Doomsday Clock Pushed Back, or: We're On the Verge

Last Friday, US Undersecretary of State William Burns reported that Russia and the US are "on the verge" of finalizing a new disarmament treaty as a follow-on to the 1991 START treaty. The day before that, however, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists -- those smart fellows who have always been a voice of reason and caution in the nuclear age -- updated their Doomsday Clock, pushing it back one minute. The Clock is now at Six Minutes to Midnight.

Both of these stories are great news, and as a continuation of my last post, they lend both a sense of urgency and one of promise to the year 2010. The pushing back of the Doomsday Clock, in particular, is very encouraging because of the impetus that fueled the Bulletin's decision. In its official statement, the BAS explains:

By shifting the hand back from midnight by only one additional minute, we emphasize how much needs to be accomplished, while at the same time recognizing signs of collaboration ... on nuclear security and on climate stabilization. A key to the new era of cooperation is a change in the U.S. government's orientation toward international affairs brought about in part by the election of Obama. With a more pragmatic, problem-solving approach, not only has Obama initiated new arms reduction talks with Russia, he has started negotiations with Iran to close its nuclear enrichment program, and directed the U.S. government to lead a global effort to secure loose fissile material in four years. He also presided over the U.N. Security Council last September where he supported a fissile material cutoff treaty and encouraged all countries to live up to their disarmament and nonproliferation obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

In the meantime, US and Russian delegates are getting ready to meet in Geneva next Monday Jan. 25 to renew START negotiations. The original treaty, which expired in December 2009 and was to be renegotiated last summer, has unfortunately not been renewed yet due to negotiation obstacles between Russia and the United States. In the meantime, however, both Obama and Medvedev have pledged to continue abiding by the guidelines of START, and teams of delegates have been working nonstop to put into writing what Obama and Medvedev agreed to last summer.

With these recent events, and as the United Nations Conference on Disarmament kicks off today, it seems the international community's sincere hope (and one which this writer shares) is that 2010 proves to be a monumental year in making significant progress towards verifiable global disarmament.