280 Days of Risk to National Security
Tomorrow Marks 280 Days without Inspections of Russian Strategic Nuclear Weapons
Washington, D.C., 10 Sept 2010 – Tomorrow marks 280 days that our highly trained verification inspectors have not been able to inspect Russian strategic nuclear weapons.
Dr Janne Nolan, the Director of Nuclear Security at the American Security Project stated: “Since the expiration of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty last December, the US has not been able to conduct inspections, including on-site verification, into Russian strategic nuclear weapons. The New START Treaty would put verification and inspections back.” Dr Nolan went on to say: “The lack of ratification by the Senate of the New START Treaty, has meant we have no reliable knowledge about what is going on – undermining both our intelligence and security interests.”
Brig General John Adams, former Deputy United States Military Representative to (NATO) said: “Without verification, without inspections, without first-hand observations of Russian activities, we lack accurate understanding of Russian strategic forces. Moreover, our lack of a verification regime jeopardizes our ability to detect potential compromises in the handling of Russian nuclear material. The sooner the Senate ratifies the New START Treaty the better for American and global security.”
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Brigadier General John Adams was serving at the Pentagon during the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 and directly participated in immediate disaster recovery operations at the crash site as well as coordinated international support for the U.S. diplomatic and military response. His final assignment was as Deputy United States Military Representative to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Military Committee in Brussels, Belgium, the highest military authority of NATO. He retired in 2007 after a distinguished 31-year career and now lives with his wife in Tucson, Arizona.
Dr Janne Nolan is the Director for Nuclear Security at the American Security Project. Dr Nolan has held numerous senior positions in the private sector, including Foreign Policy Director at the Century Foundation, Senior Fellow in foreign policy at The Brookings Institution, and Senior International Security Consultant at Science Applications International Corporation. Her public service includes positions as a Foreign Affairs Officer in the Department of State; Senior Representative to the Senate Armed Services Committee for Senator Gary Hart; and member of the National Defense Panel, the Accountability Review Board investigating terrorist attacks on U.S. embassies in East Africa, and the Secretary of Defense’s Policy Board. Nolan is the author of six books, including Guardians of the Arsenal: The Politics of Nuclear Strategy, Trappings of Power: Ballistic Missiles in the Third World, and Elusive Consensus.
About the Consensus for American Security: the Consensus for American Security is a non-partisan group of influential military and national security leaders who have come together to highlight growing support for a new and sustainable nuclear weapons policy. The Consensus is an initiative of the American Security Project.
