GAO: U.S. arms export control system static since 9/11

GAO: U.S. arms export control system static since 9/11    A federal watchdog agency has concluded that the U.S. arms export control system remained largely static since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, but did not recommend any changes to the current system.
   “While the system essentially remains unchanged, new trends have emerged in the processing of arms export cases,” said a U.S. Government Accountability Office report released Thursday.
   “State and Defense (departments), which review export licenses, have continued to implement through regulations and guidance several initiatives primarily designed to streamline the processing of arms export licenses,” the report continued.
   The GAO, however, criticized the departments for not sticking to the time frames they have set for processing certain export license applications. For example, the GAO pointed out that applications for Operation Iraqi Freedom are supposed to be processed in four days if they require an interagency review. Instead, the average processing for these license applications takes about 22 days.
   The GAO also faulted the State Department for its limited attempts to coordinate its licensing activities with agencies responsible for enforcing U.S. arms export laws, namely the Homeland Security and Justice departments.
   “Enforcement officials have raised concerns regarding licensing exemptions, including difficulties in enforcing the proper use of exemptions and the increased risk of diversion,” the GAO report said. “According to enforcement officials, they face a number of challenges associated with arms export enforcement efforts, such as limited resources to conduct inspections and investigations and other difficulties in obtaining a criminal conviction for export violations.”
   The Defense and Homeland Security departments generally agreed with the GAO report’s findings. The State Department opposed the information in the report.