ReBirth 0 #1 November 14, 2005 ...according to GWB. So why isn't enough being done about it? http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20051114/pl_nm/security_usa_commission_dc half the nuclear materials in Russia still have no security upgrade. "This kind of grade -- unfulfilled, insufficient, minimal progress -- those grades are failing grades ... That is an unacceptable response," Commission member Timothy Roemer said. on a separate note.... Meanwhile, Vice President Dick Cheney has spearheaded an effort in Congress to have the CIA exempt from an amendment by Arizona Republican Sen. John McCain (news, bio, voting record) that would ban torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners. Bush threatened to veto the defense bill containing the amendment without the exemption. ---------------------------------------------- Nice to see our gov't efforts are not being directed toward stopping nuclear arms proliferation, but rather are toward the legalization of torture. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gawain 0 #2 November 14, 2005 According to Al Gore, global warming is a bigger threat than terrorism. Anyway, the US is paying a significant chunk of money to the Russians to help them guard their arms. The editorial you cite is leaving a lot of information out. Joint US-Russia nuclear security and training centers have been in place for some time, though there is little coverage I can find of their effectiveness. There are a few papers on the topic, advocating more can be done, but to what degree, no one really knows.So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright 'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life Make light! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ReBirth 0 #3 November 14, 2005 Hmm...didn't realize Reuters printed editorials. Should I direct you to your instructions on reading a byline? QuoteJoint US-Russia nuclear security and training centers have been in place for some time, though there is little coverage I can find of their effectiveness. There are a few papers on the topic, advocating more can be done, but to what degree, no one really knows. I know one thing. Bush diverted funding for those programs to the war in Iraq. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gawain 0 #4 November 14, 2005 Quotedidn't realize Reuters printed editorials Reuters is one of the most biased news orgs out there. Look at this quote from the article....shit... Quote"This kind of grade -- unfulfilled, insufficient, minimal progress -- those grades are failing grades ... That is an unacceptable response," Commission member Timothy Roemer said Parsed quotes like that are the norm with that outfit. I'll keep an eye out for the broader coverage though.So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright 'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life Make light! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ViperPilot 0 #5 November 15, 2005 The US govt has actually bought several lots of Soviet arms just so we could keep them out of terrorist's hands. The arms security in Russia is practically non-existent, so it's very hard to fight this. We're doing as much as possible to gather intel on loose weapons and hopefully finding them, but this is, in reality, the epitome of "needle in a haystack." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Slink2 0 #6 November 15, 2005 God, I wish Russia was back!...wait, maybe? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nerdgirl 0 #7 November 15, 2005 Cooperative threat reduction (CTR) is fundamentally a bipartisan effort, hence the various iterations of the Nunn-Lugar-Domenici Acts. The Russian work -- nuke, chem & bio -- is primarily managed and executed by the DoD's Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), formerly the Defense Nuclear Agency. One argument (not mine) is that based on the evidence that non-state actors (i.e., terrorists) have not obtained fissile material demonstrates that "enough" has been done. This argument maintains that the US should invest just enough of the US taxpayer dollars in Russia to maintain non-acquisition by terrorists. If you dig around a little you can find lots of reasons, rhetoric and some airing of dirty laundry on stagnation of CTR efforts, from liability disagreements to disputes over alleged espionage efforts/aggressive oversight (all depends on where you're sitting metaphorically and literally) to misappropriation of funds (by Russian localities & US contractors). "Pork" is not *just* a US custom. See some of my references from an earlier post http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1738439;#1738439 on nuclear terrorism. PM me if you want to know more, CTR is one of my fave topics! ... and everything i write is my personal opinion not official position. marg Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
