On Friday 3 July 2009, Dr. Charles D. Ferguson, Council of Foreign Relations Senior Fellow for Science and Technology and Project Director of the Independent Task Force Report on U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy will speak on “U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy” from 3-4pm.
IISS is pleased to welcome Charles Ferguson to lead a discussion on the recently published CFR-sponsored Independent Task Force Report on U.S. Nuclear Weapons Policy, chaired by William J. Perry and Brent Scowcroft. In particular. The discussion will examine the five pillars of the report:
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reenergizing relationships with major nuclear-armed powers, with emphasis on strategic dialogue with Russia and China as well as the objective of a new legally binding and verifiable arms control agreement between the United States and Russia;
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preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and know-how to additional states and non-state actors by boosting the health of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime;
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reaffirming and maintaining U.S. extended deterrence commitments to allies;
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ensuring that the U.S. nuclear stockpile is safe, secure, and reliable to maintain the credibility of the U.S. nuclear deterrent;
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and implementing best security practices for nuclear weapons and weapons-usable materials worldwide to prevent unauthorized access and loss of control to non-state actors such as terrorist groups.
Dr. Charles D. Ferguson is the Philip D. Reed Senior Fellow for Science and Technology at the Council on Foreign Relations, an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Security Studies Program at the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, and an Adjunct Lecturer in the National Security Studies Program at the Johns Hopkins University. His research and writing focuses on nuclear weapons policy, prevention of radiological and nuclear terrorism, and nuclear energy. Dr. Ferguson wrote the Council Special Report Nuclear Energy: Balancing Benefits and Risks, which was published in April 2007. He is currently writing a book about nuclear energy policy. He has served as a physical scientist in the Office of the Senior Coordinator for Nuclear Safety at the U.S. Department of State. He has also worked as the scientist-in-residence at the Monterey Institute’s Center for Nonproliferaiton Studies where he co-wrote the book The Four Faces of Nuclear Terrorism (Routledge, 2005). He also served as director of the nuclear policy project at the Federation of American Scientists. After graduating from the United States Naval Academy, he served as a nuclear engineering officer on a ballistic-missile submarine. He holds a Ph.D. in physics from Boston University.
This meeting will be chaired by Mark Fitzpatrick, Senior Fellow for Non-proliferation and will take place on the Fourth Floor at Arundel House, 13-15 Arundel Street, Temple Place, London WC2R 3D.
If you would like to attend, please RSVP Rebecca Fishley at iisscurrentevents@iiss.org or tel: 0207 395 9169
