11 March 1998
PENA, MEMBERS OF CONGRESS LAUD NON-PROLIFERATION EFFORTS
(Technological advances showcased at two-day exhibit) (660) By Jacquelyn S. Porth USIA Security Affairs Writer Washington -- "The one thing that we should all agree upon is that non-proliferation is the single highest foreign policy objective of the United States," Representative Edward Markey (Democrat, Massachusetts) says. This objective should not be subordinated to short-term diplomatic or political interests, he insists. "We have to keep the pressure on to insure that we focus upon this great threat not only to populations around the world but the American people as well," the congressman says. Markey made his remarks March 11 at what he described as "an eye-opening" exhibition on Capitol Hill entitled, "Technology for Nonproliferation: Making the World a Safer Place." It was organized by the Senate Proliferation Prevention Technology Working Group, the House Bipartisan Nonproliferation Task Force and the Department of Energy's (DOE) Office on Nonproliferation and National Security. Energy Secretary Federico Pena told those who gathered to explore the displays that nonproliferation is one of President Clinton's top priorities. Pena pointed out that Clinton declared in November 1997 that the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and associated delivery systems constituted -- for the third year in a row -- "an unusual and extraordinary threat" to U.S. national security. It is such a high priority today, Pena said, because plutonium sufficient to fill a soda can and uranium the size of a grapefruit would be adequate to produce a nuclear bomb. Holding a grapefruit and a soda can aloft, the secretary said they symbolized what nonproliferation experts are trying to identify and keep from getting into the wrong hands. Pena was surrounded by 11 exhibits showing various aspects of non-proliferation technology, including a portable hand-held nuclear detection system used by the International Atomic Energy Agency and the European Atomic Energy Community; biomorphic robotic "bugs" which can crawl inside buildings to detect and monitor hazards; the experimental Fast On-orbit Recording of Transient Events satellite which will use new sensor technologies to verify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; and Spatial Paradigm for Information Retrieval and Exploration software which could be used to prevent nuclear smuggling on the black market. Using the exhibits as a backdrop, Senator Dirk Kempthorne (Republican, Idaho) said: "As we have seen so vividly with recent events in Iraq, the spread of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons is a real and growing threat to the United States." Better technology is needed, he said, to combat the threat of weapons of mass destruction. Senator Carl Levin (Democrat, Michigan) said he would rather face the former Soviet Union equipped with 20,000 to 30,000 nuclear weapons than a country like Iraq or a terrorist organization armed with one. He predicted that the technologies which were demonstrated in the room will become increasingly important in the effort to reduce the emerging weapons threat. Representative Zach Wamp (Republican, Tennessee) said it is necessary for the United States to lead "through technological investment." Since the end of the Persian Gulf war, the Energy Department has supported efforts to dismantle Iraqi weapons of mass destruction by providing technical experts and state-of-the-art technology to the United Nations Special Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The research and development devices demonstrated at the exhibition by DOE national labs and representatives have been used to detect proliferation, monitor arms control treaties, and maintain the safe and secure control of nuclear weapons in Russia and the Newly Independent States. The 1996 Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act initiated a number of non-proliferation and counter-terrorism programs. Cooperative Threat Reduction efforts have included installing new fencing at nuclear facilities in the Ukraine, placing portal monitors in Russia, and locating bar-code readers in Kazakhstan. Pena noted that his department budgeted $658 million in fiscal year 1998 for its non-proliferation efforts.
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