Washington, DC - A bipartisan group of top foreign policy and national security officials has offered a concrete list of actions the Obama Administration can take to improve nuclear nonproliferation efforts.  As the 189 signatories to the NPT meet at the Preparatory Committee in New York this week, Republicans and Democrats agree that the Obama Administration needs to give top priority to working with our international partners to achieve our critical nonproliferation and disarmament goals.  This meeting is the Obama Administration's first major test on nonproliferation and disarmament.  There has been a lot of U.S. rhetoric on these issues; the world is waiting to see how it will be put into practice.

The statement, released by the Partnership for a Secure America (PSA) in Roll Call today, is signed by thirty high-ranking former officials, including nine former Senators, four former Secretaries of Defense, two former National Security Advisors, and a former Secretary of State.  The signatory list also includes both the Chair and Vice Chair of the 9/11 Commission.  For a PDF of the Roll Call ad, click here.

"Our key nonproliferation and disarmament challenges -- reducing nuclear forces with Russia, denying WMD to terrorists, preventing Iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons -- can and must be addressed in the context of the grand bargain of the NPT," said PSA Advisory Board co-chair former Rep. Lee Hamilton (D-IN).

"The benefits to the U.S. of being able to present new nonproliferation and disarmament ideas to the majority of the world through the lens of the NPT cannot be discounted," said PSA Advisory Board co-chair former Sen. Warren Rudman (R-NH).  "The flipside is that if the U.S. is perceived as continuing to not be fully committed to the NPT, it will negatively impact all of our other objectives on nonproliferation and disarmament."

Recommendations include supporting an international fuel supply mechanism, providing greater inspection authority to the IAEA, working to reduce nuclear weapons arsenals and strengthening enforcement against countries in violation of the NPT.  Signatories also agree that the U.S. should work to address the key concerns - stockpile reliability and verification mechanisms - that could allow for the support of a comprehensive ban on nuclear testing.

PSA was created in 2005 by Rep. Hamilton and Sen. Rudman to foster bipartisan, consensus driven solutions to the major national security and foreign policy challenges facing our country.  More information on PSA and bios of our distinguished bipartisan Advisory Board, can be found at www.psaonline.org.  This project is made possible by the generous support of Ploughshares Fund.

CONTACT: Michael Landweber (202-293-8582), or landweber@psaonline.org.

• Reaffirm the NPT as the cornerstone of global nonproliferation and disarmament efforts by sending a high-level delegation to the 2010 Review Conference.
• Strengthen enforcement mechanisms for use against countries deemed in violation of their NPT obligations.
• Commit to work with all states possessing nuclear weapons to reduce arsenals to the minimum achievable level.  Enhance U.S.-Russian cooperation and joint leadership on non-proliferation and disarmament, including renewal or replacement of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
• Promote measures to ensure that all countries have access to peaceful nuclear energy without creating additional risks of proliferation and terrorism.
• Establish multilateral arrangements, such as assured international fuel supply mechanisms, to discourage the spread of enrichment and reprocessing capabilities.
• Support the IAEA safeguards mission through an increase in resources, training, equipment and personnel, and assist other states in using peaceful nuclear applications to address poverty and the challenges associated with underdevelopment.
• Work with NPT and IAEA member states to increase the IAEA's authority for greater access to suspect nuclear sites and universal implementation of the Additional Protocol.
• Encourage countries to participate fully with IAEA nuclear security programs to help ensure that nuclear materials are not accessible to terrorists.
• Work aggressively to complete a verifiable, irreversible, and nondiscriminatory Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT).
• Continue to work aggressively to ensure high confidence in stockpile reliability and multilateral verification mechanisms compatible with a comprehensive ban on nuclear testing.