Swedish peace research institute blasts war on terrorism as 'coercive and short-term' Associated Press
June 13, 2002
By Karl Ritter, Associated Press WriterSTOCKHOLM, Sweden - The global war against terrorism is "coercive and short-term" and threatens to undermine future efforts at preventing armed conflicts, a respected peace research institute said Wednesday in releasing its annual armaments and security report.
The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, or SIPRI, criticized U.S.-led efforts to fight terrorism after Sept. 11 hijack attacks for focusing on military efforts instead of prevention.
"Expectations of a global response on the prevention of terrorism fell flat - both globally, in the United Nations, and regionally, in NATO," SIPRI director Adam Rotfeld said in the introduction.
SIPRI also said India's arms imports increased by 50 percent from 2000, making it the third largest recipient of weapons last year.
The institute criticized arms transfers to nuclear-capable rivals India and Pakistan, citing the increased tension and risk of all-out war over the disputed Kashmir region.
It also said the U.S. withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty with Russia didn't stop progress in nuclear arms control as the two countries continued to slash their offensive nuclear forces.
The United States and Russia have 93 percent of the world's 17,150 nuclear warheads, while China has 400, France 348, Israel and the United Kingdom about 200 each, according to the report. India has 30-35 nuclear warheads and Pakistan up to 48, SIPRI said.
The report said international efforts to fight terror networks had moved away from preventive measures focusing on the roots of terrorism to a narrower approach aimed at cutting "the financial, political and military sources of terrorist support" and apprehending suspects.
That focus threatens to "undermine the entire notion of conflict prevention" as military ties between nations overshadow other issues, the report said.
"Although this approach employs a broad range of instruments, it is coercive and short-term in character," SIPRI said. "The extent to which states such as Pakistan, Sudan or Tajikistan are called upon to assist in the fight against terrorism may constrain the international community's willingness to engage them on such sensitive questions as governance and human rights."
The institute estimated 2001 military spending was dlrs 839 billion, up 2 percent from the year before, although it said the figure likely was even higher because spending after Sept. 11 was not yet fully accounted for.
The U.S. military budget of dlrs 281 billion was the biggest, representing 36 percent of world military spending. The next four biggest spenders - Russia, France, Japan and Britain - together accounted for about half of the U.S. military budget, SIPRI said.
Russia was the largest arms exporter in 2001, while China was the largest recipient of weapons.
The institute counted 24 armed conflicts around the world last year. The 15 most deadly conflicts were domestic, it said.