HKS in the News March 22, 2012

1. 'Gold standard’ for nuclear security (Allison) Korea Joongang Daily

2. US says 5 nations clear out weapons-grade uranium (Bunn) Associated Press

3. Under melting ice, a jackpot (Kayyem) Boston Globe

4. Brown raises three times more than Warren in Swampscott (Linsky) Wicked Local (Swampscott)

5. Jakarta election, the true test of Indonesia’s democracy ( Mawardi ) Jakarta Post (Indonesia)

'Gold standard’ for nuclear security

Korea Joongang Daily

March 21

Interview with: Graham Allison, Belfer Center

Topic: Nuclear security on the Korean peninsula

Graham Allison , a leading analyst of U.S. national security and a nuclear proliferation expert at Harvard University, said the upcoming Nuclear Security Summit will have a “powerful latent message” when the heads of over 50 states gather in Seoul next week.

Allison, director of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, had been critical of the George W. Bush administration’s North Korean policies.

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US says 5 nations clear out weapons-grade uranium

Associated Press

March 22

Quoted: Matthew Bunn, Belfer Center

Topic: Nuclear talks in Korea

WASHINGTON—The U.S. has helped five nations completely clear out their stocks of highly enriched uranium since President Barack Obama outlined his plans for securing all weapons-usable materials worldwide, officials say, citing it as progress in the administration's efforts to prevent nuclear weapons from getting in terrorists' hands....

Nuclear nonproliferation expert Matthew Bunn at Harvard University said he would not rule out some kind of settlement of the U.S. dispute with Belarus during the Seoul summit, adding that a number of nations with small stockpiles of weapons-grade material may also announce they have cleaned them out.

Meanwhile, he said, several countries could commit themselves to ratifying relevant treaties, hosting International Atomic Energy Agency reviews of their security arrangements or creating law enforcement teams to indict nuclear smugglers. But Bunn said he expects that much more will remain to be done.

"It will, I believe, be possible to say at the end of four years that for most or all of the highest-risk stocks, some significant progress has been made and the risks have been reduced," said Bunn, who advised the Clinton administration on efforts to lock up the former Soviet Union's vast stores of nuclear materials. "What it will not be possible to say at the end of four years is that all the nuclear weapons and weapons-usable material is secured and accounted for."

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Under melting ice, a jackpot

Boston Globe

March 22

Commentary by: Juliette Kayyem

Topic: New oil discoveries in the Arctic

BARROW, Alaska — AT MIDNIGHT, in the northernmost location in the United States, this town packed in ice seems unwelcoming. It is silent and cold. Frozen whale bones line the road. There is no connectivity to the outside world. In order to ward off polar bears, mace spray hangs from the door of the Distant Early Warning (DEW) facility.

The DEWline, a “man camp’’ because that is who is there, is primarily used to monitor the Russians, but also sleeps visitors looking for a place to stay. Nearly 300 miles above the Arctic Circle, there are no vacancies for the foreseeable future. It may be minus 35 degrees this Tuesday, but Barrow is hot.

This 3,500-person Alaskan town is changing. It has become a magnet for explorers and environmentalists, businessmen and rescuers, scientists and engineers, all of whom are coming here because the Arctic is melting and there is oil in the once-frozen ocean.

The United States Geological Service estimates there are about 25 billion barrels of oil in the Arctic; it could net a federal tax haul of $200 billion. Isolated Barrow, a place that has no road access in or out, will serve as the primary land location for all exploration activity. It is ground zero at the top of the world.

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Brown raises three times more than Warren in Swampscott

Wicked Local (Swampscott)

March 21

Quoted: Marty Linsky

Topic: Political fundraising

Political observers say campaign cash already flowing steadily to some U.S. Senate and House candidates in Massachusetts will likely become a flood by the 2012 election...

“You’re probably going to see a lot more outside groups, super (political action committees), getting involved,” said Marty Linsky, a longtime lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. “This is going to feel more like the presidential campaign than we’ve come to expect.”

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Jakarta election, the true test of Indonesia’s democracy

Jakarta Post (Indonesia)

March 22

Commentary by: Izhari Mawardi MPP 2012

Topic: Jakarta politics

The registration of candidates for the Jakarta governor and vice governor posts was officially closed on Tuesday. One thing is sure: The nomination process is an important signal of growing democracy in Indonesia.

Last week, the Golkar Party announced a coalition with the United Development Party (PPP) and the Prosperous Peace Party (PDS) to nominate incumbent South Sumatra Governor Alex Noerdin for the race. The Golkar Party succumbed to Noerdin’s extraordinary feat in leading South Sumatra during turbulent times, including his effort to make the province a successful host of the Southeast Asian Games last year.

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