[Page: S12656]
Mr. NUNN. Mr. President, this past weekend the Nation lost a dedicated public servant, and the Senate and the Armed Services Committee lost a valuable staff member. Doug George, a senior member of the Armed Services Committee staff and a former intelligence official with a distinguished career in the U.S. intelligence community, died at his home last Friday evening after a courageous fight with cancer.
Doug joined the Armed Services Committee staff a little over a year ago. When he came to the committee, we knew that we were getting a seasoned professional in the fields of arms control and U.S. intelligence. Over the past year, Doug played a key role in the committee's oversight of Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm; in our continuing work on the CFE and START Treaties; on command and control of the nuclear arsenals of the United States and the Soviet Union; and on the reorganization of the U.S. intelligence community. He was tireless in providing the members of the Armed Services Committee with his views and assessment of these issues, drawing on his broad experience in the field of intelligence analysis and management.
Before Doug joined the Armed Services Committee staff, he served almost 25 years in the U.S. intelligence community, rising from the position of analyst to become one of the senior managers of the intelligence community. In his last assignment before coming to the committee staff, Doug was deputy director of the intelligence community staff for requirements and evaluation, where he worked directly with the Director of Central Intelligence and other top intelligence officials in the Government. In recent years Doug regularly testified before the Congressional Intelligence Oversight Committees on Weapons Proliferation, Arms Control and Intelligence Community Operations.
In the mid-1980's, Doug served as the Chief of the Arms Control Intelligence Staff and the Executive Secretary of the CIA's Steering Group on Monitoring Strategic Arms Limitations. As the CIA's most senior specialist and executive on arms control issues, Doug played a key role in several United States/Soviet summit meetings, including the Reykjavik summit.
I first got to know Doug during the debate on the SALT II Treaty. At the time Doug was serving in the CIA's Office of Scientific and Weapons Research, and was an expert in the Soviet Union's nuclear capability. During that debate Doug gained a wide reputation for the honesty and integrity that became the hallmark of his career as an intelligence official. In all of the years I have worked with Doug, he never hesitated to give his own objective analysis of a particular issue or problem, and he never let his analysis be swayed by partisan or political considerations.
The quality of Doug's work was recognized throughout the U.S. intelligence community. He had a well-deserved reputation as a strong and active manager with a positive attitude and an ability to get things done. As a result, he received a number of awards and citations from the intelligence community, culminating in 1987 with the prestigious Distinguished Intelligence Medal.
Mr. President, Doug George's distinguished career in the service of our Nation's intelligence community is a matter of public record. All of us appreciate his service to the country, and we are grateful for the privilege of having known and worked with him.
But people should also know that Doug's demeanor and spirit in the last months of his life were an inspiration to those who were close to him. Doug faced his disease with determination and courage. After his cancer was diagnosed in April, he continued to carry out his responsibilities to the committee, often in spite of great physical pain. He remained involved in the committee's work even in the last days before his death.
Mr. President, I know all of my colleagues join me in offering our condolences to Doug's wife, Kathryn.
Doug George was a true professional and a public servant of great integrity. He will be greatly missed.
[Page: S12657]
END