Posted on 06/26/2002 11:41:16 AM PDT by niki
GAO Cites Rising Nuke Smuggling Risk Wed Jun 26, 1:31 PM ET
By LIBBY QUAID, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - The nation's vulnerability to attacks using nuclear weapons or "dirty bombs" is worsened by its own poorly funded, ill-coordinated efforts to stop the smuggling of radioactive materials, the General Accounting Office ( news - web sites) said Wednesday.
Citing 181 incidents in which nuclear materials were smuggled over the past decade, GAO said the six federal agencies involved do not work together and use different methods of detecting radiation at border crossings. Investigators said the United States has spent nearly $90 million on efforts that include outfitting more than 30 other countries with radiation detection equipment but has not installed the same gear at U.S. border crossings.
"Basically, we're doing more to protect the borders of Russia than we're doing to protect our own," said Sen. Pat Roberts ( news, bio, voting record), R-Kan., who asked for the report from GAO, the investigative branch of Congress.
The GAO said U.S. assistance generally is helping countries including former Soviet Union nations stop the smuggling of radioactive materials. Assistance includes radiation detection equipment, mobile X-ray vans, inspection tools, patrol boats and training.
Even so, investigators found widespread problems with equipment. Examples:
_GAO found a portal monitor on a road in Bulgaria not open to traffic.
_Portal monitors sat unused for two years in the basement of the U.S. Embassy in Lithuania.
_Protective suits and detectors were stored for seven months in an embassy garage in Estonia.
_Half of portal monitors provided to Belarus were never installed or not operational.
_Mobile X-ray vans idled by cold weather and fuel costs in Russia and Kyrgyzstan.
In addition, GAO said that widespread corruption exists among border crossing guards and customs officials; one Eastern European law officer said inspectors switch off detectors in exchange for bottles of alcohol.
GAO said the U.S. government has no strategic plan to coordinate all its programs. The departments of Defense, Energy and State and the Customs Service, FBI ( news - web sites) and Coast Guard all provide assistance, but some agencies install more sophisticated equipment than others, leaving border crossings in some countries more vulnerable than others.
However, Roberts, top Republican on the Senate Armed Services subcommittee on emerging threats and capabilities, said the White House knew the report was coming and will tackle nuclear smuggling problems as it puts together the proposed Homeland Security Department.
The White House Office of Homeland Security and the National Security Council have assembled a working group on nuclear smuggling, Roberts said.
"This comes right in the midst of the reorganization of the Office of Homeland Security, and it points out one of the primary concerns in regard to intelligence threats and what could happen," Roberts said. "If there's a wave of reorganization and reform, you want to catch it."
Don't put much faith in this report. We've got specific groups assigned to monitor ports plus other places where it's likely nuclear materials would be in transit. These efforts are just not publicized.
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