Lugar and Obama Press Administration to Secure Loose Weapons
Monday, January 9, 2006
Printable FormatFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Lugar Contact: Andy Fisher, 202-224-2079, email: andy_fisher@foreign.senate.gov
Obama Contact: Tommy Vietor or Robert Gibbs, 202-228-5511
January 9, 2006
Lugar and Obama Press Administration to Secure Loose Weapons
Bipartisan Effort Focuses on Antiaircraft Missiles, Stolen WMDs and Conventional Weapons used in Improvised Roadside Bombs
WASHINGTON - U.S. Senators Richard Lugar (R-IN) and Barack Obama (D-IL) Monday asked Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice to take steps to better intercept stolen weapons of mass destruction and to secure conventional weapons like those used in Iraqi roadside bombs.
"A thorough, multi-faceted non-proliferation strategy is essential to fully defend the American people," Senators Lugar and Obama wrote in a joint letter to Secretary Rice. "We urge you to keep these critical initiatives foremost in importance and funding allocation."
Late last year, Senators Lugar and Obama introduced legislation to secure conventional weapons and detect and interdict stolen weapons of mass destruction. The Lugar-Obama Program is based upon the Nunn-Lugar concept which has proven successful in eliminating weapons of mass destruction.
"Our bill would . . . seek to get rid of artillery shells like those used in the improvised roadside bombs that have proved so deadly to U.S. forces in Iraq," the letter states. "In many circumstances, these are the weapons of choice of today's terrorists."
Unsecured caches of conventional (non-WMD) weapons are emerging as a major threat to American security. Improvised roadside bombs fashioned from old artillery shells have become the leading cause of death for American troops in Iraq. In addition, there are up to 750,000 shoulder-launched surface-to-air missiles around the world. Since the 1970s, these weapons have hit more than 40 civilian aircraft, killing more than 600. The U.S. government's efforts to secure vulnerable weapons stockpiles are underfunded and unfocused.
"The other part of the Lugar-Obama legislation would strengthen the ability of America's friends and allies to detect and intercept illegal shipments of weapons and materials of mass destruction," the letter states. The U.S. does not have an effective means to assist allies in improving their ability to detect and seize stolen weapons of mass destruction. The International Atomic Energy Agency confirmed 650 cases of illegal trafficking of nuclear materials worldwide between 1993 and 2004. As little as four kilograms of plutonium - about the size of a soda can -can potentially be enough for a nuclear bomb.
Since 1991, the Nunn-Lugar program has deactivated 6,760 Soviet nuclear warheads and helped employ 58,000 former nuclear scientists. In their letter to Secretary Rice, Senators Obama and Lugar said that the Nunn-Lugar program is a successful model that should be expanded to better secure conventional weapons caches that have fueled insurgencies across the globe and to better intercept and seize smuggled weapons of mass destruction.
"The Nunn-Lugar program has provided a solid foundation, valuable experience and measurable results," the letter states. "We intend the Lugar-Obama legislation to take the next critical step forward to reshape, refocus and reinvigorate our country's non-proliferation mission."
The letter presses Secretary Rice to expand and reorganize these important programs as part of her budget request for the upcoming year. Secretary Rice is currently preparing the State Department's budget request, which reflects the administration's priorities and will provide critical guidance to Congress as it establishes a spending plan for 2007.