Blix warns of WMD vicious circle

The US must abandon its "war on terror" to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, according to the former United Nations' chief weapons inspector, Hans Blix. The US foreign policy of pre-emptive strikes against any perceived weapons of mass destruction (WMD) threat, its development of new types of nuclear weapons and the "Star Wars" missile defense shield risked fueling a new global arms race, said Blix. Blix's warning came in a report, released on June 1, proposing ways to bring about global nuclear, biological and chemical disarmament. The report by the independent international Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission (WMDC) said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the subsequent "war on terror" have led to the stagnation and abandonment of international cooperation on WMD monitoring and disarmament. In what will be seen as a thinly veiled reference to the Iraq War, the report said unilateral military action had failed to stem the threat of WMD, with the cost of many lives. Blix, the commission's chairman, led the team of UN inspectors investigating Iraq's arms programs prior to the US-led invasion. He said the US preemptive strike policy breached the UN's founding charter. The two-year investigation by the commission also called on all existing nuclear powers to refrain from developing new types of nuclear weapons. The Pentagon wants to build a new generation of nuclear bunker-busters and "mini-nukes," although US Congress has blocked the plans. The commission proposed holding a world summit on disarmament, non-proliferation and the threat of WMD terrorism, at the United Nations in New York, to reinvigorate international diplomacy to tackle these issues. It also recommended extending and toughening the UN's weapons inspection programs. Its report said the international community, including major military powers such as the US, Russia and China, should develop new strategies to ensure international security without the use or possession of WMD. The US should also stop testing nuclear weapons to encourage more countries, particularly India and Pakistan, to sign up and comply with the UN's test-ban treaty, the report added. Blix said: "Bringing the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty into force would significantly impede the development of new nuclear weapons. The weapons that exist today are bad enough. "Negotiating a global treaty to stop the production of fissile material for weapons would close the tap for new such material and help hinder possible arms races–notably in Asia. "In both these areas the US has the decisive leverage. If it takes the lead the world is likely to follow. If it does not take the lead, there could be more nuclear tests and new nuclear arms races." The commission noted that governments and world opinion were paying less attention to global treaties on arms control and disarmament partly because these agreements had failed to prevent terrorism such as the attacks on New York in 2001. The commission also said Iran, Egypt and Israel, which already has nuclear weapons, should commit to the Middle East being a nuclear free zone.