Arms Control and Nonproliferation Advisory Board

Some of us in the arms control community, including the Union of Concerned Scientists, groused about the State Department’s decision to shut down the Arms Control and Nonproliferation Advisory Board:

After the George W. Bush administration came into office, the scientific committee that advised the State Department on technical matters related to arms control was dismissed.

The committee had been chaired by physicist Richard Garwin, who has served on the Presidential Scientific Advisory Committee and the Defense Science Board under administrations of both parties, and has for decades been a consultant to the national nuclear weapons laboratories and intelligence agencies. The committee also had members with expertise on biological and chemical weapons.

After the committee was dismissed, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John R. Bolton told Dr. Garwin that a new committee would be formed, but that has not happened.

So, I am gratified to see that the State Department—four years on—has finally reinstated the group, although with a new membership.

In case of life imitating art, the Chairman is Senator Fred Thompson, star of Hunt for Red October and NTI’s film about nuclear terrorism, Last Best Chance.

Arms Control and Nonproliferation Advisory Board Meeting, January 30, 2006

The Arms Control and Nonproliferation Advisory Board (ACNAB) held an organizational meeting on Monday, January 30. The Board will provide the Department with insight and advice on a broad range of international security issues. The Board is sponsored by the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Robert Joseph, and is composed of national security experts with scientific, military, diplomatic, and political backgrounds.

A list of members appears below.

Former United States Senator Fred D. Thompson is the Chairman of the Board. His leadership and vast experience will ensure that the Board will provide the Department with valuable and independent analysis and assessments.

The Board will provide a unique contribution on issues faced by the Department in carrying out its international security responsibilities. Reports will be provided directly to the Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Members of the Board plan to present their unclassified studies and conclusions to the public.

Secretary of State Rice reestablished the Arms Control and
Nonproliferation Advisory Board in late 2005. Since this was the first meeting of the reconstituted Board, it focused on administrative matters and potential topics for study. The Board will meet quarterly.

Due to the discussion of classified information, this meeting was closed to the public.

2006/137

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The Arms Control and Nonproliferation Advisory Board

United States Department of State

Senator Fred Thompson (Chairman)
Michael R. Anastasio [Director of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory]
Dr. Kathleen Bailey [Senior Associate at NIPP, served in Reagan and Bush I administrations, wrote “The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: The Worst Arms Control Treaty Ever” (1999)]
Ms. Alison B. Fortier [Former VP Lockheed Martin Space and Missile Systems]
William Graham [Former NASA Acting Administrator and Science Advisor to Reagan]
Dr. Stephen Kappes [Former Deputy Director of Clandestine Services, CIA]
Mitchel Kuglar [Director of Strategic Initiatives, Missile Defense Systems, Boeing]
Dr. Ronald Lehman [Director Center for Global Security Research Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Livermore
Vice Admiral Robert Monroe [Former director of the Defense Nuclear Agency]
Dr. Gordon Oehler [Former Director of the Non-Proliferation Center, CIA]
Dr. Keith Payne [President of NIPP, former Assistant Secretary of Defense, helped draft Nuclear Posture Review]
Dr. Robert Platzgraff [President of Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis]
Senator Charles Robb [Former Senator (D-VA) and Co-Chairman of the Robb-Silberman-Commision on intelligence related to WMD]
Dr. Amy Sands [Dean, Graduate School of International Policy Studies, Monterey Institute]
Dr. James Schlesinger [[Former Secretary of Defense for Nixon and Ford, Secretary of Energy for Carter]
Dr. William Schneider [Chairman of Defense Science Board, Adjunct Fellow at the Hudson Institute]
Dr. William Van Cleave [Emeritus Professor, Missouri State University, Director, Center for Defense and Strategic Studies, member Committee on the Present Danger]

Released on February 3, 2006

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See http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/ for all press statements

Notes on affiliation were contributed by Michael Katz-Hyman.

For more information, see: National Nuclear Security Administration Advisory Committee, May 29, 2005 .