Pentagon's efforts to fight weapons of mass destruction flayed
Report cites too little coordination and too little central oversight
That is according to a Department of Defense Inspector General report, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the Deseret Morning News. It was originally classified "For Official Use Only," but the Pentagon provided a declassified copy that censored sensitive information.
The report says that because of its findings, Pentagon officials are now taking steps to improve coordination of work that has been spread among 40 offices and commands.
The report is of special interest to Utah because its Dugway Proving Ground is where many defenses against biological, chemical and radiological weapons — the main weapons of mass destruction — have been tested, sometimes amid controversy about how safe those tests are.
The Inspector General reviewed Pentagon initiatives against weapons of mass destruction and issued a report on March 30 (but the Morning News obtained a copy only this month). It complained that such Pentagon work had too little coordination and too little central oversight.
The report complained that the Pentagon "did not establish a lead office to adequately coordinate its WMD (weapons of mass destruction) initiatives," and instead spread various responsibilities among 40 separate offices and commands. It said those offices had only limited coordination by a loose working group.
Some of their many responsibilities included developing new defenses against such weapons; finding and seizing any such weapons abroad; assisting former Soviet nations to secure and destroy their stockpiles; and facilitating new counterproliferation treaties.
But the report said the Pentagon "managed each of these initiatives separately and did not coordinate initiatives within the responsible offices, even though all are interrelated."
As a result, it said "senior DoD officials did not receive the necessary information to understand the status of DoD actions for combating WMD."
Inspectors complained that because of splintered responsibilities and lack of coordination, annual Pentagon reports to Congress updating efforts against weapons of mass destruction did not clearly show what was being accomplished with spending.
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