Foreword
Unlike most National Research Council committees, which are formed to carry out a particular study and then dissolved when their task is complete, the Committee on International Security and Arms Control (CISAC) is a standing committee of the National Academy of Sciences. CISAC was created in 1980 to bring the Academy's scientific and technical talent to bear on crucial problems of peace and security. The committee's objectives are to engage scientists in other countries in dialogues that build a common understanding of security issues and work toward common solutions to arms control and security problems, to develop recommendations and other initiatives on scientific and technical issues affecting international security and cooperation, to respond to requests from the U.S. government for analysis and advice on these issues, and to inform and foster the interest of scientists and engineers in international security problems.
The committee's rotating membership includes scientists, engineers, and policy analysts. John P. Holdren (Harvard University) serves as chair of the committee, with John Steinbruner (The Brookings Institution) as vice-chair.
Together, CISAC's members have many decades of experience in nuclear policy, many in senior government positions, dating back to the Manhattan Project (see Appendix A for biographies). All of them are currently involved in security affairs on at least a part-time basis. This report reflects the collective technical and political judgment of these individuals. Although grounded in technical assessments wherever possible, the committee acknowledges that there are points where the analysis results from its discussions and joint study of the issues rather than from "facts" alone. As my predecessor, Frank Press, said of CISAC's 1991 study: "Rather than developing new ideas, the study's greatest value lies in the remarkable degree of consensus that the group was able to achieve on a wide array of important security issues" (The Future of the U.S.-Soviet Nuclear Relationship, p. vii). Some of CISAC's members might have preferred more or less ambitious recommendations on some issues, but in the end the committee agreed on a comprehensive program that would transform the roles that nuclear weapons play in the national security policy of the United States.
Major General William F. Burns (USA, ret.) chaired this study for CISAC. He has been engaged in many aspects of nuclear policy over the years; one of his first assignments was to an artillery battalion armed with tactical nuclear weapons on the front lines of NATO and, after a distinguished military career, one of his last government assignments was as director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency. CISAC is deeply indebted to him for accepting this demanding task and seeing it to completion with patience, good humor, and unflagging intellectual engagement in shaping the committee's conclusions and recommendations. Every member of CISAC contributed to the text of the study; Steve Fetter, John P. Holdren, Spurgeon Keeny, and Wolfgang K. H. Panofsky undertook particularly heavy drafting assignments.
The committee also is grateful for the assistance it received in the course of the study. CISAC' s director, Jo Husbands, was indispensable as usual in her contributions to the organization, coordination, drafting, and editing of the report. Her professionalism, tact, and willingness to extend herself on behalf of members of CISAC reflect great credit on her as a member of the Academy's senior staff. Michael Mazarr served as a consultant in the early stages of the study and contributed significantly to its formulation and development. La'Faye Lewis-Oliver provided invaluable administrative support and budget-stretching skills.
The report has the unanimous endorsement of all CISAC members, with the exception of Joshua Lederberg who was engaged in another major CISAC project on biological weapons issues and was unable to participate in the study process.
BRUCE ALBERTS
President
National Academy of Sciences