Applauding the Senate’s Vote on the CWC

JINSA is gratified that on Thursday, the Senate wisely chose not to ratify the flawed Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which proposed to outlaw chemical weapons and their production. For more than a year, JINSA has written on the subject of the treaty, pointing out a number of faults that would have made ratification a danger to the United States and, by extension, Israel. Our work has been seen in Security Affairs as well as in The Washington Post. JINSA circulated information on Capitol Hill and we have been a source for the press.

JINSA is gratified that on Thursday, the Senate wisely chose not to ratify the flawed Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which proposed to outlaw chemical weapons and their production. For more than a year, JINSA has written on the subject of the treaty, pointing out a number of faults that would have made ratification a danger to the United States and, by extension, Israel. Our work has been seen in Security Affairs as well as in The Washington Post. JINSA circulated information on Capitol Hill and we have been a source for the press. To the best of our knowledge, we are the only Jewish organization to have an early and sustained interest in the CWC and in defenses against chemical attack. The primary flaws in the treat are:

1. Countries cheat. The experience of Iraq’s non-compliance with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is but one example that it is possible for countries to be signatories to international accords to limit non-conventional weapons and then acquire them in secret. Those countries that are the most dangerous are also the most likely to cheat.

2. The list of chemical precursor materials is limited to only those agents currently known and there is no mechanism for extending coverage to new agents which would not be covered by the treaty.

3. The treaty contains no sanctions or penalties for violations.

The United States is legally committed to giving up its chemical arsenal by the year 2004. We believe this is appropriate. However, in light of the ongoing chemical and biological programs being carried out in rogue countries, proliferating countries and hostile countries – chemical weapons programs being notoriously easy to hide – we have advocated continuing to fund America’s chemical defenses.
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Shoshana Bryen, Director of Special Projects, was quoted in the The Forward in opposition to the “Contract with Women of the USA,” a follow-on to the Beijing Women’s Conference. The “Contract” – endorsed by at least two Jewish women’s organizations, called on women to oppose American defense spending and work for “peace.” Shoshana noted that the problem was less in what the United States does than in the threats posed to America and our allies by Iran, Iraq and other hostile countries. She said that as a Life Member of one of the endorsing organizations, she believed it was inappropriate for organizations representing memberships to take positions outside their areas of expertise.