RAND Experts Available to Discuss U.S. Arms Pact with Russia, New Nuclear Weapons Policy

Policy experts from the RAND Corporation are available for interviews to preview the upcoming meeting between President Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on the U.S.-Russia treaty to reduce nuclear weapons. Among the topics they can address:

• Does the prospective agreement reflect a new commitment by both nations to continue disarmament and non-proliferation efforts and "restart" the U.S.-Russia relationship?
• How would this build on the START Treaty framework and how does it move beyond it? What comes next?
• How does the just-announced nuclear weapons policy that will reduce U.S. reliance on its nuclear deterrent change the country's overall defense posture? Will this new policy compromise national security?
• What could this mean for the future of a U.S. missile defense shield?

Lynn E. Davis is director of the RAND Washington office and served as Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs from 1993 to 1997.

Roger Molander is a RAND social scientist focusing on nuclear warfare and nuclear terrorism. He is a former member of the White House National Security Council staff (1974–1981), working on strategic nuclear arms control and other nuclear weapons issues.

David Mosher is a is a senior policy analyst specializing in ballistic missile defense, military space, nuclear proliferation, and nuclear weapons issues. He is the lead author of Beyond the Nuclear Shadow: A Phased Approach for Improving Nuclear Safety and U.S-Russian Relations.

Olga Oliker is a senior international policy analyst at RAND who specializes in political and security issues affecting Russia, Central Asia, Ukraine and the Caucasus. She has followed arms control negotiations between the United States and Russia and both countries' nuclear weapon policies for the past two decades.