In 2007 former Secretary of State George P. Shultz, former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, former Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger and former Senator Sam Nunn joined together to form the Nuclear Security Project - a major effort to galvanize global action to reduce urgent nuclear dangers and build support for reducing reliance on nuclear weapons, ultimately ending them as a threat to the world.
Building on ideas set forward in a series of Wall Street Journal op-eds, by Shultz, Perry, Kissinger and Nunn, the Project links the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons with urgent steps that can be taken immediately to reduce nuclear dangers.
Recognizing that progress requires international consensus and action, the Project is designed to motivate governments to rethink policies, change direction and act on the steps that will reduce the risk of a nuclear weapon being used anywhere on the globe. To achieve these goals, NSP activities have included high-level conferences; studies that reach government decision-makers and experts; speaking engagements by the four principals; and the production of a major documentary about the principals, their vision and the steps.
Over
two thirds of living former U.S. Secretaries of State, Secretaries of Defense
and national security advisors endorsed the initiative. Articles and opinion
pieces by other senior statesmen from around the world and across party lines
turned the call of the American four into a global dialogue. The four NSP
principals also inspired the creation of networks of regional leaders around
the globe working to generate momentum for reducing reliance on nuclear weapons
and the risks they pose in their regions.
The Nuclear Threat Initiative serves as coordinator of the NSP, in cooperation with Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.
