Future of Nuclear Weapons Policy

April 16, 2009

This program is in partnership with the Maine Chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility

Listen to Joseph Cirincione's WCSH6 Interview here:

Background:

President Obama's pledge during the campaign to "set a new direction in U.S. nuclear weapons policy and show the world that America believes in its existing commitment under the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to work to ultimately eliminate all nuclear weapons" has set the stage for a thorough policy review by the new administration and Congress. Statements by former Secretaries of State George Shultz and Henry Kissinger, former Defense Secretary William Perry, and former Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee Sam Nunn, calling for the U.S. to lead in "achieving the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons" have inspired new thinking within and outside of governments throughout the world. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is coming up for review in 2010. Many believe this treaty must be strengthened both to more effectively contain proliferation and to address threats of nuclear terrorism. Most recently, State Department officials have confirmed that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is acting to engage her Russian counterparts in consideration of substantial reductions in nuclear arsenals of both nations down to 1000 warheads each, suggesting that a fundamental shift in nuclear policy is being formulated.

About the Author:  Joseph Cirincione

Cirincione is the former director of the Nonproliferation Project at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and currently the president of the Ploughshares Fund.  He is the author of Bomb Scare: the History and Future of Nuclear Weapons. He worked for nine years on the professional staffs of the House Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Government Operations, and served as staff director of the bipartisan Military Reform Caucus.  He teaches at the Georgetown University Graduate School of Foreign Service and is a member of the Council on foreign Relations.  He is an expert advisor to the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States, chaired by former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry and former Secretary of Energy and Secretary of Defense James R. Schlesinger.  Cirincione is an honors graduate of Boston College and holds a Masters of Science from Georgetown School of Foreign Service.

Source:  Ploughshares Fund website: www.ploughshares.org