John Bolton: We must keep WMD out of terrorist hands

From a speech by the US Under Secretary of State for Arms Control to the Bruges Group in London

To roll back the proliferation activities of the rogue states, and to ensure that WMD is not passed on to terrorist groups, the United States is employing a variety of methods, including multilateral agreements, diplomacy, arms control, threat reduction assistance and export control aid. Most importantly, we and our partners in the international community must maintain an unvarnished assessment of the proliferators, and disrupt their supply of sensitive goods and technology.

Where we cannot convince a state to stop proliferant behaviour, or where items are shipped despite our best efforts to control them, we also have the option of interdicting shipments. Interdiction involves identifying an imminent shipment or transfer and working to stop it.

One of our newest and most promising counterproliferation initiatives, the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), was announced by President Bush on 31 May. An essential component of US counterproliferation strategy is to work with other concerned states to develop new means to disrupt the proliferation trade at sea, in the air, and on land. The US and 10 close allies and friends - Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, and the UK - have worked to create a more dynamic, creative, and robust approach to preventing WMD, missiles, and related technologies flowing to and from countries of proliferation concern.

Each of our initiatives moves us closer to a more secure world where we are able not only to prevent the spread of WMD, but also to "roll back" and ultimately eliminate such weapons from the arsenals of rogue states and ensure that the terrorist groups they sponsor do not acquire a shortcut to their deadly designs against us.