Nuclear Proliferation Risks Expanding in a New Era
Tuesday, March 18, 2025
NSF Hybrid Event
In-Person at
Tamarack Casino
13101 S. Virginia St, Reno, NV
(Park and enter using Banquet Hall door on the north side of the building)
Breakfast served 8:00-9:00am, Forum 9:00-10:15am
$30 members/$35 guests
Virtual on Zoom
Forum 9:00-10:15am PST
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_kEFrt407Q0CTet3S0MnYSA
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Keith Hansen
NSF Contributor and former National Intelligence Officer
DISCUSSANTS:
Rae Huffstutler
NSF Contributor and former Intelligence Community leader
John Woodworth
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy
Thank you to all who joined us last month for an excellent program about China’s expanding role in Latin America and how the US should respond. If you missed it, the program video and tributes are posted on the NSF website at: China in Latin America In examining issues of importance to the new Trump Administration, we will have a myriad of topics to cover this year.
As NSFers may remember we usually schedule a meeting early in the year featuring stalwart NSF expert contributors sharing their thoughts on the current Administration’s national security strategies, with special attention on nuclear security issues. In 2025, we find ourselves in a new era of rapidly expanding nuclear energy programs, after a long hiatus following the 2011 Fukashima disaster, with China leading the pack by a mile.
“As we settle into 2025, it’s clear that the global momentum for nuclear energy isn’t slowing down. Looking back, 2024 proved to be a pivotal year for the nuclear energy industry, with key developments across the globe.” (NEI Global Nuclear Energy Developments in 2024: A Year of Progress, 27 Feb 2025)
“The landscape of the nuclear industry has changed markedly in recent years, as the construction of new large-scale reactors has shifted away from the advanced economies and the diversity of nuclear designs for large-scale reactors has declined. This reflects in large part the growing leadership of Chinese and Russian developers and the difficulties the industry has faced in the advanced economies in bringing new projects online in a timely manner.” (IAEA The Path for a New Era for Nuclear Energy, Jan 2025)
“Italy’s Council of Ministers has approved a draft law calling for the government to adopt a series of legislative decrees to create the legal framework for the reintroduction of nuclear power, which was phased out following a referendum in 1987.” (World Nuclear News, 03 Mar 2025)
“Even historically anti-nuclear countries shifted course. Serbia lifted a 35-year ban, Estonia approved nuclear power adoption, and Italy reconsidered its plans decades after shutting down its last reactor. This trend has continued in 2025 with countries like Spain, Scotland, and Belgium moving to reconsider their nuclear phaseout policies.” (NEI Global Nuclear Energy Developments in 2024: A Year of Progress, 27 Feb 2025)
These developments are forcing the US and our allies to up our game assessing and countering the old issue of nuclear proliferation risks and responses. The rapidly expanding growth in nuclear energy programs globally is paralleled by an ominous increased interest and activity on nuclear weapons programs among both US allies and adversaries. To date, the Trump Administration has not released a new nuclear nonproliferation.
To navigate us through the rapidly changing nuclear landscape we once again turn to our NSF expert contributors, Keith Hansen, Rae Huffstutler, and John Woodworth. Keith will lead the featured presentation and Rae and John will be on hand to add perspectives and answer questions. Keith will remind us of how we got to where we are now with many old, new and revisited nuclear weapons program development and what tools we have in our toolbox to counter nuclear nonproliferation.
Growing nuclear proliferation risks does not ping the news media radar given the all the other issues overwhelming information and thought waves across the country. These risks are real and worrisome and merit new approaches to countering the threats. To add context, I will review 2025 nuclear facts and figures before Keith’s talk profiling trends and providing references and resources for you to follow when you look beyond the headlines and breathless newscasts. Please join us for this important national security discussion and bring lots of questions!
NSF remains committed to keeping you informed about issues beyond the headlines and from multiple perspectives. Stay up to date on NSF programs by subscribing to our mailing list at: NSF Mailing List or better yet become a member at: Become a Member. We meet at Tamarack Casino in South Reno. When you turn into the parking lot turn right and follow the signs for the “Banquet Room.” Park anywhere on the northside of the building and enter via the walkway into the reception hall for the banquet room. We will see you there!!! You can always email Kimberly at: [email protected] or me at: [email protected] if you have questions or need more information about the location.
Keith Hansen has extensive experience in the defense and intelligence communities as a US Navy officer for 30 years and as a National Intelligence Officer (NIO) for Strategic Programs and Nuclear Proliferation. Hansen was deeply involved in negotiations on the disarmament of nuclear weapons, as well as on a comprehensive ban on nuclear testing. He and his wife live in Incline Village. He is the author of The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty: An Insider’s Perspective; coauthor of Spy Satellites and Other Intelligence Technologies that Changed History; and coauthor of Preventing Catastrophe: The Use and Misuse of Intelligence in Efforts to Halt the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Professor Hansen has a BA in History from Stanford University; an MA in International Affairs/Soviet Studies from The Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies; an MA in Russian History from Stanford University; and an MS in Management from the Stanford University Graduate School of Business—Sloan Program.
Rae Huffstutler has a distinguished career in the Intelligence Community. He served as the Executive Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Director of the National Photographic Interpretation Center, and as the Director of Soviet Research at the Agency. Among his many accolades are twice being awarded the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal and in April 2003 he was inducted into the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) Hall of Fame for his contributions to imagery collection and intelligence. Rae received a BA in economics and an MA in international economics from the University of California, Berkeley. Rae is an active member and regular contributor and presenter of the National Security Forum. He lives during the snowless months, in lovely Incline Village.
John Woodworth’s career in international affairs and national security policy has involved work in government, education, consulting, and civic organizations. He held various senior positions in government, including Ambassador and Deputy Negotiator for INF in the US-Soviet Nuclear and Space Talks, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for European and NATO Policy, Secretary of Defense Representative on the US Delegations to the UN Committee on Disarmament and the CSCE Stockholm Conference on Security in Europe, and principal nuclear policy advisor at the US Mission to NATO. Following government service, moved to Charlottesville in 1994 as a Senior Faculty Member and Special Advisor for International Studies at the Federal Executive Institute, where he developed and taught courses on global trends, coordinated leadership programs, and facilitated professional development teams. Among activities in civic organizations, he was Chairman and Director for Programs of the Charlottesville Committee on Foreign Relations, served on the International Council of the University of Virginia, and was a member of the Community Advisory Committee of the International Rescue Committee in Charlottesville. He has served on numerous overseas election observation missions for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe including in Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Belarus, Montenegro, and Moldova. He has been a Visiting Fellow at the National Defense University, and a Fellow in Public Affairs at the Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. John received a Bachelor of Science from Duke University in history and a Master of Science in Foreign Service from Georgetown University.
The National Security Forum is a non-partisan, educational, nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering civil discourse and informed discussion about timely and important national security topics. We bring expert speakers from around the U.S. to talk about national and international security, domestic and foreign terrorism, economic and financial threats, the safety of our food and water supply, energy policy, electrical grid stability, and a variety of other topics that affect all Americans. The National Security Forum partners with the Washoe County School District to host an annual Youth Security Forum to encourage future generations national security leaders.
To support NSF continuing to bring national security programs to our community and our local students please join NSF as a member or Friend of the Forum at: https://nationalsecurityforum.org/membership/about-our-membership/