Combating Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

Other AgenciesThe agencies discussed below have important contributions to make to the combatingproliferationeffort. Each of these departments should designate a senior-level, Senateconfirmedofficial to act as the point of contact for the National Director for CombatingProliferation and to ensure adequate coordination of proliferation-related efforts within thedepartment.Department of the TreasuryThe Department of the Treasury includes several offices and bureaus that deal with theproliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including the U.S. Customs Service, theOffice of Foreign Assets Control, the U.S. Secret Service, and the Office of InternationalInvestment. Specific recommendations for some of these offices and bureaus, most ofwhich fall under the purview of the Under Secretary (Enforcement), are given below.United States Customs ServiceThe mission of the U.S. Customs Service is to ensure that all goods and persons enteringand leaving the United States do so in accordance with U.S. laws and regulations.Customs inspectors administer the Service’s interdiction program, and are empowered toconduct warrantless searches of any items entering or leaving the United States. Customstherefore plays a key role in ensuring that weapons of mass destruction (or WMDcomponents) do not enter or leave the United States illegally.Recommendation 5.23: The Customs Service should create an office dedicatedto the detection and interdiction of weapons of mass destruction.Preventing the smuggling of weapons of mass destruction must be one of the CustomsService’s top priorities. However, Customs is also charged with preventing the smugglingof other items, notably illegal drugs. Since interdiction of weapons of mass destruction isvital to the security of the United States, Customs must have inspectors and otheremployees who focus solely on that task.The staff of this office should be specially trained in WMD detection and interdictiontechniques, and responsible for ensuring that Customs inspectors at land, sea, andairports around the country are similarly trained. Congress and the Administration shouldensure that it has the resources it needs to guard America’s borders effectively againstWMD smuggling.76