IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei has expressed hope that his agency can complete an investigation into Iran’s nuclear efforts by the end of this year (AFP photo/Stan Honda). IAEA’s Iranian Nuclear Probe Slowed The International Atomic Energy Agency will be unable to complete its investigation into Iran’s nuclear program by the agency’s mid-June target deadline due to Iranian delays in granting access to international inspectors and in fully disclosing its nuclear activities, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, May 17). “This is ironic since the Iranians are the ones who want the file on them to be closed,” a diplomat close to the Vienna-based organization said today. An official close to the agency said that crucial information from the inspections would not be available for the board of governors meeting in Vienna on June 14. A delay to a round of inspections in March “threw us out of sequence,” the official told AFP...Full Story

U.S. Army Provides No Funds for Vaccine Care Centers By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has not budgeted any money in fiscal 2005 for a widely praised chain of centers for treating soldiers with serious complications from military-administered vaccines, even as the network expands this year...Full Story

U.S. Officials Express Concern Over Possible Additional Sarin-Filled Shells in Iraq Days after a roadside bombing involving an artillery shell suspected of containing sarin, U.S. officials said yesterday that there may be even more such munitions containing the nerve agent in Iraq, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, May 17)...Full Story

	Tuesday, May 18, 2004

Russian Security Head Warns of Terrorists Seeking Weapons of Mass Destruction Russian Federal Security Service Director Nikolay Patrushev warned today of the increasing global threat of terrorism, and of the rising risk that terrorists might acquire weapons of mass destruction, Interfax reported (see GSN, May 18). “According to our estimates, the danger of terrorism approaching the Rubicon separating it from possession of weapons of mass destruction is now growing,” Patrushev said in opening remarks before a ministerial meeting of the Commonwealth of Independent States. The meeting is intended to improve cooperation among CIS members in combating terrorism and eliminating terrorist training camps and financing channels, Patrushev said (Interfax/BBC Worldwide Monitoring, May 18). Back to top

Poland Says It Was ‘Misled’ on Prewar Iraq WMD Poland’s president said Thursday that his nation was “misled” about information pertaining to Saddam Hussein’s arsenal of weapons of mass destruction, CBS News reported (see GSN, Dec. 31, 2003). “Naturally, one may protest the reasons for the war action in Iraq. I personally think that today, Iraq without Saddam Hussein is a truly better Iraq than with Saddam Hussein,” Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski said. “But naturally I also feel uncomfortable due to the fact that we were misled with the information on weapons of mass destruction,” he added. Earlier, Kwasniewski said Poland might begin withdrawing its approximately 2,400 troops from Iraq early next year instead of in mid-2005, as previously stated. Poland was a strong supporter of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq and has until now not criticized justification for the war, according to CBS News. The Bush administration argued for the war primarily based on intelligence that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction. In months of searching, no weapons have been found, according to CBS News (CBS News, May 18). Back to top

IAEA’s Iranian Nuclear Probe Slowed The International Atomic Energy Agency will be unable to complete its investigation into Iran’s nuclear program by the agency’s mid-June target deadline due to Iranian delays in granting access to international inspectors and in fully disclosing its nuclear activities, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, May 17). “This is ironic since the Iranians are the ones who want the file on them to be closed,” a diplomat close to the Vienna-based organization said today. An official close to the agency said that crucial information from the inspections would not be available for the board of governors meeting in Vienna on June 14. A delay to a round of inspections in March “threw us out of sequence,” the official told AFP. “It takes a long time to get analysis of environmental samples (swipes to find traces of radioactive particles) so there is no way to get results in June in order to wrap this thing up,” a Western diplomat said. Iran has “succeeded in slowing down the (investigation) machine,” another Western diplomat said. IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei has said he hopes the agency can finish its investigation by the end of the year, but he warned Saturday that Iran’s transparency thus far has been incomplete. “The jury is still out,” ElBaradei said in response to questions about whether Iran’s nuclear work is peaceful, as claimed by Tehran. The IAEA board condemned the country in March for failing to fully disclose its nuclear activities, causing Iran to delay inspections. Iran failed in October fulfill its promise to disclose all nuclear activities, AFP reported. The International Atomic Energy Agency is also awaiting another, more complete report from Iran on its nuclear activities, which could take “half a year to a year” to evaluate, the official close to the agency said (Michael Adler, Agence France-Press/Yahoo!News, May 18). Meanwhile, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported that international pressure on Iran for greater transparency in its nuclear program has caused a 12-month delay in development of the program. Previous intelligence assessments said Iran could have fissionable material by the middle of this year. However, revelations about its nuclear program in mid-2002 and pressure for more thorough inspections by the IAEA caused delays in the project, according to Haaretz. Intelligence assessments are that it would take Iran 2 1/2 years to begin operating centrifuges and make enough fissionable material for a Hiroshima-sized bomb if its nuclear program continues unabated, Haaretz reported (Aluf Benn, Haaretz Daily, May 18). Back to top       South Asian Rivals Plan Nuclear Talks Next Week India and Pakistan are scheduled to hold talks next week on nuclear confidence-building measures as part of a peace dialogue the two nuclear-armed rivals laid out in February, according to The Hindu (see GSN, April 30). A high-level Pakistani delegation is scheduled to leave May 24 for talks in New Delhi, which are to be held May 26-27, said Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Masood Khan. The talks are set to involve discussions on strategic stability, crisis management, nuclear risk reduction and nuclear asset stewardship, he said. As part of the peace dialogue, the Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries are scheduled to meet by the end of June for talks on several security-related issues, including confidence-building measures and the disputed region of Kashmir, the Hindu reported (B. Muralidhar Reddy, The Hindu, May 18). Khan yesterday praised a statement issued by Indian Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi that her party, which recently won national elections in India, would continue with the peace dialogue, which was established by outgoing Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. “I think it was [a] very positive statement. She said her party would continue to engage Pakistan and it would continue to support the peace process. Other Congress leaders have also give very positive and constructive statements. We welcome them,” Khan said (Agence France-Presse, May 17).   Back to top       Next North Korea Working Talks Expected to be Set South Korea said today that it hopes to hold another round of working group talks in advance of the next round of high-level negotiations on North Korea’s nuclear programs, possibly before July, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 17). “I think a date will be set soon through diplomatic channels,” said South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon (Associated Press, May 18). The next round of high-level talks previously was anticipated to be held in June (see GSN, April 20). Back to top       IAEA Experts to Train Uruguayan Police and Other Personnel to Respond to Nuclear Terrorism An team of International Atomic Energy Agency experts is set to travel to Uruguay to begin training police and other personnel there how to respond to nuclear terrorism, the Xinhua News Agency reported today (see GSN, Sept. 18, 2003).  The training project, a precursor to the deployment of radiation detectors at Uruguay’s borders, was agreed to last week after an IAEA delegation visited Uruguay, said Alvaro Bermudez, an official with the country’s National Nuclear Technology Directorate. Uruguay shares borders with Brazil and Argentina, both of which have nuclear facilities (Xinhua News Agency, May 18). Back to top

U.S. Army Provides No Funds for Vaccine Care Centers By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has not budgeted any money in fiscal 2005 for a widely praised chain of centers for treating soldiers with serious complications from military-administered vaccines, even as the network expands this year. Exactly why is not clear. The Army offered no direct explanation, instead it forwarded requests for information to the spokesman for the Vaccine Healthcare Centers (VHC) Network. Army Col. Renata Engler, who runs the network, cited Army budget constraints and the process of Army budgeting.  Critics of the Defense Department’s vaccine policies have questioned whether there is a strong commitment in the Army and the Bush administration to the network, which by the nature of its work generates evidence of illnesses potentially caused by already-controversial vaccines (see GSN, Feb. 20). By cutting the funding, “the administration is sending the wrong message to the brave men and women who risk their lives to serve our country by telling them their health is not a priority.  In my view it is of the highest priority and I will work to ensure that the program is fully funded,” said Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) in a statement last week. Bingaman plans to introduce an amendment to the fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill, which is on the Senate floor this week, to authorize $10 million for the centers, and “such sums as would be necessary for each fiscal year thereafter.” Significant Work Congress in 2000 directed the creation of the network, which now operates four sites to monitor and treat severe reactions to vaccines given by the military. Since the headquarters center opened in 2001 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, the network has evaluated more than 1,000 patients — military personnel, contractors and civilians — and counseled far more personnel — 139,000 in fiscal 2003 alone — by telephone and e-mail, according to Engler. In addition, the centers’ activities have included: monitoring and researching possible negative effects of vaccines, developing and distributing standards for improving vaccination safety, and providing training, education and guidance about vaccinations to military health care providers. Senior defense health officials publicly praised them this year. “Our Vaccine Healthcare Centers Network is a network of specialty clinics to provide the best possible care in rare situations where serious adverse events follow vaccination,” William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, said in March 30 congressional testimony. In February, Army Surgeon General Lt. Gen. James Peake issued a memorandum repeatedly urging clinicians to utilize the network’s resources, while also noting the much-publicized death of a soldier last year shortly after receiving five vaccinations (see GSN, Nov. 19). While already in operation, the other three centers, at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Va., Womack Army Medical Center at Ft. Bragg, N.C., and the Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas, were expected to have for ribbon cuttings this year. Funding for the network, though, did not appear in the Army’s fiscal 2005 budget request. Engler said she would need a minimum $5.7 million to keep the centers going “with no frills” through the fiscal year. “But as of fiscal year 2005, we’re an unfunded requirement. As of 1 October, our budget is zero,” she said. Suggestions have been made to close down some of the four centers, each of which has 12 clinical staff members, but the centers are overwhelmed, Engler said. In addition to treatment, each is “trying to do all of this massive response [remote consultation] work,” she said. A total of nine centers based at major vaccination centers worldwide were originally envisioned, she said, but added, “We’re really in tight budget times.” Insufficient Prioritization Alleged Critics of the military’s vaccine program suspect an effort to silence the centers. The Bush administration has “clearly decided that the way to reduce any reporting of anthrax vaccine adverse reactions — and the cost of paying for them — is to eliminate the only clinic in the United States doing valid reporting of the illnesses that result from the vaccine,” retired U.S. Air Force pilot and Gulf War veteran Lt. Col. John Richardson wrote in an e-mail. The Pentagon has been under pressure to stop requiring anthrax vaccinations. Four service members and two civilians are anonymously suing the Defense Department and the Food and Drug Administration over the inoculation’s safety, arguing that military personnel should be allowed to refuse the vaccine (see GSN, Jan. 8). Senator Bingaman this year asked Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to reconsider the policy in light of “the potential for serious health consequences for our troops” and an apparent absence of Iraqi biological warfare capabilities. No change has been made. The network lately has been researching several cases of blistering skin rashes and oral ulcers, identified as the rare disease “pemphigus vulgarus,” occurring after anthrax vaccinations. It also is aiding investigations of at least 71 cases of myopericarditis occurring following smallpox vaccinations (see GSN, May 13).  Congress created the network following revelations in the late 1990s that the anthrax vaccine was causing a significant number of serious illnesses among military personnel, said Meryl Nass, another prominent military vaccine critic and physician who regularly treats soldiers with suspected vaccination complications. “Congress pointed out that people, who were becoming ill following vaccinations, needed to be treated appropriately within the military, not just discharged because of their medical disability,” she said. By doing so, the centers inevitably expose vaccine hazards officials may not want to see publicized, she asserted. To some vaccination proponents, the centers are basically “an invitation to leak,” she said. A History of Uncertainty Engler, who is seeking to put network funding into the Army’s next long-term budget plan, the Program Objective Memorandum (POM), offered a different explanation for the network’s uncertainty: a general funding shortage. “We’ve briefed over the last few months numerous venues, and everyone says you’re doing a good job, we need you. … People continue to apologize to us and say we know you’re a good thing, we just don’t know how to pay for you,” she said. Engler said it is not uncommon for new programs not included in the Army’s Project Objective Memorandum to have to compete with other programs for resources. Since the network’s conception, long-term funding has never been certain. The program in its first year was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In fiscal 2002 and 2003, Congress appropriated money for it directly. During this fiscal year, the Army’s North Atlantic Regional Medical Command is sharing funds.  The fact that the Army did not include the program in its previous long-term budget plan [which is the fiscal 2004-2009 POM] could indicate just how much or little it values the network, said defense spending expert Steve Kosiak, budget director of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “To say it’s not in the POM, is to say it’s not enough of a priority for you,” he said. Changing a Way of Thinking Engler said the centers occupy a middle ground between opposition to certain vaccinations and mandatory vaccinations without exceptions. She said she supports the mass vaccinations against anthrax and smallpox, but along with rigorous screening for potential risk factors that could forecast serious reactions and warrant exemptions. She said the centers’ work represents a new approach to understanding the potential consequences of vaccinations that requires a change of thinking in the military and civilian medical communities. Traditionally, the military as well the civilian Centers for Disease Control and Prevention focused on epidemiological analysis, she said, by examining large numbers of vaccinations for problems among a significant number of people. “The problem is that rare adverse events are not as amenable to the epidemiological approach,” she said. Engler’s centers, and the comparable Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment centers at the CDC, offer a clinical, micro-level approach to vaccine safety questions by treating and researching potentially rare but serious reactions.  The medical community needs to come to the view that vaccines are prescription drugs and need to be treated as such, she said. That is, that vaccines pose uncommon though potentially serious complications that often can be avoided by screening patients with potential risk factors, but those factors should not be considered a reason to stop mass vaccinations. Her centers aim to spread that message to military patients and health care providers who, like their civilian counterparts, may have given little attention to the uncommon side effects of vaccinations. “I get [medical] folks who say, ‘What’s the problem? You know.  I stuck my arm out and I’m just fine. It’s just a shot,’” she said. “We want to bring the standards of how prescription drugs are handled to the world of vaccines and it’s a learning curve. There are no bad guys.  We’re teaching people to look at things differently,” she said. Back to top

U.S. Officials Express Concern Over Possible Additional Sarin-Filled Shells in Iraq Days after a roadside bombing involving an artillery shell suspected of containing sarin, U.S. officials said yesterday that there may be even more such munitions containing the nerve agent in Iraq, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, May 17). On Saturday, an artillery shell rigged to explode detonated near a U.S. military convoy in Iraq. While no one was hurt in the blast, U.S. soldiers who later removed the bomb experienced symptoms consistent with low-level nerve gas exposure, a U.S. official said. The bomb apparently contained two chemicals that were designed to mix and produce sarin, but the chemicals did not properly mix when the bomb was detonated, the official said. U.S. officials would not comment on whether the shell was filled with sarin, and whether it indicated that Iraq possessed chemical weapons shortly before last year’s war as the Bush administration has claimed, according to AP. “The jury is still out” as to whether Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons, U.S. State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday that the evidence of sarin was recovered through a field test, which can be imperfect, and that more tests were needed. “We have to be careful,” he said. Former chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq David Kay said the artillery shell might have been a munition that was overlooked when former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein said he destroyed such weapons in the mid-1990s. Kay said that he doubted that the shell came from a hidden stockpile of weapons, AP reported. “It is hard to know if this is one that just was overlooked — and there were always some that were overlooked, we knew that — or if this was one that came from a hidden stockpile,” Kay said. “I rather doubt that because it appears the insurgents didn’t even know they had a chemical round,” he added (Katherine Pfleger Shrader, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, May 17). Back to top

U.S. Soldiers Cleared in British Jet Accident A U.S. Patriot missile crew in Iraq shot down a British Tornado fighter jet in “perceived self-defense in accordance with existing procedures and Rules of Engagement,” U.S. Central Command’s investigation of the March 22, 2003, incident has concluded (see GSN, May 14). The soldiers who shot down the warplane last year during the invasion of Iraq thought the jet was a missile heading toward them due to a failure in the aircraft’s “Identification Friend or Foe” transponder, according to official U.S. and British investigations, the Washington Post reported (Bradley Graham, Washington Post, May 18). Investigators found no evidence of negligence on the part of the Patriot crew and no one has been charged or disciplined. Two British airmen died in the accident (U.S. Central Command Release, May 14). Back to top       Denmark, Greenland, U.S. Close to Radar Deal The United States, Denmark and Greenland are reportedly closing in on a deal allowing expansion of the Thule Air Base radar for use in the U.S. missile defense program, the Nordic Business Report reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 20, 2003). One remaining obstacle to agreement is the question of how much protection U.S. personnel should receive from local criminal prosecution, according to the Danish news agency Ritzau. The United States hopes to reach an agreement with the Nordic countries before May 28 (Nordic Business Report, May 17).     Back to top

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