Nonproliferation

Iran Showdown: Analysis of the Iran Framework Friday, April 3, 2015 11:30AM EST The National Security Network will be hosting a press call on Friday 4/3 at 11:30 AM Eastern time. The discussion will focus on analysis of the substantive aspects of the framework announced between the P5+1 nations and Iran in Lausanne, as well as its implications for the Middle East, Israel, and US politics. The call will be moderated by NSN Executive Director John Bradshaw. Our speakers will include Suzanne DiMaggio of the New American Foundation, Ilan Goldenberg of the Center for a New American Security, and Dr. Jim Walsh of MIT’s Security Studies program. You can find a short bio of each of the participants below. EXPERTS Suzanne DiMaggio is a Senior Fellow and the Director of the Iran Initiative… Read More ›

Statement by National Security Network Board Members April 3, 2015 The framework agreement announced April 2 between the P5+1 nations and Iran represents historic progress toward the goal of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.  While much work remains to be done to achieve an effective and verifiable comprehensive agreement, the framework agreement demonstrates that the Obama Administration and international partners have taken a responsible approach to the negotiations and have reached a deal that will ensure the peaceful and civilian nature of Iran’s nuclear program. We support the Administration’s efforts to build on the framework agreement to reach a comprehensive agreement by June 30th. A negotiated resolution to the nuclear issue is the only sustainable way to contain the Iranian nuclear threat. By tying… Read More ›

Clearing the Final Hurdles in the Iran Nuclear Talks Tom Z. Collina, the Policy Director at Ploughshares Fund in Washington DC April 3, 2015 | National Interest Today in Lausanne the United States and its partners achieved a major breakthrough in talks to prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb. Both sides were able to agree on key principles that will—if the talks succeed—keep Iran’s nuclear program exclusively peaceful and under the watchful eye of international inspectors. This is by far the most promising path to resolving this crisis peacefully… “People in Congress who root for the deal to fail have not thought through the alternatives, which are stark: The Iranian program will be limited diplomatically, or we will have a war,” said Major General (ret.) Paul Eaton, a former U.S.… Read More ›

NSN Statement: P5+1 and Iran Framework Agreement April 2, 2015 Washington DC – the National Security Network’s Executive Director John Bradshaw gave the following statement regarding the framework agreed upon by Iran and the P5+1 in Lausanne, Switzerland: The framework announced today between the P5+1 nations and Iran represents historic progress toward the goal of preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. While much work remains to be done to achieve a final agreement, the framework demonstrates that the Obama Administration and international partners have taken a responsible approach to the negotiations and have resisted signing any deal that would not adequately achieve the vital goal of preventing Iran from gaining nuclear weapons. Those who have called for taking military action against Iran should step back and… Read More ›

How to Judge a Nuclear Deal with Iran March 30, 2015 Negotiations between the P5+1 and Iran have intensified this week, as the nominal end-of-month deadline nears for a political framework agreement that would prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. There has been a recent flurry of analysis of what the terms of a deal would mean, but this is premature – any agreement that is reached is still under negotiation and still subject to change. If a deal is reached, Congress and subject matter experts will have to assess whether or not it can succeed in preventing Iran from building a nuclear weapon. That means looking ahead at the implications of a deal, not getting sidetracked by possible past violations that are separate… Read More ›

Senator Ted Cruz’s Imaginary Foreign Policy March 23, 2015 Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) announced his candidacy this morning at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. His speech was long on rhetoric and short on policy, especially foreign policy. Sen. Cruz stressed goals for U.S. policy, asking his audience to “imagine a president who says ‘I will honor the Constitution, and under no circumstances will Iran be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon,’” to “imagine a president who says ‘We will stand up and defeat radical Islamic terrorism,’” to “imagine a president who stands unapologetically with the nation of Israel,” and to “imagine a president that finally, finally, finally secures the borders.” But this isn’t an imaginary foreign policy: these are the actual goals of current U.S.… Read More ›

Tom Cotton picked apart by Army general over ‘mutinous’ Iran letter By Jonathan Capehart March 13, 2015 | Washington Post The open letter to the leaders of the Islamic Republic of Iran signed by 47 senators and instigated by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) was a stunning breach of protocol. One so outrageous that my former colleagues at the New York Daily News dubbed the signers “traitors.” While it is indeed a slap in the face of President Obama and an affront to the presidency, I’m not sure I would go that far, especially since Cotton is an Army veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. So, I turned to retired Major Gen. Paul D. Eaton for perspective. He wouldn’t say Cotton and Co. were “traitors,” either. He had… Read More ›

A Bumper Crop of Banana(s) Republicans By John Bradshaw March 18, 2015 | Huffington Post One of the ironies of life in Washington is that those most concerned with American credibility are often working the hardest to undermine it. Under the new “Cotton doctrine,” unveiled in the now-infamous letter from Senator Tom Cotton and 46 other Republican Senators to the government of Iran, America’s commitments are only good for as long as the President who signed them remains in office. This is the way banana republics do business, not the United States. It’s an approach unworthy of our diplomatic traditions, and one that damages our ability to work with other nations and exercise international leadership. As a former U.S. diplomat who served overseas under both… Read More ›

Republicans Continue Politicizing Iran Negotiations, Offer No Constructive Alternative March 16, 2015 Sen. Tom Cotton’s (R-AR) letter, signed by 46 of his Senate Republican colleagues and Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-LA), continued to roil the debate over the Iran nuclear negotiations this weekend. The letter, which was addressed to Iran’s leadership and condescendingly (and inaccurately) described the U.S. system of government, has been condemned as a reckless and juvenile political stunt. It has further politicized the already partisan debate at a critical moment, as P5+1 diplomats resume talks this week with Iranian negotiators in the hopes of reaching a political framework agreement. Sen. Cotton has stated that his goal is to collapse the talks, but even those who have said that they would like to play… Read More ›

Analysis: Senators’ Letter to Tehran Could Impact Nuclear Talks By Al Pessin March 12, 2015 | VOA LONDON—An open letter sent by 47 U.S. Republican senators to Tehran about the ongoing negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program could impact the talks, experts say… “At the leadership level at which the talks are taking place, this does not appear to have a big effect,” said Dana Stuster of the National Security Network think tank in Washington, which closely follows the Iran talks. “Where it might have an effect is encouraging hardliners in Iran to more actively oppose the deal.” In the U.S., Republicans in the House of Representatives invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak against an Iran deal last week at a joint meeting of… Read More ›