Andy Semmel served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for
nuclear nonproliferation in the George W. Bush administration. He is on
the board of directors of Partnership for a Secure America.
Congress
hasn’t given its best effort to prevent nuclear terrorism. Despite
broad bipartisan recognition that nuclear terror is one of the biggest
threats of our time, two common-sense anti-terrorism treaties have been
on the “to-do” list for more than half a decade. The Senate
has the opportunity to pass those treaties in the weeks ahead and
should do so for one simple reason: They would make America more secure. There is a long and commendable record of U.S. bipartisan support for
policies and practices that prevent nuclear terrorism and impede
nuclear proliferation. Successive administrations and both political
parties have broadly agreed that combating nuclear terrorism ranks at
the top of our foreign policy and national security agenda. The 9/11
Commission warned, “The greatest danger of another catastrophic attack
in the United States will materialize if the world’s most dangerous
terrorists acquire the world’s most dangerous weapons.” Former Secretary
of Defense Robert M. Gates
noted, “Every senior leader, when you’re asked what keeps you awake at
night, it’s the thought of a terrorist ending up with a weapon of mass
destruction, especially nuclear.”
No comments:
Post a Comment