Biden Urges Broader Efforts to Control Access to Chemical, Biological Weapons Material
March 19, 2002
The United States must improve its efforts to reduce the threat posed by chemical and biological weapons, especially in the hands of terrorists, Chairman Joseph R. Biden, Jr. of the Committee on Foreign Relations said today.
“Some threats, like Third-World ICBMS or space warfare, are years from becoming imminent,” Senator Biden said at a committee hearing on U.S. national security. “But the threat of chemical and biological weapons is here today. We must deal with that threat today.”
The hearing, part of a series on securing America’s future, featured U.S. government officials and non-government experts on weapons proliferation.
“There is no single easy way to roll back proliferation of chemical and biological weapons,” Biden noted. “We must persist on a number of fronts – engaging in tough-nosed diplomacy, enforcing export controls agreed upon with our allies, revitalizing the two applicable arms control regimes... applying sanctions where appropriate, and turning to military force where necessary.”
To reduce the potential threat in Russia, where an abundance of chemical and biological materials are poorly secured, Biden called for an acceleration of U.S. assistance to enable Russia to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile quickly. He also advocated converting Russian weapons scientists into “a public health corps” that would help clean up former testing sites and develop and produce new vaccines.
“September 11th should have shown us that we can’t afford to settle for business as usual when it comes to non-proliferation assistance,” Biden said. “It is time for some creative thinking, on the part of both the executive branch and the Congress, on how to help Russia secure, consolidate, and eliminate its chemical and biological weapons stockpiles and infrastructure.”
