Disarmament Diplomacy

Issue No. 56, April 2001

Helms Urges Bush to Reject CTBT, US Details Plans to Fund CTBTO

On March 29, a number of US newspapers published the text of a letter from Jesse Helms, Republican Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to Secretary of State Colin Powell, urging the Bush administration to "articulate a new policy on nuclear testing, to withdraw the US signature from the CTBT, and to terminate funding to CTBT organizations". The letter, dated March 12, seemed clearly to reflect the view in some elements of the Republican Party, though currently not within the administration, that the US should be prepared to terminate its nuclear testing moratorium.

Despite Helms' urging, the proposed FY 2002 State Department budget includes full funding - $20 million - for the planned US contribution to the costs of the CTBT Organization Preparatory Commission (CTBTO PrepCom). The Department budget also requests $14 million for a Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Fund, a voluntary contribution to the IAEA of $49 million, and $95 million for the multilateral Korean Peninsular Energy Development Corporation (KEDO), responsible for implementing key aspects of the 1994 US-North Korea Agreed Framework.

Note: on April 9, the Washington Times reported US intelligence concerns that China may be preparing to conduct a "small" underground nuclear test site at its Lop Nor testing range in Xinhua Province. The paper also claimed that the US EP-3E surveillance plane forced to make an emergency landing after a collision with a Chinese fighter aircraft on April 1 was engaged in collecting information on the possible test preparations.

Reports: Letter from Senator Helms to Secretary of State Powell, March 12, text kindly provided by Daryl Kimball, Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers (http://www.crnd.org); Jesse Helms pushes for US pullout of nuclear test ban treaty, Knight Ridder Newspapers, March 29; Helms urging Bush to renounce global test-ban treaty, San Jose Mercury News, March 30; Spy photos show Beijing set for underground test, Washington Times, April 9; US State Department FY 2002 Budget Request Account tables, April 2001, http://www.state.gov/s/rpp/rls/iab/index.cfm?docid=2106.