AN ASSESSMENT OF THE INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY CENTER: Redirecting Expertise in Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Former Soviet Union by Office of International Affairs

Author:Office of International Affairs
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Conflict and Security Issues
Publisher: NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Published: 1996-11-15T00:00:00+00:00

Finally, the United States and the ISTC’s management must continue to ensure that the center’s activities complement and facilitate, not duplicate, other assistance and collaborative programs under way in the FSU that have similar or complementary goals. These programs are numerous: the International Science Foundation, which provided essential support at a critical time, focused on large numbers of small grants with very little bureaucracy and made an important contribution to preventing widespread disintegration of research. The new Civilian Research and Development Foundation could continue to fill this niche, although the funds available to it are much smaller. Also, the Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention (IPP) program and U.S. programs in nuclear materials control and accounting target many of the same laboratories and individuals as the ISTC and have the same secondary goal of integrating Russian scientists with the West. Of course, some overlap of goals exists and is in fact desirable. The ISTC has taken steps to ensure coordination among these and other U.S. programs, and the committee believes there has been little duplication to date. The committee notes, however, that coordination may become more difficult as the scope and number of programs expand.

RECOMMENDATION: To maintain a focus on the nonproliferation goals of the U.S. Departments of Defense and Energy, these departments should increase their roles in the ISTC.

The committee believes that it is crucial for the ISTC to maintain its primary focus on the nonproliferation goal. But, as noted above, wider participation and a broader scope of projects may weaken the primary goal and objectives. To further enhance U.S. influence and the commitment to nonproliferation, the committee believes the U.S. Departments of Defense and Energy should exert influence on ISTC activities through core funding and representation on the ISTC’s Governing Board and staff.

The ISTC’s objectives and activities complement the Defense Department’s nonproliferation activities in Russia and the other states of the FSU. A relatively modest contribution to ISTC’s core funding can strengthen the role of the United States in the ISTC, increase the focus on the nonproliferation goal, and increase the number of ISTC-funded projects that complement the Defense Department’s collaborative work with FSU scientists and engineers in nonproliferation technologies, nuclear materials protection technologies, and related areas. Therefore, the committee recommends that the Defense Department make a financial contribution to the ISTC’s core financing.

The Departments of Defense and Energy have made important contributions to the ISTC. They contribute to policy decisions and participate in the interagency policy review of each proposal. Also, Sandia and Los Alamos national laboratories have coordinated much of the peer review process in the United States. This interagency coordination and support are crucial for the ISTC to continue to meet U.S. national security goals. As the ISTC’s executive directorship passes to the European Union, it is important that the United States maintain its ability to exert strong leadership and influence on the ISTC’s overall direction and priorities. The United States should exercise its option of appointing two members to the ISTC’s Governing Board, with one member from either the Defense Department or the Department of Energy.

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