March 6, 2012

The U.S. Institute of Peace (USIP) is continuing a series of courses organized by its Academy for International Conflict Management and Peacebuilding on the challenges of nuclear nonproliferation and arms control in the 21st century. The most recent course focused on Iran and Pakistan.

The series grows out of USIP’s role as the institutional convener of two key assessments of U.S. national security policy: the 2008-09 Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States and the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) Independent Panel. The Strategic Posture report, published by USIP, became the blueprint for the U.S. government’s 2010 Nuclear Posture Review.

“Nuclear issues cast long shadows that can affect, and even disrupt, relations with other countries, and they certainly have an impact on non-nuclear allies, such as Japan and South Korea,” said Bruce W. MacDonald, an instructor who is senior director of USIP’s Nonproliferation and Arms Control Program.

Added MacDonald, “Teaching and training are an important part of USIP’s raison d’etre.” MacDonald’s colleague and co-instructor at USIP, Michael Lekson, said the instructional topics “fit the broad rubric of conflict prevention”—a core part of USIP’s mission. Lekson, an arms control specialist who spent 26 years with the State Department, is the director of gaming for the Academy’s training programs.

The course series is USIP’s response to help address the emerging shortfall in expertise on arms control and nonproliferation issues. “The United States has lost a generation of government officials and NGO experts who focus on the issues related to managing the nuclear threat--including deterrence, nonproliferation and arms control,” said Paul D. Hughes, a retired U.S. Army colonel and now USIP’s chief of staff. Hughes also served as executive director for both the Strategic Posture effort and independent panel on the QDR. “This field is a very complex conflict-prevention issue, requiring leadership and expertise both in government and the non-government arenas,” he said.

An Institute course on February 29 and March 1 covered the landscape of issues related to Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal and Iran’s disputed—and intensely watched—nuclear program. “In this course, we’re helping people develop a better appreciation of proliferation issues, primarily through the lens of Pakistan and Iran,” said MacDonald, a former White House and State Department official who was educated as an aerospace engineer.

The recent Academy course featured a simulation involving a dramatic nuclear weapons breakout scenario with Iran. Students were placed in the roles of staffers at the U.S. National Security Council and required—within 30 minutes--to clarify primary U.S. concerns and make recommendations for U.S. diplomatic and military moves in response.

The Pakistan portion of the course included discussions led by USIP’s own Moeed Yusuf, the Institute’s South Asia adviser and a leading specialist on Pakistan, which is increasing its nuclear arsenal amid internal Islamist terrorism and continuing tensions with regional rival India. The Iran portion of the class included a lengthy presentation by David Albright, a nuclear proliferation expert and president of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security.

The Academy’s series on arms control and nonproliferation commenced in September 2010. The next course will be held March 20-22, and concentrate on U.S. national security issues related to the nuclear programs of China and North Korea. “These courses are part of our overall Academy curriculum,” said Lekson. “The Iran exercise involved conflict analysis, and the East Asian simulation will help strengthen participants’ negotiating skills.”

The courses aim to give students from government agencies or Congress, as well as civil society leaders, the tools to better understand and assess nonproliferation issues generally.

“The need for rebuilding America's knowledge base in nuclear matters could not be greater than it is today, especially in light of tensions with Iran and the proliferation activities by other international actors,” said Hughes. “We still need leaders who understand the complexities of nuclear weapons, strategies, arms control and the supporting infrastructure--and USIP is perfectly positioned to help the nation with part of that training.”