Iran has reportedly resumed building uranium enrichment centrifuges, such as those that would be installed at a facility near the town of Natanz (shown in a 2002 satellite image; AFP photo/ISIS). Iran Resumes Nuclear Activities, Could Be “Months Away” From Uranium Enrichment Capability Breaking an agreement with France, Germany and the United Kingdom, Iran has resumed building and testing equipment that could be used to make nuclear weapon material, the (London) Daily Telegraph reported (see GSN, July 23). Iran last month took control again of equipment for uranium enrichment centrifuges that had been sealed by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Western sources said...Full Story

Congress Blocks Bush Conventional ICBM Plan By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — A Bush administration effort to develop a conventional intercontinental quick-strike capability by 2010 was blocked last week by congressional appropriators, who said that other nuclear weapons states might misinterpret the program’s purpose (see GSN, Jan. 26)...Full Story

Bush Asks Cabinet-Level Task Force to “Fast Track” Review of Sept. 11 Commission Recommendations By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday asked the members of a Cabinet-level task force to “fast-track” their review of the intelligence reform recommendations made by the Sept. 11 commission, the White House announced (see GSN, July 26)...Full Story

	Tuesday, July 27, 2004

Bush Asks Cabinet-Level Task Force to “Fast Track” Review of Sept. 11 Commission Recommendations By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday asked the members of a Cabinet-level task force to “fast-track” their review of the intelligence reform recommendations made by the Sept. 11 commission, the White House announced (see GSN, July 26). Bush conducted a videoconference with the task force while at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, said White House spokeswoman Claire Buchan. The members of the task force include White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card, Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, Attorney General John Ashcroft, FBI Director Robert Mueller and acting CIA Director John McLaughlin. “The president charged the group with reviewing the recommendations and impressed upon them the importance of acting quickly,” Buchan said. “The president favors reform.  And he wants a rapid review of the recommendations, so that if we can do anything to make America safer, the president wants to be acting on that as quickly as possible,” she added. The Sept. 11 commission recommended last week a number of proposals to help improve U.S. intelligence, counterterrorism and homeland security efforts, including creation of a national director of intelligence and a National Counterterrorism Center. The commission also called for changes in how Congress oversees intelligence and homeland security efforts. Bush could act “within days” to implement some of the commission’s proposals through executive order, Buchan said. She refused, though, to detail which recommendations that might include. Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Senator John Kerry (Mass.) has said that the president could implement more than half of the commission’s recommendations without congressional action. Lawmakers in both houses of Congress plan to hold hearings over the summer recess to examine the commission’s proposals, with the aim of preparing legislation before the end of the year. Hearings are set to begin next month in the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, the House Select Committee on Homeland Security and both the House and Senate intelligence committees. In addition to the review being conducted by senior administration officials, Bush himself has been reading the commission’s report, according to Buchan. “He is finding it interesting, and he agrees with the commission that we are safer, but not safe, and that there is more to do,” she said. Back to top       Russia Increases Penalties for Terrorist Attacks Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday signed legislation that would allow life sentences in prison to be imposed on those convicted of terrorist attacks using radioactive materials or against Russian nuclear facilities, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, May 5). The legislation also allows Russian courts to impose life sentences for terrorist acts committed by an organized group or that led to wrongful deaths. The legislation was proposed following a bombing on the Moscow subway in February suspected of being carried out by Chechen rebels, AP reported (Associated Press/San Jose Mercury News, July 26). Back to top

Port Congestion Creates Security Threats Insufficient manpower and increasing cargo shipments at U.S. ports could lead to heightened national security threats, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, July 1). The California ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the country’s busiest, are the hardest hit, according to the Times. Workers at the port of Los Angeles cannot keep up with freight shipments, according to David Arian, president of Local 13 of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. The delays are resulting in some new port regulations from the Department of Homeland Security being ignored, he added. “The specific regulations for checking seals to ensure integrity of containers and cargo in them are presently not being enforced,” Arian said. “In terms of checking people coming into the terminals, the only people they’re checking are longshoremen. We’ve been down there 70 years, and we’re the most secure part of the work force. The truckers they don’t check at all,” he added. That is not the case, said Jim McKenna, president of the Pacific Maritime Association, which operates the major West Coast seaports. “I can tell you unequivocally that all PMA members are in compliance with all the federal regulations,” McKenna said.  He said containers were sealed before being loaded on ships heading to the United States and that everyone must present identification or appropriate paperwork to enter a secure marine terminal. “We are responsible for the ports,” McKenna said. “It’s our cargoes, our customers, our workers. The flow of cargo would be disrupted beyond repair for us not to comply with security regulations,” he added. Cargo containers are likely to one day be used as “the poor man’s missile” against the United States, said Stephen Flynn, a retired U.S. Coast Guard commander and a maritime security expert at the Council on Foreign Relations. “The question is when, not if,” said Flynn, author of America the Vulnerable: How Our Government Is Failing to Protect Us From Terrorism. Inspecting every cargo container entering the United States is impossible, according to James Michie, a spokesman for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. However, he said U.S. ports were screening containers at a rate consistent with the current elevated threat alert level. Some containers were physically inspected while radiation-detection devices and other high-technology tools scanned others, he added. “It is a system that is under development; we think it’s the best we’ve got now, but it’s going to get better,” he said. “We think we’re on the right track,” Michie added (John Broder, New York Times, July 27). Back to top       Japan Set to Hold PSI Exercise Japan is set to hold this fall a drill on blocking a shipment of WMD-related cargo based on the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative, the Asahi Shimbun reported today (see GSN, June 2). Japan is expected to propose the exercise during a two-day meeting beginning Aug. 5 in Oslo of PSI operational specialists, the Shimbun reported. The drill, to be held between late October and early November, would involve ships and aircraft from the United States, Australia and other PSI members. In addition, China, South Korea and members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will also be invited to attend the exercise. Potential training scenarios call for ships from the Japanese Coast Guard and other nations to pursue and search boats on the open sea boats (Asahi Shimbun, July 27). Back to top

Iran Resumes Nuclear Activities, Could Be “Months Away” From Uranium Enrichment Capability Breaking an agreement with France, Germany and the United Kingdom, Iran has resumed building and testing equipment that could be used to make nuclear weapon material, the (London) Daily Telegraph reported (see GSN, July 23). Iran last month took control again of equipment for uranium enrichment centrifuges that had been sealed by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Western sources said. However, senior officials from the European powers are planning a secret meeting Thursday in Paris to persuade Iran to cooperate with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, according to diplomats. Some diplomats doubt that the Europeans’ efforts would be effective. “Iran has resumed research and testing, and every day that passes means it gets closer to mastering the technology,” said one Western source. “If the Europeans think they can outfox the Iranians in the carpet bazaar, they are deeply mistaken,” the source added (Anton La Guardia, Daily Telegraph, July 27). Iran is just “months away” from being able to enrich uranium for a nuclear bomb, a situation described as “grave,” the London Times quoted Western diplomatic sources as saying. “Iran appears to be further advanced in acquiring the relevant nuclear technology than we had initially thought,” said a British official. Tehran had bought time by appearing to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency, diplomats said. “Actually they have just continued with the research work and now they are only a few months away from completing the program,” one source said (Michael Evans, London Times, July 27). Back to top       U.S. Energy Department Working on W-76 Nuclear Warhead Replacement, Scientist Says A U.S. scientist said that the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico is quietly working to develop a replacement for the W-76 nuclear warhead, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported today (see GSN, July 9). The proposed W-76 redesign would reduce the overall yield of the weapon by about 40 percent while improving its reliability, according to the scientist. “They have redesigned this thing, and they are calling it a ‘stockpile security design,’” the scientist said. A Los Alamos spokesman would neither confirm nor deny that the facility is working on a replacement for the W-76, which is carried aboard U.S. submarines, the New Mexican reported (Jeff Tollefson, Santa Fe New Mexican, July 27). Back to top       United Kingdom Considers Reviving Cold-War Evacuation Plan in Case of Nuclear Threat The United Kingdom is re-examining a Cold War-era plan to conduct mass evacuations of British cities in the event of an imminent present-day nuclear attack, a senior British official said yesterday (see GSN, June 24). The Civil Defense “dispersal scheme” envisioned the evacuation of as many as 9.5 million people from British cities to rural “reception areas,” according to the London Telegraph. British Emergency Planning Society Chairman John Asquith said that his agency would recommend similar action now if there were information of a possible nuclear attack by a rogue state. The British Cabinet office said, though, that no discussions were being held on relaunching the evacuation plan, the Telegraph reported (Ben Fenton, London Telegraph, July 27). Back to top

Poland to Send Chemical Unit to Olympics Poland has committed 52 chemical contamination specialists to a NATO-led force at this summer’s Olympic Games in Athens, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 20). Based in the southern Polish town of Tarnowskie Gory, the Polish troops are part of the country’s 5th Chemical Battalion, according to the Polish Defense Ministry (Associated Press, July 26). Back to top

U.S., Israel to Test Arrow Missile Interceptor Israel and the United States are set to conduct a test Thursday of the jointly developed Arrow missile interceptor, Israeli officials said yesterday (see GSN, April 29). An Arrow battery has been sent to a U.S. naval base in California for the test, which would involve an attempt to shoot down a Scud ballistic missile over the Pacific Ocean, according to the Associated Press. This would be the first live effort to shoot down a Scud with the Arrow, a television report indicated. The Arrow could be used against Iran’s long-range Shahab-3 missile, the report said (Associated Press, July 26). A successful test would demonstrate that “the Arrow can protect the state of Israel from ground-to-ground missiles that already exist, and from those that will be developed in the coming years,” officials said (Ellis Shuman, IsraelInsider.com, July 27). Back to top

Congress Blocks Bush Conventional ICBM Plan By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — A Bush administration effort to develop a conventional intercontinental quick-strike capability by 2010 was blocked last week by congressional appropriators, who said that other nuclear weapons states might misinterpret the program’s purpose (see GSN, Jan. 26). While U.S. House and Senate appropriators provided $29.1 million for the effort in the form of two projects, the Project Force Application and Launch from CONUS (FALCON) and the Common Aero Vehicle (CAV) programs, they restricted the programs to “non-weapons related research.” The move was finalized when the two houses approved the fiscal 2005 defense appropriations bill last week (see GSN, July 22). The joint Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-Air Force programs are intended to develop and test technologies for deploying conventional munitions from the United States by ballistic missile and aircraft to strike anywhere on the globe in less than two hours.  The FALCON program focuses on developing two launch capabilities — a ballistic missile capability by about 2010, and a runway-launched, reusable spacecraft by about 2025. The Common Aero Vehicle program looks to develop a re-entry vehicle that could be launched by ICBMs or the reusable spacecraft. In budget documents, The Defense Department has said such capabilities would be useful for countering weapons of mass destruction and for using conventional weapons in areas where the United States military does not have an immediate presence. “This capability would free the U.S. military from reliance on forward basing to enable it to react promptly and decisively to destabilizing or threatening actions by hostile countries and terrorist organizations,” according to a DARPA description of the program. The House-Senate conference committee for the bill, however, wrote they “are concerned that safeguards are not in place to guarantee that nations possessing nuclear weapons capabilities would not misinterpret the intent or use of the FALCON/CAV programs.” The legislators directed that the money could only be used “for the development of hypersonic technologies for non-weapons related research,” such as for satellite launches, and said none of the funds could be used to “develop, integrate, or test a CAV variant that includes any nuclear or conventional weapon.” They required further that no funds be spent to develop a Common Aero Vehicle that could be launched by U.S. land- or submarine-launched missiles. The report said that the congressional appropriations committees would consider expanding the scope of the program in future years “if safeguards negotiated among our international partners have been put in place.”   Back to top

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