Iran’s top national security official, Hassan Rohani, defended his country’s nuclear activities today following the release of the latest International Atomic Energy Agency assessment (AFP Photo/Atta Kenare). IAEA Questions Iranian Centrifuge Program, Uranium Traces, More By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The International Atomic Energy Agency yesterday said serious questions remain about nearly all aspects of Iran’s nuclear programs despite Tehran’s pledge last year to suspend much of its atomic activity (see GSN, June 1). In a report to its Board of Governors ahead of a meeting later this month, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Iran continues to produce parts for uranium-enrichment centrifuges, has decided to produce uranium hexafluoride and still plans to build a reactor that could be used in a plutonium-based nuclear-weapon program...Full Story

Kerry Outlines Nuclear Nonproliferation, Bioterrorism Prevention Strategies By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), who is set to challenge President George W. Bush during this year’s presidential election, this week outlined his approaches to preventing nuclear proliferation and acts of bioterrorism (see GSN, June 1)...Full Story

Bush Hails Nonproliferation Successes U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday cited the successes of his administration and the more than 60 nations backing his year-old Proliferation Security Initiative in stemming WMD trafficking, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, June 1)...Full Story

	Wednesday, June 2, 2004

Construction Delays Lead to Fears of Heightened Terror Threat to Olympic Games in Greece Construction delays at the Athens stadium site for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Greece are compromising a $1.2 billion security effort to prevent a terrorist attack on the games, according to security analysts and officials involved in preparations, the Boston Globe reported yesterday (see GSN, June 1). With work crews of many nationalities going to and from the construction site where the various venues are undergoing last-minute construction, the chaos has increased the threat of a terrorist posing as a worker to gain access to the area, according to security analysts.  Delays are also likely to limit the time counterterrorist specialists will have to “lock down and clean” the sites prior to the games’ commencement, as well as the time frame that security personnel will have to familiarize themselves with a complex set of security procedures known as “C-4-I,” or “Command, Control, Communication, Coordination and Integration,” the Globe reported. Intelligence “chatter” indicates that Islamic militant groups plan to carry out a “spectacular” attack this summer, possibly using chemical or biological weapons. The Olympic Intelligence Center, a coordinated operation involving the United States, United Kingdom, Israel, France, Germany, Spain, and Australia, is working to assess threat levels and prevent terrorist attacks on the games (Charles Sennott, Boston Globe, June 1). Back to top

Kerry Outlines Nuclear Nonproliferation, Bioterrorism Prevention Strategies By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), who is set to challenge President George W. Bush during this year’s presidential election, this week outlined his approaches to preventing nuclear proliferation and acts of bioterrorism (see GSN, June 1). In a speech last week, Kerry outlined his views on national security policy, which included a call to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction. During a speech yesterday in West Palm Beach, Fla., Kerry offered several proposals to prevent terrorist groups and rogue states from acquiring nuclear weapons, saying that would be his “No. 1 security goal” if elected. “The Cold War may be over, the nuclear arms race between the Soviet Union and the United States may have ended, but the possibility of terrorists using nuclear weapons is very real indeed,” Kerry said. “The question before us now is what shadowy figures may someday have their finger on a nuclear button if we don’t act. It is time again that we have leadership at the highest levels that treats this threat with the sense of seriousness, urgency, and purpose it demands,” he added. Kerry came under fire yesterday from Bush allies, who accused the senator of offering nuclear nonproliferation proposals similar to those already implemented by the White House and for offering too many “concessions” to countries such as Iran and North Korea. Kerry’s speech put forth “a belated, me-too approach,” Representative Porter Goss (R-Fla.) said yesterday during a press briefing hosted by the Bush presidential campaign. “He hasn’t really finished his job and done his homework,” Goss added. In his speech, Kerry stressed the need to secure stockpiles of weapon-grade nuclear materials, especially those within Russia and the former Soviet Union. He said that he would “ensure” within his first term that all Russian weapon-grade materials would be removed from sites where they were not adequately secured, and said that he would seek during his first summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin an agreement to remove bureaucratic obstacles to U.S.-Russian cooperation to securing Russian nuclear stockpiles. During the Bush campaign’s briefing yesterday, however, former White House deputy homeland security adviser Richard Falkenrath said that Kerry would “embarrass” Putin and hinder threat reduction efforts with Russia by making the issue the centerpiece of his first meeting with the Russian leader. Falkenrath also accused Kerry of seeking to “dictate” that Russia move its nuclear materials to sites considered by the United States to be more secure. Kerry also criticized as too slow a recently announced U.S. Energy Department effort that would seek to recover U.S.- and Russian-origin fresh and spent highly enriched uranium fuel from research reactors around the world within the next 10 years. Kerry said that he would seek to safeguard such material within four years. “We can’t wait — and I won’t wait when I am president,” he said. Kerry said that he would increase funding for the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, which seeks to secure and destroy former Soviet WMD stockpiles; work with U.S. allies to verifiably ban the production of highly enriched uranium and plutonium for weapons purposes; and appoint a coordinator for nuclear terrorism and counterproliferation to oversee nonproliferation efforts. In addition, Kerry said that he would cancel plans to begin research on new “bunker-busting” low-yield nuclear weapons.  “This is a weapon we don’t need.  And it undermines our credibility in persuading other nations. What kind of message does it send when we’re asking other countries not to develop nuclear weapons, but developing new ones ourselves?” Kerry said. During yesterday’s conference call, Goss, along with Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga.), said that bunker-busting nuclear weapons could be useful in attacking underground sites used by terrorists groups and rogue states. “If we knew that [terrorist mastermind Osama] bin Laden is hiding underground, we can pinpoint him and we have a precision-guided missile that will go underground him and get him, yes, I would advocate the use of that weapon,” Chambliss said. Kerry accused the Bush administration during his speech of focusing too heavily on Iraq and ignoring the potential nuclear threats posed by Iran and North Korea. While saying that he would maintain the White House policy of using multilateral talks to seek a resolution to the Korean Peninsula nuclear crisis, Kerry also said that he was willing to offer Pyongyang the prospect of bilateral negotiations. “This problem is too urgent to allow China, or others at the table, to speak for us,” he said, referring to the current six-party talks approach, which involves China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States. The United States should also address the growing threat posed by Iran’s nuclear efforts by organizing a coalition of countries to supply nuclear fuel for its civilian nuclear plants, as Tehran has claimed to be developing, and to recover the spent fuel so that it cannot be used for weapons purposes, Kerry said. “The Iranians claim they’re simply trying to meet domestic energy needs,” he said. “If Iran does not accept this, their true motivations will be clear,” Kerry added. Chambliss, Goss and Falkenrath, however, accused Kerry of being too willing to offer concessions to Iran and North Korea.  “As an American, I would be concerned about somebody wanting to be commander in chief who is right out of the box going to jump in bed … with the Iranians and the North Koreans on a nuclear issue,” Chambliss said. Kerry’s proposal to offer to hold bilateral talks with North Korea on its nuclear program would remove any incentive for Pyongyang to participate in the larger six-party talks, Falkenrath said. He also criticized Kerry for seemingly being unconvinced of Iran’s efforts to develop nuclear weapons. “The senator really should study the intelligence on the Iranian nuclear program more carefully,” Falkenrath said. “There’s no doubt about the true motivation for the Iranian nuclear program. It is to acquire a nuclear weapons capability, and we should not be leaving that idea open,” he added. Bioterrorism Kerry was criticized yesterday from administration supporters for failing to discuss the threat posed by biological and chemical weapons in his address. Today, he outlined during a speech in Tampa, Fla., several measures to prevent terrorist attacks involving biological weapons, including: *         working with U.S. allies to strengthen the international ban on biological weapons and to improve security at laboratories that work with dangerous pathogens; *         giving high priority to U.S.-Russian efforts to improve the security of any remaining Russian biological weapons and to help former biological weapons scientists transition to peaceful, medical work; *         accelerating the development of new treatments and vaccines in the United States to create a “Medical Arsenal of Democracy”; and *         appointing a high-level official, responsible for working with state and local officials, to oversee all bioterrorist prevention efforts and funding. “There are steps we can take to strengthen our biodefense and preparedness to a level that can reduce the threat and prevent a national tragedy.  This will take high-level attention, focused strategies and decisive leadership,” Kerry said. Back to top       Bush Hails Nonproliferation Successes U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday cited the successes of his administration and the more than 60 nations backing his year-old Proliferation Security Initiative in stemming WMD trafficking, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, June 1). “We are determined to keep the world’s most dangerous weapons out of the world’s most dangerous hands,” Bush said in a videotaped message to a conference in Krakow, Poland, marking the anniversary of the initiative created to enable the interdiction of ships carrying WMD-related cargo. Various types of international cooperation under Bush’s program, including intelligence sharing, made possible the interception of a freighter carrying uranium centrifuge components bound for Libya late last year, he said. Bush added that international cooperation under the effort was crucial in discovering and dismantling the nuclear smuggling network led by Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton told representatives of 62 PSI member states to closely examine shipments to and from North Korea, Iran and Syria, which he described as “serious proliferation threats.” Bolton added that cooperation among PSI partners could evolve to the point where “we will have shut down the ability of persons, companies or other entities to engage in this deadly trade ... and we will have made it increasingly difficult and costly for rogue nations and terrorists to engage in their deadly work.” Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski, in another video message, said the threats of proliferation go beyond rogue nations. “The dangers will become even greater if weapons of mass destruction fell into the hands of terrorists,” Kwasniewski said (George Jahn, Associated Press/The News Tribune, June 1). Back to top       Powell Calling on CIA to Explain Incorrect Prewar Iraq Intelligence, Officials Say U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is seeking an explanation from the CIA for the incorrect intelligence that he used as part of a presentation on Iraq’s alleged prewar WMD programs before the U.N. Security Council last year, senior Bush administration officials said yesterday (see GSN, May 24). Powell for several months has especially called on the CIA to explain its sources for the apparently false information that prewar Iraq possessed mobile biological weapons laboratories, according to the New York Times. All four of the sources used by the agency for the claim have fallen into disrepute, and at least two of the sources were defectors introduced to U.S. intelligence by the now-discredited Iraqi National Congress, according to intelligence and government officials. Intelligence officials said earlier this year that one of the four sources for the mobile biological weapons claim had been labeled as a fabricator by the Defense Intelligence Agency in 2002, the Times reported. Information from that source still was incorporated into Powell’s presentation, officials said. During the preparation of his Security Council address, Powell was never informed about the agency’s concerns regarding the source, even though a DIA official was present during two meetings when the presentation was reviewed. “It’s an issue that Powell is intensely interested in,” an administration official said (Jehl/Sanger, New York Times, June 2). Back to top

IAEA Questions Iranian Centrifuge Program, Uranium Traces, More By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The International Atomic Energy Agency yesterday said serious questions remain about nearly all aspects of Iran’s nuclear programs despite Tehran’s pledge last year to suspend much of its atomic activity (see GSN, June 1). In a report to its Board of Governors ahead of a meeting later this month, the U.N. nuclear watchdog said Iran continues to produce parts for uranium-enrichment centrifuges, has decided to produce uranium hexafluoride and still plans to build a reactor that could be used in a plutonium-based nuclear-weapon program. The agency praised Iran for contributing to “good progress” of inspections in the last two months, including by providing documents and allowing IAEA experts into facilities. The agency stressed that “a number of issues remain outstanding,” particularly regarding Iran’s centrifuge program and the presence of enriched-uranium traces on Iranian equipment. “The whole thing is pretty rough for the Iranians,” Brookings Institution proliferation expert Michael Levi said today. The agency has issued two similar reports in the past nine months, each time leading to board resolutions calling for better cooperation from Iran and hinting that stronger action ― such as a referral of the matter to the U.N. Security Council ― could follow (see GSN, March 15). “There are so many things that are unresolved that this isn’t going to be over anytime soon,” said Institute for Science and International Security President David Albright, a former U.N. weapons inspector. Iran late last year promised French, German and British negotiators that it would suspend uranium enrichment activities, which the United States and others fear could be geared toward acquiring a nuclear weapon. Controversy ensued over whether the suspension covered Iran’s production of centrifuge parts at six government and three private facilities, but Iran told the agency that it would halt component production by April 9 of this year. “The agency has been able to confirm this at three workshops,” the agency said yesterday in its report, “but three workshops belonging to private companies have continued production, claiming that they have not received adequate compensation from the AEOI [Atomic Energy Organization of Iran] for the suspension or termination of contracts.” The agency was also prevented for some time from visiting three other workshops operated by Iran’s Defense Industries Organization, but IAEA officials began the inspections this week, visiting two sites by last night. Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Hassan Rohani today acknowledged Iran continues to produce centrifuge parts through the three private workshops, wire services reported from Tehran. According to Rohani, the workshops would not stop production unless the government and the companies reached an agreement on compensation for the lost contracts. Setting out still more limits to its enrichment suspension, Iran told the IAEA May 18 that the suspension does not cover production of uranium hexafluoride. Tehran said in April that it planned “hot tests” of a uranium hexafluoride production line at its Uranium Conversion Facility, prompting the IAEA to respond, according to yesterday’s report, that “given the amounts of nuclear material involved, the hot testing of UCF with UF6 [uranium hexafluoride] gas would technically amount to the production of feed material for enrichment processes.” Experts agreed that the developments indicate Iran is not taking its suspension promise seriously. “There will have to be an attempt to get Iran to agree to what will be a well-defined set of activities that would be covered by an indefinite suspension,” Albright said. “It’s hard to think that it could be accomplished by the June board meeting,” he said. Albright said the United States, European countries and Russia should agree on a framework whereby Iran would be rewarded for meeting clear goals or punished for failing to reach them. “Iran is just not understanding that the EU [European Union] and the United States want an indefinite suspension of all fuel-cycle activities,” he said. Iran Imports Magnets, Makes Rotors; IAEA Questions Centrifuge Tests The agency also expressed a number of other enrichment-related concerns. It said Iran has acknowledged importing magnets for use in P-2 centrifuges “from Asian suppliers,” contradicting the country’s previous claims that the centrifuges and related parts were all produced domestically. Iran told the agency that a private Iranian company “made enquiries with a European intermediary” about purchasing 4,000 of the magnets but that none were ever delivered. Iran also acknowledged producing composite rotors for centrifuges at a Defense Industries Organization facility, contradicting the country’s earlier claim to have produced the rotors through the same private company. The agency also indicated Iran appears to have begun work on P-2 centrifuges earlier than the country claims. According to the report, agency “experts have some questions regarding Iran’s statement that, although … design drawings had been acquired in 1995, no work on P-2 centrifuges was begun until 2001, and mechanical testing of the P-2 composite rotors began only in 2002.” “The experts also expressed doubt,” the report went on, “about the feasibility of carrying out centrifuge tests based on the P-2 designs ― which required the procurement of parts from abroad and the manufacture of casings and centrifuge components ― within the stated period of less than a year.” Uranium Traces Trouble U.N. Agency The report also indicates IAEA concerns about enriched-uranium contamination found at three nuclear sites in Iran. The agency disputed Tehran’s previous claim that the contamination originated in the country ― Pakistan, according to diplomats and experts ― that initially provided the equipment on which the uranium was found. Levi expressed surprise that the agency did not appear even more worried about uranium contamination found at the Kalaye and Farayand sites in Iran, which was enriched to 36-percent uranium 235. He called the presence of the uranium the gravest threat reflected in the report “as far as material things.” “I don’t understand why the IAEA isn’t running around ― folks there aren’t running around with their hair on fire about this 36-percent-enriched uranium,” Levi said. The agency said its investigation into the contamination has been stymied by the “complexity” of new information provided by Iran on the movements of centrifuge components. “It could just be that the parts were moved around so much, and maybe they were even at nuclear sites. … At some point the IAEA can’t go to so many places and try to sort it out,” Albright said. Based on Iranian information and on discussions with the source country, though, the agency called it “unlikely … that the agency will be able to conclude that the 36-percent uranium 235 (U-235) contamination found at Kalaye and Farayand was due to components originating from the state in question.” Experts indicated the most likely origin of the enriched uranium is Russia, adding that Iran could have acquired the material by illicit means or in a deal years ago with a source country. In any case, said Albright, “Pakistan was able to get the IAEA to say that it doesn’t look like it was from Pakistan.” The agency added that it has questions about “why the contamination is different on domestic and imported centrifuges” and “why the contamination at PFEP [the Pilot Fuel Enrichment Facility] at Natanz is different from that found at the Kalaye Electric Co. workshop and Farayand Technique.” Levi said the uranium is cause for serious concern. “It apparently was not found in trace quantities, it is one of the most likely HEU enrichments that might be found on the black market, and if Iran has enough, it can enrich it to bomb-grade in a very small facility,” he said. Experts said the IAEA description of the uranium contamination indicates Pakistan has increased cooperation with the agency and that other parts of the report imply other countries, including Russia, also provided support for the review. “The level of cooperation that Pakistan is providing is not ideal, but it’s fairly impressive,” said Levi, who attributed Islamabad’s stance to “American pressure.” “We haven’t seen it like this in previous reports. We’ve seen calls for all states to cooperate. Here we are seeing descriptions of cooperation from other states,” Levi said. Heavy-Water Reactor Construction to Start This Month In what Albright called the most serious situation described in the report, Iran still plans this month to begin building a heavy-water reactor, the Iran Nuclear Research Reactor, in Arak (see GSN, Sept. 5, 2003). Such a facility could be used to produce plutonium for a weapon program. Iran says the reactor is for producing radioisotopes for medicine and industry, a contention that led the nuclear watchdog to question why Iran had indicated no plans for “hot cells,” structures that would presumably be needed at the site to handle highly radioactive materials. The agency said yesterday that another country provided information indicating Iran was seeking to build hot cells of dimensions that would be “somewhat excessive for the stated radioisotope production and more indicative of that required for handling spent fuel.” After making several contradictory claims to the agency on the question, Iran said May 13 that technical and purchasing problems have ended its plan to build hot cells for “long-lived” radioisotopes. “The IAEA can’t tell Iran, ‘You can’t build a heavy-water reactor,’ and the suspension [of Iran’s nuclear activities] is in such tatters that people are going to have to impose a definition and get Iran to agree,” Albright said. Iran Plays Down IAEA Concerns, but U.S. Alleges Weapon Work Rohani today stressed the positive aspects of the report but said the agency has in some cases “gone into questions that do not concern it.” He highlighted the agency’s praise for recent Iranian cooperation and said continuing IAEA investigations would soon quash concerns about centrifuge development and highly enriched uranium traces. “When we read this report, we see that there are only minor points and nothing important,” Rohani said. Iran’s signature in December 2003 of the Additional Protocol to its IAEA safeguards agreement, Rohani said, means the agency “is free to ask questions and solve the issues” discussed in yesterday’s report. Iran last month submitted its first Additional Protocol declarations to the agency. “So we say there is no need to continue the discussions at the IAEA board,” he said. U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said yesterday before the report was released that Iran has “still not fulfilled the requirements of the Board of Governors, nor has it fulfilled its own commitments to provide full and complete information.” Asked whether Iran is hiding a military nuclear program behind an ostensibly civilian effort, he replied, “I think that’s borne out by the facts, yes.” Albright said that, given the lack of definitive information that characterized yesterday’s report, the IAEA board is unlikely to agree this month on a resolution formally condemning Iran for its nuclear work. He said the matter could easily remain before the board into next year. “Given our political election in November [in the United States], I think that not much is going to happen [at the board’s next meeting] in September unless there’s a major revelation,” Albright said. Levi said whether the board would take action this month “depends on where you place the burden of proof, and the burden of proof long ago shifted to Iran.” He called for “closing the ranks between the United States and Europe” in order to prevent Tehran from exploiting “dissension” among Western countries. “It would be reckless,” Levi said, “to take ambiguity as a sign that things are OK and that you shouldn’t move forward. The question is what the heck you would want to do, but the idea that we’re just waiting for Iran to deliver the proof that everything is OK is a bit naive. The IAEA says it, but they’re not being naive. They’re just being disingenuous.” Back to top       India, Pakistan Schedule Talks for This Month India and Pakistan yesterday agreed to a new schedule of talks to continue a peace dialogue that the two nuclear-armed rivals initiated earlier this year, according to the Los Angeles Times (see GSN, May 24). Experts from the two countries are now set to meet June 19 and 20 in New Delhi to discuss nuclear confidence-building measures, said Indian Foreign Minister Natwar Singh. Following the expert-level talks, the Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries are scheduled to meet for talks on June 27 and 28, Singh said. “The past has been scribbled with booby traps on the ground and high-tension wires above,” Singh said. “We want to put an end to that.  This relation should be based on trust, not mistrust — frankness, not fear,” he added (Paul Watson, Los Angeles Times, June 2). Singh yesterday also proposed that India, Pakistan and China develop a “common nuclear doctrine,” according to Agence France-Presse. “This is a matter that needs to be discussed at the highest level,” he said. Pakistan called Singh’s proposal “innovative” and said that it needed to be studied further, AFP reported (Shaun Tandon, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, June 2). Back to top       IAEA to Reduce Japan Reactor Inspections The International Atomic Energy Agency is set to reduce the frequency of inspections at Japan’s light-water nuclear power reactors from quarterly to once per year, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported today (see GSN, May 12). The agency found that Japan has proven its commitment to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and operates an open, peaceful nuclear program, according to sources cited by the Yomiuri. Agency officials are expected to confirm the inspection reduction as soon as this summer, the sources added. The agency could redeploy the labor and funds saved by such a reduction to monitor nuclear development in countries that the agency considers a greater risk for nuclear proliferation, such as Iran, according to the Yomiuri (Yomiuri Shimbun/Daily Yomiuri, June 2). Back to top

New Jersey Local Police Designate Chlorine Bottle Incidents as Terrorist Acts Law enforcement officials in the New Jersey town of Woodbridge have labeled an incident Saturday night in which a chlorine-filled bottle was thrown into a bar as a crime of terrorism involving chemical weapons, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, May 5). A chlorine-filled water bottle exploded after being thrown through an open window into the Pioneer Tavern, injuring one man when some of the chlorine splashed into his eyes, police said. The man and two emergency first responders were treated at a local hospital. Two other incidents involving exploding bottles occurred Saturday night, and an exploded bottle was found in the driveway of an area school, AP reported (Associated Press, June 2). Back to top       Russia Unlikely to Meet Chemical Weapons Disposal Deadline, Officials Say Russia is unlikely to meet deadlines mandated by the international Chemical Weapons Convention for the elimination of its stockpile of 40,000 metric tons of chemical weapons agents, Russian officials said Monday (see GSN, June 1). On Monday, the Russian State Duma Defense Committee heard from Victor Kholstov, deputy head of the Federal Industry Agency; and Valery Kapashin, head of the Federal Department for the Secure Storage and Disposal of Chemical Weapons, on the progress of Russia’s chemical weapons disposal efforts, a defense committee spokesman said. Kholstov and Kapashin told lawmakers that while Russia was supposed to have destroyed 8,000 metric tons of chemical weapons agents by 2007, it has so far only eliminated 680 metric tons. Russian chemical weapons disposal has received only half the required funding over the last five years, said Nikolay Bezborodov, a Duma deputy and member of the State Commission on Chemical Disarmament. (Interfax/BBC Worldwide Monitoring I, June 1). Meanwhile, Kapashin recently denied that terrorists have been able to steal Russian chemical weapons agents, according to Interfax. “In Russia, there have been no cases of munitions loaded with toxic agents being stolen and no cases of theft of the toxic agents themselves,” he said during a speech before the Duma (Interfax/BBC Worldwide Monitoring II, June 1). Back to top       Defense Department Estimates on Gulf War Nerve Gas Exposure Flawed, GAO Report States Flawed computer modeling led U.S. agencies to conclude there was no connection between potential exposure to chemical weapons by military personnel during the 1991 Gulf War and their subsequent rates of hospitalization and death, the General Accounting Office said yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 4, 2001). The GAO report questions models used by the Defense Department and CIA on the number of troops exposed to chemical agents during the war. The Defense Department said it would stop using computer models on the toxic plumes that resulted from some bombings during the war. However, the department refused to accept a GAO recommendation to stop using the modeling data for studies on Gulf War illness, the Associated Press reported. “The modeling was not flawed,” the Defense Department said in a written response to the report. “The data the DOD used was and is the best information available and any research that desired to use it would know the limitations of the data,” the department added. The CIA told the General Accounting Office it had not had enough time to review the report in order to make a response. Veterans have suffered from illnesses they believe are linked to their service in Gulf, with reported symptoms including chronic fatigue, diarrhea, migraines, dizziness, memory problems, loss of muscle control and loss of balance. Roughly 700,000 veterans have experienced undiagnosed conditions, the GAO report states. The Defense Department estimates that 101,752 service members were potentially exposed to chemical warfare agents during the war (Suzanne Gamboa, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, June 1). Back to top

U.S. Says “Dirty Bomb” Suspect Planned Other Attacks “Dirty bomb” suspect Jose Padilla also plotted with al-Qaeda to attack high-rise apartment buildings in the United States, the U.S. Justice Department said yesterday (see GSN, March 4). Padilla participated in explosives training in Afghanistan in summer 2001 with Adnan El Shukrijumah, one of seven suspected al-Qaeda operatives possibly planning attacks on U.S. soil, according to newly declassified intelligence presented by Deputy Attorney General James Comey at a news conference yesterday, The intelligence, described in a declassified summary, also says the dirty bomb threat to which Padilla is linked had been dismissed by al-Qaeda chieftain Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who reportedly favored a plan to flatten apartment buildings with natural gas explosions. Comey said the press conference was an effort to aid public understanding of the case in response to an April 22 request by Senator Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) for the department to supply whatever information possible about U.S. citizens held as enemy combatants. Padilla, a U.S. citizen, has never been charged with a crime since his arrest nearly two years ago, and he has been held as an enemy combatant. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to rule soon on whether his arrest and detention were constitutional (Richard Schmitt, Los Angeles Times, June 2).   Back to top

About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines

© Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.