CIA is forming a new center to counter nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction

CIA forms new center to combat nukes, WMDs

WASHINGTON — The CIA says it’s opening a counterproliferation center to combat the spread of dangerous weapons and technology. The move comes as Iran is on the verge of fueling up a new nuclear power plant.

CIA Director Leon Panetta said the new unit would place CIA operators side-by-side with the agency’s analysts to brainstorm plans to “confront the threat of weapons of mass destruction — nuclear, chemical, and biological.” Panetta says the aim is to get precise analysis to those targeting the threat.

CIA spokesman George Little says the agency’s analysts and operators already have scored major successes. He cited their work in the discovery of the Syrian covert nuclear reactor and Iran’s undeclared uranium enrichment facility near Qom (kohm).