Security Issues in Syria, Iran and North Korea Draw Media to CNS Experts

December 14, 2012

The world-class experts at the Monterey Institute’s James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) are in high demand in national and international media whenever there is breaking news related to matters of security and weapons of mass destruction. On December 14, 2012, Reuters, the Washington Post, National Public Radio (NPR) and the Inter Press Agency each published stories featuring a CNS expert:

• The Washington Post quotes Visiting Fellow Bilal Saab in story about intelligence related to the threat of the Assad regime in Syria using chemical weapons.
• Reuters quotes Senior Research Associate Miles Pomper in a news wire about a discussions between the IAEA and Iran about allowing UN inspectors to visit sites with suspected nuclear applications.
• The Inter Press Agency quotes Scientist-in-Residence Yousaf Butt and mentions his detection of mistakes in a graph published by the Associated Press allegedly showing evidence of Iranian computer modeling of nuclear weapons yield. (Butt is also quoted on the same topic in the The Washington Post.)
• Finally, many Americans woke up to hear Jeffrey Lewis, director of the East Asia Nonproliferation Program, on NPR’s popular Morning Edition explaining what he thinks the North Korean rocket launch this week tells us about Iran’s role. In his view, Iran is now assisting North Korea with their rocket technology.

Earlier this month, CNS experts were featured in numerous other media outlets such as BBC News, the Christian Science Monitor and Newswire explaining complex security issues and commenting on breaking news. On December 5, Deputy Director Leonard Spector was a guest on PBS NewsHour exploring and explaining the threat of chemical weapons in Syria.

Like this story? Here are a few suggestions: