Wednesday, March 23, 2011
The State Department is being faulted for refusing to block United Nations nuclear technology funding to countries that have been accused of supporting terrorism because it does not want to discourage other countries from giving to the program.
The U.S. provides $20 million a year to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), which promotes peaceful use of nuclear energy through the delivery of technical cooperation (TC) aid. But some TC assistance has gone to nations like Iran, Sudan, Syria and Cuba, all of which are on the State Department’s list of states backing terrorism.
“These four countries received more than $55 million in TC assistance from 1997 through 2007,” said the Government Accountability Office in a new report.
When asked about this problem, the State Department told GAO officials that withholding monies would undermine its ability to convince other member countries to contribute to the fund.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
U.S. Nuclear Aid May Be Going to Countries Like Iran and Syria (by Laurel Adams, Center for Public Integrity)
Nuclear Nonproliferation: More Progress Needed in Implementing Recommendations for IAEA’s Technical Cooperation Program (Government Accountability Office) (pdf)
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