Conventional Arms Control:

Former Warsaw Pact Nations' Treaty Compliance and U.S. Cost Control

NSIAD-94-33: Published: Dec 14, 1993. Publicly Released: Jan 13, 1994.

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GAO reviewed: (1) the former Warsaw Pact nations' ability to fulfill their obligations under the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE); and (2) U.S. management and costs of implementing the treaty.

GAO found that: (1) the former Warsaw Pact countries have the technical ability to reduce conventional equipment to meet the November 1993 interim deadline; (2) the larger countries have conducted all of the former Warsaw Pact's reductions; (3) some individual countries may not be in full compliance with the treaty because they have not resolved the political problems of accounting for all of the former Soviet Union's treaty obligations, and some countries have failed to follow proper procedures, made incorrect notifications, and have limited resources for CFE implementation; (4) the former Warsaw Pact countries will have to increase their reduction rates to meet 1994 and 1995 deadlines; (5) in general, U.S. agencies have successfully implemented the treaty under a mandate to exercise all treaty rights and meet all possible treaty obligations, but they have incurred significant costs in doing so; (6) minor policy changes could save millions of dollars, but officials do not review implementation policies to determine whether money can be saved while maintaining high compliance and verification standards; and (7) policy officials lack complete data on implementation costs because agencies do not report all CFE-related costs.

Recommendations for Executive Action

  1. Status: Closed - Not Implemented

    Comments: DOD and State do not intend to act on the recommendation. DOD stated that the monitoring functions were already being carried out within the Department and that there was close coordination between relevant organizations. DOD further stated that it did not believe that one financial monitor for the entire U.S. arms control implementation effort would significantly improve the efficiency. GAO does not agree, but because the organizations have no intention of implementing the recommendation, no additional work should be done.

    Recommendation: The Secretaries of Defense and State should designate a CFE implementation manager from the Department of Defense to act as a financial monitor and actively participate in the deliberations of the Arms Control Interagency Working Group.

    Agency Affected: Department of Defense

  2. Status: Closed - Not Implemented

    Comments: DOD and State do not intend to act on the recommendation. DOD stated that the monitoring functions were already being carried out within the Department and that there was close coordination between relevant organizations. DOD further stated that it did not believe that one financial monitor for the entire U.S. arms control implementation effort would significantly improve the efficiency. GAO does not agree, but because the organizations have no intention of implementing the recommendation, no additional work should be done.

    Recommendation: The Secretaries of Defense and State should designate a CFE implementation manager from the Department of Defense to act as a financial monitor and actively participate in the deliberations of the Arms Control Interagency Working Group.

    Agency Affected: Department of State

  3. Status: Closed - Not Implemented

    Comments: DOD and State do not intend to act on the recommendation. DOD stated that the monitoring functions are already being accomplished within the Department and that there is close coordination among relevant organizations. DOD further stated that it does not believe one financial monitor for the entire U.S. arms control implementation effort will significantly improve the efficiency. GAO does not agree but because the organizations have no intention of implementing the recommendation no additional work should be done.

    Recommendation: For each of the other arms control agreements, the Secretaries of Defense and State should consider designating a similar financial monitor from the appropriate lead agency's implementation office.

    Agency Affected: Department of State

  4. Status: Closed - Not Implemented

    Comments: DOD and State do not intend to act on the recommendation. DOD stated that the monitoring functions were already being carried out within the Department and that there was close coordination between relevant organizations. DOD further stated that it did not believe that one financial monitor for the entire U.S. arms control implementation effort would significantly improve the efficiency. GAO does not agree, but because the organizations have no intention of implementing the recommendation, no additional work should be done.

    Recommendation: For each of the other arms control agreements, the Secretaries of Defense and State should consider designating a similar financial monitor from the appropriate lead agency's implementation office.

    Agency Affected: Department of Defense

 

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