The Foreign Service Journal, May 2005

70 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / M A Y 2 0 0 5 mericans are proud of the fact that the United States has traditionally been a leader in protecting the glob- al environment from the damage that can result from mankind’s activ- ities. The Montreal Protocol for the control of fluorocarbons is an excel- lent example of our concern for global environmental stewardship, and what we have been able to do about it. In the 1980s, prompted by data from satellite-borne instruments and upper atmosphere sampling, scientists warned of the appearance of holes, or gaps, in the earth’s atmospheric ozone layer. Since the ozone layer provides attenuation of the ultraviolet radiation reaching the earth from the sun, damage to it could eventually result in extremely serious worldwide human, plant and animal damage. We began intensive research that suggested flu- orocarbons, generated on earth from aerosol sprays, were among the main culprits. (Subsequent research has clari- fied the chemical mechanisms by which fluorocarbons react in the upper atmosphere to destroy the ozone layer.) In response, the State Department led a consortium of scientists, environmental NGOs, industrial players (DuPont, the world’s major supplier of the fluorocarbon chemicals, strongly supported the initiative in an impres- sive display of corporate environmental responsibility) and concerned countries, in working through the United Nations to develop and bring into effect the precedent- setting treaty to protect the Earth — the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer. This was a momentous achievement in multilateral diplo- macy. It marked the first time that the nations of the earth, regardless of their political, religious or cultural his- tory, joined together in giving up a small part of their national sovereignty to combat a common environmental threat. (It is a matter of great satisfaction to the framers of the Montreal Protocol that scientists now believe that, as a result of global control of fluorocarbons, they can detect evidence of repair to previously damaged portions of the global ozone layer.) Similarly, we have tried hard to control and inhibit the proliferation of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons of mass destruction through treaties on nuclear prolifera- tion, chemical and biological weapons, and ballistic mis- sile range and accuracy. The history of WMD control shows that, although our intentions were good, and the treaty framework was the best we knew at the time, the results of our efforts have been thwarted at various times and by various countries. But this should only encourage us to increase our efforts to control WMDs and their delivery vehicles. In particular, we must now confront the unintended environmental effects of a new weapon of mass destruc- tion: the use of depleted uranium in so-called “kinetic energy” munitions. These weapons have potentially glob- al effects when used by the military; in addition (unbe- lievably), depleted uranium munitions are now available D EPLETED U RANIUM M UNITIONS : A N EW WMD T HE U NITED S TATES SHOULD LEAD THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO RESPONSIBLE GLOBAL CONTROL OF DEPLETED URANIUM MUNITIONS . B Y F RANCIS X AVIER C UNNINGHAM Francis Xavier Cunningham is a chemist (emeritus member, American Chemical Society), a former solid propulsion rocket scientist (Thiokol) and a retired Foreign Service offi- cer. As an FSO he served in Brussels, Manila and Cairo and also had assignments in the Intelligence & Research Bureau and a detail to NASA headquarters. A