Disarmament Diplomacy

Issue No. 21, December 1997

Lugar Warns of WMD 'Supermarket'

On 20 November, Senator Richard Lugar (Republican - Indiana), addressed a conference organised by Jane's Information Group on the issue of preparing for the worst-case scenario of terrorist use of nuclear, chemical or biological weapons against US territory. Lugar stated:

"The threat is real and must be prepared [for]... [A] vast potential supermarket of weapons of mass destruction has become increasingly accessible. The disintegration of the Soviet Union and the subsequent decay of the custodial system guarding the Soviet nuclear, chemical and biological legacy has eliminated the proliferation checkpoint. States and even religious sects, organized crime and terrorist organizations can now buy or steal what they previously had to produce on their own."

Report: US is ill-prepared to deal with domestic chemical-biological incident, Lugar says, PR Newswire, 20 November.

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