Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee (left) and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf met today in Islamabad (AFP photo). Pakistani Nuclear Exports Drawing More Attention Investigations of the nuclear programs of Iran, Libya and North Korea have uncovered a common source for nuclear-related information and technology — Pakistan, the New York Times reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 29, 2003)...Full Story

Libya Purchased Nuclear Weapons Plans From Pakistan, Qadhafi’s Son Says Libya purchased nuclear weapons plans from Pakistan for “millions of pounds,” the son of Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qadhafi said yesterday (see related GSN story, today)...Full Story

Private Delegation Expected to Visit North Korea This Week A group of nuclear and foreign policy experts is expected to begin a visit to North Korea this week, the New York Times reported Saturday, but the delegation will not officially represent the United States, as earlier news accounts had reported (see GSN, Jan. 2)...Full Story

	Monday, January 5, 2004

Timeframe for Possible Terrorist Attacks Passes Without Incident While the specific dates for possible terrorist attacks against the United States have passed, there are still no plans to reduce the national threat status from the current orange, or “high”, risk level, USA Today reported today (see GSN, Dec. 29, 2003). The level of intelligence that prompted the elevation of the national threat level to orange has decreased slightly, U.S. law enforcement officials said yesterday. In addition, no terrorist attacks occurred around Christmas and New Year’s Day — a timeframe noted in intelligence gathered by U.S. officials, according to USA Today. Law enforcement and other security officials have said, though, that the national threat alert level should not yet be decreased, adding that they suspected that al-Qaeda was still planning to conduct another massive attack to rival those of Sept. 11, 2001. “We don’t know what stage a plot may be in,” a law enforcement official said. “We don’t have the full context of a plot,” the official added (Johnson/Hall, USA Today, Jan. 5). Back to top

Libya Purchased Nuclear Weapons Plans From Pakistan, Qadhafi’s Son Says Libya purchased nuclear weapons plans from Pakistan for “millions of pounds,” the son of Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qadhafi said yesterday (see related GSN story, today). In an interview with the London Sunday Times, Saif Qadhafi said that Libya had spent $40 million on its nuclear program. Western officials have said that Libya paid Pakistani scientists as much as $100 million since the late 1990s. The Pakistani scientists appeared to have aided Libya without their government’s approval, according to the Times. Saif Qadhafi also said that Libya had purchased equipment for its nuclear program from a number of countries, including Malaysia and South Africa (see GSN, Dec. 31, 2003). A senior Arab source said that some of the equipment was purchased in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and sent to Libya. “We dealt with an underground network of middle men and secret workshops,” Qadhafi said. “This piece from here, that piece from there,” he added. As part of the agreement reached with the United Kingdom and the United States for Libya to disclose and dismantle its WMD programs, the United Kingdom will retrain and re-equip the Libyan army, Qadhafi said. He also said that Libya would agree to the stationing of U.S. or British troops there. “We are giving up our weapons so we need an international umbrella for protection,” Qadhafi said (Colvin/Sheridan, London Sunday Times, Jan. 4). Meanwhile, British officials who have visited Libyan nuclear sites said that Tripoli’s nuclear program was more advanced than was detected by the International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors who were allowed to visit last week, according to the Washington Times. “We saw uranium enrichment going ahead. We were satisfied that they were well on the way to developing a weapon,” said a senior British official. “Libya was third on our list of concern after North Korea and Iran,” the official said. The assessment of the British officials counters that of IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei, who said that the Libyan nuclear program was only in an “early stage of development.” A senior British official was confident that Libya would reveal to the IAEA the full scope of its nuclear program, according to the Times. “At first, there were quite a lot of moments when we felt they were not being fully frank, but trust has grown,” the official said. “This was a decision some time in the making. Some years ago, Col. Qadhafi realized that he was taking Libya the wrong way,” the official added (Paul Wood, Washington Times, Jan. 4). There is also conflict over who will oversee the dismantlement of the Libyan nuclear program — either the United States or the IAEA — with the United States wanting the debate to be conducted through diplomatic channels, diplomats said. Senior U.S. officials have said that a team of U.S. and British technical experts will oversee the dismantlement, according to the Associated Press. ElBaradei said last week, however, that the IAEA intends to “do it alone.” U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell has spoken to ElBaradei about resolving their differences, with Powell suggesting that public comments on the issue should cease, diplomats said.  “It was agreed to return to more diplomatic channels of communication,” a diplomat said (George Jahn, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Jan. 3). Back to top

Pakistani Nuclear Exports Drawing More Attention Investigations of the nuclear programs of Iran, Libya and North Korea have uncovered a common source for nuclear-related information and technology — Pakistan, the New York Times reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 29, 2003). Until recently, Pakistan has denied any nuclear proliferation activities, but in the last few weeks Pakistani authorities have interrogated scientists from the Khan Research Laboratories, Pakistan’s main nuclear weapons site, including the acknowledged “father” of Pakistan’s nuclear weapon, Abdul Qadeer Khan. According to the Times, Khan has long sought to spread nuclear weapons-related information and technology. Prior to 1998, when Pakistan first tested its nuclear weapon, Khan and his team of scientists began publishing papers in international scientific journals on how to make and test uranium centrifuges — information that in Western countries would be considered classified, the Times reported. While the Pakistani papers left much of the information confidential, their publishing was seen as a pronouncement of Islamabad’s nuclear capability, according to experts. “It was a signal to India and the West saying, ‘Look, we’re not the backward people you think we are,’” said Mark Gorwitz, a nonproliferation expert who tracks the Pakistani literature. Later, the Khan Research Laboratories, and the Pakistani government itself, began marketing equipment that originated in Pakistan’s centrifuge program, according to the Times. One sales brochure from the Khan Research Laboratories has a cover with a seal saying “Government of Pakistan” and a picture of Khan, the Times reported.  While the CIA was aware of some of the activities of scientists at the Khan Research Laboratories, U.S. intelligence was surprised by the pace at which Pakistani nuclear scientists were aiding other countries, according to the Times. For example, China is believed to be an early recipient of Pakistani centrifuge designs according to Institute for Science and International Security President David Albright.  In 1987, according to recently discovered evidence, Pakistan agreed to provide Iran with centrifuge technology, thereby accelerating Tehran’s nuclear efforts, the Times reported. In 1997, Khan began traveling to North Korea, ultimately visiting there 13 times, U.S. intelligence officials said. During those visits, North Korea agreed to provide missile technology to Pakistan in exchange for centrifuge technology, the Times reported (see GSN, Nov. 6, 2003). Initial investigations of Libya’s nuclear efforts have uncovered “interconnections” with both Iran and Pakistan’s programs, according to the Times (see related GSN story, today). In addition, Libya has supported Pakistan’s nuclear program since the early 1970s, when Libya agreed to fund Islamabad’s nuclear efforts in exchange for information on how to produce nuclear fuel, said Leonard Spector of the Monterey Institute of International Studies’ Center for Nonproliferation Studies. From 1978 to 1980, Libya also appears to have provided Pakistan with uranium ore, he said (Sanger/Broad, New York Times, Jan. 4). Indian, Pakistani Leaders Meet Meanwhile, Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee met today with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf during a summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation held in Islamabad, according to the Los Angeles Times (see GSN, Dec. 2, 2003). There were no details available from the Vajpayee-Musharraf meeting, which lasted for about an hour, according to the Times. The meeting came three years after talks between the two nuclear-armed rivals broke down, the Times reported. Indian Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha had earlier described the meeting as only a “courtesy call.” Pakistani Information Minister Sheik Rashid Ahmed said, however, that Vajpayee and Musharraf would agree on a framework for future negotiations on a number of issues. “I think the meeting will be successful, in a positive direction, and there will be something on a composite dialogue,” Ahmed said (Paul Watson, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 5). Back to top       Private Delegation Expected to Visit North Korea This Week A group of nuclear and foreign policy experts is expected to begin a visit to North Korea this week, the New York Times reported Saturday, but the delegation will not officially represent the United States, as earlier news accounts had reported (see GSN, Jan. 2). The group will be led by John Lewis, a Stanford University professor and the former director of the university’s Center for International Security and Cooperation. Joining him will be Sigfried Hecker, a former director of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, and Jack Pritchard, a former U.S. State Department official on North Korean affairs. “This is not a U.S. government-sponsored trip,” said one of the trip’s planners. “The U.S. government has no say.  Nor were they asked to say yes or no to the trip itself,” the person added (Steven Weisman, New York Times, Jan. 3). The group is scheduled to arrive in Pyongyang tomorrow, the Christian Science Monitor reported today (Donald Kirk, Christian Science Monitor, Jan. 5). It is unclear whether North Korean officials will allow the visiting delegation to visit the nuclear facility at Yongbyon, the Times reported. Two senior staff aides on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee are scheduled to visit North Korea at the same time, according to the Times. Keith Luse, an aide to Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), and Frank Jannuzi, an aide to Senator Joseph Biden (D-Del.), might accompany the nongovernmental delegation if a trip is arranged to the Yongbyon complex, according to a Senate official. U.S. officials distanced themselves from the Lewis and Hecker trip. “There’s a limit to what I can say, simply because it’s not our deal,” said State Department spokesman Adam Ereli. “Any efforts that complicate prospects or undertakings to reconvene the six-party talks and to achieve forward movement in dismantling North Korea’s nuclear program aren’t helpful,” he added, making reference to multiparty negotiations with China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States (Weisman, New York Times). “This is strictly unofficial,” said a delegation member who expressed doubt that the delegation would be allowed to visit Yongbyon. USA Today reported last week that North Korea had already agreed to allow a visit to the nuclear plant. “No agenda is set until you get there,” the delegation member said (Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, Jan. 3). Meanwhile, South Korean National Security Adviser Ra Jong-il said today that a new round of six-party talks is unlikely to take place this month. “Considering that China’s Lunar New Year is in January, and Russia’s Christmas schedules are in January, I think it would be difficult to hold the talks in January,” Ra said. “Even though the six-nation talks won’t open immediately, I am not pessimistic about the prospects of talks in the long-term,” Ra added (Hans Greimel, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Jan. 4). Back to top       Israeli Nuclear Whistleblower Plans “Quiet Life” After Prison Israeli nuclear whistleblower Mordechai Vanunu plans to “lead a quiet life at first” when he completes his 18-year prison sentence this year, according to Mary Eoloff, a retired schoolteacher who adopted Vanunu in an attempt to gain his early release (see GSN, Dec. 31, 2003). Security officials in Israel, however, are considering extending Vanunu’s prison stay with “administrative detention,” which is usually only applied to Palestinian detainees, Newsweek reported. Vanunu has previously said he would reveal more nuclear secrets when he is released, but Eoloff said that “if he speaks out, it would be against nuclear threats all around the world” (Dan Ephron, Newsweek, Jan. 12). Back to top       Energy Department Security Team Will Improve Oak Ridge Key System A team of U.S. Energy Department security experts will visit the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee to institute a system for keeping track of keys, WATE.com in Tennessee reported Friday (see GSN, Nov. 7, 2003). “It has been a department-wide issue specifically to some other facilities,” said Energy Department spokesman Steven Wyatt. “We’ve been looking into this issue for a number of months. We’ve taken steps to improve our program, to ensure that keys are manage[d] properly,” he added. During a recent inventory, the laboratory was found to be missing 200 keys, including some to sensitive areas, WATE.com reported, and officials have rekeyed two minimum security buildings (WATE.com, Jan. 2). Back to top

U.S. Defense Department Places $30 Million Anthrax Vaccine Order The U.S. Defense Department has decided to purchase about $30 million worth of anthrax vaccine despite a recent court ruling preventing the vaccine’s distribution to U.S. military personnel, Reuters reported Saturday (see GSN, Dec. 31, 2003). The U.S. company BioPort Corp. was awarded the $29.7 million order last week as part of $245.6 million contract, the Pentagon said. A U.S. federal judge late last month issued a temporary injunction against the Pentagon’s anthrax vaccination program on the basis that the vaccine was not approved for use in preventing inhalational anthrax. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration later said, however, that the vaccine was approved for preventing against both skin and inhalational anthrax. The decision to purchase a supply of the anthrax vaccine indicates the Pentagon’s confidence that “we will resume the anthrax vaccination program as it existed before the judge’s order,” Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said (Reuters/ABC Online, Jan. 3). Back to top

Pentagon Testing Chief Concerned About Missile Defense Schedule The U.S. Defense Department’s top testing official said last month that he is concerned that the national missile defense system will undergo fewer tests than originally planned before it is fielded (see GSN, Dec. 17, 2003). “I’m a little concerned, quite frankly, about the schedule,” said Thomas Christie. U.S. President George W. Bush has vowed to field a missile defense system by October 2004, but many experts have said that timetable will compromise the system’s capability (see GSN, Oct. 6, 2003). Defense contractor Lockheed Martin was supposed to supply a booster engine for the interceptor but a series of setbacks has put the schedule of that effort in doubt. Orbital Sciences is developing another booster, which will almost certainly be the only one used in the missile defense system’s initial deployment. Neither booster has been involved in an intercept test to date, according to defense officials. The Lockheed booster “will not be ready in 2004,” Christie said. If the Lockheed problems continue to be “a big brouhaha” into the summer, “I’m concerned that I will have less (test data) on which to base a judgment than I would have said (is necessary) a year ago,” he added. Christie is scheduled to submit a missile defense assessment to Congress in January and a report on the system’s progress in August or September, Inside the Pentagon reported. “It’s just that we will not have the number of flight tests that I had anticipated because of the problems we’ve encountered with the Lockheed booster,” Christie said. “Come next summer, we will have a capability we haven’t had before. There will be a capability.  Now, how much of that has been verified by testing will be the issue,” he added (Elaine Grossman, Inside the Pentagon, Jan. 1).   Back to top

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