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Further, there had been no prior political pressure for coramon program 

 planning that could have fonned the framework, for supporting the new propo- 

 sals. In the absence of this multinational political framework, the 

 internal political decision made by the U.S. to limit the fusion budget was 

 by itself insufficient grounds for altering their programmatic priorities. 



There have been positive results from this experience. 



o We have learned the importance of early coupling of joint program 

 planning with the necessary political cotnmltment. We are emphasizing 

 this in all areas where there may be a need for a major international 

 fusion facility. In particular, to ensure the prospects for success in 

 a practical undertaking, early joint planning must begin with develop- 

 ment of common priorities and then proceed to technical planning. 



o In regard to fusion materials, we are pursuing an initiative within the 

 lEA framework by means of a new Blue Ribbon Panel to develop a consensus 

 on technical priorities for an international fusion materials R&D program. 

 This international initiative can help us avoid the mismatch of materials 

 science with development priorities that led to the FMIT disappointment. 



o The entire FMIT experience has served to strengthen planning, 

 development and management of our international fusion program 

 activities. 



Kow, I would like to turn to one of the genuine successes resulting from our 

 international activities, namely the US-Japan cooperation on the 

 Department's Doublet-Ill tokamak research facility at GA Technologies, Inc., 



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