G8 Vows To Deprive Terrorists Of Weapons Of Mass Destruction

TERRORWARS

British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Jack Straw (L), US Secretary of State Collin Powell (C) and French political director Gerard Errera, who replaces French Foreign Minister Dominique Villepin, participate in the pre-G8 summit talks in Whistler, Canada, 13 June 2002. Foreign Ministers of the G8 industrialized nations club settled down to debate how to deprive terror groups of the ingredients of weapons of mass destruction. AFP Photo by Kim Stallknecht

Global Terror Coalition "United" : Powell
Whistler (AFP) June 13, 2002 - The United States declared that the global coalition against terrorism was "united" Thursday, after the G8 rich nations' club set a goal of preventing any repeat of the September 11 attacks.

"I'm quite pleased at the seriousness with which my G8 colleagues continue to take the campaign against terrorism," Powell told reporters, after a session on the issue at the Group of Eight foreign ministers meeting here.

"I'm pleased with the commitment they continue to make on what they will do internally and what they will do to help nations that need their capabilities to be enhanced to be more effective members of the campaign against terrorism."

"The coalition remains united."

Earlier, G8 nations issued a progress report on their combined efforts to combat organised global terrorism, following the "heinous" attacks on the United States last year.

"Our goal is to ensure that terrorist attacks like the one on September 11 will never happen again," the report said.

Ministers said they had made progress in strengthening security at home, tightening cooperation internationally and helping states without the resources to close the gaps exploited by terror groups.

"Terrorists cannot be allowed to disrupt global trade by attacking maritime, aviation or road transport," the report said.

"Nor can terrorists be allowed to have access to weapons of mass destruction. We have discussed what must be done to prevent terrorists, or those who harbor them, from gaining access to chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and missiles."

That phrase put the ministers on the same ground as the Bush administration, which has repeatedly warned of the dangers of terrorists acquiring ever more dangerous weapons.

The campaign against terrorism was lent added relevance at the G8 talks after the United States announced on Monday that it had foiled an attempt by Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network to explode a "dirty" radiological bomb.

Whistler (AFP) June 13, 2002
G8 Foreign Ministers Thursday debated how to deprive terrorists of weapons of mass destruction, three days after the United States said it foiled an al-Qaeda plot to set off a radioactive bomb.

Ministers of the rich nations club gathered at the Whistler ski resort in western Canada, entered their final session on non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament, before a planned final press conference.

They reviewed their joint efforts to fight terrorism since the September 11 attacks on Wednesday, but the most significant discussion on the issue was expected to come in the session on non-proliferation.

Halting the spread of weapons of mass destruction is a key US policy goal, especially since President George W. Bush dubbed Iran, Iraq and North Korea as an "axis of evil" which he said could offer such arms to terrorists.

Secretary of State Colin Powell said he would raise an initiative known as "10 plus 10 over 10" which would see Washington put up 10 billion dollars, matched by 10 billion from the G8 over 10 years to secure radiological materials in Russia.

There is mounting concern that radioactive substances that could be used to manufacture dirty bombs, or even nuclear devices, are held under lax security in post-Soviet Russia.

The issue was lent extra relevance on Monday after US officials said they had arrested US citizen Abdullah al-Muhajir, an al-Qaeda operative allegedly planning to detonate a radioactive "dirty" bomb in the United States.

Experts from G8 members are meeting in Whistler from Thursday to expand on the idea, among them US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton, a senior US official said.

Ironically the G8 ministers, including Powell and Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, are discussing arms control on the very day that the United States withdraws from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

President George W. Bush gave notice in December, despite Russian objections, that the United States would unilaterally withdraw from the treaty signed in 1972 with the now-defunct Soviet Union.

The decision was made to permit the United States to conduct tests in line with its plans for a missile defense shield.

Ministers are also expected to give details of their consultations over dinner on Wednesday on the Middle East.

Participants in the meeting declined to speak to reporters when it broke up, but diplomats told AFP that many G8 partners were anxious to hear Bush's promised elucidation of his policy towards the region.

Ministers, setting the agenda for the G8 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, later this month, on Wednesday signalled to Pakistan and India that there would be no let up in the pace of an international peace drive.

And they pledged to further tighten their joint campaign against terrorism, launched in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

G8 host, Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham, said he hoped the two-day meeting would express strong support for a Middle East conference, two days after Bush dampened hopes it could take place soon.

Bush was asked about the conference during an appearance in which he expressed strong support for Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon on Monday.

"The conditions aren't even there yet. That's because no one has confidence in the emerging Palestinian government," Bush said.

Some European officials have privately expressed concern over Bush's marginalisation of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and a senior European diplomat said here that G8 members were awaiting for the outcome of a debate in Washington circles over the future path of Middle East policy.

Security was tight in and around the luxury hotel hosting the talks but anti globalisation protests turned out to be subdued.

The G8 includes Canada, the United States, Russia, Britain, Italy, France, Germany and Japan.

All rights reserved. � 2002 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

TERRORWARS

Rumsfeld Charges Iraq Actively Developing Germ Weapons

Manama (AFP) June 10, 2002
Calling Iraqi President Saddam Hussein a "world class liar," US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on Monday pressed US charges that Iraq is actively developing biological arms and other weapons of mass destruction.

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.