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WMD in Wrong Hands is ‘Greatest Security Risk’ This Decade

Weapons of mass destruction in the wrong hands is the “greatest security risk of this decade,” said deputy defense secretary Paul Wolfowitz during a symposium at the third annual Conference on Counterproliferation May 13. The United States will continue to have a requirement for a “robust WMD elimination capability” even after the discovery and the destruction of Iraq’s WMD capabilities, he noted.

Homeland Security and DOE Deliver Used Radiological Detection Equipment

The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Energy have formally transferred a shipment of refurbished radiological detection equipment to the Los Angeles Fire Department Hazardous Waste Unit, the Los Angeles Port Authority and the San Francisco Health Department. The equipment, with a replacement value of approximately $60,000, is being provided to these emergency responder agencies under a DHS/DOE pilot project called the Homeland Defense Equipment Reuse (HDER) Program.

Bush requests $36B for Homeland Security

Citing a need to reduce America’s vulnerability to terrorism and minimize the damage and help recovery from attacks that do occur, U.S. President George Bush has requested a $36.2 billion budget for the new Office of Homeland Security. This represents a 7.4 percent increase in funding over FY2003, and a 64 percent increase ($14.1 billion) over FY2002, with over 60 thousand staff added to protect the country. The consolidation of numerous entities from Border Patrol to Coast Guard into the new Department is the largest federal reorganization in more than 50 years.