A leading U.S. congressional Democrat has urged Senate Democrats not to get embroiled in a political fight over the confirmation of Representative Porter Goss (R-Fla.) as CIA director (AFP photo/Brendan Smialowski). Democrats Should Focus More on Intelligence Reform, Less on Bush Choice for CIA Head, Harman Says By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats should focus more on the broader issue of intelligence reform and less on opposing the confirmation of Representative Porter Goss (R-Fla.) as the new CIA director, the top Democrat on the House intelligence panel said yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 11). “I think that to get stuck in a fight about Porter Goss, after tough questions have been answered by Porter Goss, is not where we ought to be this fall. We ought to be implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 commission,” Representative Jane Harman (D-Calif.) said on NBC’s Meet the Press...Full Story

No Korean Nuclear Talks, as Pyongyang Blasts U.S. North Korea announced today it would not attend working-level talks on its nuclear programs, which had once been expected to begin last week, again blaming the United States for having a poor attitude toward the communist nation, Reuters reported (see GSN, Aug. 13)...Full Story

Canada Supports Curbing Iranian Nuclear Work Canada announced Friday it would support efforts by the International Atomic Energy Agency to halt Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons development, the Ottawa Citizen reported (see GSN, Aug. 11)...Full Story

	Monday, August 16, 2004

Democrats Should Focus More on Intelligence Reform, Less on Bush Choice for CIA Head, Harman Says By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — U.S. Senate Democrats should focus more on the broader issue of intelligence reform and less on opposing the confirmation of Representative Porter Goss (R-Fla.) as the new CIA director, the top Democrat on the House intelligence panel said yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 11). “I think that to get stuck in a fight about Porter Goss, after tough questions have been answered by Porter Goss, is not where we ought to be this fall. We ought to be implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 commission,” Representative Jane Harman (D-Calif.) said on NBC’s Meet the Press. U.S. President George W. Bush last week publicly announced his choice of Goss, who previously chaired the House intelligence committee, to head the CIA. Many Senate Democrats afterward did not comment directly on the merits of Goss’ nomination, saying instead that they would use his confirmation hearings to discuss broader intelligence reform issues. The president’s choice has been most opposed, though, by the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence panel, Senator Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.). Even prior the official nomination, Rockefeller criticized Goss as being too “political” of a choice. The senator continued his criticisms after Bush’s announcement last week, calling Goss’s nomination a “mistake.” There are concerns, though, that Democrats could pay a political price during the November elections if they oppose Goss’ nomination too vigorously. During the 2000 elections, Republicans were able to use then-Senator Max Cleland’s (D-Ga.) opposition to the White House’s stance on the creation of a Homeland Security Department in their successful effort to unseat him. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) said yesterday on Meet the Press that while Rockefeller may oppose Goss’ nomination, he has agreed to “expedite” his confirmation hearings. Saying that he believed Goss would be confirmed, Roberts defended Bush’s choice.  “I understand that people have differences. I have differences all the time, but it doesn't mean that that person couldn’t serve in a very fine capacity regardless of what the president tried to simply appoint them to,” Roberts said. Harman agreed that Goss would probably be confirmed. She described his nomination, though, as a “missed opportunity” for the White House to detail its stance on reforming the intelligence community. Once confirmed, Goss would probably remain as CIA director regardless of who wins the November presidential election, be it the incumbent Bush or Democratic challenger Senator John Kerry (Mass.), Roberts said. “You can’t find anybody that’s been a military intelligence officer, also a Central Intelligence Agency intelligence officer, and the chairman, understanding the politics of this, of the House Intelligence Committee. He’s a good man,” Roberts said. A number of committees in both the House of Representatives and the Senate this week are scheduled to continue with hearings on intelligence reform and the recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission, such as the creation of national intelligence director (see related GSN story, today). On the Senate side, Roberts said yesterday that legislation implementing intelligence reform would be ready by early October. He added that the politics surrounding the November election should not be allowed to affect reform efforts. “I think we can get this done, and I hope we can get it done on a bipartisan basis. Yes, it’s happening during an election year, but this issue transcends politics, and the terrorist does not wait. This year we have to move, and we have to move now,” Roberts said. Harman criticized the pace at which the House is moving on intelligence reform, reiterating her calls for markup hearings on reform legislation that has already been introduced. “The House is way behind the Senate in terms of bipartisan reform,” she said. Back to top       Bush Prepared to Back Budget, Personnel Authority for Intelligence Director, Sept. 11 Commissioner Says U.S. President George W. Bush has decided to provide a new director of national intelligence with the budgetary and personnel authority sought by the Sept. 11 commission, panel member John Lehman said yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 12). “I have very good reason to believe that is what the president intends,” Lehman said, refusing to provide further detail. The Sept. 11 commission, which recommended the creation of a national intelligence director, has proposed that such an official have full budgetary and personnel authority over the U.S. intelligence community. The White House has previously indicated that it would prefer a director with less authority than that sought by the commission (Shaun Waterman, United Press International/Washington Times, Aug. 16). Back to top

Prewar Iraqi Intelligence Agents Allowed Contraband Shipments Across Syrian Border The Iraq Survey Group has learned that prior to the U.S. invasion of Iraq, border guards on the Iraq-Syrian border were replaced at times with Iraqi intelligence agents who supervised contraband shipments between the two countries, the Washington Times reported today (see GSN, Aug. 12). The discovery has increased speculation that prewar Iraq’s alleged WMD stockpiles might have been shipped into Syria, the Times reported. In interviews with Iraqis, ISG officials learned that former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein sent intelligence agents to the Syrian border to replace the guards there during shipments of materials prohibited by U.N. sanctions. Once the cross-border shipments were complete, the intelligence agents would leave and the border guards would return to work, according to the Times. “If you leave it to border guards, then the border guards could stop the trucks and extract their 10 percent, just like the mob would do,” a U.S. Defense Department official said. ‘Saddam’s family was controlling the black market, and it was a good opportunity for them to make money,” the official added (Rowan Scarborough, Washington Times, Aug. 16). Back to top       U.S., Marshall Islands Sign Shipboarding Agreement The United States and the Marshall Islands on Friday signed a reciprocal maritime shipboarding agreement, which will allow either country to search the other’s ships in international waters if they are suspected of carrying WMD-related cargo (see GSN, Aug. 6). The agreement was signed in support of the Proliferation Security Initiative, a U.S.-led multilateral effort intended to interdict WMD-related cargo shipments, according to the U.S. State Department. Under the agreement, if a U.S.- or Marshall Island-flagged ship is suspected of carrying WMD-related cargo, then either country can request that the other nation confirm the nationality of the shipment, and if necessary, authorize its boarding. The United States has similar agreements in place with Liberia and Panama (U.S. State Department release, Aug. 14). Back to top       Rumsfeld Meets With Russian Counterpart U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, meeting in St. Petersburg this past weekend, discussed plans to prevent WMD proliferation, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Aug. 13). During the two-day meeting, Rumsfeld and Ivanov also discussed increasing cooperation on missile defense projects and U.S. concerns over Russia’s commercial and energy ties with Iran, AP reported (Associated Press/USA Today, Aug. 16). Back to top

No Korean Nuclear Talks, as Pyongyang Blasts U.S. North Korea announced today it would not attend working-level talks on its nuclear programs, which had once been expected to begin last week, again blaming the United States for having a poor attitude toward the communist nation, Reuters reported (see GSN, Aug. 13). “The U.S. has destroyed itself the foundation for the talks, making it impossible for the D.P.R.K. to go to the forthcoming meeting of the working group,” a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said. “It is clear that there would be nothing to expect even if the D.P.R.K. sits at the negotiating table with the U.S. under the present situation,” the spokesman added. However, a Chinese analyst and South Korean officials predicted the next full round of talks would take place before the end of next month. They noted that Pyongyang has often engaged in similar rhetoric before attending negotiations or making a concession. “This is the North Koreans putting on pressure,” said a senior South Korean official. “I wouldn’t want to say that this thing is about really quitting the six-party process or the working-group talks,” the official added. North Korean and Chinese officials are expected to meet “very soon,” according to another South Korean official, who added that it is too early to assume that working-level talks would not take place. North Korea appears to prefer waiting to make a deal until after the U.S. elections in November, according to Shi Yinhong, a professor of international relations at the People’s University in Beijing. “North Korea appears unwilling to make a deal with George W. Bush and prefers to wait until after the U.S. presidential elections,” Shi said. However, it is unlikely Pyongyang would pull out of negotiations altogether, the professor concluded. “It’s mere posturing by North Korea,” Shi said (Kim/Lee, Reuters/Yahoo!News, Aug. 16). Back to top       Canada Supports Curbing Iranian Nuclear Work Canada announced Friday it would support efforts by the International Atomic Energy Agency to halt Iran’s alleged nuclear weapons development, the Ottawa Citizen reported (see GSN, Aug. 11). “We are very preoccupied by the nuclear proliferation,” said Foreign Minister Pierre Pettigrew, after meeting with U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. “And we are not pleased at all with the way the Iranians are conducting this level of nuclear proliferation,” Pettigrew added (Mike Blanchfield, Ottawa Citizen/Canada.com Aug. 14). Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Islamic republic would proceed with its nuclear program despite international concern, Iran’s state news agency reported today. “The Islamic republic will continue on the reasonable path which will result in the peaceful use of nuclear energy without concerning itself about all this fuss and bother,” Khamenei said yesterday, according to Agence France-Presse (Agence France-Presse/Khaleej Times, Aug. 16). Elsewhere, U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) said yesterday that the United States should get “very tough” with Iran to prevent the Islamic republic from building a nuclear bomb. “The Iranians are moving toward weaponization of the uranium experiment that they have. And they’ve been clearly doing this. I suspect to begin with economic sanctions on Iran ... but not ruling out at the end of the day military sanctions against Iran,” Lugar added. Lugar could not say whether the United States would back a pre-emptive strike on Iran’s nuclear installations by another nation, such as Israel’s attack against Iraq in 1981. “I’m not going to speculate for a moment on a pre-emptive strike or any specific action,” he said (UPI/Washington Times, Aug. 15). Meanwhile, the United States on Friday called on Japan to review its business dealings with Iran in light of the Islamic republic’s suspected nuclear weapons drive, Agence France-Presse reported. “We would hope that as Japan examines its relationship with Iran, it would take into account, in any business transaction or any proposals that come along, the fact that Iran is not behaving in a responsible manner,” Powell said (Agence France-Presse, Aug. 13). In response, Japanese officials said yesterday that Japan does not plan to stop pursuing an oil development deal with Iran, Kyodo News Service reported. “We won’t say we’ll give up just because we were asked to do so,” said Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Shoichi Nakagawa. “There will be no policy reversal at the current stage,” Nakagawa added (Kyodo News Service/Japan Today, Aug. 15). Back to top       IAEA Plans Middle East Nuclear Forum The International Atomic Energy Agency plans to discuss Middle East nuclear disarmament in January, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, June 28). “We have agreed to hold a forum on creation of nuclear-free zones in the world, especially in the Middle East, in January 2005 in Vienna,” agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said yesterday. “With the participation of Arab states, Israel and other countries in the region, the forum will be an occasion to open talks on the necessary conditions for the creation of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East,” he said. Arab media outlets have raised the potential for contamination from Israel’s Dimona nuclear plant in the Negev Desert in recent weeks, according to AFP. “The IAEA is prepared to send observers to Egypt and Jordan to monitor whether there is any evidence of nuclear radiation emanating from Israel,” ElBaradei said. However, that issue “should not be linked to the observation by Israel of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty nor inspection by the IAEA of Israel’s nuclear activity,” he added (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Aug. 15). Back to top

New CDC Lab to House Five Potential Bioterror Agents U.S. officials broke ground on Thursday for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Vector-Borne Disease Laboratory in Colorado, the Denver Post reported. Part of a $1 billion effort to modernize CDC facilities, the new complex in Fort Collins is expected to be completed by 2006, according to CDC head Julie Gerberding A set of older facilities in Fort Collins houses five potential biological weapons that are to be transferred to the new facility: plague, tularemia and the Venezuelan, western and eastern equine encephalitis viruses (Karen Auge, Denver Post, Aug. 13). Back to top

U.S. Army Deseret Chemical Depot Completes Destruction of VX-Containing Artillery Shells Workers at the U.S. Army Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah today completed the destruction of more than 53,000 155 mm artillery shells filled with VX nerve agent (see GSN, Aug. 13). The only VX munitions remaining at the site are spray tanks and land mines, according to a depot press release. These munitions are set to be destroyed by next spring, the depot said. The depot is also preparing to destroy munitions filled with mustard agent, its final disposal project (Deseret Chemical Depot release, Aug. 16). Back to top       Two-Thirds of Binary Precursor Chemical Production Facilities Destroyed at Pine Bluff The U.S. Army Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas has dismantled much of its former facilities for producing chemical weapons ingredients, the Pine Bluff Commercial News reported Saturday (see GSN, May 19). “We have destroyed two-thirds of the facilities that are used to produce binary precursor chemicals,” said Joe Daven, a nonstockpile field office manager with the Army Chemical Materials Agency. Binary precursor chemicals are combined with other ingredients to create nerve agents. Nearly all the arsenal’s former Integrated Binary Production Facilities are expected to be destroyed by January, Daven said In December 2003, the United States had destroyed more than 80 percent of its chemical weapons production capabilities — 16 months ahead of schedule, according to Jeff Lindblad, a public affairs officer for the Chemical Materials Agency. “Pine Bluff was key to getting us to that 80 percent mark,” he said. “We continue to move forward,” he added (Bobbie Crockett, Pine Bluff Commercial News, Aug. 14). Back to top       Oregon Panel Clears Chemical Weapon Incinerator The Oregon Environmental Quality Commission voted 4-0 on Friday to allow chemical weapons incineration to begin this week at the U.S. Army’s Umatilla Chemical Depot in Hermiston, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Aug 12). “I’m sure some may feel it’s overdue,” said commission Chairman Mark Reeve. “Others who never want to see it operate feel it’s too soon. But I think it’s the appropriate time given the circumstances that we’re in,” he added. Operations are expected to begin on Wednesday, when 15 sarin-filled rockets are to be transported from a storage igloo at the depot to the incinerator, said U.S. Army spokeswoman Mary Binder. On Thursday, one rocket is to be chopped, drained, and put through a special furnace. Nerve agent will be placed in a storage tank until there is enough collected for incineration, which is expected to take about a month, Binder said. A motion filed by opponents of the burning plan to stop the incineration is expected to be heard today (Jeff Barnard, Associated Press/Albany Democrat-Herald, Aug. 13). Back to top

FDA Extends Deadline for Registration of Food Handling Companies Under Bioterrorism Act The U.S. Food and Drug Administration extended a deadline for registration of food handling companies under the Bioterrorism Act to Oct. 31, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Feb. 3, 2003). Originally scheduled to be implemented last Friday, the act requires 420,000 food handling companies doing business in the United States to register all products. Just over half of the companies have registered, according to FDA estimates. “We don’t have a real sense of whether we overestimated or if there are 200,000 companies that haven’t registered,” FDA official Leslye Fraser said. After the new deadline, all unregistered food is to be denied entry into the United States, said Sue Challis, spokeswoman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The law also requires food exporters to provide advance notice of shipments’ arrival. Registering companies that handle food destined for the United States would allow authorities to trace potentially contaminated items back to their origins, according to FDA officials (Olga Rodriguez, Associated Press/(Springfield, Mo.) News-Leader, Aug. 13).   Back to top

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