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Office of Strategic Issues (VCI/SI)

Mission Statement

The Verification, Compliance, and Implementation Bureau’s Office of Strategic Issues (VCI/SI) serves as the lead within the Department for addressing the verification, compliance, and implementation aspects of current and prospective arms control and disarmament agreements and commitments involving strategic, intermediate-range, and non-strategic nuclear weapons systems, including related transparency and confidence-building policy. VCI/SI also serves as the lead in the Department for the development of policy on all matters related to the verification, compliance, and compliance enforcement aspects of current and prospective arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament agreements and commitments related to the nonproliferation of WMD-capable delivery systems, including the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Hague Code of Conduct (HCOC), and other bilateral and multilateral agreements and commitments. VCI/SI also supports implementation of U.S. sanctions laws and interdiction policies.

The Office is specifically responsible for:

• Developing U.S. policy on the arms control, transparency, confidence-building, and threat-reduction aspects of strategic, intermediate-range, and non-strategic nuclear weapons systems, including existing and prospective arms control and disarmament agreements and commitments related to such systems.

• Developing U.S. policy on implementation of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, and the Moscow Treaty; coordinating that policy within the Department and the interagency community.

• Drafting and coordinating diplomatic communications on START, INF and Moscow Treaty implementation to the governments of the other Treaty Parties.

• Chairing the interagency committees that have principal responsibility for developing U.S. policy and preparing instructions for the delegations to the Joint Compliance and Inspection Commission (JCIC) for the START Treaty, the Special Verification Commission (SVC) for the INF Treaty, and the Bilateral Implementation Commission (BIC) for the Moscow Treaty. VCI/SI’s staff represents the Department on U.S. delegations to these Commissions.

• Developing concepts for future initiatives regarding arms control, transparency and confidence-building aspects of strategic offensive weapons. In addition, VCI/SI works to assess the potential impact of new technological developments on strategic arms control, transparency and confidence-building.

• Serving as the lead within the Department for preparing verifiability assessments of existing and prospective arms control and disarmament agreements and commitments involving nuclear warheads and strategic, intermediate-range, and non-strategic nuclear forces, as required under 22 U.S.C. § 2577 or by direction.

• Serving as the lead within the Department for reviewing and assessing compliance by foreign countries with arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament agreements and commitments involving nuclear warheads and strategic, intermediate-range and non-strategic nuclear forces; and incorporating compliance analyses and assessments into the annual noncompliance report to the Congress pursuant to 22 U.S.C. § 2593(a)(4-6), and other reports as appropriate.

• Chairing the interagency committees that have principal responsibility for reviewing and assessing compliance by foreign countries with arms control and disarmament agreements and commitments involving nuclear warheads and strategic and intermediate-range nuclear forces; and participating in international negotiations and consultations related to the verification, compliance, and compliance enforcement aspects of these agreements and commitments.

• Leading the Department's efforts for reviewing and assessing compliance by foreign countries with nonproliferation agreements and commitments involving WMD-capable delivery systems including the MTCR, HCOC, and other bilateral and multilateral missile nonproliferation commitments and agreements; engaging in diplomatic consultations to address compliance concerns; and incorporating compliance analyses and assessments into the annual noncompliance report to the Congress pursuant to 22 U.S.C. § 2593(a)(4-6), the semi-annual reports to Congress pursuant to the Iran, North Korea, and Syria Nonproliferation Act (Public Law 106-178; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note), and other reports, as appropriate.

• Leading the Department's efforts for developing U.S. policy with respect to the verification aspects of existing and prospective nonproliferation agreements and commitments involving WMD-capable delivery systems; participating in the verification aspects of negotiations related to constraining proliferation of such systems; and preparing verifiability assessments of nonproliferation agreements, as required under 22 U.S.C. § 2577 or by direction.

• Assisting in the evaluation of transfers of WMD-capable delivery systems with respect to U.S. sanction laws and Executive Orders, and supporting the Assistant Secretary in his or her role as advisor to senior Department officials on sanctions determinations.

• Assisting in developing and reviewing the compliance and sanction related aspects of interdiction policies and their implementation to prevent transfers related to WMD-capable delivery systems.

The VCI/SI Office coordinates closely with the Office of Technology and Assessments (VCI/TA) to ensure that current and projected collection and analytical requirements related to verification, compliance, compliance enforcement, and implementation in the above areas are clearly formulated, well understood, and given appropriate emphasis and attention. VCI/SI coordinates that policy within the Department and the interagency community, and represents the Department in interagency discussions.

The Office further provides policy guidance to senior members of the Department of State and advises the Assistant Secretary for Verification, Compliance, and Implementation and the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Affairs on the matters described hereinabove; and as required, briefs Congressional Committees and staffs.

The Office Director of the VCI/SI Office is dual-hatted as the U.S. Representative to the SVC, JCIC, and BIC. The VCI/SI Office supports the U.S. Representative to the INF, START, and Moscow Treaty Commissions. In this regard, the Office:

• Contributes to overall policy direction and coordination for all activities related to the SVC, JCIC, and BIC; supports the Assistant Secretary for Verification, Compliance, and Implementation and the Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security on all matters related to the INF, START and Moscow Treaties; and provides general advice on further reductions of nuclear weapons and verification and transparency related to those reductions.

• Supports and staffs the interagency U.S. delegations to the SVC, JCIC, and BIC, which are headed by the U.S. Representative. As instructed by the NSC-chaired Policy Coordinating Committee on Arms Control, the U.S. Representative negotiates agreements and formal statements in the Commissions on issues arising from implementation of the treaties. The VCI/SI Office provides support for these functions and for interagency discussions and implementation efforts related to the INF, START and Moscow Treaties.

• Has responsibility for liaison with State Department, Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), the Intelligence Community (IC), Department of Energy (DOE), and National Security Council (NSC) offices involved in INF, START, and Moscow Treaty implementation.

• Implements goals and objectives set by the U.S. Representative, who also monitors and directs the use of VCI/SI staff and other resources to achieve Bureau priorities for INF, START and Moscow Treaty implementation and compliance assessment.