U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice (shown in a July photo) yesterday defended the Bush administration’s prewar assessment of Iraq’s nuclear weapons program (AFP photo/Toru Yamanaka). Rice Aware of Intelligence Debate on Iraqi Nuclear Weapons Efforts Before Making Claims Prior to claiming in 2002 that Iraq’s efforts to buy high-strength aluminum tubes were an indication of a relaunched nuclear weapons program, U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice knew that there was a dispute within the intelligence community as to the intended purposes of the tubes, the New York Times reported Sunday (see GSN, Sept. 28). During a Sept. 8, 2002, appearance on CNN, Rice said that the tubes were “only really suited for nuclear weapons programs.”..Full Story

U.S. Effort to Redirect Iraqi Scientists Stalls U.S. efforts to redirect former Iraqi WMD scientists to civilian research projects have been hampered by a lack of funding and continuing violence in Iraq, the Associated Press reported Saturday (see GSN, July 19)...Full Story

Missile Meeting to Discuss Chinese Membership By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — China’s possible entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime is likely to be a key topic of discussion during the regime’s annual plenary meeting, scheduled to begin today in Seoul (see GSN, Aug. 9)...Full Story

	Monday, October 4, 2004

U.S. Effort to Redirect Iraqi Scientists Stalls U.S. efforts to redirect former Iraqi WMD scientists to civilian research projects have been hampered by a lack of funding and continuing violence in Iraq, the Associated Press reported Saturday (see GSN, July 19). The U.S. State Department had envisioned conducting a dozen workshops and seminars beginning earlier this year for former Iraqi WMD scientists, as well as constructing a desalination plant employing the former scientists to serve as a model for future projects, AP reported. The Bush administration’s fiscal 2005 budget request for efforts to redirect former WMD scientists, though, contains no new funding for the Iraq efforts, AP reported. In addition, the continued violence in Iraq has prevented the joint U.S.-Iraqi activities needed to develop support for the redirection program, according to the State Department. A former Iraqi nuclear weapons scientist said that there is an “imminent danger” that other former WMD scientists may leave Iraq and sell their skills to the highest bidder. “I hear there are some cases where scientists have left Iraq. There’s a concern of proliferation, and this should be controlled,” said scientist Mahdi Obeidi (Charles Hanley, Associated Press/Miami Herald, Oct. 2). Another concern is that former WMD scientists might choose to work with insurgents inside Iraq, according to the Los Angeles Times. “The immediate fear is the proximity of these scientists to the insurgents and terrorists in Iraq,” a U.S. official who travels frequently to Baghdad said. “That has become a compelling issue for us” (Bob Drogin, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 3). Back to top       U.S. Provides WMD Detection Equipment to Two Nations The United States yesterday announced it has provided Jordan with a mobile X-ray unit to help intercept WMD-related items at its borders, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Aug. 17). “Advanced technology is critical to the effort to prevent the illegal trade in hazardous cargoes related to WMD,” said a statement by the U.S. Embassy in Amman, quoting the U.S. charge d’affaires David Hale at the handing-over ceremony. “The X-ray van provided ... to the Jordanian customs department is equipped with sophisticated detection devices that will increase the government’s ability to ensure Jordan’s trade with other countries is safe and secure.” The equipment was provided to Jordan under the State Department-funded U.S. Export Control Border Security program, the statement said (see GSN, June 10; Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Oct. 3). Meanwhile, the United States has also provided radiation detectors to Turkmenistan’s customs and border services, the U.S. Embassy said Friday. The 80 radiation pagers, which detect gamma-ray radiation, were delivered earlier this week and are intended to improve the central Asian nation’s ability to detect and interdict nuclear materials, the embassy said in a statement. The pagers are hundreds of times more sensitive than traditional Geiger counter-type detectors, Associated Press reported (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Oct. 1). Back to top       India Asks U.S. to Lift Sanctions Against Scientists India has called on the United States to lift penalties imposed on two scientists for allegedly aiding Iran’s WMD and missile programs, Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said Friday. The U.S. State Department announced sanctions last week against a wide range of firms and individuals accused of supplying WMD and missile technology to Iran (see GSN, Sept. 30). One of the two Indian scientists has never visited Iran, while the other last traveled to the Islamic republic in mid-2003, Sarna said. “No transfer of sensitive technology has taken place,” Sarna said. “Our track record in this is well-known. The U.S. government has been asked to review the issue and withdraw the sanctions” (Agence France-Presse/Daily Times, Oct. 1). The U.S. State Department is “discussing this issue with the Indian government,” an agency spokesman said Friday (Press Trust of India/Hindustan Times, Oct. 1). One of the two sanctioned scientists, C.H. Surender, said Friday that he had been “really surprised” to be included among those sanctioned by the United States last week. “The matter is very serious as I was not involved in any program, even remotely with Iran and in fact [have] never even flown to Iran,” he said (Times of India, Oct. 1). Back to top       China, South Korea Won’t Take Part in PSI Exercise, Japanese Report Says China and South Korea are not expected to attend Asia’s first multinational naval drill aimed at interdicting shipments of weapons of mass destruction, the Tokyo Shimbun reported yesterday (see GSN, July 26). Japan is scheduled this month to host the U.S.-sponsored Proliferation Security Initiative exercise, which is expected to include representatives from 15 PSI member nations including the United States, Australia, France and Singapore. China and South Korea are not PSI members, and have not responded to invitations to participate in the training, Agence France-Presse reported. North Korean opposition to the exercise is believed to have led China and South Korea to opt out of the drill, according to the Tokyo. North Korea accused Japan in August of adopting a “double-faced” attitude towards Pyongyang by engaging in talks with it while leading the PSI drill, AFP reported (Agence France-Presse, Oct. 3). Meanwhile, the U.S. Defense Department announced Friday that operational experts from 17 countries took part in the first PSI maritime interdiction game hosted last week by the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, R.I. Participants came from Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States took part in the five-day games that concluded Oct. 1, according to the statement (U.S. Defense Department release, Oct. 1). Back to top

Rice Aware of Intelligence Debate on Iraqi Nuclear Weapons Efforts Before Making Claims Prior to claiming in 2002 that Iraq’s efforts to buy high-strength aluminum tubes were an indication of a relaunched nuclear weapons program, U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice knew that there was a dispute within the intelligence community as to the intended purposes of the tubes, the New York Times reported Sunday (see GSN, Sept. 28). During a Sept. 8, 2002, appearance on CNN, Rice said that the tubes were “only really suited for nuclear weapons programs.” A year earlier, though, Rice’s staff had been told that there was disagreement on the issue, according to four CIA officials and two senior administration officials. While the White House supported a theory pushed by a CIA analyst that the tubes were intended for use in uranium enrichment centrifuges, Energy Department experts said they were more likely intended for use in conventional artillery rockets, the Times reported. While she knew of the debate on the tubes prior to her CNN appearance, Rice only learned of the rocket theory afterward, the administration officials told the Times. President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney also publicly referred to the tubes in the buildup to the invasion of Iraq as evidence of former President Saddam Hussein’s nuclear weapons efforts, the Times reported. According to the Times, the CIA prepared 15 reports from April 2001 to September 2002 on the issue of tubes, many of which were sent to high-level officials. Congressional and intelligence officials with access to the unreleased reports have said, though, that none of them contained information on the Energy Department’s dissent on the purpose of the tubes. “They never lay out the other case,” a congressional official said. CIA and Bush administration officials said, though, that dissenting views were often discussed during meetings and telephone calls. While some of the reports “weren’t as well caveated as, in retrospect, they should have been,” a senior official said, “there was certainly nothing that was hidden” (Barstow, Broad and Gerth, New York Times, Oct. 3). During interviews yesterday, Rice said that the “intelligence community as a whole” had supported the theory that the tubes were intended for nuclear weapons purposes. An inquiry conducted by the Senate intelligence committee found, though, that while the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency supported that belief, the State Department’s intelligence service backed the Energy Department in its assessment that the tubes were for use in conventional rockets, according to the New York Times. Rice also said yesterday that there was still disagreement as to the real purpose of the tubes. “People are still debating this,” she said. CIA officials have said that the purpose of the tubes is still an open question, according to the Times. The Iraq Survey Group, the unit conducting the search for evidence of prewar Iraq’s WMD efforts, has told both the CIA and Congress, however, that no evidence has been found that the tubes had been intended for a nuclear weapons program, the Times reported. Regardless of the debate over the tubes, Rice said that invading Iraq was still justified. “I stand by the decision to go to war against Saddam Hussein and remove this threat to American security,” she said (Jeff Gerth, New York Times, Oct. 4). Democratic presidential candidate Senator John Kerry (Mass.) said yesterday, though, that Sunday’s New York Times report suggested that the Bush administration had not been truthful in its prewar assessments of Iraq’s alleged WMD efforts, according to Agence France-Presse. “There are very serious questions about whether the administration was open and honest in making the case for war in Iraq," Kerry said. “These are questions that the president must face. These are question that the president has to answer fully to the American people and the troops” (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Oct. 3). Back to top       Iran Rejects Kerry Nuclear Proposal; Europeans Urge Bush to Adopt Challenger’s Position Iran yesterday rejected a proposal by U.S. Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry to supply the Islamic state with nuclear fuel for power reactors provided that Iran halted efforts to produce its own fuel and returned the spent fuel after use, Reuters reported (see GSN, Sept. 29; Reuters, Oct. 3). In his debate with U.S. President George W. Bush Thursday, Kerry criticized the U.S. strategy for dealing with Iran. “The United States should have offered the opportunity to provide the nuclear fuel [to Iran], test them, see whether or not they were actually looking for it for peaceful purposes,” he said (see GSN, Oct. 1; debate transcript, Sept. 30). Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said it would be “irrational” for Iran to rely on uranium fuel supplies from abroad. “What guarantees are there? Will they supply us one day and then, if they want to, stop supplying us on another day?” he said. “We have the technology (to make nuclear fuel) and there is no need for us to beg from others,” Asefi said. Iran has rejected repeated efforts by European countries to persuade it to give up its uranium enrichment activities (Reuters). Meanwhile, top EU officials from Germany and the Netherlands are lobbying the Bush administration to adopt Kerry’s position on Iran and its nuclear program, according to diplomats and a Kerry adviser. High-level meetings were held with both the White House and the Kerry campaign last week, the Financial Times reported. “The European message was that we cannot let weeks pass before the next deadline without doing something,” one diplomat said. “We need a last-ditch approach, not more pressure, but a mix with a package and incentives.” (see GSN, Sept. 27). The European proposal offers Iran a guaranteed supply of nuclear fuel for its civilian reactors with all waste products to be returned and closely monitored. Iran would pledge to end development of its own enrichment plants that could be used to make nuclear weapons. White House officials were reportedly skeptical, but did not reject the European initiative outright (Guy Dinmore, Financial Times, Oct. 2). The large majority of members of Iran’s parliament favor resuming uranium enrichment and are expected to soon begin debating a measure that would force the government to do so, Agence France-Presse reported. “The plan to oblige the government to resume enrichment has the support of 238 deputies” out of a total 290, said foreign policy and national security committee head Allaeddin Borujerdi (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 3). Iranian officials do not expect their country’s nuclear work to be referred to the U.N. Security Council when the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors meets next month, Asefi said. “I don’t believe Iran’s file has to be sent to the Security Council. However, we are not worried about such a referral since in that case, the only loser will be the opposite side,” said Asefi. “I believe the next report of the agency will be more positive and negotiations with the IAEA inspectors will help remove all ambiguities” (IRNA, Oct. 3). Elsewhere, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said it is “premature to talk about” referring Iran to the Security Council for possible sanctions, Al-Sharq al-Awsat reported. ElBaradei said that there was much still unknown about the Iranian program and that he was “still trying to have a practical diplomatic solution through an international inspection apparatus” (Al-Sharq al-Awsat (London)/BBC Monitoring, Oct. 3). Back to top       ElBaradei Calls on South Korea to Provide All Information on Uranium, Plutonium Experiments The world’s top nuclear official yesterday called on South Korea to fully reveal its past nuclear experiments and to prevent future undeclared tests (see GSN, Sept. 27). “Any undeclared activities is a matter of serious concern for me,” said International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, who began a visit to Seoul this week. “We just wanted to make sure these were experiments and that there were nothing more than these experiments ... (and that) these experiments will not be repeated again without being declared to the organization.” South Korea has told the U.N. agency that it conducted experiments involving small amounts of plutonium in 1982 and enriched uranium in 2000, according to Agence France-Presse. ElBaradei cautioned, though, against rushing to judgment on South Korea, AFP reported. “You cannot speculate on the issue before we have a comprehensive report on these experiments,” he said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Oct. 3). An official at the South Korean Science and Technology Ministry said yesterday that Seoul expects additional IAEA inspections in South Korea. To date, the agency has conducted two rounds of inspections during its investigation into the South Korean nuclear experiments, the Yonhap News Agency reported. “We expect scores more inspection teams will come to us, although we have yet to receive any information from the International Atomic Energy Agency about a third inspection team visiting Seoul,” the official said (Yonhap/BBC Worldwide Monitoring, Oct. 3). Back to top       Khan Punished Through Humiliation, Rice Says Defending Pakistan’s decision to pardon top nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan for dispersing nuclear technology, U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said yesterday that the scientist has been punished by being “nationally humiliated” (see GSN, Sept. 30). Early this year, Khan confessed to transferring nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea. In exchange for his cooperation in the investigation into the international nuclear network, Khan received a conditional pardon from Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. “A.Q. Khan, in a sense, has been brought to justice because he is out of the business that he loved most,” Rice said in an interview with CNN. “And if you don’t think that his national humiliation is justice for what he did, I think it is. He’s nationally humiliated” (Agence France-Presse/TurkishPress.com, Oct. 3). Back to top       North Korean Nuclear Weapon Assessments Lack Evidence, KEDO Chief Says Despite reports that North Korea could have up to eight nuclear weapons, the actual number might be closer to zero, the head of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization said Friday (see GSN, Oct. 1). “When you get into this discussion about the numbers, it quickly sort of becomes people seeking facts,” KEDO Executive Director Charles Kartman told the Associated Press. South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck said in April that North Korea could make eight bombs by reprocessing 8,000 spent nuclear fuel rods, AP reported. And in Thursday’s presidential election debate, Democratic candidate John Kerry said the communist nation had “four to seven nuclear weapons,” in criticizing President George W. Bush for not engaging North Korea bilaterally to persuade it to disarm. “They feel comfortable with the numbers because they imply facts. These aren’t facts.  They’re worst-casing all sorts of stuff. There may be zero.  The number of proven weapons is zero,” Kartman said. The International Atomic Energy Agency found traces of plutonium in samples taken from the Yongbyon reactor in the 1990s, leading to suspicions that North Korea might have reprocessed plutonium at the site, AP reported. “There is a maximum amount of plutonium that could have been reprocessed, and if that is true, then depending on the state of North Korean technology, it would have been sufficient for one, or at most, two (weapons),” Kartman said. “Now when you get to the number two, you are really applying the worst-case scenario. Everything has to run right,” Kartman said. “You’re not going to get too many responsible scientists going along with the number two” since the mid-1990s (Peter James Spielmann, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Oct. 1). Back to top       Worldwide Weapon-Grade Nuclear Material Stockpiles Growing, Institute Study Says Stockpiles of weapon-grade plutonium and uranium are growing around the world, despite efforts to curtail the proliferation of nuclear materials, Reuters reported yesterday. “At the end of 2003, there were more than 3,700 metric tons of plutonium and highly enriched uranium, … enough for hundreds of thousands of nuclear weapons, in about 60 countries,” Kimberly Kramer and former U.N. weapons inspector David Albright wrote in an article to be published in the next issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Reuters obtained an advanced copy of the article. Most of the weapon-grade material is in Russia, followed by the United States, Reuters reported. Most of the plutonium is in civilian hands, and the uranium is largely in military stockpiles. The fact that nations not party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty continue to produce weapon-grade nuclear material emphasizes the need for “an international ban on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons,” according to Albright and Kramer. “Civil plutonium stocks are not expected to decrease in the next 15 years,” they write. “This is worrisome not only because the world has yet to come up with an accepted method of plutonium disposition but also from a security standpoint — how safe is that plutonium and HEU?” (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, Oct. 3). Back to top

Bioshield Legislation Fails to Adequately Address Liability, Patent Issues, Study Finds By Marina Malenic Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. Project Bioshield legislation does not adequately address patents, liability and other issues while pledging government incentives to the drug industry for research and development of antidotes to various chemical and biological weapons, the Chemical and Biological Arms Control Institute said in a report released last week (see GSN, July 21). Although Bioshield addresses some barriers to industry involvement in vaccine development, the study identifies a number of remaining difficulties. These include: v      The legislation does not call for a coordinating body. It is generally assumed that the responsibility would fall to the Health and Human Services Department, but Bioshield is not specific; v      The allocation of $5.6 billion over 10 years may not be sufficient to address the need and the threat. The Congressional Budget Office determined that it would cost $8 billion to carry out Project Bioshield’s goals; and v      Bioshield allocates financing for “significant biological countermeasures,” but never defines them. In addition to these shortcomings, Bioshield does not address liability issues or patents, according to the study, and the working group offered the following suggestions: v      Immunity should be provided for biodefense vaccine manufacturers in which the government assumes complete responsibility for liability, to be applied only when vaccines are administered during emergencies or crisis situations — including the dispensing of vaccines following an act of terrorism; v      Strict limits on liability under any future legislation; v      Use of provisions from the 30-day moratorium on lawsuits against airlines after the terrorism attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 as a temporary measure until protection legislation is enacted; v      An executive order to protect pharmaceutical companies from liability issues. Bioshield passed the U.S. Senate unanimously (see GSN, May 20). Even before its passage, however, the bill’s original co-sponsors, Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), were preparing a second version to address patent and liability issues. Bioshield II, as the expected legislation is known, would provide tax incentives and address liability concerns to make it profitable for the private sector to invest in research and development of bioterrorism countermeasures, said Hatch spokesman Adam Eggen. Like the earlier legislation, Bioshield II is expected to target research on pathogens that have the potential to be made into weapons, according to Eggen. Back to top       Federal Anthrax Investigators Began Looking at New York Doctor 18 Months Ago A doctor whose western New York home was searched in connection with the 2001 anthrax attacks has been under federal investigation for the last 18 months, though he has neither been charged nor called a suspect in the case, the New York Times reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 19). “They’ve actually said that they’re doing all this to clear him,” said John Moustakas, a lawyer for Kenneth Berry. Federal law enforcement officials would not say why they began looking at Berry. They said, however, that they have no evidence of wrongdoing on his part, according to the Times. Berry may have fit a profile of the type of person federal agents are looking for, according to the Times. Berry owns patents on biodefense devices and had managed to become something of a “player” in the biodefense world, discussing the germ threat with members of Congress, the military, defense contractors and news organizations, according to the Times. None of his patented systems have been sold or developed, Moustakas said. The fact that acquisition of the patents came around the time of the anthrax mailings, however, may have drawn FBI scrutiny, he said. Some former associates say Berry was also inclined to invent or exaggerate his credentials, which may have appeared suspicious to federal investigators, according to the Times. Berry reportedly told colleagues at Jones Memorial Hospital in Wellsville, N.Y., where he ran the emergency room from 1996 to 2001, that he might be summoned at any moment to help defend the nation against bioterrorism. He kept a cellular “hot phone” at the nurses’ station, they said. “He would tell us he was on an important mission,” a former co-worker said. ”He was a counterterrorism wannabe,” said Jerome Hauer, a former assistant secretary of health and human services for emergency preparedness in the Bush administration Moustakas disputed those characterizations. “Dr. Berry’s own cell phone could have only become a ‘hot phone’ in the minds of others who quite rightly understood that [the Defense Threat Reduction Agency] might be expected to reach him in a biodefense emergency,” Moustakas said (George/Miller, New York Times, Oct. 3). Back to top

Pine Bluff Plans to Begin Burning Chemical Weapons Next Year; Final “Dress Rehearsal” Performed The Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas is prepared to begin incineration of its 3,850 tons of chemical weapons in February, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, July 26). “We’re at the watershed point,” U.S. Army program manager Kevin Flamm told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. In recent weeks, workers practiced removing dummy munitions from a bunker and transporting the mock weapons to the incinerator, according to AP. “This is really our final dress rehearsal,” said Chris West, a spokesman for contractor Washington Group International. The Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility would be the sixth of eight planned U.S. sites to begin eliminating chemical munitions. Its work is expected to take seven years (Associated Press/Lexington Herald-Leader, Oct. 4). Back to top

Missile Meeting to Discuss Chinese Membership By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — China’s possible entry into the Missile Technology Control Regime is likely to be a key topic of discussion during the regime’s annual plenary meeting, scheduled to begin today in Seoul (see GSN, Aug. 9). The regime is a multilateral export control system that seeks to establish common rules for exporting ballistic missiles and related technologies. During this week’s meeting, which continues through Friday, representatives from the regime’s 34 members will discuss “the state of the missile world,” a U.S. State Department official said. Describing that “state” as a “mixed picture,” the official noted the success achieved this year in implementing Libya’s decision last year to eliminate its MTCR-class missiles — those capable of carrying a 500-kilogram payload to a range of at least 300 kilometers. Since renouncing weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems, Libya has eliminated its Scud C missiles and has agreed to dismantle its stockpile of Scud B missiles (see GSN, Sept. 23). The State Department official said, though, that concerns persist regarding the ballistic missile efforts of Iran and North Korea, including Pyongyang’s continued exports of missile-related technologies. Iran recently tested its Shahab 3 nuclear-capable missile, which reportedly has a range of 2,000 kilometers (see GSN, Sept. 22). In addition, there have been signs of greater North Korean missile activity, including at sites designed to launch Rodong and Taepodong 2 missiles, which have respective estimated ranges of 1,300 kilometers and up to 6,000 kilometers (see GSN, Sept. 27). Members of the Missile Technology Control Regime, which launched in 1987, agree to implement similar export controls on missiles and related technologies. Under the regime’s guidelines, members agree to use a “strong presumption of denial” for exports in Category 1 of the regime’s annex, including complete missile systems capable of carrying a 500-kilogram payload to a range of at least 300 kilometers and related production facilities. Exports of items on Category 2 of the annex, which includes missile-related items and technologies and some other missile systems, are considered on a case-by-case basis. One key topic likely to be discussed at the meeting is China, which is seeking to become a regime member. Chinese and MTCR officials have held several sets of talks this year on China’s application, which would have to be approved by all regime members. While China has worked in recent years to strengthen its domestic export control regulations, there are continued concerns about Beijing’s record of enforcement. Such concerns were highlighted last week with the imposition of U.S. sanctions against the China New Era Group for allegedly making what the State Department official described then as a “material contribution” to a foreign country’s WMD-capable missile program (see GSN, Oct. 1). “I think China has a ways to go before they’ve demonstrated the willingness and the ability to control such exports,” Richard Speier, a former U.S. Defense Department official who helped to negotiate the regime, said in a written message to Global Security Newswire. The apparent timing of the sanctions to this week’s MTCR meeting could be an indication of U.S. concerns over China’s membership in the regime, said Wade Boese of the Arms Control Association in Washington. The State Department official, however, denied any link between the sanctions and the meeting. China is not likely to be accepted into the regime this year, according to the official and outside experts. The State Department official declined to comment on the possible addition of other countries to the regime this year. Earlier this year, a former MTCR chairman said that several countries, including Belarus, Kazakhstan and Malaysia have expressed interest in developing closer ties to the regime.  MTCR members are also expected to discuss proposals for new additions to the regime’s control list, the State Department official said. While not providing details on what types of items may be proposed, the official said there would be “no unifying theme” to the possible additions. There are also set to be information exchanges on known proliferators, as well as a meeting of experts on export control enforcement, the official said.  Back to top

United Kingdom Brings Terrorism Charges Against Three Suspected of Seeking Materials for Dirty Bomb British authorities charged three men Friday with trying to obtain radioactive material to make a “dirty bomb,” Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Sept. 27). Roque Flaviano Fernandes, Dominic Agnelo Martins and Abdurahman Ranyare were charged under the British Terrorism Act 2000. They made a brief court appearance Saturday and were ordered held until they are scheduled to appear in court again on Nov. 1. Police detained four men on Sept. 4, but released one man without filing charges, according to AFP. The News of the World newspaper reported two days after the arrest that it had infiltrated a gang looking to buy a kilogram of “red mercury,” a Soviet-era material which it said could be used to make a hand-held dirty bomb. The explosive allegedly was to be sold to a Saudi national for use in the United States or United Kingdom (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Oct. 2). Meanwhile, Time magazine reported yesterday that an Islamic cell was attempting to build a dirty bomb before being broken up in August in the United Kimgdom. The arrests were the result of a yearlong surveillance operation code-named Operation Spangle, according to AFP.  Investigators discovered a number of household smoke detectors, which authorities suspect the group wanted to cannibalize for trace amounts of americium 241. Officials said it was extremely unlikely that enough of the radioactive chemical could be harvested from the devices to create an explosive that could cause radiation sickness, Time reported. Others, however, contended that the release of even small amounts of radioactive material into a crowded stadium or subway station could trigger radiation sensors, incite panic and cause contamination, according to the report (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Oct. 3).   Back to top

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