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DoD Official on Status of Biological Weapons Convention |
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(Source : US State Dept. ; issued Sept. 19, 2000)
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Because of the nature of biological weapons, the convention being negotiated regarding their use will not be able to provide the kind of effective verification that exists in other arms control treaties," a Defense Department official said September 13.
"That is, it will not provide a high degree of confidence that we could detect militarily significant cheating," Susan Koch, deputy assistant secretary for threat reduction policy, told a subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Government Reform.
Testifying before the Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs and International Relations, Koch said that unlike chemical weapons, "comparatively small amounts of biological weapons can be militarily significant" and can be produced quickly. "These factors all serve to limit the utility of traditional arms control
verification tools," she said.
However, Koch continued, although "This Protocol will not 'solve' the problem of biological weapons proliferation, even among the BWC (Biological Weapons Convention) States Parties who opt to join. . .it can contribute to the more limited goal of strengthening confidence in BWC compliance by enhancing international transparency in the biological sphere."
On that basis, she said, "We see this as an important and useful contribution to our nonproliferation efforts."
Click here for the full text of Dr. Koch's statement (scroll down)
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