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| Report: Threat of Nuclear Weapons in Wrong Hands Is Urgent |
January 26, 2005 |
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Urges Congressional Attention and Advocates New Cooperative Strategy
WASHINGTON, DC -- Outgoing House Policy Committee Chairman and Homeland Security Chairman, Christopher Cox (R-CA), joined Congresswoman Heather Wilson (R-NM), Chair of the House Policy Subcommittee on National Security and Foreign Affairs, today to release a major report on America`s efforts to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists.
The report calls for a dramatic increase in U.S. efforts to combat the spread of nuclear weapons, including the development of a single set of goals, priorities and strategies that would be used by all U.S. cooperative threat reduction programs.
The report, crafted by Rep. Wilson’s Subcommittee, is entitled “All Tools at Our Disposal: Addressing Nuclear Proliferation in a Post-9/11 World.”
“A nuclear weapon in the hands of terrorists or a rogue state is everyone`s worst nightmare,” Wilson said. "Treaties alone will not protect us from this threat."
“The Homeland Security Committee will rely heavily on this report,” Chairman Cox said. "Preventing a nuclear or radiological attack on America requires the interception and diversion of nuclear materials and technology long before one of these deadly weapons can be used on our shores.”
The report is the result of work the subcommittee did in 2004, during the 108th Congress, on the problem of nuclear proliferation.
The policy report:
· Calls for a comprehensive approach to address the many pathways that nations or terrorists could use to gain nuclear capabilities;
· Identifies key strategies to strengthen international controls and expand bilateral work with other nations;
· Urges strengthening technological means, human intelligence and analytical efforts to detect proliferation activities and networks; and,
· Notes the need to deepen cooperation among nations that share U.S. concern, and the need to influence nations that do not share the same sense of urgency.
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