Nukes Lobbying Brings Obama’s Foreign Policy into Focus

The past two weeks have been marked by major foreign policy accomplishments for U.S. President Barack Obama, including the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), the signing of a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, and what appear to be improvements in the increasingly tense Washington-Beijing relationship.

MIDEAST: Israel Trapped in Nuclear Isolation

As the world grapples with controlling the spread of nuclear weapons, it's a time of complex choices in a Middle East edging between possible confrontation with Iran and possible movement towards Israeli-Palestinian peace.

POLITICS: Nuclear Security Summit Boosts Disarmament Agenda

On the second and last day of the largest gathering of world leaders ever in Washington, U.S. President Barack Obama connected the commitments made here on securing vulnerable nuclear materials to the broader goal of a "nuclear-free world".

DISARMAMENT: NGOs Praise U.S. Leadership on Nukes

One of the largest gatherings of world leaders ever on U.S. soil began Monday with representatives of 47 countries gathering here for the Nuclear Security Summit.

DISARMAMENT: U.N. Chief Doubts Mideast Nuke-Free Zone

Against the backdrop of a major summit meeting of world leaders on nuclear non-proliferation hosted by the United States, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed strong doubts about the longstanding proposal to create a nuclear-free zone in the militarily-volatile Middle East.

POLITICS: World Leaders to Meet on Nuclear Security

On Apr. 12 and 13, U.S. President Barack Obama will host over 40 world leaders in Washington to develop a strategy to secure nuclear materials and prevent nuclear terrorism, following up on his announcements this week that that the U.S. would significantly modify its nuclear strategy and reduce the number of nuclear warheads in its stockpile by one-third.

DISARMAMENT: Hollywood Documentary Calls for Zero Nuclear Weapons

Hollywood and Silicon Valley leaders have teamed up with Middle Eastern royalty and high-level U.S. diplomats to send a message to heads of state who are gathering here in Washington next week: the world needs to reduce its nuclear arsenal to zero as soon as possible.

DISARMAMENT: Mixed Reviews for Obama’s Nuclear Strategy

U.S. President Barack Obama Tuesday unveiled a new Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) that will significantly limit the circumstances under which Washington would use nuclear weapons as part of a strategy to bolster the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and other efforts to halt and reverse the spread of nuclear arms.

Q&A: “They Knew I Was Not a Spy”

When world leaders meet in Washington later this month for a summit on nuclear security that is expected to include discussion of sanctions on Iran, they should also address the country's human rights situation, says Iranian-American journalist Roxana Saberi.

US-CHINA: Spring Thaw in the Air?

Springtime appears to be bringing a thaw in U.S.-China relations, with U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao holding an hour-long phone conversation Thursday in which both leaders expressed a desire to build a more positive bilateral relationship

IRAN: Obama Sanctions Strategy Complicated by Congress

President Barack Obama is hoping that relatively quick approval by the U.N. Security Council of a new round of sanctions against Iran will relieve growing pressure on Capitol Hill to take stronger measures against Tehran.

Q&A: To Try With Nukes as With Mines

Since the expiration of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) in December, U.S. and Russian negotiators have been busy hammering out a new pact that will reduce the number of nuclear warheads deployed in both countries by about one-quarter, according to Washington.

/UPDATE*/POLITICS: U.S., Russia Nuclear Reductions START Again

When U.S. President Barack Obama accepted his Nobel Peace Prize last fall he said, "I'm working with [Russian] President [Dmitri] Medvedev to reduce America and Russia's nuclear stockpiles." Three and a half months later, that work has come to fruition.

POLITICS-INDIA: Bhopal Legacy Haunts Nuclear Liability Bill

The U.S.-based multinational Union Carbide got away lightly after causing the world’s worst industrial tragedy at Bhopal, but that legacy has come to haunt U.S. corporations seeking to tap India’s newly opened market for nuclear power equipment.

DISARMAMENT: Japan Pushes for Progress in U.S. Nuclear Review

Japanese parliamentarians and activists pin high hopes on the hotly debated and much anticipated U.S. Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) to which the Barack Obama administration is reported to be giving finishing touches.

MIDEAST: Iran, Israel Spoiling for a Fight?

Iran and Israel appear to be spoiling for a fight, going by recent belligerent statements emanating from several regional capitals.

US-IRAN: Debate Over Military Action Against Iran Gains Steam

While the ongoing U.S. military "surge" in Afghanistan continues to capture the headlines, Iran's nuclear programme – and how best to deal with it – is rapidly emerging here as this year's biggest foreign policy challenge.

MIDEAST: How to Check Both Iran and Israel

The U.S. is raising the stakes in its bid to halt Iran's nuclear programme, putting the issue on a "pressure track", says top U.S. general David Petraeus. The U.S. and other world powers are drumming up support for a fourth round of UN sanctions against Iran for its refusal to comply with repeated ultimatums to suspend uranium enrichment and to agree to a deal involving UN-backed nuclear fuel.

POLITICS: What Will China Do With Its Veto?

With relations between China and the U.S. taking some bitter turns in recent months, how China responds to mounting pressure from the U.S. and its European allies for tougher sanctions on Iran is being viewed as a major test of the current relations and a determinant of the future shape of bilateral ties between Washington and Beijing.

U.S.: Nuke Plants Back in Vogue, as Climate Bill Stalls

After decades of debate, the United States is poised to build its first new nuclear reactors since the early 1970s.

POLITICS: U.S. Steps Up Sanctions Diplomacy Against Iran

Faced with an increasingly impatient Congress and a defiant government in Tehran, the administration of U.S. President Barack Obama is currently stepping up its diplomatic efforts in the Middle East as it seeks to prepare the ground for tougher sanctions on Iran.