New Mexico Political Report 11th April 2018 , Groups opposed to construction of a storage facility for spent nuclear fuel
from the nation’s commercial reactors are on a tour this week to make sure people know what’s being proposed for southern New Mexico.
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is considering a proposal from Holtec International to build and transport the waste, now stored in casks at various nuclear power plants around the country, to southern New Mexico.
Don Hancock, director of the Southwest Research and Information Center’s nuclear-waste program, said New Mexico shouldn’t be the repository for 60
years’ worth of nuclear waste generated on the East Coast.
http://nmpoliticalreport.com/824292/groups-fight-nuclear-waste-storage-proposal-in-n
April 14, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
opposition to nuclear, USA |
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Insiders Doubted SCANA’s Ability to Manage Nuclear Project, PowerMag, 04/12/2018 | Aaron Larson Santee Cooper executives doubted SCANA Corp.’s ability to properly manage the V.C. Summer nuclear expansion project for years before the project was ultimately abandoned in July 2017, according to an article published by The Post and Courier, a Charleston, S.C., newspaper.Santee Cooper—a state-run utility—partnered with SCANA as owners of the project; SCANA holds a 55% stake in the facility while Santee Cooper holds a 45% share. Yet, even as Santee Cooper insiders lamented SCANA’s “ineptitude,” the utility failed to raise red flags with state lawmakers or ratepayers and continued to pour money into the project.
According to The Post and Courier story, Santee Cooper leaders did prod SCANA to hold contractors responsible, and SCANA’s then-CEO Kevin Marsh did respond by complaining to Westinghouse and CB&I—the contractors on the job at the time—but little improvement was made. Santee Cooper’s vice president of nuclear energy reportedly called SCANA’s team “a status quo group.”
For years, Santee Cooper allegedly tried to convince SCANA to hire an outside firm to manage the project. It wasn’t until CB&I negotiated its way out of the project that SCANA finally agreed to bring in Bechtel Corp. to do a project audit at a cost of more than $1 million. But even then,
Santee Cooper insiders felt SCANA was resistant to the process and restricted access to at least some engineering and scheduling documents. However, The Post and Courier reported that a SCANA spokesperson refuted that claim. The audit was ultimately completed.
The 130-page report dated February 5, 2016, provided a scathing assessment of the situation. ……http://www.powermag.com/insiders-doubted-scanas-ability-to-manage-nuclear-project/
April 14, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA |
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EPA letter reveals Navy’s downplay of radioactive soil in SF’s Bayview http://abc7news.com/realestate/epa-letter-reveals-navys-downplay-of-radioactive-soil-in-sfs-bayview/3335396/,
A letter the EPA sent to the U.S. Navy in December reveals the Navy far understated just how much radioactive soil needs to be cleaned up at the Hunters Point Shipyard., by Kate Larsen, Thursday, April 12, 2018 SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) —
A letter the EPA sent to the U.S. Navy in December reveals the Navy far understated just how much radioactive soil needs to be cleaned up at the Hunters Point Shipyard.This week, the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility published a letter to the Navy. In it, the EPA says they found 90 and 97 percent of the soil samples on two major land parcels suspect compared to the Navy, which only recommended resampling 15 and 49 percent of those samples.
RELATED: Neighbors outraged after toxic soil confirmed in SF’s Bayview
“They’re dodging the truth,” said Bradley Angel, Executive Director for Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice. “But it’s time for accountability and better cleanup.”
Angel has been working on the shipyard cleanup for more than a decade.
“This federal superfund site, one of the most contaminated sites in the nation is our San Francisco Bay, not just Bayview Hunters Point. It’s leaking into the Bay,” Angel added.
It was clear that nobody wanted to answer questions,” said Michelle Pierce, Executive Director for Bayview Hunters Point Community Advocates.On Wednesday night, she attended what she thought would be a presentation and question-answer session from the Navy, but that never happened.
RELATED: Radioactive spill cleared in Antioch
“They had a corner station, a desk set up with a laptop and you could do a video public statement and that’s what they called giving public comment,” Pierce told ABC7 News.
Pierce also says City Hall needs to take interest in the health of the Bayview Hunters Point community, not just the transfer of the contaminated land for more housing.
Supervisor Malia Cohen said Thursday that she’ll be introducing a hearing to look into ongoing allegations of mismanagement and false tests.
April 14, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
environment, secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA |
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https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/04/09/kim-jong-un-will-not-give-up-north-koreas-nuclear-weapons/ Evans J.R. Revere, Monday, April 9, 2018
Editor’s Note:If President Trump insists on meeting Kim Jong-un, he must be prepared either to agree to a long negotiating process that will play into Kim’s hands, or to walk away from the table, writes Evans Revers. Faced with these options, the prudent choice might be to press the “pause” button. This piece originally appeared on
Newsweek.
President Donald J. Trump’s upcoming summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un will be an historic encounter between two supremely self-confident, headstrong, and mercurial men, each seeking the other’s surrender.
The irresistible force of Donald Trump, whose administration has declared it will never accept, allow, or tolerate a North Korean nuclear threat to America, will soon meet the immovable object of a North Korean regime that has declared it will never give up its nuclear weapons “even in a dream.” What could possibly go wrong?
President Trump agreed to the summit on a whim, surprising his advisers and the South Korean envoys who conveyed Kim Jong-un’s invitation. Had he discussed the invitation with his advisers first, he would have heard that Kim’s reported interest in a deal on “denuclearization of the whole Korean Peninsula” is nothing of the kind.
Those who have negotiated nuclear matters with Pyongyang know that Kim’s words were a familiar North Korean demand to end the “threat” posed by the U.S.-South Korea alliance, the presence of U.S. troops in Korea, and the nuclear umbrella that defends South Korea and Japan.
A senior North Korean official once explained to a group of American experts, “If you remove those threats, we will feel more secure and in ten or twenty years’ time we may be able to consider denuclearization. In the meantime,” he continued, “we are prepared to meet with you as one nuclear weapon state with another to discuss arms control.”
That is North Korea’s concept of “denuclearization.” It bears no resemblance to the American definition.
April 11, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
North Korea, politics international, USA |
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NBC News , Agency finds nearly all of the radiation data that it reviewed is ‘suspect.’ By By Liz Wagner and Mark Villarreal, Apr 9, 2018 According to the Environmental Protection Agency, nearly all of the radiation data collected on two large parcels of land at the Hunters Point Shipyard is problematic.
The data was collected by Navy contractor Tetra Tech over a 12-year period. The Navy hired the company to clean up radiation at the superfund site in San Francisco.
In January, Navy officials found nearly 50 percent of the company’s data may have been falsified. But the new information from the EPA shows the extent of the potential fraud is actually much worse.
A December 2017 letter sent by the EPA to the Navy – and obtained by a Washington D.C. advocacy group called Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) – explains that on about 40 percent of the shipyard, the EPA found between 90 percent and 97 percent of Tetra Tech’s radiation data looked “suspect.”
That number is much higher than what the Navy reported publicly earlier this year.
“Hunters Point is unfolding into the biggest case of eco-fraud in U.S. history,” stated PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch, who obtained the EPA document under the Freedom of Information Act. “What makes these findings so remarkable is that the Navy was on notice for years that it had a major data meltdown on its hands yet is still trying to cook the books.”
Officials are working on a plan to re-test the shipyard to make sure it’s safe, but that process has taken months.
The superfund site is slated to be developed into parks, offices and homes, including a considerable amount of affordable housing. Dr. Veronica Hunnicutt, chair of Hunters Point Citizens Advisory Committee, the group appointed to oversee development at the shipyard, says she’s fed up.
“The Navy and the EPA are not moving this along figuring out what they need to do,” she said. “Get the land cleaned up and get it back to the developer. Nothing has happened.”…….https://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/EPA-Letter-Reveals-New-Problems-with-Hunters-Point-Radiation-Data-479214633.html
April 11, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
secrets,lies and civil liberties, USA |
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Nuclear plant emergency procedure scaled back at FCS, http://www.wowt.com/content/news/Nuclear-plant-emergency-procedure-scaled-back-at-FCS-479198163.html FORT CALHOUN, Neb. (WOWT)– By Josh Spreiter | Apr 09, 2018 |
Some changes are effective today at the Fort Calhoun Station. This is a part of the de-commissioning process at the old nuclear power plant which was shut down in 2016. People living within the “Emergency Planning Zone should have received a letter in the mail explaining this step.
Right now, FCS employees are working to safely de-commission the plant, a process that can take up to 60 years. Over the next year, OPPD will be removing the 101 sirens across the EPZ, simply because they are no longer needed.
An FCS manager says the used nuclear fuel has cooled to a point where the likelihood of a leak is “extremely low.” All the fuel will be removed from the pool and placed into dry cask storage on site.
Residents living with this zone will also no longer receive the annual emergency planning information brochure.
Over the years, the old nuclear power plant had some close calls. During the 2011 Missouri River Flood, FCS became an island itself. The plant remained safe and dry inside, but the flooding continued for several months as water was pumped out from behind a series of barriers that were installed around the plant. One of the barriers collapsed but the plant remained safe.
Even before the floodwater reached the plant, there was a fire in the cooling system used for fuel. It concerned federal regulators because the fire could have happened at any time, as workers didn’t fully investigate an unusual smell three days earlier.
Now, as FCS opens the page to a new chapter, people we spoke to say they have full confidence officials will keep them safe.
OPPD says it continue to have staff onsite 24/7. Technical experts will also be available if any concerns arise.
April 11, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
safety, USA |
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California Has Too Much Green Energy, Daily Caller , TIM PEARCE, Energy Reporter
03/10/2018
California has frozen development on any more renewable energy sources as it wrestles with what to do with all the extra electricity it’s currently producing, Quartz reported.
Solar energy production has risen from less than one percent of California’s energy mix in 2010 to around 10 percent in 2017. On certain days when conditions are favorable, solar has supplied as much as half the energy used by Californians, according to Quartz.
The California Public Utilities Commission has proposed the state hold off on any further investment into renewable energy as individuals and businesses throughout the state continue to buy their own private sources of energy, such as solar panels secured to the tops of buildings. As more individuals invest in private energy, demand on the state’s grid lessens, Greentech Media reported.
California also has trouble predicting how much renewable energy will be needed at a certain time and controlling the power supplied. On several occasions, California paid Arizona utilities and others to take excess solar energy to avoid overloading its own grid, according to the Los Angeles Times.
April 11, 2018
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renewable, USA |
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Danger from radiation shuts down nuclear plant demolition in Washington state, WLWT5,
NICHOLAS K. GERANIOS, 8 Apr 18, SPOKANE, Wash. — Seven decades after making key portions of the atomic bomb dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, workers at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation are being exposed to radiation as they tear down buildings that helped create the nation’s nuclear arsenal.
Dozens of workers demolishing a plutonium processing plant from the 1940s have inhaled or ingested radioactive particles in the past year, and even carried some of that radiation into their vehicles, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.
The incidents have prompted the federal government, along with state regulators, to halt the demolition of the sprawling Plutonium Finishing Plant until a safe plan can be developed.
The contamination has also shaken confidence in a massive cleanup of Hanford, the nation’s most polluted nuclear weapons production site. The work costs the federal Treasury around $2 billion a year. Hanford is near the city of Richland, about 200 miles southeast of Seattle.
“This is a very disturbing set of incidents,” said Tom Carpenter, head of the Seattle-based watchdog group Hanford Challenge.
The Energy Department, which owns Hanford, has launched an independent investigation into the spread of radiation at the plant. The investigation will be conducted by an agency office that is not connected to work at Hanford.
Radioactive particles are known to have contaminated 42 workers, which led to the shutdown of demolition, the agency has said.
Carpenter said widespread worker contamination has been rare at Hanford in recent decades. Plutonium production ended in the 1980s and the site in 1989 switched its focus to cleanup of nuclear wastes.
“It’s one of the more serious events to happen in the age of cleanup at Hanford,” Carpenter said. “There have been other incidents, but none rose to the level of plutonium contamination of this many people and private vehicles and being found miles and miles away.”
A union representing some Hanford workers said it was closely monitoring the situation…..http://www.wlwt.com/article/danger-from-radiation-shuts-down-nuclear-plant-demolition-in-washington-state/19712632
April 9, 2018
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- plutonium, USA |
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Secret, direct talks underway between US and North Korea, By Elise Labott, Kevin Liptak and Jenna McLaughlin, CNN, April 7, 2018 Washington The United States and North Korea have been holding secret, direct talks to prepare for a summit between President Donald Trump and North Korea leader Kim Jong Un, a sign that planning for the highly anticipated meeting is progressing, several administration officials familiar with the discussions tell CNN.
April 9, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
North Korea, politics international, USA |
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Are the U.S. Army and DARPA Trying to Start a Nuclear Arms Race? National Interest, Michael Peck, 6 Apr 18, Could new U.S. tactical missile projects trigger a new nuclear arms race?
Recent comments by U.S. Army leaders, and a new project from Pentagon research agency DARPA, point to the United States developing new long-range battlefield missiles.
The Pentagon believes that it needs the missiles because its field artillery is inferior to Russian guns that have a longer range than their American counterparts. “We need cannons that fire as far as rockets today, we need rockets that fire as far as missiles, and we need missiles that push out to 499 kilometers and beyond,” Gen. Robert Brown, commander of U.S. Army Pacific,
told an Association of the U.S. Army audience in Huntsville, Alabama last month.
“499 kilometers and beyond” is a very significant phrase, because the 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Force Treaty (INF), signed by Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev, banned nuclear and conventional missiles with a range of 500 to 5,500 kilometers (or about 300 to 3,400 miles). The agreement came in the midst of an arms race after the Soviets deployed SS-20 intermediate-range nuclear missiles which threatened Western Europe, to which the United States responded by deploying Pershing II and ground-launched cruise missiles.
The conventional weapons provision pointed to an uncomfortable fact: there is no way to peek inside a nose cone to be sure the missile isn’t carrying a nuclear warhead. So while conventional intermediate-range missiles could have many uses (attacking airfields, command centers, etc.), a missile launched from, say, Germany could hit Moscow with a nuclear weapon.
Indeed, the INF treaty obligated both sides to dismantle a lot of expensive hardware: 2,692 weapons, from short-range tactical missiles to long-range cruise missiles. It also established mechanisms for both sides to verify compliance. The treaty has been assailed in recent years, with the United States accusing Russia ofviolating the agreement by deploying a new ground-launched cruise missile. Putin’s recent speech, in which he boasted of Russia developing a nuclear-powered cruise missile, isn’t likely to reduce tensions.
However, General Brown suggested that the U.S. Army wouldn’t mind breaching the INF treaty. “‘I know there’s the INF treaty…but we need to push beyond that,’” Brown said, according to Politico.
At the same time, DARPA is pursuing its OpFires missile program. “The United States ground-based forces are currently limited in effective range of surface-to-surface precision fires,” according to DARPA. “The OpFires program seeks to provide operational/theater level commanders with flexible capabilities to strike time sensitive targets while providing persistent standoff from unpredictable land launch positions.”
DARPA says “the overarching goal of the OpFires program is to develop and demonstrate a novel ground-launched system enabling advanced tactical weapons to penetrate modern enemy air defenses and rapidly and precisely engage critical time sensitive targets.”……….http://nationalinterest.org/blog/the-buzz/are-the-us-army-darpa-trying-start-nuclear-arms-race-25231
April 6, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
USA, weapons and war |
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New Evidence Might Bolster Case Against Massive NY Bailout of Nuclear Power Plants http://waer.org/post/new-evidence-might-bolster-case-against-massive-ny-bailout-nuclear-power-plants, By SCOTT WILLIS & ALLEGRA CRAVER , 6 Apr 18
Opponents of the massive subsidy plan for New York’s struggling nuclear power plants say there’s new evidence that supports their case to repeal the 2016 bailout. Two Oswego County plants owned by Exelon were among those granted $7.5 billion in taxpayer money over 12 years by the New York Public Service Commission. Executive Director of Nuclear Information and Resource Service Tim Judson expressed his disappointment in the PSC not serving the public’s interest.
“The Public Service Commission was supposed to be making a rational decision for the benefit of New Yorkers across the state. It appears based on what actually happened, this was a decision to benefit the owners of nuclear power plants. The PSC didn’t consider more cost-effective alternatives for meeting the state’s energy goals.”
Opponents say their evidence includes a presentation made by a former lobbyist from Exelon in which he bragged about the $7.5 billion subsidy. Judson says the presentation is a prime example of the huge profits companies can make via lobbying and political spending. However, he acknowledges its legality.
“It’s not clear that there’s anything illegal in terms of Exelon lobbying state government for financial assistance. Companies have the right to do that. But the PSC doesn’t need to be swayed by companies trying to protect their private interests.”
Judson says the PSC violated the rights of the public by not giving them enough notice or time to understand how their money would be spent. He also notes how the closing of the nuclear plants would not have mattered much in the long run.
“Before the whole proceeding that resulted in the subsidy was undertaken, the agency that runs the state’s electricity system had done an evaluation and determined the two reactors scheduled to close, plus several other power plants scheduled to close around the same time, could turn off and there wouldn’t be any need for additional power plants or energy sources to be developed. There was plenty of power on the grid.”
Judson says the PSC should have looked into clean energy options that would have helped the state meet its Clean Energy Standard goals. A hearing for this case is expected this summer.
April 6, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
politics, USA |
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AMID ARGUMENTS AND WARNINGS, NUCLEAR SUBSIDY BILL CLEARS COMMITTEE New Jersey Spotlight, TOM JOHNSON | APRIL 6, 2018
Clean-energy measures also voted out, but nuclear bill looms large — particularly when it comes to costs to ratepayers.
After months of contentious debate and false starts, a package of bills increasing the state’s reliance on renewable energy, as well as subsidizing nuclear power plants, won approval yesterday from a pair of legislative committees.
The passage sets the stage for final approval by both houses on Thursday to legislation that likely will impose billions of dollars in new costs on utility customers to support those programs.
If signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy as expected, the measures will begin implementing key parts of the new administration’s clean-energy agenda, while averting the threatened closing of nuclear power plants, operated by Public Service Enterprise Group.
……..The mounting public demand to address climate change and the difficult choices facing an unregulated energy sector have thrust those decisions before a Legislature largely oblivious of the implications of its actions, according to some. A key provision of the deal calls for subsidizing PSEG’s three nuclear power plants for as long as 10 years at a cost of $300 million annually.
“The proposed nuclear bailout will make it difficult to ramp up a clean-energy future,’’ argued Doug O’Malley, director of Environment New Jersey, who backed a clean-energy bill.
The nuclear bill (S-2313) has proven very controversial due to its cost. Critics, including many business groups, consumer advocates, and environmentalists, argue the company has never demonstrated the plants are in financial jeopardy.
No room for rate counsel
Under the bill, the plants would only be awarded the subsidies in certain circumstances. The state Board of Public Utilities would have to initiate a proceeding and find the plants are in financial distress. But the bill may leave the state’s Division of Rate Counsel, the agency representing consumers, out of the review process.
Rate Counsel director Stefanie Brand said the subsidies could end up costing consumers more than $3 billion over a decade, even though the company has not proved they are losing money. “They are making money, but not as much as the company wants,’’ Brand told the Senate Budget Committee.
……. “It is abundantly clear by now that ratepayers cannot afford a multibillion dollar tax hike, paid to bail out demonstrably profitable nuclear plants, just so PSEG shareholders can make some money,’’ said Matt Fossen, of the New Jersey Coalition for Fair Energy…….http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/18/04/06/amid-arguments-and-warnings-nuclear-subsidy-bill-clears-committee/
April 6, 2018
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politics, USA |
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Does Trump Even Know What He Wants From Kim Jong-un?
The president has shown no indication that he has any plan for next month’s all-important North Korea summit. Slate, By FRED KAPLAN , 3 April 18.
The biggest, riskiest diplomatic trip of his presidency—the summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un—is set to take place next month, and Donald Trump shows no signs of comprehending the issues or interests at stake.
Two statements from last week should have set off alarm bells that the president is not remotely ready for prime time.
The first came on Thursday, during a rambling, campaign rally–like speech in Ohio. At one point, Trump mentioned his recently reached trade deal with South Korea, saying, “I may hold it up until after a deal is made with North Korea. You know why? Because it’s a very strong card. And I want to make sure everyone is treated fairly.”
Within a few hours, aides to South Korean President Moon Jae-in were seeking clarification on the statement, working through various channels to understand Trump’s “true intentions.”Good luck on that.
I’ve sought some clarification myself, to no avail. The remark was either utterly incoherent or a terrible blunder. The former—yet another instance of Trump’s incoherence—is the likelier explanation. It’s not at all clear why Trump should hold up a trade deal with South Korea, pending the results of nuclear talks with North Korea. The two have little or nothing to do with each other.
But impolitic incompetence should never be dismissed as a source of confusion. Moon will be meeting with Kim—another historic first—on April 27 at Peace House, near the North-South border. It is expected that their meeting will tee up the issues, and to some degree set the agenda, for Kim’s meeting with Trump a few weeks later. Trump’s relations with Moon are rife with tensions. Trump has harshly criticized Seoul for fair-trade violations (and is said to see the new trade deal as an imperfect solution); he often grumbles that the South Koreans should pay more for their own defense and has threatened to withdraw U.S. forces from the region if they don’t—thus arousing fears, in South Korea and Japan, that Trump might do just that in exchange for a promise by North Korea to freeze or cut back its nuclear arsenal.
Trump’s remark in Ohio could be read as a threat to Moon: Push Kim hard on his nuclear weapons, maybe even get him to agree to dismantle them in advance of the U.S. summit—do the heavy lifting for us—or forget about the new trade deal. ……….
Does Trump have any idea what sorts of “phased, synchronized measures” he would like North Korea to take—and what sorts of measures he would permit the United States to take at the same time? For example, as a first step, North Korea could extend its freeze on nuclear testing and open up its production and test sites to international inspection—with the United States simultaneously removing some sanctions. What would be the second, third, and fourth synchronized measures, and what would be the ultimate goal—the finishing line of these steps? These are issues to be discussed by experts, debated in National Security Council meetings, and decided very carefully by the president and his top advisers. If officials at the State Department, the Pentagon, and the NSC aren’t already well into this project, they’re starting way too late.
It’s also worth noting that Trump’s incoming national security adviser, John Bolton, has spoken out against the whole concept of phased, synchronized measures, demanding that Kim dismantle his nuclear arsenal, all at once, and urging the United States to launch a first strike if he refuses. Will he offer Trump the same advice, now that he’s off Fox News and inside the White House? Will Trump listen? And who’s still around to offer countervailing advice?
Kim Jong-un will come to both negotiations—the one with Moon near the DMZ and the one with Trump at a location not yet determined—with a goal, an agenda, and a bag of bargaining tactics. He may also have sought and won consent for his approach (though there’s no way of knowing this) during his meeting in Beijing with Xi. Unless something dramatic happens in the next few weeks, Trump will arrive at the summit with no firm grip on a strategy or tactics—and wavering support from, and for, his allies. He may come instead with the cloak of an unearned self-confidence that he can prevail with a deal through his charisma and instincts. For this kind of deal, that won’t be enough. https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/04/does-trump-even-know-what-he-wants-from-kim-jong-un.html
April 4, 2018
Posted by Christina Macpherson |
politics international, USA |
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Trump’s new national security team likely spells disaster for the Iran nuclear deal, What happens next? Brookings,
Suzanne Maloney, Monday, April 2, 2018 “…….. Tehran now faces powerful resistance to its expanded regional posture—from Israel, which has launched attacks on Iranian positions in Syria, and from its traditional rival Saudi Arabia, whose brash young crown prince appears determined to contest Iran’s reach at any price. Across a tense and unsettled region, Iran remains the 800-pound gorilla, but Iranian commanders are wary about the prospect of new pushback, promising that “we won’t be blindsided by the enemies.”
DARK CLOUDS IN DC
The most imminent threat, however, emanates from Washington, where the Trump administration is poised to upend the 2015 nuclear deal, a move that would reinstate harsh economic sanctions on Iran and intensify frictions between the two old adversaries.
Last week’s announcement that former Bush administration official John Bolton will join the White House on April 9 as Trump’s third national security advisor casts an even more ominous pall over the start of the new year for Tehran. Bolton has consistently and vociferously campaigned against the nuclear deal (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA), insisting that “Trump can and should free America from this execrable deal at the earliest opportunity” and outlining a step-by-step plan for doing so. He proposes to replace diplomacy with military strikes to destroy Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, coupled with “vigorous support for Iran’s opposition, aimed at regime change in Tehran.” Even more unfortunately, Bolton has depicted a deranged, discredited cult of Iranian expatriates as a legitimate opposition movement—a ludicrous embrace that defies explanation, except perhaps the group’s lavish kickbacks.
With Bolton managing the interagency decisionmaking process—and another opponent of the agreement, Mike Pompeo, taking the helm at the State Department—Iranians and the world are already beginning to brace for America’s retreat from the Iran nuclear deal. The appointments added a note of fatalism to an already fitful dialogue between Washington and Europe, aimed at heading off President Trump’s ultimatum to address the agreement’s perceived shortcomings before the May 12 deadline for extending U.S. sanctions waivers on Iran. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2018/04/02/trumps-new-national-security-team-likely-spells-disaster-for-the-iran-nuclear-deal/
April 4, 2018
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USA |
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