Cohen warns panel of Russian weapons dangers

WASHINGTON – Warning that Russia’s aging Cold War arsenals could be a prime source for international terrorists looking to stock up on weapons of mass destruction, former Defense Secretary William Cohen told a Senate panel Tuesday that the “clock is ticking … it is one minute before midnight.”

Testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, the onetime Maine Republican senator urged Congress to ramp up funding for programs that help Russia to guard and destroy its nuclear, biological and chemical weapons infrastructure, which remains a lasting legacy from the Soviet Union.

Cohen credited one U.S. program launched in the early 1990s at the end of the Cold War with helping to deactivate thousands of nuclear weapons in Russia that had been aimed at the United States and its allies.

But much work remains to be done, Cohen said. He noted that Russia is still home to brainpower and weapons components that enemies of the United States are committed to exploiting.

“Those pursuing these weapons know that the fastest route to obtaining them is to acquire weapons or weapons materials from the enormous stockpiles that still sit in Russia and other countries of the former Soviet Union,” Cohen said.

There is also the temptation among underemployed Russian weapons workers “to sell their talents to the highest bidder,” he added.

Committee Chairman Joseph Biden, D-Del, agreed with Cohen, claiming that concern over Russia’s inability to contain its weapons materials and technological know-how should be the leading security concern in the United States. He vowed to work for giving the administration greater authority in working with Russia to protect its weapons stockpiles.

Calling Russia a potential weapons “bazaar” for terrorists, Biden said, “There are many sources for weapons of mass destruction, but there is one place that has it all. That place is Russia.”

Presently, the combined spending for nonproliferation efforts by the Energy, State and Defense departments totals around $1.5 billion. Biden suggested boosting that sum to $2.5 billion in the coming year to help Russia destroy its weapons of mass destruction and to prevent the theft of materials needed for building such weapons.

According to Biden, Russia still possesses an estimated 1,000 metric tons of excess enriched uranium – enough to produce 20,000 nuclear weapons – along with 160 metric tons of excess weapons grade plutonium. He also said that the nation has as much as 40,000 metric tons of declared chemical weapons.

Last year, a Russian nonproliferation task force led by former White House counsel Lloyd Cutler and former Senate Majority Leader Howard Baker, recommended spending $3 billion. The task force urgently warned that materials for weapons of mass destruction in Russia could be sold to terrorists and other groups.

Cohen agreed that sustained programs are needed to destroy such weapons materials. “This is not a foreign aid program; this is a national defense program,” Cohen said. “This is a dramatic step to protect the American people.”

Still, the nonproliferation programs have met with criticism. Earlier this month, the Bush administration reportedly put Moscow on notice that it planned to curb some programs because it believes Russia has failed to comply with a number of treaty bans on chemical and biological weapons.

This was Cohen’s first congressional testimony since leaving his post as defense secretary in the Clinton administration. He now heads up The Cohen Group, a Washington-based consulting firm that provides business services and advice to corporations about strategic opportunities in foreign markets.