home << newsletters << May 2003 index << Director's Message
 

Newsletter:  May 2003/ Issue 4
Message from the Director

We are pleased to present the fourth issue of Global Security. This semi-annual publication provides insight into the diverse arms control and nonproliferation work performed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). The core capabilities of the Lab and its relationships with the US government and Battelle Memorial Institute, which manages the Lab for the Department of Energy, strategically position PNNL to engage with counterparts around the world in various projects to enhance global security.

PNNL’s efforts in this arena can be divided into four categories:

1) reduction of the production capabilities and stockpiles of nuclear, and other weapons of mass destruction (WMD); 2) promotion of regional stability through tensions reduction; 3) prevention of the transfer of WMD technology and expertise from the former Soviet Union to other countries; and 4) safe storage and disposition of nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological weapons and weapons-usable materials.

PNNL employs both traditional and nontraditional approaches to enhancing global security. The Lab’s security work focuses on traditional efforts to reduce weapons threats and prevent the spread of weapons technologies and materials. However, as shown in the graphic, PNNL’s activities also include work to promote economic stability, environmental viability, and access to sufficient and affordable energy, all of which are issues that influence overall stability and, hence, impact regional and global security.

The end of the cold war resulted in changes in the global security environment that have altered the way in which stability is regarded. In the bipolar environment of the cold war, nations were restricted in their actions by their alignment with a superpower and the necessity of preserving that alliance. Today, this constraint has been replaced by the multitude of competing interests and concerns of countries, resulting in the outbreak of tensions and conflicts that had been suppressed in the past. A consequent result within the security community has been acknowledgement of the importance of addressing the root causes of conflicts before crises erupt.

The goal of PNNL is to keep informed of existing and emerging threats to global security so that the Lab might find ways in which to employ its scientific and technological capabilities to reduce the threat of WMD proliferation, and strengthen world peace and stability.

Throughout the “Featured Projects” section, you will notice that parts of the above graphic are displayed next to the titles. This is done to convey the type of global security work being pursued as part of the Lab’s endeavor to promote global security objectives.

We hope you enjoy this issue of Global Security.

Jim Fuller
PNWCGS Director

Jim Fuller is the founding Director of the Pacific Northwest Center for Global Security at PNNL, and Sector Leader for Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. As director, Jim leads PNNL efforts to involve state government, foundations and other non-governmental organizations in US Department of Energy and other US government efforts to reduce the threat of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, and to promote world peace.