U.S. President George W. Bush said yesterday that the United States is investigating possible Iranian connections to the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon (AFP photo/Stephen Jaffe). U.S. Investigating Possible Iranian Ties to Sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks The United States is investigating whether there are connections between Iran and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, U.S. President George W. Bush said yesterday (see GSN, July 19). “We will continue to look and see if the Iranians were involved,” Bush said. “I have long expressed my concerns about Iran. After all, it’s a totalitarian society where free people are not allowed to exercise their rights as human beings,” he said. The U.S. commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is set to release a report later this week alleging that Iran aided the travel of at least eight of the hijackers involved in the attacks, according to the Washington Post. On Sunday, though, acting CIA Director John McLaughlin said that there is no evidence of any “official connection” between Iran and the attacks...Full Story

IAEA Inspectors Arrive in Iran A new team of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived Saturday in Iran, according to the Asia Africa Intelligence Wire (see GSN, July 19)...Full Story

ElBaradei Says IAEA Inspectors to Return to Iraq International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors are set to return to Iraq “in the coming days” following a request by the Iraqi government, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said today (see GSN, July 8)...Full Story

	Tuesday, July 20, 2004

U.S. Investigating Possible Iranian Ties to Sept. 11 Terrorist Attacks The United States is investigating whether there are connections between Iran and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, U.S. President George W. Bush said yesterday (see GSN, July 19). “We will continue to look and see if the Iranians were involved,” Bush said. “I have long expressed my concerns about Iran. After all, it’s a totalitarian society where free people are not allowed to exercise their rights as human beings,” he said. The U.S. commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is set to release a report later this week alleging that Iran aided the travel of at least eight of the hijackers involved in the attacks, according to the Washington Post. On Sunday, though, acting CIA Director John McLaughlin said that there is no evidence of any “official connection” between Iran and the attacks. While agreeing with McLaughlin, Bush said yesterday, “Of course, we want to know all the facts. … As to direct connections with September the 11th, we’re digging into the facts to determine if there was one” (Allen/Eggen, Washington Post, July 20). Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi on Sunday accused the Sept. 11 commission of preparing a report “riddled with contradictions and … not based on any documentary evidence” (ISNA/BBC Monitoring, July 19). Back to top       Acting CIA Director Did Not Speak for Bush on Possible Intelligence “Czar,” White House Says Acting CIA Director John McLaughlin was not speaking for President George W. Bush when he said Sunday that it was unnecessary to create a national director of intelligence, the White House said yesterday (see GSN, July 19). “The president is very much open to ideas that build upon the reforms that we’re already implementing,” White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. “I think (McLaughlin) was expressing his view,” he added. McClellan also denied recent media reports that Bush might delay naming a permanent CIA director until after the 2004 presidential election. Bush himself said yesterday that he is “still taking a good, hard look” at possible replacements for former CIA Director George Tenet. Bush also said that he was looking forward to the report set to be released later this week by the Sept. 11 commission, which is expected to call for the creation of a national director of intelligence, among other intelligence reforms. “They share the same desires I share, which is to make sure that the president and the Congress get the best possible intelligence,” Bush said. “Some of the reforms, I think, are necessary: more human intelligence, better ability to listen or to see things, and better coordination amongst the variety of intelligence-gathering services,” he said. “And so we’ll look at all their recommendations, and I will comment upon that, having studied what they say,” Bush added (Chen/Miller, Los Angeles Times, July 20). Back to top       Three Asian Countries Sign Antiterrorism Pact Military leaders from Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore today signed an “immediate execution order” for patrolling the Malacca Strait, a waterway through which half the world’s oil shipments pass, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, June 7). The three countries bordering the strait would provide 15-20 ships to guard the 500-mile waterway year-round against terrorism and piracy, according to AFP. Some international terrorism experts have played down the maritime terrorism threat. However, Singapore military chief Ng Yat Chung said pirates and terrorists could collaborate. “The marrying of terrorism and piracy is of course a very bleak scenario for us and that is something we should not rule out,” Ng said (Victor Tjahjadi, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 20). Back to top

Intelligence Showed Saddam Hussein Had Intent to Produce Banned Weapons, Blair Says British Prime Minister Tony Blair today defended his decision to join the U.S. invasion of Iraq, saying prewar intelligence showed that Iraq posed a threat despite the fact that no weapons of mass destruction stockpiles have been found since the fall of the former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein (see GSN, July 19). “It was absolutely clear that he (Hussein) had every intention to carry on developing these weapons, that he was procuring materials to do so and that, for example in respect of ballistic missiles, he was going way beyond what was permitted by the United Nations,” Blair said in an address before the British Parliament. The British Parliament is set today to begin a debate on the results of an official inquiry conducted on the issue of prewar intelligence on Iraq, according to Agence France-Presse. That inquiry found that while most of the intelligence had been unreliable, Blair and his government did not deliberately exaggerate the information to bolster the case for war (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 20). Back to top       Slovak Unit Prepared to Guard Olympics Slovakia has joined the effort to safeguard the Athens Olympics from terrorism by readying a mobile laboratory able to detect contamination in case of an attack using weapons of mass destruction, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 15). “A radiation unit comprising six members will be on a state of alert from Aug. 1 to 31 at Bratislava airport and will be capable of arriving in Greece within 12 hours in the event of a terrorist attack,” Slovakian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Monika Kuhajdova said. “The laboratory is capable of picking up toxic characteristics and radiation in the air, water and soil,” she added. Greece requested the unit and would be responsible for transporting it to Athens if it were needed, according to AFP (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, July 19). Back to top

IAEA Inspectors Arrive in Iran A new team of inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency arrived Saturday in Iran, according to the Asia Africa Intelligence Wire (see GSN, July 19). The new team is expected to spend a week investigating installations at Isfahan and Natanz, according to an Iranian source (Asia Africa Intelligence Wire/BBC Monitoring, July 19). Meanwhile, Israel yesterday accused Iran of resuming activities associated with uranium enrichment, Agence France-Presse reported. An Israeli military intelligence officer also told a parliamentary committee that the Lebanese fundamentalist Shiite movement Hezbollah could acquire weapons of mass destruction from Iran, military radio reported. The officer added that unspecified Iranian activities violated that country’s commitment to the U.N. nuclear watchdog, according to AFP (Agence France-Presse/IranMania, July 19). Iran vowed that that any Israeli military action against the Islamic republic would result in retaliation, Asia Africa Intelligence Wire reported. “The Israelis and Americans are more aware than anyone else of part of the Islamic republic Iran’s retaliatory capability,” said Guards Commander Mas’ud Jazayeri. “It’s very unlikely that Israel will take such action and provoke a great Iranian attack against themselves,” he added (Asia Africa Intelligence Wire/BBC Monitoring, July 19). Elsewhere, Russia’s nuclear energy chief met with the Iranian ambassador to Moscow yesterday to discuss providing nuclear fuel for Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Associated Press reported. Alexander Rumyantsev and Gholam Reza Shafei discussed construction of the Bushehr plant, which is expected to go online next year. Shafei said Iran would return spent nuclear fuel to Russia, but no final agreements were signed, according to the Associated Press (Associated Press/Jerusalem Post, July 19). Meanwhile, two former U.S. officials argued yesterday that the United States should do more to engage Iran, including allowing the Islamic republic to develop a peaceful nuclear program, the Washington Times reported. Washington could end decades of political wrangling with Tehran and even win an ally in the region by agreeing with the European Union and permitting Iran to acquire enriched uranium under an IAEA inspections regime, said former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski and former CIA Director Robert Gates. “It’s not a question that we and the Iranians would be sitting down and singing ‘kumbaya’ together — but of advancing our national interests,” Gates said.  “This is a whole new game, a new global Balkans, with Iran in the middle with the capacity to influence Afghanistan and Iraq,” Brzezinski said. The two are joint chairmen of a report on Iran released yesterday by the Council on Foreign Relations. They said Iran managed to isolate the United States through international trade links and relations with neighbors, as well as the European Union, Russia and Japan. Waiting for the Islamic regime in Iran to collapse is unrealistic, the report says. “The durability of the Islamic republic and the urgency of the concerns surrounding its policies mandate the United States to deal with the current regime rather than wait for it to fall,” the report concluded (Behn/Chang, Washington Times, July 20). Back to top       ElBaradei Says IAEA Inspectors to Return to Iraq International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors are set to return to Iraq “in the coming days” following a request by the Iraqi government, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said today (see GSN, July 8). “The return of inspectors to Iraq is an absolute necessity, not to search for weapons of mass destruction (WMD), but to draft the final report on the absence of WMDs in Iraq,” ElBaradei said in Cairo (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 20). Back to top       U.S. Officials, Lawmakers, Begin Los Alamos Review A delegation of U.S. officials and lawmakers led by Deputy Energy Secretary Kyle McSlarrow visited the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico yesterday to begin a review of security concerns at the nuclear weapons research facility, according to Agence France-Presse (see GSN, July 19). The delegation spent several hours touring the laboratory, met with employees and received briefings on the recent security lapses, including the reported disappearance earlier this month of classified computer disks, according to Los Alamos officials (Agence France-Presse, July 20). In addition to McSlarrow, the delegation included National Nuclear Security Administration chief Linton Brooks, House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas) and Representative Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), according to the New York Times. “I was frankly dismayed after previous security breaches to see how these new problems could erupt,” DeGette said after the visit. “It’s clear to me the steps the previous leadership took were woefully inadequate. I don’t think some of the researchers understand the seriousness of complying with all security procedures,” she added. DeGette also said that while Los Alamos Director Peter Nanos may be committed to improving security at the facility, the House energy committee would “keep a very close eye on this” (Chang/Blakeslee, New York Times, July 20). Meanwhile, Los Alamos officials told the delegation that they are still searching for the two missing computer storage disks, according to the Los Angeles Times. “I think in the short term they will be beefing up security measures,” DeGette said. “We want both short-term and long-term changes,” she added. (Vartabedian/Hanley, Los Angeles Times, July 20). Back to top       Bolton Visits Seoul to Discuss Nuclear Crisis U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton held talks today in South Korea on weapons proliferation and North Korea’s nuclear weapons programs, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 19). Bolton arrived in Seoul yesterday for a four-day visit and met with Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon and other top security officials today, according to the Foreign Ministry. Today’s talks had been expected to focus on “a variety of nonproliferation issues, including North Korea,” according to a U.S. Embassy statement. Bolton is expected to give a speech and hold a press conference tomorrow, according to the embassy (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 20). Back to top       Japanese Scientists Pursue Safer Plutonium Japanese scientists are working to create plutonium that could not be used to make nuclear weapons, the Daily Yomiuri reported today (see GSN, June 16). Researchers at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in 2003 began a five-year study on ways to create plutonium unusable for weapons. The scientists have found that if neptunium and other transuranic elements are mixed into uranium and burned as fuel, the plutonium in the resultant spent fuel consists more of plutonium 238, which is less usable for weapons, than of plutonium 239, according to the Daily Yomiuri. Institute researchers have also praised the process for eliminating neptunium, which is currently disposed of as waste. However, there are some concerns about the process, according to the Daily Yomiuri. For example, some scientists question whether there is enough neptunium, which is only contained in small amounts in spent nuclear fuel, for the process. In addition, plutonium 238 is dangerous because of the large amount of heat it generates, the Daily Yomiuri reported. The Tokyo Institute of Technology plans to begin an experiment with U.S. researchers that would involve uranium mixed with neptunium being used as fuel in a nuclear power plant in Idaho, according to the Daily Yomiuri. “If the experiment is successful, it will be the first step toward making plutonium that can be used for peaceful purposes only,” Tokyo Institute of Technology associate professor Masaki Saito said (Masae Honma, Daily Yomiuri, July 20). Back to top       China Opens Former Nuclear Test Site to Tourists A former secret nuclear testing facility in northwest China has become a tourist destination for sightseers during the buildup to the 40th anniversary of the country’s first atomic blast in October, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, June 22). The Nuclear City research facility employed at one point more than 30,000 scientists, technicians and soldiers involved in China’s nuclear weapons program, AFP reported. The site was closed down and converted to civilian use in 1987 (Agence France-Presse/Radio Australia, July 19). Back to top

Biological Weapons Convention Experts Meet A meeting of experts from nations belonging to the Biological Weapons Convention opened yesterday in Geneva (see GSN, Nov. 18, 2003). The meeting is expected to last two weeks. The first week is set to focus on strengthening efforts for surveillance, detection, diagnosis and combating of infectious diseases. Enhancing international capabilities for responding to, investigating and mitigating the effects of cases of use of biological weapons or suspicious outbreaks of disease is expected to be covered in the second week (United Nations release, July 16). Back to top       Governors Conduct Biological Attack Exercise U.S. governors yesterday participated in a “tabletop” bioterrorist attack simulation conducted by the U.S. Homeland Security Department, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Dec. 1, 2003). The simulation involved anthrax brought to the United States by al-Qaeda through ports and spread by crop-duster airplanes, according to one person who attended the closed-door session in Seattle led by Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. The governors were faced with a scenario of simultaneous attacks in cities in several states and then discussed responses. “This is just a little taste,” said Governor Janet Napolitano (D-Ariz.). “If they’re well run, I’ve always found them to be very helpful,” she added. Governors attending their annual association meeting said they appreciated the overall effort by Ridge to distribute antiterrorism resources to states, according to the Associated Press. “Can we prevent all possibilities? Absolutely not,” said Governor Ed Rendell (D-Pa.). “But we’ve been able to get a lot of the money we need,” he added (Robert Tanner, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, July 20). Back to top

Iran Shows Victims of Iraqi Chemical Weapons Attacks Iran yesterday displayed victims of Iraqi chemical weapons attacks from the two countries’ 1980-1988 war to protest the fact that such attacks are not included in the list of war crimes prepared against former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, according to Agence France-Presse (see GSN, July 9). The war crimes against Hussein now only include chemical weapons attacks conducted on Iraq’s Kurdish population. “I want our case to be presented to the court in Baghdad as soon as possible, just as Kuwait’s case was presented,” said Ameneh Ebrahimian, a survivor of a 1987 Iraqi chemical attack on the town of Sardasht who was involved in yesterday’s media event. About 4,500 Iranian civilians were exposed to mustard gas in that attack, AFP reported. Iran’s Society for Chemical Weapons Victims Support, which organized the event, said that 45,000 veterans suffer from chemical injuries (Farhad Pouladi, Agence France-Presse/TurkishPress.com, July 20). Back to top       Additional Trial Burns Completed at Chemical Depot Follow-up incinerator testing requested by Alabama environmental regulators was completed at the U.S. Army’s Anniston chemical weapons depot on Saturday, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 19). ”Our preliminary data looks extremely good,” site manager Tim Garrett said in a statement released yesterday. A brief report would be sent to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management for review, he added. Earlier this month, state officials told the Army to repeat a trial run destruction of M55 rockets filled with sarin nerve agent because the state had not approved the test method used in April. The new tests went according to plan and no flaws were detected, according to the Army (Associated Press/Gainesville Sun, July 19).   Back to top

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