In a statement released on January 10, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists (BAS) announced that it was moving the hand on its Doomsday Clock from six to five minutes before midnight. "Two years ago," the statement says, "it appeared that world leaders might address the truly global threats that we face. In many cases, that trend has not continued." Five minutes to midnight is where the clock hand was positioned in 2007. It was moved back to six minutes in December 2010, based in part on the ratification of the new START treaty between Russia and the United States. According to the BAS, "Obstacles to a world free of nuclear weapons remain." Among those obstacles are disagreements between the United States and Russia about the utility and purposes of missile defense, and a lack of transparency, planning, and cooperation among nuclear weapons states to support the drawdown of their weapons.
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