Interpol Seeks More Nuclear Terror Defense Funding

Interpol needs more money for its efforts to prevent nuclear terrorism, a senior official said yesterday (see GSN, June 12).

The international police organization receives about $70 million annually, which is not enough, said specialized crime and analysis director David Gork.

“It’s ludicrous, but again it comes down to the member countries providing the funding to support us,” he said in Miami at the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism Law Enforcement Conference.  “We are not being given sufficient resources to do it.”

Gork called for additional funding from Western nations, without identifying specific countries he believes are not providing enough money, the Associated Press reported.

“That’s the only way we are going to stop this.  Otherwise, forget it,” he said.

An act of nuclear terror can only be prevented through information sharing by nations, training law enforcement personnel to halt nuclear smuggling and other preventive measures, Gork said.

“That’s just a start.  We can’t stop here.  If we stop and sit back on our laurels and think this is the end of it, we’re in for a world of hurt in the future,” he said.

Gork said Interpol has also provided bioterrorism defense training to 350 people in 130 nations, AP reported (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, June 14).

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