NP - Bush panders to the NRA internationally

[David Morris]

Bush triggers fresh arms trade row

Ewen MacAskill - Diplomatic Editor
Monday July 9, 2001
The Guardian

The US president, George Bush, is about to spark a transatlantic row over a 
UN conference which opens today aiming to reduce the 500m Kalashnikovs and 
other small arms contributing to worldwide carnage.
Mr Bush has ordered the US delegation to the New York conference to block 
the main proposals because he fears inflaming the US gun lobby led by the 
National Rifle Association, one of the most powerful vested interests in the 
country.

Mr Bush is sensitive to the NRA's insistence that international regulations 
on small arms could infringe the constitutional right in the US to bear 
arms. His move will anger the EU countries, including Britain, that support 
the attempt by UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, to bring order to the arms 
trade.

A UN document published for the conference blames small arms for 4m deaths 
in 46 conflicts since 1990 - about 90% of them civilians, and 80% of them 
women and children. The UN and the EU are pressing for:

• A legally-binding UN resolution or treaty on the export of small arms

• Proper regulation of arms sales to stem the flow of illegal weapons

• Incentives to encourage destruction of the huge weapons stockpile

• An internationally recognised system for marking weapons so they can be 
traced back.

But the conference looks set to end with empty statements of intent that 
will not be legally binding.

Failure will add to the deterioration in relations between the US and 
Europe, which have been strained since Mr Bush dumped the Kyoto measures to 
reduce carbon emissions and decided to press ahead with the proposed missile 
defence programme.

The US opposition to the small arms plan took European and other diplomats 
by surprise and the optimism earlier this year about the conference has 
vanished.

Mr Annan, announcing the conference, described curbing the proliferation of 
small arms as "one of the key challenges in preventing conflict" in the 21st 
century".

_________________________________________________________________
Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com