NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION
Spring 2009
U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy
Report
By Dr. William J. Perry, Former Co-Director, Preventive Defense Project and General Brent Scowcroft
Perry and Scowcroft chaired the Council on Foreign Relations independent task force on U.S. nuclear weapons policy. The final report of the task force is provided here.
June 2009
Funding for U.S. Efforts to Improve Controls Over Nuclear Weapons, Materials, and Expertise Overseas: A 2009 Update
Report
By Andrew Newman, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom and Matthew Bunn, Associate Professor of Public Policy; Co-Principal Investigator, Project on Managing the Atom; Co-Principal Investigator, Energy Research, Development, Demonstration, and Deployment (ERD3) Policy Project
Andrew Newman and Matthew Bunn assess the Obama administration's fiscal year 2010 budget request for programs to improve controls over nuclear weapons, materials, and expertise worldwide. Funding for U.S. Efforts to Improve Controls Over Nuclear Weapons, Materials, and Expertise Overseas: A 2009 Update concludes that the request is a "steady as you go" budget and recommends that Congress and the administration work together to establish a $500 million contingency fund that could be used flexibly on a range of nuclear security programs.
AP Photo
June 19, 2009
"Don't Play Nuclear Chicken with a Desperate Pariah"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Foreign Policy
By Hui Zhang, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
"This game of escalation will go on and on until North Korea gets what it desires most from Washington: a reliable security assurance. Of course, no one likes to yield to dictators. But ultimately, playing chicken with a desperate and nuclear-armed North Korea is too risky to endeavor. The more isolated the North Koreans become, the more likely they will be to use the nuclear card in threatening two hostages: South Korea and Japan. Everyone loses that game"
AP Photo
June 18, 2009
"Assessing North Korea's Uranium Enrichment Capabilities"
Magazine or Newspaper Article, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
By Hui Zhang, Research Associate, Project on Managing the Atom
In mid-June 2009, Pyongyang threatened to begin enriching uranium in an effort to expand its nuclear weapons program. While much is known about North Korea's plutonium production program, far less is understood about what enrichment capabilities Pyongyang currently possesses. Dr. Hui Zhang argues that the evidence seems to indicate that North Korea currently has a very limited capacity for enrichment.
AP Photo
June 11, 2009
Observations on the Recent United Nations Security Council Resolution on North Korea
News
By William H. Tobey, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
On June 12, 2009, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1874 in response to recent provocative actions by North Korea, including a second nuclear test. Chinese and Russian support for a new U.N. Security Council resolution that imposes additional sanctions is potentially significant. However, whether China in particular will support tough implementation of the resolution and will take a harder line in its bilateral relations with North Korea remains to be seen, and will ultimately determine the success or failure of efforts to reverse North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
AP Photo
June 1, 2009
"A New Red Line For Iran"
Op-Ed, Washington Post
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
"The Iranian nuclear challenge was transformed on President George W. Bush's watch. Events in Iran have advanced faster than the policy community's thinking about the problem. The brute fact is that Iran has crossed a threshold that is painful to acknowledge but impossible to ignore: It has lost its nuclear virginity."
AP Photo
May 28, 2009
"North Korea won't fire nuke ... but could sell one to Osama"
Op-Ed, The Sun
By Graham Allison, Director, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs; Douglas Dillon Professor of Government; Faculty Chair, Dubai Initiative, Harvard Kennedy School
"The challenge for President Obama, Prime Minister Brown, members of the UN Security Council and the international community is to convince Kim Jong-il that he faces disastrous consequences."
Summer 2009
"Center Scholars Offer Advice on Future of U.S.-Russia Relations"
Newsletter Article, Belfer Center Newsletter
By Beth Maclin, Communications Assistant
Belfer Center Director Graham Allison, with members of the Bipartisan Commission on U.S. Policy towards Russia, met in March with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and high-level officials in the Obama administration to discuss the future of U.S.-Russia relations.
AP Image
May 20, 2009
"The Real Threat From North Korea"
Op-Ed, CBSNews.com
By William H. Tobey, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"The covert nuclear cooperation between Syria and North Korea fundamentally changes the threat posed by the North Korean nuclear program."
AP Photo
April 30, 2009
Preventing Nuclear Terrorism: A Global Intelligence Imperative
Report
By Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Senior Fellow, Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
"The biggest obstacle to multilateral intelligence cooperation is leadership and finding the courage to work together. Group think and risk aversion must be overcome in the name of urgency."
