STATEMENT BY
DR. STEPHEN YOUNGER
DIRECTOR, DEFENSE THREAT REDUCTION AGENCY
BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE
ON TERRORISM, UNCONVENTIONAL THREATS AND
CAPABILITIES
HOUSE ARMED SERVICE
COMMITTEE
UNITED STATES HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
CONCERNING
COUNTERING THE THREAT OF
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION
MARCH 19, 2003
Mr.
Chairman and Members of the Committee, it is
an honor for me to be here this afternoon to
review the Defense Threat Reduction Agency's
programs to counter the use of weapons of
mass destruction (WMD). I will summarize my
statement and ask that it be included in its
entirety in the record
DTRA Reduces
the Threat Posed by WMD
The
mission of DTRA is simple to understand but
critically important to the nation and
indeed the whole world – to reduce the
threat of weapons of mass destruction or "WMD."
This mission has both international and
domestic components, although I want to
emphasize that DTRA is a combat support
agency dedicated to meeting the needs of the
warfighters. As a combat support agency, we
exist to support the warfighters, bringing
specialized expertise in the area of WMD.
Where DTRA can make unique contributions to
homeland security, we work through Northern
Command and the Assistant Secretary of
Defense for Homeland Defense and with
interagency partners to make our tools and
services available.
Organizationally, we report to Dr. Dale
Klein, the Assistant to the Secretary of
Defense (Nuclear, and Chemical, and
Biological Defense Programs), but we work
closely on a day-to-day basis with the
Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD),
the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
the Commanders of the Unified and Specified
Commands, and the Services. To make sure
that we are coupled to the needs of the
warfighting Commanders, we have liaison
officers assigned to the commands, allowing
real-time reachback to DTRA capabilities.
DTRA
Integrates and Focuses WMD Expertise from
All Sources
When the
Agency was established in 1998, it
incorporated organizations with decades of
experience in nuclear weapons effects, the
protection of structures against high
explosives attacks, vulnerability
assessments, consequence management, and
arms control and cooperative threat
reduction programs. This blend of expertise
puts DTRA at the center of WMD threat
reduction – which was precisely what was
intended.
We
accomplish our mission by integrating and
focusing WMD expertise from all sources –
the Department of Defense, other US
Government entities, industry, academia, and
from our allies – into products and services
that meet the needs of the warfighters.
Virtually every DTRA program employs a team
approach involving expertise from many
different organizations. Our value added is
simple – we understand the need of the
warfighters, find the required expertise
wherever it may be, integrate that expertise
into a focused response, and deliver a
product within a very short period of time –
often within weeks or months.
Our
products range from consequence prediction
to consequence management, from target
analysis for warfighters to developing
weapons used to be against those targets.
We provide WMD expertise, technology, and
support to plans and operations. We deploy
our people to the battlefield to augment and
support the warfighters during the
pre-conflict, conflict, and post-conflict
stages. For example, DTRA contributed
significantly to the counter-WMD component
of the CENTCOM current planning effort and
we have deployed over 100 military personnel
to the theater.
Our Response
to the WMD Threat Relies upon a Full
Spectrum of Tools
We use a
full spectrum of tools to reduce the WMD
threat: arms control; cooperative threat
reduction; offensive and defensive
technology development; defense against
chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear,
and high explosive weapons; and combat
support. The net effect of this approach is
to provide a defense in depth ranging from
cooperative to non-cooperative activities
that protect us both overseas and at home.
Our arms
control activities allow us to take threat
reduction to the source, thereby controlling
potential WMD problems far away from our
shores. DTRA exercises the US Government's
treaty rights through intrusive arms control
inspections and fulfills U.S. treaty
obligations by escorting treaty partners in
the US and at US installations overseas. In
a related effort, in cooperation with both
the FBI and the Customs Service, we are
enhancing border security in the former
Soviet Union to prevent WMD smuggling.
Additionally, we are the DoD Executive Agent
for support to the UNMOVIC inspections in
Iraq.
We are
also eliminating WMD threats through
cooperative programs with successor states
to the former Soviet Union through the
Cooperative Threat Reduction program. DTRA
programs provide for the elimination of
strategic delivery systems, the elimination
of chemical weapons, and the enhancement of
Russian nuclear weapon storage and
transportation security. To date, the CTR
program has eliminated the delivery systems
for over 6,000 strategic warheads.
Furthermore, we are making progress in
reducing the threats posed by former Soviet
chemical and biological weapons programs.
Although the execution of the CTR program
has been challenging, the investment made in
the program goes a long way in denying
terrorists access to existing WMD.
If we
cannot verify that WMD no longer exist or
are being dismantled cooperatively, we
develop the means to destroy or neutralize
them by taking the fight to the enemy.
Through its technology development programs,
DTRA is the near-term interface between
science and technology and the warfighter.
We integrate technology from all sources –
US Government agencies, the DOE National
Laboratories, academia, the private sector,
and from our friends and allies – into
products and tools that permit the
warfighter to destroy WMD stocks, WMD-related
production facilities, and hardened and
deeply buried targets. For example, DTRA
has developed weapons that can effectively
penetrate bunkers and tunnels and, using
specially tailored physical effects, are
designed to destroy WMD more effectively
than the current inventory of weapons. We
have become particularly adept at meeting
unique warfighter needs with specially
tailored weapons in record developmental
times.
However,
we must assume that, in some situations, an
adversary will be successful in delivering a
WMD attack against our military forces. We
must be able to protect against such
eventualities. We assist the combatant
commanders in planning how to successfully
operate through contaminated environments.
We are developing an Unconventional Nuclear
Warfare Defense program that will be
integrated into a larger program to protect
military installations against the full
range of WMD threats. We also manage
several related Advanced Concept Technology
Development programs focused on mission
execution in WMD environments. DTRA is well
suited for managing the Science and
Technology component of the Chemical and
Biological Defense program due to our close
ties to the warfighter and our ability to
integrate a wide-range of expertise into
focused, responsive programs.
Through
our combat support programs, DTRA helps
deter and destroy the WMD threat. The
demand for DTRA expertise continues to grow
at a tremendous rate. We assist in combat
support planning and military operations,
develop WMD-related concepts of operation,
assess potential vulnerabilities of US
facilities worldwide, support consequence
management and emergency operations, and
assure the viability of the nuclear
deterrent. Each year, DTRA performs about
100 force protection vulnerability
assessments of military installations and
several dozen more extensive Balanced
Survivability Assessments of key mission
facilities – including, in recent years,
Capitol Hill. We improve force protection
and installation protection by developing
technology that mitigates the blast effects
of high explosives. We accomplish this
through modeling and simulation, as well as
field testing.
Leveraging
DTRA's Combat Support Mission for Homeland
Security
Mr.
Chairman, you have heard that we are a
combat support agency focused on supporting
the warfighter. But I would like to comment
briefly on our ability to assist homeland
security. DTRA works closely with
appropriate government organizations to
promote the transition of our technologies
for homeland security applications. For
example, we are working with the Department
of Homeland Security to share our experience
with the Unconventional Nuclear Warfare
Defense program and the Bio-Defense
Initiative for American cities. We have
developed WMD crisis decision guides or
"playbooks" that the Department of Homeland
Security has adopted as a foundation for its
response plans. The creation of the US
Northern Command provides the most effective
means for applying DTRA support to homeland
security. DTRA knows how to support such a
military command and we are establishing a
close relationship with Northern Command.
As you
can see, we receive funding to support all
of these activities not only through our own
appropriated RDT&E and O&M funds, and
funding for the former Soviet Union Threat
Reduction, but on a reimbursable basis from
other sources as well.
Mr.
Chairman, this concludes my remarks. I
would be pleased to respond to your
questions.
