Hearing: WMD Threat Reduction: How Far Have We Come- Where Are We Heading?

IMGXYZ307IMGZYXThe House International Relations Committee, Subcommitties Europe and International Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights held a joint hearing on U.S. cooperative threat reduction and nonproliferation programs: "How Far Have We Come - Where are We Heading?" Video from the hearing is now available by clicking here

Witnesses: (click on names for testimony)

• Jon Wolfsthal - Associate and Deputy Director, Non-Proliferation Project, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
  
  
• Laura S. H. Holgate - Vice President for Russia/NIS Programs, Nuclear Threat Initiative
  
  
• Ken Luongo - Executive Director, Russian-American Nuclear Security Advisory Council (RANSAC)
  
  
• James Clay Moltz - Associate Director and Research Professor, Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies
  
  

Hearing Background:
Congress established the Cooperative Threat Reduction (CTR) Program in late 1991 in response to the collapse of the Soviet Union and concerns about the security of its nuclear weapons stockpiles. Since then, the U.S. has invested more than $5 billion to secure and destroy numerous Soviet-era weapons, missiles and launchers. Today, many see the CTR program as part of a more comprehensive threat reduction and nonproliferation effort. In 2001 the Bush Administration announced an expansion of CTR efforts to include chemical and biological weapons nonproliferation, and outlined four key objectives to: 1) Dismantle weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and associated infrastructure in the former Soviet Union; 2) Consolidate and secure former Soviet Union WMD and related technology and materials; 3) Increase transparency and encourage higher standards of conduct; 4) Support defense and military cooperation with the objective of preventing proliferation. The Bush Administration explicitly views the CTR program as a part of the global war on terrorism. This shift in the rationale for U.S. assistance – from threat reduction and nonproliferation to anti-terrorism – is a natural response to the growing concerns about terrorism, and the possible link between terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. At the G-8 Summit in July 2002, the U.S., Russia and other G-8 leaders agreed to establish a long-term program - the G-8 Global Partnership Against Weapons of Mass Destruction - to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction and related materials and technology. Under this program, known as ‘10+10 over 10', the United States and nations of the European Union have each pledged to provide $10 billion over 10 years to sustain ongoing threat reduction programs. While the ‘10+10 over 10' program will initially focus on threat reduction programs in Russia, it could eventually extend to other nations.