CND Press Roundup Friday 13th January 2023

War in Ukraine / NATO

• Sweden will not host NATO nuclear weapons or have permanent bases after it joins the bloc next month, its defence minister has said. “We don’t see a need or any expectations from those allies with nuclear weapons to base them here…We do not see from our side the need to host nuclear weapons or permanent troops,” Pal Jonson said.

• Russia has refuted claims that hackers from the country targeted US nuclear research facilities last summer. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said the Reuters “psuedo-investigation” was in line with a US government campaign of anti-Russian propaganda.

Trident

• The Times reports on how an independent Scotland could follow Sweden in joining NATO while being allowed to ditch the permanent stationing of nuclear weapons bases there. The SNP’s new Westminster defence spokesperson, Dave Doogan, recently told a NATO parliamentary meeting in the US that it “needed to recognise that the benefits of Sweden and Finland joining Nato far outweigh any principled domestic stance on hosting or sharing obligations or commitments.”

• Sean Howard from Cape Breton University has published a series of articles titled “From Commanders to Campaigners” – where he interviews Robert Forsyth and Robert Green on their journeys from nuclear submarine commanders to advocates for disarmament. Read Part 1 & Part 2.

Global Abolition / Non-Proliferation

• A news item on research highlighting the financial links between leading foreign policy think tanks and nuclear weapons firms is now on the CND website, with comments from Kate: “This research is a shocking revelation of the far-reaching influence arms companies have in the debate around nuclear weapons and security policy – just like how fossil fuel firms have tried to use academia to push back against the realities of climate change. At a time when the increasing risk of nuclear war is regularly featured in the news, it’s important for journalists and those in the media to be aware of these potential biases when featuring contributions from so-called independent think tanks – and to make sure to give a voice to those speaking out against nuclear.”

• Responsible Statecraft have also covered the study.

• Labour Outlook has republished Rebecca Johnson’s recent article for Campaign magazine with her update on the TPNW.

Iran Nuclear Deal

• Iran’s state media has released a video claiming that Alireza Akbari, a British-Iranian national on death row in the country, was involved in the 2020 assassination of a leading nuclear scientist.

Fukushima

• Japan has given the greenlight to dump millions of tonnes of radioactive water from the defunct Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean later this year.

North Korea

• A new edition of a book by the New York Times’ Washington correspondent, Michael Schmidt, claims that Donald Trump considered using a nuclear weapon on North Korea – and blaming a third party state. In the afterword of the book, Schmidt recalls the appointment of chief of staff John Kelly: “What scared Kelly even more than the tweets was the fact that behind closed doors in the Oval Office, Trump continued to talk as if he wanted to go to war. He cavalierly discussed the idea of using a nuclear weapon against North Korea, saying that if he took such an action, the administration could blame someone else for it to absolve itself of responsibility.”