Report: Commission on the Prevention of WMD Proliferation and Terrorism

The bi-partisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism released a long-awaited report on December 4th about the current state of the WMD threat against the U.S..  The report received fairly wide coverage in both the main-stream press and on the Internet.  I’ve summarized information from a number of sources here; I haven’t read the full report yet myself, but I’ll update this post again after I’m finished reading it.

Summary:

The report:

• States that the odds are greater than ever that the world will see an attack using a biological or nuclear weapon in the next five years.
• Criticizes Bush administration domestic and foreign policy.
• Offers wide-ranging recommendations on controlling biological agents and containing nuclear proliferation.
• Offers recommendations for Congress to solve problems with oversight and funding.
• Singles out Pakistan as the top security priority for the United States.

Recommendations:

Here are many of the key recommendations in the report:

• Overall Terrorist Threat:
  • Work with Pakistan and other countries in the region to eliminate terrorist safe havens through military, economic and diplomatic means.
  • Secure nuclear and biological materials in Pakistan.
  • Counter and defeat extremist ideology.
• Biological Terrorism:
  • Call an international conference of countries with major biotechnology industries to promote biosecurity.
  • Strengthen global disease surveillance networks.
  • Press for universal adherence to the Biological Weapons Convention.
• Nuclear Terrorism
  • Constrain a nascent nuclear arms race in Asia.
  • Take steps to prevent Iran and North Korea from possessing uranium enrichment or plutonium reprocessing capabilities.
  • Set strong penalties for violators who withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
  • Strengthen the International Atomic Energy Agency.
  • Employ further counter-proliferation efforts.
  • Work with Russia to secure its nuclear materials.
• Presidential Oversight:
  • Create a new post in the White House to oversee government efforts to prevent a WMD attack.
• Congressional Oversight:
  
  • Empower the Homeland Security panels in the House and Senate as the sole oversight committees for these issues (as opposed to the 16 House committees and 15 Senate committees that share jurisdiction on these issues now).
  • Create a new Intelligence Appropriations Subcommittee to fund both national and military intelligence.
    • From CQ Politics: Congress ignored similar recommendations from the original 9-11 commission, which issued its report in mid-2004.

Criticisms:

There has been some skepticism and criticism of the report, and a down-playing of the report conclusions, both by homeland security veterans and members of Congress.  Much of the criticism stems from the reports’ tone of urgency and lack of emphasis on explosives and other low-tech threats.  As mentioned in Homeland Security Watch, “There’s a noticeable demotion of chemical and high explosives in the WMD threat embraced by the report.”

Official Reactions:

Senate: In a hearing Thursday, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee indicated a willingness to consider legislation to strengthen safety and security at private and federal laboratories that work with deadly biological pathogens.  Read here for more details on the committee hearing.

UPDATE 12/22: Chairman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, Joseph Lieberman (ID-CN) and Ranking Member Susan Collins (R-ME) announced plans to introduce legislation to tighten oversight of high containment laboratories around the country that could handle deadly biological pathogens.  Click here to view the press release.

Bush Administration: Despite the report’s criticisms of US policies, the White House welcomed what it said was proof of Bush’s strong security record.  “Under President Bush’s leadership, extensive progress has been made on securing the world’s weapons of mass destruction and protecting our citizens from a WMD attack,” White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said.

Obama Administration: There is some expectation that many of the reports’ recommendations will be accepted and implemented by the Obama administration.  As reported by CQ Politics: “Several of the commissioners have advised the Obama campaign or transition, and several recommendations square with Obama’s policy views. Among the panel members, Wendy Sherman is a national security “team leader” in Obama’s transition, and Richard Verma serves on his defense transition team.” The Boston Globe reported that President-elect Obama will probably implement the recommendation for creating a position of WMD anti-proliferation chief at the White House, citing three unnamed Obama advisers.

Overall Summary:

The report will probably influence homeland security policy and funding for the next 4 years.  Diplomatically and militarily, expect an increased focus on Pakistan.  In the U.S., expect greater focus and spending on defense against biological attacks, including new legislation and rules to prevent pathogens from falling into terrorist hands through labs.  Consider preparing plans and grant requests to improve detection of and response to biological attacks.  Expect an increase in R&D funding for technology to detect and identify biological threats and verify adherence to nuclear and biological non-proliferation agreements.

Links:

• Report press release
• Commission web site
• Full report (PDF)
• Commission chair Senator Bob Graham’s official statement to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee
• UPDATE 10/22: Q&A with Commission chair Senator Bob Graham

Additional articles and posts about the report:

• Washington Post
• Voice of America News
• CQ Politics
• HSToday
• Space War
• Homeland Security Watch
• Armchair Generalist