A new report finds that seven years after the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States still hasn’t mounted an effective effort to prevent the spread of nuclear and other catastrophic weapons to terrorists attempting to acquire them.
Some recommendations the 9/11 Commission issued years ago still aren’t implemented, including needed action by the Bush administration and Congress, according to the report by the Partnership for a Secure America (PSA), a Washington think tank led by former Democratic and Republican office holders.
Because many U.S. leaders worry that counter-proliferation efforts can be counted on to succeed and failure would result in titanic damage and thousands of deaths and injuries the United States has instituted a multi-layered missile defense system development program to knock down nuclear-tipped missiles that enemies launch.
As well, the United States is pressing for installation of devices at ports overseas to screen U.S.-bound cargo containers for smuggled nuclear or other major weapons.
The report quotes the commission warning that “the greatest danger of another catastrophic attack in the United States will materialize if the world’s most dangerous terrorists acquire the world’s most dangerous weapons.”
And, the report continues, al Qaeda for one has been working steadily to obtain such weapons, with the United States as a likely prime target.
While the commission called for U.S. actions to help forestall such a horrific attack, many recommendations haven’t been followed, at least not entirely, the report notes.
For example, it recommends strengthening counter-proliferation efforts, expanding the Proliferation Security Initiative, and supporting the cooperative nonproliferation programs.
While some progress has been made, Americans still are falling well short of the mark in protecting the nation from a deadly attack, the report found.
It calls for further steps in four areas: prevention, detection/interdiction, integration and sustainment:
- Prevention. This would include efforts to secure weapons, bomb-grade materials, dangerous technologies, and know-how at their source.
- Detection/interdiction. This would include an array of bilateral and multilateral approaches for identifying and halting movement of materials should prevention fail.
- Integration. This would involve a comprehensive, unified plan leveraging all agencies of the US Government and committed governments around the globe in a coordinated counterterrorism and nonproliferation strategy.
- Sustainment. This could include fostering long-term, global buy-in and strategies that aim to build and transition salient counter-terror and nonproliferation efforts to local control.
Summing up succinctly where the United States stands currently in countering the greatest terrorist threats, the PSA report concludes that “the size and scope of the threat continues to dwarf the policy response.”
The report then sets forth a series of actions that should be taken to counter proliferation and increase security.
To view the full report titled “WMD Report Card: Evaluating U.S. Policies To Prevent Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Terrorism Since 2005” please go to http://www.psaonline.org on the Web.