Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
Encyclopedia
John J. McCloy
John Jay McCloy was a lawyer and banker who served as Assistant Secretary of War during World War II, president of the World Bank and U.S. High Commissioner for Germany...
. Its predecessor was the U.S. Disarmament Administration, part of the Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
(1960–61). Its mission was to strengthen United States national security by "formulating, advocating, negotiating, implementing and verifying effective arms control
Arms control
Arms control is an umbrella term for restrictions upon the development, production, stockpiling, proliferation, and usage of weapons, especially weapons of mass destruction...
, nonproliferation, and disarmament
Disarmament
Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear arms...
policies, strategies, and agreements."
In so doing, ACDA ensured that arms control was fully integrated into the development and conduct of United States national security policy. ACDA also conducted, supported, and coordinated research for arms control and disarmament policy formulation, prepared for and managed U.S. participation in international arms control and disarmament negotiations, and prepared, operated, and directed U.S. participation in international arms control and disarmament systems.
Early mission
In the 1970s emphasis of the agency was placed upon gaining an understanding of the strategic weapons capabilities of the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and People's Republic of China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. The electronic reconnaissance capability of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was expanded through federal agency research and private contract research, utilizing radio frequency
Radio frequency
Radio frequency is a rate of oscillation in the range of about 3 kHz to 300 GHz, which corresponds to the frequency of radio waves, and the alternating currents which carry radio signals...
as well as optical technologies. The theory of this mission was that a clearer understanding of other nations' strategic capabilities was an important initial step in prevention of nuclear war.
1997 Reorganization
In 1997, the Clinton administration announced the full integration of the ACDA with the State Department as part of the reinvention of the agencies which implement the nation’s foreign policy.The ACDA Director served as both the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs and a Senior Adviser to the President and the Secretary of State for Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Disarmament. He communicated with the President through the Secretary of State. In his capacity as senior advisor to the president, the Under Secretary attended and participated, at the direction of the president, in National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
(NSC) and subordinate meetings pertaining to arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament and had the right to communicate, through the Secretary of State
United States Secretary of State
The United States Secretary of State is the head of the United States Department of State, concerned with foreign affairs. The Secretary is a member of the Cabinet and the highest-ranking cabinet secretary both in line of succession and order of precedence...
, with the President and members of the NSC on arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament concerns.
1999-2000 Reorganization
As of April, 1999, ACDA was merged into the Department of State. ACDA's four Bureaus were merged with the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs to form three new Bureaus, for Political-Military Affairs (PM), Arms Control (AC), and Nonproliferation (NP). In 2000, a fourth Bureau for Verification and Compliance (VC) was added by statute. All four Bureaus reported to the Secretary and Deputy Secretary of State through the Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs.2005-2006 Reorganization
In 2004, the State Department's Inspector General (IG) conducted a review of three of these Bureaus: NP, AC, and VC. The IG recommended merging AC and NP to move resources from arms control areas that were relatively inactive to higher priority nonproliferation issues. The IG also recommended reducing the VC Bureau to a more focused Office reporting to the Secretary of State. These recommendations were held in abeyance until Robert Joseph was sworn in as the new Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs in June 2005.In late 2005, Under Secretary Joseph decided to accept the IG recommendation to merge the AC and NP Bureaus into the new Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation
Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation
The Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation is a bureau within the United States Department of State responsible for managing a broad range of nonproliferation and counterproliferation functions. The bureau leads U.S...
(ISN). Rather than scaling back the VC Bureau, however, he decided to expand it into the new Bureau of Verification, Compliance, and Implementation
Bureau of Verification, Compliance, and Implementation
The Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance is a bureau within the United States Department of State. It is responsible for providing oversight of policy and resources of all matters relating to the verification of compliance---or noncompliance---with international arms control,...
(VCI). Not only was this contrary to the recommendation of the Inspector General, but by merging implementation with verification and compliance it undercut the purpose of the VC Bureau to provide independent review of implementation. Furthermore, though the ISN Bureau was somewhat larger than the NP Bureau, its mission was also expanded and staff resources available for most nonproliferation functions were actually reduced. A number of senior nonproliferation experts have left the Bureau as a result, further exacerbating the staffing shortage. One of the Office Directors in the new structure told his staff that one purpose of the reorganization was to eliminate vestiges of ACDA from the Department of State. In a Washington Post article in March 2006, an unnamed official confirmed that one reason for the reorganization was to respond to what he called "rank insubordination" by some "disloyal" career staff, contradicting the official statement that the reorganization was intended to realign the organization with changed circumstances and priorities.
Under Secretary's Responsibilities
The Under Secretary leads the interagency policy process on nonproliferation and manages global U.S. security policy, principally in the areas of nonproliferation, arms control, regional security and defense relations, and arms transfers and security assistance. The Under Secretary provides policy direction in the following areas: nonproliferation, including the missile and nuclear areas, as well as chemical, biological, and conventional weapons proliferation; arms control, including negotiation, ratification, verification and compliance, and implementation of agreements on strategic, non-conventional, and conventional forces; regional security and defense relations, involving policy regarding U.S. security commitments worldwide as well as on the use of U.S. military forces in unilateral or international peacekeeping roles; and arms transfers and security assistance programs and arms transfer policies. By delegation from the Secretary, the Under Secretary performs a range of functions under the Foreign Assistance Act, Arms Export Control Act, and related legislation. The Bureaus of Arms Control, Nonproliferation, and Political-Military Affairs are under the policy oversight of the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security. By statute, the Assistant Secretary for Verification and Compliance reports to the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security.Current Under Secretary
Ellen TauscherEllen Tauscher
Ellen O'Kane Tauscher is an American politician and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs...
has served as Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security since June 27, 2009. Her predecessors as Under Secretary include:
- John RoodJohn RoodJohn C. Rood was Acting Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 13, 2006 as Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation....
(2007–2009) Acting Under Secretary, never confirmed. - Robert JosephRobert JosephRobert G. Joseph is a senior scholar at the National Institute for Public Policy and professor at Missouri State University. He was the United States Special Envoy for Nuclear Nonproliferation, with ambassadorial rank. Prior to this post, Dr...
(2005–2007) - John R. BoltonJohn R. BoltonJohn Robert Bolton is an American lawyer and diplomat who has served in several Republican presidential administrations. He served as the U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations from August 2005 until December 2006 on a recess appointment...
(2001–2005) - John D. HolumJohn D. HolumJohn D. Holum was Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security under Bill Clinton.-Biography:...
(1997–2000)
Former ACDA Directors
Former directors include:- John D. HolumJohn D. HolumJohn D. Holum was Director of the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security under Bill Clinton.-Biography:...
(1993–99) - Ronald F. LehmanRonald F. LehmanAmbassador Ronald F. Lehman, II is currently Director of the Center for Global Security Research at the United States Department of Energy's Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory...
(1989–93) - William F. Burns (1988–89)
- Kenneth Adelman (1983–87)
- Eugene V. RostowEugene V. RostowEugene V. Rostow , influential legal scholar and public servant, was Dean of Yale Law School, and served as Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs under President Lyndon B...
(1981–83) - Ralph EarleRalph Earle (ambassador)Ambassador Ralph Earle II was director of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency between 1980 and 1981, and was also deputy director at the agency from 1994 to 1999. From 1978 to 1979 he served as the United States' chief negotiator at the SALT II round of talks on nuclear disarmament.Earle was...
(1980–81) - George M. SeigniousGeorge M. SeigniousLieutenant General George Marion Seignious U.S. Army was a distinguished military leader, diplomat and college president...
(1978–80) - Paul WarnkePaul WarnkePaul Culliton Warnke was a United States diplomat.He was born in Webster, Massachusetts but spent most of his childhood in Marlborough, Massachusetts, where his father managed a shoe factory. He attended Yale University, fought in World War II for five years in the United States Coast Guard, and...
(1977–78) - Fred IkleFred IkleDr. Fred Charles Iklé was a United States Department of Defense official during the presidency of Ronald Reagan who is credited with a key role in increasing U.S. aid to anti-Soviet rebels in the Soviet War in Afghanistan...
(1973–77) - Gerard C. SmithGerard C. SmithGerard Coad Smith was the chief U.S. delegate to the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks in 1969 and the first U.S. Chairman of the Trilateral Commission. He was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom on January 16, 1981 by President Jimmy Carter.-Biography:Gerard Smith was born in New York City...
(1969–72) - William C. Foster (1961–1969)
Current Programs
- Stopping Nuclear Testing
- Banning Chemical Weapons
- Reducing Strategic Nuclear Arms
- Keeping Nuclear Weapons out of the hands of rogue states
- Preventing the use of disease as a weapon of war