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Bush Hails Proliferation Security Initiative
U.S. President George W. Bush today called for greater international cooperation in halting WMD proliferation, hailing the successes of the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, June 22). “Since this initiative was launched in Poland in May 2003, it has grown from a handful of nations to a global partnership of more than 70 countries,” Bush said in a statement read by Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Robert Joseph. “The PSI is dedicated to stopping all aspects of the proliferation trade, and denying terrorists, rogue states and their supplier networks access to WMD-related materials and delivery systems,” the statement says. “I commend all member nations for their readiness to take on this vital task and I urge all responsible states to join this global effort to end the WMD proliferation threat,” it ads. Delegations from nearly 70 countries met today in Poland to review the initiative’s first three years and future goals, according to AFP (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, June 23). “We have come a long way in three years,” Joseph said. Joseph said the initiative has led to “a good number of interdictions” of WMD-related materials. He said many interdictions are not discussed publicly due to the sensitivity of the intelligence involved. He called the 2003 interception of the BBC China, which was carrying centrifuge components to Libya, the initiative’s greatest success. “This was probably the greatest nonproliferation success story of past decades,” he told AP (see GSN, May 16). “In terms of the Libyan decision to give up its weapons program it was an immediate effect” (Associated Press, June 23).
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