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News :: Miscellaneous |
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The End of Unilateralism? |
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by Lawrence J. Korb and Alex Tiersky
(No verified email address) |
19 Oct 2001
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After September 11, arms control is crucial for our safety |
NEW YORK -- The September 11 terror attacks appear to have tempered President Bush's belief that the United States can "go it alone" in world affairs instead of working through established and effective multilateral agreements. As the president tries to diminish the threat and lethality of potential terrorist attacks, he must stop snubbing arms control agreements that could prevent weapons of mass destruction from falling into the hands of terrorists.
If the Bush administration is really serious about winning the war on terror and diminishing the potential for mass casualties on U.S. soil, it should take the following steps:
-- Expand Support to Programs that Secure Soviet WMD Stockpiles: The single most likely source of potential proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction materials and expertise is the massive decaying arsenal of the former Soviet Union, which includes more than 22,000 nuclear weapons, 1,000 metric tons of highly enriched uranium, and 150 metric tons of plutonium, as well as 40,000 metric tons of chemical weapons agent. These materials are stored in low-security facilities and are susceptible to theft or diversion. Thousands of experts are now without regular paychecks due to Russia's economic troubles, and there is a real danger that they could sell their expertise to the highest bidder. The cooperative threat reduction programs, originally launched in 1991 by Senators Sam Nunn and Richard Lugar, have had considerable success in securing, reducing, and eliminating weapons materials in Russia. However, the administration's 2002 budget request substantially cut funding for these programs. Fully funding these programs could not be more important to U.S. security.
-- Re-Evaluate Missile Defense and the Weaponization of Space -- The "low- tech" nature of the September 11 attacks has severely undermined Bush's argument that missile defense should be the single-most important priority for U.S. homeland defense. It has become absolutely clear that those who wish to attack us can do so without the use of expensive ballistic missiles. Keeping his missile defense program in research and development -- as opposed to deployment --and reaffirming the importance of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty would be a important first step in recommitting to arms control. Support for the ABM Treaty would certainly generate goodwill in Moscow and Beijing, whose assistance and cooperation is vital to Bush's plans to fight an international war on terror.
-- Reinstitute Weapons Inspections in Iraq: Since the December 1998 expulsion of UNSCOM inspectors from Iraq, analysts have been concerned that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has reconstituted his country's capability to produce weapons of mass destruction, particularly biological weapons. The UN Security Council has not since been able to unite to impose inspections under UN auspices, and a U.S. effort to refocus the sanctions regime earlier this year failed. Now is the time for the United States to lead once again: Bush should take the opportunity afforded by Russian and Chinese readiness to cooperate on terrorism to lead a diplomatic effort at the UN to reinstate inspections in return for revamping the sanctions regime. This is particularly important to anti-terrorism efforts, as Iraq is known to be a supporter of international terrorism.
-- Reaffirm the Importance of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The NPT seeks to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology. It is the only binding commitment to full disarmament by the nuclear-weapon states, the United States included. This treaty remains the best means for preventing states from joining the "nuclear club." Had the U.S. fulfilled its obligations to the Treaty, we might have been able to put more pressure on Pakistan not to "go nuclear" in the first place. We would then not need to fear the terrifying prospect of Pakistan's nuclear weapons somehow falling into the hands of bin Laden sympathizers.
-- Re-Evaluate CTBT Policy: The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, which would ban all nuclear test explosions and thereby prevent the development of new nuclear weapon types, is a vital component of the arms control regime. The Bush administration should reconsider its position on the CTBT and push for Senate approval with the safeguards suggested by General John Shalikashvili, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in his January 2001 report to the president.
-- Bolster the Biological Weapons Convention: Nuclear weapons have threatened the United States for the last 50 years, but biological weapons, which are far more easily and cheaply produced, may well have supplanted the nuclear danger as the most menacing to the American population in the new century. The recent Anthrax attacks, and the fact that a manual on the operation of crop-dusting equipment was found by U.S. law enforcement officials while searching suspected terrorist hideouts, are only two indications of how real the prospect of a biological terrorist attack is. The BWC bans the development, production, stockpiling, transfer, and use of biological weapons by all signatories and requires the destruction of all biological weapons and biological weapons production facilities.
There is no question that the tragedy of September 11 will shape U.S. security policy for years to come. The question is whether the United States will seize the opportunity to lead a reinvigoration of cooperative security arrangements that would make the world safer for all. The Bush administration must now demonstrate that it is ready to stand with the world, even if it means accepting some limited constraints on America's freedom to do as it pleases.
Lawrence Korb, a former assistant secretary of defense during the Reagan administration, is the director of studies at the Council on Foreign Relation. Alex Tiersky is a research associate at the Council. A longer version of this article first appeared in Arms Control Today, October 2001.
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