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Jim Walsh
Activities: May-July, 2010
June was hot but July set historic record temperatures, and so it was in Venice, Italy where Dr. Walsh attended the 10th annual Millennium conference of the International Studies Association. He chaired and commented on papers presented at a panel on "Current Challenges in Transatlantic Security Relations," which focused on NATO’s experience in the war in Afghanistan. He also presented his paper, "The Evolution of the Global Nuclear Regime: Effects of International Cooperation on Domestic Behavior" for a panel on nuclear weapons and nonproliferation. Dr. Walsh’s paper suggests that the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) had surprising, multiple, and profound effects on the domestic bureaucratic politics of countries that might have otherwise pursued nuclear weapons. In short, the NPT had a profound effect on the nuclear age but not for the reasons that are commonly discussed. He also appeared on Fox (2), CNN (2), and was quoted in media outlets in Finland, Brazil, and Iran (2).
The month of June brought unseasonably warm temperatures and a continued focus on both Iran and North Korea. Dr. Walsh had a series of meetings with high-level US policymakers on the issue of Iran as well as meetings with officials from Iran and from North Korea. He gave lectures for a visiting delegation from Britan and a talk for the always astute members of the Newton Lifelong Learning Program in Newton, Massachusetts. He facilitated a role-play exercise on Iran for the Truman Project and continued his work as a member of the steering committee of the Fissile Material Security Working Group -- an assembly of academics and experts working on the issue of nuclear terrorism. He gave several interviews on Fox (5) and appeared in Reuters, the Christian Science Monitor, the Huffington Post, CCTV in China, German and Finnish news outlets, and gave interviews for assorted Iranian media (4).
In May, Dr. Walsh participated in a 2-day, closed door meeting with officials from North Korea, China, Japan, and the United States. Each delegation was comprised of four members. It is the only such meeting to have taken place since the Cheonan ship incident. He also participated in a one day meeting with six prominent Iran experts that was hosted by a major foundation. Best of all, Dr. Walsh attended the annual MIT Security Studies Program (SSP) end of the academic year dinner, which involved good food, bad jokes, and creative powerpoint presentations. Dr. Walsh gave two interviews for NPR (Morning Edition and the World), two for KPCC (NPR affiliate in southern California), five interviews for Fox, three for CNN, and was quoted in articles by the Christian Science Monitor (2) and the Boston Herald. He also gave interviews for Australia Broadcast Corporation TV, RTTV in Russia, an Italian newspaper, and Iranian media (3).
Activities: March-April, 2010
March ended with the announcement of the New Start Treaty, and April continued apace with the Nuclear Posture Review, the Washington Fissile Material Security Summit, The Tehran Nuclear Conference, and final preparations for May’s NPT Review Conference in New York. Dr. Walsh facilitated part of the international meeting of experts, government officials, and non-governmental organizations that preceded the Obama summit. For a webcast of the conference, go here. His paper, "Nuclear Disarmament: Principles, Problems, and Progress," was delivered for him at the Tehran Nuclear conference, while he remained grounded under a cloud of volcanic ash. He presented the lecture “Iran, the Bomb, and What I Learned from Four Dinners with Ahmedinejad” at George Washington University, and gave a lunchtime briefing on Iran for an audience of Senate staff members. Dr. Walsh appeared on Fox (6), CNN (3), MSNBC, NPR, the BBC, and media outlets in Canada, Australia, and Iran. He particularly enjoyed seeing friends at the SSP alumni reception in Washington.
In March, Dr. Walsh gave the talk "Iran, Nuclear Weapons and US Foreign/Military Policy" at George Washington University for an audience of students from the US military. He gave interviews to Fox News, the Associated Press, NPR, and Iran’s Press TV on topics ranging from the nuclear posture review to the controversy over Iran’s nuclear program. He also attended a dinner with British Foreign Minister David Miliband at the Kennedy Library.
Activities: January-February, 2010
In February, Dr. Walsh presented his paper “Re-conceptualizing Security Assurances: An Exploration Using the Case of Iran,” at the International Studies Association Annual Meeting in New Orleans. He also served as discussant for the panel, “Chasing the Chasm: Documenting the Policy-Practice Divide.” At Dartmouth, he delivered the inaugural lecture of a four-part series on nuclear weapons sponsored by the Dickey Center. The lecture, “Getting the Bomb: Nuclear Myths, Puzzles and Policy Challenges,” can be viewed online. Dr. Walsh also made a number of media appearances on the subject of Iran. He appeared on Fox (7 times), as well as for CNN, MSNBC, Voice of America, and CPSAN. You can see his debate with Iran’s Ambassador to the IAEA that aired on Iran’s Press TV here.
In January, Jim Walsh prepared the summary document for the American delegation to a meeting between the American and Russia National Academies of Science (see “December” below): “Report to the National Academy of Sciences on the Roundtable on Problems of Middle East Conflict Resolution.” He also delivered the lecture “Nuclear Proliferation and the NPT,” for the MIT IAP Course, “Nuclear Weapons: Physics, History, and Abolition” (with Professors Aron Bernstein and David Kaiser), and provided a briefing to members of the Massachusetts Legislature and their staffs on Iran. He also made four media appearances, including one on Fox and one on Press TV (Iran).
Activities: August-December, 2009
In December, Thomas Pickering, William Luers, and Jim Walsh published the article, “Iran and the Problem of Tactical Myopia,” in Arms Control Today. He also gave a presentation, “Fundamental Objectives of Iranian Policy in the Greater Middle East,” for the Roundtable on Problems of the Middle East Conflict Resolution, sponsored Russian Academy of Sciences and the US National Academy of Sciences and held in Moscow. Dr. Walsh made 12 media appearances in December, including CNN, Fox, and Time magazine.
In November, Dr. Walsh spoke on “Iran’s Nuclear Program,” for the conference, “Iran after the 2009 Elections, at University of Maryland College Park. He also gave a talk for MIT’s SSP Strategic Force Working Group entitled “Nuclear Decision Making: Conceptualizations and Conundra.” At a Council for Foreign Relations “Workshop on Limited Fuel Cycle Options,” he delivered a presentation for the panel, “What Options Exist for Limiting Enrichment.” Dr. Walsh appeared or was cited in 12 media stories, including appearances on Fox (6), CNN (3), Press TV (Iran), the Christian Science Monitor, and FP (Foreign Policy online).
In October, Jim Walsh gave a talk on North Korea for MIT Amnesty International and was a featured speaker with Thomas Pickering for a media dinner attended by journalists from the Huffington Post, the Washington Post, the Washington Times, and Newsweek, among others. Dr. Walsh also made 16 media appearances, including Fox (3), MSNBC, Time magazine, the BBC, CBC, KPCC (NPR- Southern California), Al Jazeera TV, and Press TV (Iran).
In September, Dr. Walsh was in New York for the opening meeting of the United Nations General Assembly and attended a dinner for scholars hosted by the President of Iran. As a member of the Steering Committee for the Fissile Material Working Group, he met with representatives from the White House, State Department, and other Executive agencies on the topic of fissile material security. Walsh’s piece, “Sanctions Can’t Be the Centerpiece,” appeared in the New York Times online “Room for Debate”. He also made 36 media appearances including Fox (7), CNN (8), MSNBC, NPR (3), KPCC (NPR- Southern California), Economist online, Atlantic online, CBC, Washington Times (4), Radio Australia, Canada AM (2), and Press TV (Iran).
In August, Jim Walsh presented a paper on “Iran, Nuclear Weapons, and Security Assurances,” for the “Workshop on Security Assurances and Nonproliferation,” sponsored by the Naval Postgraduate School. He also delivered a lecture entitled “Iran and WMD” at George Washington University. During August, he made numerous media appearances, including Fox (2), CNN (3), NPR, KPCC (NPR Southern California), the Christian Science Monitor, AL Jazeera, Press TV (Iran), and the CBC. In addition, he was quoted in several Associated Press stories on former president Bill Clinton’s trip to North Korea. These stories appeared in approximately 18,000 newspapers and news websites.
