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21st Century Nuclear Challenges: Policies, Priorities, and Public Role

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Presentation with Dr. Christopher Ford and Mr. William Tobey, "21st Century Nuclear Challenges: Policies, Priorities, and the Public Role".

**Please RSVP for this event.

During the Cold War, discussion of nuclear weapons was everywhere. Nuclear issues were front and center in the headlines, underpinned our nation’s defense posture, defined super power politics, and were the reason why all school children knew where the local bomb shelter was located. Despite the perhaps even greater dangers nuclear weapons and material pose today—the nuclear programs of rogue states Iran and North Korea, the threat of nuclear terrorism, increasing numbers of nuclear weapons in volatile or fragile parts of the world like Pakistan, the nuclear disaster in Japan— the nuclear security agenda has enexplicably dropped out of the national debate. Global stockpiles of nuclear weapons, vulnerable nuclear material worldwide, and the byproducts of nuclear energy production will remain among the central challenges to US national security and global stability throughout the 21st century.

Please join an expert panel for a discussion of these important issues. What role should nuclear weapons play in our national defense? Are nuclear weapons the most useful tool to combat today’s adversaries? In light of today's budgetary constraints, how should the US spend its more limited resources on defense? What strategies can be employed to control rogue states with nuclear programs like Iran and North Korea? Do we have adequate security in place to prevent terrorists from acquiring nuclear weapons-usable material or technology? These are just some of the questions the featured speakers will address as they examine how to best shape the US nuclear posture and policies in the 21st century.

Featured speakers:
Dr. Christopher Ford, Director of the Center for Technology and Global Security and Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute and former US Special Representative for Nuclear Nonproliferation. Dr. Christopher Ford served until September 2008 as United States Special Representative for Nuclear Nonproliferation, and prior to that as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State responsible for arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament verification and compliance policy. Prior to joining the Bush Administration, Dr. Ford served as Minority Counsel and then General Counsel to the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence in the wake of the September 2001 terrorist attacks. He is also an intelligence officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve, holding the rank of Lieutenant Commander.

William Tobey, Senior Fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University and former Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration. William Tobey was most recently Deputy Administrator for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation at the National Nuclear Security Administration. There, he managed the U.S. government's largest program to prevent nuclear proliferation and terrorism by detecting, securing, and disposing of dangerous nuclear material. Mr. Tobey also served on the National Security Council Staff in three administrations, in defense policy, arms control, and counter-proliferation positions. He has participated in international negotiations ranging from the START talks with the Soviet Union, to the Six Party Talks with North Korea.

This event is sponsored by the Hudson Institute, Partnership for a Secure America, the Stanley Foundation, Kennesaw State University and Georgia Tech's Sam Nunn School of International Affairs Center for Strategy, Technology, and Policy (CISTP).

Status

  • Workflow Status:Published
  • Created By:Jene Gladstone
  • Created:10/23/2011
  • Modified By:Fletcher Moore
  • Modified:10/07/2016