US Oversight Agency Cites Nonproliferation Risks of IAEA Program

摘要

The InternationalAtomic EnergyAgency (IAEA) was criticized by the US GovernmentAccountability Office (GAO) for handing over nearly $56 million in nuclear assistance to US-designated state sponsors of terrorism such as Iran, Syria, Cuba and Sudan from 1997 to 2008. The GAO, which oversees federal spending, directed its criti- cism toward the IAEA's Technical Cooperation Program, which is designed to facilitate peaceful uses of nuclear power, including nuclear safety programs and agricultural applications. The GAO said "proliferation concerns about the TC program have persist- ed" because the assistance for "nuclear equipment, technology, and expertise can be dual-use - capable of serving peaceful pur- poses, such as the production of medical isotopes, but also useful in contributing to nuclear weapons development."