Combating WMD Terrorism: The Short-Sighted US-led Multilateral Response

The Bush administration's strong preference for seemingly more flexible initiatives, involving a select group of countries, and limiting the size of international bureaucracies, which has resulted in three US-driven multilateral initiatives to address the threat of WMD-terrorism - the Proliferation Security Initiative, the G-8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons of Mass Destruction, and United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 and the committee and group of experts it established - has produced mixed results so far. Although it helped to ensure a more rapid initial response to WMD terrorism, such an approach has also impeded efforts to build and sustain global support to respond to that threat.

Published also as: "The global challenge of WMD terrorism: evaluating the threat and US-led multilateral responses", in Natalino Ronzitti (ed.), Coordinating Global and Regional Efforts to Combat WMD Terrorism, Roma, IAI, March 2009, p. 11-42 (IAI Quaderni English series 15).