U.S. Representative Porter Goss (R-Fla.), President George W. Bush’s choice to lead the CIA, hears testimony today from the heads of the 9/11 commission (AFP photo/Brendan Smialowski). Bush Nomination of Representative Goss to Head CIA a “Mistake,” U.S. Senator Says By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The nomination of Representative Porter Goss (R-Fla.) to head the CIA is a “mistake,” U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, said yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 10). “I urged the president to look for an individual with unimpeachable, nonpartisan national security credentials and I wrote him asking that he consult with Congress prior to making any appointment.  I said then and I still believe that the selection of a politician, — any politician, from either party — is a mistake,” Rockefeller (W.Va.) said in a statement...Full Story

Hard-line Iranian Lawmakers Reject Discussions With European Union on Nuclear Crisis Members of Iran’s parliament yesterday criticized Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi for allegedly mishandling negotiations with France, Germany and the United Kingdom on the Islamic republic’s nuclear program, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Aug. 10)...Full Story

Sept. 11 Commission Leaders Call for New Intelligence Director to Have Budgetary, Personnel Authority By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Stressing the need for the creation of a national intelligence director to achieve the “complete transformation” of the U.S. intelligence community, the heads of the Sept. 11 commission yesterday called for the position to have full budgetary and personnel authority (see GSN, Aug. 9)...Full Story

	Wednesday, August 11, 2004

Bush Nomination of Representative Goss to Head CIA a “Mistake,” U.S. Senator Says By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The nomination of Representative Porter Goss (R-Fla.) to head the CIA is a “mistake,” U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, said yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 10). “I urged the president to look for an individual with unimpeachable, nonpartisan national security credentials and I wrote him asking that he consult with Congress prior to making any appointment.  I said then and I still believe that the selection of a politician, — any politician, from either party — is a mistake,” Rockefeller (W.Va.) said in a statement. Bush yesterday announced Goss who heads the House intelligence committee, as his choice to replace former CIA Director George Tenet. Prior to serving in Congress, Goss worked as a U.S. Army intelligence officer and a CIA officer. During an appearance this morning on NBC’s Today, Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who is also on the Senate intelligence panel, echoed Rockefeller’s criticisms. “I respect Porter Goss, a good man who could serve us in many capacities in government. But at this moment in time, we need to take politics out of intelligence. We need to make certain that whoever is the head of this agency can stand up to any president of either party, tell them the honest truth even if it hurts politically,” Durbin said. Other Democratic members of the Senate intelligence committee were more guarded in their comments yesterday, saying they would use Goss’ confirmation hearings to gauge his view on the broader issue of intelligence reform (see related GSN story, today). “It is my hope that this nomination will not be an impediment to this reform effort and I will vote accordingly once the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has had an opportunity to complete its review,” Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said in a statement. The Senate intelligence committee is set to begin confirmation hearings during the first week of September, committee Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said this morning on Today. Such hearings will be “civil,” Roberts said, adding that he believed Goss would probably be confirmed. Bush’s choice of Goss was met with praise yesterday from the CIA and Republican lawmakers. “I congratulate Chairman Goss on his nomination.  He is no stranger to the rigors and complexities of foreign intelligence in our democracy.  And he understands the crucial role intelligence plays in defending our freedoms,” acting CIA Director John McLaughlin said in a statement. “Serving with Porter during the past 16 years of his public service career, I have known him to be a most able, experienced and conscientious member of Congress with unique experience and expertise in national security and intelligence issues,” Roberts said in a statement.  “I believe he has the capability to provide the agency and our intelligence community with new thinking combined with experience and a steady hand,” he added.  During his appearance on Today, Roberts rejected Democrats’ criticisms that Goss was too political of a choice to head the CIA. “Well, I think we’re all politicians in the Congress. It would mean that anybody that is elected then couldn’t serve in some capacity with our government afterwards. I just don’t think that’s a very good argument,” he said. Durbin today accused the White House of timing its nomination to the presidential election, forcing Democrats to either quickly confirm Goss or risk being seen as hindering efforts to improve intelligence. “I think the White House may be playing this from the political angle. And if they are, it’s unfortunate. We have a responsibility to the people of this country to choose someone at the head of this intelligence agency to protect us in this war against terrorism. But we still have a responsibility, regardless of the election, to ask the hard questions of this nominee or any other nominee before confirmation,” he said. The Washington Post today cited Republican officials as saying that Bush’s choice of Goss was motivated, in part, because of concerns that Democratic presidential nominee Senator John Kerry (Mass.) gained an advantage by endorsing the intelligence reform measures proposed by the Sept. 11 commission ahead of the president. A Republican political operative cited by the Post said that recent polling found that Bush’s support for the commission’s proposals was not well understood by the public and that he had to nominate Goss to show he was “moving ahead.” In a statement yesterday, Kerry said that Goss’ confirmation hearings should be “fair, bipartisan and expeditious.” He refused to comment directly on the merits of the nomination, instead focusing on the issue of intelligence reform and the creation of a national intelligence director as recommended by the Sept. 11 commission. “The most important thing we can do right now is reform and strengthen our intelligence services as the 9/11 Commission has recommended. I hope that Congressman Goss shares this view and will now support the creation of this important post,” Kerry said in a statement. Back to top       Sept. 11 Commission Leaders Call for New Intelligence Director to Have Budgetary, Personnel Authority By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Stressing the need for the creation of a national intelligence director to achieve the “complete transformation” of the U.S. intelligence community, the heads of the Sept. 11 commission yesterday called for the position to have full budgetary and personnel authority (see GSN, Aug. 9). “We believe the national intelligence director must have power. And power comes from the budget.  And power comes from personnel,” commission Vice Chairman Lee Hamilton told the House Armed Services Committee. “If he does not have that power, then we don’t think it’s going to be very effective,” Hamilton added. The Sept. 11 commission and the White House seemingly differ on what budgetary and personnel authority the new director should have over the various U.S. intelligence agencies. On Sunday, national security adviser Condoleezza Rice said the administration was examining ways to provide the new director with “effective” levels of authority, suggesting the White House may be open to compromise. Several committee members expressed concern over the possible impact of the Sept. 11 commission’s reform recommendations on the Defense Department, which controls most of the U.S. intelligence agencies and about 80 percent of intelligence funding. “We must ensure that the commission’s recommendations, particularly those that involve restructuring much of the intelligence community, will make sense for dealing with all of our national security challenges,” said Representative Ike Skelton (Mo.), the top Democrat on the committee. While Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld previously opposed the creation of a national intelligence director, according to reports, he has recently come out in support of the position as envisioned by the White House. During yesterday’s hearing, committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) noted that the commission’s report did not attribute blame for the inability to prevent the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks to either the Pentagon or any of the intelligence agencies under its control. While agreeing, 9/11 commission Chairman Thomas Kean said that a lack of coordination among intelligence agencies was a factor. As an example, he cited a 1998 statement by then-CIA Director George Tenet that called for all agencies to focus on al-Qaeda — a call that was apparently not received by those outside the CIA. “Now, that’s a very important thing when the head of an intelligence agency declares war. Nobody got it.  Nobody got it in other agencies. Nobody got it, even in some cases, within the CIA. We can find no effect, basically, for that declaration of war,” Kean said. Hamilton rejected suggestions that military commanders would have reduced access to national intelligence assets, such as satellites, through the creation of a national intelligence director. To help prevent such a circumstance, the Sept. 11 commission recommended that one of three proposed deputy national intelligence directors also serve as defense undersecretary for intelligence, he said.  “It is unimaginable to us that the national intelligence director would not give protection of our forces deployed in the field a very high, if not highest, priority,” Hamilton said. In addition, Hamilton said that all tactical intelligence programs should remain under the direct control of the Pentagon. “We do not remove the secretary of defense from direct, immediate control over the intelligence assets that are necessary for the war fighter. That stays exactly as it is today, and must stay the way it is today,” he said. Meanwhile, House Democrats, led by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), yesterday called on President George W. Bush to convene a special session of Congress to move forward on legislation implementing the Sept. 11 commission’s recommendations. There are about six weeks left in the current congressional session, which is set to end in October. House Democrats said yesterday that a special session could be used to hold markup hearings on an intelligence reform bill introduced in April by Representative Jane Harman (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee (see GSN, April 24). “Congress has had plenty of time to talk. This government has had plenty of time to talk. On the third-year anniversary of 9/11, which is in just a few days, we should have action to show to our country, and especially to … honor those who gave their lives so senselessly three years ago,” Harman said. Back to top

Bush, Kerry Trade Criticism Over Iraq Invasion U.S. President George W. Bush and Democratic presidential challenger Senator John Kerry (Mass.) traded barbs this week over the president’s decision to invade Iraq, according to reports (see GSN, July 12). In response to public requests by Bush to say whether he would have supported the war knowing about the lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Kerry said Monday that he would have, but accused the president of conducting the war poorly. “I would have voted for the authority. I believe it was the right authority for a president to have,” Kerry said. “Why did we rush to war without a plan to win the peace?” he rhetorically asked Bush. “Why did you rush to war on faulty intelligence and not do the hard work necessary to give America the truth?” Kerry added (Jim VandeHei, Washington Post, Aug. 10). During a campaign stop in Florida yesterday, Bush mocked Kerry’s response, according to the Washington Post. “After months of questioning my motives and my credibility, Senator Kerry agrees with me that, even though we have not found the stockpile of weapons we all believed were there, knowing everything we know today, he would have voted to go into Iraq and remove Saddam Hussein from power,” Bush said. “I want to thank Senator Kerry for clearing that up,” he added. During a campaign stop in Nevada, Kerry continued to question Bush’s handling of the war. “I thought the United States needed to stand up to [former Iraqi President] Saddam Hussein, and I voted to stand up to Saddam Hussein,” he said. “I thought we ought do it right.  We ought to reach out to other countries. We ought to build an international coalition. We ought to exhaust the opportunities available to us,” Kerry added (Dan Balz, Washington Post, Aug. 11). Back to top       French WMD Specialists Prepare for Papal Visit France plans to deploy 2,700 law enforcement and safety officers, including specials units capable of responding to WMD attacks, for this weekend’s scheduled visit of Pope John Paul II to Lourdes (see GSN, July 30). The pope is expected to arrive Saturday in nearby Tarbes, and special teams trained to handle nuclear, biological and chemical attacks are to be positioned in the area throughout his two-day visit, Agence France-Presse reported (Dominique Beaujouin, Agence France-Presse/Expatica, Aug. 10). Back to top

Hard-line Iranian Lawmakers Reject Discussions With European Union on Nuclear Crisis Members of Iran’s parliament yesterday criticized Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi for allegedly mishandling negotiations with France, Germany and the United Kingdom on the Islamic republic’s nuclear program, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Aug. 10). “Why did we surrender to the demands of the Europeans and the West?” asked Akbar Alami, a member of the Majlis Foreign Policy and National Security Commission. “I have even heard that one member of our delegation to the Paris negotiations told the Europeans that Iran would guarantee that it would not leave the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty if the Westerners did not take our case to the United Nations Security Council,” he added. “These sort of approaches undermine Iran’s sovereignty,” Alami said. Ali Ahmadi, another conservative deputy, questioned why Iran agreed to allow tougher inspections under the Additional Protocol to the safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, even though parliament has not yet ratified that agreement. Kharazi replied that Hassan Rohani, a powerful conservative cleric and head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, maintained ultimate responsibility in the nuclear negotiations. “The nuclear issue in Iran gets special treatment. Dr. Hassan Rohani, a well-known politician, is heading the case, while the Foreign Ministry and the atomic organization are helping him out,” Kharazi said. “The Islamic republic of Iran will never give up its right to peaceful nuclear technology, since we are not seeking production of nuclear weapons,” he added (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Aug. 10). Thus far, 150 members of parliament have signed a bill mandating that the Islamic republic acquire “peaceful nuclear technology,” National Security and Foreign Policy Commission member Kazem Jalali said yesterday. “According to the draft, the government will have to take action on access to peaceful nuclear technology by using the expertise of domestic scholars, researchers and facilities as well as fulfilling its commitments to the International Atomic Energy Agency within the framework of the Additional Protocol to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty,” he said, according to IRNA (IRNA, Aug. 10). Back to top       Senator Questions Absence of Los Alamos Disks The reported disappearance last month of two classified computer disks from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico might not have happened at all, Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) said yesterday, suggesting that problems with the facility’s inventory system may be to blame (see GSN, Aug. 9). “It may be that what we have here is a false positive — the system says something is missing when it is not,” Domenici said in a statement. “And just as if it were a medical test, it is better to find out the inventory was wrong than that the disks were actually missing,” he added. Two sources said that what probably happened at Los Alamos was that the disks themselves never existed and that the incident was caused by two extra barcode stickers remaining on a sheet of 20 used to label 18 disks, according to the Associated Press. While the two remaining stickers should also have been applied to disks, if the disks did not exist, it would explain why the stickers were left over, one source said (Mark Evans, Associated Press/USA Today, Aug. 10). Back to top       U.S., North Korean Officials Discuss Crisis; Japan Asks Libya for Korea Nuclear Information Senior U.S. and North Korean officials attended a conference yesterday that included discussions of six-party talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear program, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 21). Joseph DeTrani, U.S. special envoy for negotiations with North Korea, and Li Gun, deputy head of U.S. affairs at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, attended the two-day, closed-door Conference on Northeast Asian Security in New York, organized by the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. There were unconfirmed reports of the two conferring during a break. However, the United States plans to pursue a resolution to the nuclear standoff through multilateral negotiations and has no plans to engage Pyongyang directly, according to U.S. officials. “We’re not seeking a bilateral negotiation with the North Koreans. We are seeking a multilateral solution to a problem of multinational interest, and we think the best way is the six-party talks,” said a U.S. State Department official. Two topics of yesterday’s session were “Perception of the Six-Party Talks” and the “U.S. Proposal and Reaction to It,” according to the Associated Press. Speakers included DeTrani, Li, and Chinese diplomat Yang Xi Yu, director of the Korean Peninsula office. “A positive and constructive conversation was held and the participants discussed frankly and openly,” Yang said at the conclusion of the session (Associated Press/Boston Herald, Aug. 11). Meanwhile, a Japanese official requested yesterday that Libya provide information about North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs, Jiji Press Ticker Service reported. Senior Vice Foreign Minister Ichiro Aisawa requested the assistance from his visiting Libyan counterpart, Mohamed Siala. He also called on the North African nation to exert pressure on Pyongyang to resolve the nuclear crisis. Libya is prepared to play an important role in the issue of weapons of mass destruction and missiles, Siala is reported to have told Aisawa in response to the appeal (Jiji Press Ticker Service, Aug. 10). Back to top       Study Criticizes U.S. Nuclear Test Readiness Effort The U.S. Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration has fallen behind on deadlines to shorten the preparation time for a nuclear weapons test to 18 months, the department’s Inspector General’s Office said in an Aug. 3 report (see GSN, June 3). “While we noted examples of schedule slippages that could potentially impact the program, we were unable to determine whether NNSA was on track to meet its Enhanced Test Readiness goal,” Assistant Inspector General Rickey Hass said in a memo, the Albuquerque Tribune reported. A moratorium on all U.S. underground nuclear testing went into effect in 1992, but Congress mandated that the Energy Department should remain prepared to resume testing within 24 to 36 months. Congress in 2002 enacted the Enhanced Test Readiness program, aimed reducing test preparation time to 18 months by September 2005. Although subcritical nuclear testing and computer modeling at the Los Alamos and Sandia national laboratories in New Mexico have continued since the 1992 moratorium (see GSN, May 25), underground nuclear testing remains the best way to verify that the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile is in working order, experts at both labs have said. The laboratories and other groups involved in testing have not finished documents to assure protection of workers, the public and environment; trained all workers needed to perform underground tests; and prepared and maintained test materials or equipment, the report says, according to the Tribune. Most of the problems cited in the report were caused by funding delays, which led to a six-month planning freeze, said Michael Kane, NNSA associate administrator for management and administration. The administration has caught up in several areas since the audit was performed and has already fixed most of the problems cited in the report, Kane added (Sue Vorenberg, Albuquerque Tribune, Aug. 10). Back to top       Japan Plans Session to Promote Test Ban Treaty Japan plans to hold a foreign ministers meeting in New York next month to persuade other nations to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, allowing it to come into force (see GSN, July 6). Japan expects more than 18 nations to participate in the meeting and plans to urge Asian countries, including Indonesia and Vietnam, to ratify the treaty. Adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in September 1996, the treaty would come into effect after 44 specific nations with nuclear capability ratify the pact. Thus far, 32 such nations have ratified the pact. Japanese officials also plan to present a declaration with other countries on the need to press nations to ratify the treaty, and to set up a CTBT inspection system (Yomiuri Shimbun, Aug. 11). Back to top

California Attempted Murder Case Resolved Without Ricin Possession Charges Against Two Suspects Two lesbian lovers pleaded guilty Monday to attempted murder but were not charged with possession of ricin, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported (see GSN, Jan. 9). Astrid Tepatti and Ebony Woods made several attempts on the life of Tepatti’s husband, Stephen, a U.S. Marine sergeant based at Camp Pendleton, Calif. In addition to pursuing more conventional killing means, the two women found a recipe for ricin on a white supremacist Web site, according to prosecutor Shanna Dougherty. Several bags of the poisonous white powder and other weapons were found in a car they drove after attempting to shoot Stephen Tepatti, according to the Union-Tribune. Tepatti faces up to six years in prison at her Oct. 29 sentencing hearing, while Woods could be sentenced to nine years on Nov. 5 (Onell Soto, San Diego Union-Tribune, Aug. 10). Back to top

Iran Tests Latest Shahab 3 Missile Iran completed a field test today of an updated version of its Shahab 3 medium-range missile, the country’s Defense Ministry said (see GSN, Aug. 9). The test was carried out “to assess the latest developments implemented on this missile,” according to a state television report. A Defense Ministry spokesman confirmed the report, according to Reuters, but declined to provide details. The missile, based on North Korean and Russian technology, is believed to have a range of 810 miles, making it capable of reaching Israel or U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf, Reuters reported (Reuters/Yahoo!News, Aug. 11). Back to top

Retired U.S. General Urges Canada to Nix Cooperation on Missile Defense Program Canada should not join the U.S. missile defense program, a retired U.S. Army general said yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 6). “I don’t think anything will happen [if Canada does not participate in U.S. missile defenses],” said retired Lt. Gen. Robert Gard, who has led a campaign within the United States against deployment of the system. Gard is a fellow with the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation. Gard is concerned that the “highly complex system of systems” has not been adequately tested and may not function once deployed. “As of now, no major part of the system has been tested in deployment,” Gard said. “The last integrated test was in December 2002 — and it failed,” he added (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Aug. 10). Back to top

Kerry Opposes Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Site U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry (Mass.) said yesterday that if elected, he would not ship nuclear waste to a planned repository to be built at Yucca Mountain in Nevada (see GSN, Jan. 14). “Yucca Mountain to me is a symbol of the recklessness and arrogance with which they are willing to proceed with respect to the safety issues and concerns of the American people,” Kerry said of the Bush administration, which supports the repository. “When I’m president of the United States, I’ll tell you about Yucca Mountain: Not on my watch!  No!” Kerry said during a campaign stop in Nevada. During the 2000 presidential election, President George W. Bush said he would oppose sending nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain unless the site was proven scientifically safe. After he was elected, though, Bush accepted an Energy Department recommendation to select the site for the waste repository. A U.S. federal court ruled this summer that plans to build the repository could not proceed because the government has not established standards to prevent radiation leaks after 10,000 years (see GSN, July 15). Kerry has said that instead of shipping nuclear waste to Yucca Mountain, he would keep it stored on site at U.S. nuclear facilities, according to the New York Times. The Bush campaign yesterday distributed documents that purported to show that while in the Senate, Kerry voted at least six times in ways that could be seen as supporting the Yucca Mountain project, according to the Times. Senator John Ensign (R-Nev.) also said that before joining the Democratic ticket as the vice presidential nominee, Senator John Edwards (D-N.C.) supported Yucca Mountain. “The Kerry-Edwards ticket was for Yucca Mountain before they were against it, and Nevadans should not be fooled by election-year pandering,” Ensign said in a statement. In an interview last week, though, Ensign said “on this one issue [Kerry has] been better than George Bush, but that’s on one issue” (Jodi Wilgoren, New York Times, Aug. 11).   Back to top

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