The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program
Nunn-Lugar and Arms Control key to Future Nuclear and Biological Weapons Reductions
On January 28, 2010, Senator Dick Lugar outlined important issues in arms control targets, treaty negotiations and the ability of the Nunn-Lugar program to achieve results in a speech to the Conference on Strategic Weapons in the 21st Century.
"We hope for and anticipate constructive movement in arms control on the world's biggest stages. But we should be cautious in our estimates of the influence of U.S. arsenal cuts on the behavior of smaller nuclear powers and aspirants. I believe that our success in encouraging others to abandon weapons or limit their expansion will depend much more on the hard work of expanding arms control and non-proliferation tools and addressing regional circumstances that influence the choices of governments related to weapons of mass destruction."
"The Nunn-Lugar program is well positioned to enter a new phase of global security engagement. Nunn-Lugar now has more flexibility to meet unexpected threats in locations around the world. It has the authority to spend up to 10 percent of annual Nunn-Lugar program funds notwithstanding any other law. The Secretary of Defense has the authority to accept funds from foreign governments and other entities to contribute to activities carried out under Nunn-Lugar."
Lugar touts Nunn-Lugar successes on Senate floor
Senator Dick Lugar took to the floor of the Senate on December 18, 2009, to tout the successes of the Nunn-Lugar Cooperation Threat Reduction program.
As START Treaty negotiations continue in Geneva, Switzerland, and President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev discuss an agreement on the sidelines of the Copenhagen meeting, Lugar continued to draw attention to the practical, day-by-day progress of dismantling and destroying weapons and materials of mass destruction.
"The Nunn-Lugar program has demonstrated that the threat of weapons of mass destruction can lead to extraordinary outcomes based on mutual interest. No one would have predicted in the 1980s that Americans and Russians would be working together to destroy weapons in the former Soviet Union. Taking the long view, a satisfactory level of accountability, transparency, and safety must be established in every nation with a WMD program," Lugar said. "The Nunn-Lugar program is an engine of non-proliferation cooperation and expertise that can be applied around the world."
The Nunn-Lugar Scorecard