A technician works at Iran’s uranium conversion facility in Isfahan, where international inspectors visited Saturday (AFP photo). Iran Halts Enrichment Activities Iran today followed through on its pledge to halt uranium enrichment work in advance of an International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors meeting beginning Thursday. The board meeting could involve U.S. efforts to refer Tehran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions (see GSN, Nov. 19)...Full Story

Hastert Blocks Vote on Intelligence Reform Bill By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) brought efforts to create a national intelligence director to a halt Saturday by blocking a vote on a compromise intelligence reform bill after two influential House members expressed their opposition to the legislation (see GSN, Nov. 12)...Full Story

Congress Cancels Funding for New Weapons Research By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — In a significant blow to the Bush administration’s nuclear weapons plans, Congress on Saturday rejected funding research and development of a large earth-penetrating nuclear weapon and other “advanced” capabilities (see GSN, Nov. 19)...Full Story

	Monday, November 22, 2004

Hastert Blocks Vote on Intelligence Reform Bill By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) brought efforts to create a national intelligence director to a halt Saturday by blocking a vote on a compromise intelligence reform bill after two influential House members expressed their opposition to the legislation (see GSN, Nov. 12). After working for a month to resolve the differences in their separate reform bills, House and Senate negotiators Saturday morning announced they had reached a compromise agreement, according to reports. Later that day, though, Hastert refused to hold a vote on the compromise bill because of intense opposition from House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.). Hunter reportedly opposed the compromise bill because of concerns that the measure could weaken the military chain of command and jeopardize commanders’ ability to receive battlefield intelligence. U.S. Defense Department officials and Pentagon supporters expressed those same concerns during congressional hearings this summer on the issue of intelligence reform (see GSN, Aug. 18).  “Duncan’s concern was that the proposed reform could endanger our troops in the field who use real-time intelligence to fight the war in Iraq and Afghanistan,” Hastert was quoted as saying Saturday by the New York Times. “We must make every precaution to ensure that when we reform our intelligence agencies, we do it in a way that protects our troops and those people who protect our citizens.” The two main Senate negotiators on the compromise bill — Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-Maine) and top committee Democrat Joseph Lieberman (Conn.) — denied in a joint statement Saturday that the compromise measure would have hurt the military. “We reached a result that was not perfectly satisfactory to everyone but made everyone feel proud that they had done something — including to protect the war fighter,” Lieberman said. According to reports, President George W. Bush personally contacted Sensenbrenner, who opposed the bill due to a lack of provisions on illegal immigration, in an unsuccessful effort to obtain his support for a compromise measure. Vice President Dick Cheney reportedly contacted Hunter personally in an attempt to reach a compromise, but also failed. Congressional efforts to create a national intelligence director were spurred this summer by the Sept. 11 commission, which recommended that such a position be created to oversee the U.S. intelligence community. The White House supported the recommendation, and the House of Representatives and the Senate last month approved their respective bills to create the position. Lawmakers worked over the past month to resolve the differences between the two bills, with much of the debate centering on the potential new role of the defense secretary in the intelligence community. The defense secretary now controls about 80 percent of the intelligence budget; the Senate bill gave the new intelligence director more budgetary and personnel authority than foreseen in the House legislation (see GSN, Nov. 1). Under the compromise reached Saturday, the national intelligence director would have had the authority to “develop and determine” an annual intelligence budget based on proposals provided by the heads of intelligence agencies and their respective department chiefs.  The new director would have had the authority to transfer no more than $150 million or 5 percent of an agency’s funding to another intelligence agency within a single fiscal year — a provision also backed by House negotiators. Senate negotiators had gone from calling for unlimited transfer authority to giving the new director the authority to transfer 10 percent of an agency’s funds within a fiscal year (see GSN, Nov. 9).   The compromise bill would have given the national intelligence director the authority to “recommend” to the president nominees for CIA director, as well as the “right to concur” to recommendations for the heads of most other intelligence agencies in various departments. The new director also would have been “consulted” for recommendations to head the Defense Intelligence Agency. A national counterterrorism center would have been created by the compromise legislation, as well as a national counterproliferation center. The bill would have given the president the authority to waive the creation of the national counterproliferation center, though, if it was determined that “it does not materially improve the government’s ability to halt the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.” The White House had previously come out against the creation of a national counterproliferation center (see GSN, Oct. 20).   The decision against voting on the compromise bill was met this weekend by criticism and disappointment from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. “We share a deep sense of disappointment and frustration that the Congress will not complete the important task of reforming the intelligence agencies in order to better serve and protect the American people,” Collins and Lieberman said in their statement. “I just think that Americans ought to remember the name Duncan Hunter and also Jim Sensenbrenner, because they brought the bill down, the most important national security bill in the last generation,” Senator Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, said yesterday on ABC’s This Week. During an appearance yesterday on Fox News Sunday, Representative Jane Harman (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee and one of the main House negotiators, criticized the Pentagon for aiding opposition in the House. “The problem was in the House, and the problem was that some members of the House Republican majority dug in, they never wanted a bill, they never will want a bill, and it was unfortunate that Speaker Hastert couldn’t go around them and more unfortunate is that the president, as commander-in-chief … couldn't get the secretary of defense to stop his opposition, which has been ongoing for months and which emboldened some of these House folks to dig in,” Harman said.   Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) noted yesterday, though, that Bush this summer had signed executive orders increasing the authority of the director of central intelligence to serve as a national intelligence director until the position was created along with a national counterterrorism center. The orders, however, do not provide the new director and center with as much authority as in the House and Senate bills. Calling Saturday’s move “a remarkable turn of events,” intelligence expert Steven Aftergood said the intelligence reform bill has ended up illustrating “the very problem it was intended to solve.” “Namely, the fragmentation and turf issues that afflict U.S. intelligence,” said Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy. Aftergood said that a lack of a vote made “everybody look bad,” from the opponents in the House who look like “fanatics” to the White House, which looks “impotent” by being unable bring Hunter and Sensenbrenner on board. Aftergood also said, though, that he was “sort of relieved” that the vote was not held because of his view that the Senate had compromised too much on several provisions, such as by allowing the total intelligence budget to remain classified. A provision to declassify the total intelligence budget, supported by the Sept. 11 commission, was included in the Senate intelligence reform bill, but was removed earlier this month as a compromise offer to the House negotiators (see GSN, Nov. 9). “It was turning into a monstrosity of a bill,” Aftergood said. The lack of a vote was also met with praise from James Carafano of the Heritage Foundation, who said today that there had been too political of an environment surrounding the November elections and the “lame-duck” congressional session to implement effective reform. “It’s more important to get it right than get it fast,” Carafano said. There are now plans to have House and Senate lawmakers continue to negotiate on a final bill, with an eye toward returning in early December for a vote, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) said yesterday. He added that Congress would also take up the issue if necessary when it reconvenes in January. “Let’s come back in two weeks. Let’s sensibly come back and make sure we have a bill. We’ve already passed one in the Senate, one in the House, let’s put them together, and accomplish that. We’ve got to do it right.  That’s what the American people deserve,” Frist said on CBS’s Face the Nation. Expressing disappointment yesterday, Bush was quoted by the New York Times as saying he would continue to be involved in the effort to reach a final bill. “When I get home, I look forward to getting it done,” Bush was quoted as saying during a press conference in Santiago, Chile, where he was attending an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit. “I was disappointed that the bill didn’t pass. I thought it was going to pass up to the last minute.” Roberts said yesterday, though, that it was unlikely that the issues that derailed the compromise bill could be quickly resolved. “I just don’t see it as of Dec. 6. … We have to get a coalition to prove and to try to convince people who have very strong differences of opinion who believe that somehow the war fighter will be endangered in the middle of a war due to intelligence reform,” he said. There also appears to be little room left for further compromise on either side, according to reports, lawmakers and experts. “If the thought is that we will change the bill further, and therefore it will be more palatable to these committee chairs who oppose it, that will unglue all the careful compromises and the blood on the floor and all the metaphors you can pick that went into this, and I think you may satisfy them but then you’ll make this national director of intelligence an ineffective office. That isn’t the point,” Harman said yesterday. Back to top

Asian-Pacific Leaders Agree to Continue Efforts Against Terrorism, Proliferation Leaders from Asian-Pacific countries yesterday concluded their annual meeting with pledges to work against terrorism and WMD proliferation, according to Agence France-Presse (see GSN, Nov. 19). The pledges were contained in a written declaration released at the end of this year’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, held in Chile, according to AFP. In the declaration, APEC leaders called for “unmistakable resolve to collectively confront the threat of terrorism” and agreed to maintain efforts to reduce the threats of WMD and ballistic missile proliferation. Some APEC leaders, though, complained that too much emphasis was placed at this year’s meeting on terrorism and proliferation rather than on economic issues, AFP reported (Agence France-Presse/TurkishPress.com, Nov. 21). Back to top       Federal Authorities Still Watching Crop Dusters The FBI is continuing to monitor crop dusters in light of suspicions that al-Qaeda may be seeking small airplanes for chemical and biological attacks in the United States, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, April 23). “We have an interest in what we believe the bad guys have an interest in, and we believe the bad guys still have an interest in aircraft,” said Robert Jordan, the FBI’s head agent in Oregon. “And agricultural aircraft has the unique ability to aerate chemicals and spread them over an area, and that has some ominous consequences, depending on who is being sprayed.” “I don’t anticipate us losing our interest in that type of industry in the foreseeable future,” he said (Associated Press, Nov. 22). Back to top

Iran Halts Enrichment Activities Iran today followed through on its pledge to halt uranium enrichment work in advance of an International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors meeting beginning Thursday. The board meeting could involve U.S. efforts to refer Tehran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions (see GSN, Nov. 19). “I think pretty much everything has come to a halt right now,” IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said. “We’re just trying to apply seals and make sure everything has been stopped,” he said, specifying that operations at the uranium conversion facility at the central Iranian city of Isfahan were suspended. The suspension should be verified by Thursday, ElBaradei said, according to Agence France-Presse (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Nov. 22). ElBaradei also confirmed today that Iran had produced around 2 tons of uranium hexafluoride, an allegation by Western diplomats that Iran had previously denied. Two tons would not be enough material to produce a nuclear weapon, he said (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, Nov. 22). A U.S. State Department official and a senior administration official had charged Friday that Iran was accelerating its conversion of uranium ore into uranium hexafluoride gas before today’s suspension deadline at a facility in Isfahan, Knight Ridder reported The State Department official said Iranian officials are likely to argue that their agreement with the United Kingdom, France and Germany did not prohibit that process because the agreement was set to take effect today. “Technically, it may not, but it violates the spirit profoundly,” the official said. “It’s absolutely unacceptable. It’s a tremendous show of bad faith by Iran.” The alleged conversion work “only heighten[s] our concerns that Iran continues to pursue nuclear activities and does not honor its commitments,” said State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli. Ereli also said the United States stood by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell’s assertions Wednesday that Iran was developing delivery systems for nuclear warheads. “We believe we are on very, very solid ground in pointing to a clandestine effort by Iran to develop weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems,” Ereli said. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi denied the allegations, saying, “There is no place for weapons of mass destruction in Iran’s defense doctrine.” U.S. officials should “reconsider their intelligence sources,” he said. U.S. experts were working to verify the information, the State Department official and the senior administration official told Knight Ridder (Jonathan Landay, Knight Ridder/Kansas City Star, Nov. 20). Powell himself yesterday defended his allegations. “The people who are raising the questions are people who have not seen the information,” Powell said (Agence France-Presse/IranMania.com, Nov. 21). Iranian officials yesterday said Powell’s imminent departure from the Bush administration meant there was no point for him to meet with Iranian officials on the sidelines of an international conference on Iraq beginning today at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, AFP reported. “Powell had four years to change the attitude of the United States towards Iran but he didn’t. Now he is not in charge anymore, and it would not be very useful to meet him,” Asefi said (Agence France-Presse/Khaleej Times, Nov. 21). U.S. President George W. Bush, in Chile for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, warned Iran Saturday following reports that it had accelerated some uranium enrichment activities, AFP reported. “It’s very important for the Iranian government to hear that we are concerned about their desires, and we’re concerned about reports that show that prior to a certain international meeting, they’re willing to speed up processing of materials that could lead to a nuclear weapon,” Bush said. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the issue later at the meeting. Putin “is on the same page as far as the goal is concerned,” said a senior Bush aide. “They both agree that they need to maintain the pressure on Iran and that, clearly, both agree that a nuclear Iran is not in our interests; we need to work to prevent that from happening,” the official said. The official clarified that Russia’s opposition is to a nuclear weapons program; Russia built the Bushehr reactor for Iran (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Nov. 20). Elsewhere, Israeli officials blasted Iran and the European powers over the nuclear situation. “The Iranians have once again indulged in state lies. They have no intention of halting their nuclear program, which will continue in secret,” a senior Foreign Ministry official told AFP. “Like the Europeans and Americans, we have precise information on a network of secret installations where Iranians will continue to enrich uranium. Only known sites have been inspected,” said an aide to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. “The Europeans don’t seem to understand the danger they face — the Iranians have given notice they intend to add to their arsenal long-range missiles that can carry nuclear warheads and will threaten London, Paris or Berlin in a few years,” the aide added (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Nov. 21). Meanwhile, IAEA ambassadors from Malaysia, Cuba, South Africa and Algeria left Friday for talks in Tehran, Malaysian Ambassador Hussein Haniff told AFP. Haniff said he saw no reason to refer Iran to the Security Council. “Iran honored the resolution from the last board meeting. When the resolution is honored, why should we refer Iran to the Security Council,” he said. The ambassadors were expected to return to Vienna early today, according to Haniff (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Nov. 19). Back to top       Congress Cancels Funding for New Weapons Research By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — In a significant blow to the Bush administration’s nuclear weapons plans, Congress on Saturday rejected funding research and development of a large earth-penetrating nuclear weapon and other “advanced” capabilities (see GSN, Nov. 19). The money requested by the White House ð— $27.6 million for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator program and $9 million for the Advanced Concepts Initiative — was excluded from the fiscal 2005 Omnibus Appropriations bill passed by both houses on Saturday. Congress also eliminated $30 million in funding to shorten the preparation time to conduct a nuclear test, if ordered by the president, and all but $7 million of $29.8 million requested for constructing a new facility to build plutonium pits, according to a statement by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).  It further barred any of that money for use in selecting a new construction site. The Senate had included the money in its version of the multiagency appropriations bill, but the House of Representatives did not and the House’s cuts ultimately won out. Critics said the programs were globally destabilizing and would undercut U.S. efforts to persuade other countries to end suspected nuclear weapon proliferation. “If we are to convince other countries to forgo nuclear weapons, we cannot be preparing to build an entire new generation of nuclear weapons here in the U.S,” Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.) said in a statement released on Sunday. He called the cuts, “The biggest victory that arms-control advocates in Congress have had since 1992, when we were able to place limits on nuclear testing.” Opposition to the funding was led by a House Republican, Representative Dave Hobson (Ohio), who chairs the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. The Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator program was to continue studies of options for a new capability for striking deeply buried and hardened facilities. The Advanced Concepts Initiatives included planned studies to modify a cruise missile nuclear weapon to improve its safety, security and control, on using nuclear weapons to destroy chemical and biological agents in storage, and on replacing some existing warheads with longer-lasting warheads that would be less likely to require nuclear testing (see GSN, July 16). Advocates of the programs had argued that new nuclear weapons, of high and low yield, are needed to deter other countries from someday attacking the United States. “To be effective deterrents in the future, our nuclear weapons must have greatly increased accuracy, reduced yields, specialized capabilities (such as deep earth penetration) and tailored effects (such as ability to neutralize chemical-biological agents), wrote Robert Monroe, a retired Navy vice admiral and former director of the Defense Nuclear Agency, in a commentary published last week in the Washington Post. Critics have argued the United States already has low-yield capabilities inherent in its stockpile and that potential adversaries would be deterred by the current U.S. arsenal. Back to top       Test Ban Treaty Members Select New Agency Leader By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Parties to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty have chosen Hungarian Ambassador Tibor Toth to lead the pact’s implementing organization (see GSN, Nov. 8). The decision was made during a meeting of treaty participants that ended Friday. Toth was a participant in the final treaty negotiations in 1996 and served as a permanent representative to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization’s Preparatory Commission from 1997 to 2001. He was chosen from a list of eight other candidates from various countries. More recently, Toth led an international effort to create measures to enforce the Biological Weapons Convention, an effort that was blocked by the Bush administration (see GSN, Nov. 18, 2003). He will succeed the commission’s first executive secretary, Wolfgang Hoffmann of Germany, on Aug. 1, 2005. Toth will inherit the difficult task of persuading 11 key member states, including the United States, to ratify the treaty so that it can enter into force. The other holdout states, whose ratification is necessary for entry into force, are China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan and Vietnam. The Democratic Republic of Congo, which was once a key holdout, ratified on Sept. 28 (see GSN, Sept. 17). Under Hoffmann’s direction, the number of treaty signatories has steadily climbed to 173, with 119 ratifying. Hoffmann, in a phone interview with Global Security Newswire, today praised the Hungarian for his diplomacy skills. “In the negotiations [over a Biological Weapons Convention protocol] he had shown a considerable amount of diplomatic skill that will serve him well in this new position here,” he said. Although the biological treaty protocol has yet to find success, “it only shows that even a good diplomat from time to time fails, you cannot avoid this,” Hoffman said. On the direction of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, Hoffmann said, “I have [just] had an hourlong conversation with him … and we really see eye-to-eye and [it] is his and my interest that we have a smooth transition here,” he said. Other analysts also praised the Toth’s selection. “I think Tibor Toth is serious, he’s experienced, he’s well known. I think he should pick up where Hoffmann left off,” said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association. Tough Challenges Ahead While the United States contributes the most money annually to the test ban organization, helping to expand a growing global network of sensor stations for detecting illicit nuclear weapons tests, the Bush administration repeatedly has indicated its opposition to the treaty and has refused to rule out future U.S. testing.  The United States was the only country to vote against a U.N. resolution on Nov. 1 that called on all states to become parties to the treaty and on all nuclear states to maintain their testing moratoria (see GSN, Nov. 5). Four countries abstained. The United States has abided by a self-imposed testing moratorium since 1992. In addition to choosing Toth, a commission of member states last week also extended the appointments of a U.S. diplomat in his role as director of administration of the Provisional Technical Secretariat, and a diplomat from China as director of legal and external relations, according to an organization press release. States signatories agreed to a dual-currency 2005 budget for the organization of $51 million and 43 million euros, in sum effectively the same amount as last year. It will be the organization’s first use of a split currency system, which is intended to buffer the organization against losses from currency fluctuations. Back to top       U.S. Conducts 100th Shipment of Low-Enriched Uranium for Conversion Into Civilian Fuel The United States has conducted the 100th shipment of low-enriched uranium, created from surplus weapon-grade material, to a facility in Tennessee for conversion into civilian nuclear power plant fuel, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced last week (see GSN, Oct. 6). The shipment, from the Savannah River Site in South Carolina to Nuclear Fuel Services in Tennessee occurred four months ahead of schedule. It is part of an NNSA effort to eliminate stockpiles of surplus highly enriched uranium that could be used in nuclear weapons. Under the effort, the highly enriched uranium is blended down at the Savannah River Site to a lower enrichment level for use in power generation by the Tennessee Valley Authority. “The HEU Blend Down project not only supports our nonproliferation objectives of eliminating nuclear materials declared surplus to U.S. national security requirements, but it also reduces future year security costs. Once this material is downblended it no longer requires the same level of security that HEU does,” NNSA Deputy Administrator Paul Longsworth said in a press release (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, Nov. 18). Back to top       Bush Claims United Front With Asian Allies in Standoff Over North Korea’s Nuclear Program U.S. President George W. Bush, in Chile for a meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit, said Saturday the United States and other nations in the six-party talks are united in insisting that North Korea resume negotiations on its nuclear program, Reuters reported (see GSN, Nov. 19). “Five APEC members are working to convince North Korea to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons,” Bush said, referring to the United States, Russia, Japan, China and South Korea. “I can report to you today, having visited with the other nations involved in that collaborative effort, that the will is strong, that the effort is united, and the message is clear to [North Korean leader] Mr. Kim Jong Il: Get rid of your nuclear weapons programs,” Bush said. There are three separate proposals being offered by North Korea, South Korea and the United States for a new round of talks, according to U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. “Let’s discuss these proposals at the table and not by public exchange of our views,” he said. Powell’s comments might have been an indication that Pyongyang could receive more energy aid sooner than in the U.S. offer if it resumed negotiations, according to Reuters (Holland/Morgan, Reuters, Nov. 20). South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said yesterday that Bush’s meetings with counterparts from South Korea, China, Japan and Russia provided an opportunity to renew efforts at resuming the stalled talks. “This kind of diplomatic effort will help to create a very favorable atmosphere and we sincerely hope North Korea will not lose this opportunity,” he told Reuters. “It’s our firm determination to keep this momentum alive,” he added (Paul Eckert, Reuters, Nov. 21). Back to top       Osama bin Laden Seeking to Acquire Russian Nuclear Weapon, Former CIA Analyst Says Terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden is seeking to acquire a Russian nuclear weapon to use in an attack on the United States, former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer said Friday (see GSN, Nov. 15). CIA assessments indicate that bin Laden has put together “a very professional acquisition system” consisting of scientists and engineers to aid his efforts to obtain weapons of mass destruction, Scheuer said. Al-Qaeda would be “most likely” to obtain a nuclear weapon from Russian sources, such as organized crime, because of corruption in that country and the large size of the Russian nuclear weapons complex. Bin Laden “clearly has a presence in the former Soviet Union and he has shown a strong willingness to work with non-Islamic people if it furthers his game,” Scheuer said. Were bin Laden to obtain a nuclear weapon, there is little doubt he would use it against the United States, Scheuer said. “He has clearly said that he would use it. He doesn’t intend it as a deterrent. It is going to be a first-strike weapon,” Scheuer said (Hearst Newspapers/Omaha World-Herald, Nov. 20). Back to top       Pantex Completes W-87 Warhead Upgrades The Pantex nuclear plant in Texas has completed upgrades for all U.S. W-87 warheads, which are carried on the MX strategic missile, the Amarillo Globe-News reported Saturday (see GSN, Aug. 23). The W-87 Life Extension Program was authorized by Congress in 1994 to enhance the warhead’s structure and extend its shelf life by 30 years, according to the Globe-News. Pantex delivered the first rebuilt W87 warhead to the U.S. Defense Department in 1999. “This was a priority at Pantex. The entire project team and their ability to work together at Pantex and other sites made it possible to complete this project,” Jeff Yarbrough, manufacturing division manager for contractor BWXT Pantex, said in a statement. “The completion of this LEP is a success for the entire weapons complex.” The program was not without its troubles. The U.S. General Accounting Office reported in 2000 that it was two years behind schedule and had increased in cost by $300 million, according to the Globe-News. The W-87 is the first of four planned Life Extension Programs for U.S. nuclear warheads, according to the Globe-News. Work on the W-80 warhead, designed to be carried on a cruise missile launched from an attack submarine or a bomber, is expected to begin in 2006, as is work on the B-61 bomb carried on the B-52 or B-2 bomber. The program in 2007 is set to begin improving the W-76 warhead, which is carried on the Trident 2 missile, according to congressional reports (Jim McBride, Amarillo Globe-News, Nov. 20). Back to top

New York City, FBI Reach Agreement on Conducting Bioterrorism Investigations The FBI has reached an agreement with the New York City police and health departments on organizing investigations in the event of a bioterrorist incident, the New York Times reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 9, 2001). Law enforcement agencies would have to conduct any such investigation jointly with the city’s Health and Mental Hygiene Department, according to the protocol signed last month by New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Freiden, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Pasquale D’Amuro, assistant director of the FBI’s New York office. Investigators would have access to medical information of people who might have been exposed to a biological agent, but the various agencies would overlook a patient’s immigration status or minor criminal activities, according to the Times. The agreement also calls for police officers or FBI agents not to wear uniforms when interviewing patients to avoid intimidation and states that doctors would have the authority to ask investigators to leave the room during an interview. “Both law enforcement and the public health community have made some tough compromises on what they consider sacred ground,'” said Michael Sheehan, the New York police counterterrorism commissioner. “But New Yorkers will be safer and healthier for it” (Judith Miller, New York Times, Nov. 21). Back to top

Work Halted on Sarin Container at Blue Grass Depot Efforts to install replacement plugs in a container of sarin nerve agent at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky halted last week when one of the new plugs failed to seal, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 26). A special team from the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah was able to seal the leaking plug and no agent vapor was detected outside the work area, said Lt. Col. George Shuplinkov, commander of Blue Grass Chemical Activity. “We rehearsed contingencies to the plan,” he said, adding that there was no danger to the public during the operation. Workers had replaced five of eight degraded plugs in the 1-ton drum containing more than 170 gallons of sarin and decontaminate when work stopped, according to AP. The container was returned to its storage igloo while officials consider plans to replace the defective plug and three others. Deseret personnel might finish the job, or a Blue Grass crew might go to Utah for special training (Associated Press/Courier-Journal, Nov. 19). Back to top       Pine Bluff Arsenal Plans to Improve Chemical Accident Emergency Warning System The public warning system at the Pine Bluff Arsenal is being updated for use in case of an accidental release from the chemical weapons stockpile at the Arkansas facility, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Nov. 3). “We’re trying to make sure we have the best capabilities possible to inform citizens in the unlikely event of an incident at the arsenal,” said Wally Hunt, coordinator of the Jefferson County Office of Emergency Management. Fifty-eight sirens installed within a 9.5-mile radius of the arsenal — the Immediate Response Zone — are being tested, and tests are expected to begin shortly on four additional sirens. Electronic signs are scheduled to be placed at several locations to help motorists in the event of an evacuation, according to AP, and 15,000 new tone alert radios are expected to be programmed and distributed to residents within the Response Zone early next year (Associated Press/KARK.com, Nov. 20). Back to top

Japan Examining Ways to Accelerate Response to Missile Attack, High-Level Official Says Japan is examining ways to accelerate a military response in the event of a ballistic missile attack, such as one launched by North Korea, a senior Japanese government official said today (see GSN, Oct. 5). “Under current procedures we could not respond in time after a missile is prepared and appears ready to strike Japan,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said. To conduct military action, the Japanese prime minister now must first hold a meeting of the Cabinet and national security council, according to Agence France-Presse. Japanese defense chief Yoshinori Ono reportedly said this weekend, though, that he wants the prime minister to be able to bypass the meeting requirement in the event of a missile launch. The Japanese military has requested a 35-percent increase in funding in the next fiscal year for missile defense and intelligence efforts, including money to upgrade Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missile interceptor systems (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Nov. 22). Back to top

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