---
category: Nuclear Scientists & Programs
summary: Deputy general counsel of the Arms Control and Disarmament Agency who believed
  Israel was the Achilles heel of U.S. nonproliferation policy.
tags:
- Person
- Nuclear
- Israel
---

Charles N. Van Doren was the deputy general counsel of the [Arms Control and Disarmament Agency](/organizations/arms-control-and-disarmament-agency/) in the [Nixon](/people/richard-nixon/) administration. He was convinced that [Israel](/places/israel/) was the "Achilles heel" of America's [NPT](/events/nuclear-nonproliferation-treaty/) policy, stating, "We were winking at it." Van Doren repeatedly tried to get the NPT on the agenda for talks on the Middle East, but was told there was "too much on the table." He understood the underlying reason: an order had gone out that no nuclear information on Israeli proliferation was to be put out, which he found very frustrating.[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 16.