“These achievements enhance U.S. and global security by reducing the risk of nuclear terrorism,” added Reif. “Despite this important progress, however, many important countries with large amounts of nuclear material did not sign-up to key gift baskets, there is still no global requirement for how secure nuclear material should be, and it remains to be seen what international institution or forum will be responsible for sustaining continuous attention and progress on nuclear security once the Summit process ends in 2016.”

“The President’s leadership, both domestically and internationally, has drawn much-needed attention to the importance of nuclear security and spurred countries around the world to take actions that will make America and the globe safer,” added Reif. “Despite impressive progress, significant security gaps remains and more work is needed to address them.”

“Since the end of the Cold War, the size of the U.S. nuclear stockpile has dropped steadily – from about 22,000 warheads to roughly 5,000 today,” said Reif. “The best kept secret of U.S. nuclear policy is that most of these reductions haven’t been codified in treaties.”