Combating Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

The office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy and Threat Reduction isresponsible for national security strategy, including reducing and countering nuclear,biological, chemical, and missile threats to the United States and its forces and allies; armscontrol negotiations, implementation, and verification policy; denuclearization, threatreduction, and nuclear safety, security, and dismantlement in the former Soviet Union;counter-proliferation; policy and strategy for U.S. nuclear weapons and selected advancedconventional weapons; technology transfer; and relations with Russia, Ukraine, and otherNew Independent States.The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Humanitarian Assistance(continued as the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-IntensityConflict) is responsible for the overall supervision of special operations and low intensityconflict activities as well as peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance affairs.Acquisition and Technology: The Defense Reform Initiative called for the elimination ofthe Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical & Biological Defense andthe creation of a new Defense Threat Reduction and Treaty Compliance Agency under theDirector of Defense Research & Engineering. However, the 1999 Defense AppropriationAuthorization required a modification to this plan, as Congress effectively blocked theelimination of the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical & BiologicalDefense (ATSD(NCB)). As implemented, the organizations for combating weapons ofmass destruction within the office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition andTechnology are shown below.The Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E) exercises oversight andoverall coordination and integration of all Department of Defense science and technologyresearch and development. The DDR&E oversees the preparation of three key documentsdetailing these efforts including the Joint Warfighting Science and Technology Plan; theDefense Technology Area Plan, and the Basic Research Plan. (These documents arebelow.)There are two organizations with combating-proliferation responsibilities under theDirector of Defense Research and Engineering.• The Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of Defense for Counter-proliferation& Chemical and Biological Defense has oversight and overall coordinationand integration of all Department of Defense chemical and biologicaldefense research, development, and acquisition efforts. Additionally, thisoffice provides the guidance for planning, programming, budgeting, andexecuting of the chemical and biological defense program.• The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is charged with seekingbreakthrough concepts and technologies. The Defense Sciences Officewithin the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency manages itsbiological warfare defense program, which is intended to support the45