By: Seán Kreyling
In Tuesday’s Washington Post, David E Hoffman writes about U.S. Senator Richard Lugar’s and former Senator Sam Nunn’s efforts to secure the world’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons with the help of Russia. Nunn, the current co-chairman of the non-profit Nuclear Threat Initiative, expressed concern about the recent dispute with Russia over U.S. plans to station a missile defense system in Europe. This dispute, coupled with the diffusion of technology, nuclear know-how and terrorism led the senator to conclude that:
“any plan for global peace and security that does not feature the Russians and Americans working together is not likely to be successful for either of us or the world.”
This is familiar ground for Lugar and Nunn. In 1991, they sponsored the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program which directed the Department of Defense to help secure former Soviet weapons of mass destruction (WMD) as that nation lapsed into turmoil following the dissolution of the USSR. Under the CTR program, the U.S. and recipient states have made considerable advancements in global security against the threat of WMD.
Lugar and Nunn, the architects of legislation approved by Congress to destroy weapons as the Soviet Union collapsed, warned that it would be a mistake to allow recent disagreements with Russia to become a lasting crisis. Lugar, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, cautioned against allowing the relationship to “drift toward conflict.”
Why is Russia’s help so important?
Strategically, Sen. Nunn argues that it could provide a blueprint for the situation in Iran and North Korea if agreement is ever reached on dismantling weapons in those countries. Cooperation of this nature could also remove additional weapons from hair-trigger alert in both countries, further lessening the possibility of a missile launch due to confusion or poor information in a time-sensitive environment.
Nunn said joint action is needed by both countries to deal with two thorny problems left over from the Cold War: what to do about tactical or short-range nuclear weapons, which have never been covered by any treaty, and the lack of transparency on research into biological weapons.
In the near term, cooperation would align the Administration’s stated top defense priority, winning the Global War on Terror (GWOT), with U.S. foreign policy objectives. Preventing a terrorist attack, especially one involving nuclear terrorism, requires Russian cooperation - and unless we somehow can justify that the Russians are a greater threat to U.S. national security - alignment on this issue is paramount. Furthermore, cooperation can address more immediate concerns related to terrorism, such as the black market demand for fissile material.
Nuclear security is a boundable problem that can be solved. According to Graham Allison, if the President judged nuclear security as an important component of the GWOT, it would take several years to secure the world’s supply of fissile material. For a more thorough understanding of the time and costs associated with securing the world’s nuclear supply, take a look at this report from Anthony Wier and Matthew Bunn of Harvard University’s Managing the Atom Project .
MORE:
Russian Roulette - FRONTLINE investigates the safety and security of the Russian nuclear arsenal and the potential for accidental launch or diversion of its nuclear weapons.
The UN Security Council affirms determination to strengthen cooperation aimed at countering nuclear, chemical, biological weapons proliferation.
Tags: Frontline, GWOT, Iran, KSG, Lugar, Missile Defense, nonproliferation, North Korea, nuclear weapons, Russia, Terrorism, weapons of mass destruction
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