Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi (shown in a February photo) today threatened to end Iranian cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (AFP photo/Joseph Barrak). Iran Angered by IAEA Resolution By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire VIENNA — After U.S. and European diplomats agreed on an International Atomic Energy Agency measure to address fears that Iran has pursued a nuclear bomb, Tehran lashed out at Western countries today and threatened to halt cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog (see GSN, March 9). As the agency’s Board of Governors met for a third day today, Western support for a draft resolution on Tehran’s long-hidden nuclear activities appeared solid, and developing countries began to discuss the text. The measure seeks a balance between the U.S. focus on strict enforcement and European concerns that a tough line could jeopardize progress made in discussions with Iran...Full Story

Russia Eliminates Atomic Energy Ministry, Raising Nonproliferation Concerns By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — As part of a massive government reorganization, Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday broke up the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry and reassigned its activites to other cabinet-level ministries. The move to formally eliminate the ministry has triggered concern among some experts that the resulting government structure could complicate U.S.-Russian nonproliferation efforts (see GSN, March 4)...Full Story

Senators Say CIA Hid Misgivings About Iraqi Threat By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Senior senators yesterday accused the Central Intelligence Agency of concealing from the public doubts about Iraq threats alleged by senior Bush administration officials to justify the U.S. invasion last year (see GSN, March 8)...Full Story

	Wednesday, March 10, 2004

Senators Say CIA Hid Misgivings About Iraqi Threat By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Senior senators yesterday accused the Central Intelligence Agency of concealing from the public doubts about Iraq threats alleged by senior Bush administration officials to justify the U.S. invasion last year (see GSN, March 8). Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) said that public comments by the U.S. intelligence community about danger posed by Iraq often did not convey doubts, dissent expressed or contradictory intelligence in classified documents, effectively supporting the Bush administration’s argument of an urgent need to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and secure alleged weapons of mass destruction. “Some of the public pronouncements of the intelligence community before the war were actually inconsistent with its own underlying classified documents,” he said, just preceding testimony by CIA Director George Tenet before the Senate Armed Services Committee. Comparing the texts of various documents, Levin said, for example, “In its then-classified NIE [National Intelligence Estimate] assessment, the CIA had real doubts that Saddam would supply weapons of mass destruction to terrorist surrogates.” “The CIA’s doubts about Iraq’s collaboration with al-Qaeda were buried in classification from the public eye on the eve of our going to war,” he said. Levin’s presentation drew support from fellow committee member Republican Senator Pat Roberts (Kan.) who also sits on the Senate Select Intelligence Committee, which is investigating the use of intelligence on Iraq leading up to the war. “Senator Levin has summed up the obvious and real concerns that we have on the Intelligence Committee, on this committee, in his opening statement,” he said. Senator Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) questioned why the intelligence community did not challenge Bush administration statements that Iraq posed an urgent and imminent threat necessitating an invasion, when it saw no imminent threat. “The White House press office said the threat was imminent. Vice President [Dick] Cheney said he was convinced that Saddam would be acquiring nuclear weapons fairly soon,” he said. “President Bush himself may not have used the words ‘imminent,’ but he carefully chose strong and loaded words about the threat, words the intelligence community never used — never used — to prepare the nation to go to war against Iraq,” Kennedy said. “We’re talking about words that are basically warmongering … these are semantically the same as an imminent threat,” he said. On Speaking Up Tenet said the intelligence community did not exaggerate the intelligence, but rather gave its best estimates of an Iraqi threat at the time given limited penetration of the country. “We said that we believed that they had chemical and biological weapons. We believed his biological weapons program had been energized. We believed he was reconstituting his nuclear program,” he said. Tenet again reiterated a previous statement that his agency never said Iraq posed an imminent threat and said he has spoken with administration officials when he thought statements might have gone beyond the intelligence. “I engage with them every day. If there are areas where I thought someone said something they shouldn’t say, I talked to them about it,” he said. The CIA director mentioned two reported instances in which he corrected official statements on Iraq, including recently counseling Cheney on remarks. He refused, however, to recount specific examples of such prewar discussions. “Senator, I can tell you that I’m not going to sit here today and tell you what my interaction was and what I did or what I didn’t do,” he said to Kennedy. Tenet said, however, he did not believe administration officials misrepresented the facts to make a case for war. “No, sir, I don’t,” he told Kennedy. While Tenet said his agency did not say an Iraqi threat was imminent, he said Iraq posed a potential threat to possess chemical and biological weapons and programs “that might constantly surprise us and threaten our interests.” Kennedy accused Tenet of trying to avoid responsibility. “You can’t have it both ways, can you, Mr. Tenet? You can’t on the one hand just say look, we never said that war was imminent, and then have this superheated dialogue and rhetoric which are semantically the same as imminent and … tell us here before the committee that you have no obligation to correct it or didn’t even try,” he said. Back to top       Qadhafi’s Son Says Libya Was Promised Economic, Military Gains for WMD Disarmament The United States and the United Kingdom pledged that Libya would receive political, economic and military benefits in exchange for dismantling its WMD programs, the son of Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi said today, Agence France-Press reported (see GSN, March 9). “If we want to be accurate in regards to the weapons of mass destruction, the largest part (of the agreement) was completed in secret talks that lasted nine months between the U.S., British and Libyan intelligence services, before the war on Iraq,” Saif ul-Islam Qadhafi said of his country’s announcement in December that it would end its WMD efforts. He said Libya’s decision was due to three considerations, which he disclosed today for the first time, according to AFP. “The first reason is political, economic, cultural and military gains that were promised by the Western party with whom we were negotiating,” he said. “The temptation was really great,” he added. “The second reason was that our problems with the West were a danger for us. So, if the West tells us it does not [want] to fight us and wants instead to build a partnership with us, why should we insist on being hostile to it?” he said. “Third, and that’s the main reason — we were developing weapons in preparation for a battle with the enemy,” he said. “Then we saw that the Palestinians have achieved in five years of negotiations (with Israel) more than 50 years of armed struggle from Beirut, Tunis and Amman,” he added. It was understood that by “the enemy,” Qadhafi’s son was referring to Israel, according to the Agence France-Presse. “Add to all this the fact that the leader (Muammar Qadhafi) had felt that the Arabs are exploiting him, mocking him and threatening him with the U.S. card,” his son continued. “The leader concluded that if this problem is solved, Libya will end its international isolation and become a dialogue partner to the powerful nations, and that it could work with them to change the Arab situation,” he added. “If you have the backing of the West and the United States, you will be able to achieve in a few years what you could not achieve in 50,” he said (Agence France-Press/Yahoo!News, March 10). Back to top       Major Olympic Security Exercise Begins A secret security operation in Greece began today, just one day after the newly elected conservative Greek prime minister took personal control of planning for this summer’s Olympic games in Athens, Reuters reported (see GSN, Feb. 20). Codenamed “Hercules Shield,” the operation is set to involve several hundred U.S. troops who would be mainly responsible for command and control of 2,000 Greek soldiers, according to Greek military sources. The two-week exercise is set to use a range of scenarios, including a hijacked ship and a “dirty bomb” drill. Colonel Lefteris Economou, a Greek police spokesman, said an international effort was needed to secure the games. “If you want to tackle international terrorism, it can only be achieved through international collaboration,” he said. Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis personally took over the ministry in charge of Olympic preparations and appointed new heads to other key ministries involved in the project after ousting the ruling socialists from power on Sunday. International Olympic Committee officials were privately pleased by news of the reshuffle, according to Reuters, as fewer than half of the venues are ready for use. The 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney saw fully prepared venues one year ahead of opening. China has already promised that venue construction will be complete two years before the 2008 games in Beijing (Reuters/CNN.com, March 10). Back to top       Twelve States to Receive WMD Civil Support Teams The U.S. Defense Department yesterday identified 12 states that are slated to receive WMD Civil Support teams this year to help first responders handle a possible incident involving weapons of mass destruction (see GSN, Nov. 13, 2003). The new teams will join 32 teams already certified nationwide, according to the Pentagon. States to receive the 22-member teams are Connecticut, Indiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah and Wisconsin, according to a Pentagon press release. The states were chosen based on factors such as population density, critical infrastructure protection and the “presence of symbolic sites of national significance,” the department said (U.S. Defense Department release, March 9).   Back to top

Iran Angered by IAEA Resolution By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire VIENNA — After U.S. and European diplomats agreed on an International Atomic Energy Agency measure to address fears that Iran has pursued a nuclear bomb, Tehran lashed out at Western countries today and threatened to halt cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog (see GSN, March 9). As the agency’s Board of Governors met for a third day today, Western support for a draft resolution on Tehran’s long-hidden nuclear activities appeared solid, and developing countries began to discuss the text. The measure seeks a balance between the U.S. focus on strict enforcement and European concerns that a tough line could jeopardize progress made in discussions with Iran. “Iran has been in breach of its safeguards obligations,” IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei told reporters this afternoon, “but now, they are cooperating in a very good way with the agency, and I hope we’ll continue to get that cooperation so we can verify that all the program is exclusively for peaceful purposes.” By passing the draft resolution, which Global Security Newswire obtained last night, the board would “deplore” Iran’s failure to come completely clean about its nuclear program last October, as it promised to do, but defer any further action until the next board meeting in June. The 35-member panel is likely to discuss the resolution tomorrow and is expected to approve the document and end its meeting by Friday. Iran’s ambassador here, Pirooz Hosseini, today accused U.S. diplomats of “bullying” France, Germany and the United Kingdom in a manner that goes “against the statute of the IAEA.” The three European countries have typically adopted a more cooperative approach to Iran than the United States. In October, they obtained from Tehran a promise to suspend uranium enrichment and to agree to more intrusive IAEA scrutiny of its nuclear facilities (see GSN, March 4). Hosseini said today that U.S. diplomats this week “have used their intense effort to pressurize the other members of the board in order to get a tough resolution against Iran. … The three European countries tried their best, I think, but … we expected more of our European colleagues.” Meanwhile in Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi today threatened to end cooperation with the IAEA and the European countries, according to Agence France-Presse. “We advise the Europeans to respect their obligations and to resist American pressure. Otherwise, there is no reason for cooperation to continue,” Kharazi said. Iran’s suspension of enrichment raised questions over how long it is to last and what activities it covers. Late last month, amid questions over whether Iran’s suspension included centrifuge production, Tehran said it would temporarily cease all facets of its enrichment activity. AFP quoted Kharazi as saying today that Iran will resume uranium enrichment “when relations with the IAEA are normalized.” Despite Iran’s claim last year that it was providing a full picture of its programs, the agency in recent months uncovered new information about centrifuge designs and tests, mass spectrometers used for laser enrichment and plans for hot cells at a research reactor, as well as experiments with polonium, which can be used to facilitate nuclear explosions (see GSN, Feb. 27). The U.S.-brokered draft resolution expresses “the most serious concern” that the October letter was not “correct, complete and final” as promised and says there is “equal concern” about unresolved questions related to enrichment, a heavy-water reactor, polonium experiments and the sources of highly enriched uranium contamination that has been found in Iran. In recent meetings of the board, the United States has pushed to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council over its nuclear activities, but Washington appears for the moment to have adopted a more incremental approach. The current draft resolution contains unusually detailed references to Iran’s nuclear activities — an approach some here are calling a bid to establish a board-approved record of evidence suggesting Iran may have pursued a nuclear weapon, possibly with a view to punitive action in the future. Under the resolution, the board would decide “to defer until its June meeting consideration of progress in verifying Iran’s declarations and of how to respond to the above-mentioned omissions.” Before this week’s meeting began, Iran unsuccessfully asked that its nuclear programs be entirely removed from the agenda. Hosseini maintained his country’s categorical stance today, saying, “We have never been involved in any nuclear weapon program, and this is a fact. The Americans refuse to accept this fact.” Back to top       Russia Eliminates Atomic Energy Ministry, Raising Nonproliferation Concerns By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — As part of a massive government reorganization, Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday broke up the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry and reassigned its activites to other cabinet-level ministries. The move to formally eliminate the ministry has triggered concern among some experts that the resulting government structure could complicate U.S.-Russian nonproliferation efforts (see GSN, March 4). A spokesman for the Russian Embassy in Washington today confirmed that the Atomic Ministry had been eliminated. Under the new governmental structure, civilian nuclear activities will be handled by the Federal Atomic Energy Agency, part of the newly created Industry and Energy Ministry, embassy spokesman Yevgeniy Khorishko told Global Security Newswire. Former Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev would head the new, lower-level agency, Khorishko said. He also said that military aspects of the former Atomic Energy Ministry have been transferred to the Defense Ministry. The Russian government plans to finalize its new structure within one to two months, Matthew Bouldin of the Russian-American Nuclear Security Advisory Council said today, adding that questions remain as to what is “defense-related” and therefore will be transferred to the Defense Ministry. “The Russians don’t even know [yet] what’s where,” he said. The changes to the Russian Cabinet, coming in advance of presidential elections Sunday that Putin is expected to win, are meant as “administrative reform” to make the government more effective, Khorishko said. Overall, Putin reduced the number of governmental ministries from 30 to 17, eliminating such ministries as education, culture, energy, health, transportation and monopoly regulation, according to the Washington Post.  The Post today cited experts as saying the reorganization was intended to remove the last ministers remaining from the presidency of Boris Yeltsin. The U.S. Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees departmental nonproliferation efforts in Russia, had no comment today on the elimination of the Atomic Energy Ministry. On a “strategic” level, the streamlining of the Russian government could be a positive move by removing layers of bureaucracy, said Rose Gottemoeller of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace’s Nonproliferation Project. She warned, though, that the move could complicate the decision-making and implementation aspects of the U.S.-Russian bilateral nonproliferation relationship. Some sections of the Defense Ministry’s bureaucracy have a history of poor cooperation with the United States, Gottemoeller said. She cited the ministry’s 12th Directorate, responsible for Russian nuclear munitions, which she said has in the past been uncooperative in providing access for nonproliferation efforts conducted through the U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction program. Another concern, according to Bouldin, is the issue of which U.S. agencies will handle various CTR projects. For example, the U.S. Defense Department has traditionally worked with the Russian Defense Ministry, raising questions as whether the Pentagon will assume control over more nonproliferation efforts or whether the U.S. Energy Department will have to develop new ties with the Defense Ministry, Bouldin said. Bouldin also said the new government structure could result in nonproliferation being given less of a priority at least on a “ministerial level.” Russian experts defended Putin’s move, reiterating that the reorganization was part of necessary administrative reform. Noting the relatively small number of U.S. governmental departments, Andrei Piontkovsky, director of the Strategic Research Center in Moscow, said today that Putin’s reorganization of his cabinet represents a move toward the standard practices of other countries. Piontkovsky also said it was it was a “logical step” to transfer all military-related nuclear activities to the Defense Ministry. The new industry and energy minister, Viktor Khristenko, has received “high marks” for such accomplishments as gas-and-oil pipeline policy and for a willingness to bring multinational oil companies to Russia, Gottemoeller said. Khristenko also has some experience with civilian nuclear activities, she said.  Over the past few years, though, U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham developed a strong working relationship with Rumyantsev, Gottemoeller said. While it would not be “difficult” to establish a similar relationship with Khristenko, it will take time, she added. Back to top       Libya Signs Additional Protocol to IAEA Agreement By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire VIENNA — Libya today signed the Additional Protocol to its International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards agreement, punctuating the country’s rapid emergence in recent months from years of international isolation as a suspected WMD proliferator and supporter of terrorist groups. Libyan Science Minister Matouq Mohamed Matouq and IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei signed the protocol at a ceremony here after the agency’s Board of Governors earlier approved the document. Last December, Libya announced it would give up its WMD programs and open nuclear and other facilities up to international inspections. The decision has been followed by a series of IAEA and U.S. inspection visits to the country and the transfer to the United States of much of the most sensitive Libyan nuclear material, under IAEA seal. Also today, the board passed a resolution welcoming Libya’s recent cooperation but noting its past violations. In what diplomats called a “pro forma” measure, the resolution reports Libya’s case to the U.N. Security Council. Diplomats said no action will be taken against the country for its past missteps. The Additional Protocol, which Libya must still ratify, will allow the agency to conduct more intrusive monitoring of the country’s nuclear facilities. “This is yet another indication of Libya’s commitment to move away from weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear programs,” ElBaradei said after the ceremony. He expressed hope that the signing can be “a first step” toward a WMD-free Africa and Middle East. The Libyan minister said his country will remain free of weapons of mass destruction and will exercise its right to use peaceful nuclear technologies. Back to top       U.S. Bunker-Buster Program More Robust Than Expected By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — A Bush administration program to study a controversial new earth-penetrating nuclear weapon is much more ambitious than previously indicated, according to a congressional analysis released Monday (see GSN, Jan. 23). A report by the Congressional Research Service says the Energy Department’s Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) program is projected to proceed beyond the study phase and cost as much as $485 million over the next five years. Senior administration officials previously tried to dismiss criticism of the program by saying it only involves a three-year study projected to cost just $45 million. The program “is a study. It is nothing more and nothing less,” said Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld during a May 2003 press briefing. The congressional analysis of the Energy Department’s fiscal 2005 budget request documents says the study is now projected to run four years, from fiscal 2003 to 2006, and cost $71 million between those years. Furthermore, the budget documents project $484.7 million in program costs through fiscal 2009 with post-study development work, for which specific congressional approval is required. The Energy request “seems to cast serious doubt on assertions that RNEP is only a study,” says the report, authored by analyst Jonathan Medalia. The program is controversial, with congressional critics charging that U.S. interest in new nuclear weapons capabilities undermines efforts to persuade other countries to forgo nuclear weapons and raises questions about an international commitment the United States made in 2000 to move toward eventual disarmament. A manager for the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration, the CRS report says, dismissed the budget projection as a “placeholder” to protect the option of proceeding with the program for avoiding any future delay in funding. The official said no decision had been made on whether to proceed beyond the study phase. Congress appropriated $15 million for the study in fiscal 2003 and $7.5 million in fiscal 2004, following criticism by congressional Democrats. The administration is seeking $27.6 million for next year and is planning to extend the study through fiscal 2006. NNSA attributed the increases to the need for an additional participant in the study, additional project management requirements, better definition of the study’s requirements and costs and an increase in safety of the proposed weapon. Back to top       Push for U.S.-North Korea Accord Seen Slowing Observers believe neither North Korea nor the United States seems interested in settling their standoff over North Korea’s nuclear programs before the November U.S. presidential election, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, March 9). Experts and officials said that both countries prefer to wait for the results of the election before continuing serious negotiations. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Friday he is encouraged with discussions thus far, and that there is no rush to reach an agreement. “There is no sense of urgency,” he said. Former State Department North Korea expert Jack Pritchard said North Korean officials would probably prefer to wait for a possible John Kerry administration than to continue talks with Bush, who has referred to the Pyongyang regime as “evil.” A senior Bush administration official said he agrees with Pritchard’s view. Pritchard also said any agreement with Pyongyang would require concessions that could alienate Bush supporters and encourage comparison with the failed 1994 Clinton administration nuclear agreement with North Korea (George Gedda, Associated Press/Washington Times, March 10). Meanwhile, Asia Pulse reported today that Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization officials arrived in North Korea yesterday to discuss a $4.6 billion light-water reactor project that was part of the 1994 deal. North Korea agreed then to dismantle its plutonium-based nuclear weapons program in exchange for promises by U.S.-led KEDO to build two modern nuclear reactors for the North’s energy program (Asia Pulse, March 10).  The project was suspended in December for a year when suspicions arose about a possible uranium enrichment program under way in North Korea (see GSN, Nov. 21, 2003). Back to top

Tests May Lead to Alternative Smallpox Vaccine By Chris Schneidmiller Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Tests performed on monkeys and mice could lead to an alternative smallpox vaccine to protect humans unable to take existing inoculations, according to articles being published tomorrow in two scientific journals (see GSN, Feb. 20). The United States has acquired enough smallpox vaccine to protect all U.S. residents in case of a terrorist attack, but its use could cause health trouble for up to 20 million people who suffer from suppressed immune systems, heart disease or skin problems such as eczema, according to researchers. The existing vaccine contains a reproducing pox-type virus that stimulates the immune response, said researcher Bernard Moss of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. While healthy people generally recover quickly from the infection, the virus could continue to replicate and harm those with serious health trouble. Even coming into close contact with a person who received the existing vaccine could be dangerous for someone whose immune system has been weakened by AIDS, an organ transplant or other health problems, Moss said (see GSN, Feb. 13). However, Moss and his fellow researchers found a modified version of the vaccine developed more than 30 years ago protected “immunocompromised” mice from the pox virus while such mice eventually died after receiving an existing vaccine. In another study, researchers determined that monkeys treated with the modified virus became immune to monkeypox, which is similar to smallpox in humans. The modified vaccine would require a higher dose than the existing version because the new version is “attenuated,” meaning it does not reproduce. That feature, however, makes the vaccine safer to administer to those who are vulnerable to the existing treatment, Moss said. Further testing must be done on humans, which could take years. If the results are positive, the new vaccine would be submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for licensing. “It would mean a feeling of more security for those people who would be at risk for the present vaccine,” Moss said. “There would be a vaccine for them,” he added. Details of the virus study on monkeys will be published tomorrow in Nature magazine, while the article on the mice research will appear in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Back to top

Officials Defend U.S. Export Controls, Say No Evidence of U.S. Missile Technology in Wrong Hands By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — There is little evidence that U.S. technology has contributed to the growing proliferation of cruise missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), U.S. officials said yesterday in an attempt to rebut recent criticism of U.S. export controls (see GSN, Feb. 26). In a report released late last month warning of the increasing threat of cruise missile and UAV proliferation, the U.S. General Accounting Office said improvements were needed to both the relevant multilateral export control regimes and to U.S. export control regulations.  The federal watchdog criticized a “catch-all” provision in U.S. export control regulations that prohibits an exporter from sending missile-related items for use in 12 projects or 20 countries listed in national export control regulations, even if the export is not included on U.S. control lists. This section of the regulations, was not intended to apply to nonstate actors or individuals, the report says, citing as an example a New Zealand man who reported last year that he had purchased uncontrolled dual-use U.S. items that could be used to produce a cruise missile (see GSN, Dec. 9, 2003). The General Accounting Office also criticized the U.S. Commerce, Defense and State departments for failing to ensure that exporters and foreign recipients comply with export license requirements. According to the report, of 786 cruise missile- and UAV-related licenses issued by the State Department between fiscal 1998 and 2002, the department conducted post-shipment verification (PSV) visits on only four licenses. The Commerce Department conducted visits on only 1 percent of 2,500 missile-related licenses issued from fiscal 1998 to 2002. Testifying yesterday before a House Government Reform subcommittee, officials from the Commerce, Defense and State departments said there was little evidence that flaws in U.S. export controls were aiding countries of concern in obtaining cruise missile and UAV technologies, noting that there are other aspects of the licensing process beyond post-shipment verification to ensure that U.S. technology is not misdirected. “While cruise missiles and UAV capabilities have multiplied around the world, the United States and our allies in Europe and the Pacific are not significant contributors to this problem,” Robert Maggi, managing director of the State Department’s Directorate of Trade Controls, said in his opening statement.  In his opening statement, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce Matthew Borman rebuffed the criticism included in the GAO report of the small number of post-shipment verifications conducted on missile-related licenses issued by his department. There are other factors considered in the licensing process, such as past licensee history, intelligence information and pre-export checks, to help ensure that an export will not be diverted to an “inappropriate” use, Borman said. “For this reason, it is not necessary, and would be an inefficient use of limited resources, to conduct on-site, end-use visits for a high percentage of export licenses,” he added. Borman also criticized the GAO report’s inclusion of the New Zealand do-it-yourself cruise missile case, saying the example represented more of a “theoretical proliferation concern than an example of a practical ‘gap’ in export controls.” In addition, Commerce Department experts are “skeptical” that a functional cruise missile could be developed from dual-use items not controlled by U.S. export regulations, he said. In his opening statement, Maggi defended the State Department’s “Blue Lantern” pre- and post-licensing monitoring program, saying it conducts “targeted” checks on transactions considered to be the most vulnerable to diversion or misuse. He also said that the program helps to create a record of the “reliability of parties to an export,” reducing the need for additional pre-licensing checks. Defense Security Cooperation Agency Director Lt. Gen. Tome Walters told lawmakers that the Defense Department only provides defense articles to countries and international organizations previously approved by the president and State Department. In addition, the Pentagon has a vested interest in ensuring that such exports are not diverted or misused, Walters said. “We are very aware that if our foreign partners decide to use equipment we provide them in an unacceptable manner, particularly to transfer them to others without approval, it is our soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines that could suffer,” he said in his opening statement. The Commerce, Defense and State departments agree with some of the recommendations in last month’s GAO report and have begun taking action to implement them officials said. For example, the Commerce Department is considering possible revisions to the catch-all provision and plans to assess the compliance with conditions on cruise missile- and UAV-related export licenses, Borman said. He told lawmakers later in yesterday’s hearing that revisions to the catch-all provision could be published within six weeks.  In addition, the State Department agrees with the General Accounting Office on the need to conduct additional checks through the Blue Lantern program and plans to increase its inspections by 25 percent this year, Maggi said. The officials also warned lawmakers, though, that overly restrictive export control regualtions could harm both on the U.S. economy and U.S. national security. “We must not lose sight of the impact of overly broad or restrictive export controls on the industrial base, which increasingly supplies our military, in this country. It is critical that export controls enhance both our national security and economic interests,” Borman said. Back to top

Russia, NATO Holding Joint Missile Defense Exercise Russia and NATO are conducting their first joint ballistic missile defense exercises between March 8 and 12, according to sources at NATO headquarters, Itar-Tass reported Friday (see GSN, July 28, 2003). The Russia-NATO Council is leading the exercise at the U.S. space center in Colorado Springs. The exercise was organized to test equipment compatibility and other technical issues (Itar-Tass, March 5). Back to top

IAEA Approves Cuts for Technical Cooperation By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire VIENNA — The International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors today approved a request from the agency’s Technical Cooperation Fund to cut some of its programs and to increase the percentage by which its spending may exceed its resources (see GSN, March 9). The request was forced by a budget shortfall at the fund, caused in large part by Japan’s unexpected move in December to contribute only about $7 million, or half of what Tokyo had promised. In addition, Germany failed last year to pay $2.5 million it was expected to contribute. The lowered allocations from donor countries come amid controversy over the agency’s decision to suspend of assessments from recipient countries. “We think the situation is very bad and worrying. … What we have seen over the years is that the funds for TC [technical cooperation] are always somehow in danger,” a Brazilian source here said today. Along with Malaysia and Algeria, Brazil has been among the most vocal critics of the shortfall. To manage the budget gap, the fund has saved $5 million by eliminating some programs and deferring payments on others, and has increased its deficit spending to 20 percent despite a maximum allowance of 15 percent. The agency board today endorsed those moves. The shortfall has sparked concern about some basic principles that underlie the global nonproliferation regime. Under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, non-nuclear weapon countries promise not to pursue nuclear weapons, while nuclear weapon powers promise to pursue disarmament and to help all treaty parties to share in the benefits of peaceful nuclear technology. The fund helps finance that work. The board began its discussion of the Technical Cooperation Fund yesterday after developing countries succeeded in having it moved up the agenda for this week’s meeting. The Brazilian source said Japan’s nonpayment ― which the source called “a total surprise” ― “is very important for developing countries, because technical cooperation is very important for us.” The source said that in return for increases in the IAEA safeguards budget, developing countries expected increases in technical cooperation contributions, but the increase has not materialized.   Back to top

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