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New Chair takes over for BASIC

New Co-Executive Director Appointed in London

BASIC Press Release

Monday 3 December 2007 - IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Paul Ingram starts today as BASIC's new Co-Executive Director in London, soon after the launch in Washington DC of a new focus for the organisation on achieving concrete moves towards halting the spread of nuclear weapons by reducing nuclear arsenals. The idea of the complete elimination of nuclear weapons has been revived by a group of senior former officials with strong influence within the United States - BASIC is using its network to strengthen that call.

On taking his position, Paul said:
"BASIC has a long and distinguished history working for the elimination of nuclear weapons. I am proud and honoured to have been chosen to lead its efforts in London to raise the profile of the effort - and will be using new and imaginative ways to do so. Watch this space!"

BASIC's new Chair, Dr. Trevor McCrisken, is Associate Professor in American Politics and International Studies at the University of Warwick. His research interest is US foreign policy with particular emphasis on the threat and use of military force, the politics of intervention, and the relationship between American political culture and foreign policy. He is an Associate Fellow of the Rothermere American Institute at the University of Oxford where he was a Research Fellow from 2001-2003.

Paul Ingram has been Senior Analyst with BASIC for five years, leading on initiatives around defence economics and export promotion, the replacement of UK's Trident submarines, and Iran's nuclear programme. He has had a number of successes linked to this work, related to the government's announcement to close the Defence Export Services Organisation, reduced support for the Export Credit Guarantees Department, and the debate in Parliament and elsewhere on delaying the Trident submarine replacement programme. Paul regularly appears on television as an analyst commenting on diverse security and defence issues, and has his own peak-time talk show on the principal domestic news channel in Iran covering issues relating to security in the Middle East. Paul replaces Ian Davis, who is moving into consultancy work for BASIC and other organizations in the field.

BASIC is an independent analysis and advocacy organisation which researches and provides a critical examination of global security issues, including nuclear policies, military strategies, armaments and disarmament. BASIC assists in the development of global security policies, policy-making and the assessment of policy priorities, and promotes public awareness and understanding of these policies and of policy-making in Europe and the United States.

With twenty years of experience and governing directors and offices on both sides of the Atlantic, BASIC facilitates the exchange of information and analysis on these global security issues in order to foster informed debate.

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ENDS