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LAWMAKERS WANT DETAILS ON U.S. NONSTRATEGIC NUCLEAR ARSENALS Inside the Pentagon The House wants the Defense, State and Energy departments, in conjunction with the Director of National Intelligence, to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the U.S. nonstrategic nuclear arsenal and associated security risks. The reporting requirement is part of the House version of the fiscal year 2009 defense authorization bill, which was approved by the full chamber on May 22. The Senate mark of the bill included no such provision. The House legislation says the interagency report would be due to Capitol Hill 180 days after the bill is enacted. The Pentagon-led review is supposed to produce an unclassified report, along with classified annexes covering sensitive information on the stockpiles, according to a report accompanying the House bill. Specifically, House members want the agencies to perform an inventory of the U.S. nonstrategic nuclear arsenal and evaluate the capabilities of other countries that possess, or may possess, nonstrategic nuclear weapons, the report states. The inventory would catalog and classify the nuclear weapons according to nationality, type, yield, and form of delivery while analyzing each agency’s current plans and methods on identifying, tracking and monitoring nonstrategic nuclear weapons and component materials. The term “nonstrategic nuclear weapon” is defined as a nuclear weapon launched by land, sea or air in support of operations “that contribute to the accomplishment of a military mission of limited scope,” the report states. Lawmakers also want the agencies to assess the level of reliance the U.S. and other countries have placed on nonstrategic nuclear stockpiles, and evaluate the use of nonstrategic nuclear weapons “as deterrents against the use of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction by state or non-state actors.” Aside from exploring the use of such weapons as deterrents, the House proposal also calls upon the agencies to assess risks associated with the “deployment, transfer, and storage of nonstrategic nuclear weapons” by the United States and other countries. House policymakers also want analysis from the participating agencies on the risks of nonstrategic nuclear weapons falling into the hands of rogue nations or terrorist organizations and being employed against the United States or its allies. “Numerous nonstrategic nuclear weapons are held in the arsenals of various countries around the world and their prevalence and portability make them attractive targets for theft and for use by terrorist organizations,” the House legislation states. “The United States should assess the security risks associated with existing stockpiles of nonstrategic nuclear weapons and should assess the risks of nonstrategic nuclear weapons being developed, acquired, or utilized by other countries, particularly rogue states, and by terrorists and other non-state actors,” House authorizers write. In addition to evaluating nonstrategic nuclear stockpiles in the United States and abroad, members of the lower chamber want to hear DOD’s plans for improving safeguards on the stockpile, implementing “transparent mulitlateral reductions” in the nonstrategic arsenal and how DOD intends to consolidate, dismantle and dispose of nuclear materials as a result of those reductions. Meanwhile, the Pentagon and the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration are cooperating on nuclear counterterrorism efforts. Administration chief Thomas D’Agostino recently said the organization is looking to establish a “long-term partnership” by way of a formal joint interagency program with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency to coordinate nuclear counterterrorism programs, particularly in the field of nuclear forensics (Inside the Pentagon, May 18, p2). D’Agostino also noted Assistant Deputy Administrator for Research, Development and Simulation David Crandall has been moved up to NNSA chief scientist and will oversee current and future interagency partnerships. Along with DOD, NNSA is eying potential agreements with DHS, the National Security Agency and others in the intelligence community. -- Carlo Muñoz |
