Apocalypse Never

Glossary of Acronyms

Glossary of Acronyms 269 AEC U.N. Atomic Energy Commission, an international body created in 1946, the first act of the new United Nations, as a way to tackle the problems of the nuclear age. Confusingly, Congress created a U.S. government body called the Atomic Energy Commission that same year. (It became the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in 1975.) BWC Biological Weapons Convention, which outlaws the development , production, possession, and use of biological weapons. CD U.N. Conference on Disarmament, created as a forum for multilateral arms control negotiations. CND Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, a British advocacy organization. CTBT Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which would outlaw all nuclear test explosions but which has not yet come into force. CWC Chemical Weapons Convention, which outlaws the development , production, possession, and use of chemical weapons. DPRK Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea). HEU Highly enriched uranium—that is, uranium in which the proportion of the isotope U-235 has, through enrichment, reached a highenough level (roughly 20 percent or more) for use in atomic bombs. IAEA International Atomic Energy Agency, the body charged with encouraging the peaceful use of nuclear energy and discouraging its military use. IALANA International Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms, a nuclear disarmament advocacy organization. Glossary.qxd 2/4/10 11:18 AM Page 269 ICBM Intercontinental ballistic missile. These missiles, based on land (most in the American Great Plains or Russian central Asian steppes), can deliver nuclear warheads to virtually any point in the world. ICC International Criminal Court, created in 1998 to adjudicate charges against individuals of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity when national courts are unwilling or unable to do so. ICJ International Court of Justice, known informally as the World Court, which adjudicates disputes between states. IJU Islamic Jihad Union, a splinter branch of Al Qaeda. INESAP International Network of Scientists and Engineers against Proliferation, a nuclear disarmament advocacy organization. INF Intermediate range nuclear forces. These missiles are limited in range to a few thousand miles. They were deployed in Western Europe to strike targets in the USSR, and vice versa. (The 1987 INF Treaty between the Soviet Union and the United States eliminated these weapons in the arsenals of these countries.) IPPNW International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, a nuclear disarmament advocacy organization that won the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. LCNP Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy, a nuclear disarmament advocacy organization. LTBT Limited Test Ban Treaty of 1963, which banned nuclear test explosions underwater, in the atmosphere, and in space but not underground. MAD Mutually assured destruction. MNWC Model Nuclear Weapons Convention, a draft of a treaty to abolish nuclear weapons, created in the 1990s by a large group of scholars, scientists, lawyers, and nuclear policy experts. NGO Nongovernmental organization. NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an alliance created in 1949 to oppose and deter a hypothetical Soviet invasion of Western Europe. Glossary of Acronyms 270 Glossary.qxd 2/4/10 11:18 AM Page 270 NIE National intelligence estimate, a report on a particular topic that is usually a product of multiple U.S. intelligence agencies and officials. NORAD The joint American and Canadian North American Aerospace Defense Command. NPR The Bush administration’s December 2001 “Nuclear Posture Review”; also, National Public Radio. Other administrations have also issued Nuclear Posture Reviews. NPT Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty of 1968, in which non-nuclear weapon states agreed never to acquire nuclear weapons, and nuclear weapon states agreed to get rid of theirs. NUTS A term of endearment for professional nuclear policy specialists, or “nuclear use theorists.” NWEC A hypothetical Nuclear Weapon Elimination Convention. PAL Permissive action links, complex security mechanisms to prevent unauthorized detonation of nuclear weapons. PGM Precision-guided munitions. PRC People’s Republic of China (often referred to as “mainland China” in the west or, at one time, as “Red China”). PSR Physicians for Social Responsibility, the American branch of IPPNW. RNEP Robust nuclear earth penetrator, a new nuclear bomb proposed by the Bush administration that would burrow underground before detonating. ROC Republic of China (on Taiwan). ROK Republic of Korea (South Korea). SAC American Strategic Air Command (now known as Strategic Command , or STRATCOM), headquartered in Omaha, long the nerve center of American nuclear command and control. SALT Strategic Arms Limitation Treaties, the first generation of nuclear arms control agreements between the United States and the Soviet Union. Glossary of Acronyms 271 Glossary.qxd 2...