American experts have been distressed by efforts by Middle East nations to acquire new missiles.

General Wardak said the Taliban were saying they had acquired new antiaircraft missiles.

Despite these proliferation concerns, Washington has shown understanding of Israel's desire to acquire nuclear weapons and missiles.

Administration officials said they believed that Prince Sultan was most interested in acquiring missiles, not nuclear weapons technology.

Pakistan has to be persuaded to stop trying to acquire missiles.

The two incidents appeared to confirm that the Tamil rebels have acquired ground-to-air missiles for the first time in the 12-year-old war.

Japan is debating acquiring missiles with enough range to knock out North Korean missile sites.

And no other potentially hostile power is close to acquiring long-range missiles armed with nuclear warheads.

The report said secret procurement networks could help developing countries such as Iraq acquire chemical and biological weapons and ballistic missiles.

- How the US covered up evidence that the Taliban have acquired deadly surface-to-air missiles.