Obama taps Russia specialist for arms control post

President Obama plans to nominate Rose Gottemoeller, a specialist in Russian defense and nuclear issues, for assistant secretary of state for verification and compliance.  Gottemoeller, a former Energy Department official, is now at the Ploughshares-funded Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. 

The person in the post is likely to play a strong hand in shaping U.S. arms control policy as Washington prepares for negotiations with Moscow on replacing the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) that expires in December.