U.S.-led WMD hunters in Iraq reported yesterday that Baghdad had little trouble subverting international sanctions intended to prevent Iraq from acquiring missiles and other weapon systems (AFP photo/Karim Sahib). Hussein Had “Virtually No Problem” Purchasing Missile Components, Duelfer Report Says Despite U.N. sanctions on Iraq, former President Saddam Hussein raised billions of dollars from the U.N. oil-for-food program and in 1999 began buying long-range missile components and other arms in large-scale purchases, chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq Charles Duelfer concluded in his report released Wednesday (see GSN, Oct. 7)...Full Story

United States Seeking to Use Back Channels to Resolve North Korean Nuclear Issues, U.S. Lawmaker Says By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States is working to use third-party channels to resolve the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula, U.S. Representative Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) told Global Security Newswire yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 7)...Full Story

Bush, Kerry Clash Over Iraq Survey Group Report By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — U.S. President George W. Bush and his Democratic rival Senator John Kerry (Mass.) clashed yesterday over the meaning of the latest findings of the U.S. unit searching for evidence of prewar Iraq’s alleged WMD efforts (see GSN, Oct. 7)...Full Story

	Friday, October 8, 2004

U.S. House Begins Debate on Intelligence Reform Bill, Senate Rejects McCain Oversight Proposal By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives yesterday began debating legislation to implement the intelligence reforms proposed this summer by the Sept. 11 commission, including the creation of a national director to oversee the U.S. intelligence community (see GSN, Oct. 7). As envisioned by the House bill, the national intelligence director would have less budgetary and personnel authority over most U.S. intelligence agencies than provided by similar legislation approved this week by the Senate. The House bill also contains a number of nonintelligence-related provisions concerning law enforcement and immigration that could hinder efforts to reach a compromise bill with the Senate. The House voted 213-203 yesterday to reject an amendment that would have substituted the provisions of the Senate intelligence reform bill. The vote fell mainly along party lines, with the amendment supported by most House Democrats and opposed by most Republicans. House Republican leaders are reportedly preparing to eliminate a provision in the bill that would enable the United States to deport foreign terrorism suspects to countries that allow torture. Instead, Republicans will back a proposal to allow for indefinite detention in the United States of suspects, the Washington Post reported. The House is expected today to complete work and vote on its version of intelligence reform legislation. Meanwhile, the Senate yesterday rejected a proposal to improve congressional oversight by granting the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence consolidated appropriations and authorization power over intelligence funding. Senators killed by a vote of 74-23 the proposed addition from Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) to a resolution before the full Senate intended to improve congressional oversight of intelligence and homeland security as recommended by the Sept. 11 commission. The resolution, prepared by a bipartisan working group, would modify the structure and authority of several Senate committees, including the intelligence and governmental affairs panels. The resolution, however, would stop short of the recommendations made by the Sept. 11 commission, which called for either the creation of a joint House and Senate intelligence panel or the creation of separate Senate and House intelligence committees with consolidated control over intelligence spending.  McCain was quoted by the Washington Post today as saying that congressional oversight over intelligence would remain “dysfunctional” if the intelligence committee was not given consolidated authority. The Senate is expected to complete work today on the resolution. The House of Representatives is not expected to tackle the issue of congressional oversight until next year. Back to top

Hussein Had “Virtually No Problem” Purchasing Missile Components, Duelfer Report Says Despite U.N. sanctions on Iraq, former President Saddam Hussein raised billions of dollars from the U.N. oil-for-food program and in 1999 began buying long-range missile components and other arms in large-scale purchases, chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq Charles Duelfer concluded in his report released Wednesday (see GSN, Oct. 7). “Prohibited goods and weapons were being shipped into Iraq with virtually no problem,” the report says. “Indeed, Iraq was designing missile systems with the assumption that sanctioned material would be readily available.” The report, released Wednesday, names the governments of Syria, Belarus, Yemen, North Korea, the former Yugoslavia and possibly Russia as dealing directly with the Hussein regime. Illicit visits to Iraq by officials and arms merchants from Europe, Asia and the Middle East are also documented in detail, according to the New York Times. In addition, private companies from Jordan, China, India, South Korea, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Cyprus, Egypt, Lebanon, Georgia, Poland, Romania, Taiwan, Italy and Turkey offered or sold components to Iraq that could have been used to produce weapons of mass destruction, according to the report. The report quotes Hussein, speaking at a gathering of leaders of the Iraqi armed forces in January 2000, boasting that despite efforts by the United States and the United Nations to isolate his regime, he was able to purchase nearly any type of military equipment he wanted. “We have said with certainty that the embargo will not be lifted by a Security Council resolution, but will corrode by itself,” Hussein said in the speech, a quotation Duelfer included on the cover of the chapter in his report demonstrating the ineffectiveness of sanctions in isolating Hussein. U.S. President George W. Bush said yesterday that the report demonstrates that Saddam Hussein used the oil-for-food program to evade the arms embargo, intending to rebuild his military after the first Gulf War. “Saddam was systematically gaming the system, using the United Nations oil-for-food program to try to influence countries and companies in an effort to undermine sanctions,” he said. Several U.S. entities are listed as having received oil vouchers that permitted them to profit from the oil-for-food program, according to the report. Unlike non-U.S. recipients, however, those entities are not named in the report due to U.S. privacy laws, according to the Times. They are instead listed as a “United States company” or a “United States person” (Lipton/Shane, New York Times, Oct. 8). Meanwhile, a Russian foreign affairs expert said North Korea may have provided assistance to Saddam Hussein’s missile programs, but he doubted that Iraq received similar assistance from Russia. “I do not rule out the possibility that some elements of missiles might have been supplied to Iraq from North Korea. Claims that Iraq might have received such assistance from Russia in violations of the U.N. sanctions do not correspond to reality,” Vladimir Dvorkin of the Institute of World Economy and International Relations told Interfax yesterday (Interfax, Oct. 7). The United States does not plan to take immediate action against entities that may have violated sanctions in order to avoid exacerbating tensions with allies during the presidential campaign, the Washington Post reported. “It seems the sensible thing to do is to let these investigations play out,” a senior Bush administration official said. “The information is only going to get better as time goes on.” “We’re interested in tracking down the (illegal) trade but not interested in doing it before the elections for fear of opening up new fronts and further alienating European allies,” said another U.S. official. The administration is “taking its time” in assessing the report, said James Wilkinson, deputy national security adviser for communications.  “We’re still studying the report, but it paints a disturbing picture of individuals, companies and others with curious relationships working secretly to help Saddam. At this point, I wouldn’t rule out future options,” he said. The administration believes that U.S. allies are studying the report “as closely as we are and there may be potential actions by those nations internally,” Wilkinson said. French Ambassador to the United States Jean-David Levitte “expressed anger at the process and said he was not happy that names of individuals and companies are being made public on the basis of allegations that have not been verified,” embassy spokeswoman Nathalie Loiseau said. Levitte questioned the fairness of not allowing parties listed in the report to give their version of the story, while the names of U.S. companies were left out entirely (Wright/Kessler, Washington Post, Oct. 8). Meanwhile, former U.N. weapons inspectors said Duelfer’s report proved that the inspections regime was effective in keeping Hussein from acquiring banned weapons, the Post reported. “We can see today that the inspections worked,” said Rolf Ekeus, who led the first international arms inspectors into Iraq in 1991. He said the report demonstrated that most of Iraq’s banned weapons, equipment and facilities had either been destroyed or transferred to nonmilitary use by 1995. The report indicates that “international inspection is another means of war without fighting,” Hans Blix, the chief U.N. inspector from 2000 to 2003, told the Post. He added that Hussein would have been contained had his inspectors been allowed to remain in Iraq instead of having to evacuate prior to the war. “Saddam would have remained, but he would have become like (Fidel) Castro or (Muammar) Qadhafi, in power but not a threat to his neighbors,” said Blix. By 2001, however, Duelfer told a congressional committee Wednesday, “My personal view is that the sanctions were in free fall. They were eroding.  There was a lot of corruption. Were it not for 9/11, I don’t know that they would exist today” (Walter Pincus, Washington Post, Oct. 8). International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said today that the report had proved his agency correct in its assessment of prewar Iraq’s weapons, Agence France-Presse reported. “The lesson I take from that is that the international community should listen to us more carefully in the future” before resorting to force, he said. He added that it was a “relief” to see that IAEA inspections had played a role in the disarmament of Iraq. He said the U.N. inspectors would return to the country once the security situation improves (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 8). Back to top       Bush, Kerry Clash Over Iraq Survey Group Report By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — U.S. President George W. Bush and his Democratic rival Senator John Kerry (Mass.) clashed yesterday over the meaning of the latest findings of the U.S. unit searching for evidence of prewar Iraq’s alleged WMD efforts (see GSN, Oct. 7). In a report released yesterday, chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq Charles Duelfer said that the Iraq Survey Group found no evidence that Iraq possessed stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction or the programs to create them at the time of the U.S. invasion last year. Many of Duelfer’s findings, which portrayed Iraq’s WMD efforts in a state of decay following the 1991 Gulf War, contradicted statements made in the runup to Operation Iraqi Freedom by Bush and other senior White House officials regarding the WMD threat posed by former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. Duelfer’s report also says, though, that Hussein intended to resume his WMD efforts once U.N. sanctions against Iraq had been lifted, and sought to retain some elements of his former WMD program infrastructure, such as cadres of scientists. The report also notes that the sanctions imposed against Iraq were gradually diminishing in effectiveness prior to the U.S. invasion. Bush acknowledged yesterday that Duelfer’s report “confirms the earlier conclusion of [former U.S. chief weapons inspector] David Kay that Iraq did not have the weapons that our intelligence believed were there.” Nevertheless, Bush continued to defend his decision to invade Iraq, saying that Hussein posed a “unique threat.” “I believe we were right to take action, and America is safer today with Saddam Hussein in prison. He retained the knowledge, the materials, the means, and the intent to produce weapons of mass destruction. And he could have passed that knowledge on to our terrorist enemies,” Bush said. “In a world after September the 11th, he [Hussein] was a threat we had to confront. And America and the world are safer for our actions,” Bush added. Vice President Dick Cheney yesterday also seized onto the issue of intent in defending the war, saying that Duelfer’s report showed that “delay, defer, wait wasn’t an option,” according to reports. “As soon as sanctions were lifted he had every intention of going back” to WMD efforts, Cheney said, according to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. A U.S. State Department spokesman said yesterday that the conclusions made by Duelfer in his report were not necessarily those of the administration. “He’s not speaking on behalf of the Bush administration, he’s not speaking on behalf of the State Department, he’s not speaking on behalf of the CIA,” State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said. The administration’s comments prompted harsh replies from Kerry and his running mate, Senator John Edwards (D-N.C.). During a campaign stop in Englewood, Colo., Kerry accused the Bush administration of being in “absolute full spin mode” concerning Duelfer’s report. “Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States and the vice president of the United States may well be the last two people on the planet who won't face the truth about Iraq,” Kerry said. “Mr. President, the American people deserve more than spin about this war. They deserve facts that represent reality, not carefully polished arguments and points that are simply calculated to align with a preconceived perception,” Kerry added. During a separate campaign appearance in New Jersey, Edwards said the Bush administration was “willing to say that left is right, up is down.” Back to top

United States Seeking to Use Back Channels to Resolve North Korean Nuclear Issues, U.S. Lawmaker Says By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States is working to use third-party channels to resolve the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula, U.S. Representative Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) told Global Security Newswire yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 7). Weldon declined to provide further details on such efforts or whether the channels have aided in resolving the dispute surrounding North Korea’s nuclear work. He did say, though, that during a one-on-one meeting with Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qadhafi earlier this year, he called on Qadhafi to aid U.S. efforts in ending North Korea’s suspected nuclear weapons program. Libya, which has worked this year to dismantle its own WMD and ballistic missile programs, could serve as a model for North Korea by illustrating that disarmament can occur without regime change, Weldon said. The United States is addressing the North Korean nuclear issue through multilateral talks involving China, Japan, Russia and South Korea. After three rounds of six-party talks, the effort stalled when North Korea refused to attend a fourth round originally set to be held last month. Pyongyang has blamed the breakdown in talks on a “hostile policy” by the United States and has called for bilateral negotiations with Washington — a position rejected by the Bush administration. In a statement carried today by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, a North Korea Foreign Ministry spokesman accused the Bush administration of using the six-party talks to “bring collective pressure upon it [North Korea] and secure a pretext to attack it by force just as it invaded Iraq.” “The six-party talks can be resumed right now if the U.S. rebuilds the groundwork of the talks with a willingness to make a switchover in its hostile policy toward the D.P.R.K.,” the statement says. The question of whether multilateral talks or bilateral negotiations would be more effective in resolving the North Korean issue was contested during the first U.S. presidential debate last week between President George W. Bush and his Democratic opponent, Senator John Kerry (Mass.).    Bush defended his administration’s handling of the issue, saying that multilateral talks were needed because some of the other countries involved, such as China, may have more leverage over Pyongyang. Kerry, however, said that the United States should engage North Korea directly in tandem with multilateral efforts. Weldon said yesterday that while it would take “tough negotiation,” he believes a diplomatic solution will be reached to the North Korea nuclear crisis. He said, though, that it would be a “mistake” to engage in bilateral talks with Pyongyang, noting that the other countries involved in the six-party talks have a stake in their outcome due both to being key trading partners with North Korea and to being in range of North Korean ballistic missiles. Weldon heavily criticized Kerry’s positions on nonproliferation, saying the senator was not “credible” due to lack of a record on such issues. “He was AWOL,” Weldon said. He also said that Kerry’s proposals on issues such as the North Korea nuclear crisis were “just campaign rhetoric.” For his part, Weldon has proposed a two-stage initiative to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, which he presented to Pyongyang during a congressional delegation visit in late May.  The first stage calls for the United States to sign a one-year nonaggression treaty with North Korea and to officially recognize the North Korean government; for Pyongyang to renounce its suspected nuclear weapons program, allow full inspections of its nuclear sites and rejoin the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty; and the ratification of an economic development program between North Korea and the other members of the six-party talks involving funding of up to $5 billion annually for 10 years   The second stage of the initiative, to be completed after inspections of North Korean nuclear sites are finished, calls for a permanent U.S.-North Korean nonaggression pact; North Korea to improve human rights record and to join the Missile Technology Control Regime, a multilateral export control system that seeks to establish common rules for exporting ballistic missiles and related technologies; the implementation of a cooperative threat-reduction program involving the members of the six-party talks; and the creation of an relationship between the U.S. Congress and the North Korean People’s Assembly to carry out a wide range of development recommendations. Back to top       U.S. Nuclear Shipment Reaches French Plant Trucks believed to contain U.S. weapon-grade plutonium arrived today at a recycling plant in southeastern France, Reuters reported (see GSN, Oct. 7). The heavily guarded convoy was received at the Areva recycling plant in Cadarache while about 100 people protested nearby. The company plans to recycle the plutonium into nuclear fuel that will be sent back to a U.S. reactor to generate electricity (Jacky Naegelen, Reuters, Oct. 8). Back to top       India, Pakistan to Hold Additional Talks This Year India and Pakistan yesterday exchanged proposals to hold additional talks later this year as part of a peace dialogue intended to reduce tensions between the nuclear-armed rivals, according to Agence France-Presse (see GSN, Sept. 7). The two countries have exchanged suggested dates to hold talks on eight bilateral issues between late November and early December, Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said.  Specific dates for the meetings are set to be later announced, Sarna said. Talks are expected to include discussions by experts on nuclear confidence-building measures regarding advance notification of missile tests by the two nations (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Oct. 7). Back to top

U.S. Announces Contracts for Smallpox, Plague, Tularemia Vaccine Research The U.S. Health and Human Services Department yesterday announced four biodefense contracts totaling more than $232 million for vaccine research on smallpox, plague and tularemia (see GSN, Oct. 7). “We are moving as quickly as possible to develop new vaccines to ensure that our nation is protected against an array of potential bioterror agents,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson. “These new contracts are the next steps in our plans to build a robust stockpile of critical medical countermeasures and supplies, so we are even more prepared to respond to a biological attack or outbreak.” The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded two three-year contracts totaling up to $177 million for advanced development of modified vaccinia Ankara vaccines for smallpox, research that began in February 2003. The contracts were awarded to Bavarian Nordic A/S of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Acambis Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., and Cambridge, England. If approved, the modified vaccine could be used to protect people whose weakened immune systems could not tolerate the existing inoculation. The three-year, $50.7 million plague vaccine contract was awarded to Avecia Biotechnology Ltd. of Manchester, England. There is currently no licensed plague vaccine. The National Institute modified an existing contract with DynPort Vaccine Co. of Frederick, Md., to include the manufacture of a pilot batch of live, attenuated tularemia vaccine. Stability testing for the vaccine is also covered under the $4.5 million modification. “In a short period of time, we have greatly expanded our partnerships with industry to spur the development of vaccines against the most deadly agents of bioterrorism,” said NIAID Director Anthony Fauci. “These important new contracts reflect our commitment to develop medical tools to protect citizens against pathogens that could be deliberately introduced into society” (Health and Human Services Department release, Oct. 7) Back to top       No Evidence that Ukrainian Presidential Candidate Was Victim of Assassination Attempt, Commission Says A Ukrainian parliamentary commission investigating the illness of opposition leader and presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko said yesterday that it has found no evidence to support allegations that Yushchenko had been poisoned (see GSN, Oct. 1). Last month, Yushchenko traveled to a hospital in Vienna twice for treatment after becoming sick. Yushchenko’s campaign chief, Oleksandr Zinchenko, said that doctors suspected that a “biological weapon” may be to blame. Yushchenko has given permission for biological weapons experts to be involved in his case, the Associated Press reported. Commission head Volodymyr Syvkovych said yesterday, though, that the panel “was unable to find evidence that could ascertain that an assassination attempt was made against Yushchenko.” However, Serhiy Shevchuk, the commission’s deputy leader, argued that the panel’s “conclusions are far from the truth” and called the report a “forgery” (Aleksandar Vasovic, Associated Press, Oct. 7). Back to top       U.S. Judge Criticizes Leaks in Anthrax Investigation Continuing leaks from within the Justice Department describing former U.S. Army biologist Steven Hatfill as a “person of interest” in the FBI’s investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks must be halted, a federal judge demanded yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 4). U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton said that he was troubled by recent news stories citing anonymous law enforcement sources as saying the FBI was still interested in Hatfill. Walton is presiding over a civil defamation lawsuit filed by Hatfill against the Justice Department, the Washington Post reported (see GSN, July 14). “They’re undermining what this country is supposed to be about — that is, that we treat people fairly,” Walton said of the anonymous sources. “If you don’t have enough to indict this man, then it’s wrong to drag his name through the mud.” “That’s not a government I want to be a part of. It’s wrong, and you all need to do something about it,” he added. Justice Department officials have told the FBI to do more to prevent leaks, said department attorney Elizabeth Shapiro. “We agree with you, judge,” she said. Walton ordered the Justice Department yesterday to respond to the allegations made by Hatfill in his lawsuit within 30 days, the Post reported. The judge also indicated he does not believe the investigation would be closed anytime soon into the letter attacks that killed five people. “It doesn’t seem to me there’s a significant likelihood of anything in the near future that’s going to change the status quo,” said Walton, who said his conclusion was based on a sealed FBI affidavit (Carol Leonnig, Washington Post, Oct. 8). Back to top

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