A 2001 cornerstone laying ceremony for a planned Russian chemical weapons disposal facility near the town of Schuchye (AFP photo/Yuri Kochetkov). United States Supports Expansion of G-8 Nonproliferation Effort, Officials Say By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire MOSCOW — The United States is working to expand an effort conducted by the Group of Eight global economic powers to fund nonproliferation projects in Russia to include both new donor countries and new aid recipients, senior U.S. officials said last week (see GSN, April 26)...Full Story

U.S. Says Nonproliferation Treaty Faces Crisis By Jim Wurst Global Security Newswire UNITED NATIONS — The United States believes there is a “crisis of noncompliance” with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which needs to be addressed or the effectiveness of the treaty will “erode,” U.S. Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton said this morning (see GSN, April 26)...Full Story

Congressional Democrats Push Nonproliferation, Counterterrorism Measures in Plan By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States can defeat al-Qaeda by taking steps that range from creating an international antinuclear smuggling unit to spending billions of dollars on secular schools in Arab countries, a key Democratic lawmaker said today in a new plan...Full Story

	Tuesday, April 27, 2004

Congressional Democrats Push Nonproliferation, Counterterrorism Measures in Plan By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States can defeat al-Qaeda by taking steps that range from creating an international antinuclear smuggling unit to spending billions of dollars on secular schools in Arab countries, a key Democratic lawmaker said today in a new plan. Proposals for securing WMD stockpiles abroad and for preventing and countering potential biological and chemical attacks at home were among dozens of other recommendations in the plan, released this afternoon by Representative Jim Turner (D-Texas), the senior Democrat on the House Select Committee on Homeland Security. “Our goal must be to win this war, to defeat the enemy. We should not be satisfied with merely reducing the risk of attack. We should not accept that this war will go on forever. Just as we no longer train schoolchildren to run into underground shelters for fear of a Soviet nuclear attack, we should aspire to a future where we no longer live with the uncertainty of catastrophic terror at our doorstep,” Turner wrote in an introduction to the plan. Much of the policy agenda outlined in Turner’s plan is reflected in recent and coming legislation from Turner and from Democratic colleagues such as Representative Adam Schiff (Calif.) and Senators Dianne Feinstein (Calif.), Bill Nelson (Fla.) and Jack Reed (R.I.). Last week, Schiff introduced a bill, cosponsored by Turner, that would create a presidential task force on securing and removing dangerous nuclear materials around the world. Feinstein, Nelson and Reed introduced a related Senate bill earlier this month. Turner plans by next week to introduce new homeland security legislation, and he is backing a bill by Representative Jane Harman (D-Calif.) to create a director of national intelligence position (see GSN, April 22). “We are taking this piece by piece,” House Select Committee on Homeland Security Democratic spokeswoman Moira Whelan said today. “Some of this is legislative, and others need to be done by executive action,” Whelan said. Part of Turner’s aim, she said, is to “build agreement within the policy community.” Consulted by a host of well-known, Democratic-leaning experts in nuclear policy, homeland security and other areas, Turner made recommendations in his plan that fell into three broad categories: military and intelligence reform; domestic security, nonproliferation and counterproliferation; and improving relations with Arab and Muslim peoples. In the area of “Protecting the Homeland,” Turner called for a series of U.S. actions on the international scene. He said the United States should work with the International Atomic Energy Agency to secure all “nuclear material locations” outside the United States and Russia within two years; work with the Group of Eight to remove all nuclear material from such sites within five years (see related GSN story, today); help secure all weapon-grade nuclear material in former Soviet countries within five years; seek an international treaty to criminalize nuclear smuggling; pursue the formation of a 50-person “international strike force” to combat nuclear trafficking; expand the Proliferation Security Initiative; pursue the destruction of all the world’s chemical weapons within six years; and advocate adding “enforcement provisions” to the Biological Weapons Convention. Turner accused the Bush administration of neglecting efforts begun by Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) and then-Senator Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) to reduce the threat posed by U.S. and former Soviet WMD weapons stocks. “One of the greatest threats we face,” he wrote, “comes from unsecured stockpiles of materials that could be used to create weapons of mass destruction.  These materials are spread across the globe. Little is being done to prevent terrorists from getting their hands on them. A decade ago, Senators Nunn and Lugar had the foresight to draw the government’s attention to this massive threat to our national security. Yet the difficult job of securing these stockpiles has not been given the priority that current threats demand.” At home, Turner said, the United States should implement stronger inspections of users of highly radioactive materials; within two years secure sites where disused cesium, strontium and plutonium are kept; begin wider screening of air cargo and passenger baggage; create a “terrorism preparedness grant program” for emergency responders; establish National Guard “rapid response civil support teams” that could respond to a WMD attack within four hours; and pursue a range of other measures to prepare for and counter a biological or chemical attack and to protect U.S. “critical infrastructure.” Under the rubric “Attacking the Terrorists,” Turner advocated a number of measures already under consideration in various quarters, including the director of national intelligence post, quicker military transformation, an increase in U.S. Army and special forces troops and faster FBI domestic intelligence reforms.  “If we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that today we are far from winning the war on terror. Our attacks against the terrorist groups have been only a partial success. While many al-Qaeda leaders have been captured or killed, this has not diminished the lethality of the now semiautonomous terrorist cells dispersed across the globe, as the deadly Madrid rail attacks demonstrated,” Turner wrote. “One day,” he continued, al-Qaeda leader Osama “bin Laden and his chief lieutenants will be eliminated. That will be a great day for justice, but it will probably not have a practical effect on the long-term war against terror. For the war on terror is not about one man or even on organization. To win the war on terror, we need an aggressive, robust set of military, diplomatic and protective policies designed to suppress the growth and power of radical Islamic fundamentalism across the globe. Today, we are not executing such a strategy.” [EDITOR’S NOTE: Sam Nunn is chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative and Senator Lugar serves on the NTI Board.  NTI is the sole sponsor of Global Security Newswire, which is published independently by National Journal Group.] Back to top

United States Supports Expansion of G-8 Nonproliferation Effort, Officials Say By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire MOSCOW — The United States is working to expand an effort conducted by the Group of Eight global economic powers to fund nonproliferation projects in Russia to include both new donor countries and new aid recipients, senior U.S. officials said last week (see GSN, April 26). During a 2002 summit in Canada, the G-8 members — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — initiated the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction. Under the effort, the G-8 members pledged $20 billion over 10 years to fund nonproliferation projects starting in Russia. Since the 2002 summit, the effort has expanded to include several non-G-8 donor countries, including the Czech Republic, Finland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, Switzerland as well as the European Union. In advance of the June G-8 summit in the United States, Washington has worked to add eight countries to the Global Partnership, a senior U.S. State Department official said during a nonproliferation conference held here last week by the PIR Center. New donor members could include Australia, New Zealand and South Korea, said Edward Vazquez, director of the Office of Proliferation Threat Reduction in the State Department’s Bureau of Nonproliferation.  While Russia would continue to remain the “priority” of the partnership’s efforts, the United States believes “the time is right” to expand the effort to include nonproliferation-related projects in other nations, such as other states of the former Soviet Union, Vazquez said. He said the United States would like to see the former Soviet states of Georgia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan be invited to take part in the effort as recipients. During a keynote address last week at the conference, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Alexander Vershbow also emphasized the U.S. desire to expand the Global Partnership to include new recipient nations. He added that Ukraine was “a natural choice” to next receive funding for nonproliferation. “Russia will remain our priority, and widening the circle of recipient countries will not diminish or dilute Global Partnership efforts under way in Russia. Yet we believe that a global problem requires an appropriately global approach,” Vershbow said. Concerns Over Current Status of Global Partnership While the United States is considering the possible expansion of the Global Partnership, there are concerns that the original aims of the project have not yet been reached. During the conference last week, PIR Center Director Vladimir Orlov said that in the past two years Russia had only received about $50 million in working funds for nonproliferation. At that rate, he said, it would take decades to meet the original 2002 goal (see GSN, Nov. 14, 2003).  In addition, a number of issues have delayed various nonproliferation projects being conducted in Russia, according to participants at last week’s conference. For example, a long-standing dispute between the United States and Russia over establishing U.S. liability protection for damages and injuries that may result from nonproliferation activities has hindered progress, said Robert Einhorn, a senior adviser with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The issue of liability protection has delayed U.S. and Russian efforts to eliminate a total of almost 70 tons of weapon-grade plutonium, enough to create 8,000 nuclear weapons, said Meggen Watt of the U.S. State Department Office of the Fissile Material Negotiator. Einhorn added that the dispute has not yet received the presidential-level attention needed to resolve the impasse (see GSN, March 11). Another concern is Russia’s reluctance to provide full site access to U.S. contractors engaged in nonproliferation projects, according to Rear Adm. John Byrd, head of the Cooperative Threat Reduction directorate of the U.S. Defense Threat Reduction Agency. Such a lack of access has delayed U.S. efforts to improve security at Russian nuclear facilities, he said last week. Russia is also concerned that some Global Partnership members want to “reshuffle” the effort’s priorities, said Mikhail Lysenko, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Department for Security Affairs and Disarmament. Currently, most Global Partnership-aided projects in Russia focus on the two main priorities identified by Moscow — nuclear submarine dismantlement and chemical weapons disposal. Efforts in those two areas, though, have also experienced difficulties, according to conference participants Russia “badly needs” international aid to help dismantle nearly 200 decommissioned submarines that contain spent nuclear fuel that could be attractive to terrorists seeking to develop crude nuclear or radiological weapons, according to Sergei Antipov, a senior Russian atomic energy official. “We’re craving it,” Antipov said last week, referring to foreign assistance (see GSN, April 14). Antipov also said that partnership members are focusing too much on providing assistance in dismantling decommissioned submarines based in northwestern Russia and not enough on those on Russia’s eastern coast. Submarines there could be more easily accessed and thus more attractive to terrorists than those based on Russia’s Kola Peninsula, said Christina Chuen of the Monterey Institute of International Studies’ Center for Nonproliferation Studies. There are also concerns about the progress of constructing a chemical weapons disposal facility near the Russian town of Shchuchye. Canadian Ambassador to Russia Christopher Westdal said last week that a “procedural impasse” has resulted in the delay of a Canadian project to construct a rail spur at the site to transport chemical weapons agents from storage facilities to the planned destruction plant. He added, though, that he was “optimistic” that the dispute would soon be resolved. While Russia has made substantial progress in its chemical weapons disposal efforts over the past several years, concerns still remain as to lack of a clear overall plan and a lack of transparency in the progress, said James Harrison, deputy director of counterproliferation and arms control in the British Defense Ministry. He last week also blamed the uncertain nature of U.S. funding for the Shchuchye project both for delays in the disposal plant’s construction and for Russia’s overall chemical weapons disposal efforts (see GSN, Jan. 23). Speaking today in Washington, nonproliferation experts were divided as to whether now is the right time to consider expanding the Global Partnership to include projects beyond Russia. Einhorn told Global Security Newswire that despite funding concerns, the partnership should have the necessary resources to conduct projects both within Russia and outside, noting that expenditures for projects outside Russia should be less expensive. In addition, he said, now that the United States has taken the position that the partnership’s original $20 billion pledge reflected a “floor, not a ceiling,” it should be easier to obtain increased resources. For its part, though, Russian opposition may slow down efforts to expand the effort, Einhorn said. He said that Moscow views nonproliferation funding as a “zero-sum game” — every dollar spent on projects somewhere else is one less for Russian efforts. It is important to first fulfill the original intent of the Global Partnership — securing $20 billion in nonproliferation funding for Russia by 2012 — before considering an expansion of the effort, said Raphael Della Ratta of the Russian-American Nuclear Security Advisory Council. Once that goal is reached, though, “then make it global in more ways than one,” he said. Back to top       Qadhafi Travels to Belgium to Meet With EU Officials Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qadhafi arrived today at the European Commission in Brussels during his first visit to Europe in 15 years after making progress on dismantling Libya’s WMD programs, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, April 26). Qadhafi, with senior Libyan officials, arrived at the commission to discuss “full normalization” of relations between the European Union and Libya and to discuss Tripoli’s access to an aid and trade program the EU conducts with Mediterranean nations, according to AP (Paul Geitner, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, April 27). Meanwhile, USA Today reported that U.S. negotiations to persuade Tripoli to abandon its WMD efforts began in 1992, when Libya’s programs were in a rudimentary state. Libya began attempting to restore ties with the United States after Libyan intelligence operatives were indicted in 1991 for the bombing of a U.S. airliner over Lockerbie, Scotland, sources said. The Clinton administration then initiated a secret communications channel with Libya, which resulted in two assistant secretaries of state, Martin Indyk and Edward Walker, holding five meetings with Libyan officials from May 1999 to early 2000, USA Today reported. “We went with a long laundry list of things we expected the Libyans to do to ‘graduate’ from U.S. sanctions,” Indyk told the Middle East Institute earlier this month. “They were prepared to accept pretty much all the requirements we had,” he said. During the second meeting, Libya agreed to sign an international agreement renouncing chemical weapons and to submit to inspections; at that point the United States was unaware of Libya’s nuclear program, Indyk said. Walker said negotiations were later suspended in 2000 because of concerns that news of the effort might leak during that year’s U.S. presidential campaign. Once President George W. Bush came into office, Walker briefed officials about the negotiations, but the administration did not immediately move to resume the negotiations, according to USA Today. Bush administration officials were “somewhat stunned these negotiations had been held and nervous about it,” Walker said. After the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the Bush administration reopened the channel with Libya, USA Today reported. A high-level U.S. State Department official said that the administration informed Tripoli that Libya’s WMD efforts would be the biggest obstacle to restoring relations with Washington once the Lockerbie case had been resolved (Barbara Slavin, USA Today, April 27). Back to top       United States, United Kingdom Seek Vote This Week on U.N. WMD Resolution The United States and the United Kingdom are seeking a vote as soon as tomorrow on a U.N. resolution that seeks to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction, Reuters reported today (see GSN, April 23). A final, revised version of the resolution was distributed to U.N. Security Council members yesterday. U.S. Deputy U.N. Ambassador James Cunningham said he believed that most concerns had been addressed by the new version.  Nonpermanent council member Pakistan, though, remains unlikely to support the resolution once it comes up for a vote, diplomats said. Pakistan is concerned about the resolution’s invocation of Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which would oblige all nations to uphold the resolution and could lead to the use of sanctions and even military action, according to Reuters. Pakistani U.N. Ambassador Munir Akram said that by invoking Chapter 7, the resolution could be used for “coercive actions” (Evelyn Leopold, Reuters, April 27). Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan said yesterday that while Pakistan has some concerns with the U.N. resolution, it supports the “general thrust” of the document. “We are constructively engaging with all principal actors and Pakistan is against proliferation and we would like to cooperate in the ... process,” Khan said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, April 26). Back to top       Singapore Seeks Improved Nonproliferation Efforts Because of its small size and dense population, Singapore is particularly vulnerable to chemical or biological attacks, according to its top security official, who yesterday promoted more stringent international efforts to limit the risk of such attacks (see GSN, Oct. 23, 2003). “The risk of weapons of mass destruction falling into the wrong hands has become a real danger. Singapore views this threat with grave concern,” Tony Tan, deputy prime minister and coordinating minister for security and defense, said yesterday at an international biosafety conference “A single chemical or biological attack on a small and densely populated country like Singapore would have devastating consequences,” he added, according to Agence France-Presse. Tan called for greater international cooperation to address the threat of terrorists acquiring advanced weapons capabilities, including recombinant DNA technology. “Countries must then work together, through the implementation of safety regulations, legislation and other control mechanisms to better manage the potential risks that such developments pose,” he said (see GSN, April 22; Agence France-Presse, April 27). Back to top       Danish Journalists Charged with Publishing Iraq Info Two Danish journalists were charged Monday with publishing information from classified military intelligence reports on Iraq’s prewar WMD capability (see GSN, April 20). Jesper Larsen and Michael Bjerre “were questioned, then indicted” for illegally publishing excerpts from a report by the Danish military intelligence agency FE, police inspector Ove Dahl told Agence France-Presse. Both men have pleaded innocent, Dahl said. Denmark was a strong supporter of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, but the reports questioned whether former President Saddam Hussein’s regime had weapons of mass destruction, AFP said. An FE agent gave the reports to Larsen and Bjerre, and the information was released Feb. 22 in the conservative newspaper Berlingske Tidende (Agence France-Presse, Space War, April 26). Back to top

U.S. Says Nonproliferation Treaty Faces Crisis By Jim Wurst Global Security Newswire UNITED NATIONS — The United States believes there is a “crisis of noncompliance” with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which needs to be addressed or the effectiveness of the treaty will “erode,” U.S. Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security John Bolton said this morning (see GSN, April 26). Speaking to the annual two-week meeting of NPT parties, Bolton said, “The time for business as usual is over. An irresponsible handful of nations not living up to their treaty commitments are undermining the NPT’s mission. Without full compliance by all NPT members, confidence in the NPT as a nonproliferation instrument erodes.” The United States has made several proposals to “address loopholes and the crisis of noncompliance with the NPT,” said Bolton. Those proposals include urging states that supply nuclear technology and materials to deny such material to any government that has not concluded a more intrusive safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency and to work “with the IAEA and its members to ensure that clandestine nuclear activity is uncovered and reported to the United Nations Security Council.” “We must resolve to deal firmly and swiftly with countries whose nuclear programs pose a serious threat to the NPT,” said Bolton. “We must resolve to send a signal to potential treaty violators that their actions will not be tolerated.” “At least four NPT non-nuclear member countries were or are using the NPT as cover for the development of nuclear weapons,” he added, naming Iraq, Iran, Libya and North Korea. Bolton devoted the most attention to questions about Iran’s nuclear program. “It is clear that the primary role of Iran’s ‘nuclear power’ program is to serve as a cover and a pretext for the import of nuclear technology and expertise that can be used to support nuclear weapons development,” he said. “Iran is lying.” Iran is scheduled to address the meeting later today. Earlier in the meeting, the three NPT nuclear weapon states with the smallest nuclear stockpiles — China, France and the United Kingdom — highlighted their commitments to nuclear disarmament. British Ambassador David Broucher said yesterday, “We hold less than 200 operationally available warheads. This amounts to a reduction of 70 percent in the explosive power of our nuclear weapons since the end of the Cold War.” French Ambassador Francois Rivasseau this morning said his country is committed to “cutting nuclear weapons as a whole within the framework of general and complete disarmament.” All surface-to-surface missiles have been eliminated and there have been deep cuts in submarine-based missiles, he said. Chinese Ambassador Hu Xiaodi told the meeting yesterday, “China has always supported a complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons, exercised utmost restraint in developing nuclear weapons and maintained a minimum arsenal necessary for self-defense only. China has never and will not take part in any arms race.” Russia, the fifth nuclear weapons state party to the NPT, is scheduled to address the meeting later today. Many of the delegates speaking at the opening day of the meeting yesterday said the most urgent matter facing the NPT is for the nuclear weapons states to fulfill their obligations under Article 6 of the treaty to eliminate their stockpiles. Taking the opposite position, Bolton said, “We cannot divert attention from the violations we face by focusing on Article 6 issues that do not exist. If a party cares about the NPT, then there is a corresponding requirement to care about violations and enforcement.” Many countries did not agree with his categorization that disarmament issues “do not exist.” Peter Goosen, the director for nonproliferation and disarmament in South Africa’s Foreign Ministry, said yesterday, “The problems of imbalance and selective emphasis on preferred aspects of the NPT have been exacerbated in the recent past by the sole emphasis that is being placed on nonproliferation.” While nonproliferation efforts are important, he said, “They do not, however, provide a rationale for failing to address the other key elements of the treaty.” Goosen said there is “no sign” that the five nuclear powers are considering multilateral negotiations while there are indications that there are “new emerging approaches to the broader role of nuclear weapons as part of security strategies, including rationalizations for the use … of nuclear weapons.” There was also widespread support for universal adherence to the NPT, meaning encouraging ratification of the NPT by the nuclear-armed states that are not party to the treaty — India, Pakistan and Israel. Speakers urged the three countries to work toward regional security arrangements to address their and their neighbors’ security concerns. France’s Rivasseau said the three “must align themselves as closely as possible to international norms” on arms control. Back to top       U.S. Energy Department Considers Consolidating Nuclear Material Storage Sites The U.S. Energy Department is considering consolidating the number of sites that possess weapon-grade uranium and plutonium because of concerns that the facilities are vulnerable to terrorist attacks, the Los Angeles Times reported today (see GSN, March 17). In the last year, the Energy Department has revised its assumptions about the capabilities of possible terrorist forces attacking departmental sites. The U.S. General Accounting Office, though, is set to report today that U.S. intelligence agencies have estimated a far higher terrorist threat to U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories than has been considered by the Energy Department in its recent security planning, according to the Times. A classified directive issued last year ordered the Energy Department to improve the security of U.S. nuclear weapons materials by consolidating them at fewer sites than the current seven locations, according to congressional sources. Department officials said yesterday that while security at the facilities is “strong,” they are considering reducing the number of sites where weapon-grade material is stored. Earlier this year, the Energy Department decided to remove weapon-grade materials from a facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, department spokesman Brian Wilkes said. “It is part of the consolidation process that we are doing,” Wilkes said. “We are always driving to reduce our nuclear materials,” he said (Ralph Vartabedian, Los Angeles Times, April 27). The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced late last month that the materials removed from the TA-18 facility at Los Alamos would be sent to a facility at the Nevada Test Site. The agency is set to begin shipping the first half of the material to the Nevada Test Site later this year in an effort scheduled to last 18 months. “Getting this material out of TA-18 and to Nevada will assist NNSA in more quickly establishing critical national security missions in Nevada while consolidating special nuclear materials in a newer, more secure facility,” NNSA chief Linton Brooks said in a statement (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, March 31). Back to top       Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Watches Nuclear Experts Members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have been ordered to help prevent information leaks about the country’s nuclear program by watching over 400 nuclear experts, Reuters reported today (see GSN, April 22). The information came from a source who in 2002 revealed that Iran had nuclear facilities at Natanz and Arak. “According to the latest information I have from well-placed sources inside Iran, some 400 nuclear experts are now under the control and supervision of the Revolutionary Guards,” said Alireza Jafarzadeh, a former spokesman for an Iranian opposition group listed by the United States as a terrorist organization and now president of Strategic Policy Consulting in Washington. One diplomat said the guards’ involvement in Iranian nuclear security is well known. “Since a long time ago, the Revolutionary Guards have taken over supervision of the nuclear activities and have trained some of their people to work there,” the diplomat said. The Revolutionary Guards want Iran to build a nuclear weapon, diplomats told Reuters. Pirooz Hosseini, Iran’s ambassador to the United Nations in Vienna, said he had not heard of the guards’ reported involvement in Iran’s nuclear program (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters/AlertNet, April 27). Back to top

Chemical Weapons Treaty Marred by Poor Compliance, GAO Finds Nations including Russia and China maintain chemical weapons programs and are failing to fully report stockpiles that are to be destroyed under the Chemical Weapons Convention, the U.S. General Accounting Office said in a report to be released this week (see GSN, April 8). Many of the 161 treaty parties, including the United States, would not meet the 2012 deadline for destruction of their chemical arsenals, the Washington Times reported today after obtaining a copy of the GAO report. The congressional investigative office said Russia has not fully disclosed its chemical weapons holdings, and is believed to be developing “a new generation of agents that could circumvent the CWC and possibly defeat western detection and protection systems,” the report states, according to the Times. “The lack of a credible Russian chemical weapons destruction plan has hindered and may further delay destruction efforts, leaving Russia’s vast chemical weapons arsenal vulnerable to theft or diversion,” possibly by terrorists, the report adds. China “maintains an active chemical weapons research and development program, a possible undeclared chemical weapons stockpile, and weapons-related facilities that were not declared,” the report states. Iran also seeks to modernize its chemical weapons production efforts, and Sudan is working to develop such weaponry, the report states. China, Russia, Iran and Sudan are all parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention. Less than 40 percent of CWC member states have made chemical weapons activity illegal within their borders, the GAO said (Bill Gertz, Washington Times, April 27). Back to top       Details Emerge on Al-Qaeda Chemical Plot in Jordan Jordanian state television yesterday broadcast the confession of two suspects arrested recently as part of an apparent al-Qaeda plot to conduct chemical weapons attacks and conventional bombings in Amman (see GSN, April 21). One suspect, Azmi al-Jayousi, said to be the head of a terrorist cell in Jordan, described meeting senior al-Qaeda official Abu-Musab al-Zarqawi in Iraq to plan the chemical attacks. Al-Jayousi said he received $170,000 to fund the operation and used some of the money to buy 20 tons of chemicals that would be “enough for all the operations in the Jordanian arena” (Jamal Halaby, Associated Press/San Diego Union-Tribune, April 26). In action this month and last, Jordanian authorities intercepted vehicles loaded with materials that included “70 chemical agents, some of which were pesticides, which mixed together could have produced a formidable chemical weapon never used before,” said a source close to the investigation. While some officials estimated that the planned attacks could have killed 80,000 people and injured 160,000 more, others were reserving judgment. “We’re still at the point of assessing what might be involved and what the lethality might be,” a U.S. official said yesterday (Randa Habib, Middle East Online, April 27). Back to top       Soldiers Killed in Blast Reportedly Worked for ISG Two soldiers killed Monday in an explosion at a Baghdad building were working for the Iraq Survey Group seeking the country’s weapons of mass destruction, a U.S. defense official confirmed (see GSN, April 26). Five soldiers and eight civilians were injured in the blast that occurred as military personnel entered a building in search of chemical munitions, Agence France-Presse reported. “It was a chemical store from which the owner and his associates were suspected of supplying chemical agents to terrorists, criminals and insurgents.  There is also information that these individuals were involved in the production of chemical munitions,” Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said in the London Times. While Kimmitt refused to say whether the searchers were from the Survey Group, an anonymous senior defense official confirmed the soldiers were from the 1,400-member team (Agence France-Presse, April 26). After the blast, youths gave journalists two ISG identity cards, a classified document with the group’s logo and two aerial photographs of the building. The documents indicated that 32 U.S. personnel were involved in the search. The explosion “was an accident,” witness Ayman Abdul Karen told the Times. “They began trying to break in, but a spark ignited a pilot light inside the building and it blew up,” he said (Stephen Farrell, London Times, April 27). Back to top

U.S. Democrats Target Missile Defense Funds to Boost Troop Strength By Amy Klamper Congress Daily WASHINGTON — With pressure mounting on Capitol Hill to fund more troops and equipment in Iraq, some Democratic lawmakers are eyeing the President George W. Bush’s $10.2 billion missile defense request as a vehicle to offset such costs. Representative Ellen Tauscher (D-Calif.), said it would play into her plans to boost the Army’s strength by 10,000 troops, a proposal that would cost an estimated $1.6 billion in fiscal 2005. “I will more likely than not offer an amendment to do that in the defense bill using national missile defense as the offset,” she said. “I don’t think the Pentagon should be without sacrifice for this while we’re at war,” she said. Although observers say Republican backing for such a proposal is unlikely, Tauscher’s comments coincide with a General Accounting Office report issued last week criticizing the president’s plan to field a missile defense capability this summer (see GSN, April 26). GAO found that the system has not been thoroughly tested and the program’s prime contractors were over budget in fiscal 2003 by roughly $380 million, according to a summary of the report. GAO recommended that the Pentagon carry out more rigorous testing and set cost, schedule and performance baselines. Although the Defense Department agreed to establish baselines, it said formal operational testing is not required before entering production. The Bush administration has argued that growing concerns over the spread of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, especially by a handful of potentially hostile states and terrorists, justifies the need for a missile defense capability. The fiscal 2005 funding proposal would help field a national missile defense system with ground-based interceptors in Alaska starting sometime this summer. A total of 20 missile interceptors would be deployed in Alaska and California by the end of 2005. Because the Bush administration has made missile defense a top priority, it is unlikely Republican lawmakers would support cuts proposed for it. But bipartisan support to increase the number of troops and provide more equipment for troops in Iraq before the November election is growing. House Armed Services member Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) last week introduced a bill that would provide $50 billion in fiscal 2004 supplemental funding for troops deployed in Iraq. And Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) said he would support a fiscal 2005 wartime supplemental of at least $20 billion to pay for more troops and equipment in Iraq. Tauscher introduced a bill last year to temporarily increase military end-strength by 83,700 troops, raising the total strength of the Army, Marines and Air Force by 8 percent for five years. The bill had 25 Democratic co-sponsors, including Ike Skelton (D-Mo), the senior Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. Back to top       U.S., Israel to Test Joint Missile Defense System The United States and Israel have scheduled a test flight of the Arrow antiballistic missile for this summer, Defense Daily reported today (see GSN, Jan. 20). The Arrow, developed jointly by the two countries, is a ground-based program designed to protect Israel from short- and medium-range missiles. “The Missile Defense Agency, in cooperation with the Israel Ministry of Defense, will conduct Arrow flight tests in the U.S. during this summer,” Defense Department officials told Defense Daily. “The tests are part of the ongoing Arrow System Improvement Program (ASIP). They are meant to demonstrate the system’s performance in scenarios that cannot be provided in Israel, due to range limitations,” officials added (Ann Roosevelt, Defense Daily, April 27). Back to top

China Plans Better Record Keeping for Radioactive Materials China plans to develop a national registry of radioactive sources and to do more to ensure that radioactive waste is safely disposed, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Feb. 11). China has more than 63,000 radiation sources, with 30 percent of those unregistered and 20 percent consisting of improperly disposed radioactive waste, according to the Xinhua news agency. The country reportedly has had more than 1,500 radiological accidents over the last 50 years that have killed at least eight people. To improve radioactive security, the Chinese State Environmental Protection Administration has announced that government agencies would begin monitoring the production, storage and disposal of all radioactive material and would collect radioactive waste, AP reported (Associated Press, April 27)   Back to top

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