---
born: 1920-03-05
category: Nuclear Scientists & Programs
died: 2010-02-08
location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
summary: Carl Kaysen is a distinguished political economist who served as deputy assistant
  to the President for national security affairs.
tags:
- Person
- Nuclear
- Israel
---

Carl Kaysen is a distinguished political economist who served as deputy assistant to the President for national security affairs. He moved from the Harvard faculty to the [National Security Council](/organizations/national-security-council/) in 1961. Kaysen recalled that President [John F. Kennedy](/people/john-f-kennedy/) was intellectually and emotionally committed to a halt in the spread of nuclear weapons, and that nonproliferation was a topic Kennedy would discuss for hours.[^1]

In the fall of 1966, Kaysen became the newly appointed director of the prestigious Institute for Advanced Studies in Princeton. He learned that [Lewis L. Strauss](/people/lewis-l-strauss/) had used his influence to get [Ernst David Bergmann](/people/ernst-david-bergmann/) a two-month appointment as a visiting fellow there. Kaysen was surprised to learn that Strauss, despite his public stance against nuclear proliferation, was privately in favor of a nuclear-armed [Israel](/places/israel/).[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 7, 8.