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'Nunn-Lugar deactivated more than 300 nuclear warheads in 2004', Press Release from Senator Richard Lugar, January 27, 2005

Thursday, January 27, 2005

The latest Nunn-Lugar Scorecard shows that the program deactivated 312 Russian nuclear warheads in 2004, bringing the total since 1991 to 6,564.

The Scorecard is a running account of nuclear weapons dismantled and destroyed in the former Soviet Union under the Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program.

The new scorecard may be found at: http://lugar.senate.gov/nunnlugar/scorecard.html

In 2004, the Nunn-Lugar program reduced threats to the American people by:

Removing 312 warheads from Russian missile systems;
Destroying 41 SS-18 Satan missiles, each capable of delivering 10 independently-targeted warheads to cities in the United States;
Destroying 22 missile silos housing SS-18 missiles;
Destroying 18 Backfire bombers in Ukraine, each was capable of carrying 3 nuclear air-launched cruise missiles;
Destroying 93 AS-4/Kh-22 long-range nuclear air-launched cruise missiles that were carried by Bear and Blackjack bombers;
Destroying 81 SS-N-23, SS-N-20, and SS-N-18 submarine-launched ballistic missiles in Russia that were carried aboard Typhoon, Delta III, and Delta IV submarines; and,
Destroying 9 SS-24 mobile intercontinental ballistic missile launchers, each capable of carrying 10 independently-targeted warheads to targets in the United States.

Beyond the scorecard's nuclear elimination, the Nunn-Lugar program secures and destroys chemical and biological weapons, and employs former weapons of mass destruction scientists in peaceful research initiatives. The International Science and Technology Centers, of which the United States is the leading sponsor, have engaged 58,000 former weapons scientists in peaceful work. The International Proliferation Prevention Program has funded 750 projects involving 14,000 former weapons scientists and created some 580 new peaceful high-tech jobs. Ukraine, Belarus, and Kazakhstan are nuclear weapons free as a result of cooperative efforts under the Nunn-Lugar program.

In 1991, Senator Lugar (R-IN) and former Senator Sam Nunn (D-GA) authored the Nunn-Lugar Act, which established the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program. This program has provided U.S. funding and expertise to help the former Soviet Union safeguard and dismantle its enormous stockpiles of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, means of delivery and related materials. In 1997, Lugar and Nunn were joined by Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) in introducing the Defense Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act, which expanded Nunn-Lugar authorities in the former Soviet Union and provided WMD expertise to first responders in American cities. In 2003, Congress adopted the Nunn-Lugar Expansion Act, which authorized the Nunn-Lugar program to operate outside the former Soviet Union to address proliferation threats.

In October 2004, Nunn-Lugar funds were used for the first time outside of the former Soviet Union to destroy chemical weapons in Albania. Senator Lugar traveled to Albania on August 27 and 28, 2004, to meet with Albanian leaders and visit the chemical weapons storage facility that has already received US assistance to enhance the security surrounding the stockpile. In meetings with Prime Minister Fatos Nano, Foreign Minister Islami, and Defense Minister Majko, Lugar discussed the need for Nunn-Lugar to assist Albania in destroying its chemical weapons stockpile. The project is expected to take approximately two years to complete at a cost of approximately $20 million to eliminate 16 tons of chemical agent.

Lugar also plans to reintroduce legislation from the 108th Congress to further strengthen U.S. nonproliferation efforts.

The Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Act of 2004 would underscore the bipartisan consensus on Nunn-Lugar by streamlining and accelerating Nunn-Lugar implementation and grant more flexibility to the President and the Secretary of Defense to undertake nonproliferation projects outside the former Soviet Union. It also would eliminate congressionally-imposed conditions on Nunn-Lugar assistance that in the past have forced the suspension of time-sensitive nonproliferation projects. The purpose of the bill is to reduce bureaucratic red tape and friction within our government that hinder effective responses to nonproliferation opportunities and emergencies.

The Conventional Arms Threat Reduction Act of 2004, or CATRA, is modeled on the original Nunn-Lugar Act. Its purpose is to provide the Department of State with a focused response to the threat posed by vulnerable stockpiles of conventional weapons around the world, including tactical missiles and man portable air defense systems, or MANPADS. Such missile systems could be used by terrorists to attack commercial airliners, military installations and government facilities here at home and abroad. Reports suggest that Al Qaeda has attempted to acquire these kinds of weapons. In addition, unsecured conventional weapons stockpiles are a major obstacle to peace, reconstruction and economic development in regions suffering from instability.

This bill declares it to be the policy of the United States to seek out surplus and unguarded stocks of conventional armaments, including small arms and light weapons, and tactical missile systems for elimination or safeguarding. It authorizes the Department of State to carry out an accelerated global effort to destroy such weapons and to cooperate with allies and international organizations when possible. The Secretary of State is charged with devising a strategy for prioritizing, on a country-by-country basis, the obligation of funds in a global program of conventional arms elimination. Lastly, the Secretary is required to unify program planning, coordination and implementation of the strategy into one office at the State Department and to request a budget commensurate with the risk posed by these weapons.

The bills Lugar will reintroduce would strengthen the Nunn-Lugar program and other nonproliferation efforts and provide greater flexibility to address emerging threats.

The 9/11 Commission weighed in with an important endorsement of the Nunn-Lugar program, saying, "Preventing the proliferation of [weapons of mass destruction] warrants a maximum effort - by strengthening counter-proliferation efforts, expanding the Proliferation Security Initiative and supporting the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program." The Report went on to say that "Nunn-Lugar ... is now in need of expansion, improvement and resources."

More information is available at: http://lugar.senate.gov/nunnlugar.html.

The Nunn-Lugar scorecard is compiled by the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) http://www.dtra.mil.

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Source: Senator Richard Lugar's website, http://lugar.senate.gov.

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