Printer Friendly Page

Reduce Red Tape: For Homeland Security,
It's Critical to Secure Russia's Nuclear Weapons

The Orlando Sentinel

November 19, 2005

Congress can make major progress to protect homeland security by streamlining a critical program aimed at preventing terrorists from obtaining nuclear weapons. The problem is buried within the details of a multibillion-dollar U.S.-financed program to help secure or destroy Russia's massive arsenal of nuclear weapons. The U.S. is paying because Russia doesn't have money to do the work. That program's agreement contains several cumbersome stipulations for the Russians. One, for example, requires the Russians to report exactly how many tons of chemical weapons they possess. When U.S. officials have to stop to certify that information, it halts the program's mission: denying terrorists access to nuclear weapons.

That's why U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar, the highly respected Republican who heads the Foreign Relations Committee, is leading the bipartisan charge to get rid of those stipulations. Senators note that few of their colleagues ever even read the reports the Russians are required to produce. The Senate already has agreed to get rid of those requirements. Now it's essential for members of the U.S. House, where it's pending, to get aboard. Some in Congress never liked having the United States pay for this program because they don't trust the Russians. Yet there's no denying the program's success. Since this initiative was launched in 1992, it has been successful in destroying or deactivating 6,624 nuclear warheads, 580 intercontinental ballistic missiles, 147 bombers, 789 air-to-surface nuclear missiles and 28 nuclear submarines.

Problems getting the required paperwork completed and certified have caused delays in spending the money necessary to secure or dismantle the vulnerable Russian nuclear weapons. The United States has the most to gain by removing any roadblocks from this program. At the current rate, it will take another 14 years to finish the job in Russia. Every delay creates another opportunity for terrorists to get one of these weapons. It's noteworthy that authorities here and in Russia have broken up several attempts to buy or steal Russian nuclear weapons. Associates of Osama bin Laden have been trying to get nuclear weapons for at least 10 years.

The United States is at great risk. There are hundreds of airports, seaports and border crossings that terrorists could use to sneak a stolen nuclear bomb into this country. A small nuclear weapon concealed in a sports-utility vehicle could kill tens of thousands and destroy the downtown of any U.S. city. Mr. Lugar's effort is the right approach. It would ensure this country stays focused on securing nuclear weapons to keep them from the hands of terrorists.