Senate committee hears solutions to proliferation of weapons of terror

Abstract

With the breakup of the Soviet Union, security at sites where weapons of mass destruction are stored has become very lax, making diversion of these weapons to rogue nations and terrorist groups of increasing concern to the U.S. Of particular interest are security and accountability at the former Soviet Union's chemical and biological arsenals, and the effectiveness of arms control accords and nonproliferation regimes in forestalling use of such weapons. These concerns were heightened by five-month study by the Democratic staff of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Information from this study was revealed at recent hearings chaired by Sen. Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), the panel's ranking minority member. The activities of Japan's Aum Shinrikyo (Supreme Truth)—a religious cult that preached Armageddon between the U.S. and Japan—were spotlighted as, in the words of Kyle B. Olson, a case study in the potential of modern terror. Olson is senior staff member at Tasc Corp.'s Arms ...