British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said today that British and German officials would present their latest nuclear proposal to Iran on Thursday (AFP photo/Jim Watson). Iran Ready to Discuss “Short” Extension of Uranium Enrichment Suspension, Official Says A senior Iranian official said yesterday that, while Tehran remains committed to completing the nuclear fuel cycle, it is prepared to discuss a brief extension of its moratorium on uranium enrichment, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Oct. 18)...Full Story

Group Alleges Link Between Contributions to Republicans, Terrorism Vulnerabilities By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Reluctance to regulate industry and displease corporate campaign contributors has led U.S. President George W. Bush’s administration to leave chemical, nuclear and other sites vulnerable to attack, a liberal advocacy group alleged yesterday in a new report (see GSN, Aug. 6)...Full Story

IAEA Team to Visit Brazilian Plant Today A three-member International Atomic Energy Agency team is expected to visit the Resende uranium enrichment plant in Brazil today to determine how to conduct inspections without revealing trade secrets about centrifuges at the site, according to Agence France-Presse (see GSN, Oct. 18)...Full Story

	Tuesday, October 19, 2004

Group Alleges Link Between Contributions to Republicans, Terrorism Vulnerabilities By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Reluctance to regulate industry and displease corporate campaign contributors has led U.S. President George W. Bush’s administration to leave chemical, nuclear and other sites vulnerable to attack, a liberal advocacy group alleged yesterday in a new report (see GSN, Aug. 6). As the president signed into law the first Homeland Security Department appropriations bill (see related GSN story, today), Public Citizen accused the Bush administration of blocking laws that would require chemical companies to use safer technologies, ignoring states’ warnings about potential attacks on nuclear plants and standing in the way of proposed rail-security assessments. “Bush has abdicated his responsibility to protect America from the risk of terrorist attacks because he is fundamentally hostile to regulation of private industry and is loath to cross his big-money campaign contributors,” Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook said in a statement. Contributors tied to chemical plants, nuclear energy, hazardous-materials transport, ports and drinking water have generated about $20 million for the president’s campaigns and inauguration and the Republican National Committee since the 2000 election campaign, Public Citizen said. Such donors also spent more than $200 million to lobby the executive and legislative branches of government between 2002 and this year, said the group, which was founded in 1971 by current independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader. The White House and Republican National Committee did not respond to requests for comment by deadline today. At a press conference yesterday on the report, Public Citizen representatives said the group did not specifically research the donors’ contributions to the Democratic Party but that the industries in question typically give three times as much money to Republicans as to Democrats. Claybrook added that congressional advocates for the protections Public Citizen is seeking are usually Democrats. “In many cases, the administration and its Republican allies in Congress have either opposed security reforms or obstinately refused to act even though ready solutions are obvious,” Public Citizen said in the report. The group charged that the administration helped to block a bill sponsored by Senator John Corzine (D-N.J.) that would have shifted the chemical industry to use of safer chemicals and stopped an Environmental Protection Agency bid to use existing authority to mandate increased security at chemical plants. Despite a 2002 warning to Congress by 27 state attorneys general about the potentially catastrophic consequences of an attack on a nuclear plant, the group said, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and industry interests have scuttled legislation designed to increase nuclear-plant security, and the administration has done little to rectify nuclear plant-security gaps identified last year by the General Accounting Office, now known as the Government Accountability Office. “This president and Congress are not getting the job done,” Claybrook said at the press conference. The Bush administration, she said, relies too heavily on voluntary industry measures. She called for more regulations to ensure that all companies with sensitive sites take steps to secure facilities and protect people living nearby. “There ought to be regulations so all the companies involved are on an equal footing and they all have to take these steps,” she said. Homeland Security sets priorities as a function both of security vulnerabilities and of information about terrorist threats, and Public Citizen focused mainly on the former. Greenpeace spokesman Rick Hind, also present at the press conference, questioned the administration’s ability to set priorities based on threats. “After 9/11, are we going to rely on intelligence to harden these facilities in some way?” he asked of the sensitive sites mentioned in the report. As one example of relevant threat information, Claybrook added, “The CIA has identified trucks and trains as a potential for terrorists — not to have to bring chemicals into the country, but actually to just take them.” “This issue has been raised again and again,” she said. “There are all sorts of doomsday scenarios that you could think about and that are very real potentials.” Said Hind, “We know the terrorists are out there. The president says this every day.” Back to top

Bush Signs Homeland Security Appropriations Bill U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday signed the fiscal 2005 homeland security appropriations bill, which provides more than $40 billion for the Homeland Security Department — an increase of 6 percent over fiscal 2004 funding (see GSN, Aug. 18). The bill includes $4 billion for state and local assistance programs, including $150 million for port security grants and another $150 million for rail and transit security grants. The bill also includes nearly $3 billion of spending on cargo security, screening and inspections. In addition, the measure contains more than $1 billion for the Homeland Security Department’s Science and Technology Directorate, including $593 million to develop technology to counter threats posed by weapons of mass destruction (U.S. State Department release, Oct. 18).  The bill makes available $2.5 billion for Project BioShield to aid the development and prepurchase of medical countermeasures against weapons of mass destruction and to improve biological surveillance efforts (see GSN, Oct. 12; U.S. Homeland Security Department release, Oct. 19).  The bill also includes $20 million for programs conducted by the Texas A& M University system to train U.S. emergency workers on reacting to terrorist and biological weapons attacks, the Bryan-College Station Eagle reported (Brett Nauman, Bryan-College Station Eagle, Oct. 19). The top Democrat on the House Select Committee on Homeland Security, Representative Jim Turner (Texas), criticized the White House yesterday, saying “the truth of the matter is that the administration is not doing everything it can and should be doing to protect the homeland.” Containers are not being adequately checked for smuggled nuclear or radiological materials, a comprehensive terrorist watch list is needed and more airplane cargo must be examined for explosives, Turner said. Committee Chairman Christopher Cox (R-Calif.), however, accused Turner of making “partisan attacks.” “It is time for Democrats to check the facts. Today, America is safer than it has ever been before,” Cox said (Jennifer Loven, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Oct. 18). Back to top       NNSA to Train International Customs Officials The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced last week the development of a new Commodity Identification Training curriculum to teach customs officials worldwide to detect and halt shipments of WMD-related equipment (see GSN, Oct. 4). The new curriculum is intended to aid efforts to prevent the illicit trade of WMD technologies, according to the agency. By the end of the next month, training classes are expected to be held in 11 countries, including several former Soviet states, as well as Turkey and Thailand. “Our goal is to help partner countries incorporate WMD training programs for customs inspectors, investigators, border guards and other key personnel. NNSA initiates these partnerships with our experts at the national laboratories with the ultimate goal of preventing dangerous nuclear-related technology from falling into the hands of terrorists or proliferant nations,” agency chief Linton Brooks said in a statement (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, Oct. 14). Back to top

Iran Ready to Discuss “Short” Extension of Uranium Enrichment Suspension, Official Says A senior Iranian official said yesterday that, while Tehran remains committed to completing the nuclear fuel cycle, it is prepared to discuss a brief extension of its moratorium on uranium enrichment, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Oct. 18). “If the question is that of a suspension for a short period, we can talk about it,” Hassan Rohani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told Iranian state television. “But if the question is of depriving Iran of its rights, that is not negotiable and the negotiating team does not have the right to discuss such a thing with the Europeans” (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 18). The issue is scheduled to be discussed at a Thursday meeting between Germany, the United Kingdom and Iran, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said today. “We hope very much this matter can be resolved finally within the [IAEA] Board of Governors and not referred to the U.N. but only time will tell,” he added (Reuters, Oct. 19). Iran’s current suspension of enrichment is “temporary and voluntary,” according to Rohani. “It is not acceptable for us for someone to tell us that it’s OK for European countries or the United States to have the fuel cycle and nuclear power plants but that Iran cannot,” Rohani said, according to Reuters. He reiterated that Tehran believes the International Atomic Energy Agency should close Iran’s case. “We have answered all the questions which the inspectors asked. We have nothing more to say,” he said.  “If Iran’s case is not closed in November it will harm the IAEA’s reputation more than it will harm Iran because then the whole world would know that the IAEA is under pressure from some countries such as the United States,” he added (Reuters, Oct. 18). The U.N. agency has called on Iran to halt all uranium enrichment activities by Nov. 25. “Iran faces a clear choice,” said British International Security Minister Denis MacShane.  “It can choose to live up to its commitments, comply in full with the (IAEA) board’s resolutions, including by putting in place a full and lasting suspension and reap the benefits of the international confidence this would create. Or it can spurn the chance to reassure the international community.” “In that case the board will need to discuss additional measures, including very probably referral to the U.N. Security Council,” MacShane added today (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 19). Elsewhere, a senior member of Iran’s parliament said yesterday that the “carrots and sticks” proposal expected to be offered to Iran by the European powers was aimed at the Iranian public. “The proposal to trade off Iran’s absolute right to nuclear technology in return for some economic privileges is aimed at provoking public opinion within Iran,” said National Security and Foreign Affairs Committee member Rashid Jalali. “Such a policy is already doomed to failure,” he added (Aftab-e Yazd/BBC Monitoring, Oct. 19). Back to top       IAEA Team to Visit Brazilian Plant Today A three-member International Atomic Energy Agency team is expected to visit the Resende uranium enrichment plant in Brazil today to determine how to conduct inspections without revealing trade secrets about centrifuges at the site, according to Agence France-Presse (see GSN, Oct. 18). “We agreed on the details of the visit, which will allow them to say whether our plant conforms with the blueprints and design information that we sent [the] IAEA before construction,” said Oldair Gomes dos Santos, local head of the National Nuclear Energy Commission. The U.N. agency and Brazilian officials agreed yesterday to develop a process by which the uranium enrichment plant could be inspected to see if it meets agency regulations without allowing inspectors to view the uranium enrichment process itself, AFP reported (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 19).  “We are very optimistic that they will accept (our proposal),” said National Nuclear Energy Commission President Odair Dias Goncalves. “Then in a couple of weeks they will send inspectors and hopefully we’ll start commissioning the plant. That would take about six months” (Andrei Khalip, Reuters, Oct. 18). Back to top       North Korea Willing to Participate in Six-Party Nuclear Talks, No. 2 Leader Tells China North Korea remains committed to participation in six-party talks aimed at resolving the standoff over its nuclear program, the country’s No. 2 leader told Chinese officials yesterday in Beijing, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Oct. 18). Kim Yong Nam met with his Chinese counterpart, Wu Bangguo, who said the “common wish” of the international community is to see the matter resolved, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said today. Kim responded “in the strictest terms that the position of (North Korea) concerning the six-party talks is unchanged — that is, to solve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula through the six-party talks,” Zhang said (Joe McDonald, Associated Press/Washington Times, Oct. 19). “The situation on [the] Korea Peninsula is still complicated at present, but North Korea is willing to continue to seek a peaceful settlement of [the] nuclear problem through dialogue,” Chinese state TV quoted Kim as saying yesterday, Reuters reported (Reuters, Oct. 18). Back to top       Russia Supports Convention Against Nuclear Terrorism Russia believes that an international convention against acts of nuclear terrorism should be adopted quickly, the country’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Andrei Denisov, said yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 13). “In a situation when terrorists are striving to get possession of nuclear weapons and other nuclear materials, the adoption of the text of a convention of this kind at the current session of the U.N. General Assembly would be a weighty contribution to the cause of strengthening the international and legal basis of global antiterrorist collaboration,” Denisov said (ITAR-Tass/BBC Worldwide Monitoring, Oct. 18). Back to top

Umatilla Begins Incinerating Sarin Workers at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon destroyed nearly 560 gallons of sarin nerve agent Sunday, facility officials said yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 22). The facility began destroying rockets that had been filled with the chemical last month, the Associated Press reported, but the liquid agent was stored until workers had collected 500 gallons. “The beginning of agent feed to the liquid incinerator is a major milestone,” said Doug Hamrick, general manager of the disposal facility. “It represents the final destruction step of the agent from the rockets previously destroyed in the deactivation furnace.” The disposal process at Umatilla, which stores about 12 percent of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile, is expected to take about six years, according to AP (Associated Press/Corvallis Gazette Times, Oct. 18). Back to top

Canadian Ruling Party to Allow Parliament Vote on Missile Defense Cooperation With U.S. Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin’s Liberal Party is expected to hold debate in Parliament and a vote on participating in the U.S. missile defense program, Canadian Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 28). The vote, however, would be nonbinding for the Martin administration. The ruling party was previously believed to be avoiding parliamentary debate on missile defense, according to Canadian Press, because it would offer opposition party members the opportunity to express anti-American sentiments that could hurt relations between the two countries. Sources said Sunday that the Martin administration, after a week of negotiations with Conservatives, the Bloc Quebecois and the NDP, appears to have yielded to pressure in deciding to hold a vote (Canadian Press/Yahoo!News, Oct. 18). Meanwhile, Defense Minister Bill Graham told the Hill Times last week that Canada should not forgo participation in the U.S. program. “I think it is extremely dangerous for Canada to turn its back on a very important American initiative to defend ourselves and say, ‘We’re not going to have any part of this,’” Graham said. In response to criticisms of the system’s effectiveness, Graham said, “Today, the technology is perhaps not there for the type of states we’re worried about to reach North America. But the way technology is developing, in 10 years it could be and if we want to be part of this, we have to start at the beginning and work with the Americans to develop an answer to it.” “My experience is with these highly complicated military systems, is that they take time to develop,” he added. “I wouldn’t gamble on this not working. The stakes are too high.” Graham said Parliament would debate the issue and hold a vote, but that the Cabinet has final say in the matter (Kate Malloy, The Hill Times, Oct. 18).   Back to top

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