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Call made for international specialists to thwart potential threats

WASHINGTON, DC – 09/29/06 – A US State Department terrorism expert says the US must work with its international partners to reduce the risk that terrorists will use container ships to carry weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

With aviation security an area of primary focus, terrorists “may seek to slip a weapon of mass destruction into a container ship headed for one of our ports and then onto the streets of our cities,” according to Thomas Lehrman, director of the State Department’s Office of Weapons of Mass Destruction Terrorism.

Speaking at the recent Maritime Security Expo in New York, Lehrman said terrorists are adapting to existing defenses. 

For this reason, “international coordination among specialists in weapons design, transportation and international finance is needed to prevent illegal shipments of WMD,” he said.

Because terrorists’ access to chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological weapons poses such a grave threat, he said, the US is determined to work with foreign government and private-sector partners to strengthen “national and collective defenses against this pre-eminent threat.” 

Defending the US and its international partners against a potential covert nuclear or biological terrorist attack presents many operational and technical challenges, he said.

“Since we cannot afford to fail in this mission, we must embrace a strategic approach capable of reducing this risk to its absolute minimum,” Lehrman added.

The official discussed how the US and its partners must develop “a layered defense-in-depth” because no single layer, or capability, can provide enough protection against “a determined and adaptable terrorist adversary.” 

Lehrman went on to emphasize the “critical importance” of public-private partnerships in an era when more than 90% of global trade in goods is transported in containers through the maritime supply chain, making ports and related infrastructure “an inviting target.”

The ability to detect illicit and terrorist activity quickly is critical if governments are to “accelerate the appropriate enforcement response,” he said, inviting private-sector entities to come up with new ways to protect the maritime supply chain.

Illicit WMD traffickers such as A.Q. Khan have used the maritime supply chain to transport WMD materials and delivery systems, he said, making the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) an important effort to confront this threat. 

With more than 75 nations supporting PSI, Lehrman said more than 30 high-risk shipments have been stopped, including centrifuge parts en route to Libya. 

The official also called for more research and development of technologies that can help secure maritime supply chains and facilitate “real-time sharing of information among and between international partners.” 

Thwarting the next terrorist attack might well depend on rapid information-sharing with foreign government and/or private-sector partners, he said.

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