Order Code RL30699
CRS Report for Congress
Received through the CRS Web
Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical
Weapons and Missiles: Status and Trends
Updated July 2, 2004
Sharon A. Squassoni
Specialist in National Defense
Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division
Congressional Research Service ˜ The Library of Congress

---

Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Weapons and
Missiles: Status and Trends
Summary
The United States has long recognized the dangers of nuclear, biological, and
chemical (NBC) weapons, and missiles proliferation. Despite the preeminence of
U.S. military power, or perhaps because of it, these weapons continue to pose threats
to the United States and its foreign interests. NBC weapons could be delivered by
means ranging from simple options (e.g., ships, trucks), to aircraft, cruise or ballistic
missiles.
The total number of NBC weapons in the world is shrinking as the major
powers scale back their inventories through unilateral reductions and arms control,
but other countries and groups still try to acquire these weapons. Especially since
September 11, 2001, U.S. and allied leaders have debated the nature and extent of the
threat, the impact on international stability, and the opportunities terrorists might
exploit.
The number of nuclear arsenals worldwide is small. There are the established
nuclear weapon states (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United
States), while India, Pakistan and Israel are believed to have nuclear weapon arsenals.
North Korea is thought to have separated enough plutonium for at least one or two
weapons, and possibly six. Iran is considered by U.S. intelligence to be pursuing a
nuclear weapons program, and international inspections have revealed significant
strides in its nuclear fuel cycle capabilities.
About 12 countries have offensive biological weapons (BW) programs, and
about 17 countries were reportedly known or likely to have had chemical weapons
(CW) when the Chemical Weapons Convention went into effect. The number of
countries and sub-national groups that will be able to produce at least small quantities
of chemical and biological weapons is expected to grow as the international flow of
information, goods, people, and technology continues. While the United States and
Russia are reducing their intercontinental missile inventories, China is modernizing
and expanding its missile force. North Korea, Iran, Israel, India, and Pakistan are
building short- and medium-range missiles and are developing longer-range missiles.
Dozens of countries have or are developing short-range ballistic missiles and more
are likely to buy them. Over 80 countries have cruise missiles; about 40 manufacture
or have the ability to manufacture them.
Although Cold War NBC threats are greatly diminished, elements in North
Korea, Russia, China, India, Pakistan, and other countries continue to export
weapons technology. Concern about the ability of individual actors, like the Pakistani
nuclear scientist, A.Q. Khan, to peddle nuclear technology has grown considerably.
The number of countries or groups that will acquire or produce NBC weapons may
decrease if diplomacy, arms control treaties, nonproliferation regimes, and security
and assistance strategies are effective, but NBC weapons and missiles will remain a
potential threat for the foreseeable future. This report is updated annually.

---

Contents
Background . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Implications for U.S. Policy Decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
NBC Weapons and Missiles: Where Are They? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Nuclear Weapon Arsenals and Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Biological Weapon Arsenals and Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Chemical Weapon Arsenals and Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Missile Arsenals and Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Trends Regarding NBC Weapons and Missiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Developments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Proliferation and Risk of Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Trends in Nuclear Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Risks of Nuclear Conflict . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Trends in Biological and Chemical Weapons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Trends in Missiles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Prospects and Assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
List of Figures
Figure 1. Current Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Weapons Capabilities. . . . 5
List of Tables
Table 1. The State of Proliferation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Table 2. International Commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Table 3: Key Nuclear-Relevant Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Contributors
Steve Bowman of the Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade Division contributed
to the analysis in this report.

---

Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Weapons
and Missiles: Status and Trends
Background
In the mid-1990s, the primary threat posed by NBC weapons to the United
States shifted from an all-out U.S.-Russian strategic exchange to less overwhelming,
but more numerous and perhaps less predictable threats.1 The dissolution of the
Soviet Union had turned some Russian weapons of mass destruction (WMD)
strengths into weaknesses and the fear of “loose nukes”prompted the U.S.
government to help shore up the safety and security of Russian WMD infrastructure.
Around the same time, U.N. inspections uncovered Iraq’s massive NBC weapons
programs and a crisis erupted over the North Korean nuclear weapons program. It
could no longer be assumed that the United States would face symmetric or parallel
threats. A “paradox of the new strategic environment,” according to then-Secretary
of Defense William Cohen, was that “American [conventional] military superiority
actually increases the threat of nuclear, biological and chemical attack against us by
creating incentives for adversaries to challenge us asymmetrically.”2 Accordingly,
Congress has been concerned about the countries and groups that have nuclear,
biological and chemical (NBC) weapons, are developing or trying to acquire them,
and about those who have or seek missile delivery systems.
The heightened sense of vulnerability to terrorism since the attacks in September
2001, coupled with reports of al Qaeda pursuing biological weapons research and
possibly radiological weapons, has focused attention on the connection between
terrorism and WMD. In March 2002, President Bush stated that “...every nation in
our coalition must take seriously the growing threat of terror on a catastrophic scale
— terror armed with biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons.” The
unpredictability of terrorist efforts to acquire NBC weapons and a potentially higher
probability of use pose a serious challenge to global stability and security. In
particular, the Bush Administration has singled out state sponsors of terrorism (e.g.,
Iran, Iraq and North Korea) with NBC weapons programs as particular security
1 Nuclear and biological weapons can cause massive casualties and other damage. The
effects of chemical weapons are generally confined to smaller geographic areas and cause
fewer casualties but can create panic in a poorly protected population. Although
radiological weapons are sometimes considered in the WMD category, they are covered
separately. See CRS Report RL31332, Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Terrorist Threat.
2 Office of the Secretary of Defense, Report to Congress, Proliferation: Threat and
Response, November 25, 1997 (hereafter PTR 1997).

---

CRS-2
threats. U.S. and allied leaders and analysts continue to debate the exact nature and
extent of the WMD threat.
The status of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and missiles worldwide
has changed only slowly over time. In absolute numbers, stockpiles are actually
decreasing. Some U.S. and foreign analysts emphasize the positive impact of the
demise of the Soviet Union and progress made in U.S.-Russian arms control and
international arms control. Others emphasize the negative impact of the nuclear tests
by India and Pakistan; missile tests by North Korea, Iran, India, and Pakistan;
continuing transfers of dangerous technology particularly by China, Russia, and
North Korea; and a growing interest in WMD among terrorists. This report provides
background and analysis on U.S. policies regarding these complex national security
issues. It focuses on the current threat and trends in nuclear, biological, and chemical
weapons and missiles.
Implications for U.S. Policy Decisions
Potential NBC weapons and missile threats to U.S. security interests affect
important national security and foreign policy decisions, including:
! the size and nature of the U.S. military force structure
! U.S. weapons and equipment acquisition
! U.S. doctrine and strategy for homeland defense and military
operations abroad, including U.S. training for NBC environments
! foreign policy and economic policy toward countries of proliferation
concern and their neighbors.
In addition, the status and trends of these weapons are key factors in national
and international debates regarding:
! whether the most dangerous threat or the most likely threat to U.S.
security is nuclear, chemical and biological weapons delivered by
terrorists, missiles, aircraft, or ships
! whether states or groups are acquiring NBC weapons and missiles
to deter or to use against regional powers or the United States
! whether intelligence estimates should be based on the capability
and/or intent of countries and terrorist groups to use NBC weapons
and missiles
! whether U.S. intelligence collection and analysis resources are
adequate
! whether the United States should emphasize a strategy of deterrence,
preemption, or national defense
! the appropriate mix of defense (active and passive), export control,
assistance, and arms control
! the appropriate mix of unilateral, bilateral, and multilateral
approaches.
Effective U.S. national security policies depend on those key decisions.
Whereas some “hard problems” in the past might have been relegated to a back

---

CRS-3
burner — for example, how to counter biological weapons attacks in the United
States by terrorists, or how to prevent particular countries from acquiring NBC
weapons — their solutions are now top priorities for the United States since the
September 11, 2001. Secretary of State Colin Powell noted in Senate testimony on
April 24, 2002 that “There are terrorists in the world who would like nothing better
than to get their hands on and use nuclear, chemical or biological weapons. So there
is a definite link between terrorism and WMD. Not to recognize that link would be
foolhardy to the extreme.”
In the last decade, the U.S. government has taken many steps to address NBC
weapons proliferation.3 According to the Bush Administration, past efforts relied
principally on passive measures, such as arms control and nonproliferation regimes,
export controls, and diplomacy. New efforts to complement this approach will focus
on working “in concert with like-minded nations, and on our own, to prevent
terrorists and terrorist regimes from acquiring or using WMD.”4 In December 2002,
the White House released the “National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass
Destruction,” which divided policy into three pillars: counterproliferation to combat
WMD use; strengthened nonproliferation to combat WMD proliferation; and
consequence management to respond to WMD use.” Counterproliferation efforts
include interdicting WMD materials, expertise and technology to hostile states and
terrorist organizations, as well as deterrence, defense and mitigation. These efforts
include, specifically, preemptive actions to “detect and destroy an adversary’s WMD
assets before these weapons are used.”5 Strengthened nonproliferation includes
active diplomacy, multilateral regimes, threat reduction assistance, nuclear material
and export controls, and nonproliferation sanctions. Finally, consequence
management entails homeland defense against WMD threats. Despite sharper public
focus, however, the actual problems have not become any more tractable. As before,
it is likely that economic and political interests will be weighed against security
concerns in determining how best to exercise U.S. political and economic clout to
slow the proliferation of NBC weapons and missiles. A telling example of these
conflicting interests was the decision not to confiscate a shipment of North Korean
Scud missiles aboard the So San en route to Yemen in December 2002.6 In 2004, the
Bush administration chose not to press the Pakistani government to punish the
nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan for selling nuclear technology (including a nuclear
weapons design) to Iran, Libya, and North Korea.
NBC Weapons and Missiles: Where Are They?
3 See CRS Report 97-343, Proliferation Control Regimes: Background and Status.
4 John R. Bolton, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security,
“Beyond the Axis of Evil: Additional Threats from Weapons of Mass Destruction,”
Remarks to the Heritage Foundation, Washington, DC, May 6, 2002 (hereafter “Beyond
Axis of Evil”). [http:\\www.state.gov/t/us/rm/9962pf.htm].
5 “National Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction,” December 11, 2002. See
[http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/12/WMDStrategy.pdf].
6 Glenn Kessler and Thomas Ricks, “US Frees Ship With North Korean Missiles,”
Washington Post, December 12, 2002.

---

CRS-4
About twenty-five countries, according to various U.S. government sources, are
suspected of having nuclear, biological, or chemical (NBC) weapons programs or
stockpiles. Figure 1 depicts a map of those countries and Table 1 (on page 11) lists
those countries that have, or may have had NBC weapon programs and missile
capabilities within the last several years. Table 1 distinguishes between stages of
development — from a research and development (R&D) program, to acquiring
components for weapons, to an actual stockpile. Most of these capabilities have been
developed covertly and intelligence can vary dramatically not just among countries
(e.g., we know a lot more about past Iraqi WMD development than we do about
Iranian programs), but also among WMD programs for a single country. Nuclear and
ballistic missile programs often have specific observable characteristics (e.g., flight
tests, reactor operations) while biological and chemical weapons programs often do
not. Moreover, Figure 1 and Table 1 do not attempt to portray a country’s intent —
how serious its pursuit of NBC weapons capability is, or what its ultimate objectives
might be. These variables would have a significant impact on threat assessments of
WMD capability.
In simple numbers, NBC weapons, missiles and programs have not grown much
in the last decade, as proliferation by a few countries has been offset by reductions
in weapons by others. However, some countries are actively building NBC weapon
stockpiles and they are improving capabilities to deliver these weapons, taking
advantage of widely available missile technology. These states are seeking or have
developed indigenous production capabilities, and some have themselves become
suppliers of NBC weapon or missile technologies. Some of these new suppliers
either support terrorism or have terrorist activities on their soil. The potential for
additional countries, or possibly terrorist groups, to produce NBC weapons using
available technology, has become a greater concern in recent years.

---

CRS-5
Figure 1. Current Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Weapons Capabilities
R u s s ia
U.K.
Belarus
Uk raine
K a z a k h s t a n
Franc e
M on go lia
N . Kore a
Se rbia
C uba
T u r k e y
S. K orea
C h i n a
Syria
Afghanistan
Israel
I r a q
Ir a n
J a pa n
Jord an
K uwa it
A lg e ria
L ib y a
Pa kistan
Egypt
Q atar
Taiw an
S audi
Oman
M yanm ar
U.A.E.
(B urm a)
Arabia
S u d a n
I n d i a
Yemen
T hailan d
P hilippine s
T u r k e y
T u r k m e n i s t a n
Vietnam
Ethiopia
Sri
C am bo dia
Lanka
C yprus
Malaysia
Leb anon
S yria
I r a q
I r a n
A f g h a n i s t a n
Israel
Jordan
Indonesia
P a k i s t a n
E g y p t
K u w a it
Ba h rain
LE G E N D :
Q a ta r
O m an
S a u d i
R eported W eapons P rog ram s
A r a b i a
U.A .E .
O m a n
N uclear
C hem ical
S u d a n
B iological
*d oe s no t inclu de pa st N BC W
E r i t r e a
Y e m e n
p ro gram s th at fo rm a lly have
b een end ed .
S ource : Inform a tion based o n pu blic m ed ia an d de fe nse jo urna ls. M ap a dap te d by C R S fro m M a gellan G eog ra ph ix. U sed w ith perm ission.
Notes: The U.S. government has not listed all the countries with NBC weapons programs in unclassified reports, but it has identified some of the
countries. The media, foreign governments, and the academic community have reported others. The total number of nuclear, biological, and
chemical weapon countries is in approximate accord with U.S. government totals, but some of the listed countries may not be the same as those
referred to by the Secretary of Defense, Director of Central Intelligence, or other officials in public reports. There is no attempt here to depict
terrorist organizations’ efforts to acquire WMD.

---

CRS-6
Nuclear Weapon Arsenals and Programs
Five states are considered nuclear weapon states under the Nuclear Non-
Proliferation Treaty (NPT): China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the
United States.7
Three others — Israel, India, and Pakistan — are generally considered to have
nuclear weapons. Israel is said to have produced its first atomic weapon in the late
1960s and may now have between 100 and 200 weapons.8 India and Pakistan tested
nuclear weapons in 1998 and declared their nuclear weapons capability, removing the
shroud of nuclear ambiguity on the subcontinent (India tested a “peaceful nuclear
device” in May 1974). For a long time, North Korea was thought to have one or
possibly two nuclear weapons.9 As part of the 1994 Agreed Framework, North Korea
froze its nuclear program, including operation of two graphite-moderated reactors
and a plutonium reprocessing plant, and construction of two other reactors. In 2002,
the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) assessed that North Korea began to develop
a uranium enrichment program in 2000 and is constructing an enrichment plant,
which could be fully operational by 2005.10 At this time, it is unclear what uranium
enrichment capabilities North Korea might have. In early 2004, an unofficial
delegation from the United States visited Pyongyang and were told that the spent fuel
in storage had been reprocessed, which caused many analysts to update their
assessment of the North Korean nuclear stockpile from 2 to about 8 weapons (the
spent fuel pond contained about enough plutonium for 6 additional weapons).
All of these countries have aircraft that could be used to deliver nuclear weapons
and all have missiles that may now or soon could deliver their nuclear weapons. In
addition, India, Pakistan and Israel all have terrorist groups operating on their
territory and North Korea is on the U.S. Department of State’s list of state sponsors
of terrorism.11
7 See CRS Issue Brief IB10091, Nuclear Nonproliferation Issues. The NPT defines nuclear
weapon states as those testing a nuclear device before January 1967 and therefore has no
provision to admit new nuclear weapon states as parties to the treaty.
8 Avner Cohen, Israel and the Bomb, New York, Columbia University Press, 1998, p. 1;
“Completing the Deterrence Triangle,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Non-
Proliferation Project, v. 3, no. 18, June 29, 2000.
9 U.S. National Intelligence Council, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Global Trends
2015: A Dialogue About the Future with Nongovernment Experts. NIC 2000-02, December
2000, p. 36. The US Department of Defense believes the DPRK produced and diverted
enough plutonium prior to 1992 for at least one nuclear weapon. See Office of the Secretary
of Defense, Proliferation: Threat and Response, January 2001 (hereafter PTR 2001). See
also CRS Issue Brief IB91141, North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Program and CRS Report
RS21391, North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons: How Soon an Arsenal?
10 Unclassified CIA point paper on North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons and Uranium
Enrichment, released to Congress on November 19, 2002.
11 U.S. Department of State, Patterns of Global Terrorism 2001, May 2002, pp. 10, 12, 53.

---

CRS-7
Iraq, Libya, and Iran reportedly have been trying to develop nuclear weapons,
and the year 2003 held quite a few revelations about those programs. The
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which conducted inspections and
disarmament activities in Iraq from 1991 to 1998 and November 2002 to March
2003, judged that Iraq had not reconstituted its nuclear program in any significant
way. Prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom, CIA unclassified estimates judged that Iraq
could produce nuclear weapons within a decade if it had to produce the fissile
material itself, and within a much shorter period if it acquired weapons-usable
material from elsewhere.12 In the time since the war, however, the U.S.-led Iraq
Survey Group has not yet found evidence of a revitalized nuclear weapons program.
Libya reportedly tried to acquire nuclear weapons for 30 years, and most
observers believed it had made little progress. The Bush Administration had been
concerned about enhancement of the Libyan nuclear infrastructure since U.N.
sanctions were suspended in 1999.13 On December 19, 2003, Libya agreed to give
up all its WMD programs, following months of clandestine meetings with U.S. and
British officials. Inspections by U.S., British, and IAEA officials revealed that
Libya’s nuclear procurement had been rather successful, thanks to a nuclear black
market network directed by the Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan, but that Libya
was far from producing a nuclear weapon, even though it received a nuclear weapons
design from the network.14
Perhaps the biggest revelations about nuclear weapons programs in 2003 were
about Iran. Although Iran is a non-nuclear-weapon-state party to the NPT, intensified
inspections in 2003 revealed an array of dual-use capabilities that had not previously
been reported to the IAEA, including centrifuge and laser enrichment capabilities and
facilities, and the separation of a small quantity of plutonium. As a result of the
inspections, Iran agreed on December 18, 2003 to sign the Additional Protocol to its
nuclear safeguards agreement, which allows for enhanced inspections. The IAEA
Board of Governors as of June 2004 had not determined that Iran was in violation of
its NPT obligations but will continue to pursue its investigations. Although it had
pledged to halt all uranium enrichment-related activities in return for a promise of
technical assistance from the European Union, Iran continued to assemble centrifuge
enrichment components.15 The official unclassified U.S. intelligence estimate in
2002 was that Iran did not yet have a weapon.16
12 Tenet, “Post-9/11 Threat,” p. 15. Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) Tenet testified
that “our major near-term concern is the possibility that Saddam might gain access to fissile
material.”
13 John R. Bolton, “Beyond the Axis of Evil.”
14 See CRS Report RS21823, Disarming Libya: Weapons of Mass Destruction.
15 “Iran plans to produce centrifuge parts, says Kharrazi,” BBC Monitoring Middle East,
July 1, 2004. See also CRS Report RS21592, Iran’s Nuclear Program: Recent
Developments.
16 Robert Walpole, CIA, statement for the record, Senate Governmental Affairs Committee,
Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services, March 11,
2002, p. 5.

---

CRS-8
Other governments have relinquished nuclear weapons on their territory
(Belarus, Kazakhstan, Ukraine), dismantled their nuclear weapons (South Africa) or
have abandoned or forsworn nuclear weapon programs (Argentina, Brazil, Germany,
Japan, South Korea, Sweden, and Taiwan). Although sensitive nuclear technology
exports have been controlled by the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) since the mid-
1970s, nuclear technology nonetheless has become increasingly available. The
exposure of a nuclear black market in 2003 and 2004 with connections between the
Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan and Libya, Iran, and North Korea, has led many
observers to propose further controls on nuclear exports. Some of these include a
ban on export of reprocessing and enrichment technology by the NSG, a ban on
development of reprocessing and enrichment by states that don’t already have such
capabilities, a legally binding agreement on export controls, and international
management of reprocessing and enrichment. President Bush proposed, in a speech
on February 11, 2004, to expand his Proliferation Security Initiative to encompass
more than interdicting shipments; it would include shutting down facilities, seizing
materials, and freezing assets.17
Another cause for concern is that the barriers to obtaining low-grade nuclear
material for “dirty bombs” (radioactive as opposed to fissile material) also have been
eroding for the last decade. In the mid-1990s, Chechen rebels and the Aum
Shinrikyo cult tried to acquire and use radioactive materials in terrorist devices.
Although those amounts were small, analysts agree it is feasible for terrorist groups
to use conventional explosives to disperse deadly radioactive material on a wider
scale.18 The number of accounts in the press of individuals trying to buy or sell
nuclear material has greatly increased in the last decade; while most are harmless
scams, it is quite feasible that terrorists look on and learn what not to buy.
Biological Weapon Arsenals and Programs
About a dozen countries have offensive biological weapons (BW) programs.19
Public sources indicate two countries (Iraq and Egypt) are known to have BW, and
several countries are likely to have BW, suspected of having BW, or are seeking BW.
In addition, some sub-national terrorist groups reportedly have tried to develop or
acquire BW. Because much of the material and equipment used to produce BW has
legitimate medical, agricultural, or industrial purposes, and because BW could be
produced covertly in a relatively small facility, other countries or groups may have
undetected BW programs. However, some experts say terrorist groups would have
17 See CRS Report RS21881, Proliferation Security Initiative.
18 See CRS Report RL31332, Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Terrorist Threat. Some
consider radiological devices “weapons of mass disruption” rather than weapons of mass
destruction because the primary effect is fear and panic. Radiological devices do not have
a nuclear yield (fission or fusion); they are simply conventional explosives wrapped around
toxic material.
19 John A. Lauder, Special Assistant for Nonproliferation to the Director of Central
Intelligence, Unclassified Statement to the Commission to Assess the Organization of the
Federal Government to Combat the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, as
prepared for delivery on April 29, 1999, p. 4.

---

CRS-9
difficulty obtaining sufficient materials and know-how to grow, handle, store and
disperse biological agents to have a large-scale lethal effect.20 A small volume of
biological agent or toxin, if properly dispersed, could cause massive casualties in an
unprotected densely populated area. The material could be dispersed from an aircraft
or drone, from submunitions in artillery, rockets, cruise or ballistic missiles, or
disseminated by terrorists. Each of the countries that reportedly has offensive BW
programs has aircraft, artillery, and missiles. During the Gulf War, Iraq had BW
warheads on some of its short-range missiles but apparently did not use those
weapons.
Chemical Weapon Arsenals and Programs
“At least sixteen states ... currently have active chemical weapons (CW)
programs,” according to a cited statement by a CIA official in 1999.21 Public sources
have named 20 countries that were reportedly known or likely to have had chemical
weapons capabilities in the late 1990s. Additional countries and a few terrorist
groups were suspected of having or seeking CW.
Under the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which went into effect in
1997, member countries will have to destroy their stockpiles by 2007. The United
States, Russia, South Korea, and India acknowledged CW inventories. Neither the
United States nor Russia will be able to meet the original deadlines for destruction
of their CW stockpiles, and have been granted extensions to at least 2012. Twelve
countries (including Libya) also reported facilities for the production of CW and have
pledged to destroy them or convert them to civilian uses. Other countries may be
prevented from acquiring precursor materials needed to produce chemical weapons
by export control and monitoring mechanisms. The effect of the CWC has probably
been to reduce the number of parties with chemical weapons and to reduce the
likelihood they will be used. But it is not clear which countries still have CW
programs because the Convention has not been aggressively implemented and there
have been no challenge inspections.22 Several countries that ratified the CWC have
probably terminated their CW programs, but it is suspected that some signatories
(such as Iran and Sudan) and several countries that have not signed the CWC (Egypt,
Israel, North Korea, and Syria) may still be developing or producing CW.
Technology and materials for the production of lethal chemical agents are
available internationally, and production facilities can be concealed, so it is possible
that additional countries and subnational groups may now, or soon, have CW
capabilities. In 1995, the Japanese religious cult Aum Shinrikyo launched attacks in
the Tokyo subway with sarin, a chemical nerve agent. Producers of small quantities
of CW could multiply, but restrictions established under the CWC are expected to
20 Milton Leitenberg, “An Assessment of the Threat of the Use of Biological Weapons or
Biological Agents,” September 18, 2000, paper prepared for the Conference on Biosecurity
and Bioterrorism, Istituto Diplomatico Mario Toscano, Rome, Italy, p. 18.
21 Ibid.
22 Jonathan B. Tucker, “The Chemical Weapons Convention: Has it Enhanced U.S.
Security?” Arms Control Today, April 2001, pp. 8-12.

---

CRS-10
limit large-scale production and stockpiles among CWC states parties.23 The extent
to which the worldwide CW threat decreases or increases in the coming decade
depends in part on how effectively the CWC is implemented.
Chemical agents can be delivered by aircraft, drones, artillery, rocket launchers,
submunitions on cruise or ballistic missiles, dispersion from a chemical reaction or
manual or mechanical release. All but three of the countries that reportedly have had
or have sought chemical weapons also have missiles and other means of delivery.
Several countries reportedly have CW warheads for their missiles.
Missile Arsenals and Programs
Nearly all countries that reportedly have or are seeking nuclear, biological, or
chemical weapons also have ballistic missiles — four do not (Cuba, Sudan,
Myanmar, Thailand).24 About 15 other countries have ballistic missile programs but
no known WMD capability.25 The five established nuclear powers have
intercontinental ballistic missiles or submarine launched ballistic missiles. North
Korea tested a Taep’o-dong 1 with a third stage (as a space launch vehicle) in 1998,
demonstrating a potential ICBM capability.26 In the late 1980s, Saudi Arabia bought
medium-range ballistic missiles (MRBM — 1000-3000 km) from China. Israel,
India, Pakistan, and Iran have MRBMs and may be working to develop intermediate
range ballistic missiles (3000-5500 km) and, perhaps eventually ICBMs with ranges
over 5500 km.27 At least 25 other countries have short-range ballistic missiles with
23 CRS Report RL32158, Chemical Weapons Convention: Issues for Congress.
24 The ballistic missiles referred to in this paper are guided during a portion of their ascent,
then follow a ballistic (unguided and unpowered) trajectory over the remainder of the flight.
Cruise missiles are continually powered by an air-breathing or rocket engine and are
generally guided for their entire flight. Excluded are all air-to-air, surface-to-air, antitank,
anti-ship, and air-to-surface missiles, unguided artillery rockets, and satellite launch
vehicles.
25 Countries with ballistic missiles but no known NBC weapons are: Afghanistan, Argentina,
Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Greece, Netherlands, Romania, Slovakia,
Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. For further discussion
of the missiles held by each country, see CRS Report RL30427, Missile Survey: Ballistic
and Cruise Missiles of Foreign Countries.
26 The CIA estimated in 2001 that if North Korea can make the third stage function properly,
and if it has a reentry vehicle to protect a warhead, it might be able to deliver a small
payload to ICBM range. See CIA, Unclassified Summary, National Intelligence Estimate
of Foreign Missile Development and Ballistic Missile Threats through 2015, December
2001, (hereafter Unclassified NIE Ballistic Missile Threat).
27 Israel produces the Jericho 1 short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) and Jericho 2 MRBM
and is developing the Jericho 3 which various reports describe as an intermediate-range
ballistic missile (IRBM) or an ICBM. Israel also produces space launch vehicles that could
be converted to ballistic missiles, possibly ICBMs. India has developed and tested the Agni
MRBM and space launch vehicles. Pakistan’s Ghauri and Iran’s Shahab 3 are both MRBMs
based on North Korea’s Nodong. Both those countries are developing longer range missiles.
See CRS Report RL30427, Missile Survey.

---

CRS-11
ranges under1000 km. For the last five years, North Korea has been the primary
exporter of missiles and missile technology, but firms in Russia and China continue
to help foreign programs. Organizations in those two countries have supplied
material, components, and technical assistance to Iran, India, Libya, Pakistan, Syria,
and even North Korea.28
Cruise missiles are more widely distributed. About 80 countries possess them,
and 18 countries can manufacture them. Most of these missiles are procured for anti-
ship missions and have ranges below the Missile Technology Control Regime
(MTCR) 300-km threshold. Russia, Ukraine and France have long-range,
sophisticated cruise missiles capable of carrying nuclear weapons. The UK
purchased Tomahawk cruise missiles and is jointly producing the Apache cruise
missile with France. Germany, and possibly China, are developing cruise missiles
at the MTCR limit, and the UK and Italy are developing missiles with ranges below
that.
Table 1. The State of Proliferation
Nuclear
Biological
Chemical
Ballistic
Cruise missiles
Weapons
Weapons
Weapons
Missiles
Capability*
Capability
Capability
(Longest)
Algeria
——a
Research?
Suspected
SRBM
anti-ship
China
NWS
Likelyb
Has Had
ICBM
produce anti-ship
Cuba
——
Reported
——
——
anti-ship
Egypt
——
Known R&D
Likely
SRBM
anti-ship
France
NWS
Ended
Ended
SLBM
produce variety
India
Stockpile c
——
Has Hadd
MRBM
produce variety
Indonesia
——
——
Sought
——
anti-ship
Iran
Seeking
Likely
Has Had e
MRBM
produce anti-ship
Iraq
Ended
Ended f
Ended f
SRBM
produce variety?
Israel
Stockpileg
Likely R&D
Likely
MRBM
produce variety
Kazakhstan
Ended
——
Suspectedh
SRBM
——
(Soviet)
Libya
Ended
— -
Endedi
MRBM
anti-ship
Myanmar
——
——
Suspected
——
——
North Korea
Seeking j
Likely
Known
IRBM
produce anti-ship
Pakistan
Stockpile k
——l
Likely
MRBM
anti-ship
Russia
NWS
Suspected m
Known
ICBM
produce variety
Saudi Arabia
——n
——
Suspected o
MRBM
anti-ship
Serbia
—
—
Known p
South Africa
Ended
Ended
Suspected
Ended
produce anti-ship
South Korea
Ended
——
Suspected
SRBM
anti-ship
Sudan
——
——
Suspectedq ——
——
28 CIA, Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology Relating to
Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Conventional Weapons, 1 July through 31
December 2001 (hereafter CIA ,WMD/ACM Dec 2001); and “Russia Sells Missile
Technology to North Korea,” Washington Times, June 30, 2000.

---

CRS-12
Syria
——
Seeking
Known
SRBM
anti-ship
Taiwan
Ended
— r
Likely
SRBM
produce variety
United Kingdom
NWS
Ended
Ended
SLBM
variety
United States
NWS
Ended
Known
ICBM
produce variety
Vietnam
——
——
Likely
SRBM
anti-ship
*Abbreviations: NWS = declared nuclear weapon state; SRBM = short-range ballistic missile
<1000 km-range; MRBM = 1001-3000 km; IRBM = 3001-5500 km;
ICBM = > 5500 km-range; SLBM = Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile
Notes to Table 1:
a In the early 1990s, a few indicators suggested a clandestine nuclear program using the 15
MWt Es Salam reactor at Ain Oussera and small-scale reprocessing capability. Algeria
joined the NPT in 1995, signed a comprehensive safeguards agreement in 1996 and began
IAEA inspections in 1997. China has provided technical assistance. Joseph Cirincione, with
Jon Wolfsthal and Miriam Rajkumar, Deadly Arsenals, Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace, 2002, pp.299 ff.
b ACDA reported in its 1997 compliance report to Congress that China previously had a
biological weapon (BW) program and that it was highly probable that China remained
noncompliant with obligations under the BW Convention. DoD stated that “...China may
retain elements of its biological warfare program.” Department of Defense, Proliferation:
Threat and Response, January 2001, p. 15 (hereafter PTR 2001).
c India detonated a nuclear device in 1974 and claimed to detonate 5 nuclear devices in
1998 with varying yields. Estimates of its nuclear weapons stockpile vary widely, from 35
(Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, March/April 2002, Vol. 58, No. 2, pp. 70-72) to 100.
d When it became a state party to the Chemical Weapons Convention, India admitted that
it had produced a chemical weapons stockpile, but has since hosted all required CWC
inspections. It retains the capability to produce CW. PRT 2001, p. 25.
e Iran used chemical weapons in 1987 during the Iran-Iraq War and also supplied Libya with
chemical weapons which were later used in Chad. PTR 1997, pp. 15-16. “It is also believed
to be conducting research on nerve agents.” PTR 2001, p. 36.
f Iraq claimed it destroyed its CW and BW stockpiles and none have yet been found. Iraq
used CW against Iran and against its own Kurdish population in the 1980s.
g Although press reports and the academic community generally report that Israel has about
200 nuclear weapons (including thermonuclear weapons), many of which could be deployed
with its missile force, neither the Israeli nor U.S. government has officially acknowledged
their existence.
h Kazakhstan reportedly retained some Soviet-era CW stockpiles.
i Libya used Iranian-supplied chemical weapons in Chad. Libya declared to the OPCW on
March 5, 2004 that it had produced 23 tons of mustard gas at Rabta between 1980 and 1990
and stored those materials at 2 sites. Libya also declared thousands of unfilled munitions.
j Before North Korea pulled out of the NPT, it was widely believed that North Korea had
produced enough plutonium for between one and two weapons. After pulling out of the
NPT in April 2003, North Korea made several statements that it had reprocessed all the

---

CRS-13
spent fuel rods in storage at Yongbyon, which could contain enough plutonium for about 6
more weapons.
k Pakistan detonated several nuclear devices in May 1998. Its stockpile is estimated to be
between 30 and 50 weapons. Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, January/ February 2002, Vol 58,
No. 1, pp 70-71.
l “Pakistan is believed to have the resources and capabilities to support a limited biological
warfare research and development effort,” PTR 2001, p. 28.
m Russia acknowledged it had a clandestine BW program and claims to have stopped
production. However, the U.S. is not assured that Russia is in compliance with the
Biological Weapons Convention.
n There are reports of Saudi interest in funding the Pakistani nuclear programs and reports
of visits by Saudis to Pakistani nuclear facilities. See Shahram Chubin, “Eliminating
Weapons of Mass Destruction: The Persian Gulf Case,” The Henry L. Stimson Center,
March 1997, p. 20; “Saudi Arabia: Weapons of Mass Destruction Capabilities and
Programs,” Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies;
New York Times, July 10, 1999; Reuters, August 3, 1999; New York Times, August 7, 1994.
o There are unconfirmed reports that Saudi Arabia may have developed chemical warheads
for its CSS-2 missiles. NBC Capabilities, Saudi Arabia, Jane’s NBC Defense Systems 1998-
1999. Also, Defense and Foreign Affairs Weekly, April 1991, reported Chinese assistance
to Saudi Arabia in developing chemical warheads. Also, in the Arms Control Reporter as
of March 13, 1991 and May 1992, 704.E-0.10.
PIn April 2000, the former Yugoslavia agreed to adhere to the CWC. See
[http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/world/serbia/cw.htm] for information on its former
stocks.
qSudan “may be interested in a biological weapons program as well.” “Sudan, a party to
the CWC, has been developing the capability to produce chemical weapons for many years.
It historically has obtained help from foreign entities, principally in Iraq.” Director of
Central Intelligence, WMD/ACM Dec 2001.
r The United States believes that Taiwan had been upgrading its biotechnology capabilities,
but the “evidence indicating a BW program is not sufficient to determine if Taiwan is
engaged in activities prohibited by the BWC.” ACDA, Adherence to and Compliance with
Arms Control Agreements: 1997, Annual Report to Congress.

---

CRS-14
Trends Regarding NBC Weapons and Missiles
Despite increasingly available technology, states are not driven inexorably
toward acquiring NBC weapons and missiles, as is apparent in Table 1 (page 12).
Political and economic trends can yield incentives or disincentives for states (and,
perhaps, terrorist organizations) to develop, maintain, or abandon NBC weapon or
missile capabilities. Some developments in the last ten to fifteen years that have
helped shape the international environment for nonproliferation are listed below.
Table 2 shows membership in international control regimes.
Developments
! The risk of a massive exchange of nuclear weapons, and of massive
biological or chemical attacks, has decreased in the last decade. The
reduction of nuclear weapons under START and the Moscow
Treaty, continuing unilateral reductions, and improved safeguarding
of nuclear weapons and materials continue to decrease the risk of
nuclear war in Europe and North America, an accidental launch, and
the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
! But, Russia has thousands of nuclear weapons, a military doctrine
that calls for the use of nuclear weapons to prevent defeat on the
battlefield, and large stockpiles of nuclear, chemical, and biological
weapons material. Several Russian organizations have provided
WMD technology to Iran, North Korea, and other potentially hostile
countries. Russian scientists reportedly have aided other states’
WMD programs.29
! States adopted export controls and joined and strengthened
multilateral control regimes in the 1990s in the areas of nuclear
weapons, missile technology, and chemical weapons. Some
developments were:
! Indefinite extension of the NPT in 1995 and 1998 Additional
Protocol for strengthened nuclear safeguards.
! Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was signed by many countries
and may reduce the likelihood that some additional countries
will develop, test, and deploy nuclear weapons.
! MTCR created (1987), and strengthened and expanded (1993)
to control missile technology.
! Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force (1997),
decreasing the likelihood of large-scale CW production and use.
! But, the future of multilateral arms control appears dim, with no
plans for the United States to approve ratification of the CTBT, no
plans to create a workable verification protocol under the BWC and
29 Tenet, “Post-9/11 Threat,” p.13.

---

CRS-15
no movement forward in fissile material production cutoff
negotiations.
! China joined the NPT and NSG, ratified the CWC, stopped nuclear
tests, halted fissile material production, and signed the CTBT. It
also agreed not to export complete missiles controlled by the MTCR
guidelines (Category I).
! But, China is modernizing its nuclear missile force (though its size
is not expected to approach that of the United States or Russia);
maintains CW and possibly BW stocks and provides missile
technology to Iran, Pakistan, North Korea, and Syria; and adopts a
threatening posture toward Taiwan.30
! North Korea continues to abide by a missile flight test moratorium,
offered to abandon ICBM development in exchange for satellite
launch services, and continues to participate in negotiations (six-
party talks).
! But, North Korea expelled IAEA inspectors in 2002, withdrew from
the NPT in 2003, has been pursuing clandestine uranium enrichment
and reportedly has restarted its plutonium production, including
reprocessing spent fuel rods containing enough plutonium for 6
weapons. It remains unpredictable, has frequently been belligerent,
and is armed with CW, BW, missiles, and, possibly, nuclear
weapons.31
! The number of nuclear weapons, biological weapons and chemical
weapons appears to be declining,
! But, roughly half of the countries with NBC weapon and missile
programs are in the Middle East. The fragile political and security
environment there makes arms control highly desirable but nearly
impossible. A second tier of missile producers are outside the
MTCR, and a nuclear black market appears to be thriving.
! Pakistan and India have renewed talks aimed at reducing tensions in
South Asia and ending conflict in Kashmir. These include nuclear
confidence-building measures and talks on terrorism.
! But, South Asia remains a hotspot for WMD proliferation and
terrorism. Both India and Pakistan are building medium range
missiles, and both probably have chemical weapons. There is still
30 See PTR 2001, p. 14.
31 U.S. National Intelligence Council, CIA. Global Trends 2015: A Dialogue About the
Future with Nongovernment Experts. NIC 2000-02, December 2000, p. 36. South Korea’s
Defense White Paper issued in December 2000 found no change in the North Korean
military threat.

---

CRS-16
no settlement of the Kashmir conflict. According to one observer,
the “potential for miscalculation is frightening.”32 Pakistani
nuclear scientists sold nuclear weapons technology to Libya, Iran,
and North Korea for several years.
! The United States has established several venues for better
cooperation with allies on controlling the transfer of sensitive
technologies, particularly to combat terrorist access. These include
the G-8 Global Partnership, the Proliferation Security Initiative, and
passage of UN Security Resolution 1540.
! But, terrorists are apparently interested in all WMD including
attempting to acquire chemical weapons and possibly biological and
radiological weapons.
32 Vice Admiral Thomas R. Wilson, Director, Defense Intelligence Agency, Statement for
the Record, “Global Threats and Challenges,”(hereafter “Global Threats and Challenges”)
Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, February 6, 2002, p. 7.

---

CRS-17
Table 2. International Commitments
NPT
CWC
BWC
CTBT
NSG
MTCR
IAEA
safeguards
Algeria
R
R
R
R
—
—
All
China
R
R
R
S
P
Pledged
Some*
Cuba
R
R
R
—
—
—
Some
Egypt
R
—
S
S
—
—
All
Ethiopia
R
R
R
S
—
—
All
France
R
R
R
R
P
P
Some*
India
—
R
R
—
—
—
Some
Indonesia
R
R
R
S
—
—
All
Iran
R
R
R
S
—
—
All
Iraq
R
—
R
—
—
—
All
Israel
—
S
—
S
—
Adherent
Some
Kazakhstan
R
R
—
R
—
—
All
Libya
R
R
R
R
—
—
All
Myanmar
R
S
S
S
—
—
All
(Burma)
North Korea
—
—
R
—
—
—
All
(withdrew)
Pakistan
—
R
R
—
—
—
Some
Russia
R
R
R
R
P
P
Some*
Saudi Arabia
R
R
R
—
—
—
—
South Africa
R
R
R
R
P
P
All
South Korea
R
R
R
R
P
P
All
Sudan
R
R
R
R
—
—
All
Syria
R
—
S
—
—
—
All
Taiwan
—
—
R
—
—
—
Some**
Thailand
R
R
R
S
—
—
All
United
R
R
R
R
P
P
Some*
Kingdom
United States
R
R
R
S
P
P
Some*
Vietnam
R
R
R
S
—
—
All
Yugoslavia
R
R
R
R
—
—
All
(Serbia &
Montenegro)
Sources: International Atomic Energy Agency [http://www.iaea.org/Publications/
Documents/Treaties/npt.html]; [http://www.opbw.org] [http://www.opcw.org] [http://www.ctbto.org].
Notes: * The 5 nuclear weapon states have voluntary inspections at some, but not all facilities.
** The IAEA applies safeguards to the nuclear facilities in Taiwan, but recognizes the PRC as the only
government to represent China.
Abbreviations in Table 2
NPT - Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty; CWC - Chemical Weapons Convention; BWC - Biological
Weapons Convention; CTBT - Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; NSG - Nuclear Suppliers Group;

---

CRS-18
MTCR - Missile Technology Control Regime; IAEA safeguards- Inspections of facilities under an
agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Key to Table 2
P - Participant; R -Ratified or acceded; S - Signed but not yet ratified
Pledged - Unilaterally agreed not to export missiles that meet MTCR thresholds
Adherent- Entered an international agreement with the U.S. to abide by MTCR
Proliferation and Risk of Use
Several factors appear to facilitate the spread of dangerous technology to
additional countries and groups. These same factors also might increase the
likelihood that NBC weapons will be used (either militarily or for blackmail):
! Technological developments (in NBC, computer, and production
technology)
! Increasingly free flow of information, people and goods
! Growing disparities in conventional military capabilities
! Growing disparities in strategic defenses
! Continued prestige of nuclear power
! Growing prestige of missile capabilities
! Perceived utility of NBC threats to deter U.S. intervention, and
! Perceived disdain by major powers for certain arms control
agreements and international cooperation on nonproliferation.
Threat assessments are highly debated exercises and necessarily subjective
because they must assess not only technical capabilities (quantity and quality of
weapons and control thereof) but also the intentions of the state or group that
possesses the weapons (including options and thresholds for use). The connection
between the existence of the technology or weapon and risk of use is not always
clear. One school of thought is that the risk of use is directly proportional to the size
of stockpiles or diffusion of technology or material. An opposing view is that the
weapons themselves are manageable on a case-by-case basis.33 In general terms, the
reduction of global and regional tension helps reduce the perceived need for weapons
of mass destruction. Economic and political integration are also thought to reduce
incentives for proliferation. The strong and credible U.S. deterrent capability might
weaken the likelihood that some hostile countries will acquire or use WMD.
Analysts debate whether U.S. development of a National Missile Defense system
would deter the proliferation and use of WMD or would incite further proliferation.
The NBC threat emanating from terrorist groups is even more complicated to
assess. It is generally assumed that terrorist groups will find it easier to cross
thresholds of NBC use than even some rogue states and that they will not adhere to
33 These debates rarely occur about other military equipment because the norms against use
are not so clearly defined. However, the norms against missile use (conventionally armed)
and chemical weapons appear to have eroded slightly in the Middle East. See Missile
Survey, CRS Report RL30427. On the other hand, Iraq did have missiles with biological
and chemical warheads during the Gulf War and did not use them against the US. It is
difficult to know what deterred Saddam Hussein, although some observers believe it was the
veiled threat of nuclear use by President George H.W. Bush.

---

CRS-19
traditional notions of deterrence. President Bush stated in a March 11, 2002 speech,
“Some states that sponsor terror are seeking or already possess weapons of mass
destruction; terrorist groups are hungry for these weapons, and would use them
without a hint of conscience. And we know that these weapons, in the hands of
terrorists, would unleash blackmail and genocide and chaos.”34
The strong connection between the further spread of NBC capabilities to states
and potential availability of technology to terrorists is not new. In the National
Security Strategy for a New Century (2000), the Clinton Administration noted that
the “proliferation of advanced weapons and technologies threatens to provide rogue
states, terrorists and international crime organizations with the means to inflict
terrible damage on the United States, our allies, and U.S. citizens and troops abroad.”
The U.S. Special Representative for Nuclear Nonproliferation remarked to the NPT
Preparatory Committee that:
“The spread of nuclear weapons to additional states not only increases the risk
of nuclear war among nations, but also increases the risk of nuclear terrorism.
The nuclear weapon program of a proliferating state, from the design of a
weapon to its assembly, offers new opportunities for exploitation by terrorists.
New stockpiles of weapons-grade nuclear material present a tempting target.
Nations seeking nuclear weapons who also harbor terrorists represent a
particularly severe threat to the civilized world.”35
On the other hand, analysts debate whether rogue states (or, “axis of evil” states)
themselves plan to use WMD against the United States. Most observers believe that
North Korea and Iran are developing, or trying to develop, NBC weapons and longer-
range missiles reportedly to deter U.S. intervention and to intimidate their neighbors.
Some analysts doubt these countries would overtly attack the United States with
WMD because of the U.S. ability to conduct an overwhelming counterattack. But
others contend NBC weapons might be seen by these countries as useful to limit U.S.
military options and as a weapon of last resort, particularly where regime survival is
at stake. It is certainly not clear whether Saddam Hussein viewed his NBC programs
as useful in limiting U.S. military options.
The United States government works hard to decrease the risk of WMD use, the
spread of such weapons and capabilities, and the U.S. vulnerability to the weapons.
U.S. leadership has been critical for the NPT, the IAEA, the Nuclear Suppliers
Group, Zangger Committee, a fissile material production moratorium, the Chemical
Weapons Convention, Australia Group, Missile Technology Control Regime,
Wassenaar Arrangement, START I, II, and III, North Korea Agreed Framework, and
bilateral efforts with numerous countries to discourage the spread of weapons
technology and the acquisition, deployment, or use of WMD. But various
constituencies have criticized some recent U.S. actions for what they see as
stimulating WMD proliferation: policies such as the development of a national
missile defense; potential development of new nuclear weapons; withdrawing from
34 See [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2002/03/20020311-1.html].
35 Ambassador Norman A. Wulf’s statement to the preparatory committee of the NPT
Review Conference, New York, April 8, 2002.

---

CRS-20
the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty; discussions of regional missile defense systems in
Asia and the Middle East; and refusal to consent to ratification of the Comprehensive
Test Ban Treaty. Some critics are concerned that broader nonproliferation objectives
will fall prey to shorter term goals in the war on terrorism.36 Abroad, observers have
expressed concern that the United States is abandoning its arms control and
nonproliferation leadership and that the U.S. emphasis on freedom of action will
translate into other states seeking the same (e.g., Russia), to the detriment of the
international nonproliferation regime.37
Missile defense advocates argue that a defensive posture is less threatening than
the strategy of nuclear deterrence and vulnerability (mutual assured destruction) that
marked the Cold War approach. Proponents also argue that missile defense
strengthens deterrence and “keeps rogue states from being able to blackmail the
United States, its friends or allies by threatening a missile attack.” Additionally, they
note that missile defense weakens the incentive to develop, test, produce and deploy
missiles by states like Iran and North Korea.38
Trends in Nuclear Weapons
The total number of nuclear warheads in the world will continue to decline over
the next few decades as the United States and Russia reduce their stockpiles, even as
the number of nations with nuclear weapons may increase. The nuclear inventories
of China, India, and Pakistan are small, but all will probably be expanded. There is
no indication that Israel will significantly increase or decrease its alleged nuclear
arsenal in the near future. North Korea’s nuclear weapons stockpile has probably
grown in the last year, and efforts continue to conduct negotiations to halt that
program. The further acquisition of sensitive materials and technology by Iran must
be halted.
Director of Defense Intelligence Vice Admiral Thomas R. Wilson predicted:
We will continue to face strategic nuclear threats — from Russia and
China, and eventually from North Korea and other ‘rogue’ states. While the total
number of warheads targeted against us will be much lower than during the Cold
War, the mix of threat nations, force structures, capabilities, and employment
doctrines will complicate the strategic threat picture. ...
Several rogue states will likely acquire nuclear weapons during the next
decade or so, and some existing nuclear states will undoubtedly increase their
inventories. As these trends unfold, the prospects for limited nuclear weapons
36 See Leonard Weiss, “The Nexus of Counterterrorism and Nonproliferation Policy,” The
Monitor, Winter 2002, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 3-7.
37 Remarks by Therese Delpech, Director, Strategic Affairs, French Atomic Energy
Commission, at Wilson Center forum, April 16, 2002. See also Jayantha Dhanapala, “Arms
Control and Multilateralism: The Problem of Political Will,” presentation to Tenth Annual
International Arms Control Conference — Conundrums in Arms Control: The New
Millennium,” Albuquerque, New Mexico, April 14-16, 2000.
38 Fact Sheet: U.S. State Department on U.S. Nonproliferation Efforts, September 7, 2001.
[http://usinfo.state.gov].

---

CRS-21
use in a regional conflict will rise. So too will the potential for a terrorist or
some other subnational group to acquire and use a weapon.39
Even though Russia will probably continue to reduce its strategic forces below
START II levels because of financial constraints, it will maintain its ability for the
foreseeable future to strike the United States with thousands of warheads.
Unclassified U.S. projections of Russia’s strategic deterrent for 2015 all fall below
2000 deployed nuclear warheads.40 Russia’s strategic forces are designed to deter
nuclear and conventional aggression, but Russia “is prepared to conduct limited
nuclear strikes” to repel an enemy or change the course of battle. An unauthorized
or accidental nuclear launch of a Russian strategic missile is deemed highly
unlikely.41
China plans to improve its strategic nuclear force by developing new mobile
ICBMs, possibly with multiple reentry vehicles carrying nuclear warheads, and
upgraded command, control, and communications. Its small strategic deterrent force
is expected to improve significantly in numbers (to several tens of missiles),
accuracy, reliability, and survivability in the next 20 years.42 According to a DoD
report, China is concentrating on building its political, diplomatic, and economic
power for achieving its national goals and considers its nuclear weapons primarily
a deterrent. But, “If a third party were to intervene militarily in a regional conflict
involving China, the PLA would employ all means necessary in the hope of inflicting
high casualties and weakening the intervening party’s resolve.”43 The National
Intelligence Council judged in 1999 that “an unauthorized launch of a Chinese
strategic missile is highly unlikely.”44 China is also expanding and modernizing its
tactical missile forces, which are likely armed with conventional warheads although
they are capable of delivering NBC warheads.45
India and Pakistan intensified their nuclear rivalry with tests of nuclear weapons
and MRBMs in 1998, and both began to establish doctrine, tactics, and contingency
plans for the use of nuclear weapons. The two countries “narrowly averted a full-
39 Vice Admiral Thomas R. Wilson, Director, Defense Intelligence Agency, “Military
Threats and Security Challenges Through 2015,” (hereafter “Military Threats”) Statement
before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, February 2, 2000, pp. 6, 10.
40 Unclassified NIE Ballistic Missile Threat, 2001, pp. 8 and 9. DIA estimated 1500
warheads by 2010.
41 Ibid.
42 Wilson, “Military Threats.” p. 14.
43 U.S. Department of Defense, “Annual Report to Congress on the Military Power of the
People’s Republic of China,” June 22, 2000, pp. 2 and 7.
44 Global Trends: 2015, 1999 edition, p. 9.
45 Bill Gertz, “Missiles Bolstered Opposite Taiwan,” Washington Times, April 29, 2002.
According to the article, China had fewer than 50 SRBMs on bases near Taiwan in 1996 and
now has more than 350.The additional missiles were reported to be CSS-6 Mod 2s.

---

CRS-22
scale war in Kashmir [in 1999], which could have escalated to the nuclear level.”46
While the nuclear competition between India and Pakistan is dangerous, most
analysts conclude India’s quest for nuclear weapons is driven primarily by its desire
for the status of a major power and by its regional competition with China. In the fall
of 2001, however, riots in Pakistan coupled with reports of senior Pakistani nuclear
scientist ties to the Taliban and rumored U.S. efforts to gain assurances about the
security of Pakistani nuclear weapons all contributed to growing concern about the
safety and security of the Pakistani nuclear arsenal. In May and June of 2002, the
increasingly tense military deployments along the Line of Control in Kashmir raised
the specter of a conventional crisis spiraling out of control and sparking a nuclear
exchange. Nonetheless, Pakistani and Indian leaders initiated talks at the end of 2003
designed to enhance confidence in several areas, including terrorism and nuclear
weapons.
Risks of Nuclear Conflict
The risk of nuclear weapons use can be roughly estimated using such factors as:
! the existence of nuclear weapons and delivery systems in various
countries
! information on the readiness of those weapons for use
(weaponization, deployment, alert status)
! evidence indicating that the conditions for using nuclear weapons in
a country’s strategy and doctrine were close to being met
! the level of conflict between a nuclear-armed state and its
adversary(ies)
! the level of frustration with a long confrontation that was inflicting
heavy casualties, draining national resources and patience, and
challenging the leader’s credibility, even if not threatening national
integrity.
It is possible that as more countries acquire nuclear weapons or expand their
nuclear arsenals, the likelihood they will use nuclear weapons will increase. The
acquisition of nuclear weapons by countries with inadequate command and control
systems, vague strategic doctrine (or aggressive operational doctrine), and poor
intelligence on enemy capabilities and intentions could particularly increase the risk
of nuclear warfare.
Table 3 highlights some key events since the development of nuclear weapons
that analysts use to assess the risk of nuclear warfare. Many national security
analysts agree that the risk of nuclear warfare rose in the early 1950s and probably
peaked during the Cuban Missile Crisis. Tensions remained relatively high through
the 1960s, leading to a high risk of Sino-Soviet confrontation in 1969. The early
1980s saw renewed risk of US-USSR nuclear warfare, but that risk declined
46 George Tenet, Director of Central Intelligence, “The Worldwide Threat in 2000: Global
Realities of Our National Security,” Testimony before the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence, February 2, 2000, pp. 3, 5, and 37.

---

CRS-23
precipitously with Gorbachev’s opening of the USSR. With the addition of new, de
facto nuclear weapon states, new risks have emerged in the Middle East, South Asia,
and on the Korean Peninsula. The clash in Kargil and ongoing Indian and Pakistani
tensions probably present the greatest risk of nuclear war since the end of the Cold
War.
Several European and Canadian defense experts expressed the view in 2000
that the threat of nuclear war has diminished substantially over the past decade and
their feeling of safety has increased.47 Views that the threat has diminished may
reflect the probability that a future nuclear war is more likely to occur in Asia or the
Middle East.
Although the nuclear arsenals of China, India, and Pakistan are now considered
primarily to be deterrent forces, some analysts are concerned these countries may be
adopting doctrine calling for the tactical use of nuclear weapons under dire
circumstances in regional conflicts. Others worry that the very existence of nuclear
weapons in the arsenals of antagonist countries raises the probability of nuclear war
through miscalculation or desperation, if not in response to national doctrine. Other
analysts contend the possession of nuclear weapons by one country in a conflict is
likely to deter other countries from using their own nuclear weapons or, generally,
attempting to conquer the nuclear-armed country.48 The tense situation along the
Line of Control in Kashmir has generated significant media coverage about what
might trigger a nuclear war in South Asia.49
In addition, the fact that a future nuclear attack may consist of a small number
of detonations rather than a catastrophic exchange of hundreds or thousands of
nuclear warheads may lead some to feel the threat is reduced. Other observers regard
any developments that make nuclear weapons more usable (i.e., smaller yields, less
radiation fallout, or tailored for specific missions) as potentially destabilizing. This
perspective underlined much of the recent criticism of leaks surrounding the new
U.S. Nuclear Posture Review. A resumption of nuclear testing would probably also
be viewed by observers in that camp as destabilizing.

47 The Ottawa Citizen, August 25, 2000, cited in the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization
External Affairs Digest, August 31, 2000; Carnegie Endowment for International Peace,
“Why U.S. Allies Do Not See a Missile Threat,” September 21, 2000.
48 For further discussion of deterrence, see CRS Report RL30623, Nuclear Weapons and
Ballistic Missile Proliferation in India and Pakistan; and “Israel’s Nuclear History,” Jane’s
Intelligence Review, July 2000, p. 14. See also Jones, Rodney, “Minimum Nuclear
Deterrence Postures in South Asia: An Overview, Final Report, October 1, 2001, prepared
for the Defense Threat Reduction Agency.
49 See CRS Report RS21237, Indian and Pakistani Nuclear Weapons Status.

---

CRS-24
Table 3: Key Nuclear-Relevant Events
Strategic Conflict
Strategic Cooperation
Regional conflict
Regional Cooperation
1940s
45: Hiroshima, Nagasaki
48: East Europe under USSR
49: USSR atomic test
1950s
50-53:Korean War
54/5: Formosa Crisis
53: Russian H bomb test; US tactical nukes
56: Mideast war
to Europe
56: Hungary uprising
1960s
61: Berlin
63: Hotline
62: Indo-China border war
63: Limited Test Ban Treaty
62: Cuban Missile Crisis
64: China Nuclear test
67: Treaty of Tlatelolco signed
63: Berlin
65: Indo-Pakistani conflict
(banning nuclear weapons in
68: Prague spring
68: Tet offensive
Latin America)
69: Sino-Soviet border clash
68: NPT signed
1970s
77: SS-20s deployed
71: Risk Reduction Measures*
73: Mideast War
72: Hotline between military
79: USSR invades Afghanistan
72: ABM Treaty
74: Indian Atomic Test
commanders of India & Pakistan
73: Prevention of Nuclear War
74: Nuclear Suppliers’ Group
1980s
81: Martial law in Poland
85/6: Gorbachev
80-8: Iran-Iraq War
89: Hotline established between
83:Pershing-2s deployed
87: INF Treaty
87: Operation Brass Tacks (India,
prime ministers of India &
KAL007 shot down
88: Ballistic missile launch
Pakistan)
Pakistan
notification
89: Berlin wall falls
1990s
90: Germany reunified
91: Gulf War
91: India & Pakistan agree to not
91: Nunn-Lugar program begun
92: NKorea crisis begins
attack each other’s nuclear
93: START II signed
98: India, Pak test nuclear devices
facilities; regular use of a hotline;
98: NK, Pak, India, Iran test missiles
pre-notification of troop
99: Kargil
movements.
94: Agreed Framework w/ Nkorea
99: Lahore Agreement (India-
Pakistan)
2000s
02: Strategic arms reduction
01: Kashmir
00: Talks between North and
agreement between US & Russia
02: Kashmir; India and Pakistan test
South Korea
missiles
02: India affirms no-first-use of
nuclear weapons
Note: * = Agreement on Measures to Reduce the Risk of Outbreak of Nuclear War Between US and USSR

---

CRS-25
Trends in Biological and Chemical Weapons
The entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention and establishment
of the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons reduced international
transfers of weapons materials and equipment and brought about the destruction of
CW stocks. Several countries that were thought to have CW have joined the
Convention and accepted the requirement to destroy their CW stockpiles. The
probability of large-scale CW attack could decline as these stocks are destroyed,
especially if restrictions on CW development and trade are enforced. And yet,
chemical weapons remain in the arsenals of some aggressive countries — and
possibly some terrorist groups — and trade in CW ingredients continues.

The negotiating members of the Biological Weapons Convention developed a
draft protocol to establish measures to verify the legitimate activities of
biotechnology plants around the world. But the United States found the safeguards
insufficient and too intrusive. The covert development of biological weapons,
especially in non-member states, remains hard to detect; the use of BW is hard to
defend against; and a BW attack could cause enormous casualties or destruction of
crops. International trade in BW material, equipment, and technology remains a
concern. In the coming decades, as biotechnology makes further advances and
international flows of information, people, and goods continue to grow, the threat of
BW warfare may also increase.
Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Vice Admiral Wilson noted
biological and chemical weapons are relatively easy to develop, hide, and deploy and
said, “I expect these weapons to be widely proliferated, and they could be used in a
regional conflict over the next 15 years. I am also concerned that sub-national groups
or individuals will use chemical or biological agents in a terrorist or insurgent
operation.”50 In 1999, the General Accounting Office criticized the Clinton
Administration for not having developed a comprehensive assessment of the
domestic and international threat of CW and BW attacks by terrorists. It reported
that, even without sophisticated knowledge or dissemination methods, terrorists could
attack with toxic industrial chemicals such as chlorine. But, GAO judged,
terrorists would need a relatively high sophistication to successfully cause mass
casualties with some other chemical and most biological agents. Specialized
knowledge would be needed to acquire the right biological agent or precursor
chemicals, process the chemical or biological agent, improvise a weapon or
device, and effectively disseminate the agent to cause mass casualties.51
50 Wilson, “Military Threats.” p. 10.
51 U.S. General Accounting Office. Combating Terrorism: Need for Comprehensive Threat
and Risk Assessments of Chemical and Biological Attacks, GAO/NSIAD-99-163, September
1999, pp. 2-3.

---

CRS-26
As Jonathan Tucker noted, the fact that large cities are quite vulnerable to terrorist
CW and BW attacks does not demonstrate an existing threat from such terrorist
attacks.52
The Central Intelligence Agency has identified several dangerous trends:53
! Developments in biotechnology, including genetic engineering, may
produce a wide variety of live agents and toxins that are difficult to
detect and counter; and new CW agents and mixtures of CW and
BW agents are being developed.
! Some countries, such as Iran, are becoming self-sufficient in
producing CW and BW agents and less dependent on imports.
! Countries are using the natural overlap between weapons and
civilian applications of chemical and biological materials to conceal
CW and BW production; controlling exports of dual-use technology
is ever more difficult.
! Countries with CW and BW capabilities are acquiring sophisticated
delivery systems including cruise and ballistic missiles.
! Scientists with experience in CW and BW production continue to
leave countries of the former Soviet Union.
! About one dozen terrorist groups have sought CW, BW, and nuclear
material or expressed interest in them; several countries with CW
and BW capabilities have sponsored terrorists.
Trends in Missiles
There are conflicting trends in the area of missile threats to the United States and
U.S. interests — several developments tend to alleviate concern but several others
cause concern. On the positive side:
! The Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) has added many
new partners, growing from 7 to 33. In 1993 it added a catch-all
clause. China and Israel agreed to abide by some MTCR guidelines.
! In 2002, 92 countries signed an International Code of Conduct to
control missile trade.
52 Jonathan B. Tucker, Toxic Terror: Assessing Terrorist Use of Chemical and Biological
Weapons, Monterey Institute of International Studies, Cambridge, Massachusetts, MIT
Press, 2000, p. 1.
53 John A. Lauder, Special Assistant for Nonproliferation to the Director of Central
Intelligence, Unclassified Statement to the Commission to Assess the Organization of the
Federal Government to Combat the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, as
prepared for delivery on April 29, 1999, p. 4 and 5.

---

CRS-27
! Since September 1999, North Korea has suspended long-range
missile tests. In July 2000, media reported Kim Jong-Il suggesting
North Korea would abandon its long-range missile program in
exchange for international assistance in launching North Korean
satellites.54 Despite a deterioration in U.S.-North Korean relations
on nuclear issues, North Korea has adhered to the missile test
moratorium.
! The United States signed a memorandum of understanding with
Israel strengthening the U.S. commitment to help against WMD and
long range missile attacks, to enhance Israeli defensive and deterrent
capabilities, and to upgrade bilateral military and technological
cooperation.
! The United States successfully tested its National Missile Defense,
Theater High Altitude Area Defense, and Patriot PAC-3 although it
also had several unsuccessful tests. Israel and Taiwan also tested
theater missile defense systems.
Several other developments in the area of missile proliferation were more
ominous:
! In August 1998, North Korea tested a three-stage space launch
vehicle/missile that demonstrated the potential to deliver a small
warhead over 5,000 km; it tested rocket engine motors in mid-2001.
North Korea exported missiles and production technology for Scud-
variants, including the Nodong, a single-stage MRBM. Buyers
included Iran, Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, Vietnam, and Libya. Iran and
Pakistan each tested medium-range ballistic missiles reportedly
based on the Nodong and both are developing longer range missiles.
! In April 1999, South Korea tested a missile believed to be capable
of traveling 300 km or more, contravening a 1972 US-South Korean
agreement that Seoul would not build missiles with a range greater
than 180 km. The US negotiated a new agreement, under which
Seoul can build missiles up to the MTCR threshold (300 km range,
500 kg. warhead). South Korea also plans to build satellite launch
vehicles and a launch facility.
! India announced its intention to produce the Agni MRBM, test fired
an Agni II which is to have a range of between 2,000 and 3,000 km,
and is developing longer range missiles.
! Numerous Russian firms and institutions have reportedly supplied
missile technology to foreign countries including Iran and North
Korea. Russia test fired several of its existing missiles and deployed
54 Washington Post, July 20, 2000.

---

CRS-28
a second regiment of Topol-M intercontinental range ballistic
missiles ( ICBM)s.
! China remains formally outside the MTCR. According to the CIA,
China has supplied additional missile technology to Pakistan, Iran,
North Korea, Libya, and other countries. It also appears to have
deployed as many as 350 SRBMs to areas near the Taiwan Strait,
continues to threaten Taiwan, and test-fired a new mobile strategic
missile, the DF-31.55
! Taiwan is reportedly considering an offensive missile force to deter
and counter China’s missiles.
! A French-British firm let a contract to the United Arab Emirates for
Black Shahine land attack cruise missiles (although no technology
has yet been transferred) and the US sold ATACMs to Bahrain.
There is a range of views on the gravity of the missile threat to the United States.
Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stated in June 2001 that “The number of
ballistic missiles, and the number of countries possessing them, is growing as well.
The existence of this threat is not debatable. It is real.”56 Lieutenant General Ronald
Kadish, Director of the Missile Defense Agency, stated in March 2004 that “Ballistic
missiles armed with any type warhead would give our adversaries the capability to
threaten or inflict catastrophic damage.57
At the other end of the spectrum are critics such as Joseph Cirincione, of the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who argues that there are “many fewer
ballistic missiles in the world than 15 years ago, fewer nations trying to develop
them, and only four potentially hostile nations trying to develop long-range
versions.”58 He noted that “China is the only potentially hostile nation with both
ballistic missiles that can reach the United States and the nuclear warheads to put on
them.”
The devil is in the details of how threats are estimated and whether one focuses
just on long-range ballistic missiles or ballistic and cruise missiles of all ranges.59
55 Bill Gertz, “Missiles Bolstered Opposite Taiwan,” Washington Times, April 29, 2002.
56 Donald Rumsfeld, Secretary of Defense, “Toward 21st Century Deterrence,” Wall Street
Journal, June 27, 2001.
57 Lt. Gen. Ronald T. Kadish, testimony before the House Armed Services Committee,
Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, March 25, 2004.
58 Joseph Cirincione, “A Much Less Explosive Trend,” Washington Post, March 10, 2002,
p. B3.
59 DCI Tenet, in the question and answer session of hearing before the Senate Armed
Services Committee on March 19, 2002 on the Worldwide Threat, stated that “one thing
that’s the wild card in all of this all the time in these estimates is the pace of technology and
the pace of foreign assistance [which]continually surprise us.” March 19, 2002. Tenet
(continued...)

---

CRS-29
The CIA’s National Intelligence Council’s 2001 unclassified summary of a national
intelligence estimate on foreign missile threats, mandated by Congress, stated that
“before 2015 the United States most likely will face ICBM threats from North Korea
and Iran, and possibly from Iraq, — barring significant changes in their political
orientations — in addition to the longstanding missile forces of Russia and China.
One agency assesses that the United States is unlikely to face an ICBM threat from
Iran before 2015.”60 It elaborated that North Korea could convert its Taep’o-dong 1
space launch vehicle into an ICBM capable of reaching parts of the United States
with a light CW/BW payload and could test the more powerful Taep’o-dong 2 at any
time (rather than within five years as often stated in the press) which could deliver
a large payload anywhere in the United States. Although the DPRK continued to
observe its flight testing moratorium, the intelligence community assumed
development had continued.”61 Iran was said to be able to build an ICBM with
Russian help and test it between 2005 and 2010, or it could build a Taep’o-dong type
ICBM, possibly with North Korean help in the next few years.62
Some analysts have questioned the sophistication of North Korea’s missile
program and the likely progress in Iran’s missile program.63 In particular, the
Carnegie Endowment’s Cirincione took issue with the Rumsfeld report’s assertion
that new nations could deploy ICBMs with little or no warning, calling it “somewhat
hysterical.”64 The great emphasis on the long-range missile threat and efforts to
defend against that potential threat, in the view of some analysts, detracts from the
more likely threats to U.S. security posed by terrorists armed with WMD, by foreign
ships in U.S. ports, or by short-range ballistic or cruise missiles launched from ships
59 (...continued)
suggested, however, that in the ballistic missile area, “things happen a lot faster than
estimates sometimes predict.”
60 Unclassified NIE Ballistic Missile Threat, 2001, p. 4.
61 Ibid., p. 11. A 1999 estimate noted that North Korea would require an operable third stage
and a survivable reentry vehicle, which had not yet been observed, to produce an ICBM.
The 2001 estimate is more optimistic, noting that a two-stage Taepo Dong-2 would be able
to strike some parts of the continental US with a small payload. The Commission to Assess
the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States (Rumsfeld Commission) concluded North
Korea and Iran could “inflict major destruction on the U.S. within about five years of a
decision to acquire such a [ballistic missile] capability (10 years in the case of Iraq).” Many
interpreted that statement to indicate the threat would materialize in 2004, but North Korea
could have made the decision some years ago and be much closer to the capability. The
Clinton Administration subsequently reported it would not be able to deploy a national
missile defense before 2005 and that became the target date for meeting a developing North
Korean threat even though Pyongyang tested the Taep’o-dong 1 in August 1998 and was
expected to test the Taep’o-dong 2 in 1999 or 2000.
62 Ibid., p. 8
63 For example, engine failures have plagued test launches of the Iranian Shahab-3, most
recently in January 2002.
64 “The Ballistic Missile Threat Evolves,” by Joseph Cirincione, Carnegie Endowment for
International Peace, Non-Proliferation Project Issue Brief, vol. II, no. 13, Sept. 10, 1999.
Comments on the 1999 intelligence estimate and on the report of the Commission to Assess
the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States.

---

CRS-30
stationed off the U.S. coasts. Prior to September 11th, the intelligence community
found the threat of shipborne missile attack to be remote, and former Secretary of
Defense Cohen noted, “To say that we can’t protect against everything [e.g., all
possible terrorist attacks] doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t protect against those that
can cause us catastrophic harm.”65
There is less controversy over the threat of missiles that can attack U.S. forces
overseas and U.S. allies. Over the past few years, the number of countries with short
range ballistic missiles (SRBMs) has grown — Scud missiles and basic missile
production technology are widely available. A 2002 U.S. intelligence community
assessment stated that “the probability that a missile with a weapon of mass
destruction will be used against US forces or interests is higher today than during
most of the Cold War, and will continue to grow as the capabilities of potential
adversaries mature.”66
Another concern is the improvements and new designs being made by China,
North Korea, Iran, Syria, India, and Pakistan. These countries are improving the
range and accuracy of their missiles. Technologies to watch for include stage
separation, multiple warheads, submunitions, improved guidance, and penetration
aids.
North Korea has about 500 Scuds and 100 Nodong missiles and has exported
hundreds of missiles to the Middle East.67 Israel, India, and North Korea have
developed multistage missiles, a key step in building intercontinental missiles.
Pakistan and Iran may soon test two or three stage missiles. Vice Admiral Wilson
said that he expects “the number of ballistic missiles with ranges between 500 and
3,000 kilometers to increase significantly during the next 15 years and to become
more accurate and destructive. Likewise, the potential for widespread proliferation
of land attack cruise missiles is high. ... Major air and sea ports, logistics bases and
facilities, troop concentrations, and fixed communications nodes will be increasingly
at risk.”68 The Director of Central Intelligence has further noted that the new
medium-range missiles are “significantly altering strategic balances in the Middle
East and Asia.”69
65 Elaine Sciolino and Steven Lee Myers, “U.S. Study Reopens Division Over Nuclear
Missile Threat,” New York Times, July 5, 2000, p.1.
66 Robert Walpole, CIA. March 11, 2002 Statement for the Record before the Senate
Government Affairs Committee. The assessment further noted, however, that U.S. territory
is more likely to be attacked with chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear materials
from nonmissile delivery means — most likely by terrorists. This is because, according to
the assessment, “nonmissile delivery means are less costly, easier to acquire, and more
reliable and accurate.”
67 General Thomas Schwartz, U.S. Army, Commander of United Nations Command and
ROK/U.S. Combined Forces Command, Testimony before the Senate Armed Services
Committee, March 7, 2000.
68 Wilson, “Military Threats.” p. 11.
69 George Tenet, Director of Central Intelligence, “The Worldwide Threat in 2000: Global
(continued...)

---

CRS-31
Another dangerous trend is the spread of production technology, as North Korea,
China, and various groups in Russia have helped other countries design, test, and
produce their own missiles. With their help, Pakistan and Iran test fired medium-
range ballistic missiles in April and July 1998 respectively. The Russian and Chinese
governments have promised to restrict missile technology exports, but it is not yet
clear they will be able to do so or are committed to the effort. While North Korea is
voluntarily abstaining from missile flight tests, it has not agreed to limit missile
developments, deployments, or exports. Even Iran, Libya, and Egypt have been
identified as sources of missiles or some missile production technology.
In the case of cruise missiles, production technology is even more widespread.
Of the 81 countries possessing such missiles, only 18 now produce them, but 22
additional countries have emerging manufacturing capabilities.70 Many production
technologies, like sensors and flight controls, are becoming or are already available
commercially. Satellite-assisted guidance technology (Global Positioning System)
has improved accuracy. The widespread use of unmanned aerial vehicles in the war
on terrorism in Afghanistan has been hailed by some as the coming of age of
remotely piloted vehicle technology. While much of the technology associated with
cruise missiles is controlled under MTCR guidelines, the sophistication of what is
available commercially is growing by leaps and bounds.
Prospects and Assessments
As the potential scale of NBC warfare declines, the number of countries or
groups that could initiate a nuclear, biological, or chemical attack may be rising. The
number of countries with missiles is increasing, and countries have frequently used
missiles in combat or as a tool of intimidation. The zone of particular concern
spreads from North Africa across the Middle East, through South Asia to Northeast
Asia. Within this band of countries, Israel, India, Pakistan, and China reportedly
have nuclear weapons and are working to improve their warheads and delivery
systems. North Korea may have nuclear weapons and Iran, Iraq, and Libya are said
to be trying to develop nuclear weapons. Chemical weapon and missile development
programs are rife in this zone, and several of the countries are reportedly developing
biological weapons.
According to DIA Director Wilson, “New alliances have formed, providing
pooled resources for developing these capabilities, while technological advances and
global economic conditions have made it easier to transfer materiel and expertise.”71
Russia supplies Iran with civilian nuclear, biological, and chemical technologies that
enhance Iran’s weapons programs. In the past, China has supplied nuclear weapons
69 (...continued)
Realities of Our National Security,” Testimony before the Senate Select Committee on
Intelligence, February 2, 2000, p. 5.
70 Christopher Bolkcom, Statement before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee,
Subcommittee on International Security, Proliferation, and Federal Services, June 11, 2002,
p. 18.
71 Wilson, “Global Threats and Challenges.” p. 7.

---

CRS-32
technology to Pakistan and CW production equipment to Iran but has apparently
improved its export control policies in recent years.72 North Korea, China, and
Russia continue to be primary suppliers of missile technology. Some countries in the
Middle East have acquired the means to produce and develop missiles and are
potential or actual suppliers to less advanced countries. According to former DCI
Tenet, “...it’s important to focus on the totality of what’s going on, it’s the
combination of the Russian assistance, the Chinese assistance, the North Korean
assistance that allows people to mix and match, create an indigenous capability that
then threatens us that becomes available for secondary proliferation.”73
Five years ago, a former head of CIA’s Nonproliferation Center concluded that
the United States and its allies were not on top of the NBC proliferation problem,
“We are not even staying even. We are slipping.”74 Two years ago, Vice Admiral
Wilson reported to Congress that “All told, the prospects of limiting proliferation are
slim, and the global WMD threat to US-allied territory, interests, forces, and facilities
will increase significantly.”75 In February 2002, Vice Admiral Wilson told the Senate
Select Committee on Intelligence that “The rapid pace of technology development
is creating more, and more exposed, technological vulnerabilities in advanced states.
Meanwhile, the globalization of technology and information — especially regarding
WMD and advanced conventional weapons — will increasingly accord smaller
states, groups, and individuals access to destructive capabilities previously limited
to major world powers. Massive destructive technologies in the hands of ‘evil doers’
is my worst fear.”76
Most observers readily agree that nonproliferation policies aim to slow WMD
programs until states are persuaded that WMD are not in their national security
interest. Bush Administration officials have called the mix of arms control and
nonproliferation regimes, export controls and diplomatic overtures “passive measures
to stem proliferation” and called for more aggressive actions to expose, sanction, and
prosecute proliferators, middlemen, and weapons brokers.77 Regardless of whether
the threat of terrorist acquisition of WMD materializes, additional attention to the
problem of proliferation may help buy time for effective policies to work.
72 CIA, WMD/ACM 1999, pp. 9 and 10.
73 DCI Tenet statement during question and answer session of Senate Armed Services
Committee hearing on the Worldwide Threat, March 19, 2002.
74 Gordon C. Oehler, Conference on Countering Chemical and Biological Weapons: The
Threat. Jane’s Information Group, Nov. 19, 1997.
75 Wilson, “Military Threats.” p. 10.
76 Wilson, “Global Threats and Challenges.” pp. 10-11.
77 John R. Bolton, “Beyond the Axis of Evil.”

---