News

President Barack Obama this week convinced 46 countries to agree on a plan to secure the world’s nuclear material from terrorists within four years, but challenges remain in the months ahead.

President Barack Obama on April 6 unveiled a new nuclear strategy in its just-released Nuclear Posture Review, calling it a significant step forward in reducing the role of nuclear weapons in security strategy. This new policy announcement comes shortly before the U.S. and Russia will meet in Prague to sign a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, and in advance of the Global Security Summit in Washington, D.C. on April 12 and 13.

As the U.S. and Russia announce that an agreement has been reached on a new START treaty today, the wider issues of nuclear weapons and security come to the forefront of international discussion. USIP has a range of experts, activities and programs on negotiations, arms control and Russia.

Media advisory announcing USIP expertise on Iran, in anticipation of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Twelve-Member Bipartisan Group concludes that nuclear dangers can be reduced if U.S. pursues a comprehensive strategy centered on both deterrence and diplomacy. The report says “the threat of nuclear Armageddon has largely receded” but the proliferation of nuclear weapons and fissile materials is dangerously close to a “tipping point.”

On December 15, 2008, the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States (“the Commission”) submitted an interim report to members of the U.S. House and Senate Armed Services Committees. The interim report summarizes the Commission’s activities since it began its work in spring 2008 and reiterates its commitment to deliver a final report on April 1, 2009.

The newly created Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States recently began its work to — in the words of its congressional charter — “examine and make recommendations with respect to the long-term strategic posture of the United States.” The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) has been selected to facilitate the commission’s work. Congress created the commission, also known as the Strategic Posture Review Commission (SPRC), through the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008.