Wednesday
Dec032008
Commission predicts WMD use by 2013
Wednesday, December 3, 2008 at 2:15PM
Commission predicts WMD use by 2013
The Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism announced that WMD will likely be used somewhere in the world by 2013, and the weapon is expected to be biological.
"The terrorists are organizationally sophisticated enough to get either the nuclear or the bio weapon, but the bio weapon would be even easier for them to get...if they isolate a pathogen, and are able to weaponize it, there's no reason they wont be able to make more than one weapon and attack more than once," said Commission co-chair Jim Talent.
However, Talent said there are steps that can be taken to mitigate the risks of both nuclear and biological attacks. In regard to nuclear proliferation, Talent recommends focusing on Pakistan.
"We decided that some time ago as a group, and the events of the last weekend just shows one of the reasons why it's important. Pakistan is the epicenter of a lot of these dangers, and not just of terrorism but also the potential use by nation states of nuclear weapons because there's a budding arms race between Pakistan and India in that area," explained Talent.
The commission outlined other steps, such as halting the use of highly enriched uranium in research reactors, putting a moratorium on manufacturing weapons usable fuels for reactors, and the controversial step of eliminating financial incentives for promoting nuclear energy.
To prevent a biological attack the commission suggested improving protection for the high containment labs where pathogens are created and fostering a community of security among biological scientists, similar to the one shared by physicists in the nuclear age.
"We have recommended that there be some standardization and a single point of accountability for the high containment laboratories in the United States. There has been a proliferation of those labs since 9/11," said Commission Chairman Bob Graham.
The Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism announced that WMD will likely be used somewhere in the world by 2013, and the weapon is expected to be biological.
"The terrorists are organizationally sophisticated enough to get either the nuclear or the bio weapon, but the bio weapon would be even easier for them to get...if they isolate a pathogen, and are able to weaponize it, there's no reason they wont be able to make more than one weapon and attack more than once," said Commission co-chair Jim Talent.
However, Talent said there are steps that can be taken to mitigate the risks of both nuclear and biological attacks. In regard to nuclear proliferation, Talent recommends focusing on Pakistan.
"We decided that some time ago as a group, and the events of the last weekend just shows one of the reasons why it's important. Pakistan is the epicenter of a lot of these dangers, and not just of terrorism but also the potential use by nation states of nuclear weapons because there's a budding arms race between Pakistan and India in that area," explained Talent.
The commission outlined other steps, such as halting the use of highly enriched uranium in research reactors, putting a moratorium on manufacturing weapons usable fuels for reactors, and the controversial step of eliminating financial incentives for promoting nuclear energy.
To prevent a biological attack the commission suggested improving protection for the high containment labs where pathogens are created and fostering a community of security among biological scientists, similar to the one shared by physicists in the nuclear age.
"We have recommended that there be some standardization and a single point of accountability for the high containment laboratories in the United States. There has been a proliferation of those labs since 9/11," said Commission Chairman Bob Graham.
The Senate Rebuilds Pakistan
Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.)
Photo by Michael Ruhl
Both Kerry and Lugar said that most of the money that has been funneled into Pakistan in the past few years has gone towards security. The aim of this bill is to shift the balance, to place more of an emphasis on infrastructure.
The Senators want to use the money for building schools, improving health care, building bridges, water projects, and other elements of infrastructure. Kerry said that the target projects are “things that would improve life and give people a sense of progress” to civilians.
The money would also be used for ensuring an independent media, expanding human rights and the rule of law, expanding transparency in government, rooting out political corruption and countering the drug trade.
Additionally military funding would be conditioned upon several things, including Pakistani security forces preventing al Qaeda and Taliban forces from operating in Pakistan. The military forces would not be able to interfere in politics or in the judicial process, according to the provisions of the bill.
The legislation bill would give $1.5 billion each year from FY 2009-2013, and would recommend similar amounts of money over the subsequent five years. There would be required benchmarks to measuring how effective the funding is, and the President will have to submit semi-annual reports to Congress about progress made.