Proliferation tango.

• Author: Conniff, Ruth
• Position: Conservative anti-nuclear proliferation activist Gary Milhollin - Brief Article - Interview

U.S. Policy on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is schizophrenic. The government blesses sales of dangerous technology to some countries even as it threatens war against others for possessing the same stuff. There is a constant tug-of-war going on between people worried about these weapons (including members of the national security establishment as well as peace activists) and those who want to protect dangerous exports (U.S. businesses and the Commerce Department).

In the middle of this dizzying dance is Gary Milhollin, founder of the Wisconsin Project on Nuclear Arms Control, Milhollin himself is a complicated character. One of the main advocates dedicated to exposing and stopping the spread of weapons of his destruction, he is respected by colleagues in the anti-nuclear movement for his ground breaking work. At the same time, with his hawkish views on U.S. foreign policy, he is friendly with the national security establishment.

Sitting, in his eighth-floor office on K Street in Washington, D.C., with a dramatic view of the Washington Monument in the background. Milhollin is looking at pictures of weapons on his computer screen. A missile pops into view, then a plutonium reactor, then a production line that manufactures gas guns. The pictures come from brochures that companies send to Milhollin, advertising their wares. He puts them into a database to monitor weapons proliferation and the companies that profit by it. "We write to companies requesting information, and we tell them we're doing research on behalf of U.S. exporters," he says, smiling, "which is true."

If a U.S. company knows that one of its clients is trying to make weapons of mass destruction, it can't sell any of the necessary technology to that country without applying for an export license from the Commerce Department. The Wisconsin Project's database makes it harder for companies to claim ignorance.

The Commerce Department can reject applications to export items that might pose a threat. But, says Milhollin, "the Commerce Department doesn't ever want to turn down anything."

Here, too, the database helps -- as do the Wisconsin Project's aggressive media campaigns. "If you put out an open list of what the bad guys are up to, it makes it more embarrassing for the government to approve these sales," says Milhollin.

In the weird world of global weapons sales, Milhollin maintains a cordial relationship with many of the players. Subscribers to his database...