ACCESSION NUMBER:315980
FILE ID:POL204
DATE:12/07/93
TITLE:U.S. BEGINS "COUNTER-PROLIFERATION" AGAINST MASS WEAPONS (12/07/93)
TEXT:*93120704.POL
U.S. BEGINS "COUNTER-PROLIFERATION" AGAINST MASS WEAPONS
(Aspin says end of Cold War increases danger) (630)
By Bruce Carey
USIA Staff Writer
Washington -- The United States needs a more aggressive approach -- one of
"counter-proliferation" -- to implement President Clinton's policy against
the spread of weapons of mass destruction, Defense Secretary Aspin says.
Last September Clinton told the U.N. General Assembly that "one of our most
urgent priorities must be attacking the proliferation of weapons of mass
1estruction, whether they are nuclear, chemical or biological."
Reiterating that policy December 7 in a speech to the National Academy of
Sciences in Washington, Aspin warned that "we are in a new era" in which
the threat posed by such weaponry is even greater.
"The old danger we faced was thousands of warheads in the Soviet Union. The
new nuclear danger we face is perhaps a handful of devices in the hands of
rogue states or even terrorist groups," he said.
Aspin noted that a policy of deterrence, arms control and prevention of
weapons spread worked well during the Cold War. But he added that now "we
face the potential of a greatly increased proliferation problem" because of
the breakup of the Soviet Union and the spread of technology that can
unleash weapons of mass destruction.
"We've undertaken a new mission," he said. "We've recognized a new problem
and we're acting to meet it with counter-proliferation."
Several dangers combine to make the world even more dangerous than before,
he said: four former Soviet nuclear states replacing the old Soviet Union,
Soviet nuclear materials or technology finding their way to the black
market, weapons expertise for hire going to proliferators, and
irresponsible states formerly under Soviet influence -- such as North Korea
-- pressing their own weapons programs.
Further, said Aspin, the world economy fosters the spread of technology,
which will make it harder to "detect illicit versions of materials and
technology useful for weapons development."
"We face a bigger proliferation danger than we've ever faced before," Aspin
said, adding that "a policy of prevention through denial won't be enough.
And its not just nuclear weapons. All the potential threat nations are at
least capable of producing biological and chemical agents."
He said the new initiative takes a five-point approach:
-- making it clear to all parties that a new aggressive policy is in place;
-- purchasing military ordnance that can better locate and destroy weapons
of mass destruction;
-- developing new strategies to deal with adversaries who possess such
weapons;
-- obtaining better intelligence on the programs and arsenals of
irresponsible states; and
-- coordinating international cooperation against the spread of such
weaponry.
The initiative promotes consensus on the gravity of the threat, reduces the
military utility of weapons of mass destruction, keeps up the price of such
weapons to cut demand, and reduces the vulnerability of potential victims
of such weapons, the secretary said.
Aspin praised the passage of the Nunn-Lugar amendment by Congress, which
provides U.S. money and expertise to help former Soviet states rid
themselves of the burden of Soviet arsenals.
He reiterated that the United States seeks clarification of the
Antiballistic Missile Treaty (ABM) so that it can proceed to set up a
regional defense against a few ballistic missiles that may be fired by
irresponsible states or terrorists.
Earlier at the Pentagon, a senior Defense Department official predicted that
the use or potential use of weapons of mass destruction by such entities
"is an issue that will arise."
1
Regarding the unexpectedly advanced level of Iraq's nuclear program
discovered after the Gulf War, the official said, "We don't want to face
those surprises again." In summary of the new policy, he told reporters:
"if you can't prevent, you have to protect."
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