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I refer first of all to reports appearing in the media that China may have resumed the sale of ballistic missiles to countries in the Middle East. The sale of such weapons, whatever their operational range and regardless of the type of warhead they may carry, is inherently destabilizing. I note that the statement issued March 24 by the State Department declares that the administration has made clear to the Chinese Government the risks inherent in the provision of any type of missile to countries in the Middle East. It is evident that the Chinese choose to pay little heed to the administration's advice, and may well proceed with sale of what are reported to be short-range missiles.
The threat posed by this prospective Chinese action is enhanced by reports carried in the March 30 edition of the New York Times that the administration has failed to obtain from the Chinese concrete assurances that China will not sell medium-range missiles in the Middle East. I ask that this article be inserted in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks. Vague assurances on the sale of medium-range missiles were the only benefit deriving from the once-secret visit of National Security Adviser Scowcroft to Beijing. However, with the Chinese refusal to clarify these assurances, in particular their refusal to agree to a definition of what is a medium-range missile, it is reasonable to question the value of any such assurance from the Chinese Government. Until China is willing to provide specific commitments on this issue, including being forthcoming on the definition of medium-range missiles, we can expect that the proliferation of ballistic missiles in the Middle East will continue at a rapid pace.
The second development with major implications for stability in the Middle East is the seizure in London of nuclear triggers destined for Iraq. In itself this would be a cause for serious concern, based on Iraq's previous attempts to arm itself with nuclear weaponry. My concern is heightened by the fact that Iraq is the Middle East country that has made the greatest strides in consolidating a ballistic missile launch capability. In fact, the threat posed by Iraq's missile program grows from month to month. The New York Times reported March 30 that Iraq has constructed fixed missile launch sites which enable Iraq to strike directly at Israel. The article suggests that the launchers are designed to retaliate against an Israeli preemptive strike similar to the 1981 bombing of the Osirak nuclear reactor. It is small comfort to know that these missiles are intended only to deter attacks on Iraq's nefarious nuclear and chemical warfare industries. They obviously themselves invite preemption. This too is an important article and I ask that it be inserted in the Record at the conclusion of my remarks.
It is also worth recalling that last December, the Iraqis launched what was reported to be a multistage ballistic missile with a range of 1,200 miles. Should the Iraqis be able to marry ballistic missile technology and nuclear weaponry, they would be able to threaten every country in the Middle East, and United States interests in the region as well, with nuclear blackmail or even nuclear destruction. Given Iraq's demonstrated disregard for international law in its use of chemical weapons against the Iranian Army and against its own defenseless Kurdish minority, no one can welcome Iraqi advances in either missile or nuclear technology.
These developments together demonstrate the dangers inherent in the continuing worldwide spread of ballistic missile technology. Combined with efforts by several nations to augment their arsenals with ever more destructive weapons--chemical, biological, nuclear--the proliferation of ballistic missiles makes the world an increasingly more dangerous place. It is clear to me that we must take stronger measures to reduce in a significant way the access of developing countries to missiles and missile technology. Several bills on this issue, including one introduced by myself, are pending before the Congress. I believe that these recent events demonstrate the urgency of this problem, and require that we complete action on these bills as soon as possible.
The articles follow:
From the New York Times, Mar. 30, 1990
Iraq Said to Build Launchers for its 400-Mile Missiles
Washington, Mar. 29: Iraq has constructed for the first time launchers for missiles within range of Tel Aviv and Damascus, according to classified American intelligence reports. While the weapons could be used for offensive purposes, American intelligence experts believe that the missiles are intended in part to discourage any possible Israeli attack on Iraqi nuclear or chemical weapon installations.
On Wednesday, American and British agents arrested five people and seized 40 Iraq-bound electrical devices that had been smuggled out of southern California. Experts say that the devices are well-suited for triggering nuclear bombs and may have other military applications.
Iraq's efforts to obtain the devices have heightened international concerns about its program to develop nuclear weapons. Experts say that Iraq has the largest chemical weapons program in the their world and is trying to develop biological weapons.
The construction of the missile launchers in Western Iraq, which has provoked concern among senior Administration officials, was described in a classified Central Intelligence Agency report prepared early this month. American intelligence about the Iraqi missile launchers was disclosed before the arrests in the Iraqi smuggling case.
CONSTRUCTION COMPLETED
The report says that Iraq recently completed the construction of six launchers for modified Scud missiles at its H-2 airfield, which an Administration official said was built by the British and is in western Iraq on the road between Baghdad and Jordan. Construction of the launchers began last June. The launchers are similar to launchers recently discovered in central Iraq, the intelligence report says.According to the intelligence report, the launchers are the first stationary ones that Iraq has built within range of Tel Aviv or Damascus.
American intelligence experts say that they believe that the launchers are for Iraq's Al-Husayn surface-to-surface missile, a 400-mile version of the Soviet-designed Scud missiles, which Iraq fired at Iraq in the 1980-88 Persian Gulf war.
While Iraq has mobile launchers for the Al-Husayn missile that could be transported within range of Israel, American experts say that the fixed launchers may enable Iraq to fire the weapon with more accuracy.
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SEEN AS BLUNT STATEMENT
The newly constructed launchers are also seen as a blunt statement by Iraq that it will retailate against any Israeli attack on its chemical weapons or nuclear installations, according to the intelligence report and senior Administration officials.Israeli planes bombed and destroyed an atomic reactor near Baghdad in 1981 that Israel said was involved in the production of chemical weapons.
`By building fixed launchers, they want everybody to know that the launchers are there,' said a senior Administration official.
The senior official said that Iraqi officials had signaled to foreign diplomats that the launchers would be used to retaliate against an Israeli pre-emptive attack against Iraqi military installations. Iraq, he said, has built up its air defenses and is improving its ability to communicate with the Jordanian and Saudia Arabian military.
Iraq's construction of launchers within range of Israel was described in a carefully worded White House statement as a `destabilizing development.
IF TRUE, WE ARE CONCERNED
`We do not comment on intelligence matters,' a White House spokesman, Roman Popadiuk, said, when asked about the intelligence reports. `However, if true, we would be very concerned. We are concerned about the destabilizing effects of the spread of ballistic missiles and missile technology, especially in areas of tension.'[In Jerusalem, there was no immediate comment. On Wednesday, in response to the seizure of the triggering devices in Britain, a senior Israeli Defense Ministry official said simply, `There is no Defense Minister now, and so we are not dealing with this issue.']
About 190 conventionally armed Al-Husayn missiles were fired by Iraq at Iran in March and April 1988 in the gulf war, according to W. Seth Carus, an expert on missile proliferation at the Naval War College Foundation.
The Iranians said that the missiles, which are liquid fueled, were not very accurate, an assertion affirmed by some American officials. The Iraqis have recently said that they are improving the missile's guidance system.
MODIFIED VERSION OF SOVIET MISSILE
`From a technical standpoint, the missile's accuracy against specific military targets is probably not very good,' Mr. Carus said. `But if all you want to do is hit Tel Aviv, it is more than accurate enough.'The weapon is an extensively modified version of Scud-B missiles originally provided to Iraq by the Soviet Union.
The missile was never used with a chemical warhead in the gulf war, and an Administration official, who asked not be identified, said the United States did not now know if Iraq currently had the capability to equip missile with a chemical warhead. But the official added that Iraq had a large program to develop chemical weapons and is believed to be developing chemical warfare.
Iraq has said that it is developing more modern missiles, including those of longer range. In December, Iraq asserted that it possessed a 2,000-kilometer-range missile called the Tammuz I.
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From the New York Times, Mar. 30, 1990
Beijing Avoids New Missile Sales Assurance
Washington, March 29: The United States has sought but failed to obtain additional assurances from China that Beijing will not sell medium-range missiles to the Middle East, Administration officials said today.
The new assurances were sought during an unpublicized meeting last month between Reginald Bartholomew, the top State Department official for weapons proliferation, and the Chinese Ambassador to Washington.
Chinese missile sales have been a serious worry for the United States, which has sought to stop the spread of delivery systems capable of carrying chemical or nuclear warheads to the Middle East and other regions of tension.
When the national security adviser, Brent Scowcroft, visited China in December, the Chinese offered a general assurance that they would not sell medium-range missiles to the Middle East. China also stated that it would not sell its M-9 missiles to Syria, a medium-range weapon under development of particular concern to American officials.
But the Chinese never defined exactly what they meant by medium-range, American officials say.
American officials have tried repeatedly in recent years to get the Chinese to agree to an internationally agreed definition that missiles that can carry a 1,000 pound payload more than 160 miles is considered to be a medium-range weapon. That definition is contained in export guidelines agreed to by Western nations and was recently affirmed by Soviet officials when Secretary of State James A. Baker 3d visited Moscow.
Mr. Bartholomew, who reportedly called in the Chinese Ambassador for broad discussion of American proliferation concerns last month, is said to have renewed American efforts to clarify Beijing's general assurances that China will not sell medium-range missiles. But the Chinese have not responded, Administration officials said today.
Mr. Bartholomew's efforts, and new American diplomatic approaches to the Chinese in Beijing in recent days, comes against a background of intelligence reports that China may be preparing for a new round of missiles sales.
According to recent American intelligence reports, China may have agreed to provide Iran with at least 50 short-range surface-to-surface missiles called the 8610, a weapon with a range of about 80 miles.
The United States has also received unconfirmed reports that China might be planning surreptitious sales of M-9 missiles to Syria by routing them through South America. An Administration official said the United States had received no evidence to confirm that China has actually done that.
Other intelligence reports cite a possible link between China and artillery technology transferred to Libya and the possible transfer of missile technology to Pakistan.
More recently, a convoy of missiles that moved through Beijing last weekend toward the main north China port of Tianjin has stirred further concerns about possible Chinese missile sales.
Early speculation held that the missiles might be short-range missiles destined for Iran. An Administration official said that some intelligence analysts now say they believe that the reported convoy was not not in fact headed toward the port of Tianjin and thus was not evidence of a missile sale.
The official said the Administration was not certain tht the convoy was carrying missiles but believed that if probably was tranporting short-range missiles.
China is already producing the 8610 short-range missile and is expected to begin production of the M-9 medium-range missile and a slightly shorter-range M-11 missile by early summer, officials said.
State Department officials said they disagreed with the recent assessment by a senior Navy intelligence official that China was eagerly trying to sell its M-type missiles to the Middle East.
Rear Adm. Thomas A. Brooks, director of Naval Intelligence, noted in recent Congressional testimony that China's marketing efforts might lead to possible sales to Syria, Libya, Iran and Pakistan.
END
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