Press Contact: Daryl G. Kimball, (202) 463-8270 x107
(Washington, D.C.): Stanford physicist Sidney D. Drell today was announced as the latest recipient of the Heinz Award for Public Policy for his decades-long effort to reduce nuclear dangers. With former Heinz Award honoree Ambassador James E. Goodby, Drell recently wrote a report urging the Bush administration to accelerate and expand its currently planned nuclear reductions to help lessen the reliance on nuclear weapons worldwide. The report, "What Are Nuclear Weapons For? Recommendations For Restructuring U.S. Strategic Nuclear Forces," was published last week by the Washington-based Arms Control Association (ACA).
The annual $250,000 Heinz Award for Public Policy is bestowed upon individuals who make a positive impact on the process of public policy. Teresa Heinz, who is chairman of the Heinz Family Foundation, said in a press release today, "[Drell's] scientific insights laid the foundation for an impassioned advocacy, championing a doctrine that reduced the threat of nuclear war while ensuring U.S. security."
"Now more than ever, we must ensure that our policies toward nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation are sound, scientifically based, and reflect the principles of our nation," Drell said in response to the award.
These notions are embodied in the ACA report released last week. Drell and Goodby write that the Bush administration needs to be more ambitious in moving the United States beyond its lingering Cold War-era nuclear weapons policies and make clear that nuclear weapons are truly weapons of last resort.
The authors argue that current U.S. and Russian plans to cut their operationally deployed strategic nuclear forces to less than 2,200 warheads apiece by 2012 fall well short of realizing the goal that Presidents George W. Bush and Vladimir Putin set in 2002 of reducing their strategic nuclear forces to the "lowest levels" possible. Drell and Goodby recommend that the United States could safely rely upon a much smaller force posture of 1,000 total warheads, of which only 500 would be readied for rapid use.
Underlying their proposal is the authors' findings that missions for nuclear weapons have diminished since the Soviet Union's collapse. Consequently, they argue Washington should make its nuclear stockpile smaller and more reliable without developing new nuclear weapons or increasing their role in U.S. security policy.
"The Heinz Award is a well-deserved recognition of Sid Drell's dedication to making the United States and the world safer," ACA Executive Director Daryl G. Kimball said today. He added, "The Bush administration would be wise to follow the advice of Drell and Goodby in their report."
The full report is available online at <http://www.armscontrol.org/pdf/USNW_2005_Drell-Goodby.pdf>. For more information on U.S. nuclear weapons policies and the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty visit <http://www.npt2005.org/>.
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The Arms Control Association is an independent, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to promoting public understanding of and support for effective arms control policies.