U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.; shown in a Dec. 6 photo) last month introduced legislation that would remove some congressional restrictions on the Cooperative Threat Reduction program (AFP photo/Nicholas Kamm). Bush Waives Restrictions on Nonproliferation Support for Uzbekistan By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — U.S. President George W. Bush last week waived restrictions placed on U.S. nonproliferation aid to Uzbekistan (see GSN, Aug. 13). In a Dec. 14 memorandum, Bush removed the restrictions placed on aid provided in fiscal 2005 to Uzbekistan through the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, which seeks to secure and dispose of former Soviet weapons of mass destruction. Before support can be provided to a former Soviet state through the program, a U.S. presidential certification must be made that the country is: — making a substantial investment of its resources for dismantling or destroying such weapons;..Full Story

U.N. Discusses Taliban, Al-Qaeda Sanctions By Jim Wurst Global Security Newswire UNITED NATIONS — The chairman of the U.N. Security Council’s sanctions committee on al-Qaeda and the Taliban said Friday that while governments are dedicated to maintaining sanctions on the two groups, application of the sanctions remains uneven. Some council members agreed while others said the restrictions placed on states and individuals are still susceptible to discriminatory applications (see GSN, Sept. 14)...Full Story

Yushchenko Poisoned by Most Toxic Form of Dioxin Blood tests show that Ukrainian opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned with the most toxic form of dioxin, known as TCDD, the scientist who performed the tests said Friday (see GSN, Dec. 13)...Full Story

	Monday, December 20, 2004

U.N. Discusses Taliban, Al-Qaeda Sanctions By Jim Wurst Global Security Newswire UNITED NATIONS — The chairman of the U.N. Security Council’s sanctions committee on al-Qaeda and the Taliban said Friday that while governments are dedicated to maintaining sanctions on the two groups, application of the sanctions remains uneven. Some council members agreed while others said the restrictions placed on states and individuals are still susceptible to discriminatory applications (see GSN, Sept. 14). “I found a significant dedication to the implementation of sanctions measures, although unequal levels of effective implementation exist,” Ambassador Heraldo Munoz of Chile said in a briefing before the council. “Member states must not feel that there is a group of states that are designing sanctions and monitoring their implementation, but that states are an integral part of counterterrorist strategies, policies and implementation efforts,” he added. The Security Council in 1999 adopted Resolution 1267, imposing sanctions on al-Qaeda and its leader, Osama bin Laden, and the Taliban, who were then the rulers of Afghanistan. The committee Munoz heads was established to monitor states’ compliance with the sanctions and to maintain a list of individuals and entities that are subject to the restrictions. Those on the list are subject to financial sanctions, a travel ban and an arms embargo by all nations. “States continue arresting individuals linked to al-Qaeda, submitting names to our list and taking action to impede the financing of terrorism,” Munoz said. He made specific mention of Iran, saying the government in Tehran “has frozen considerable assets in four separate accounts” of Afghan warlord Gulbuddin Hekmatyar.  Munoz said Swiss officials told him “there is a gap that gives possible targets enough time to remove their funds when a new sanctions regime is created by the Security Council.” To counter this, Munoz said the officials described “very sophisticated software used by banks to find and freeze assets that could be useful.” Switzerland had agreed to be “a ‘point country’ for cooperation in this area.” Since his last report to the council in September, Munoz said states “provided a valuable assessment of the deficiencies in different aspects of the sanctions measures and their practical implementations.” However, many developing countries still expressed “frustration with what they see as Western double standards in the fight against terrorism.” Officials in most countries “continue to raise concerns” about the quality of the list, Munoz said. He added, though, that the “list is only as good as member states allow it to be” since it is based on information from the nations. European Union countries have complained that people can be added to the list simply upon the say-so of any government, while Muslim countries have said that people were incorrectly added to the list due to slight spelling errors. “The priority for the committee remains its list, which currently contains more than 400 names, and the identification of possible improvements to the current sanctions measures,” Munoz said. The committee works with a monitoring team of technical experts. Munoz said. “The team [since September] focused on the successes and challenges that states are facing in implementing the asset freeze, travel ban and arms embargo” and had submitted “a large number of technical corrections” on 50 people and 10 entities on the list. In the debate that followed, council members generally praised the committee’s work, including its outreach to governments and international organizations, such as Interpol, which have relevant expertise in combating terrorism. However, several cited what they considered to be continuing shortcomings, especially on how people were placed and removed from the list. Delegates expressed concern that names are placed on the list without regard to due process. U.S. Deputy Ambassador Stuart Holliday said analysis of the national reports showed that some states were not fulfilling their obligations and in some cases the reports were “unhelpful.” Ambassador Ismael Gaspar Martins of Angola said the council’s efforts were playing “an important role in filling the gaps in counterterrorism strategies” by imposing uniform standards. Brazilian Ambassador Ronaldo Mota Sardenberg said improving the “credibility” of the list would help “counter perceptions that combating terrorism is guided by double standards.” Back to top

Bush Waives Restrictions on Nonproliferation Support for Uzbekistan By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — U.S. President George W. Bush last week waived restrictions placed on U.S. nonproliferation aid to Uzbekistan (see GSN, Aug. 13). In a Dec. 14 memorandum, Bush removed the restrictions placed on aid provided in fiscal 2005 to Uzbekistan through the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, which seeks to secure and dispose of former Soviet weapons of mass destruction. Before support can be provided to a former Soviet state through the program, a U.S. presidential certification must be made that the country is: — making a substantial investment of its resources for dismantling or destroying such weapons; — forgoing any military modernization program that exceeds legitimate defense requirements and forgoing the replacement of destroyed weapons of mass destruction; — forgoing any use of fissionable and other components of destroyed nuclear weapons in new nuclear weapons; — facilitating U.S. verification of weapons destruction; — complying with all relevant arms-control agreements; and — observing internationally recognized human rights, including the protection of minorities. For at least the second year in a row, however, Uzbekistan has failed to meet the human rights requirement, a U.S. State Department official said Friday, noting the “broad pattern” of abuses in Uzbekistan (see GSN, Jan. 12). In a fact sheet released early this year, Human Rights Watch described Uzbekistan as “one of the most repressive countries in the Central Asian region.” Among the concerns listed were the use of torture by Uzbek authorities and persecution of independent Muslims. In his memorandum last week, Bush said the waiver of restrictions placed on CTR aid to Uzbekistan was “important to the national security interests of the United States.” Last month, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) introduced legislation that would, in part, eliminate the conditions placed by Congress on the program (see GSN, Nov. 15). Lugar was one of the original architects of the CTR effort. The State Department official said that Uzbekistan was set to receive CTR funding in the “low tens of millions” of dollars in fiscal 2005, which will be used to help eliminate the lingering Soviet-era WMD infrastructure there. Uzbekistan was home to several Soviet biological and chemical weapons-related sites, including two-thirds of the largest biological weapons field test site on Vozrozhdeniye Island.  The United States is engaged in an “ongoing dialogue” with Uzbekistan concerning human rights, the State Department official said.  EDITOR’S NOTE: 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

EU-Iran Talks to Continue in Tehran Next Month European Union officials are expected to meet with their Iranian counterparts next month in Tehran to discuss building a light-water nuclear reactor in Iran, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 17). “A European delegation will be in Iran [in] early January after the holidays for (nuclear) talks,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Dec. 19). Working groups organized during last week’s talks in Brussels are expected to begin discussions shortly on resolving the debate over Iran’s nuclear program, Hossein Mousavian, one of the members of Iran’s negotiating team, told the Mehr News Agency. “In Brussels it was decided that in the upcoming three months the groups will hold as many consecutive meetings as necessary and this also applies to the New Year holidays,” Mousavian said. The working groups are expected to address Iran’s continued suspension of uranium enrichment activities, he added. “The activities of [working] groups officially began on Dec. 14 and the initial results must be tangible by March 14,” he said. “This is a point stressed by both sides.” “These three months are neither the beginning nor the end of the negotiations,” Mousavian said. “Rather, they serve as a juncture for us to evaluate the Europeans’ seriousness, good will and to what degree they are committed” (Mardom Salari/BBC Monitoring, Dec. 19). Meanwhile, Russia may construct as many as seven nuclear power plants in Iran, in addition to the facility it is completing in Bushehr, Russian Atomic Energy Agency head Alexander Rumyantsev told RIA Novosti news agency Saturday. Rumyantsev said the cost of the projects has been estimated at $10 billion. “We believe that Iran needs such nuclear capabilities for peaceful application of nuclear technology,” he said (Financial Times, Dec. 19). Back to top       Y-12 Uranium-Processing Systems Nearly Operational Most uranium-processing systems at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn. are operational for the first time in 10 years, the Associated Press reported Friday (see GSN, Nov. 18). The plant has restarted its “wet chemistry” program, which uses six processes to recycle enriched uranium from old nuclear weapons for reuse, said Bill Brumley, Oak Ridge chief of the National Nuclear Security Administration.  BWXT, Y-12’s managing contractor, successfully tested a primary extraction of uranium, Brumley said. The other five processes were restarted last month. The plant’s processing operations were shut down in 1994 due to safety concerns arising from poor oversight (Associated Press/Tennesseean.com, Dec. 17). Back to top       Pakistan Reportedly to Share Information with Washington on Nuclear Technology Transfers to Iran Pakistan has reportedly agreed to provide the United States with all of the information collected during its investigation into the transfer of nuclear technology to Iran, WebIndia123.com reported today (see GSN, Dec. 16). Reports indicate the agreement comes with the understanding that the United States would not attempt to prosecute those who may have been involved in aiding Tehran’s nuclear efforts (WebIndia123.com, Dec. 20). Back to top       USEC Chief Leaves Company The head of USEC Inc. has stepped down from the top position at the U.S. company that is the world’s leading producer of enriched uranium, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, Oct. 6). No reason has been given for President and Chief Executive Officer William “Nick” Timbers’ departure, which was announced last week by the USEC Board of Directors, according to the Post. “This is between the board and Timbers,” company spokesman Charles Yulish said. USEC Chairman James Mellor will temporarily take over until a replacement is chosen, the Post reported (Annys Shin, Washington Post, Dec. 20). Back to top

Hatfill Subpoenas News Organizations Former U.S. Army biologist Steven Hatfill subpoenaed a number of news organizations Friday in an attempt to learn more about the government sources who linked him to the FBI’s investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks, according to the Los Angeles Times (see GSN, Nov. 30). Hatfill is suing the Justice Department and the FBI, accusing the agencies of damaging his reputation by labeling him a person of interest in the anthrax investigation. While the judge overseeing Hatfill’s lawsuit has refused to allow his attorneys to question Justice and FBI employees, he has approved a plan for the questioning of journalists who reported on the anthrax case, the Times reported. Among those who received subpoenas Friday were the Associated Press and the Washington Post. Those who were subpoenaed do not plan to cooperate, the Times reported. “News organizations are supposed to gather news, as opposed to spending their time performing research and testifying in court on behalf of various parties with axes to grind,” Dave Tomlin, the assistant general counsel for AP, said in a report published by the wire service (Richard Schmitt, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 18). Back to top

Yushchenko Poisoned by Most Toxic Form of Dioxin Blood tests show that Ukrainian opposition presidential candidate Viktor Yushchenko was poisoned with the most toxic form of dioxin, known as TCDD, the scientist who performed the tests said Friday (see GSN, Dec. 13). Tests showed that Yushchenko was poisoned with pure TCDD, according to Abraham Brouwer, an environmental toxicology professor at the Free University in Amsterdam.  “It is a single chemical, not a mix,” Brouwer said. “This tells us ... there is no way it occurred naturally, because it is so pure.” “There were some small signals in the test that may tell us something about where it was ... made,” Brouwer added. Testing also found that Yushchenko’s blood contained 100,000 units of dioxin — the second highest amount ever recorded, according to the Associated Press. Manufacturing processes that use chlorine, including paper and pulp bleaching, produce TCDD as a byproduct, according to the Associated Press. The purity of the poison indicates it could have only come from one of three sources — a government biological or chemical weapons facility, a research laboratory or a “clever chemist,” said dioxin expert Arnold Schecter, a professor of environmental sciences at the University of Texas School of Public Health in Dallas (Emma Ross, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Dec. 17). Back to top       Dutch Chemical Weapons Suspect Once Received Government Protection, Report Says A Dutch national arrested in the Netherlands this month for allegedly selling chemical weapons precursors to deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has been an informant for the Dutch AIVD intelligence service, De Volkskrant daily newspaper reported today, according to Reuters (see GSN, Dec. 7). Prosecutors’ earlier attempts to arrest the man had failed because the Dutch Interior Ministry provided him with a “safe house” normally used for witness protection, De Volkskrant reported. AIVD hoped the man would provide information about Hussein’s weapons program, according to De Volkskrant. AIVD officials declined to comment. Krista van Velzen, a legislator and member of the opposition Socialist Party, said the interests of the intelligence service and the justice authorities appeared to conflict. “The AIVD wants to protect him, the forces of law want to sue him,” she told De Volkskrant. “There was apparently a political decision to protect someone suspected of crimes as terrible as genocide. This is a threat to the rule of law” (Reuters, Dec. 20). Back to top       “Chemical Ali” Appears Before Iraqi Tribunal Iraqi judges Saturday questioned former Saddam Hussein adviser Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as “Chemical Ali” for allegedly ordering the use of chemical weapons against Kurds in the town of Halabja in 1988, according to Agence France-Presse (see GSN, Dec. 15). Al-Majid appeared during the Iraq Special Tribunal investigative hearing along with former Iraqi Defense Minister Sultan Hashem Ahmed, who is also accused of involvement in the chemical weapons attack on Halabja, AFP reported “We are in the process of gathering evidence and hearing testimony on the different crimes committed by the accused between 1968 and 2003,” said chief magistrate Rayed Juhi. Juhi said it would be a long time before either man faces trial. “Rapidity can damage justice,” Juhi said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Dec. 19). Back to top

North Korea Could Test Missile Capable of Reaching United States, Washington Warns North Korea is quickening development of its Taepodong 2 missile, which might be able to carry a nuclear-weapon-sized payload to parts of the United States, a senior U.S. official warned Friday (see GSN, Oct. 28). “This missile could be flight tested at any time,” said Stephen Rademaker, assistant secretary of state for arms control. A Taepodong 2 with a third-stage booster rocket “could deliver a several hundred kilogram payload up to 15,000 kilometers,” Rademaker said. He added that North Korea was “nearly self-sufficient” in developing and producing ballistic missiles. One expert, however, accused the Bush administration of publicizing a North Korean threat “whether or not one exists” in order to promote its missile defense program. “They’re not going to let technical problems or a less-severe threat prevent them from pursuing” missile defense, said Jon Wolfsthal of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Jim Wolf, Reuters, Dec. 17). Back to top

U.S. Missile Defense System Activation Delayed The U.S. missile defense system is not expected to be activated this year as planned by the White House, a U.S. Defense Department spokesman announced Friday, two days after a test interceptor missile failed (see GSN, Dec. 17). The failed test did not delay the activation, which will now not occur before early next year, said Michael Kucharek, a spokesman with U.S. Northern Command, the Associated Press reported. Kucharek said military commanders are continuing exercises and demonstrations. The Pentagon’s Missile Defense Agency and contractors are investigating last week’s test failure, in which an “unknown anomaly” scrapped a flight test, said agency spokesman Rick Lehner. He added that another test has not been scheduled. Lehner said that results of the tests would not determine when the first round of interceptors would be activated at Fort Greely, Alaska, and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. (Rachel D’Oro, Associated Press/CBC News, Dec. 18). Meanwhile, Washington has been discussing potential cooperation on missile defense with numerous countries, a U.S. official described. “The governments with which we are either carrying out or discussing missile defense cooperation include Japan, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia, Canada, Israel, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Ukraine, Taiwan and India,” Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control Stephen Rademaker said Friday in a Washington speech. India and the United States have conducted joint missile defense workshops, he added. In January, President George W. Bush and then Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee announced the Next Steps in Strategic Partnership initiative, which included an “expanding discussion” on missile defense, Rademaker said (Press Trust of India/ExpressIndia.com, Dec. 20). Back to top

Osama Bin Laden Pressed Into Seeking Dirty Bomb, Al-Qaeda Insider Alleges in Forthcoming Book An aide to Osama Bin Laden alleges in an upcoming book that the head of al-Qaeda gave in to pressure from members of the group’s leadership to seek radioactive material for a “dirty bomb,” the London Sunday Times reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 4). Excerpts from the book were published last week in a London-based Arabic newspaper, according to the Times, and are believed to have been written by Egyptian-born Abu Walid al-Misri. Mohammed Atef, al-Qaeda’s military commander who was killed by U.S. bombing in Afghanistan, had advocated acquiring and storing radioactive material on U.S. territory for use in retaliation for action against Afghanistan, according to al-Misri. Bin Laden, however, warned that such a plan was “like a genie in a bottle” which could have negative repercussions for al-Qaeda, according to al-Misri’s account.  Bin Laden was later persuaded that such weapons would provide al-Qaeda with a propaganda tool, accepting that the organization could only ever develop “primitive things” such as “dirty bombs,” rather than more sophisticated devices. Efforts to obtain materials from Russian nuclear facilities failed, according to al-Misri. He added that the Taliban had “a considerable quantity of radioactive materials seized from smugglers” but sold most of it to Pakistan rather than turning it over to al-Qaeda (Nick Fielding, Sunday Times, Dec. 19).   Back to top

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