It Must Not Go Unpunished

In his final address to the United Nations, President Reagan spoke of a new hope for world peace. The East-West thaw, the intermediate-nuclear-forces treaty and perestroika in the Soviet Union have reduced what he called the “twin threats” of thermonuclear war and totalitarianism. Reagan also spoke of the need for quick international action against a growing global menace--the increased proliferation and use of chemical weapons.

Chemical and biological weapons are particularly frightening because, like nuclear bombs, they have the capacity to inflict mass indiscriminate death. After millions of people were killed and maimed by poison gas in World War I, a 1925 international agreement outlawed the use of chemical weapons. This ban worked fairly well for 60 years. But during the long and bloody Persian Gulf war both Iran and Iraq resorted to the use of poison gas. Then, after agreeing to a cease-fire with Iran, Iraq turned its army and apparently its chemical weapons against its troublesome Kurdish minority--with chilling results that are not yet fully known.

The gulf war could, but must not, be the beginning of an erosion of moral and legal prohibitions against the use of these horrible weapons. Without strong, concerted action by the world community, the use of chemical weapons will become increasingly common, especially in Third World regional conflicts. Cheap and easily made from chemicals used in fertilizers and pesticides, silent and deadly clouds of poison gas can rain down on unsuspecting populations from artillery shells and intermediate-range missiles.

In his address, Reagan called for “a verifiable, truly global ban” on chemical weapons and for the convening of an international conference to accomplish that end. The conference envisioned by the President would re-emphasize the 1925 Geneva Protocol--signed by 134 nations, including Iraq--which outlaws the use of chemical weapons. Currently there are formal negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, involving 40 nations, to prohibit the development, production and stockpiling of chemical weapons. But these negotiations will take several years to conclude, and it is important to focus international attention on the growing danger in the interim. Approximately 140 countries, including Iran and Iraq, will be invited to participate in the new international conference.

In addition, it is imperative that the United States respond firmly to the particular case that has put chemical weapons in the headlines. The State Department’s public condemnation of Iraq’s use of poison gas against the Kurds is not sufficient. The Administration must also endorse the strong economic sanctions voted by the Senate and now the House. The use of poison gas, especially against civilians, must not go unpunished. When it comes to chemical weapons, the United States must be prepared to go beyond tough talk.