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Prevent Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of terrorists are among the greatest threats to national security. The United States has worked with its bilateral partners and through international fora to secure WMD and prevent proliferation. The Administration has expanded international efforts to deny terrorists access to advanced conventional weaponry and to weapons of mass destruction, their delivery systems, and related materials. We will continue to promote implementation of international obligations, aggressively target proliferators (including through financial sanctions), and enhance the capacity of the international community to deny terrorists access to WMD.

Domestic Initiatives

• The National Guard is fielding 55 WMD Civil Support Teams spread across each state, territory, and the District of Columbia to provide critical communications links and consequence management support to local, state and federal agencies.
• In December 2005, the National Counterproliferation Center (NCPC) was established to manage and coordinate the analysis and collection of information on nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons across the Intelligence Community.
• The Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO), established in the Department of Homeland Security, is responsible for developing a global nuclear detection architecture, acquiring the systems to implement the domestic components of the strategy, and supporting the deployment of the domestic nuclear detection system.
• In 2004, Project Shield was established to work with U.S. private sector companies that manufacture, sell, or export strategic technology and munitions to prevent terrorists, criminals, and foreign adversaries from obtaining these items.

International Initiatives

• In July 2006, President Bush and Russian President Putin launched the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism to bring together like-minded nations to work to prevent, protect against, and respond to the threat of nuclear terrorism. Through the Global Initiative, partner nations, including the G-8, will forge political commitments to strengthen our collective capabilities in the fight against terrorism.
• In July 2005, the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) was amended to expand its scope to cover not only physical protection during the international transport of nuclear materials for peaceful use but also the physical protection of such materials while in use at facilities and during storage. The amendments also strengthen the CPPNM to address post-9/11 nuclear terrorism by criminalizing acts of sabotage against civilian nuclear facilities.
• In June 2005, the President signed Executive Order 13382, authorizing the Government to designate and block the property of WMD proliferators and persons providing support or services to such proliferators. The Annex to the Executive Order identifies eight organizations in North Korea, Iran, and Syria responsible for WMD and missile programs.
• In February 2005, the United States and Russia established the Bratislava Nuclear Security Cooperation Initiative to accelerate and complete nuclear security upgrades in Russia by the end of 2008, complete all eligible Russia-origin HEU fresh fuel repatriation to Russia from third countries by the end of 2006, and complete by the end of 2010 all Russia-origin HEU spent fuel shipments back to Russia.
• In 2005, the United States facilitated the establishment the IAEA Committee on Safeguards and Verification to explore ways to strengthen the ability of the IAEA to monitor and enforce compliance with the nuclear nonproliferation treaty.
• In 2004, at the Sea Island Summit, the G-8 agreed to implement specific radioactive source export controls. Subsequently, the IAEA Board of Governors and General Conference endorsed these export controls, an important step in denying access to materials that might be used to create a radiological “dirty bomb.” The United States Government continues to work with partner nations to establish a robust export control system within each nation to prevent unintended technology/material transfer.
• In May 2004, the United States launched the Global Threat Reduction Initiative (GTRI) to further accelerate efforts to identify, secure, remove, and facilitate the disposition of vulnerable high-risk nuclear and other radiological materials around the world. Since its inception, GTRI has removed more than 9 nuclear bombs worth of material and secured more than 400 radiological sites around the world containing over 6 million curies, enough for about 6,000 dirty bombs.
• In April 2004, U.N. Security Council Resolution (UNSCR) 1540 was adopted. It requires states to enact and enforce national legal and regulatory measures to prevent proliferation, particularly to non-state actors, of WMD, their delivery systems, and related materials, including controls on activities that would contribute to proliferation, such as financing.
• In 2003, the Department of Defense, under its Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, launched the WMD Proliferation Prevention Initiative to assist selected states of the former Soviet Union to build capabilities to prevent illegal shipments of WMD and related materials across their borders.
• In May 2003, the Administration launched the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) to promote international cooperation to interdict WMD-related shipments at sea, in the air, or on land that are flowing to or from state or non-state actors of proliferation concern. More than 70 countries participate in PSI activities. PSI partners are also working to expand their activities, including enhanced military, intelligence, and law enforcement actions to shut down proliferation networks.
• At the 2002 Summit in Kananaskis, the G-8 launched the Global Partnership Against the Spread of WMD to increase resources for cooperative nonproliferation, disarmament, counterproliferation, and nuclear safety projects in Russia and other former Soviet countries. The G-7 (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom) and other Partnership donors have pledged $17 billion toward the $20 billion target, and significant progress is being made on implementing projects in Russia.

Promoting Biosecurity and Biodefense

• The United States has invested over $8.5 billion in the public health and medical system since 2001 to ensure early warning and rapid response to a biological attack or any event that threatens the health and safety of Americans.
• The United States is implementing the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza, supported by a budget request of over $7 billion. The Pandemic Implementation Plan lays out over 300 actions for Federal Departments and Agencies, many of which are directly related to our preparedness and response capacity for an influenza pandemic.
• The United States has deployed BioWatch, an urban air monitoring system that continually collects air samples in over 30 major metropolitan areas and provides warning of the aerosol release of a biological agent before the development of illness in a population.
• Project BioShield provides $5.6 billion to support development and procurement of "next-generation" medical countermeasures, expedite National Institute of Health (NIH) research and development on medical countermeasures based, and to give the FDA the ability to make promising treatments quickly available in emergency situations.
• The United States has procured and stockpiled enough smallpox vaccine for the entire American population, and enough antibiotics to protect to over 40 million persons after exposure to anthrax.
• The National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity has been established to advise the Secretary of Health and Human Services and the head of any agency that conducts, funds or supports life science research on the most appropriate manner to perform and communicate the findings of “dual use” research that could be used to develop bioterror agents.
• The National Biosurveillance Initiative is an interagency effort designed to combine traditional and non-traditional health data surveillance with threat indicators and warnings to enable the early detection, situational awareness, and appropriate response to biological outbreaks affecting humans, animals, and plants. As part of this program, the “BioSense” system at the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is supporting the development of “real-time” biosurveillance systems across the Nation.
• The National Biosurveillance Integration System (NBIS), established under the National Biosurveillance Initiative, combines biological monitoring data, surveillance information, and threat indications and warnings to enable early detection and situation awareness of biological outbreaks and abnormal events.