USA and Canada

Photo: Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev met with US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on the sidelines of the US-Islamic World summit in Riyadh in May 2017. Credit: Axar.az

U.S. State Secretary Lauds Kazakh Decision to Renounce Nukes

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – "The Republic of Kazakhstan is a particularly illustrative example of the wisdom of relinquishing nuclear weapons," according to Rex W. Tillerson, the U.S. Secretary of State. He was addressing the United Nations Security Council Session on Nuclear Non-Proliferation on September 21, 2017.

"In partnership with the United States, and aided by the Cooperative Threat Reduction Act spearheaded by U.S. Senators Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar, Kazakhstan opted to remove from its territory former Soviet weapons and related nuclear technologies, and joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty as a non-weapons state," Tillerson added.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; NEWSBRIEFS; 22 September 2017

Photo: U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson delivers welcome remarks to State Department employees in the main lobby of the Department's Harry S. Truman building on his first day as Secretary of State in Washington, D.C., on February 2, 2017. [State Department photo/ Public Domain]

The Threat of a Nuclear Attack Remains a Grim Reality

By Rex W. Tillerson, the U.S. Secretary of State

Following are extensive excerpts from remarks by the U.S. Secretary of State during the United Nations Security Council Session on Nuclear Non-Proliferation on September 21, 2017. The complete text is available on https://www.state.gov/secretary/remarks/2017/09/274362.htm – The Editor

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) - At a time when stabbings, crudely constructed bombs, and trucks driven into crowds of innocent men, women, and children are often our enemies’ weapons of choice to attack us, it is easy to become complacent and see the threat of nuclear attacks as a relic of the Cold War.

The threat of a nuclear attack remains a grim reality. Those who would trigger such a horrific scenario pose a unique threat to the security of peace-loving nations.

: IDN-INPS UN Bureau; OPINION; 22 September 2017

Photo: U.S. President Donald J. Trump, addresses the 72nd General Assembly’s annual general debate 19 September 2017. Credit: UN Photo/Cia Pak

Trump's UN Speech Arouses Fear of a 'Dark and Difficult Phase' in Reducing Nuclear Threat

By Devendra Kamarajan

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) –"Trust within and among countries is being driven down by those who demonize and divide. We are a world in pieces. We need to be a world at peace," said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his address to the General Assembly on September 19.

In contrast, the U.S. President Donald Trump warned North Korea: "The United States has great strength and patience, but if it is forced to defend itself or its allies, we will have no choice but to totally destroy North Korea." He also threatened Iran and Venezuela.

Reacting to these threats, the Arms Control Association criticised Trump's address as a failure of nuclear leadership. "Trump’s address is yet another sign that we are entering a dark and difficult phase in the long-running effort to reduce the threat posed by nuclear weapons," said Daryl G. Kimball, Executive Director of the organization based in Washington, D.C.

: Devendra Kamarajan; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 19 September 2017

Photo: The Twin Towers ablaze after the second plane crashed in to the Twin Towers. Credit: Dr Palitha Kohona, former Sri Lankan Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York.

9/11 – The Morning That Changed The World I Knew

By Dr Palitha Kohona*

COLOMBO (IDN) - It was another sunny September morning. The sky was a brilliant blue. As I gazed out of my kitchen window while having breakfast, in Mid Town Manhattan, the twin towers were glistening in the morning sun. I noted, as I often had, that they were still there, a familiar reassuring sight. The cute young blonde in the apartment across the street was drying her wet hair, as usual, by her plate glass window. The walk to the UN and my office on the 32nd floor of the Secretariat was uneventful. Not that I expected anything untoward to happen. A pre-scheduled closed-door management meeting began on time.

: Dr. Palitha Kohona; THE WORLD; USA and Canada; 11 September 2017

Photo: U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in the East Room of the White House on December 8, 1987. Credit: Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.

New U.S. Budget Threatens Nuclear Restraint Agreements

By J C Suresh

TORONTO | WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – As the U.S. Congress prepares to enact legislation "that could further imperil the global nuclear order," a disarmament expert has urged the lawmakers "to seek to preserve and strengthen the existing architecture of arms control and non-proliferation agreements" – instead of rushing to hasten their demise.

The "key pillars" of the agreements "have their origin in the vision of President Ronald Reagan," says Kingston Reif, director for disarmament and threat reduction policy at the Arms Control Association (ACA).

: J C Suresh; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 08 September 2017

Photo: Mansudae Assembly Hall, seat of the Supreme People's Assembly. Credit: Wikimedia Commons

U.S.-North Korea: Give Diplomacy a Chance

Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball

Daryl G. Kimball is Executive Director of the Arms Control Association, an independent, membership-based organization dedicated to providing authoritative information and practical policy solutions to address the threats posed by the world's most dangerous weapons.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) - Just six months into the administration of President Donald Trump, the war of words and nuclear threats between the United States and North Korea have escalated, and a peaceful resolution to the escalating crisis is more difficult than ever to achieve.

Both leaders need to immediately work to de-escalate the situation and direct their diplomats to engage in an adult conversation designed to resolve tensions.

: Daryl G. Kimball; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 09 August 2017

The United States and Russia Relations on Life Support

By Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN) - The U.S. sanctions against Russia, passed on July 27, in retaliation for Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 presidential election may have ruined relations between the two countries.

The sanctions targeting Russia's defense, intelligence, mining, shipping and railway industries, and restricting dealings with Russian banks and energy companies would have crippling effects on the already straddled Russian economy.

The bill may penalize individuals or companies who invest in the construction of Russian energy pipelines, or who provide services for such projects.

: Somar Wijayadasa; OPINION; 07 August 2017

Photo: The Richard H. Chambers U.S. Court of Appeals Building, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Pasadena, California. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

U.S. Court Dismisses Marshall Islands’ Nuclear Zero Lawsuit

By J C Suresh*

TORONTO | SAN FRANCISCO (IDN) –The largest of the thirteen courts of appeals in the United States, the Ninth Circuit Court, has ruled to affirm the U.S. Federal District Court’s dismissal of the Nuclear Zero lawsuit, brought by the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI).

The lawsuit sought a declaration that the United States was in breach of its treaty obligations under Article VI of the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and international law, and asked the court to order that the United States engage in good-faith negotiations. Article VI states:

Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.

: J C Suresh; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 03 August 2017

Photo: President Donald Trump with senior advisors in a makeshift situation room at Trump’s Mar a Lago estate in Florida, April 7, 2017. (White House photo)

Trump has Cards Up his Sleeves to Avoid Impeachment

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) - “The best lack all conviction”, wrote the Irish poet, William Yeats, “while the worst are full of passionate intensity.” Is this not true of America today?

Some of the “best” are working to bring down President Donald Trump, yet are they ready to cut to the chase? He has cards up his sleeve. He came to power partly because he won the support of working class and lower middle class whites who were prepared to vote against their economic interest for the sake of the nationalism that Trump espoused. Neither Keir Hardie nor Franklin Roosevelt nor Bernie Sanders were their leader. It was Trump.

: Jonathan Power; OPINION; 13 June 2017

US President and King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saud Arabia meet during the Riyadh Summit (May 20-21). Credit: Public domain via Wikimedia Commons

Why Qatar?

Analysis by Pier Francesco Zarcone*

ROME (IDN) – The sudden rupture of diplomatic relations with Qatar announced by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Yemen on Jun. 5 triggers a crisis with unexpected outcomes and is likely to spell big trouble as much for those who wanted it as for the likely behind-the-scenes co-protagonist: the United States.

It takes no stretch of the imagination to argue that this situation, which exploded shortly after US President Donald Trump's May 20-21 visit to Saudi Arabia for the Riyadh Summit, is connected with this trip. On that occasion, the US president assumed two positions that were only formally contradictory but, in substance, reveal the existence of a precise design for further destabilisation in the area.