German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer (shown in a July 26 photo) has warned Iran against resuming uranium enrichment, which Western leaders fear would part of a nuclear weapons program (AFP photo/Thierry Monasse). Iran Moving Toward Uranium Enrichment, Diplomats Say Iran seemingly is moving closer to resuming uranium enrichment through activities including producing a gas that could be used to make nuclear weapons, Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, July 28). Tehran appears to be testing machinery used to make uranium hexafluoride gas, and produced some gas as a side effect of that work, diplomats said. They added that they did not know how much hexafluoride was made or when the testing began...Full Story

Bush Preparing Response to Intelligence Proposals U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to begin announcing plans to implement some of the intelligence reform recommendations made by the Sept. 11 commission within days, administration officials said yesterday (see GSN, July 28)...Full Story

Scientist Says N. Korea Tests Chemicals on Prisoners North Korea routinely tested chemical agents on political prisoners in preparation for a possible attack on South Korea, a former scientist for that country said in an interview televised Tuesday (see GSN, March 3)...Full Story

	Thursday, July 29, 2004

Bush Preparing Response to Intelligence Proposals U.S. President George W. Bush is expected to begin announcing plans to implement some of the intelligence reform recommendations made by the Sept. 11 commission within days, administration officials said yesterday (see GSN, July 28). While at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, Bush has been preparing executive orders and a speech on his plans, administration officials said. Bush yesterday held a second teleconference with national security officials to discuss possible responses to the commission’s recommendations, according to the Washington Post The first of numerous congressional hearings on the report is set for tomorrow, with commission Chairman Thomas Kean and Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton to appear before the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. Hamilton said yesterday that he and other commissioners would oppose attempts by either the president or lawmakers to make substantial changes to their recommendations. “We believe that the reforms are a package and that if some are broken off, then the result is that you diminish the impact of our recommendations,” Hamilton said. “You end up with something of less value,” he added. The commission is examining a proposal by Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.), who is set to accept his party’s presidential nomination today, to extend its work for another 18 months, Hamilton said. However, Republican Commissioner Fred Fielding called the proposal a “bad idea,” saying that the commission is seeking other ways to remain engaged in intelligence reform efforts (Allen/Eggen, Washington Post, July 29). The commission’s recommendations, some of which would reorganize the intelligence community, would reduce the influence of the CIA and increase the influence of the Defense Department, intelligence experts told the Washington Post. One commission proposal would establish a number of intelligence centers that would focus on specific topics, such as weapons of mass destruction and regional issues. The CIA today primarily handles such work, but the FBI or Defense or State departments could also operate the new centers, according to the commission. Members have said they hope each center would be the president’s main source of analysis for its specific issue (Walter Pincus, Washington Post, July 29). Meanwhile, the commission has praised the reforms undertaken by the FBI and Director Robert Mueller since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to Associated Press. Changes include making counterterrorism the agency’s priority and developing a new FBI intelligence service, AP reported. “We think he’s doing exactly the right thing,” Kean said (Curt Anderson, Associated Press/Washington Times, July 29). Back to top       British University Opens Disaster Response Center A British university yesterday opened a center to develop British and European protection procedures for chemical, biological and nuclear attacks, according to Associated Press. The Resilience Center at Cranfield University in central England, to be run in conjunction with the Defense Academy, is set to investigate government and private sector preparedness for deliberate and natural disasters, including outbreaks of diseases. Ivar Hellberg, who will head the center, said the terrorism threat is smaller than the danger of epidemic diseases. “These other things are really much more likely,” he said, adding, “We’ve really got to tackle those as well and not be preoccupied by terrorism” (Jane Wardell, Associated Press/Macon Telegraph, July 28). Back to top

WMD Units on Alert for New York GOP Convention Three military teams trained to deal with chemical, biological and radiological weapons are set to be deployed during the Republican National Convention in New York, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, July 6). The unit, called a Civil Support Team, is made up of federally supervised New York National Guard personnel, according to the Times. Three teams are expected to be deployed in the city during the convention, which is scheduled from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2 at Madison Square Garden. Teams will come from New York, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, officials said (Michael Slackman, New York Times, July 29). Back to top

Iran Moving Toward Uranium Enrichment, Diplomats Say Iran seemingly is moving closer to resuming uranium enrichment through activities including producing a gas that could be used to make nuclear weapons, Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, July 28). Tehran appears to be testing machinery used to make uranium hexafluoride gas, and produced some gas as a side effect of that work, diplomats said. They added that they did not know how much hexafluoride was made or when the testing began. Along with reports Tuesday that Iran had restarted building centrifuges, the new revelation has increased concern that Iran is moving toward full uranium enrichment, despite promises not to do so, according to AP. Tehran is challenging the International Atomic Energy Agency’s call to halt all enrichment-related activities, the United States alleged. “It certainly raises questions about other commitments Iran has made concerning its nuclear program,” said State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli. IAEA officials would not comment on the reports (George Jahn, Associated Press/Fort Worth Star-Telegram, July 28). Representatives from Germany, France and the United Kingdom met today in Paris with Iranian officials to discuss the latest revelations, a French Foreign Ministry spokesman said (see GSN, July 1).  “I hope that Tehran understands that this is not the right way to go,” German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said yesterday (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 29). Meanwhile, the U.N. nuclear watchdog announce yesterday that it would submit a new report on Iran’s nuclear activities during the organization’s board meeting on Sept. 13, the Xinhua News Agency reported. An IAEA press release expressed hope that some questions regarding Iran’s nuclear work would be clarified in the new report, according to Xinhua. However, agency spokeswoman Melissa Fleming would not comment on media reports that Iran has resumed manufacture of centrifuges. “We will always remain neutral,” she said (Xinhua, July 29). Elsewhere, Israel’s army chief said Tuesday that Iran’s nuclear ambitions must be halted by international pressure. “A military operation is not absolutely necessary to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear capabilities,” Gen. Moshe Yaalon said. “If we look at Libya we can see that international pressure can be very effective,” he added. “Israel is taking the risk that Iran acquires a nuclear capability very seriously,” Yaalon said.  On Monday a spokesman for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards was quoted threatening that Iran would wipe Israel “off the face of the earth” if it attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 28). Back to top       U.S. Envoy Has Set of Instructions in Discussions With China of North Korea Nuclear Crisis A senior U.S. diplomat has a specific set of instructions for his talks today with Chinese officials in Beijing regarding North Korea’s nuclear programs, according to the Washington Post (see GSN, July 28). Joseph DeTrani, the special envoy for negotiations with North Korea, is to meet with senior Chinese officials as part of a “regular and expected pattern of diplomatic consultations,” State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli said. DeTrani’s trip was designed to help set up working-level talks ahead of another round of six-party talks tentatively set for September, Ereli added. However, other U.S. officials claimed that the trip was arranged over the weekend, in response to North Korea’s apparent rejection of a U.S. nuclear disarmament proposal presented at the last round of multilateral talks in Beijing. DeTrani is to listen to Chinese proposals, but was instructed to state clearly that Chinese officials do not have the authority to represent the U.S. position to North Korean officials, a U.S. official said. The official added that the United States has often been troubled by China’s mischaracterization of U.S. positions, leading to confusion between Washington and Pyongyang. The six-party talks are intended to focus on the “first steps for dismantlement,” said an Asian official. However, “various people have various interpretations of what ‘first steps’ means,” he added.  The Chinese seem to be pursuing a “step-by-step approach,” beginning with North Korea’s plutonium facilities, he said. However, the Bush administration has alleged that North Korea admitted to possessing a uranium-based nuclear program in addition to the publicly proclaimed plutonium program, and DeTrani was instructed to tell the Chinese that disclosure of the uranium program must be part of any agreement, the official said.  Although China and South Korea have brought up the possibility of a “freeze” deal for North Korea’s programs, DeTrani was also instructed not to discuss a freeze, the official added (Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, July 29). DeTrani is also expected to discuss with the Chinese the dates for the next working group session, Agence France-Presse reported. “DeTrani is in Beijing to discuss preparations for the next six-party working group sessions, including dates for the meeting,” said a U.S. Embassy official in Beijing. “The U.S. hopes to have a working-group session as soon as possible and remains very flexible on the timing,” the official added (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 29). Back to top       Los Alamos Begins to Resume Work The Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico last week began to resume some low-risk activities following a halt ordered earlier this month to nearly all operations at the research facility in response to security concerns, Associated Press reported today (see GSN, July 28). Administrative work has started again at Los Alamos and the laboratory’s chief financial officer division has resumed operations, said Los Alamos spokesman Kevin Roark. A laboratory project manager and staff have been assigned to monitor the review and resumption of activities, he said. “There are a certain number of activities that have been stood up as of today,” Roark said yesterday. “We don’t have a firm handle on the exact numbers because it’s constantly changing,” he said (Leslie Hoffman, Associated Press/Washington Post, July 29). Back to top

Scientist Says N. Korea Tests Chemicals on Prisoners North Korea routinely tested chemical agents on political prisoners in preparation for a possible attack on South Korea, a former scientist for that country said in an interview televised Tuesday (see GSN, March 3). Identified only as “Dr. Kim” to protect the identities of relatives still in North Korea, the researcher told the BBC’s Newsnight program that the experiments were aimed at determining how much toxic gas was needed to destroy Seoul, according to Agence France-Presse. “The purpose of this experiment was to determine how long it takes for a human being to die when x amount of gas is put into x cubic meters of space,” said Kim, who defected two years ago.  Kim described how he and party officials watched a series of prisoners suffer excruciating deaths, adding that he was under orders to conduct the experiments. “In a country like North Korea when the state tells you what to do, you are supposed to follow orders,” he said. “Now, when I think of the death of that (first) political prisoner I feel like a war criminal,” he added. Such stories are difficult to verify given that outside access to North Korea is highly restricted, AFP reported. Officials in Pyongyang have denied the allegations. However, Kim’s account was strikingly similar to that of Kwon Hyok, a North Korean prison camp guard who defected to South Korea in 1999 who was interviewed for a BBC documentary that aired in February, according to AFP. There was no evidence the two had ever heard each other’s testimony, according to the BBC (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 28). Back to top       Japan Will Send Experts to China Japan plans to send another team of experts to China following the latest discovery there of World War II-era Japanese chemical weapons, the People’s Daily reported today (see GSN, July 28). Two children in the Chinese town of Dunhua were recently injured after discovering old chemical weapons, the Japanese Embassy in Beijing said Wednesday. Embassy officials did not say when the Japanese team would arrive (People’s Daily, July 29). Back to top

Arrow Missile Interceptor Test Delayed A planned joint U.S.-Israeli test of the Arrow missile interceptor, which was set to be held today, has been indefinitely delayed, the Israeli Globes Web site reported today (see GSN, July 27). The test, to be held at a naval base in California, was postponed due to bad weather, according to the Web site. Israeli defense officials said good weather was needed to document the test, but that the delay should not be taken as indication that the Arrow cannot operate in poor conditions, the Web site said. The test is expected to be conducted within a few days (Globes/BBC Monitoring, July 28). Back to top       China Concerned U.S. Missile Defense Could Upset “Global Strategic Balance,” Official Says China’s ambassador to Australia, Fu Ying, yesterday expressed Beijing’s concerns over U.S. plans to develop missile defense systems, saying such efforts could “upset the global strategic balance” (see GSN, July 8). While China supports efforts to prevent proliferation, Fu said during an address to the Australian National Press Club, “we believe problems in this area need to be addressed through diplomatic means through dialogue … we do not believe the establishment of a missile defense system will be effective in completely preventing proliferation” (Mark Forbes, Melbourne Age, July 29).       Back to top

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