The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference wrapped up on Friday, May 28th with agreement on a set of “conclusions and recommendations for follow-on actions” in support of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. NPT Review Conferences operate on the basis of consensus among the treaty’s 189 parties (currently every country in the world except India, Pakistan, Israel, […]
Archive | May, 2010
$1,000,000,000,000 and counting
According to the National Priorities Project, the total direct cost to the United States of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq surpassed one trillion dollars on Sunday, May 30th. Estimates of the direct and indirect costs of the wars, including future health care for wounded soldiers, interest payments on debt, and other factors, already run […]
CF-18 replacement to cost $9 billion or more
The government is expected to give the go-ahead to a project to replace Canada’s CF-18 fighter-bombers with a new generation of aircraft later this year (David Pugliese, “$9B pricetag likely for Canada’s next-generation fighter aircraft,” CanWest News Service, 29 May 2010). The U.S. F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is considered the aircraft most likely to be […]
Two hundred and twenty-five
The United Kingdom became the latest nuclear weapon state to join the movement towards greater nuclear transparency on Wednesday when Foreign Secretary William Hague informed the British House of Commons that the U.K.’s “overall stockpile of nuclear warheads will not exceed 225 warheads” (“Britain Reveals Nuclear Arsenal: 225 Warheads,” New York Times, 26 May 2010). […]
U.S. and global military spending
The U.S. military budget comprises over 44 percent of the entire world’s military spending, reports the Washington-based Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation (Laicie Olson, “U.S. vs. Global Defense Spending,” 21 May 2010). The Center calculates that worldwide military spending totalled US$1.57 trillion in 2008, the latest year for which global numbers are available, and […]
Canadians: Humanitarian role or stay home
According to a Leger Marketing poll conducted for the QMI Agency, Canadians are divided on where they would like the Canadian Forces to go after Afghanistan, with many choosing humanitarian missions and 32% saying they should stay in Canada (Laura Payton, “One third of Canadians want troops home after Afghanistan,” Winnipeg Sun, 19 May 2010). […]