Sciences

2005 · ref. 73665 — Washington DC: The National Academies Press 2005. Presumed First Edition First printing. Trade paperback. Very good. xv 1 250 pages. Footnotes. Illustrations figures tables and boxes. Acronyms. Biographical Sketches of Committee Members. Cover has slight wear and soiling. Among the members were: John Steinbruner Susan Eisenhower Richard Garwin Rose Gottemoeller Spurgeon Keeney Albert Narath and Wolfgang Panofsky. In the United States and many other countries policy-makers are working to minimize the proliferation of nuclear weapons prevent terrorists from acquiring them and reduce the risks posed by existing nuclear arsenals. A new report from the National Academy of Sciences addresses the technical and institutional approaches and capabilities in transparency and monitoring that could be applied to any or all of these goals. The report does not analyze or make recommendations about the choices in U.S. nuclear weapon and nonproliferation policies or priorities that will continue to shape the context within which such approaches and capabilities might be applied. Save Cancel Bottom of Form 1 dressed not only nuclear issues but also those connected with chemical and biological weapons space weaponry and national missile defense and conventional forces and the arms trade. The year 2005 marked the 25th anniversary of the creation of the Committee on International Security and Arms CISAC by the National Academy of Sciences NAS. CISAC was formed at a time when the risks to the world from nuclear weapons seemed to be increasing. During a time of extraordinary tensions in U.S.-Soviet relations CISAC provided a nongovernmental channel of communication between Soviet and American scientists as a vehicle for exploring ways to reduce nuclear dangers. For several years the private off-the-record dialogue between CISAC and its Soviet counterpart group was one of the few links through which well-informed policy-connected individuals on the two sides could interact to pursue solutions to key technical problems related to nuclear arms control. Even after formal U.S.-Soviet arms control negotiations resumed the CISAC-initiated dialogues continued to be invaluable offering a vehicle for "back channel" discussions that were both less constrained and more analytical than those being pursued officially. In the 25 years since it was founded CISAC has broadened its efforts to include: bilateral dialogues and related workshops with similarly constituted groups in China and India; bilateral and multilateral meetings with European academies; the conduct of major studies of security and arms control problems and policies; the instigation of additional studies by specially constituted panels within the National Academies; and the organization of symposia and workshops to inform Academy members the wider technical community and the public at large about key issues at the intersection of science and technology with international security. The National Academies Press paperback