By Greg Seigle
Global Security Newswire

The fiscal 2003 budget released by White House officials yesterday requests record funding to oppose overseas terrorists groups and countries that pursue weapons of mass destruction, analysts said this morning.

The precise amount slated for the war on terrorism in the $2.13 trillion budget proposal is initially unclear due to the more than 40 agencies involved in the multifront war, a conflict so unpredictable the Defense Department seeks to have an extra $10 billion on hand for emergency operations.

It is virtually certain that overseas anti-terrorism and nonproliferation expenditures will reach unprecedented levels next fiscal year, more than $20 billion, analysts told Global Security Newswire.

For example, the State Department asks that more than one-fifth of its $24.3 billion budget — $5.2 billion — be specifically earmarked “for programs that are essential in pursuing the war on terrorism,” according to a White House budget release. The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), which secures U.S. nuclear assets and attempts to convert Russia’s nuclear weapon complex to peaceful means, consumes $8 billion of the Energy Department’s $22 billion request, the release said.

“Everybody agrees there should be increases for the war on terrorism … but it seems [the Defense Department] and every other agency are trying to lump everything into homeland security or counter-terrorism in hopes this garners support,” said Steve Kosiak, director of budget studies for the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.

“It’s very confusing to determine what goes into counterterrorism and what goes elsewhere,” Kosiak continued. “I think there will be wide support for [counterterrorism and nonproliferation expenditures].  But there are going to be some concerns in Congress that every conceivable agency associated with the war on terrorism is trying to connect their programs with this.”

While many of the overseas expenditures requested by Bush administration officials are lumped in with homeland security (see related GSN story, today), several requests are slated solely for international counterterrorism and nonproliferation programs.

The White House budget proposal, which is often modified after going through rounds of budget conferences and mark-ups in Senate and House budget committees throughout the calendar year, seeks $3.5 billion for economic assistance, military equipment and training “for states on the front line in the war against terrorism,” according to a White House release, Winning the War on Terrorism Abroad. The countries considered to be on the front lines include Pakistan, India, Jordan, Oman, Israel and Columbia, a State Department official said.

White House officials want to give Jordan, strategically located along the borders of both Iraq and Syria, $198 million in military and $250 million in economic support, according to an Office of Management and Budget release.  “The money will be used to improve border controls targeting the flow of weapons, including weapons of mass destruction,” the release said.

“For Jordan, the military [assistance] is up, more than double what they go they got last year,” said Michael Vickers, director of strategic studies for the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments.  “It looks like Pakistan and Jordan come out the winners in this budget, and the relationship with India was already getting warmer.”

Pakistan and India, two nuclear powers that have threatened war against each other, have each requested $50 million for military aid — funds Bush administration officials want to offer in order to stave off a war and subdue terrorism in the region.

India has received sizeable financial aid in past years, but Pakistan is reaping the benefits of helping the United States topple the Taliban regime in neighboring Afghanistan, officials said.

“The Pakistanis have asked for similar support, and that support for Pakistan would be aircraft support and spares … and nuclear, chemical and biological-type equipment for the individual soldier,” said U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Curt Struble.

The State Department’s foreign military financing account, which already planned an annual $60 million hike for Israel, asks to send $457 million to Tel Aviv to combat terrorism and the spread of weapons of mass destruction, according to Struble.

Colombia is slated to receive up to $98 million, much of it to fight its war with insurgents and to protect an oil pipeline that has been attacked hundreds of times the past year, keeping it out of service for 244 days and draining the already sagging Colombian economy, Struble said.

Russia is also expected to benefit from the record amounts of funds Bush administration officials want to pour overseas. While much of the $8 billion slated for the NNSA is earmarked for the maintenance and safety of U.S. nuclear assets, there are significant jumps in the funding for U.S. nonproliferation programs in Russia.

The budget request calls for more than $800 million for programs working with Russia and other former Soviet states to ensure control over weapons of mass destruction, secure nuclear weapon-usable materials, protect scientific expertise, facilitate downsizing of the Russian nuclear weapons complex and dispose of materials from retired nuclear weapons. These requests include:

*         $416 million for the Defense Department’s Cooperative Threat Reduction program (CTR), which assists Russia in dismantling strategic delivery vehicles and in protecting nuclear warheads, plus biological and chemical weapon security and disposal.

*         $233 million for the NNSA’s nuclear material protection, control, and accounting program, which aims to secure over 600 tons of Russian weapon-usable nuclear materials.

*         $39 million for the two NNSA programs designed to convert many Russian nuclear facilities into civilian commercial ventures.  The goal is to downsize the nuclear weapons complex while also providing jobs for displaced workers, particularly scientists, laboratory technicians and other skilled factory workers.

*         $49 million for efforts to close and convert Russia's three remaining plutonium production reactors.

*         $34 million to facilitate Russian disposal of its excess weapons plutonium.

“This is a dramatic and welcome change from last year's budget,” said Kenneth Luongo, executive director of the Russian-American Nuclear Security Advisory Council.

The funding for the CTR and NNSA “signals solid support for keeping nuclear weapons, materials, technologies, and expertise from falling into the wrong hands,” Luongo said.  “While some of the programs are funded below last year's final appropriation, overall the 2003 budget shows a new commitment by the Bush Administration to cooperative threat reduction activities.”

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