Arms Control: Improved Coordination of Arms Control Research Needed
NSIAD-92-149
Published: Apr 14, 1992. Publicly Released: May 14, 1992.
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Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the effectiveness of coordination of research being performed to verify arms control agreements between the United States and the former Soviet Union, focusing on: (1) how the executive branch decides on the research needed to provide verification instruments to on-site inspectors; (2) whether research and development mechanisms exist to ensure that adequate verification tools will be available to implement existing and future treaties; and (3) the costs of expanded verification requirements for on-site inspections to monitor treaties.
Recommendations
Matter for Congressional Consideration
| Matter | Status | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| Although GAO has discussed a number of options in this report, all of them have disadvantages that Congress and the administration need to weigh in deciding how to improve coordination. However, a critical improvement to the current process would be the identification of national verification requirements and an interagency plan that prioritizes funding based on those requirements. | This report made no recommendations. It identified possible alternatives that agencies might want to consider in defining an interagency coordinating mechanism. Nonetheless, agencies are beginning to support a national requirement process. |
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Arms control agreementsChemical researchChemical weaponsInternational agreementsInternational relationsMonitoringNuclear weaponsResearch and developmentWeapons research and developmentWeapons systemsArms control verification