Molon labe!
Posted on 10/28/2001 1:29:05 AM PST by FSPress
Mr. Chairman, Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to take this opportunity to thank the host countries of Azerbaijan and Switzerland for hosting this conference and for the beautiful weather which you've arranged, thank you.
Today I will discuss some of the concrete implementation steps the United States is taking in the field of stockpile management assessments and assistance for the destruction of excess small arms and light weapons. The United States views the problem of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons as a complex multifaceted problem. A vital component of this problem is the proper management and destruction of excess small arms and light weapons. Other components that are critical for a successful national small arms and light weapons program are effective export controls consisting of licensing, end?use assurances, retransfer authorization. registration of brokers, embargo enforcement, border controls, law enforcement cooperation and marking. Each of these components must be in place for a small arms and light weapons program to be successful.
The United States has signed a number of key international agreements in the area of small arms and light weapons. The United States?Norway 1999 Summit created the U.S.? Norway Joint Working Group for small arms and light weapons. This working group has been active since its inception with a number of the activities discussed below (being directly associated with this working group). The United States is also a party to the Memorandum of Understanding between Albania, The United States, Germany and Norway signed on 7 September 2000. The signatories to this memorandum have pledged to assist with the destruction of 130,000 small arms and light weapons that Albania has determined to be in excess of what they require. I am happy to say that to date over 50,000 small arms and light weapons have been destroyed and we are on target for completing the task of destroying all 130.000 small arms and light weapons by October of this year.
The concrete implementation steps I will address are the on?site stockpile assessment visits and the funding of voluntary small arms and light weapons destruction. I will discuss the assessment team visits followed by the destruction assessment program.
The stockpile management assessment team concept was developed in April of ?000. To date there have been four assessment visits within the OSCE participating States and we are currently conducting an assessment visit in Guyana. There have also been a number of inquiries for assessment visits from within the OSCE, Asia and Africa.
The purpose of these visits is to share expertise on proper management and security techniques required to properly maintain small arms and light weapon holdings. These visits are conducted by request and on a confidential basis. The Assessment team consists of experts from the United States. Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Additionally during previous assessments we have had experts from Norway, Germany, France and Canada as team members.
The stockpile management assessment team utilizes current United States stockpile security and management regulations, which are consistent with the OSCE Document on small arms and light weapons. I will now briefly describe what the assessment team will consider while conducting an assessment.
The two aspects of a successful small arms and light weapons program are security and management. Security consists of those tasks required to ensure the small arms light weapons are not stolen and therefore become illicit weapons. The second component is the management of these stocks. I will now provide an overview on what the assessment team looks for in stockpile security followed by stockpile management.
The stockpile must be located in a secure area. An assessment of potential threats must be conducted prior to establishing a stockpile. The area selected should be properly posted and patrolled by security forces. Access to stockpiles must be controlled. Access must be limited through the use of checkpoints, physical barriers and access rosters. Proper control of individuals and vehicles into stockpile areas will prevent unauthorized personnel from entering the stockpile location and stealing unsecured stocks. Reaction forces are required in the event of an unauthorized entry into the stockpile location. Appropriate rules of engagement must be established so the reaction force will know the extent of their authority. Protective lighting of critical areas, sensitive weapons and the stockpile perimeter will enhance security and assist security personnel in conducting their duties. Intrusion detection devices such as remote alarms and motion detectors reduce manpower requirements and provide security forces early warning in the event of unauthorized entry. Lock and key controls will ensure that only authorized individuals have access to stockpiles. These are just some of the teams considerations used during the assessment visit.
Stockpile management goes hand in hand with stockpile security. While security takes into account the protection of small arms and light weapons. stockpile management ensures proper accounting checks and balances are implemented by trained personnel. To properly mange stockpile inventories it is critical that weapons are properly inventoried and assigned to an accountable officer. This officer must conduct inventories to ensure all weapons are accounted for on a frequent basis. Weapons must also be properly signed for on a hand receipt. Hand receipting ensures that only authorized personnel are able to sign for and receive small arms and light weapons. Small arms and light weapons losses should be reported as expeditiously as possible to the appropriate authorities. This will ensure corrective actions are taken to prevent further losses. Key to both stockpile management and security is proper training for all personnel responsible for the small arms and light weapons stockpiles.
An additional benefit of these assessment visits is what the team learns. Every time they return from a visit they have learned a variety of new techniques that will be shared on future assessment visits.
This has been a very brief description of what the stockpile assessment team considers while conducting their assessments. I am very hopeful for this program and would like to extend an offer to any OSCE/EAPC nation who is interested in having an assessment visit please contact the point of contact at the bottom of this paper.
I will now discuss the United States small arms and light weapons destruction program. The United States feels very strongly that the destruction of excess small arms and light weapons is essential to checking the uncontrolled proliferation of small arms and light weapons worldwide. We believe that re?circulated stocks of small arms and light weapons are a principal source of illicitly trafficked arms. In numerous case studies, we have found that weapons stolen from military stocks end up arming criminals, terrorists, drug dealers and insurgencies. Support for the destruction of excess and illegal small arms and light weapons is a cornerstone of U.S. small arms and light weapons policy. Some of the major initiatives the United States is involved with are the U.S.?Norway Joint Working Group, Stability Pact 18 November 1999 Declaration, and the Albanian destruction project underway in partnership with Germany and Norway.
In order to assist in the reduction of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons the United States has created a small arms and light weapons destruction project. This program became operational this year. The United States Department of State received its first funding to support small arms and light weapons destruction projects on 2001. The goal of this program is to provide a full range of assistance to interested countries in stockpile security and destruction practices of excess small arm and light weapons.
The United States has been involved with a number of destruction modalities. The three basic categories are opportunistic collection and destruction. ?VN?hich is usually conducted coincidental to a military operation such as Panama, Haiti. Liberia. SFOR and KFOR. This type of destruction is not U.S. policy but is conducted by the commander in the field as a method to ensure force protection and maintain stability. Second, interdicted illegal small arms and light weapons are also destroyed. And third cooperative reduction of excess small arms and light weapons such as the programs I've previously mentioned. The cooperative reduction modality is the preferred method and the cornerstone of our destruction assistance program.
A typical small arms destruction program will first consist of an assessment visit as I described earlier. The assessment visit will identify any problems of t stockpile security and management and make recommendations for corrective actions. A destruction program will then be designed which will consider number and types of weapons to be destroyed, available infrastructure, logistics and proposed costs.
Continued momentum in this field is likely to breed more funding, which will create more opportunities for destruction projects. The United States welcomes partnerships with other countries in both of these programs.
In closing I would like to reaffirm that the United States is committed to curbing the proliferation of small arms and light weapons. I would like to reiterate our offer to any OSCE/EAPC nation who is interested in having an assessment visit or participate in the destruction program to contact the United States Embassy in your country or Mr. Ed Peartree telephone 001?202?647?7774.
EXACTLY!
"Freedom for those who have fought for it,
has a flavor the protected shall never savor.
Getting GD sick of the growing, guttless, pussy ass, whimpnoid American Crowd!
Nuf Said, anymore and I'll get the thread pulled... Grrrrr
Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Now there's an Orwellian concept.
Molon labe!
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