15 July 1998
Source:
http://www.usia.gov/current/news/latest/98071504.plt.html?/products/washfile/newsitem.shtml
USIS Washington
File
_________________________________
15 July 1998
(From USIA electronic journal "U.S. Foreign Policy Agenda") (1200) (There is "no single response" to the threat of weapons of mass destruction, says Secretary of Defense William Cohen. "Instead," he warns, "we've got to prevent the spread" of such weapons; "we have to protect ourselves by deterring their use, and we have to prepare for the possibility that they could be used right in the United States." The following article by Cohen was written for the July 1998 issue of the USIA electronic journal "U.S. Foreign Policy Agenda," which deals with "U.S. Security Policy in a Changing World.") We are living in a world in which more powerful weapons are in the hands of more reckless people who are more likely to use them. Countering the threat of weapons of mass destruction, in fact, may represent the most important security challenge of the next decade. Iraq is one of at least 25 countries that already have or are in the process of developing nuclear, biological, or chemical weapons and the means to deliver them. Of these, many have ties to terrorists, to religious zealots, or organized crime groups that are also seeking to use these weapons. Chemical and biological weapons, we know, are the poor man's atomic bomb -- cheaper to buy, easier to build, and extremely deadly. Our American military superiority presents a paradox. Because our potential adversaries know they can't win in a conventional challenge to U.S. forces, they're more likely to try unconventional or asymmetrical methods such as biological or chemical weapons. But we can't afford to allow this vulnerability of ours to turn into an Achilles' heel. That's the reason that I have called for the creation of a new agency, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), to begin operation in October. It will consolidate the existing On-Site Inspection Agency, the Defense Special Weapons Agency, and the Defense Technology Security Administration, and absorb some of the program functions that have been the responsibility of the assistant to the secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical, and biological defense programs. The DTRA will serve as the department's focal point for our technical work and our intellectual analysis that are required to confront this threat, recognizing that these weapons may be used -- and used early -- on future battlefields, and that's now a key element of our war planning. We also recognize there's no silver bullet. There's no single response to this threat. Instead, we've got to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction. We have to protect ourselves by deterring their use, and we have to prepare for the possibility that they could be used right in the United States. Prevention has to be the first and foremost line of defense. Through our Cooperative Threat Reduction program, also known as Nunn-Lugar, we are helping to destroy and to dismantle nuclear and chemical weapons in the former Soviet Union. We are also actively participating in a range of arms control and non-proliferation regimes to reduce the chance that rogue regimes are going to acquire these weapons of mass destruction. But I also have to recognize that despite all of these efforts, proliferation is likely to occur. So the second line of defense must be to protect ourselves through deterrence and through defense. We've made it very clear to Iraq and to the rest of the world that if any terrorist or nation should ever even contemplate using weapons of mass destruction -- chemical, biological, any other type -- against our forces, we will deliver a response that's overwhelming and devastating. But we also deter adversaries by making sure that our forces are ready to fight and win on any battlefield, even one that has been contaminated. So in December, I directed that we add another billion dollars to our current budget for defense mechanisms and methods. We added a billion dollars over a five-year period to the about $3.4 billion or $3.5 billion that we already have in our budget for this purpose. The purpose of this is to improve the ability of our forces to find and destroy these weapons before they're used against our troops; to arm our forces with the most advanced detection and decontamination equipment; and to give them new, lighter-weight protective suits. We began vaccinating our military forces in the Persian Gulf this year against the deadly anthrax virus, and we will continue until all of our troops around the world are immunized during the next five to seven years. We go to these lengths because defense itself is a deterrent. The more our forces are prepared, the less likely that we'll see an attack upon them and the more likely it is that these potential adversaries will be discouraged from even thinking about it. But I am reminded that the front lines are no longer just overseas; they're also in the continental United States. Five years ago, six people were killed and hundreds were injured in the World Trade Center blast. Three years ago, the Sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway killed dozens of people and injured many others. Some believe that this kind of a deadly chemical or biological attack or catastrophe is inevitable in the United States. Nothing is inevitable until it happens, but we have to prepare for this potential. So we're building a third line of defense that's grounded in domestic preparation. The Department of Defense is leading a federal effort to train the first responders in 120 American cities. The police, the firefighters, and the medical technicians who are going to be first on the scene of an attack -- we are now in the process of helping to prepare these first responders. We have also created the military's first-ever domestic rapid assessment teams to ensure that the Department of Defense is even more prepared with 10 separate and special National Guard teams that will be dedicated solely to assisting local civilian authorities in the event of a chemical or biological attack. These teams, to be located in California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Washington, are designed to move in quickly, assess the situation, and then help local officials identify the types of federal military assets that might be needed to combat an attack or respond to an incident. Reserve units already trained to respond to such attacks abroad are going to be given more training and equipment and opportunities to assist domestically. Moving from a limited response capability in fiscal year 1999, the plan is to have fully developed, mission-ready Guard and Reserve elements in place after Fiscal Year 2000. The 10 National Guard rapid assessment teams will be complemented and supported by 127 decontamination and 54 reconnaissance units, drawn from the existing Reserve Component force structure, which will be provided with additional special training and equipment to enable them to perform a response and support mission. This initiative will be the cornerstone of our strategy for preparing America's defense against a possible use of weapons of mass destruction.