Linton Brooks
Encyclopedia
Linton Forrestall Brooks (born August 15, 1938) is a former US Ambassador and former Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security and Administrator of the National Nuclear Security Administration
(NNSA).
, an MA in government and politics from the University of Maryland
and is a distinguished graduate of the US Naval War College
.
Prior to joining the George W. Bush Administration, Brooks was a vice president at the Center for Naval Analyses
(CNA) and an advisor to Sandia National Laboratories
. During the George H.W. Bush Administration, Brooks was Assistant Director for Strategic and Nuclear Affairs at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and was Head of the U.S. Delegation on Nuclear and Space Talks and Chief Strategic Arms Reductions (START) Negotiator in the State Department. In this latter capacity, he was responsible for final preparation of the START I
Treaty, signed by Presidents Bush and Gorbachev in Moscow on July 31, 1991. In December 1992 he performed a similar function during the final preparation of the January 3, 1993, START II
Treaty.
(NNSA) on May 16, 2003.
Brooks was the prime force in privatizing the major DOE laboratories. While the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore labs were formerly run by contractors on a non-profit basis, Brooks decided to change the contracts to a for-profit basis. He defended the move by advocating a theory that the inclusion of industrial partners would bring greater efficiency, justifying the additional cost over time. "That was the theory, and that was my belief," he said. A few years later,
former Los Alamos director Sig Hecker testified before Congress about the change, and stated: "When we went the direction of contractorization we made a grievous error pushing the laboratories in a direction that simply isn't right for this country and we've suffered from that. The whole environment at these laboratories has changed."
With the new contract for Los Alamos National Laboratory
, the agency decided to raise the contractor fee from $8 million to $79 million. The additional funds were to be extracted from the existing budget of the laboratory. When asked by LANL employees how the additional costs were to be paid, Brooks replied in December 2005 that the new contractor would "realize operational efficiencies." On November 20, 2007, the new LANL manager announced layoffs.
Brooks resigned on January 4, 2007, because of security lapses, according to the San Francisco Chronicle
.
Brooks was reprimanded for not reporting to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman regarding the theft of computer files at an NNSA facility in Albuquerque, NM, which contained Social Security numbers and other data for 1,500 workers.
Then, in October, classified weapons-related documents on USB thumb drives from the Los Alamos National Laboratory
in New Mexico were found during a drug raid in the home of a woman who had worked at the lab.
National Nuclear Security Administration
The United States National Nuclear Security Administration is part of the United States Department of Energy. It works to improve national security through the military application of nuclear energy...
(NNSA).
Biography
Brooks earned a BS in physics from Duke UniversityDuke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, an MA in government and politics from the University of Maryland
University of Maryland
When the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...
and is a distinguished graduate of the US Naval War College
Naval War College
The Naval War College is an education and research institution of the United States Navy that specializes in developing ideas for naval warfare and passing them along to officers of the Navy. The college is located on the grounds of Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island...
.
Prior to joining the George W. Bush Administration, Brooks was a vice president at the Center for Naval Analyses
Center for Naval Analyses
CNA's Center for Naval Analyses is a federally funded research and development center for the Navy and the Marine Corps. It also provides research and analysis services to other military and government agencies to help improve the efficiency and effectiveness of U.S...
(CNA) and an advisor to Sandia National Laboratories
Sandia National Laboratories
The Sandia National Laboratories, managed and operated by the Sandia Corporation , are two major United States Department of Energy research and development national laboratories....
. During the George H.W. Bush Administration, Brooks was Assistant Director for Strategic and Nuclear Affairs at the U.S. Arms Control and Disarmament Agency and was Head of the U.S. Delegation on Nuclear and Space Talks and Chief Strategic Arms Reductions (START) Negotiator in the State Department. In this latter capacity, he was responsible for final preparation of the START I
START I
START was a bilateral treaty between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. The treaty was signed on 31 July 1991 and entered into force on 5 December 1994...
Treaty, signed by Presidents Bush and Gorbachev in Moscow on July 31, 1991. In December 1992 he performed a similar function during the final preparation of the January 3, 1993, START II
START II
START II was a bilateral treaty between the United States of America and Russia on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms. It was signed by United States President George H. W...
Treaty.
National Nuclear Security Administration
Brooks was sworn in as Under Secretary of Energy for Nuclear Security/Administrator of the National Nuclear Security AdministrationNational Nuclear Security Administration
The United States National Nuclear Security Administration is part of the United States Department of Energy. It works to improve national security through the military application of nuclear energy...
(NNSA) on May 16, 2003.
Brooks was the prime force in privatizing the major DOE laboratories. While the Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore labs were formerly run by contractors on a non-profit basis, Brooks decided to change the contracts to a for-profit basis. He defended the move by advocating a theory that the inclusion of industrial partners would bring greater efficiency, justifying the additional cost over time. "That was the theory, and that was my belief," he said. A few years later,
former Los Alamos director Sig Hecker testified before Congress about the change, and stated: "When we went the direction of contractorization we made a grievous error pushing the laboratories in a direction that simply isn't right for this country and we've suffered from that. The whole environment at these laboratories has changed."
With the new contract for Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
, the agency decided to raise the contractor fee from $8 million to $79 million. The additional funds were to be extracted from the existing budget of the laboratory. When asked by LANL employees how the additional costs were to be paid, Brooks replied in December 2005 that the new contractor would "realize operational efficiencies." On November 20, 2007, the new LANL manager announced layoffs.
Brooks resigned on January 4, 2007, because of security lapses, according to the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
.
Brooks was reprimanded for not reporting to Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman regarding the theft of computer files at an NNSA facility in Albuquerque, NM, which contained Social Security numbers and other data for 1,500 workers.
Then, in October, classified weapons-related documents on USB thumb drives from the Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory
Los Alamos National Laboratory is a United States Department of Energy national laboratory, managed and operated by Los Alamos National Security , located in Los Alamos, New Mexico...
in New Mexico were found during a drug raid in the home of a woman who had worked at the lab.