William Burr

Burr is a senior analyst at George Washington University's National Security Archive, where he directs a documentation project on nuclear weapons. He has also edited two the National Security Archive's document collections--The Berlin Crisis, 1958-1962 and U.S. Nuclear History: Nuclear Arms and Politics in the Missile Age, 1955-1968. He is the author of the book, The Kissinger Transcripts: The Top-Secret Talks with Beijing & Moscow (New Press, 1998).

Recent work: 
Subscribe

Articles by William Burr

Opinion
19 January 2009
Nuclear WeaponsNuclear Energy

The history of Iran's nuclear energy program

William Burr

Editor's note: The following article is drawn from a long-form analysis of the history of the Iranian nuclear program in the Bulletin's January/February 2009 edition. That analysis can be found here.

1 January 2009
Feature

A Brief History of U.S.-Iranian Nuclear Negotiations

William Burr
Long before their current nuclear crisis, the united States and Iran overcame concerns about proliferation and sovereign rights to negotiate a nuclear accord. Can they do it again?
1 May 2006
Feature

Israel Crosses the Threshold

Avner CohenWilliam Burr
When President Richard Nixon took office he was confronted with evidence that Israel would soon have the Bomb. Newly declassified documents divulge what happened next.
1 January 2003
Feature

Nixon's Nuclear Ploy

William BurrJeffrey Kimball
Richard Nixon thought a secret, worldwide nuclear alert would remain unknown to the American public, and he was right. But his strategy–to threaten the Soviets into helping bring an end to the Vietnam war–was unsuccessful. They may not even have noticed.
1 January 2000
Reports

Where They Were: How Much did Japan Know?

Robert S. NorrisWilliam M. ArkinWilliam Burr
1 November 1999
Feature

Where They Were

Robert S. NorrisWilliam M. ArkinWilliam Burr
1 November 1999
Nuclear notebook

Appendix B: Deployments by Country, 1951-1977

Robert S. NorrisWilliam M. ArkinWilliam Burr