Russian officials in 2001 conducted a cornerstone ceremony to mark the start of construction at the chemical weapons disposal facility at Shchuchye (AFP photo/Yuri Kochetkov). Pentagon Inspector Finds Risk of Russian Noncompliance With U.S.-Funded Disarmament Efforts By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Following on warnings issued twice before, a U.S. Defense Department agency has found that there continue to be risks that Russia will not fully cooperate on a number of nuclear and chemical weapons destruction activities with the United States (see GSN, Dec. 10, 2003)...Full Story

North Korea Denies Uranium Enrichment Effort North Korean officials told a recent visiting U.S. delegation that they do not have a secret program to enrich uranium, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, Jan. 12)...Full Story

Despite Calls for Greater Involvement, U.S. Played Small Role in Recent South Asian Peace Progress By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Washington played only a minor role in last week’s “historic” announcement of a planned Indian-Pakistani dialogue to resolve tensions between the two nuclear-armed South Asian rivals, a senior U.S. State Department official said Friday, despite calls from former U.S. diplomats to the region that greater U.S. diplomatic engagement was needed (see GSN, Jan. 6)...Full Story

United States Should Prepare for Mass Casualties After Successful “Dirty Bomb” Attack By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — While a “dirty bomb” is primarily an economic and psychological weapon, the United States should also prepare to respond to a potentially large number of casualties that could result from a successful terrorist attack using such a weapon, according to a National Defense University study released yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 12)...Full Story

	Tuesday, January 13, 2004

U.N. Resolution Aims to Close Loopholes in Al-Qaeda Sanctions By Jim Wurst Global Security Newswire UNITED NATIONS — A new U.N. Security Council resolution on sanctions against al-Qaeda and the Taliban will close some of the loopholes in the current sanctions regime, the chairman of the council’s sanctions committee, Ambassador Heraldo Munoz of Chile, said yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 2, 2003). The new resolution will “strengthen the sanctions in the sense of closing the loopholes. We think we can do that,” he said. “At the same time, there is the issue of cooperation, of dialogue.  I think we have obtained a great deal of advancement on the sanctions [through] the dialogue directly with the countries,” added Munoz, referring to all 191 U.N. member states. Speaking to reporters after a council session on the sanctions, Munoz said, “You can expect stronger measures.” The new draft resolution, which will be debated in the council on Friday, will deal with “closing the loopholes, recommending new measures, adopting new measures and also continue to engage directly with the countries,” he added. The sanctions panel was established by the council in 1999. In January 2003, the council adopted Resolution 1455 extending the mandate of the group. The sanctions involve bans on financial transactions and travel by individuals linked to al-Qaeda and the Taliban and an arms embargo against them. The individuals and entities subject to sanctions are on a list maintained by the council. This list is the main tool the committee has in measuring the effectiveness of the sanctions. These sanctions are the only ones the council has imposed on stateless individuals rather than a government. Presenting his report on the work of the sanctions committee to the council, Munoz said that the “principal underlying objective” for 2004 is that “we need to help ensure that all states continue to focus on the terrorist challenge and that their national counterterrorism measures encompass appropriate policies and actions.” Munoz’s report was based largely on the results of trips in October and December to 10 countries in Europe, the Arabian Gulf and West and Southeast Asia. “As our work becomes more focused, we believe a … frank exchange in New York and in capitals will move the international community’s counterterrorism efforts forward,” he said. The arms embargo is “the most difficult of the measures in the sanctions regime to implement,” he said, since arms production and sales are “generally seen as matters of national security, thus rendering it difficult to assess the effectiveness of this crucial measure.” In addition, while most countries interpret the arms embargo as referring to conventional weapons, Munoz said not enough attention is being paid to technologies and materials that could be used to produce weapons of mass destruction. Only one-third of the 93 states that have submitted reports to the committee provide information on such materials, he added. He told the council that the travel ban “is intrinsically dependent on the quality and credibility of the list.” Countries are reluctant to put individuals that are on the list on their national stop lists because of “the absence of sufficient identifiers,” Munoz said. European countries in particular have expressed concern that being placed on the list without due process may violate peoples’ rights. Governments “need a quantity of information that our consolidated list in some cases does not have,” he said after the council meeting. “We ought to be able to implement the sanctions with due consideration to human rights and due process and at the same time, not to curtail efficiency in the implementation of sanctions,” Munoz told reporters. “Those are the parameters that we are going to work with.” While “many states have taken positive steps towards curbing the financing of al-Qaeda activities,” Munoz said, some governments “have yet to show the same preparedness.” He added, “One area where improvement is warranted is the freezing of assets other than bank accounts,” such as seizing real estate. Al-Qaeda continues to use “alternate remittance systems” and charities to hide and move money, Munoz added. Back to top

Pentagon Inspector Finds Risk of Russian Noncompliance With U.S.-Funded Disarmament Efforts By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Following on warnings issued twice before, a U.S. Defense Department agency has found that there continue to be risks that Russia will not fully cooperate on a number of nuclear and chemical weapons destruction activities with the United States (see GSN, Dec. 10, 2003). The report, released last month by the Pentagon’s Office of the Inspector General, says the United States should have negotiated agreements delineating more specific Russian responsibilities regarding the activities. “DOD could have better managed the risks associated with those projects had it negotiated implementing agreements that better defined Russia’s requirements, thus making Russia more responsible for the storage and elimination of Russian weapons of mass destruction,” it says. The projects are paid for through the Defense Department’s Cooperative Threat Reduction program, which funds the dismantlement and secure storage of former Soviet weapons of mass destruction. The CTR program has faced steady criticism from its detractors since its 1991 inception, including congressional criticism last year over instances in which Russia did not uphold agreements (see GSN, May 29, 2002). The report also says management controls over the Cooperative Threat Reduction program still are “not adequate to ensure that facilities constructed to aid Russia in the storage and destruction of weapons of mass destruction were used for their intended purpose.” In a letter responding to the report, Undersecretary of Defense for Technology Security Policy and Counterproliferation Lisa Bronson wrote, “In general we agree with the conclusions of the report.” Risks Cited According to the report, Russia might not fully use a fissile material storage facility the program has paid to construct. While construction of the facility was scheduled for completion in December, Russia still has not committed to providing the amounts and types of fissile materials for which the facility was designed, the report says. Further, there are no agreements yet to obtain fissile material from Russia’s Defense Ministry. “As such, DOD does not have adequate assurance that Russia will provide or store any amount or types of eligible fissile material” in the storage facility, it says. Bronson responded that the Defense Ministry is responsible for less than 40 percent of the material intended for storage at the facility. The remaining material could come from the Atomic Energy Ministry and possibly from commercial sources, said Paul Walker, an expert at Global Green USA. There also are risks that Russia could rescind land allocation for a chemical weapons destruction facility at Shchuchye, the report says (see GSN, Nov. 24, 2003). Additional risks cited by the report include: *         Potential delays in obtaining design approvals for the facility that could cause construction schedules to slip and costs to climb; *         the possibility that Russia will not use a designed bituminization building for the facility — bitumin is a type of asphalt in which neutralized chemicals are encased for long-term storage; and *         the chance that operation of the facility will be suspended or terminated because of environmental laws. Previous Trouble In two previous reports, the inspector general cited two instances in which Russia did not follow through on Cooperative Threat Reduction program agreements. Those reports said that Russia had not used a missile fuel disposal facility and had halted a solid rocket motor disposition project because it could not obtain a land allocation, wasting $95.5 million and $99.7 million respectively. “The two current CTR projects … are at risk of meeting the same fate as [the] two other CTR projects that we reported on,” the latest report says. It says the Defense Department had spent $372.8 million to design and construct fissile material containers and their storage facility and $203.9 million on the chemical weapons destruction facility as of July 2003. “But Russia may not fully utilize those items to store fissile material and destroy chemical weapons,” the report says. Responding to Pentagon criticism last year, Pentagon officials said they would take measures to ensure better Russian compliance with program agreements, which were signed prior to the current administration.  Bronson said Pentagon officials have worked “diligently” to secure legally binding commitments for long-term monitoring of materials at the fissile materials storage facility and to mitigate chemical weapons destruction risks. Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Kuenning, who until last October served as director of Cooperative Threat Reduction program, said last month that current U.S. emphasis on negotiating more specific agreements has slowed up cooperation with Russia and advocated greater high-level political support for the program. Walker of Global Green said pinning countries down on specifics could be unrealistic given the complexity of disposition activities, including the ever-present potential for local public opposition. “I think on the whole it’s important to have the details specified up front as much as one can on major investment projects in Russia,” he said.  “But I think you also have to be realistic as well. When you look at these projects in the United States, for example, open burning or open detonation of missiles or deconstruction of major weapons systems or specifically the destruction of chemical weapons, the projects change almost month-to-month. There are always technical glitches, permitting glitches, and sometimes management mistakes made,” he said. “A certain degree of flexibility is needed over the long term,” he said. Back to top       Iraq Survey Group Begins Testing Suspected Iraqi Chemical Shells A team of experts from the Iraq Survey Group has begun tests on a recovered cache of 36 Iraqi mortar shells suspected of containing blister agent, Danish army officials said today (see GSN, Jan. 12). “They have started working and we don’t know yet know when the final results will be ready,” said Maj. Kim Gruenberger of the Danish Army Operational Command. “I hope that we’ll find out that they don’t contain anything so we can get back to our normal duties,” Gruenberger said (Jan Olsen, Associated Press/Miami Herald, Jan. 13). Back to top

North Korea Denies Uranium Enrichment Effort North Korean officials told a recent visiting U.S. delegation that they do not have a secret program to enrich uranium, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, Jan. 12). One member of the delegation, however, was present in October 2002 when North Korean officials allegedly acknowledged the program, according to the Post. “They absolutely, totally stuck to the script on the HEU (highly enriched uranium) program: ‘We don’t have one,’” a senior administration official said. The Bush administration has insisted that North Korea must verifiably dismantle it’s Yongbyon plutonium production facility and its suspected uranium enrichment program before the United States would provide nonaggression guarantees and economic incentives for Pyongyang (Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, Jan. 13). North Korea also denied that it had a nuclear warhead, saying that estimates of its nuclear capability have been exaggerated. “They said, ‘We have the potential to make nuclear weapons, but we do not have a weapon,’” said a South Korean official. “They were very adamant in their denials,” the official added. The visiting U.S. delegation was brought to Yongbyon and shown the cooling pond where fuel rods are stored from North Korea’s small nuclear reactor. The group was also shown what was said to be recently reprocessed plutonium but was not allowed to take a sample of or photograph the material. “The U.S. delegates consistently said they had a hard time making a final decision on what they had seen in the North,” said Wi Sung-lac, a South Korean Foreign Ministry official (Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 13). Meanwhile, a nine-member delegation from the international consortium created to implement the now-suspended 1994 agreement to freeze North Korea’s nuclear activities is scheduled to meet with North Korean officials for three days this week to discuss the suspension of construction of nuclear reactors in North Korea. The meetings will focus on issues such as preserving facilities and equipment, a South Korean official said (Associated Press/Environmental News Network, Jan. 13). Japanese Business Man Arrested In Japan, authorities arrested businessman Yoshifumi Yoshihara today for attempting to ship equipment to North Korea that could be used to develop nuclear weapons. A North Korean woman living in Japan, Ri Yong Sun, was also arrested on the same case. The two shipped an inverter for an industrial washing machine last November from Yokohama to North Korea but the equipment was blocked in Beijing. The inverters could be have been reprogrammed for use in uranium enrichment equipment, according to the Mainichi Daily News. “I didn’t know how the inverter would be used,” Yoshihara said (Mainichi Daily News, Jan. 13). Back to top       Despite Calls for Greater Involvement, U.S. Played Small Role in Recent South Asian Peace Progress By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Washington played only a minor role in last week’s “historic” announcement of a planned Indian-Pakistani dialogue to resolve tensions between the two nuclear-armed South Asian rivals, a senior U.S. State Department official said Friday, despite calls from former U.S. diplomats to the region that greater U.S. diplomatic engagement was needed (see GSN, Jan. 6). Last week, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf met in Islamabad during a summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. During that meeting, according to a joint statement released afterward, the two leaders agreed to begin a joint dialogue next month to resolve outstanding issues between their two countries, including the disputed region of Kashmir, which has often threatened to become a military flashpoint between India and Pakistan. “To carry the process of normalization forward, the president of Pakistan and the prime minister of India agreed to commence the process of the composite dialogue in February 2004. The two leaders are confident that the resumption of the composite dialogue will lead to peaceful settlement of all bilateral issues, including Jammu and Kashmir, to the satisfaction of both sides,” the joint statement said. In interviews Friday with Indian and Pakistani media outlets, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage praised the decision by India and Pakistan to begin a dialogue, attributing the move to the “statesmanship” and “political courage” of Vajpayee and Musharraf. “They were able to grasp each other’s hands and agree to start a dialogue on all matters in February. I think this cannot help but to be a signal to the world that there are better ways to resolve differences than through fighting. And I must say, our hats are off to all concerned,” Armitage said. In October, a Council on Foreign Relations task force, which included among its members both a former U.S. ambassador to India and a former U.S. ambassador to Pakistan, released a report calling for Washington to initiate a long-term diplomatic effort in the region to assist India and Pakistan in resolving the Kashmir dispute (see GSN, Oct. 30, 2003). Such an effort was needed, according to the report, because neither side apparently had made the decision to launch a dialogue on their own. “To date, nether government appears to have made the political decision that its national interest would be served by movement toward genuine detente and as Kashmir settlement — except on its own terms,” the report said. Armitage said Friday, however, that the United States had not contributed significantly to bringing India and Pakistan together to begin a new peace dialogue. “I think any normal diplomat would want to rush up and say that we did it, we did it. We didn’t do it.  If we were helpful, it was because at key moments we were able to talk to both sides when tensions were high. But the fact of the matter is that this was brought about because of courage of Indians and Pakistanis alike,” he said. Experts agreed that the planned dialogue appears to have been wholly planned and initiated by India and Pakistan. “Sure, the administration encouraged both Vajpayee and Musharraf to have a successful summit — but they made it happen, not us,” Michael Krepon, founding president of the Henry L. Stimson Center, said yesterday in a written response to Global Security Newswire. Armitage also said that the United States would not play a role in maintaining the dialogue once it begins. “It is not the role of the United States to keep a process moving,” he said. According to George Perkovich, vice president of studies at Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the United States should have little direct involvement in the planned dialogue. “The U.S. should cheerlead, should rally international applause for Indian and Pakistani leaders.  People naturally like to see that their country is being celebrated internationally — this will help their leaders, too,” he said last week in a written response to GSN. In addition, the United States should also “suggest the benefits that would follow from peace,” such as increased international aid for the Kashmir region once peace is formalized and possible U.S. military assistance to Pakistan, Perkovich said. Chances for Success During his interviews Friday, Armitage was optimistic that the planned dialogue would be successful in helping to resolve Indian-Pakistani tensions. He attributed the positive outlook to several factors, including recent improvements in Indian-Pakistani relations and a more “conducive” international environment. “I think the conditions are as ripe as they’ll be, and we have two valiant leaders who seem to me intent on leading their nations on a path of peace. So that’s about the best conditions that I’ve seen in years,” Armitage said. Armitage also expressed confidence that the planned dialogue would resolve the lingering Indian-Pakistani dispute over Kashmir, which has been a thorn in relations between the two countries since they were partitioned in 1947. He refused, however, to address what specific measures India and Pakistan might undertake to resolve the issue. “I don’t have a roadmap to how the question of Kashmir will be resolved. I just have a great deal of more confidence now that it will be resolved peacefully and to the mutual satisfaction, both of Pakistan and India, but most importantly of all, to the people of Kashmir,” he said. Krepon, however, expressed less confidence in the likelihood that the planned dialogue would resolve the Kashmir dispute, noting past lack of successes. “Progress on this front is still possible if India and Pakistan can have private, substantive talks on this sensitive subject. Previous discussions have been heavily scripted and stilted,” he said. One possible impediment to the planned dialogue could be continued cross-border terrorism in the Kashmir region by Kashmiri militant groups. According to the Indian-Pakistani joint statement released last week, Musharraf has agreed to prevent such militants from operating on Pakistani territory. Armitage said Friday that the United States places “a great deal of faith” in such pledges by the Pakistani leader. “We have had very good discussions with President Musharraf and his colleagues about these matters. We believe President Musharraf when he says he does not want these type activities on Pakistan soil. Obviously, time will tell,” Armitage said. Soon after India and Pakistan announced their dialogue plans, however, Kashmiri militant groups began expressing their opposition, according to reports. “He [Musharraf] must remember Kashmiris can turn their back on Pakistan and launch a struggle for a separate homeland,” the Los Angeles Times last week quoted a spokesman for the banned group Jaish-e-Mohammed as saying. Another factor is a possible change in leadership in either India or Pakistan, including by possible violence. Last month, Musharraf survived two assassination attempts, including one suspected of having been conducted by Jaish-e-Mohammed.  Armitage said Friday that the repeated attempts against Musharraf’s life demonstrate the Pakistani leader’s “courage” in seeking peace with India.  “He will not be swayed, he will not be terrorized into going along another path other than the search for peace which he is engaged with Prime Minister Vajpayee. And our think our Indian friends should take some sense of confidence from that,” Armitage said. If Musharraf were to be assassinated or overthrown, according to Perkovich, it would not automatically mean the end of the planned dialogue. He said that the  “awkward constitutional-political crisis” that would result would likely lead to a suspension of any talks while the government and the military, which has played a major role in Pakistani politics, resolved the line of succession. “In such a period it would be too much to expect Pakistan to apply high-level attention to diplomacy with India.  There would be an understandable pause, I would expect,” he said. The advancing age of Vajpayee, who is 79 years old, may also result in a change of leadership on the Indian side, according to Perkovich. “We all must hope he stays healthy,” Perkovich said. Back to top       U.S. Charges Man With Smuggling Nuclear Equipment to Pakistan U.S. authorities last week arrested Israeli citizen Asher Karni in Denver on charges that he illegally transferred equipment to Pakistan capable of being used in nuclear weapons, according to the Rocky Mountain News (see GSN, Jan. 5). According to court documents, the South African-based Karni used a New Jersey company to order 200 switches known as triggered spark gaps from Perkin Elmer Optoelectronics in Massachusetts. The switches, which can be used in medical devices, require U.S. approval for export to certain countries, including Pakistan, because of their potential use in nuclear weapons. Alarmed by the large quantity of the order — even large hospitals use very few of the switches, according to Perkin Elmer — the firm alerted U.S. authorities and later proceeded to deliver an initial shipment of 66 switches to the New Jersey export company, after having first disabled the devices, according to the News. The New Jersey company is then believed to have misled authorities about both the nature of devices and their intended destination, saying they were to be shipped to a South African hospital, to avoid having to obtain an export license. Once the switches arrived in South Africa, Karni allegedly transferred them to a Pakistani company. The U.S. affidavit for Karni’s arrest says that he admitted the illegal transfer when South African police searched his business in Cape Town, the News reported (Karen Abbott, Rocky Mountain News, Jan. 9). A U.S. federal judge yesterday ruled that Karni can be released on $75,000 cash bond, according to the Associated Press. Karni will remain in custody until at least Thursday, however, while the government appeals the judge’s ruling, said a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Denver (Associated Press, Jan. 13). Back to top       U.S., India, Agree to Expand Nuclear Cooperation The United States and India will increase cooperation in several areas, including civilian nuclear activities, U.S. President George W. Bush announced yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 24, 2003). The two countries have agreed to increase cooperation in civilian nuclear activities, civilian space programs and high-technology trade, Bush said yesterday in a statement. In addition, the United States and India will also increase talks on missile defense, he said. “Cooperation in these areas will deepen the ties of commerce and friendship between our two nations, and will increase stability in Asia and beyond,” Bush said. According to Bush, the increased U.S.-Indian cooperation will be achieved “through a series of reciprocal steps,” such as increased engagement on nuclear regulatory issues. In addition, Bush said, regulations and procedures to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction will be strengthened and measures will be undertaken to improve U.S.-Indian nonproliferation cooperation. “We are partners in the war on terrorism and we are partners in controlling the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them,” Bush said (White House release, Jan. 12). Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee said today that the increased cooperation “is an important milestone in transforming the relationship between India and the United States of America” (Indian External Affairs Ministry release, Jan. 13). The United States expects India to develop improved export controls to prevent WMD proliferation, but it will not be asked to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, a senior Bush administration official said. U.S. officials said that India would not receive substantial technology until improved export controls are implemented. “We see desire, we see intention, we see willingness,” said a senior U.S. State Department official. “They need to enhance their regulations and their enforcement. We’ve seen them attempting to take steps, attempting to enforce this law or that law, but in many cases they can’t finish the job,” the official said. The official also said that the increased cooperation is expected to be a long-term effort. “We’ve started something today and not completed anything,” the official said (Peter Slevin, Washington Post, Jan. 13). Back to top       Libya Ratifies Test Ban Treaty Libya last week ratified the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, according to the CTBT Organization (see GSN, Nov, 12, 2003). To date, 170 countries have signed the CTBT and 109 have ratified it, including 32 of the 44 nations whose ratifications are necessary for the treaty to enter into force (CTBT Organization release, Jan. 13). U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan yesterday praised Libya’s decision to ratify the CTBT and its earlier decision to accede to the Chemical Weapons Convention (see GSN, Dec. 29, 2003). A spokesman for Annan said the secretary general viewed Libya’s moves as “positive steps that can help strengthen global efforts to prevent the spread and use of weapons of mass destruction in both these deadly categories” (U.N. release, Jan. 12). Back to top

French Court Investigates Suspects in Alleged Chemical Attack Plot Six suspected Islamic extremists — including three members of the same family — appeared in a French courtroom yesterday and were placed under formal investigation over allegations that they were aware of plans for a biological or chemical attack, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, Jan. 12). Placing the six under formal investigation is the first step toward charging them with “belonging to a criminal association in relation to a terrorist enterprise,” AFP reported. French authorities have accused the suspects of knowing about and aiding a plan to launch a biological weapons attack on French soil. Police raided apartments near Paris in December 2002 and detained several people, including Menad Benchellali (see GSN, Dec. 30, 2002). Three members of Benchellali’s family were detained last week and were placed under formal investigation yesterday, including his father — an imam from a Lyon-area mosque — his mother and his brother. French officials said that they are suspected of buying chemicals for Menad, who then developed weapons. Investigators have not found any of the dangerous agents that were allegedly produced. Another Benchellali brother is currently being held by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Agence France Presse/Yahoo!News, Jan. 13). “It now appears a cell around the Benchellali family was trying to manufacture chemical and biological weapons for attacks around Europe, as well as to recruit future Islamist fighters,” a police source said. The 2002 plotters were prepared to use ricin and botulinum toxins for terrorist attacks in France and possibly Britain, according to French police. “I believe we have put out of action some very dangerous people,” said French Justice Minister Dominique Perben. Investigators are trying to determine if there is a link between the French case and the discovery of a ricin-producing laboratory in the United Kingdom last year (see GSN, Feb. 6, 2003; Henry Samuel, London Daily Telegraph, Jan. 13). Back to top

Army Wants to Dispose of VX Byproduct in Delaware River The U.S. Army wants to treat thousands of gallons of hydrolysate — a byproduct of VX nerve agent neutralization in Indiana — in New Jersey and then dump it in the Delaware River, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported today (see GSN, Dec. 19). Defense Department officials are attempting to dispose of 1,600 tons of VX agent by diluting and destroying it with a corrosive agent and water, a process that produces hydrolysate. A Pentagon plan to dump the treated hydrolysate in Ohio was blocked by local officials and citizens groups. The VX is currently stored at a military facility in Indiana and some critics have warned that it would be dangerous to treat the VX and then transport the resulting large amounts of byproduct. Army officials say, however, that it would not be economical to build a new treatment plant in Indiana when there are others around the country. “They’ve got a lot of nerve dumping this stuff on New Jersey,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “They’re thinking about saving money, they’re not thinking about environmental or health costs,” he added. Army officials said that there is no health risk associated with the hydrolysate. “It’s a waste. It’s not VX.  Period,’ said Jeff Lindblad, an Army spokesman at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland (Dawn Fallik, Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 13). Back to top

Australia, United States Plan High-Level Missile Defense Meeting Australian Prime Minister John Howard will meet Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Richard Myers to discuss Australia’s participation in a large-scale missile defense effort, the Melbourne Age reported today (see GSN, Dec. 5). The meeting — which will also include Australian Defense Minister Robert Hill — is scheduled to take place Friday in Canberra (Annabel Crabb, Melbourne Age, Jan. 14). U.S. Missile Defense Agency officials met today in Sydney with their Australian counterparts to discuss specific missile defense efforts on which the two nations might collaborate, Agence France-Presse reported. Hill, meanwhile, announced that Canberra is considering purchasing the U.S. Standard Missile-3 missile defense system for the Royal Australian Navy (see related GSN story, today). “It’s got the capability to basically meet and intercept missiles outside of the atmosphere,” Hill said. Domestic and regional critics have said that Australia’s participation in the missile defense effort could encourage missile proliferation. “That’s something we need to obviously watch,” Hill said. “The problem is that the proliferation is already occurring and it’s occurring by states that don’t follow the rules, so what is the alternative?” he asked (Agence France-Presse/Channel News Asia, Jan. 13). Australia’s regional neighbors, including Indonesia and Malaysia, have been extremely wary of Canberra’s defense collaboration with Washington. U.S. President George W. Bush has said that Australia is a “sheriff” for the United States in the Asia-Pacific region. “I can assure Australia that if it acts as a sheriff in this country he will be treated as a terrorist and dealt with as a terrorist,” then-Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said in October in response to Bush’s comments. Indonesian opposition lawmaker Djoko Susilo said that Indonesia is the clear target of the missile defense system. “We are really concerned with this military buildup, it’s not defensive anymore, it’s offensive already,” Susilo said (Jamie Tarabay, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Jan. 13). Back to top       Pentagon Delays Next Sea-Based Missile Defense Test Until 2005 The U.S. Missile Defense Agency has delayed a test of the Navy’s sea-based missile defense system by almost an entire year, InsideDefense.com reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 12, 2003). Flight Mission-7, which was originally scheduled for this spring, will be held in January 2005, according to a senior MDA official. The Navy is scheduled to field sea-based missile defense radars this fall as part of the national missile defense system. The delay was prompted by a funding shortfall and a decision to forgo testing on the SM-3 Block 0 missile and a preliminary version of the Aegis ballistic missile defense computer program. Those systems were successfully tested Dec. 11 and Navy officials are now pushing to develop the technology in the SM-3 Block 1 missile and the final Aegis computer program, both of which are planned to be be deployed in the fall of 2005. “What we need to do is put our engineering effort and our other resources on delivering (the initial defense system),” the official said. “It was money but it was also people resources and management focus. There was really not an awful lot left to learn with the configuration we were using today,” the official added (Thomas Duffy, InsideDefense.com, Jan. 12). Back to top

United States Should Prepare for Mass Casualties After Successful “Dirty Bomb” Attack By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — While a “dirty bomb” is primarily an economic and psychological weapon, the United States should also prepare to respond to a potentially large number of casualties that could result from a successful terrorist attack using such a weapon, according to a National Defense University study released yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 12). There has long been concern that terrorists, including al-Qaeda, are interested in developing and using dirty bombs, which use conventional explosives to disperse radioactive materials. For example, in 2002 U.S. authorities arrested suspected al-Qaeda operative Jose Padilla on allegations that he was involved in planning a dirty bomb attack within the United States (see GSN, Jan. 8). More recently, teams of U.S. Energy Department scientists armed with radiation detectors were dispatched to certain U.S cities last month due to concerns of a possible terrorist attack involving radiological weapons (see GSN, Jan. 7). “The threat of a radiological attack on the United States is real, and terrorists have a broad palette of isotopes to choose from,” says the yearlong NDU study, Dirty Bombs: The Threat Revisited.   The study found that a successful dirty bomb attack was unlikely to cause mass fatalities and that such weapons “are not weapons of mass destruction.” It warns, however, that the United States needs to be better prepared to respond to a larger number of victims of radiation sickness — “tens, hundreds or conceivably thousands of victims” — than previous studies have suggested. Past studies have found that those people who would receive dangerous levels of radiation in a successful dirty bomb attack would be those who were standing closest to the explosion, and therefore would be more likely to be harmed or killed by the blast itself (see GSN, June 11, 2002). According to the NDU study, a successful dirty bomb attack involving a large radioactive source could result in large numbers of radiation sickness victims due to the ingestion or inhalation of even small amounts of radioactive material. It cites as an example a 1987 incident in Goiania, Brazil, where scrap metal scavengers removed a capsule containing cesium-137 chloride from an abandoned radiotherapy clinic. The puncturing and subsequent leakage of material from the capsule ultimately exposed 249 people to radiation, with 151 of them facing both external and internal contamination, and caused five deaths, the study says, adding that many of the contaminated victims had only ingested a few milligrams or less of material. “Because people might ingest or inhale radioactive material, it is not reasonable to assume that the human toll from a large RDD [radiological dispersal device] would be small or negligible outside the direct range of a dirty bomb blast,” the study says. The study also says that it would take a “dedicated and well-financed group” to conduct a large-scale dirty bomb attack. “However, it is likely that some of the major international terror groups, including al-Qaeda, have not only the resources to carry out such an attack, but also the willing martyrs,” it adds. To help reduce the potential casualties, the study makes several recommendations, including calling for the stockpiling of drugs that can be used to treat internal contamination, such as Prussian Blue (see GSN, Feb. 3, 2003). In addition, more facilities capable of decontaminating radiation victims and increased training for health care workers to recognize symptoms of radiation sickness are needed, the study says. Economic Impacts While a dirty bomb attack could result in potentially large numbers of human victims, such an attack would primarily cause massive economic damages, the study says. A successful attack in a major metropolitan area, it says, could result in economic costs greater than those incurred from the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington. “Cost estimates to restore lower Manhattan after the Sept. 2001 attack range up to $40 billion plus loss of economic activity. The consequences of a large or super RDD might be well more costly,” the study says. According to the study, areas that became contaminated with radioactive material would have to be evacuated and closed off for later decontamination, resulting in a halt to economic activity there. In addition, those affected buildings that could not be decontaminated below allowed residual radiation levels would have to be razed and the materials removed to a low-level radioactive waste dump — “a very expensive remedy,” the study says. The study includes several recommendations to help reduce the possible economic impacts of a dirty bomb incident. For example, allowed residual radiation levels should be increased by a factor of 10, which would reduce the area that would need to be decontaminated, the study says. It also recommends that the government either establish a compensation fund for uninsured victims of a dirty bomb attack or mandate that radiation be included as an insurable risk in insurance policies. A spokesman for the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission said today that the subject of cleanup standards in the event of a dirty bomb attack is being considered by several U.S. agencies as part of a national response plan. Charles Ferguson, scientist-in-residence at the Washington office of the Monterey Institute of International Studies’ Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said today, though, that the public had to be involved in such a process. “Otherwise the public is going to cry foul,” said Ferguson, who reviewed an early draft of the NDU study. Ferguson also said that the United States needed to begin “psychologically immunizing” the public against the dirty bomb threat. He added, however, that it would be difficult to overcome “decades of ingrained fear” concerning radiation.    Back to top

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