by Robert G. Gard and Leonor Tomero
In 2008, the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation sought input from 60 scientists, academics, members of Congress, senior congressional staffers, and representatives from advocacy groups, think tanks, and foundations to assess the priorities for the next Administration on nuclear arms control and non-proliferation. This report summarizes the consultations.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
TOP THREE RECOMMENDATIONS
- Provide a new direction on nuclear weapons policy that emphasizes “minimum deterrence,” extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), and signal intent to pursue negotiations with Russia on further reductions.
- Issue a statement explaining a new vision for nuclear weapons policy and guidance for the 2009 Nuclear Posture Review. The statement should include the intent to pursue nuclear weapons reductions and a reiteration that the only role for nuclear weapons is “minimum deterrence” – deterring the use of nuclear weapons against the United States or U.S. allies.
- Extend START I and begin bilateral negotiations with Russia on further permanent, legally-binding, and verifiable reductions toward a goal of 1,000 deployed and non-deployed nuclear weapons per side or fewer. Send a special envoy to Russia or appoint a working group to signal U.S. intent to maintain verification provisions and move toward reductions.
- Announce intent to secure all vulnerable fissile material in four years as the best way to reduce the risk of nuclear terrorism. Accelerate and prioritize these efforts accordingly and appoint a senior official to coordinate threat reduction efforts.
- Announce intent to seek ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and begin working to build the bipartisan support in the Senate needed for approval.
NEXT TIER RECOMMENDATIONS
- Announce intent to negotiate with Iran without preconditions.
- Recommit to promises (“13 Steps”) made at the 1995 extension of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and re-affirmed in 2000, and announce intent to fulfill these promises in the first term.
- Condition further deployment of ground-based midcourse missile defense in Europe on further tests that can confirm the effectiveness of the system.
- Begin efforts to create a new independent agency, or reform the current State Department structure, to deal more effectively and at a higher level with arms control and non-proliferation.
PARTICIPANTS
The Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, in conjunction with the New America Foundation, hosted six meetings co-chaired by Lt. Gen. Robert Gard (USA, ret.), chairman of the Center, and Senator Gary Hart, chairman of Council for a Livable World. In addition, the Center conducted interviews with ten Members of Congress and senior congressional staffers.
Our efforts were made possible through the generous support of the Connect U.S. Fund
DISCLAIMER: Not all participants made recommendations and not all participants endorsed or agreed with the recommendation or the priority of the recommendations. These recommendations reflect the overwhelming consensus from the discussions but not necessarily the view of the individual participants.
Note: Senior congressional staff members and other experts who preferred to remain unnamed were consulted as part of this project.
Lt. Gen. Robert Gard (USA, Ret.)
Chairman
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Senator Gary Hart (D-CO)
Chairman
Council for a Livable World
John Isaacs
Executive Director
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Leonor Tomero
Director of Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Kingston Reif (Rapporteur)
Former Herbert Scoville Jr. Peace Fellow
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Robert Alvarez
Senior Scholar
Institute for Policy Studies
Joe Cirincione
President
Ploughshares Fund
Paul Castleman
Secretary-Treasurer and Board Member
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Deepti Choubey
Deputy Director, Nonproliferation Program
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
Alice Day
Board Member
Council for a Livable World
Lincoln Day
Board Member
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Rudy deLeon
Senior Vice President of National Security, Center for American Progress
Former Deputy Secretary of Defense (2001)
Laurie Dewey
Vice-President and Board Member
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Charles Ferguson
Phillip D. Reed Senior Fellow for Science and Technology
Council on Foreign Relations
Brian Finlay
Senior Associate
Stimson Center
Nancy Gallagher
Associate Director for Research, Center for International and Security Studies
University of Maryland
Richard Garwin
IBM Fellow Emeritus
Thomas J. Watson Research Center
Amb. Thomas Graham, Jr.
Chairman and Co-Founder, Cypress Fund for Peace and Security
Special Representative of the President for Arms Control, Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (94-97)
Phillip Karber
Adjunct Faculty Member, Georgetown University
Former Strategy Advisor to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger and Founding Director of the Department of Defense Strategic Concepts Development Center
Daryl Kimball
Executive Director
Arms Control Association
Col. Richard Klass (USAF, Ret.)
President
Veterans Alliance for Security and Democracy
Sam Knight
National Advisory Board Member
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Lawrence Korb
Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress
Former Assistant Secretary of Defense (81-85)
Bonnie Jenkins
Program Officer for U.S. Foreign and Security Policy
The Ford Foundation
Jim Leach
John L. Weinberg Visiting Professor of Public and International Affairs, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University
Former U.S. Representative
Amb. James Leonard
Member of the Scientists Working Group, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Former Assistant Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA) (69-73)
Senator Carl Levin (D-MI)
Chairman of Senate Armed Services Committee
U.S. Senate
Jeffrey Lewis
Director, Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative
New America Foundation
Terri Lodge
Director of Government Affairs
Ploughshares Fund
Priscilla McMillan
Member of the Board of Directors
Council for a Livable World
Katherine Magraw
Director
Peace and Security Funders Group
Robert Nelson
Senior Scientist, Global Security Program
Union of Concerned Scientists
Ivan Oelrich
Vice President, Strategic Security Programs
Federation of American Scientists
Alan Pearson
Director, Biological and Chemical Weapons Control Program
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Senator Jack Reed (D-RI)
Member of the Senate Armed Services Committee
U.S. Senate
Douglas Shaw
Associate Dean for Planning, Research, and External Relations
Assistant Professor of International Affairs, Elliott School of International Affairs
The George Washington University
Eric Schwartz
Executive Director
Connect U.S. Fund
Ivo Spalatin
Secretary-Treasurer and Board Member, Council for a Livable World
Former Director of the Office of Congressional Affairs, U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency (ACDA)
Leonard Spector
Deputy Director, Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute for International Studies
Former Assistant Deputy Administrator for Arms Control and Nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration
Representative John Spratt (D-SC)
Chairman of House Budget Committee
U.S. House of Representatives
John D. Steinbruner
Director, Center for International and Security Studies, University of Maryland
Former Member of the Defense Policy Board, Department of Defense (93-97)
Guy Stevens
Chief Operating Officer
Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Frank von Hippel
National Advisory Board Member, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Professor of Public and International Affairs, Program on Science and Global Security, Princeton University
Co-Chair, International Panel on Fissile Materials
Leonard Weiss
National Advisory Board Member, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation
Consultant to Lawrence Livermore Laboratory and Former Staff Director of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI)
Member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
U.S. Senate
Jules Zacher
Board Member
Council for a Livable World
