Nov 23, 2004
TBO News
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The CIA is increasingly concerned that more countries may be spreading technology or expertise that can be used to make weapons of mass destruction and possibly going a dangerous step further than has been seen previously.
The CIA's worry: Governments that have been receiving weapons technology from other countries may be turning around and sharing it with what the agency calls "nonstate actors" - often defined as terror groups.
As nuclear, biological, chemical and other technologies become more available, "new sources of supply have emerged that made the challenge of stemming WMD and missile proliferation even more complex and difficult," the CIA said in a report to Congress released Tuesday.
The report does not detail what countries may be of the most concern.
The CIA is supposed to report to Congress every six months on the efforts of countries to obtain certain weapons. The document released Tuesday covers the second half of last year, focusing on the Iran, Libya and North Korea, as well as al-Qaida.
The report says that terrorist organizations remain interested in chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons, but attacks will probably be smaller in scale. Nevertheless, of particular concern is a religious justification for using weapons of mass destruction against the United States, released by an extremist Muslim cleric last year.
Documents recovered in Afghanistan indicate that experts, including a Pakistani nuclear engineer who reportedly met with Osama bin Laden, may have helped al-Qaida's nuclear ambitions.
Evidence elsewhere also points to the group's interest in chemical attacks.
The report says that several groups of religious extremists tied to al-Qaida have planned poison attacks in Europe. The CIA said the groups could use easily produced chemicals and toxins, but they would be best used in smaller attacks or assassinations.
© 2004 The Associated Press.
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