Iranian nuclear negotiator Hossein Mousavian (shown in a September photo) has said Iran could soon reply as soon as today to proposed deal to shut down its uranium enrichment program (AFP photo). Iran Decision Expected Today on EU Incentives Offer The European powers could learn today whether Iran will accept their offer of incentives to shut down its uranium-enrichment activities, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Nov. 10). “We will very probably give our response by tonight,” Iranian nuclear negotiator Hossein Mousavian told AFP...Full Story

Top Experts, Officials See Obstacles on North Korea By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — A day before Chinese and Japanese officials announced North Korea’s refusal of an early resumption of negotiations on its nuclear program, top experts and officials yesterday listed verification and a U.S. hard line among potential obstacles to resolving the stalemate (see related GSN story, today)...Full Story

U.S. Defense Department Accused of ‘Disinformation’ on Anthrax Vaccine Program By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Lawyers for six plaintiffs who last month secured an injunction barring anthrax vaccinations of U.S. military personnel without informed consent yesterday accused the Defense Department of ‘disinformation’ on the ruling (see GSN, Oct. 28)...Full Story

	Thursday, November 11, 2004

U.S. Lowers Terror Alert Levels for Financial Sites The United States lowered the terrorist alert level yesterday from orange to yellow for financial sites in Washington, New York and northern New Jersey, the New York Times reported (see GSN, Sept. 29). The announcement does not mean the risk of a terrorist attack on the United States has lessened, said James Loy, deputy secretary for Homeland Security. “We are as concerned today as we were a month ago,” Loy said. “The whole notion of taking a deep breath and saying, ‘Wow, we got past this, and now we are OK for a while,’ is, in my mind, a very dangerous train of thought.” The Homeland Security Department imposed the heightened state of alert on Aug. 1 based on computer records found in Pakistan indicating that al-Qaeda operatives had even before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks been monitoring U.S. financial buildings, including the World Bank in Washington, the Citigroup building in Manhattan and the Prudential Financial building in Newark, N.J. As a result of the lowered threat level, police in Washington ended a 24-hour-a-day check of all vehicles passing the U.S. Capitol. “It is a recognition we are a safe society, but we also have to be an open society, which means we have to work our way to as normal a state as possible,” said Mayor Anthony Williams (Eric Lipton, New York Times, Nov. 11). Back to top

U.S. Scientists Test New Decontamination System U.S. scientists Tuesday tested a new system being developed to decontaminate the interiors of structures contaminated through biological and chemical weapons attacks, according to the Arizona Daily Star (see GSN, Aug. 26). The system, being developed by the U.S. Army and the Steris Corp., uses vaporous hydrogen peroxide to decontaminate interiors, according to the Daily Star.  Tuesday’s test involved a C-141B cargo plane loaded with simulated anthrax and mustard agent. The system pumped hydrogen peroxide vapor through the plane. Results from the 24-hour test were expected yesterday, the Daily Star reported. The system could be used to clean buildings or aircraft, according to the Daily Star (Mary Vandeveire, Arizona Daily Star, Nov. 10). Back to top

Iran Decision Expected Today on EU Incentives Offer The European powers could learn today whether Iran will accept their offer of incentives to shut down its uranium-enrichment activities, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Nov. 10). “We will very probably give our response by tonight,” Iranian nuclear negotiator Hossein Mousavian told AFP. “There are still internal discussions at a high level,” he said, adding “it is not yet clear” if the Iranian leadership would approve a preliminary agreement reached Saturday with Germany, France and the United Kingdom (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Nov. 11). European officials in private have noted unresolved issues in the talks, the New York Times reported. Those issues could endanger an agreement. “[The Iranians] came back to the Europeans for more and the Europeans frankly said, ‘No, a deal is a deal and that is that,’” a Vienna-based diplomat said. One unresolved issue is the European demand that Iran halt conversion of raw uranium into uranium tetrafluoride, a precursor to the form of uranium that is placed in centrifuges for enrichment, according to the Times. Iran, for its part, is demanding that some economic rewards for its compliance be received sooner than agreed to by the Europeans. It is also requesting a guarantee about a European offer of a light-water nuclear power reactor, according to the Times (Elaine Sciolino, New York Times, Nov. 11). Back to top       Top Experts, Officials See Obstacles on North Korea By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — A day before Chinese and Japanese officials announced North Korea’s refusal of an early resumption of negotiations on its nuclear program, top experts and officials yesterday listed verification and a U.S. hard line among potential obstacles to resolving the stalemate (see related GSN story, today). “We can’t be hopeful. At the same time, I don’t want to despair at this point,” South Korean Ambassador to the United States Han Sung-joo said at a U.S. Asia Pacific Council conference here. Han said he had hoped to make an announcement on new talks. “I was hoping that I could bring some news or, more importantly, good news on the six-party talks. Unfortunately, I don’t have any at the moment,” he said. The ambassador’s remarks were followed today by the announcement that Pyongyang preferred to gauge the direction of U.S. policy under re-elected President George W. Bush before agreeing to restart talks. Since April of last year, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States have been in negotiations with North Korea over the country’s acknowledged plutonium-based nuclear-weapon program and its alleged uranium-enrichment efforts. U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) said in a keynote speech at yesterday’s conference that despite setbacks in the North Korea talks, negotiations were the only way forward. “We can’t impose a policy on North Korea, dealing with the nuclear capability,” said Hagel, a Senate Foreign Relations Committee member and the co-chairman of the Congressional-Executive Commission on China. “America can lead, will lead, is expected to lead, but we can’t impose our will. We can’t dictate our will on other sovereign nations.” Outside verification of North Korea’s nuclear disarmament emerged at the conference as one potential sticking point in the process. Harvard University Kennedy School of Government professor Joseph Nye said North Korea’s record, including its refusal to acknowledge it is enriching uranium as the United States alleges, dimmed prospects for effective verification in any disarmament plan. Pyongyang’s evasiveness, said the former assistant U.S. defense secretary and National Intelligence Council chairman, “makes it very difficult to make progress on verification.” Trilateral Commission Chairman Thomas Foley said that given Bush’s electoral victory, however, there was little chance that the United States would accept any disarmament process without stringent verification measures. “The risk,” Foley said, “is that we’ll have such a hard attitude by the administration, and the regime-change proposals, that we won’t make any progress at all.” The former ambassador to Japan and speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives criticized talk of U.S. military options in the North Korea crisis (see GSN, Nov. 10). He expressed optimism that a “Bill Perry approach” — a step-by-step process of specific actions by both sides, like the one espoused by former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry — could gradually alleviate mistrust despite current tensions. Participants disagreed over whether a nuclear North Korea was inevitable. “I don’t think that’s the plan on the part of the United States, Japan, South Korea, and I don’t think that’s the plan that China has either,” said Han, who was South Korea’s foreign minister in 1993 and 1994. Han indicated talks could get a boost from a renewal of U.S. interest in the North Korean crisis after Bush’s re-election. With Washington focused on the threat of a “nuclear 9/11,” North Korea has been on the “back burner” for some time, he said. “I don’t think that this will stay that way for very long,” he said. “President Bush has accepted the six-party process and negotiation as his own property, and he has, in fact, claimed the authorship of the six-party process,” the ambassador said. The talks, Han said, should also be helped along by North Korea’s economic needs, a “very active” China and improving North Korean-South Korean relations. Han named “mistrust” and “insecurity” on the part of North Korea — in particular, about purported U.S. intentions to disarm North Korea entirely and seek “regime change” in Pyongyang — among the obstacles to successful talks. In an interview on the sidelines of the conference, East-West Center Director Muthiah Alagappa expressed concern about the “nuclearization of Asia,” a phenomenon he said is being insufficiently addressed. Whether or not “we … end up having to live with a nuclear North Korea,” he said, the United States and other countries must move beyond a nonproliferation focus in Asian strategy. Alagappa called for new doctrines and strategies to account for the presence of nuclear weapons in and around Asia — in India, Pakistan, Russia and the United States — and for the potential that Japan, South Korea and Taiwan could eventually obtain nuclear weapons. “A lot of people still talk using Cold War doctrines and strategies,” said Alagappa, whose center administers the U.S. Asia Pacific Council. The United States, Alagappa said, should make policy that better addresses Asia’s current nuclear landscape. Washington should seek strategies and systems to limit both vertical and horizontal proliferation, Alagappa said, and should also promote nuclear safety in Asia. “These weapons are not going to go away,” he said. Back to top       U.S., Others Deliver Proposal for Nuclear Talks to North Korea Via Chinese Envoys The United States, South Korea and other countries involved in nuclear negotiations with North Korea have submitted a proposal to Pyongyang to resume the talks this month, United Press International reported (see GSN, Nov. 10). The countries said that unofficial talks could be held this month to prepare for a fourth round of high-level talks next month, a senior South Korean official told UPI (United Press International/Washington Times, Nov. 11). North Korean officials told Japanese negotiators in a meeting this week that they were not prepared to resume multilateral nuclear talks any time soon, Reuters reported. “They said they were not in an environment where they could restart six-party talks in early stages,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said. “We understand North Korea is not positive (on restarting the talks soon),” he said. Some experts said North Korea’s reluctance to return to the negotiating table was not a surprise. “It’s unfortunate but I don’t consider this as shocking news. From the beginning we didn’t expect North Korea to be supportive of the talks,” said Lee Nae-young, a political science professor at Korea University in Seoul. Chinese officials said North Korea would wait until the Bush administration’s post-election reshuffle was complete before considering rejoining the talks. “As for the next round, North Korea said it will make a final decision after observing the policy direction toward North Korea following the U.S. election,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said (George Nishiyama, Reuters, Nov. 11). Secretary of State Colin Powell and Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, two advocates of continued diplomacy with Pyongyang, are rumored to be planning exits from the Bush administration. Meanwhile, key hard-liner Undersecretary of State John Bolton is expected to stay on for President George W. Bush’s second term, and may be seeking a promotion to a position such as deputy secretary of State or deputy national security adviser, Reuters reported. “I think the real issue facing the administration is how it’s going to assess the prospects for diplomacy being revived with some prospects of real movement forward,” said Larry Niksch of the Congressional Research Service, which does analysis for the U.S. Congress. “This will determine whether it continues its present policy of relying exclusively on diplomacy or whether it turns toward more coercive measures in 2005,” he said. That diplomatic policy is already being re-examined, officials, congressional sources and analysts told Reuters. “It is clear the administration is trying to crack down on (North Korea’s) illicit activities in a way it had not done before,” one U.S. source said, referring to Pyongyang’s trade in illegal narcotics, weapons and counterfeit U.S. dollars. “Some officials think this provides us with leverage to use against North Korea in the (six-party) talks but others see it (Pyongyang’s criminal activities) as confirmation that the talks are hopeless and North Korea can’t be negotiated with. ... The (administration) divide continues,” he said (Carol Giacomo, Reuters, Nov. 10). Back to top       Vanunu Arrested in Israel Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu was arrested today in Jerusalem on suspicion of again leaking state secrets, Reuters reported (see GSN, Nov. 1). “He is suspected of passing classified information to unauthorized parties,” Israeli police spokesman Gil Kleiman said. “He is also suspected of violating the terms of his release.” Vanunu is expected to be charged at a hearing tomorrow, Kleiman said. He was released from prison in April after serving an 18-year sentence for passing on details of Israel’s Dimona nuclear facility to the London Sunday Times in 1986 (Dan Williams, Reuters, Nov. 11). Back to top

U.S. Defense Department Accused of ‘Disinformation’ on Anthrax Vaccine Program By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Lawyers for six plaintiffs who last month secured an injunction barring anthrax vaccinations of U.S. military personnel without informed consent yesterday accused the Defense Department of ‘disinformation’ on the ruling (see GSN, Oct. 28). A statement released by attorneys Mark S. Zaid and John Michels said the Pentagon “has led a disinformation campaign to downplay the significance of the court’s decision, particularly regarding the length of time the injunction will remain in place.” They charged specifically that the department has mischaracterized the injunction issued by U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan last month by depicting it as a temporary “pause” in mandatory vaccinations pending the resolution of a procedural question, rather than questions regarding the efficacy or safety of the vaccine. The lawyers called the Defense Department statement “deliberately misleading” and said Sullivan’s injunction did in fact question the safety and efficacy of the vaccine. Contacted today, Pentagon spokesman Army Lt. Col. Joe Yoswa said, “I believe we put a release out on that and I’ll let the release speak for itself.” Meaning of the Injunction That Oct. 27 release said, “The injunction did not question the safety and effectiveness of the anthrax vaccine or the immunization program in the DOD.” “The injunction centered on FDA [Food and Drug Administration] procedural issues stating that additional public comment should have been sought before the FDA issued its final rule in December of 2003,” it said. In apparent accordance with the release, Sullivan’s ruling did appear to hinge on the procedural issue of public comment. “In this case, the court focuses not on FDA’s substantive — and highly technical — determinations regarding the safety of [the vaccine], but rather on whether or not the agency observed the relevant ‘procedure required by law,’” it said. Sullivan found, however, that because of nonconformity with procedure, the vaccine must be considered investigational and could not be deemed safe and effective until a public comment period was conducted. “The men and women of our armed forces deserve the assurance that the vaccines our government compels them to take into their bodies have been tested by the greatest scrutiny of all — public scrutiny,” he wrote. “It is clear to this court that if the status of the anthrax vaccine were open for public comment today, the agency would receive a deluge of comments and analysis that might inform an open-minded agency,” he wrote, ordering the FDA to reconsider its ruling and allow public comment on approval of the anthrax vaccine. The plaintiffs in their suit questioned the interpretation of studies the FDA used to conclude that the vaccine is effective against inhalation anthrax, and noted the vaccine was originally intended for protection against the skin form of anthrax.  “In fact, given the state of the medical and scientific evidence, it will be extremely difficult for [the] FDA to make a proper case that the vaccine has any effectiveness against inhalation anthrax,” Zaid said in yesterday’s statement. Sullivan ruled preliminarily last December that the vaccine was investigational and not licensed to protect against inhalational exposure, but rather only for protection against the skin form of anthrax. He concluded the vaccine by law could not be given without either informed consent or a waiver by the president (see GSN, Dec. 29). Inoculations resumed shortly afterward when the Food and Drug Administration released a final ruling without a formal public comment period that the vaccine is “safe and effective for the prevention of anthrax disease — regardless of the route of exposure.” That decision — based on an 18-year-old application — allowed vaccinations to resume without informed consent until Sullivan’s order last month. Though Sullivan’s injunction only barred vaccinations without informed consent, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld last month ordered all anthrax vaccinations to stop “until further notice.” The government has indicated it will seek to vacate the Sullivan’s injunction. Possible Implications of DOD’s Characterization According to Zaid and Michels, the DOD’s “disinformation campaign” regarding Sullivan’s latest ruling is significant because it suggests to troops that the safety and effectiveness off the drug is not in question. “It does mislead, not just the public, but the soldiers who are asked to take this vaccine,” Michels told Global Security Newswire today. The lawyers in their statement also wrote that soldiers forced to the leave the military for refusing to take the vaccine should be allowed to return and be compensated. “Our position is that the soldiers haven’t been informed about the nature of the vaccine from day one,” he said. The Defense Department statement last month said the vaccine was determined safe and effective for all forms of anthrax exposure by “research conducted by several prominent medical experts and a report by the National Academy of Sciences.” “As a result of the injunction, the Department of Defense will pause giving anthrax vaccinations until the legal situation is clarified,” according to last month’s statement. Back to top       Live Anthrax Incident Prompts Reconsideration of Biological Safety Regulations in California A June incident at the Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute in California involving live anthrax has led state health officials to examine stricter regulations to protect laboratory workers, the Freemont, Calif., Argus reported yesterday (see GSN, June 11). The institute mistakenly received a shipment of live anthrax instead of a sterilized version for use in its research on a new vaccine. Researchers are now looking for a better-equipped facility to continue their project, the Argus reported. “It diminished our enthusiasm for doing that research,” said the institute’s deputy director for research, Alexander Lucas. “We never intended to work with virulent anthracis.” Along with personnel at 315 laboratories certified to work with live biological agents, there are an unknown number of facilities and scientists exempt from registration because they only work with strains that are dead or do not cause disease, according to the Argus. The June incident prompted California health officials to consider enacting biological safety regulations beyond the guidelines set by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to better protect laboratory workers, according to California Health Services Department spokesman Ken August. “This was a very big thing for us,” he said. “We were very glad to see there were no injuries and no negative outcomes.” CDC spokesman Von Roebuck said, however, that the agency does not see the need for stricter biological security regulations. “Obviously, if there was an instance where there was a threat to public health and it were proven, there would be a process to change or amend the rule,” he said (Ian Hoffman, The Argus, Nov. 10). Back to top       U.S. Develops New Anthrax Detection Standards The U.S. Homeland Security Department announced yesterday that new accuracy standards have been developed for anthrax detection tests, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Oct. 18). “There [are] still uncertainties on the part of emergency responders as to whether or not the equipment that’s been marketed meets any consensus standards,” said Bert Coursey, an executive in the Homeland Security Department, which contracted with AOAC International, the organization of scientists responsible for developing the standards. “The emergency responders have to rely on the marketers’ claims,” Coursey said. “There’s no way to see how good or bad they are against real agents.” The scientists said yesterday that one anthrax test, intended strictly for laboratory use, has met the new standards, according to AP. Another test, a handheld device, functioned in the laboratory but has yet to be tested in the field. Four other tests failed to meet AOAC standards, AP reported. AOAC International tested a first round of anthrax detectors using the newly developed standards under its 18-month contract with Homeland Security. The company is next expected to develop standards to detect another biological, chemical or radiological agent — possibly smallpox, botulinum toxin or ricin, according to AP (Laura Meckler, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Nov. 10). Back to top

Russia to Increase Chemical Weapons Disposal Funding Russia said yesterday that it plans next year to increase the amount it spends on chemical weapons destruction, but complained of inadequate international aid for the effort, according to Agence France-Presse (see GSN, Nov. 10). Russia plans to allocate almost $390 million next year for chemical weapons destruction, up from the $186 million allocated in 2004, said Alexander Kharichev, secretary of the Russia chemical weapons disarmament commission. Kharichev said, though, that chemical weapons disposal is “an international problem” and must be solved “with the international community on an equal basis.” Between 1992 and 2003, Russia only received $217 million in international aid for chemical weapons disposal efforts, said Viktor Kholstov, deputy head of the Russian Federal Industry Agency. “Russia only gets 30 percent of the sums announced by the Americans in their aid programs,” he said. The rest of the money goes toward “organizational costs” at U.S. entities involved in the program, he said (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Nov. 10). U.S.-Russian disputes over contracts have also hampered efforts to eliminate Russia’s 40,000-ton chemical weapons stockpile, experts said yesterday in Moscow. There have been “some problems” between U.S. and Russian officials over the past year, said Patrick Wakefield, deputy assistant to the U.S. defense secretary and responsible for chemical disarmament. Wakefield did not elaborate, according to the Associated Press. “The problems have increased costs and delayed schedules,” he said. There have been several incidents in the last year of “Russians coming in at the 11th hour and demanding that a different contractor get a major contract,” said Paul Walker of Global Green USA. “They’ve held up construction for months.” The U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction Program froze contracting for a chemical weapons disposal site in the Ural Mountains for several months during one such dispute, Walker said (Judith Ingram, Associated Press/South Bend Tribune, Nov. 10). Back to top       Umatilla Depot Empties First Storage Igloo Workers at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon on Tuesday finished emptying the first of more than 100 storage igloos holding ammunition and containers filled with nerve and mustard agents, the U.S. Army announced yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 22). Sarin-filled M55 rockets had been stored in the now-empty igloo since the 1960s. Workers began moving the rockets to the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility on Sept. 7, according to the Army. Workers yesterday began emptying a second igloo. As of 9 a.m. yesterday, the facility had destroyed 1,232 rockets and 5,098 pounds of sarin agent. “Emptying an igloo is another step toward ridding this community of weapons of mass destruction and meeting our international treaty requirements,” said Umatilla Depot Commander Lt. Col. David “Doc” Holliday (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, Nov. 10).   Back to top

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