ACCESSION NUMBER:308847
FILE ID:TXT101
DATE:10/25/93
TITLE:DAVIS ON PROLIFERATION THREATS (10/25/93)
TEXT:*93102501.TXT


(VOA Editorial)  (310)
(Following is an editorial, broadcast by the Voice of America October 25,
reflecting the views of the U.S. government.)

One of the major threats to security in the post-Cold War world is the
proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and the missiles
that can be used to deliver them.  As Lynn Davis, U.S. undersecretary of
state for international security affairs, said in a recent speech, this
challenge must be met with both global and regional policies.

At the global level, the United States will seek to strengthen the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Biological
Weapons Convention, the Missile Technology Control Regime and other
international agreements limiting or banning weapons of mass destruction.
The United States will also try to lead an effort to negotiate a
comprehensive nuclear test ban treaty by 1996.

The United States is worried about the proliferation activities of a number
of countries, particularly Iraq, Iran, Libya and North Korea.  The United
States is participating in the U.N. effort to prevent Iraq from retaining
or acquiring the kinds of weapons technologies that made it a serious
threat in the past.  Because Iran potentially poses a similar threat to
Persian Gulf and Middle East security, the United States is encouraging a
multilateral effort to prevent Iran from acquiring or producing nuclear and
other weapons of mass destruction.  Libya is also a serious concern because
of its on-going efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction.  And as
President Bill Clinton has emphasized, North Korea's nuclear program
represents a grave threat to international security.

The United States is committed to meeting the dangers of proliferation.  The
United States will continue to work with other nations to prevent the
spread of weapons of mass destruction, especially to unstable or dangerous
regimes.

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