The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program

In November 1991, Senator Lugar (R-IN) and former Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA) authored the Nunn-Lugar Act, which established the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program.

This program has provided U.S. funding and expertise to help the former Soviet Union safeguard and dismantle its enormous stockpiles of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, related materials, and delivery systems. On January 30, 2008, Senator Lugar delivered a speech at a Defense Threat Reduction Agency conference, saying arms control has suffered significant setbacks. An excerpt from the speech follows:

"The United States lacks even minimal confidence about many foreign weapons programs. In most cases, there is little or no information regarding the number of weapons or amounts of materials a country may have produced, the storage procedures they employ to safeguard their weapons, or plans regarding further production or destruction programs. We must pay much more attention to making certain that all weapons and materials of mass destruction are identified, continuously guarded, and systematically destroyed."

Senator Lugar, Michael Douglas Discuss Nonproliferation

On May 21, Senator Lugar met with actor/producer Michael Douglas in his Washington, DC Senate office.  Douglas is on the Board of Directors of Ploughshares Fund, a 501(c)(3) organization that awards grants “aimed at preventing the spread and use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons and other weapons of war, and preventing conflicts that could lead to the use of weapons of mass destruction,” according to their website.

Lugar and Douglas discussed the need to stop the proliferation of weapons and materials of mass destruction and to advance the START Treaty, referencing Senator Lugar’s January 30 speech.

Latest Nunn-Lugar News

• Oct. 2, 2008: Lugar speech on status of Nunn-Lugar
• Sept. 16, 2008: Nunn-Lugar Update August 2008
• Aug. 15, 2008: Nunn-Lugar Update July 2008
• July 16, 2008: Nunn-Lugar Update June 2008
• June 16, 2008: Nunn-Lugar Update May 2008

The Nunn-Lugar Program 15th Anniversary

In August 2007, Senator Lugar and former Senator Nunn traveled to Russia to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the Nunn-Lugar program. Read the Nunn-Lugar program 15th anniversary trip report .

Press releases from the 15th anniversary trip:

• An Albanian Success
• Senators Lugar and Nunn Tour Shchuchye Chemical Weapons Destruction Facility
• Nunn-Lugar Destroying Weapons Once Targeted at U.S.
• Lugar and Nunn Tour Luch Scientific and Industrial Site; View Nuclear Material Consolidation Activities in Russia
• Lugar Speech on the Future of US-Russian Cooperation on Arms Control
• Lugar Speech Commemorating the 200th Anniversary of U.S.-Russian Relations

This program has provided U.S. funding and expertise to help the former Soviet Union safeguard and dismantle its enormous stockpiles of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, related materials, and delivery systems.

In 2003, Congress adopted the Nunn-Lugar Expansion Act, which authorized the Nunn-Lugar program to operate outside the former Soviet Union to address proliferation threats.

Nunn-Lugar in Albania

Through an expansion effort led by Senator Lugar, the Nunn-Lugar program extended its cooperative reach beyond the former Soviet Union for the first time in 2004.

The Albanian government requested American assistance in destroying newly found chemical weapons.

On July 19, 2007, the Albanian Defense Ministry announced destruction of its chemicals weapons stockpile utilizing the Nunn-Lugar program.

Senator Lugar wrote an op-ed about the success in Albania in August 2007 that ran on the Scripps Howard News Service wire. Additional photos are available in the Nunn-Lugar photo gallery.

The Nunn-Lugar Scorecard

The Nunn-Lugar scorecard now totals 7,292 strategic nuclear warheads deactivated, 720 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) destroyed, 496 ICBM silos eliminated, 131 ICBM mobile launchers destroyed, 631 submarine launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) eliminated, 456 SLBM launchers eliminated, 31 nuclear submarines capable of launching ballistic missiles destroyed, 155 bomber eliminated, 906 nuclear air-to-surface missiles (ASMs) destroyed, 194 nuclear test tunnels eliminated, 399 nuclear weapons transport train shipments secured, upgraded security at 17 nuclear weapons storage sites, and built and equipped 15 biological monitoring stations. Perhaps most importantly, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Belarus are nuclear weapons free as a result of cooperative efforts under the Nunn-Lugar program. Those countries were the third, fourth and eighth largest nuclear weapons powers in the world.

Nunn-Lugar definition of terms
ICBM – Intercontinental ballistic missile
SLBM – Submarine launched ballistic missile
SSBN – Nuclear submarine capable of launching ballistic missile
ASM – Air-to-surface missile

Nunn-Lugar Trip Reports

• 2007 15th Anniversary Nunn-Lugar Trip Report
• 2005 Nunn-Lugar Report
• 2004 Lugar Trip Report
• 2003 Lugar Trip Report

Nunn-Lugar Links

• Lugar Survey on Proliferation Threats and Responses
• Lugar Commends the Certification of the Indiana Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team
• Nunn-Lugar Photos
• Defense Threat Reduction Agency
• Nuclear Threat Initiative