I have returned from the Carnegie Nonproliferation Conference in Washington. A good time was had and some interesting questions arose for me. Several of the panels raised important issues that will need to be addressed much more rigorously by the nonproliferation, arms control and disarmament communities as nuclear numbers continue to come down. At present it is difficult to avoid the feeling that at a community level, if not an individual one, many of these issues are simply being dismissed or waved off as though they do not matter. Such a position may have been justifiable in the days when tens of thousands of NW were deployed by both the USSR and USA but it is difficult to sustain now.
I also got to talk to some very interesting people about a range of issues including the state of the nuclear energy industry, missile proliferation and deterrence issues.