Ploughshares Fund Press Materials
Articles, Books by Joseph Cirincione
"New Leaders and Policies are a Cause for Hope," Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, March 8, 2008
“The Greatest Threat to Us All,” New York Review of Books, March 6, 2008
"ElBaradei is Quietly Managing to Disarm Iran," by Joseph Cirincione and Ray Takeyh, Financial Times, February 26, 2008
“The Eliminators: Large Majority of Former National Security Cabinet Officials Want to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons” by Joseph Cirincione and Alexandra Bell, Center for American Progress, January 17, 2008
“Top Five Nuclear Issues of 2007” by Joseph Cirincione and Alexandra Bell, Center for American Progress, December 28, 2007
Read what people are saying about Cirincione’s latest book, Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons.
"[ Bomb Scare] ought to be read by everyone as a matter of life and death." -- Jason Epstein, New York Review of Books.
"Succinct and smart, informed by insight drawn from long experience, Bomb Scare is the best one-volume examination of the history and challenges of the nuclear arms race yet written." -- Richard Rhodes, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Making of the Atomic Bomb
"Joseph Cirincione has written a 'must read' book for students, scholars, and policymakers alike. He has clearly captured the essence of where we have been, where we are today, and practical options for the future." -- General (ret.) Eugene Habiger, former Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Strategic Command
"At a time of challenges and uncertainties regarding the nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime, Joseph Cirincione's Bomb Scare offers a comprehensive review of the history and theory of nuclear weapons, as well as of the policy options before us today in our common endeavour to address the most pressing threats -- existing arsenals, the emergence of new nuclear-armed states, and nuclear terrorism...His insightful analysis goes beyond the focus on 'proliferation barriers' and echoes the increasingly vocal call in the international community to address the root causes of proliferation --persistent conflicts and perceptions of insecurity. Cirincione concludes that reducing nuclear risks in the twenty-first century cannot just be a military or nuclear energy strategy; rather, we must look at resolving underlying political conflicts that are the drivers of nuclear proliferation and competition…" -- Mohamed ElBaradei, winner of the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize and Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency
Congressional testimony 3/5/08
Ploughshares Fund President Joseph Cirincione testified before the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee on Wednesday, March 5, 2008 about the administration's record-breaking budget request for ballistic missiles, which comes at a time of steady decline in the threat they pose. He concluded by calling ballistic missile defense “the longest running scam in the history of the Department of Defense.”
Click on the link to the right for an audio clip of his testimony or download the attached pdf for the full transcript, complete with tables and statistics.
Audio clip
Click here to listen to an audio clip from Joe Cirincione's 3/5/08 testimony before the House Government Affairs and Oversight Committee.
Transcript:
"I believe that the ballistic missile defense program is the longest running scam in the history of the department of defense. This is an enormous waste of money. If you leave this decision to the Joint Chiefs, they won't spend anything near what this administration is requesting. In fact, the last time the Joint Chiefs were asked about this in 1993, the JROC (Joint Requirements Oversight Council), headed up by Admiral Owens at the time, recommended to then-President Clinton that we spend only three billion dollars a year on these kinds of programs, and of that, $2.3 billion should go to theater missile defense systems, in other words, the weapons that were actually facing and that are a real threat to our troops and our allies.
"This program is out of whack and Mr. Burton, if you're an advocate of continuing this program, I'm going to tell you that this program is unsustainable. Budgets don't just go up all the time. They do come down and this budget's headed for a crash, so we should be looking at how to budget a program that has some sustainable technological base."
Leadership Bios
Joseph Cirincione (left) is the president of Ploughshares Fund. He is author of Bomb Scare: The History and Future of Nuclear Weapons (Columbia University Press, Spring 2007) and served previously as senior vice president for national security and international policy at the Center for American Progress and as director for nonproliferation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace for eight years. He worked for nine years in the U.S. House of Representatives as a professional staff member of the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on Government Operations, and served as staff director of the bipartisan Military Reform Caucus. He teaches at the Georgetown University Graduate School of Foreign Service and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
His previous books include two editions of Deadly Arsenals: Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Threats, (2005 and 2002), and previous reports include Universal Compliance: A Strategy for Nuclear Security (co-author, March 2005) and WMD in Iraq (co-author, January 2004). He is the author of over 200 articles on defense issues, the producer of two DVDs on proliferation, the former publisher of the comprehensive proliferation website, Proliferation News, and is a frequent commentator in the media. In the past two years has delivered over 150 speeches around the world and appeared in the 2006 award-winning documentary, Why We Fight.
Cirincione is an honors graduate of Boston College and holds a Masters of Science from the Georgetown School of Foreign Service.
View Joseph Cirincione's recent media appearances here.
Naila Bolus (right), Executive Director, leads all grantmaking, fundraising, public outreach and financial management for the organization. Prior to joining Ploughshares in 1997, Naila was co-director of 20/20 Vision, a national grassroots organization dedicated to revitalizing democracy by encouraging its members to communicate with decisionmakers. She helped found and served as the Political Director for WiLL, the Women Legislators' Lobby, where she successfully recruited one third of all women state legislators to lobby for human services, environmental protection, and peace. She also served as the Legislative Director for Women's Action for New Directions (WAND) and lobbied Congress on a range of security and women's issues. Naila Bolus graduated from Tufts University in 1987 with a degree in International Relations. She spent her junior year in Paris, France, where she earned a Certificate of Political Studies from the Institute d'Etudes Politiques.
Roger Hale (center), Chair, has been member of Ploughshares Fund's Board of Directors since 1995, and board chairman since 2005. A native of Minnesota, Hale was president and CEO of Tennant, an industry-leading manufacturer of industrial and commercial floor maintenance equipment, from 1976 to 1998. He retired in 1999. In addition to Ploughshares, Hale serves on the board of the Minneapolis Neighborhood Employment Network (NET) and Winning Workplaces, and previously on the boards of the Walker Art Center and Public Radio International. He is a graduate of Brown University and Harvard Business School and served as an officer in the U.S. Navy from 1956-1959.
Photos
Joseph Cirincione, Roger Hale, Naila Bolus
Joseph Cirincione and Naila Bolus
Joseph Cirincione
Photos by Peter Fedewa. Please contact Ploughshares Fund to obtain high-resolution images.
Radio Interviews with Joseph Cirincione (Mp3)
Rachel Maddow Interviews Joseph Cirincione on Air America (Apr 10, 2008)
Rachel Maddow Interviews Joseph Cirincione on Air America (Feb 21, 2008)
(Use Quicktime for best results. Free download here.)
Radio Interview with Joseph Cirincione (Mp3) | April 10, 2008)
Rachel Maddow Interviews Joseph Cirincione on Air America (Apr 10, 2008)
Video and Transcript
Transcript
Videotaped conversation between Joe Cirincione, president, and Naila Bolus, executive director of Ploughshares Fund. Recorded February 14, 2008.
NB: I’m Naila Bolus, executive director of Ploughshares Fund. Today, I have the pleasure of telling you about an exciting new endeavor, a new commitment that we’re making to intensify our efforts and seize the opportunity that we believe exists to pursue a nuclear weapons-free world. I also want to introduce you to Joe Cirincione. Joe is a leading defense expert, and a leader in the peace and security community. And Joe has agreed to join Ploughshares Fund as president. Welcome Joe.
JC: Thank you very much Naila. It’s a pleasure to be here with you, to be joining you in your efforts, and I’m honored that the Board of Directors of Ploughshares Fund has chosen me as their new president. I’m very excited about the opportunity we have to make a real difference in U.S. nuclear policy, and to change global policy to move us toward a world free of nuclear weapons.
NB: Now, you’ve talked a lot about a “new moment” that exists for moving this policy forward. Can you share with us the significance of this new moment?
JC: I’d be happy to. We have an unprecedented policy opportunity unfolding before us in the next two to three years. Everybody’s familiar with the presidential campaign that will give us a new leader in the United States, opening up the possibility for new policies next year. But it’s actually happening on a global scale. Dozens of countries – the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Japan, maybe Israel, maybe Iran – they’re all going to be changing leaders, or they already have in the next couple of years. Coupled with that, we have the opportunity created by the activities of nongovernmental organizations, and including the “Gang of Four” – Henry Kissinger, Sam Nunn, George Shultz, Bill Perry – who have articulated a vision of a nuclear-free world, that’s created an enormous political space that others are rushing to fill. We’ve already seen other world leaders stepping up to the plate. The United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Gordon Brown has pledged that Great Britain will be at the forefront of efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons. We’ve got to get the U.S. policymakers on that same train.
NB: You mentioned nongovernmental organizations. You’ve had a distinguished career in government, in the think tank sector, and now you’re coming to a grantmaking foundation. Why philanthropy?
JC: It’s not just philanthropy, it’s why Ploughshares Fund. I believe that Ploughshares is uniquely positioned to combine three things: One, an increased grantmaking capability to target individuals and organizations that can make a real difference. Two, because of your work and the work of the other Ploughshares staff over the years, you’ve created a network of these organizations that can knit together these policy initiatives to maximize their impact. And finally, expertise. We finally have at Ploughshares real policy expertise that can be brought to bear to shape the grantmaking strategy, so we know we’re funding, we know what policies we’re pushing. Together, I think that can have a real impact in the short run.
NB: Well, I know that we are all so excited to begin working with you. And I believe that with your vision and Ploughshares Fund’s increased capacity we can really seize this new opportunity and we can put in motion the steps that are required for a nuclear weapon-free world. Welcome.
JC: Thank you, Naila.