WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon is falling behind
schedule to destroy its stockpile of chemical munitions at eight sites, raising
terrorism concerns, USA Today reported Wednesday.
According to the newspaper, federal audits say the
military will not be able to destroy 31,000 tons of nerve gases and skin-blistering
agents by 2012 as required by the International Chemcial Weapons Convention.
It has destroyed only 6 percent of its arsenal in
the last year. Only 32 percent of the U.S. chemical weapon arsenal has been
destroyed since 1990.
Two new disposal plants that were supposed to begin
work in Indiana and Arkansas this summer still have not opened their doors.
The Penagon's failure to destroy its arsenal on schedule
diminished the United States' leverage with other countries, including Russia,
to destroy their chemical arsenals. There is concern that Russian facilities
are susceptible to theft or terrorist attack, introducing the possibility
that the weapons could get into dangerous hands unless they are destroyed
quickly.