Bush cranks up security moves

16 Jul, 2002 09:18 AM2 mins to read

WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush will propose tougher counter-terrorism measures today, including new extradition and secrecy laws, as part a national strategy to prevent "a new wave of terrorism" on United States soil, the Administration said.

"Our enemies are working to obtain chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons for the purpose of wreaking unprecedented damage on America," the White House warns in its National Strategy for Homeland Security, offering a grim assessment of the threats in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

The Administration said its goal was to prevent new attacks - whether conventional or nuclear - and reduce the nation's vulnerability.

It faces what may be an impossible task: screening out would-be attackers without slowing down the roughly 500 million people, 11.2 million trucks and 2.2 million railway cars that cross into the country each year.

Bush must also overcome bureaucratic obstacles in trying to co-ordinate more than 87,000 federal, state, and local jurisdictions across the US.

"We will not achieve these goals overnight, but we will achieve them," Bush said in a letter to "my fellow Americans".

Under the national homeland security plan, which the President will present to lawmakers at a White House meeting, the Administration would provide finance in the 2004 Budget to deploy "better sensors and procedures" to prevent attackers from using nuclear weapons.

Bush would also develop "vaccines, antimicrobials and antidotes" to protect Americans from deadly germ agents, while boosting the "analytic capabilities" of the FBI and expanding security at cargo ports.

"Unless we act to prevent it, a new wave of terrorism, potentially involving the world's most destructive weapons, looms in America's future," the report warns.

"Our society presents an almost infinite array of potential targets that can be attacked through a variety of methods."

The Administration did not say how much Bush's plan would cost, but it estimated spending on homeland security at US$100 billion ($209.11 billion) per year.

Bush would place new restrictions on the public's access to information about material at US chemical and nuclear plants and propose laws expanding presidential authority to extradite suspects.

Bush would also ask Congress to grant him the power to reorganise federal agencies in response to future crises.

- REUTERS

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