Iranian Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency Pirooz Hosseini (left) attended the opening address today of the IAEA Board of Governors meeting in Vienna (AFP photo/Dieter Nagl). IAEA Seeks Answers From Iran By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire VIENNA — The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency today called for better cooperation from Iran so that the agency can have a clear picture of the country’s long-hidden nuclear programs “within the next few months” (see GSN, June 11)...Full Story

Powell: Terrorism Report “Very Embarrassing” By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday that he was embarrassed by a State Department terrorism report that misstated the number of terrorist incidents that occurred worldwide last year (see GSN, June 11)...Full Story

Possible California Anthrax Exposure Raises Concerns The number of facilities performing anthrax research has increased significantly in recent years without corresponding regulation hikes, experts said last week following the possible exposure of seven California researchers to the biological agent (see GSN, June 11)...Full Story

	Monday, June 14, 2004

Terrorism Report “Very Embarrassing” By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday that he was embarrassed by a State Department terrorism report that misstated the number of terrorist incidents that occurred worldwide last year (see GSN, June 11). The State Department in April released its 2003 Patterns of Global Terrorism report, which claimed that the number of terrorist incidents has been on the decline over the past three years and that last’s years count, 190, represented the lowest reported total since 1969. U.S. officials at the time trumpeted the report as evidence that the United States was winning the war on terrorism.  Late last month, however, two U.S. academics published an opinion piece in the Washington Post criticizing the State Department for mischaracterizing the information in the report. The only verifiable information in the report shows that the number of terrorist incidents has instead increased annually over the past few years, according to Princeton University economics professor Alan Krueger and Stanford University political science professor David Laitin. The State Department acknowledged last week that it had underreported the number of terrorist incidents that occurred in 2003 and announced plans to soon release an updated version of the terrorism report. In an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press yesterday, Powell went even further and said that the report was “very embarrassing.” “I am not a happy camper over this. We were wrong,” Powell said. He denied any “political” motivations behind the incorrect numbers in the report, and instead blamed the error on poor “data collecting and reporting” procedures. “I don’t think there was anything political or policy-driven about it. It was just data that was incorrect or it wasn’t properly measured compared to the way it was measured in previous years,” Powell said. During an appearance on ABC’s This Week With George Stephanopoulos, though, Powell seemingly defended the main thrust of the report — that terrorism still poses a threat to international security. “If you read the report, though, the report makes it clear that terror is a continuing problem. We didn’t say it had gone away,” he said. Powell also said yesterday on Meet The Press that he is set to meet today with officials from a number of agencies involved in the preparation of the report, including the State Department, CIA and the Terrorist Threat Information Center, to discuss how the errors occurred. “They are working all weekend long and they will have a big meeting … to figure out where the errors crept in, why they crept in, and we’re going to correct this report as quickly as possible,” Powell said on This Week. Back to top

U.S. Senate Intelligence Panel May Release Prewar Intelligence Report Without CIA Approval The head of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has warned that his committee might vote to release a 400-page report concerning U.S. prewar intelligence on Iraq without approval from the CIA, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, June 9). While an unclassified version of the report was set to be released this month, CIA officials have said that it may take months to complete an agency review, according to AFP. Committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said that he wants to work with the CIA on releasing the report, but added that his panel might vote to release the unclassified version before the CIA completes its review. “It’s taking too long. It’s been long enough.  It’s a good report. It’s not a good-news report, but it should be made public,” Roberts told CNN (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, June 13). Back to top       Greek Soldiers Complete Chemical Attack Training A second group of Greek military specialists finished training Friday in the Czech Republic on preventing and responding to potential chemical attacks at this summer’s Olympic Games in Athens, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, June 4). Two teams of 24 soldiers each received a week of training, which included working with substances such as sarin, soman, VX and mustard gases, according to the Czech Defense Ministry. Maj. Zagas Ioannis, who led the second Greek trainee group, said he believes the two countries’ armed forces are likely to work together in the future on WMD-related security. The Greeks also hoped to acquire equipment used by the Czech specialists. “Greece has expressed interest in several special items of equipment and material that the Czech chemical specialists use,” said Czech Defense Ministry spokesman Jan Pejsek. Some Czech specialists could also be deployed in Athens during the games, according to Agence France-Presse (Agence France-Presse, June 11). Back to top       OECD Urges Tighter Container Security A comprehensive international strategy for container security is needed to keep terrorists from tampering with cargo or setting up their own trade identities to ship dangerous materials, according to a report released last month by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (see GSN, May 21). “Although elements of such a framework are emerging in different countries, regions and segments of global industries, a fully integrated approach has not been implemented anywhere in the world yet,” the report says, according to the CalTrade Report. The weakest link in the transportation chain is container security during inland transport, according to the report, Container Transport Security Across Modes. The report also concludes that the threat of weapons of mass destruction being delivered through an anonymous shipping container “has risen above other terrorist-linked threats to containerized transport and has become a principal driver of international transport security policy since 2001.” The report focuses on two particular terrorist attack scenarios: a hijacking in which terrorists intercept and tamper with a delivery; and a “Trojan horse” situation in which terrorists adopt false identities in order to move dangerous shipments. The organization recommends establishing “clear container handling rules; increasing security at rail yards, road stops and loading facilities; sealing containers with high-security mechanical seals; and other measures to minimize security risks.” The report also calls for improvements in shipper responsibility, container security, inland security, and international rules and recommendations to tackle such threats, according to CalTrade. Parties responsible for packing a container “are the most important link in the container security chain,” according to the report. “They should help to establish, and follow, clear container ‘stuffing’ and sealing protocols and initiate the start of a clearly auditable trail for all containers,” the report adds (CalTrade Report, June 12). Back to top

IAEA Seeks Answers From Iran By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire VIENNA — The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency today called for better cooperation from Iran so that the agency can have a clear picture of the country’s long-hidden nuclear programs “within the next few months” (see GSN, June 11). Director General Mohamed ElBaradei opened a meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors here by calling on Iran to be “proactive and fully transparent.” Despite his call for wrapping up the current special probe of Iran in short order, diplomats here continue to say Iran is likely to remain on the board’s agenda into next year. Although Iran has maintained since last year that it is coming clean about its atomic activities, the United States and others continue to accuse Tehran of hiding a nuclear military program behind ostensibly peaceful work. An IAEA report to the board ahead of this week’s meeting highlighted continuing inconsistencies between information Iran has provided on its programs and the findings of inspectors in the country. “Iran needs to come clean and abide by its international agreements,” White House spokesman Scott McClellan said today, according to Reuters. In a statement to the closed-door meeting here, Iran rejected such charges. It called on the board immediately to stop treating it as a special case and instead begin normal implementation of Iran’s safeguards agreement and its Additional Protocol, which allows enhanced IAEA inspections. Iran has not yet ratified the protocol but has promised to act as if it were in force. The board began its meeting with discussion of its annual report to the IAEA General Conference and is not expected to take up Iran’s case until midweek, according to diplomats. Also on the agenda are an annual report on the agency’s Technical Cooperation Fund, approval of Additional Protocols for Albania, Cameroon and Morocco, and strategies for decommissioning nuclear facilities and for improving emergency response to nuclear and radiological incidents (see GSN, June 10). Already being discussed in side meetings, though, is a resolution by European countries calling on Iran to better cooperate with the agency. Recent board resolutions on Iran have generated fierce debate over how harshly to condemn the country and whether to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council in New York. However, amid continued charges that Iran is not cooperating as well as was hoped, hard-liners and those advocating more leniency now appear to be finding common ground. ElBaradei called on Tehran and its suppliers to provide more information on enriched-uranium contamination found by IAEA inspectors at sites in Iran, particularly traces of 36 percent-enriched uranium. The country maintains the material was already present when the contaminated equipment was imported. “Further sampling, coupled with cooperation by third parties,” Iran said in its statement, “will … confirm Iran’s account of the only outstanding contamination issue on the origins of the 36-percent contamination.” The IAEA chief said the agency also needs a better understanding of Iran’s work with P-2 centrifuges. He said Iran has provided “changing and sometimes contradictory” information on the subject. To illustrate his point, ElBaradei said that Iran reported last October on its programs to the agency without mentioning the centrifuges; that in January, the country said it had received P-2 drawings but had no components for the centrifuges; and that in April and May, Iran said it had imported P-2 components and attempted to obtain thousands of magnets for the centrifuges. Iran said its “information and explanations” regarding “the P-2 centrifuge program have been full and consistent and have not in any case involved changing or contradictory information.” Allegations to the contrary, it said, “may have been caused by insufficient review of the previously conducted interviews.” Iran provided a timeline of IAEA interviews with a private, former Iranian government engineer who it said led development of the P-2 centrifuges beginning in early 2002. Iran said allegations that its claims were inconsistent were based on generalizations about what the engineer said that did not reflect the exact language used in the interviews. IAEA inspectors in Iran, the country said, have since February conducted “one of the most robust and intrusive verifications in the history of the agency.” ElBaradei praised Iran for the cooperation it has provided but added, “The central question is whether Iran’s uranium-enrichment activities have been fully declared.” Turning to Libya, roundly praised since its move last December to open up and dismantle its WMD programs, ElBaradei said the country has “proactively cooperated with the agency by providing information and prompt access to all locations requested.” Still in question, ElBaradei said, are the origin of uranium hexafluoride Libya received in 2000 and 2001, Libya’s plans for uranium hexafluoride production and the source of enriched uranium contamination found on Libyan centrifuge equipment. The agency found last year that safeguarded nuclear materials in 144 of 146 countries with safeguards agreements “remained in peaceful use or were otherwise adequately accounted for,” ElBaradei said. Iran and Libya were the exceptions. Late Payments Improve Technical Cooperation Outlook Following controversy at the board’s March meeting over funding for the Technical Cooperation Fund, spurred by diminished contributions from Japan and Germany, ElBaradei said recent late payments have mitigated the problem but stressed the need for “adequate and reliable funding for the TC program” that helps countries develop peaceful nuclear programs. “The situation of the TCF was a matter of some concern at our March board meeting. … Since that time, a number of member states have made contributions to the 2003 TCF, bringing the rate of attainment for 2003 to 86.8 percent ― the highest percentage ever achieved, although below the target rate of 90 percent agreed for that year,” ElBaradei said. “This is a positive development offset, however, by the fact that late payments, particularly those involving large contributions, lead to program uncertainty and have an impact on operational efficiency. … In order to facilitate efficient and effective budgeting and program delivery, TC funding must be timely, predictable and assured,” he said. Despite the funding problem and hindrances such as the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome and “security-related issues in a number of regions,” ElBaradei said, the Technical Cooperation program last year delivered a record $76.1 million in assistance to countries. “This naturally has continued to help developing countries in many areas,” he said, citing in particular a new effort by the agency to step up help related to cancer treatment. The fund is submitting its annual report to the board this week, but any major discussion of the funding controversy is expected to be put off until a future board meeting. Back to top       North Korea Condemns G-8 Declaration; Gov. Bill Richardson Urges “Final Push” on Nuclear Talks Last week’s call by the Group of Eight global economic leaders for North Korea to end its nuclear programs is an effort “to make another Iraq case,” Pyongyang said yesterday (see GSN, June 10). “We cannot but wake up to all those attempts to divide and devour our country like they did Iraq,” a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said, according to Agence France-Presse. “It will never be possible for them to make another Iraq case in (North Korea),” the spokesman added. In a joint declaration, the G-8 countries — Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — last week backed Washington’s demand for complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear programs (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, June 13). Meanwhile, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the Clinton administration, urged the United States and North Korea to narrow their differences during the next round of expected talks in Beijing. “I would urge both sides to give it one final push,” said Richardson. “Otherwise, unless there’s progress in this next round, there will be no progress until after the election,” he added. Pyongyang seemingly hopes for a softening of U.S. policy if Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, is elected, according to the Associated Press. Richardson added that he hoped the United States and North Korea would hold bilateral talks during the expected multilateral meeting (Christopher Torchia, Associated Press, June 14). Back to top       U.S. Company Agrees to Pay $300,000 Fine for Illegal Nuclear-Related Export to India The U.S. company Berkeley Nucleonics Corp. (BNC) was fined $300,000 last week after pleading guilty to illegally exporting nuclear technology to India, according to the Alameda, Calif., Times-Star (see GSN, April 9). The company was indicted in 2001 on one count of conspiracy and six counts of violating U.S. export control regulations. Federal authorities charged that Berkeley Nucleonics illegally exported a pulse generator, which can be used to calibrate nuclear instruments and in some military applications, to the Indian Atomic Energy Department’s Bhaba Atomic Research Center. Exports of pulse generators are generally prohibited without prior U.S. government approval, and exports to the Bhaba Atomic Research Center also require separate prior approval (Josh Richman, Alameda, Calif., Times-Star, June 12). Back to top       Indian Authorities Investigating Attempted Sale of Nuclear Weapons Information by Businessman Indian authorities yesterday interrogated a businessman extradited from the United Arab Emirates on suspicion that he attempted to sell information related to India’s nuclear weapons program, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, April 8). U.A.E. authorities arrested Akhtar Hussain Ahmed after he allegedly attempted to sell information to a foreign diplomatic mission, said Bombay Police Joint Commissioner Satyapal Singh. Ahmed was taken into custody by Indian authorities Saturday, Singh said, adding that Bombay police are investigating reports Ahmed has a brother working as a nuclear scientist in India. Ahmed had been under surveillance for several years and has confessed to attempting to sell nuclear secrets on his own, AP reported (Associated Press/USA Today, June 13).  Back to top       Energy Dept. Fines Y-12 Plant Contractor for Fire The U.S. Energy Department has levied an $82,500 fine against the company BWXT, which operates the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn., for an April 2003 fire at the facility, the Associated Press reported last week (see GSN, Jan. 23). The fire occurred during an experiment involving wet uranium powder that became overpressurized and exploded, causing a chemical reaction and fire. The Energy Department cited BWXT for a series of violations of operational and technical safety requirements, AP reported (Associated Press/WATE.com, June 10). Back to top       French Firm to Recycle U.S. Military Plutonium The United States plans to use a French nuclear firm to recycle U.S. military plutonium stockpiles for eventual use in energy production, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, May 10). According to the terms of the contract, reportedly worth between $250 and 300 million, the United States has requested that Areva set up test facilities in France before building a factory in the United States. The company received permission for the project from France and is awaiting approval from nuclear security regulators in that country to build several mixed oxide (MOX) treatment sites in southern France. “This program cocks a snook at history. This plutonium, it was Hiroshima, now it will be used to produce kilowatts,” said Michel Pibarot, chief of the plant in Cadarache. The Bush administration has pushed for converting former nuclear weapon materials into nuclear power plant fuel, according to Agence France-Presse.  During the program test period set for the second half of 2004, 140 kilograms of U.S. weapon-grade plutonium is expected to be shipped to France from Charleston, S.C. A gram of plutonium can produce as much energy as 1.5 tons of oil, according to AFP. MOX fuel pellets made from the plutonium would be tested in Duke Power nuclear reactors in the United States, said Areva executive Arthur de Montalembert. Areva eventually plans to build a plant in the United States to convert 34 tons of plutonium into nuclear fuel. Work is set to begin in mid-2005, and the site is expected to begin operating in 2008 (Beatrice Le Bohec, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, June 13). Back to top

Possible California Anthrax Exposure Raises Concerns The number of facilities performing anthrax research has increased significantly in recent years without corresponding regulation hikes, experts said last week following the possible exposure of seven California researchers to the biological agent (see GSN, June 11). “This is a cautionary tale,” Jonathan Tucker, a senior researcher at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and an expert in biological weapons, told the San Mateo County Times. “You have a lot of inexperienced researchers working at facilities around the country on these projects,” he added. Up until about five years ago, only about 10 to 15 researchers in the United States were studying anthrax, according to the Times. Interest and government funding for such work have increased since then, according to Martin Hugh-Jones, an anthrax expert at Louisiana State University. “Developing an anthrax vaccine is a popular area of research,” said Hugh-Jones. “Give me a name of an institute and they’re working on it,” he added. The exposure incident at Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute, in which researchers were exposed a live anthrax they thought was a dead version of the virus, highlights insufficient regulation of the booming biological defense industry, said Richard Ebright, a microbiology professor at Rutgers University in New Jersey. “This is a gap in regulation,” Ebright said. “This incident shows that material that is purportedly inactivated can have viable, recoverable agent. And because there are no regulations, no paper trail, this is a gap through which malicious organizations could obtain select agents without a paper trail and perhaps with serious safety incidents,” he added. After Sept. 11, 2001, Congress and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tightened rules on the handling of select agents, the three categories of microorganisms believed to pose the greatest threat of use in bioterrorism. However, the federal health agency has since removed inactivated agent and avirulent or vaccine strains from the list, effectively exempting them from all regulation. Inactivated anthrax bacteria are not subject to the registration, security, shipping or biological safety rules of select agents, according to the Times. Thomas Voss, a vice president at Southern Research Institute of Frederick, Md. — the organization that provided the Oakland laboratory with the live strains — said a review of the mistake is focused on the neutralization procedure used on the bacteria. Oakland researchers requested the bacteria be killed by heat treatment in boiling water, Voss said. Some experts said hot water would not kill all the anthrax spores.  “If it is what it appears to be, it represents an institutional and a regulatory failure,” said a veteran anthrax researcher. “I would expect SRI to catch an incredible amount of heat and perhaps be closed down for a while,” the researcher added. The CDC is launching a full investigation into Southern Research, according to the Times (Vesely/Hoffman, San Mateo County Times, June 12).   Back to top

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