The Foreign Service Journal, September 2009

government, and other governments around the world, to understand the importance of the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons and the steps needed to get there. To get interna- tional cooperation, people around the world need to perceive that the United States is not only leading on this initiative, but views it as realistic and possible. That is absolutely es- sential if we’re going to achieve the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons. While NTI has a very specific agenda in terms of concrete steps, the NSP has a much broader vision. Nonetheless, both organizations are very heavily involved in diplomacy and work both inside and outside of governments. FSJ: Are you hopeful that the news coming out of North Korea about recent nuclear tests and missile launches might give new impetus to these efforts? SN: Well, I think we’re in a short- term, medium-term and long-term race between cooperation and catas- trophe. And I believe that both the goal and the vision become even more important in situations like this one. Obviously, we have to deal with the North Koreans and the Iranians on nuclear issues, but we also have to ad- dress the regional issues that impel countries to believe that they must possess nuclear weapons — whether it’s North Korea, India and Pakistan, or others in Northeast Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. Then there is the continuing challenge of secur- ing nuclear weapons and nuclear ma- terials all over the globe. All these things take cooperation. FSJ: Who are some diplomats you have known and worked with that particularly stand out in your estima- tion? SN: I could make a long list, starting with the Secretaries of State I worked with during my time in the Senate and am still working with. Of those, I would single out George Shultz and Henry Kissinger. In addi- tion, while he is not affiliated with State, Bill Perry has been outstanding in his preventive diplomacy. In terms of career diplomats, I had S E P T E M B E R 2 0 0 9 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 43 Nunn’s work to strengthen global security has resulted in nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2000, 2002 and 2005.