Experts on WMDs

In Sept. 2003, I wrote about several sites that can help you cover nuclear weapons. I have since found another site. It’s useful for covering nukes and other weapons of mass destruction, missiles, and even conventional weapons.

It’s called Ploughshares.org and is run by the Ploughshares Fund, a San Francisco-based grantmaking foundation. It’s named after this line in the Bible: “They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks.” (Not this line in a Don Henley song: “They’re beating plowshares into swords / For this tired old man that we elected king.”)

The part you’ll want is the Experts section, which provides listings on more than 100, well, experts on such issues as biological and chemical weapons, conflict prevention, missiles and space, nuclear weapons, and nuclear material. Each expert is also accessible by keyword or by geographic expertise — countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, North Korea, India, and Pakistan. For each listing, you’ll find the expert’s affiliation, areas of expertise, a brief (or extensive) bio, and contact and web page details. You will find experts from think tanks, universities, and various nonprofits.

One way in which this list stands out from similar lists is by featuring more international experts as well as several more non-Washington folks.

Your turn: Send your thoughts – and useful sites – to poynter@sree.net.

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