The Soviet Union had a major biological weapons production program at this facility in Stepnogorsk, Kazakhstan. U.S. and Kazakh officials signed an agreement this week to increase U.S. aid to securing and dismantling such facilities. The United States is also providing $35 million for projects such as a joint study on dangerous pathogens to help develop new medical countermeasures (DOD Photo). U.S. to Increase Nonproliferation Aid to Kazakhstan By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States and Kazakhstan this week agreed to expand efforts to prevent the spread of biological weapons (see GSN, July 30). Under the agreement signed Wednesday, the United States pledged to support Kazakh efforts to prevent biological proliferation through several initiatives. The two countries will work to prevent the spread of biological weapons-related expertise by organizing cooperative research programs, to secure dangerous pathogens by improving security at Kazakh biological facilities, to consolidate pathogen stocks at central repositories, to eliminate Cold War-era biological weapons-related infrastructure and to improve Kazakhstan’s ability to detect and respond to potential bioterrorist attacks...Full Story

United Nations Security Council Members Worry About Application of Antiterrorism Resolution By Jim Wurst Global Security Newswire UNITED NATIONS — In their first public meeting to discuss the implementation of a resolution on keeping weapons of mass destruction out of terrorists’ hands, some U.N. Security Council members yesterday expressed concern that the code would be enforced unevenly by developed nations against developing countries (see GSN, Nov. 19)...Full Story

White House Manipulated North Korea Intelligence, Expert Alleges; Pyongyang Possibly Ready for Talks The Bush administration exaggerated the threat of an alleged uranium-based North Korean nuclear weapons program to keep the communist nation isolated, a U.S. expert alleged in an article released today (see GSN, Dec. 9)...Full Story

	Friday, December 10, 2004

NATO, Russia to Boost Efforts Against WMD Terrorism By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The NATO-Russia Council yesterday pledged to increase cooperation to prevent, and respond to, terrorist attacks involving weapons of mass destruction (see GSN, Dec. 7). A number of measures related to WMD terrorism were included in an action plan on terrorism released yesterday following a foreign minister-level meeting of the council at NATO headquarters in Brussels.  “The NATO-Russia Council categorically rejects terrorism in all its manifestations,” the action plan says. “Terrorist acts pose a direct challenge to our common security, to our shared democratic values and to basic human rights and freedoms. We agree that there is no cause that can justify such acts, and call for unity of action in the international community in addressing this insidious threat,” it says. The NATO-Russia Council was launched in 2002 to improve cooperation in a wide range of areas of common interest between the alliance and its former Cold War rival. Its membership consists of Russia and all NATO countries. Under the action plan, council members agreed to improve intelligence sharing and efforts to prevent terrorists from obtaining weapons of mass destruction. Planned strategies include strengthening existing nonproliferation arrangements and addressing possible threats to freight and passenger transport.  Council members also pledged to increase scientific cooperation in areas such as WMD protection and decontamination technologies. The action plan also calls for increased scientific cooperation on managing the consequences of terrorist attacks, such as ecological and psychological effects. In addition, the action plan calls for a first responders conference to be held to “exchange information and compare lessons learned” from responses to terrorist attacks. “Special emphasis” would be placed, the plan says, on presentations from the United States, Russia, Spain and Turkey. To better combat terrorism through military action, council members agreed to increase both technical and operational cooperation. A progress report on the plan’s progress is to be delivered by June of next year, with the aim of preparing recommendations for further implementation. In addition, the United Kingdom has offered to hold in September 2005 an exercise similar to a drill conducted by Russia this summer simulating an accident involving the transport of nuclear weapons, the council said in a separate statement. Back to top       Saudis to Train Taiwan Officers in Counterterrorism Taiwanese counterterrorism officers will learn strategies for responding to attacks involving biological or chemical weapons during an antiterror course in Saudi Arabia, United Press International reported (see GSN, Dec. 8). Prince Naif Arab University for Security Sciences in Riyadh is conducting the training session in conjunction with the bureau of investigation of the Taiwanese Ministry of Justice, according to the Saudi Press Agency. The course begins tomorrow and ends Dec. 22. (United Press International/Arab News, Dec. 10). Back to top       Intelligence Bill Contains Counterterror Provisions The intelligence reform bill approved this week by Congress contains a number of provisions related to counterterrorism, including increased penalties for those found guilty of possessing weapons of mass destruction, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Dec. 9). The bill also expands prohibitions against providing material support to terrorists, criminalizes visiting terrorist camps that provide military training and allows the FBI to obtain secret surveillance warrants against so-called “lone wolf” extremists, AP reported (Curt Anderson, Associated Press/Duluth News-Tribune, Dec. 9). Back to top

United Nations Security Council Members Worry About Application of Antiterrorism Resolution By Jim Wurst Global Security Newswire UNITED NATIONS — In their first public meeting to discuss the implementation of a resolution on keeping weapons of mass destruction out of terrorists’ hands, some U.N. Security Council members yesterday expressed concern that the code would be enforced unevenly by developed nations against developing countries (see GSN, Nov. 19). Resolution 1540, adopted unanimously by the Security Council in April, requires states to “adopt and enforce appropriate effective laws” to deny weapons of mass destruction, their components and “means of delivery” to any “nonstate actors.”  Council members agreed that more needs to be done to ensure that terrorists and other nonstate actors do not acquire nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, since it is an obvious security concern and existing treaties deal only with relationship among states. However, there were worries that the resolution would be not be applied fairly among all states and that the council was creating arms-control law that should be properly done through treaty negotiations. Those divisions surfaced again yesterday. Pakistani Ambassador Munir Akram said that actions to prevent proliferation first and foremost should come from the governments themselves, rather than international enforcement. “It is important to note … that as explicitly agreed in Resolution 1540, these measures have to be achieved by member states though national measures,” he said. It was revealed earlier this year that the father of the Pakistani nuclear weapons program, Abdul Qadeer Khan, ran a clandestine nuclear technology market that supplied Iran, Libya and North Korea.  The Pakistani government has refused to allow international officials to interview him. A problem with judging countries’ compliance with the resolution, Akram said, is that “there are no agreed international standards in areas in which the [resolution monitoring] committee will be examining the actions to be taken by member states. There are various levels of adherence, acceptance and implementations of regimes pertaining to nuclear, chemical or biological weapons and means of delivery.” Delegates from Brazil and Algeria expressed similar concerns. British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said the council has “demonstrated a common determination to take concrete steps to mitigate the risk.  That required an effort by all states to adopt robust national legislation … and to establish and enforce national controls to catch those who tried to evade the law.”  “I’d be less than frank, though, if I didn’t wonder why it’s taken us so long to get to where we are this morning. The rapidity with which we have responded to the adoption of this resolution doesn’t actually do much credit to all of us,” he said. “The need to expedite progress … is quite apparent.”  Resolution 1540 required governments to report within six months on their national measures to comply with the resolution. The deadline was Oct. 28. The chairman of the Security Council committee monitoring compliance with the resolution, Ambassador Ioan Motoc of Romania, said yesterday that only 86 of the 191 members states of the United Nations filed reports. “I had quite a few opportunities to learn of difficulties experienced by member states … in compiling these first reports,” he said. “It is our joint responsibility to support all those who are willing to engage in good faith on that path and to uphold nonproliferation objectives.” The responding countries include the five official nuclear powers that make up the permanent Security Council membership, as well as the other known or suspected nuclear powers: India, Pakistan and Israel. The reports have not been published. After the council meeting, Motoc said the reports would be released once they were translated into the six official U.N. languages. At the beginning of December, the committee selected four experts from Brazil, Germany, Russia and the United States to help evaluate the national reports. Now that the experts have been named, Motoc said, the committee was ready to begin examining the documents.  There are plans to add more experts; delegates from developing countries including Angola and the Philippines said those experts should come from their part of the world.  “Such a decision,” Akram said, “would help dispel the widely held perception outside the council, perhaps if not inside, that the whole process of drafting the resolution … is being led by the developed countries, to the exclusion of a large number of developing [countries].”  Jones Parry said the appointments should be of experts “with the necessary expertise — with the emphasis please on expertise — people who can actually do the job. That must be the priority.” Back to top       United States, United Kingdom to Increase WMD Detection, Decontamination Research The United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to increase cooperation on research into new detection and decontamination technologies against chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear weapons, British Home Secretary David Blunkett said yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 5). Scientists, engineers and experts from the two countries under the pact signed yesterday can collaborate and share information for developing antiterrorism technology, the Associated Press reported (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Dec. 9). “This agreement demonstrates the strong relationship between the U.K. and U.S. to further scientific research and development that will help advance the security of our respective countries,” Blunkett said (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Dec. 9). Back to top       Singapore, U.S. Demonstrate WMD Defenses Singapore and the United States yesterday conducted a defense demonstration of how to respond to an attack with biological, chemical and radioactive agents, the Xinhua News Agency reported (see GSN, Nov. 19). Teams from the Singapore Armed Forces’ Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Explosives Defense Group and the U.S. 4th Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team demonstrated handling of sarin, ricin and radioactive cobalt 60, according to local news reports. The demonstration was part of the International Symposium on Protection Against Toxic Substances that ended today, Xinhua reported (Xinhua, Dec. 9). Back to top

White House Manipulated North Korea Intelligence, Expert Alleges; Pyongyang Possibly Ready for Talks The Bush administration exaggerated the threat of an alleged uranium-based North Korean nuclear weapons program to keep the communist nation isolated, a U.S. expert alleged in an article released today (see GSN, Dec. 9). “Relying on sketchy data, the Bush administration presented a worst-case scenario as an incontrovertible truth and distorted its intelligence on North Korea (much as it did in Iraq), seriously exaggerating the danger that Pyongyang is secretly making uranium-based nuclear weapons,” Selig Harrison of the Center for International Policy wrote in this month’s Foreign Affairs magazine. The intelligence was manipulated for “political purposes” as a way to head off potential reconciliation by South Korea and Japan with Pyongyang, thus maintaining the option of “regime change,” Harrison claimed, citing South Korean and Japanese sources that worked with the CIA on North Korea (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Dec. 10). Meanwhile, a senior group of U.S. experts on North Korea that includes Harrison released a report today calling on the Bush administration to focus on North Korea’s plutonium program rather than claims that Pyongyang is working to enrich uranium, AFP reported. “Greater recognition should be given to the urgency of the threat posed by North Korea’s possession of significant quantities of weapons-usable plutonium that could be transferred to third parties,” says the report by the Task Force on Korean Policy, a group of former U.S. military officials, diplomats and experts. North Korea is suspected of possessing 88 pounds of plutonium, enough for four to six nuclear weapons, the group said. The group proposed a four-step resolution to the standoff based on a South Korean proposal made during six-party talks in June. The plans calls for North Korea to make a denuclearization pledge and to dismantle its plutonium infrastructure, while the other negotiating nations guarantee Pyongyang’s security and begin providing energy and food assistance to the impoverished country. The Task Force also recommended continued suspension of a light-water reactor project outlined in the 1994 Agreed Framework. Pyongyang’s suspected uranium program would be addressed and dismantled in the fourth phase (AFP/SpaceWar.com, Dec. 10). North Korean officials told U.S. negotiators last week that Pyongyang favors resuming six-party talks, a U.S. official said yesterday. Pyongyang could receive a variety of economic rewards if it dismantled its nuclear program, the official told the Washington Times. “With [North Korean] denuclearization will come a very rich basket of economic and other incentives that would facilitate their economic development,” the official said. “The pieces are all there. They just need to show up,” the official added (Jeremy Kirk, Washington Times, Dec. 10). Back to top       Peaceful Nuclear Technology Can Be Effective “Deterrent,” IAEA Chief ElBaradei Warns A nation’s acquisition of nuclear expertise can provide the basis for a nuclear deterrent even if meant only for nonweapon uses, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said recently in an interview with the Financial Times (see GSN, Dec. 9). “The fundamental issue is that countries look at know-how as a deterrent. Once you get into areas of deterrence, you get into security and insecurity,” ElBaradei told the Times. “If you have nuclear material, the weapon part is not far away.” ElBaradei made his comments in advance of the next round of EU-Iranian negotiations on Tehran’s nuclear effort. He said the controversy over Iran’s nuclear program was just one instance of a broader nonproliferation issue — namely, countries that master enrichment technology for a nuclear energy program can also develop an effective deterrent, even if they remain in compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. “I hope that in discussions [between Iran and the European powers] everyone puts their cards on the table. This is not just a technical issue, it’s a security issue,” he said. ElBaradei insisted, however, that diplomacy and inspections remain the best option in dealing with Iran, despite U.S. pressure for referral to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions. “As long as the process is working I don’t want to see it scuppered. I don’t see any alternative to it,” he said. ElBaradei said that he would not act as “an instrument of harassment” of Iran in his investigations, while at the same time expecting cooperation from Tehran. “Iran tried to cheat the system. Now they would have second thoughts  … because we’ve called their bluff,” he said (Roula Khalaf, Financial Times, Dec. 9). Back to top       Russia to Deploy More Topol-M ICBMs Next Year Russia plans to commission next year a fifth regiment to be armed with Topol-M ICBMs, Russian Missile Force Commander Nikolai Solovtsov said (see GSN, Nov. 18). In addition, Russia hopes to deploy the first regiments armed with mobile Topol-Ms within two to three years, Solovtsov said. He also said that Russia plans to conduct two missile training launches by the end of this year — a heavy missile launch scheduled for Dec. 22 and a Topol-M flight test from the Plesetsk cosmodrome. Russia plans to phase out its arsenal of liquid-propellant missiles by 2009, Solovtsov said. He said that ultimately Russia would consolidate its land-based strategic nuclear arsenal in two versions of the solid-fuel Topol-M, with one type of missile to be installed in silos and the second to be on mobile launchers (RIA Novosti, Dec. 10). Back to top       Bush Nominates New Energy Secretary U.S. President George W. Bush today nominated Deputy Treasury Secretary Samuel Bodman to replace Spencer Abraham as energy secretary, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Nov. 16). Bodman “has shown himself to be a problem solver who knows how to set goals and knows how to reach them,” Bush said (Associated Press/New York Times, Dec. 10). Back to top

U.S. to Increase Nonproliferation Aid to Kazakhstan By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States and Kazakhstan this week agreed to expand efforts to prevent the spread of biological weapons (see GSN, July 30). Under the agreement signed Wednesday, the United States pledged to support Kazakh efforts to prevent biological proliferation through several initiatives. The two countries will work to prevent the spread of biological weapons-related expertise by organizing cooperative research programs, to secure dangerous pathogens by improving security at Kazakh biological facilities, to consolidate pathogen stocks at central repositories, to eliminate Cold War-era biological weapons-related infrastructure and to improve Kazakhstan’s ability to detect and respond to potential bioterrorist attacks. The United States will also provide Kazakhstan with an additional $35 million for projects such as the joint study of dangerous pathogens to develop new medical countermeasures and to prevent outbreaks in Central Asia. The agreement is the “first time we’ve had a comprehensive biological weapons engagement with Kazakhstan,” said Mark Hayes, a spokesman for Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.). The agreement amends a U.S.-Kazakh bilateral agreement reached in 1995 to implement the U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction program, which seeks to secure and dispose of former Soviet weapons of mass destruction. The effort is also known as the Nunn-Lugar program after its architects, Lugar and former Senator Sam Nunn (D-Ga.). “Kazakhstan’s signing of the amendment is a testimony of the firm and consistent commitment of President Nursultan Nazarbayev and our government to the cause of nonproliferation,” Kazakh Ambassador to the United States Kanat Saudabayev said in a statement yesterday. “The people of Kazakhstan, who experienced firsthand the horrifying consequences of the use of weapons of mass destruction, are adamant to continue to be at the forefront of the global fight against the proliferation of these deadly weapons,” Saudabayev added. Kazakhstan was home to the Soviet nuclear weapons test site at Semipalatinsk, which is believed to have had disastrous health effects on nearby residents. The former Soviet state contains several biological facilities established during the Soviet era, including a former large-scale anthrax production site at Stepnogorsk and two research institutes that possess pathogen collections. While Kazakhstan is not a member of the Biological Weapons Convention, officials there have said they plan to join by the end of the year, according to a U.S. State Department official. The amendment signed this week was first proposed three years ago, but was delayed, in part, due to reluctance by Kazakhstan to share with the United States some requested pathogen strains for research, according to Hayes. Among the pathogen types requested by Washington were anthrax, plague, tularemia and viral hemorrhagic fevers. Kazakhstan has since agreed to provide all requested strains, Hayes said. “We’ve worked out those kinks,” he said. Lugar traveled to Kazakhstan in summer 2003 to help persuade officials there to sign the agreement. “I applaud the work of the Department of Defense and the administration in concluding this important work with the government of Kazakhstan,” Lugar said in a statement Wednesday. “This is a critical step forward in addressing the threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.” [EDITOR’S NOTE: Sam Nunn is chief executive officer, and Richard Lugar serves on the board, of the Nuclear Threat Initiative. NTI is the sole sponsor of Global Security Newswire, which is published independently by the National Journal Group.] Back to top       U.S. Pledges 20 Million Doses of Smallpox Vaccine to World Health Organization’s Global Stockpile The United States has pledged to donate 20 million doses of smallpox vaccine to the global stockpile managed by the World Health Organization, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson announced yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 8). “The United States is proud to make a significant contribution to a global stockpile that will serve as a critical line of defense in the event of a smallpox attack anywhere in the world,” Thompson said. “This is an important step toward ensuring the health and safety of the American people.” Canada, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom also made pledges to the stockpile, according to a Health and Human Services press release. The United States in 2003 encouraged development of a World Health Organization Smallpox Vaccine Bank, consisting of a physical stockpile in Geneva and a virtual global stockpile of pledged vaccine.   The 20 million doses pledged by the United States are to physically remain in the U.S. Strategic National Stockpile, but will be available for use in the event of an emergency, according to the press release (Health and Human Services Department release/PR newswire, Dec. 10). Back to top       U.S Health and Human Services Secretary Calls for International Effort Against Bioterrorism U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson yesterday called for international cooperation in preparing for bioterrorism, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Dec. 9). “You have to assume that sometime in the future one of our countries ... is going to be hit by a bioterrorism attack,” Thompson said during a press conference in Paris with French Health Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy. “The better prepared we are, we will be able to minimize the injuries, death and suffering for citizens in the country that is hit,” Thompson added. Thompson was in Paris yesterday for a two-day meeting of top health officials from the Group of Eight global industrial powers, according to AP. Officials said it was the first such meeting to focus on biological terrorism (Jamey Keaten, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Dec. 9). Back to top

Russia to Discuss French Aid for CW Disposal During a visit to Paris this week, Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov was set to discuss delays by France in providing financial aid to Russia’s efforts to destroy its chemical weapons, RIA Novosti reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 19). France has yet to allocate any of the $100 million it agreed to provide for Russian chemical weapons destruction through a nonproliferation program operated by the Group of Eight top industrialized nations, RIA Novosti reported. “The Group of Eight has worked out a program of global partnership for aid in disposing Russia’s stockpiles of chemical weapons. Unfortunately, France is a major debtor under the program,” said an official in the Russian delegation (RIA Novosti, Dec. 9). Back to top       Anniston Depot Chemical Weapons Incinerator Modified to Process Sarin-Filled Artillery Shells Modifications to the chemical weapons incineration facility at the Anniston Army Depot in Alabama were completed yesterday in preparation for destroying thousands of artillery shells containing sarin, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Nov. 2). Workers at the depot last month completed destruction of more than 42,762 sarin-filled rockets, according to AP, and incinerator machinery had to be altered to accommodate the 8-inch shells. Not many of the 200-pound shells are leaking sarin, which should make them easier to manage than the rockets, according to Donavan Mager, a spokesman for incinerator operator Westinghouse (Associated Press/Tuscaloosa News, Dec. 9). Back to top

Japan Revamps Defense Policy The Japanese Cabinet today approved a new defense policy that will allow for cooperation with the United States on missile defense, according to Agence France-Presse (see GSN, Dec. 8). Under the new defense policy, Japan will allow exceptions to its arms export ban for exports to the United States intended for joint missile defense development, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said. Other arms exports will be decided on a case-by-case basis, he said. The new defense policy also highlights concerns over China’s military modernization and the North Korean nuclear crisis (Agence France-Presse, Dec. 10). Back to top

“Smart” Phones Could Help Detect “Dirty Bombs” Engineers at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California have developed a radiation detection device contained in a cellular phone, which could assist authorities in detecting radiological “dirty bomb” materials, the New Scientist reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 8). The engineers converted a multifunction Internet cellular phone into a wireless sensor that can send data to their newly developed radiation-monitoring network, called RadNet. The sensor can transmit readings continuously over an Internet connection to a central computer, while a Global Positioning System receiver in the phone records the time and location at which data was entered. A radiation map of a particular area can then be created with the data, according to the New Scientist. In order make the project viable, the engineers had to come up with a low-cost version of a radiation detector. “It’s relatively straightforward to make a $10,000 radiation detection device that works well,” said project leader Bill Craig. “But the target price of these units is $1,000. That’s the phone, the whole thing.” The engineers are working to produce a device that will run for at least a day on the phone’s battery. Field tests of prototypes are expected to begin within three months (Jenny Hogan, New Scientist, Dec. 9).   Back to top

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