William Perry: Nuclear Proliferation

JULY 27: NUCLEAR PROLIFERATION
The relations between the United States and Russia are as hostile as they were during the Cold War. This chilling return to Cold War nuclear dangers, in addition to the more recent prospect of nuclear terrorism (extremist groups like ISIL and al Qaeda) and regional nuclear conflicts (North Korea, India, and Pakistan) leads me to conclude that the likelihood of a nuclear catastrophe today is greater than it was during the Cold War. One thing is very clear: U.S. policies are totally inadequate for addressing these existential dangers. It should be the highest priority for this administration to develop policies that recognize this new reality, and then to devise new, robust programs that can mitigate them. What is at stake is nothing short of saving our civilization.
William Perry
Former U.S. Secretary of Defense
William J. Perry's career has spanned academia, industry, entrepreneurship, government, and diplomacy. Perry served as the 19th Secretary of Defense for the United States from February 1994 to January 1997. In 2007, Perry, George Shultz, Sam Nunn, and Henry Kissinger together formed the Nuclear Security Project, articulating practical steps to reduce nuclear dangers. Perry founded the William J. Perry Project in 2013, to engage and educate the public on the dangers of nuclear weapons. In 2015 he published My Journey at the Nuclear Brink, a personal account of his lifelong effort to reduce nuclear danger. Perry is the Michael and Barbara Berberian Professor (emeritus) at Stanford University. He will sign copies of his book after the lecture.