Hans Møller Kristensen (born April 7, 1961) is director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists. He writes about nuclear weapons policy there; he is coauthor of the Nuclear Notebook[2] column in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists,[3] and the World Nuclear Forces appendix in Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's annual SIPRI Yearbook.[4]
Hans Møller Kristensen | |
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Born | [1] | April 7, 1961
Nationality | Danish[1] |
Education | Vesthimmerlands Gymnasium Ranum Statsskole[1] |
Occupations |
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Employer | Federation of American Scientists |
Known for | Writings on nuclear weapons policy |
Title | Project Director |
Spouse | Sandra Marquardt[1] |
Children | Adam Kristensen[1] |
His work especially relies on using the Freedom of Information Act to compel US government agencies to release documents. He maintains an on-line overview of the number of nuclear weapons in the world,[5] and writes frequently on the FAS Strategic Security Blog.[6]
He is critical of the development and deployment of nuclear weaponry by the United States, the United Kingdom, and France.[7] In 2005 he discovered a draft document on a Pentagon website that proposed a change in U.S. nuclear doctrine to include the possibility of a preemptive nuclear strike. Even though Secretary Rumsfeld had not approved the change, its publication provoked a reaction from some members of Congress.[8] In 2022, US President Joe Biden announced that the United States would use nuclear weapons as a first strike in "extreme circumstance," without any objection from Kristensen or the Federation of American Scientists.[9]
In an interview, Kristensen argued that even though the number is declining, the capability of remaining weapons is increasing as older missiles, for example, get new engines, guidance sets and computer software.
Hans M. Kristensen, a consultant to the Natural Resources Defense Council, who discovered the document on the Pentagon Web site, said yesterday that it "emphasizes the need for a robust nuclear arsenal ready to strike on short notice including new missions." Kristensen, who has specialized for more than a decade in nuclear weapons research, said a final version of the doctrine was due in August but has not yet appeared. "This doctrine does not deliver on the Bush administration pledge of a reduced role for nuclear weapons," Kristensen said. "It provides justification for contentious concepts not proven and implies the need for Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP)."