Debaters: Nuclear Proliferation Single Most Serious Threat

CORAL GABLES, Florida, October 1, 2004 (ENS) - Last night, the divergent positions of President George W. Bush and Senator John Kerry on nuclear proliferation and global warming were showcased during the first of three debates between the candidates for the country's top office. The debate topic was foreign affairs and homeland security.

The single most serious threat to the national security of the United States is "nuclear proliferation," said Kerry in response to a question by moderator Jim Lehrer of PBS TV.

"Nuclear proliferation," Kerry repeated. "There's some 600 plus tons of unsecured material still in the former Soviet Union and Russia. At the rate that the President is currently securing it, it'll take 13 years to get it."

Kerry said that his 1997 book "The New War: The Web of Crime That Threatens America's Security," detailed back then "the difficulties of this international criminal network."

"We intercepted a suitcase in a Middle Eastern country with nuclear materials in it. And the black market sale price was about $250 million. Now, there are terrorists trying to get their hands on that stuff today," Kerry said.

Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts (left) and President George W. Bush shake hands before the debate at the University of Miami (Photo by Sharon Farmer courtesy Kerry campaign)

Kerry accused Bush of cutting the funding needed to secure nuclear materials and instead spending "hundreds of millions of dollars to research bunker-busting nuclear weapons."

"The United States is pursuing a new set of nuclear weapons. It doesn't make sense," said the Democratic challenger.

"You talk about mixed messages," Kerry said, referring to Bush's repeated criticism of his position on the Iraq war, "We're telling other people, 'You can't have nuclear weapons,' but we're pursuing a new nuclear weapon that we might even contemplate using."

"Not this President," said Kerry, envisioning himself in the White House. "I'm going to shut that program down, and we're going to make it clear to the world we're serious about containing nuclear proliferation."

He promised to contain all of the nuclear material in Russia in four years and to "build the strongest international network to prevent nuclear proliferation."

"This is the scale of what President [John F.] Kennedy set out to do with the nuclear test ban treaty. It's our generation's equivalent. And I intend to get it done," Kerry said.

In rebuttal, President Bush said that his administration had actually "increased funding for dealing with nuclear proliferation about 35 percent since I've been the President."

President George W. Bush, the Republican nominee, in debate at the University of Miami (Photo courtesy Commission on Presidential Debates)

Bush explained that his administration started the Proliferation Security Initiative. "Over 60 nations involved with disrupting the trans-shipment of information and/or weapons of mass destruction materials," said the President.

"And we've been effective. We busted the A.Q. Khan network. This was a proliferator out of Pakistan that was selling secrets to places like North Korea and Libya. We convinced Libya to disarm. It's a central part of dealing with weapons of mass destruction and proliferation," Bush said.

President Bush announced the Proliferation Security Initiative on May 31, 2003, during a visit to Poland.

The U.S. State Department explains that the Proliferation Security Initiative is "...a step in the implementation of the UN Security Council Presidential Statement of January 1992, which states that the proliferation of all WMD [weapons of mass destruction] constitutes a threat to international peace and security, and underlines the need for member states of the UN to prevent proliferation."

Moderator Lehrer asked the two candidates for confirmation that "the single most serious threat you believe, both of you believe, is nuclear proliferation?"

President Bush narrowly defined his concern about nuclear proliferation saying only, "In the hands of a terrorist enemy."

Senator Kerry more broadly defined his concern as, "Weapons of mass destruction, nuclear proliferation."

Senator John Kerry, the Democratic nominee, in debate at the University of Miami (Photo courtesy Commission on Presidential Debates)

But Bush countered with a warning that bi-lateral talks with North Korea would cause the six party talks with Russia, Japan, South Korea, China and the United States to dissolve.

"Again," the President said, "I can't tell you how big a mistake I think that is, to have bilateral talks with North Korea. It's precisely what Kim Jong Il wants. It will cause the six-party talks to evaporate. It will mean that China no longer is involved in convincing, along with us, for Kim Jong Il to get rid of his weapons. It's a big mistake to do that."

"We must have China's leverage on Kim Jong Il, besides ourselves. And if you enter bilateral talks, they'll be happy to walk away from the table. I don't think that'll work," Bush said.

Kerry twice criticized the President for rejecting action to curb global warming. In one of several exchanges on Bush's failure to work in concert with the United Nations and U.S. allies, Kerry said, "We've watched this President actually turn away from some of the treaties that were on the table. You don't help yourself with other nations when you turn away from the global warming treaty, for instance, or when you refuse to deal at length with the United Nations."

Later, in a discussion about dealing with the realities of the international situation, Kerry said, "What I worry about with the President is that he's not acknowledging what's on the ground, he's not acknowledging the realities of North Korea, he's not acknowledging the truth of the science of stem-cell research or of global warming and other issues."

The President did not respond to either of Kerry's global warming jabs.

The rest of the 90 minute debate focused on the advisability of the war in Iraq, and stratagies for bringing it to an end.

The second presidential debate will be on October 8, from Washington University in St. Louis. Charles Gibson of ABC News will moderate a town hall-type event. with questionis from the audience on a variety of topics.

On October 13, from Arizona State University in Tempe, Bob Schieffer of CBS News will moderate the third presential debate on domestic and economic policy.

On October 5, at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, the vice presidential candidates, Vice President Cheney and Senator Edwards, will debate with Gwen Ifill of PBS moderating.