Keeping a Post-Cold War Promise

The United States has destroyed 89 percent of its original chemical weapons stockpile and is committed to finishing the job “as quickly as possible,” said Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Monday. Under the Chemical Weapons Convention, which the United States signed in 1993 and ratified in 1997, member states agreed “in unequivocal terms” to end their respective chemical weapons programs and destroy existing stockpiles, precursor chemicals, production facilities, and weapons delivery systems. As of Monday, 188 countries have renounced chemical weapons. “The international community must continue to speak with one voice and remain vigilant, so these weapons pose no threat to the people here or anywhere,” said Clinton in a State Department release.