Thursday, January 05, 2006

Trafficking in WMD Technology—EU Intelligence Report

According to the The Guardian, a 55-page confidential “early warning” intelligence assessment has detailed the names and locations of “suspect players in the .”[1] The report details how west European engineering firms, germ labs, thinktanks and universities are “preyed upon” by middlemen, front companies, scholars and bureaucrats working for Iran, Syria, North Korea, and Pakistan.[2] The point of the report is to “name and shame,” to warn EU companies about doing business with the listed organizations,[3] and its details are fairly impressive.

For example, it is reported that Russian brainpower is being tapped by Iran to help develop its nuclear weapons capability.[4] Russia has just concluded a billion-dollar missile deal with Iran, and 16 Russian companies and academic institutes are named as “helping and profiting from the Iranian military effort.”[5] Iran is also allegedly looking to benefit from North Korean military prowess and exports, which is “currently reckoned to be North Korea’s most important source of income.”[6] North Korea, in turn, depends on being able to import western goods and equipment to maintain its exports;[7] it would be unsurprising to discover that allegations about its are linked to this activity.

Pakistan is also seen as a major exporter of WMD technology. Even after A.Q. Khan was exposed more than two years ago, “extensive procurement efforts for the Pakistani nuclear efforts have been registered” and the “range of materials and components being bought ‘clearly exceeds’ that required for spare parts and replacements” leading to speculation that “the nuclear black market is trading on the surplus goods.”[8]

Syria, for its part, has allegedly “been striving for self-sufficiency in its WMD efforts for years through substantial supplies of material and knowhow from Russia” and other European nations.[9] There are also allegations that Syria “has recently strengthened cooperation” with Iran for weapons.[10]

The United States is no doubt interested in the findings of the report. In the US, WMD issues are criminalized by Chapter 39 of Title 18 of the US Code.[11] Under 18 U.S.C. § 832, it is a crime for a person to willfully participate in, or knowingly provide material support to, a nuclear weapons program or other WMD program of a “foreign terrorist power.”[12] The United States Congress has explicitly stated that there is extraterritorial Federal over such an offense.[13] A “foreign terrorist power” is defined as “a terrorist organization designated under section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act,[14] or a state sponsor of terrorism designated under section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act of 1979[15] or section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961[16].”[17] Violating this section, or conspiring to violate this section, can be punished with imprisonment for up to 20 years; the statute makes no mention of a fine.


[1] Ian Traynor, , The Guardian, Jan. 4, 2006.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id.
[7] Id.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.
[10] Id.
[11] et seq.
[12] 18 U.S.C. § 832(a). (not available online)
[13] Id. § 832(b).
[14] (the organization must be a foreign organization, engaged in terrorist activity, that threatens the security of the US or its nationals).
[15] (j) (requiring validated licenses for the export of goods to countries that have been determined by the Secretary of State to have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism, and that the export of such goods or technology could make a significant contribution to the military potential of the country or enhance its ability to support acts of international terrorism).
[16] (prohibiting assistance to any country that has been determined by the Secretary of State to have repeatedly provided support for acts of international terrorism).
[17] 18 U.S.C. § 832(d)(3).

posted by McNabb Associates, P.C. @ 11:41 AM