PROGRESS IN NONPROLIFERATION: INITIATIVES FOR PROLIFERATION PREVENTION, THE U.S. INDUSTRY COALITION, AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS

In 1994, the Initiatives for Proliferation Prevention (IPP) program was established to engage unemployed FSU weapons scientists in peaceful commercial activities in hopes of preventing them from selling sensitive information to countries or terrorist groups trying to develop weapons of mass destruction. IPP identifies commercial opportunities through research and development projects involving the Department of Energy's headquarters and national laboratories, U.S. industry, and scientific institutes in the FSU. Under this program, U.S. companies work with FSU scientists on projects that could lead to self-sustaining business ventures and create longterm employment in the FSU. As of December 1998, IPP had funded over 400 projects in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan. The U.S. Industrial Coalition is a group of U.S. companies assisting the U.S. IPP program. This paper gives an overview of these cooperative efforts and summarizes their accomplishments to date. We also discuss future directions of these initiatives and their impact on the FSU, other international RF commercial assistance programs, and how these programs collectively promote international cooperation with the RF.