John Isaacs
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
202-546-0795 ext. 2222
jdi AT armscontrolcenter DOT org
John Isaacs is the Executive Director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation where his work focuses on national security issues in Congress, Iraq, missile defense, and nuclear weapons.
Isaacs is one of the leaders of the nation's arms control community and has long been an expert on the workings of Congress. He has represented Council for a Livable World, the Center's sister organization, on Capitol Hill since 1978. Isaacs previously served as a Legislative Assistant on foreign affairs to Representative Stephen Solarz (D-NY), a Legislative Representative on foreign policy and defense budget for Americans for Democratic Action, and a Foreign Service Officer in Vietnam.
Isaacs has published articles in the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Atlanta Journal, St. Louis Post Dispatch, Christian Science Monitor, Nuclear Times, Arms Control Today, American Journal of Public Health, and Technology Review.
Isaacs holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College and an M.A. from the School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University.
ISAACS IN THE NEWS
John Isaacs Quoted on START in CQ Weekly
On June 28, John Isaacs, executive director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, said securing the 67 votes needed to guarantee ratification is like fording "a raging river at the finish line of a 10-mile hike." Isaacs views five Republicans as the most persuadable -- Arizona's John McCain, Indiana's Richard G. Lugar, Ohio's George V. Voinovich, and Maine's Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe. But even if all of them vote "yes," that still leaves the president searching for two more votes to ensure victory.
John Isaacs Publishes Article on START in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Online
On June 23, John Isaacs and Kingston Reif published "Will the Senate Support New Nuclear Arms Reductions?" in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Online.
John Isaacs Publishes Letter to the Editor in Washington Post
On June 18, John Isaacs, executive director of the Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation, published a letter on Iran election polling in the Washington Post.
RECENT ARTICLES BY ISAACS
Jul 2, 2009 Backgrounder on Obama-Medvedev July 2009 Moscow Summit
From July 6 to 8, 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev will meet in Moscow for their first full summit. High on their agenda is the impending expiration of the landmark 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) and the ongoing negotiations to replace it with a new strategic arms reduction agreement.
Jun 23, 2009 Will the Senate Support New Nuclear Arms Reductions?
The one major piece of President Obama's arms control agenda that could be completed this year is a follow-on agreement to START. Most arms control experts agree that ratification with more than 67 Senate votes will be necessary to build momentum for more controversial treaties to follow. John Isaacs and Kingston Reif dissect the domestic politics of START in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Online.
Apr 28, 2009 President Obama: 100 Days of Significant Progress
With 100 days now behind him and more than 1,000 left to go in his first term, President Barack Obama has given us much to celebrate – especially when compared to the dismal years of the Bush administration. John Isaacs offers a progress report on the Obama administration.
Apr 16, 2009 A Strategy for Achieving Senate Approval of the CTBT
In this new article published in the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists Online, Executive Director John Isaacs argues that the successful effort in the 1990s to approve the Chemical Weapons Convention provides a useful historical precedent to keep in mind as efforts move forward today to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. In both past and present efforts, Joe Biden is a central figure.
Apr 13, 2009 START Follow-On Treaty and Further Nuclear Reductions: Where Are We?
President Barack Obama has made it clear since the beginning of his administration that negotiating a new nuclear weapons reduction treaty with Russia is a high priority. In this new analysis, John Isaacs lays out the enormous momentum building for a follow-on agreement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), which expires at the end of the year. Isaacs also foreshadows the political challenges in getting a new treaty through the Senate.
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