governments’ Official Positions on Missile Defence, BASIC Paper 42, February 2003.
  
  

• Official UK position on Missile Defence  Basic Note, 7 February, 2003
  
  

• Inquiry into Missile Defence - Submission of Evidence to the House of Commons Select Committee on Defence, (PDF), 8 January, 2003
  
  

• Test Ban AWOL from Washington's WMD Strategy  BASIC Note, 24 January 2003
  
  

• As NATO Gets Bigger, Can It Downsize Nuclear Risks? First Installment of NATO E-mail Series, 20 November 2002
  
  

• The Republican Victory in the U.S. Congress: What Will It Mean for Nuclear Weapons and Missile Defense Policies?   BASIC Note, 14 November 2002
  
  

• Bunker Busters: Washington’s Drive For New Nuclear Weapons Documents the “re-rationalisation” of nuclear weapons that gathered pace during the 1990s but has rapidly accelerated under the Bush administration. The report also examines the damaging implications that these developments will have for international arms control and global security. BASIC Research Report 2002.2, 28 July 2002. (Only available in Adobe PDF format)
  NEW! – Read the article on the Global Beat Syndicate with links to background material, 5 September 2002

BASIC's Goals

BASIC focuses its nuclear and WMD work on the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world. We seek every opportunity to draw international attention to the benefits of working toward this goal. With this ultimate objective in mind, BASIC is committed to the following mid-term objectives:

• Drawing international attention to the desirability and possibility of a nuclear-weapon-free world
  
  

• Pushing for transparency in all government and intergovernmental arms control action
  
  

• Linking NPT commitments to U.S. and NATO nuclear policy
  
  

• Emphasizing the need for the nuclear states to be leaders in nuclear arms control processes, not problem states
  
  

• Working with groups and officials throughout Europe and elsewhere to bring pressure to bear on nuclear weapon states
  
  

• Pushing for a commitment from the nuclear weapon states for elimination while pursuing practical steps