| In
1991, Congress created the Nunn-Lugar program
(named for its primary cosponsors, Senators Sam
Nunn (D-GA) and Richard Lugar (R-IN)).
Objective:
To work jointly with Russia and former Russian
states to reduce the threat posed by the legacy
of the Soviet nuclear arsenal. The agenda, which
addresses biological and chemical weapons, is
primarily grouped into five categories [courtesy
of Russian American Nuclear Security Advisory
Council (RANSAC)]:
-
Stabilizing, transforming, and downsizing
the Russian nuclear weapons complex
- Securing
Russian nuclear material, warheads, and technologies
-
Limiting production of fissile material
-
Disposing of excess fissile material
-
Establishing transparency in the nuclear weapons
reduction process
Funding:
Over the past several years, the US government
has allocated approximately $1 billion per year
for all areas of this program. The 2002 budget
request from the Bush administration was $700
million.
In
2001, a bi-partisan task force -- headed
by former Senate majority leader Howard
H. Baker, Jr. and Lloyd N. Cutler, White
House counsel in the Carter and Clinton
administrations -- released a report declaring
loose weapons and materials and know-how
in Russia "the most urgent unmet national
security threat to the United States."
The task force said funding should rise
to about $3 billion a year and up to $30
billion over the next eight to ten years
to improve security over Russia's nuclear
stockpile.
Contact
WAND for a copy of the "Report
Card on the Department of Energy's Nonproliferation
Programs." |
The
Nunn-Lugar program consists of nearly 30 programs
administered by three different agencies:
- The
Department of Defense programs include:
dismantling of nuclear submarines, missiles,
and bombers, security enhancers at nuclear
weapons storage facilities, ending plutonium
production, chemical weapons security and
destruction, and biological weapons-proliferation
prevention among other initiatives.
- The
Department of Energy programs include:
the Material Protection, Control and Accounting
program that safeguards over 600 metric tons
of weapons-usable nuclear materials stockpiled
in former Soviet states, consolidates nuclear
materials into fewer sites, and eliminates
some highly enriched uranium (HEU) and plutonium,
and the Nuclear Cities Initiative that develops
alternative employment for approximately 30,000-50,000
Russian nuclear weapons scientists.
- The
Department of State programs include:
the Export Control and Border Security Assistance
program that enhances weapons of mass destruction
detection and interdiction capabilities. At
present, the Russian export control system
is still developing. Intelligence sources
report that southern routes out of Russia
have become attractive nuclear materials smuggling
routes.
*According
to RANSAC, there is no dedicated program to assist
Russia directly with warhead dismantlement. Instead,
warheads are being dismantled to provide the highly
enriched uranium (HEU) for the HEU Purchase Agreement.
Under the agreement, Russia down blends HEU from
its dismantled nuclear warheads into non-weapons
grade uranium for sale in the United States. By
the end of 2001, nearly 40% of the over 600 metric
tons of HEU and plutonium in the former USSR will
have had security upgrades.
| Major
Achievements: 
Since 1991, Russia and the US have worked
cooperatively to reduce nuclear risks
posed by by the legacy of the Cold War.
5,504 warheads have been de-activated.
423 inter-continental ballistic missiles
destroyed.
Areas
of Concern:
-
The program lacks a central coordinator
and has often been the subject of inter-agency
fighting.
-
Provision of US assistance for some
projects has been slowed by Russian
resistance to providing US access to
sensitive areas.
-
Plutonium disposition in Russia and
the US is stalled and current proposals
involving turning plutonium into reactor
fuel run directly counter to efforts
to reduce fissile material production.
|
More
Resources:
-
www.wand.org
Women's Action for New Directions
www.ransac.org
Russian-American Nuclear Security Advisory
Council
www.ceip.org
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
www.nti.org
Nuclear Threat Initiative
www.cns.miis.edu
Center for Non-proliferation Studies at
the Monterey Institute of International
Studies |
