DATE= 1/10/01

TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT

TITLE=COHEN/DEFENSE (L ONLY)

NUMBER=2-271236

BYLINE= ALEX BELIDA

DATELINE= PENTAGON

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: U-S Defense Secretary William Cohen says the incoming administration of President-elect George W. Bush faces an array of serious security threats. V-O-A Pentagon Correspondent Alex Belida reports Mr. Cohen met Wednesday with the President-elect and his national security team.

TEXT: Mr. Cohen says the United States is the world's undisputed military power.

But in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington, the outgoing Defense Secretary warns an array of dangers still exists - some posed by states, others by phenomena.

///COHEN ACTUALITY///

We have what were formerly known as rogue regimes - they're now called states of concern - Iran, Iraq, North Korea, to name but three. There are flames of ethnic hatred that can be fanned by virulent nationalism. We saw that in the former Yugoslavia during the past decade. There is the continuing cycle of violence in the Middle East. There are those who traffic in narcotics, terrorism and transnational crime.

///END ACTUALITY///

Mr. Cohen says there is also the threat of instability sparked by economic inequities, dwindling resources and health crises such as the HIV/Aids epidemic in Africa. He says all of this adds up to what he characterizes as very significant challenges to the next administration and the American people.

Mr. Cohen's address coincided not only with President-elect Bush's visit to the Pentagon, but also with the release of a new Defense Department report on the proliferation of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons worldwide. Mr. Cohen says the threat is growing.

///COHEN ACTUALITY///

There are more than two dozen countries including Iraq, North Korea and others who either have or are in the process of acquiring these weapons of mass destruction. And this is not some scare tactic the Pentagon is generating to secure more resources. This is reality. This is what's taking place. This is what our intelligence tells us is going on.

///END ACTUALITY///

Mr. Cohen says the United States is working to prevent the further spread of such weapons.

But he says these efforts will not always be successful and U-S forces must be strong enough to prevail on the battlefield against opponents who use nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.

///REST OPTIONAL///

The new report cites ballistic missile defense programs, among the Pentagon's efforts to respond to the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction.

President-elect Bush is a strong advocate of a national missile defense system, designed to protect the 50 U-S states from possible limited missile attack. The plan is a controversial one that has generated sharp opposition in China and Russia as well as among some U-S allies. (Signed)

NEB/BEL/FC