TO SENATORS ROTH AND NUNN: LET THE RECORD SHOW THAT ARMS CONTROL IS NO PROTECTION AGAINST CHEMICAL WEAPONS

(Washington, D.C.): Today’s hearings before the Senate
Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations — on which
Senator William Roth (R-DE) and Sam Nunn (D-GA) serve as the
chairman and ranking member respectively — are intended to
illuminate a very serious problem: The proliferation of
chemical weapons of mass destruction. Coming on the heels of
testimony taken the day before, which addressed the apparent
ultimate objective of the Japanese Aum Shinrikyo cult (i.e.,
lethal attacks against the government and people of the United
States), it is clear that America can ill-afford to ignore the
danger posed by such relatively inexpensive, low technology and
highly lethal weaponry.

Unfortunately, it is not clear from the make-up of the
witness list whether the Committee will be given a realistic
appraisal of the options available to the Nation to address the
threat of chemical weapons (CW). Specifically, the four outside
witnesses called by the Committee and the five government
officials seem likely to testify that the Chemical Weapons
Convention (CWC) now awaiting Senate advice and consent will
contribute significantly to U.S. efforts to combat proliferation
of CW-related agents, technology and know-how.

Of the nine, only former Soviet CW scientist Dr. Vil
Mirzayanov has been a prominent critic of the CWC, based on his
first-hand knowledge of the ease with which even an aggressive
chemical weapons development and production program like Moscow’s
— to say nothing of that of a sub-national group like Aum
Supreme Truth — can be successfully concealed. The Center for
Security Policy understands, however, that Dr. Mirzayanov has
been persuaded to mute such criticisms and join forces with those
who are championing ratification of the Chemical Weapons
Convention.

As a result, the Governmental Affairs Committee is unlikely
to learn at the hearing today that the CWC: is simply
unverifiable; will prove extremely expensive — both in terms
of the costs of compliance to the large numbers of American
industries likely to be affected by it and in terms of the
opportunities the Convention affords for commercial espionage
against such companies; may be unconstitutional; lacks
critical details; and cannot be amended by the Senate.

As a result of these serious deficiencies, the Convention
could prove worse than useless in the fight against the
growing threat of chemical warfare against this country, its
allies or its interests. The CWC could delude the American people
and their elected representatives into believing that the world
can actually be rid of chemical weapons via this sort of arms
control agreement.

The Committee owes it to the Senate and the public to take
additional testimony that will provide a more realistic
assessment of the options available for dealing with the menace
of chemical weapons. Toward this end, the Center for Security
Policy urges Sens. Roth and Nunn to ensure that the hearing
record also includes the informed views of experts like Dr.
Kathleen Bailey, Amoretta Hoeber, Sven Kraemer and Frank Gaffney.