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“ Democratic priorities are clear: we will fight to get the economy back on track, we will create jobs, and we will help unemployed workers. ” |
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Democrats Ask Former Secretary of Defense William Perry to Lead Review of Bush Administration’s Policy on WMD
Concerned in Particular Over Republicans’ Failure to Stop North Korean Progress on Nuclear Weapons
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid announced today that they have asked former Secretary of Defense William Perry to lead a review of United States policy regarding the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. A special focus of the review will be U.S. policy to prevent nuclear terrorism and policies to prevent Iran and North Korea from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Reid and Pelosi said: “Congressional Democrats are particularly concerned by experts’ assessments that, on the Bush Administration’s watch and under a Republican-controlled Congress, North Korea has been allowed to perhaps as much as quadruple its nuclear weapons arsenal.”
The review will be undertaken by the Democratic Leadership’s National Security Advisory Group, chaired by Secretary Perry, which will report back on its findings early this summer.
Regarding the spread of weapons of mass destruction, Pelosi and Reid wrote to the advisory group in a joint memorandum: “We believe this is perhaps the most critical and urgent security challenge we face today. Within the broad context of proliferation, we are especially concerned about the failures of the Administration’s policy toward North Korea and Iran and its grave consequences for our security.”
Pelosi and Reid said: “We believe the Bush Administration’s policies either fail to adequately address the leading problems or make matters worse.”
The Democratic Leadership’s National Security Advisory Group was established in January 2005 to study key national security issues and recommend improvements over and better alternatives to the Administration’s national security policies. A number of areas of focused review are already in progress.
“ Democrats are united in presenting a New Direction for America, one that will make our nation as strong as its people, one that brings opportunity, security, and prosperity to all Americans. ”
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi
