U.S. Names Countries Thought to Be Violating BWC
During a November 19 speech, Undersecretary of State
for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton accused
Iraq and North Korea of breaching the terms of the Biological Weapons
Convention (BWC) and warned of possible violations by other countries.
Bolton spoke to delegations from BWC member states
on the opening day of a conference that is convened in Geneva every
five years to review and improve upon the treaty’s implementation.
The accord outlaws biological weapons but contains no verification
measures.
Bolton told the conference that Washington is “extremely
concerned” that some states are engaging in treaty-prohibited
activities and is “concerned” about potential use of biological
weapons by terrorist groups. Specifically, the undersecretary said
that Washington is worried about accused terrorist Osama bin Laden’s
“stated intention to use biological weapons against the United
States…. We are concerned that he could have been trying to
acquire a rudimentary biological weapons capability, possibly with
support from a state.”
Beyond this threat, Bolton said that “the most
serious concern” is Iraq. “The United States strongly
suspects that Iraq has taken advantage of three years of no UN inspections
to improve all phases of its offensive BW program. The existence
of Iraq’s program is beyond dispute, in complete contravention
of the BWC,” Bolton contended.
Washington also believes that North Korea “has
a dedicated, national-level effort to achieve a BW [biological weapons]
capability and that it has developed and produced, and may have
weaponized, BW agents in violation of the convention,” Bolton
asserted. “North Korea likely has the capability to produce
sufficient quantities of biological agents for military purposes
within weeks of a decision to do so.”
Bolton added that the Bush administration is “quite
concerned about Iran, which the United States believes probably
has produced and weaponized BW agents in violation of the convention.”
Other countries of concern included Libya, Syria, and Sudan, the
latter of which is is neither a party to nor a signatory of the
BWC. Bolton also said that he could name other states that are pursuing
offensive biological weapons programs but that Washington plans
to contact them privately.
Bolton’s speech marked a change from past U.S.
practice. At previous review conferences, the United States did
not name specific countries it believed were violating the convention,
except Iraq. Explaining the shift in U.S. tactics, Bolton said,
“Prior to September 11, some would have avoided this approach.
The world has changed, however, and so must our business-as-usual
approach.”
Iran, Iraq, and Libya denied the U.S. charges. According
to a source in Geneva, other delegations did not officially comment
on the U.S. accusations, believing that “there are already
enough substantive problems that we have to deal with here without
trying to sidetrack it and begin another debate, arguing whether
the United States was correct to do what it did.”
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