Nuclear Security Study Group Expert Briefings

Wednesday, May 31, 2006

With funding from the MacArthur Foundation, the Center for National Policy (CNP), developed a series of forums with two goals in mind. First, to bring experts on nuclear security issues together with Members of Congress and key Congressional staff so that the research and expertise in the specialized field of nuclear security can be readily accessed by decision makers and their staffs. Second, to present a comprehensive picture of the issues revolving around nuclear security. Every effort has been made to foster a spirit of bi-partisanship in this program.

May 2006 “Can Iran’s Bomb Be Stopped?”
Dr. Samore discussed the prospects for stopping the development of Iran's nuclear weapons. After giving a sober assessment of the United States' strategic situation, Samore, formerly a non-proliferation expert on the National Security Council staff, argued that the best option for stopping or at least slowing down the Iranian nuclear program would require a change in U.S. strategy: "I think Washington should offer to negotiate with Iran as part of a multilateral group," Samore said in his prepared remarks. $ARTICLEID(62,Click here for more detail.,1)

March 2006 “How to Handle a Nuclear North Korea”
Jon Wolfsthal of the Center for Strategic and International Studies and David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security teamed up to discuss the status of North Korea’s nuclear program and prospects for its future. The outlines of a potential verification regime that would be part of ending the North Korean nuclear program was discussed as well the political realities that stand in the way of such a breakthrough.

February 2006 “Members Roundtable on Nuclear Security”
CNP President Tim Roemer hosted former U.S. Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham for a Members-of-Congress-only meeting of the Nuclear Security Study Group on Capitol Hill. The bi-partisan group of Congressmen had a free flowing and candid discussion for an hour and a half on issues ranging from the expansion of GTRI, to relations with Russia and how to prevent further weapons proliferation to Iran and North Korea.

September 2005 “Lessons of Katrina: Preventing a Disaster Involving WMD”
CNP hosted a discussion featuring Ken Luongo of RANSAC who focused on the equivalent destructive power of a category five hurricane and a small nuclear device fashioned from loose nuclear materials. CNP’s Scott Bates, the former Senior Policy Advisor for the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee, presented information on the lack of preparedness for organized response to catastrophic events such as a nuclear event.

July 2005 “Challenges for CTR and GTRI”
CNP gathered a diverse group of scholars to work with Congressional staff to discuss the current situation and potential for future developments in CTR programs and Global Threat Reduction Initiative. Ken Luongo of RANSAC and Jim Carafano of the Heritage Foundation discussed comprehensive threat reduction programs while Laura Holgate of the Nuclear Threat Initiative and Sandy Spector of the Monterrey Institute discussed future needs of the GTRI.

June 2005 “Terrorism and WMD: 9/11 Public Discourse Project”
The follow on to the 9/11 Commission, the 9/11 Public Discourse Project (PDP), scheduled in the summer of 2005 a series of public hearings that ultimately led to a “report card” on the effectiveness of implementation of the recommendations of the 9/11 Commission. The Center for National Policy partnered with the PDP on an event solely focused on the potential for nuclear terrorism and the need to increase nuclear security across the globe. Participants on the panel included Sam Nunn, Ash Carter, Sandy Spector of the Monterrey Institute and Juliette Kayyem of the Belfer Center at Harvard University. The panel was chaired by CNP President Tim Roemer.

May 2005 “Nuclear Security Group Organizational Meeting”
CNP met with senior staff from the U.S. Senate who have been present virtually from the creation of the “Nunn-Lugar” program to discuss the most urgent needs on Capitol Hill regarding information and expertise on nuclear security issues. This conversation, with input from such Hill veterans as Kenny Meyers from Senator Lugar’s staff and Madeline Creedon from the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee, helped provide additional focus to CNP’s Nuclear Security Study Group program.

April 2005 “A New National Security Agenda”
Nuclear security expert Dr. Ashton Carter discussed the nuclear proliferation challenges in North Korea, Iran and the need to maintain and strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty with nearly two dozen staff members from Capitol Hill. $ARTICLEID(43,Click here for more detail.,1)