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Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs Nobel Peace Prize 1995
19 December 2008 Prof. John Holdren
Dear John, It gives us great pleasure, on behalf of the entire Pugwash community, to congratulate you on your anticipated appointment as Science Advisor to President-elect Barack Obama. As you know as well as anyone, the historical link between US presidential science advisors and the Pugwash Conferences dates back to the very origins of Pugwash, with George Kistiakowsky and Jerome Wiesner serving in that capacity for Pres. Eisenhower and Pres. Kennedy respectively. We are confident that you will bring the same passion for ensuring the beneficial applications of science and technology, and the highest standards of scientific integrity, to your position with President Obama. Your many efforts on behalf of Pugwash, beginning with your first Pugwash conference in Aulanko, Finland in August 1973, and including your tenure as chair of the Pugwash Executive Committee and your acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995, have been indispensable and inspirational over the years. We are pleased to be able to say that the Pugwash tradition of bringing together parties in conflict, and establishing dialogue across political, cultural, and religious divides, continues as strong as ever. In much the same way that you and colleagues such as Vitalii Goldanski and Yevgeni Velikhov kept open lines of communication between the US and Soviet Union during the Cold War, so is Pugwash now doing the same between the US and Iran, at the very highest levels, as well as between India and Pakistan over the Kashmir issue, between Israel, the Palestinians and the Arab countries, and between the parties involved in seeking to resolve the DPRK nuclear issue. We look forward to working with you and the Obama administration in the years ahead. Please know that we and the Pugwash community stand ready to assist you in whatever way possible as the international community seeks solutions to such fundamental challenges as eliminating the threat posed by nuclear weapons, ameliorating and mitigating the effects of global climate change, and providing energy security for all nations of the world. With our very best wishes,
Sincerely,
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