U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham (left) shakes hands with Brazilian Minister of Science and Technology Eduardo Campos during a meeting Monday in Brasilia. Campos said after the meeting that Brazil is close to reaching agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency for inspections of the country’s Resende nuclear plant. Brazil Says Deal on IAEA Inspections Close; Diplomats Say Refusals Annoy Agency A top Brazilian official said yesterday his country is close to an agreement to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspection of a nuclear installation near Rio de Janeiro, Reuters reports (see GSN, April 15). Science and Technology Minister Eduardo Campos, after meeting yesterday with U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, said his country and the agency are close to an agreement that would allow thorough inspections at the Resende plant while protecting Brazilian technology from espionage...Full Story

U.S. to Lift Most Economic Sanctions Against Libya The United States plans to lift most Libya economic sanctions in recognition of that country’s decision to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction programs, Reuters reported today (see GSN, March 23)...Full Story

China Advises Kim on Nuclear Standoff; Working Group Plans Stall Chinese officials urged visiting North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to change his tough line with the United States regarding his nuclear programs, South Korean media reported today (see GSN, April 19)...Full Story

	Tuesday, April 20, 2004

U.S. to Lift Most Economic Sanctions Against Libya The United States plans to lift most Libya economic sanctions in recognition of that country’s decision to dismantle its weapons of mass destruction programs, Reuters reported today (see GSN, March 23). The Bush administration could make a decision as early as this week, though the review process could push an announcement to next week or later, U.S. officials said. The main sanctions included in the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and Iran-Libya Sanctions Act will likely be removed, officials said. That would allow U.S. companies to invest in Libya and buy the country’s oil. “We welcome this and we expect this to happen because this is why Libya has done all these initiatives and all these efforts,” Libyan Economy Minister Abdel-Qader Omar Belkheir told Reuters. Libya is expected for now to stay on the U.S. State Department’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, which means it cannot receive U.S. weaponry and faces other restrictions (Reuters/New York Times, April 20). Meanwhile, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said Libya will begin destroying the rest of its chemical weapons stockpile in the next few months (see GSN, March 22; Xinhua News Agency, April 20). Back to top       U.N. Members Oppose U.S. Nonproliferation Initiative A U.S. resolution intended to halt the spread of weapons of mass destruction could undermine existing WMD treaties or be used as an excuse to impose sanctions on a country, several nations said in proposing amendments to the plan being considered by the U.N. Security Council, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, March 25). Pakistan voiced concerns that the language of the U.S. proposal is sufficiently vague to allow a “powerful state” to interpret and enforce the resolution as it sees fit. That could include sanctions or even military force for actions beyond a government’s control, Pakistan said. “Do we open the door to a state saying there is proliferation happening in countries X, Y, and Z, and we have the right to use force under this resolution?” asked Pakistani U.N. Ambassador Munir Akram. German U.N. Ambassador Gunter Plueger said the plan fails to mention continuing disarmament obligations placed on the Security Council’s five original nuclear powers under the 1970 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Pakistan, Brazil and Germany have all proposed amendments to narrow the plan, the Post said. The Bush administration proposal is a “step in the right direction,” but the administration’s lack of effort on U.S. disarmament undermines its own case, Arms Control Association Executive Director Daryl Kimball said. “This resolution is being interpreted as a ‘Do as I say, not as I do’ diktat, because it’s calling on other states to comply with standards that don’t necessarily apply to the United States,” Kimball said (Colum Lynch, Washington Post, April 19). Back to top       Safe Gas to be Sprayed Over Pentagon A colorless and odorless gas will be sprayed over the Pentagon for three days next month as part of U.S. Defense Department efforts to increase the building’s protection from a chemical or biological weapons attack, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, April 15). “The tracer gas will simulate how chemical or biological agents would flow around and into the Pentagon,” according to a Defense press release. A blimp, two long-range lasers and additional sensors will collect information on wind speed, wind direction and temperatures around the Pentagon. Information gleaned from “Pentagon Shield,” the monthlong exercise that began yesterday, will also be used to safeguard other department facilities, the agency said. The tracer gas, sulfur hexaflouride, is safe, the Pentagon said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, April 19). Back to top       Denmark Believed Prewar Iraq had WMD, Reports Show Denmark’s military intelligence agency believed Iraq had biological and chemical weapons before last year’s war, but acknowledged at the time it had “very limited knowledge of the Iraqi chemical weapons program,” according to documents made public yesterday (see GSN, April 14). A former Danish intelligence agent claimed that Denmark strongly backed the war despite intelligence from the agency FE that there was no “reliable information” that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, according to Agence France-Presse. FE assessments from March 2002 to March 2003 were declassified yesterday in response to those claims. While acknowledging its lack of comprehensive information, the agency’s suspicion was that “Iraq was in possession of substances for biological and chemical combat, as well as the capacity to produce them.” The reports, though, also cautioned that “any evaluation is subject to uncertainties” (Agence France-Presse/Space War, April 19). Back to top       Greek Hospitals Called Prepared for Olympic Biological, Chemical Attacks While cutting from 24 to 12 the number of hospitals set aside for the August Olympic Games in Athens, Greece said victims of a biological or chemical attack could be treated with existing medical plans, Agence France-Presse has reported (see GSN, April 7). Health Minister Athanassios Yiannopoulos said “all the hospitals will be ready,” despite delays in health preparations for the games (Agence France-Presse, April 19). Back to top

Brazil Says Deal on IAEA Inspections Close; Diplomats Say Refusals Annoy Agency A top Brazilian official said yesterday his country is close to an agreement to allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspection of a nuclear installation near Rio de Janeiro, Reuters reports (see GSN, April 15). Science and Technology Minister Eduardo Campos, after meeting yesterday with U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, said his country and the agency are close to an agreement that would allow thorough inspections at the Resende plant while protecting Brazilian technology from espionage. Abraham said last week the United States trusts Brazil’s nuclear security and that the agency should resolve concerns with Brazil bilaterally (Reuters/Yahoo!Noticias, April 19, GSN translation). Meanwhile, diplomats said Brazilian decisions to bar full access to the plant have annoyed rather than worried agency officials, according to Associated Press. “It’s not a question of suspecting that Brazil has a covert nuclear weapons program,” one diplomat said. “It’s more a question of principle,” he added. Another diplomat said Brazil’s argument that it needs to protect industrial secrets is worrisome in light of other ongoing inspections, such as the agency’s Iran work. The diplomat said other countries could see Brazil’s refusals as a precedent (George Jahn, AP/CNN.com, April 20). Back to top       China Advises Kim on Nuclear Standoff; Working Group Plans Stall Chinese officials urged visiting North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to change his tough line with the United States regarding his nuclear programs, South Korean media reported today (see GSN, April 19). “[Chinese military chief] Jiang Zemin told him the possibility of the United States invading North Korea is very slim, indirectly suggesting he should change North Korea’s tough line against the United States,” Reuters quoted South Korea’s Munhwa Ilbo as reporting. Meeting with Chinese President and Communist Party leader Hu Jintao Monday, Kim explained his need for a nuclear arsenal, but said he was willing to give up his nuclear programs if the United States ended its “hostile attitude,” according to the South Korean daily Chosun Ilbo (John Ruwitch, Reuters/Yahoo!News, April 20). Meanwhile, a senior South Korean official said today plans have stalled to convene a working group prior to the next round of six-party talks planned for June, Agence France-Presse reported. “The (South Korean) government has been seeking to have the working group meet twice ahead of the third six-nation talks,” the unidentified official said. “But judging from the current situation, we might have to go directly to the six-nation talks without working group talks,” the official added (Agence France-Presse, April 20). Back to top       Israel Explains Restrictions on Nuclear Whistleblower Israel and Shimon Peres, founder of the country’s nuclear program, today explained restrictions imposed on Mordechai Vanunu upon his expected release from prison (see GSN, April 19). Vanunu, 50, a former technician at the Dimona nuclear plant whose 18-year sentence for espionage and treason ends tomorrow, will be barred from traveling outside Israel for at least a year, discussing his work at the plant and approaching Israeli ports or borders. The Defense Ministry said Vanunu was given a map of Israel indicating areas off-limits to him, according to Associated Press.  Although Vanunu has said he has no more secrets to reveal, Israeli officials countered that claim in a statement today. “Mordechai Vanunu has revealed state secrets about the Dimona nuclear plant. He still possesses state secrets including some which he has not revealed,” the government said. “The revelations of these state secrets could seriously damage the security of the state,” the statement added (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, April 20). Peres, the former Israeli prime minister who led the development of Israel’s nuclear program in the 1950s and 1960s, also said the restrictions were appropriate. “Vanunu violated norms and betrayed his country,” Peres said. “This is justice,” he added (Peter Enav, Associated Press/CNews.com, April 20).   Back to top       New Group of IAEA Inspectors Due in Iran on Saturday Five nuclear inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency will finish work in Iran and leave by the end of the week, and a new group of inspectors is set to arrive on Saturday, the Asia Africa Intelligence Wire reports (see GSN, April 12; Asia Africa Intelligence Wire, April 20). Back to top

Redundant Program Goals May Lead to Waste, Competitors Say Some U.S. missile defense programs are expected to have overlapping capabilities and are therefore likely to compete for funding, Aviation Week and Space Technology reported yesterday (see GSN, March 19). In particular, the developing Kinetic Energy Interceptor project could be expanded beyond its current mission, to destroy enemy missiles during the boost phase of their flights, to enable the system to intercept warheads during their midcourse and terminal phases (see GSN, April 15). The Missile Defense Agency has already invested heavily in another technology for boost-phase defenses, the Airborne Laser (see GSN, March 12), and the Bush administration is planning to begin deploying Ground-based Midcourse Defense system interceptors this summer (see GSN, March 26). Supporters of the Airborne Laser and GMD programs have complained that the KEI program is duplicating their efforts and wasting money. KEI advocates argue that their system is smaller — three missiles could fit into a silo designed to hold a single GMD interceptor — and more efficient because the system would use the same booster and kill vehicle regardless of the mission it was flying. Currently, the KEI program plans to conduct 27 rocket motor flight tests and five intercept tests beginning in fiscal 2009 (Robert Wall, Aviation Week and Space Technology, April 19).     Back to top

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