A former North Korean Scud ballistic missile (right) on display in Seoul (AFP photo/Choi Jae-ku). Pyongyang Tests Missile Technology in Iran, U.S. Official Says North Korea is developing new long-range ballistic missile capabilities and is sharing the technology with Iran for testing, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Aug. 5)...Full Story

FBI Searches New York, New Jersey Homes as Part of 2001 Anthrax Attacks Case As part of the federal investigation into the 2001 anthrax mail attacks, FBI and U.S. Postal Service agents yesterday searched the homes of a New York state doctor who created an organization that teaches biological terrorism response methods, according to the Washington Post (see GSN, July 26)...Full Story

Nuclear Industry Slammed for Security Test Plans By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — A U.S. government watchdog organization this week criticized the nuclear energy industry’s plans to have a security company that provides guard forces for about half of the country’s nuclear power plants prepare permanent teams to test plant security (see GSN, Aug. 5)...Full Story

	Friday, August 6, 2004

Nuclear Industry Slammed for Security Test Plans By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — A U.S. government watchdog organization this week criticized the nuclear energy industry’s plans to have a security company that provides guard forces for about half of the country’s nuclear power plants prepare permanent teams to test plant security (see GSN, Aug. 5). The Nuclear Energy Institute, the nuclear industry’s main trade association, announced plans in June to have Wackenhut Corp. train and manage two permanent adversarial teams that would be used to evaluate plant security forces through force-on-force exercises simulating terrorist attacks. The adversarial teams are expected to conduct about 24 exercises per year, beginning in November, so that all 64 civilian nuclear reactor sites are tested over a three-year period, according to the institute. Project on Government Oversight Executive Director Danielle Brian has criticized the move, however, saying it posed a “blatant conflict of interest.” In her late July letter to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, which POGO released this week, Brian said that having the same company provide both nuclear plant security personnel and the adversarial teams used to evaluate them would reduce public confidence in the force-on-force exercises. She also criticized the commission for turning over to the nuclear industry an “inherently governmental” function — the operation of permanent security evaluation teams. “The NRC should not abdicate its responsibility to run security preparedness tests to the nuclear industry, much less hand over authority to the very entity being tested,” she wrote. POGO Senior Investigator Peter Stockton said today that the commission should instead contract with the military to conduct the force-on-force exercises, or develop its own adversarial teams.  NRC spokesman David McIntyre said today that it has always been nuclear plant operators’ responsibility to develop the adversarial teams used in the force-on-force exercises, adding that the commission does not believe that such a task should solely be a government function. The commission plans to “scrutinize” the tests conducted with the new adversarial teams, McIntyre said yesterday, and if any incidents of “gaming” or “skewing the results” are detected the commission will act accordingly. “If we see anything untoward, we will work to fix it,” McIntyre said  POGO’s complaints are “hollow,” NEI spokesman Steve Kerekes said today. He said that it was “ridiculous” to suggest that instances of Wackenhut-managed adversarial teams intentionally performing poorly against Wackenhut-managed plant security guards would go undetected, either by plant operators or the commission. In addition, Wackenhut personnel that had previously served as plant security guards would be ineligible to serve on the adversarial teams that conducted exercises where they previously worked, Kerekes said. He also stressed that the commission would play a large role in the force-on-force exercises involving the new teams, by setting exercise standards and conducting final evaluations of the tests.  Stockton said, however, that there were still “many subtle ways of cheating” that could occur. “There’s just no way of putting a pretty face on this,” he said. Kerekes also criticized the media attention that POGO’s criticisms have received this week, noting that the Nuclear Energy Institute announced its selection of Wackenhut in June. Stockton said that the delay was caused by the fact that a number of POGO staff were abroad when the announcement was made. The issue was also raised during a public security meeting held by the commission this week — the first public NRC session on nuclear plant security held since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. In her letter to the commission, Brian also criticized the Nuclear Energy Institute’s choice of Wackenhut to manage the adversarial teams because of concerns over the company’s past performance in providing security at nuclear sites. She cited a January Energy Department Inspector General’s report that found that Wackenhut personnel had cheated by obtaining advanced knowledge of an adversary team’s assault plan during a June 2003 force-on-force exercise at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Oak Ridge, Tenn. (see GSN, Jan. 27). A spokesman for Wackenhut said today that “nothing inappropriate” occurred during the Y-12 security exercise, adding that the defending force during that test needed to know certain information in order to carry out the training. NRC spokesman McIntyre said yesterday that the commission supported the choice of Wackenhut, noting that there were few security companies with experience in providing nuclear site security. Kerekes said the trade group would select the “cream of the crop” of Wackenhut personnel for the adversarial teams. He cited as an example one planned team supervisor who is a 20-year U.S. Army veteran and who has urban assault and antiterrorism training. Kerekes also said that the force-on-force exercises are just “one element” of nuclear industry security efforts, noting increases in security personnel and equipment at plants since the Sept. 11 attacks. By the end of this year, he said, the nuclear energy industry was set to spend an additional $1 billion on security over pre-Sept. 11 levels. “Our facilities are incredibly well defended,” Kerekes said. Back to top       Cheney Opposed Establishing National Intelligence Director as Defense Secretary in 1992 In 1992, then-Defense Secretary Dick Cheney opposed the creation of a national intelligence director with full budgetary authority over the intelligence community, including those agencies operated by the U.S. Defense Department, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Aug. 5) The creation of such an intelligence post was one of the major reform proposals recommended last month by the Sept. 11 commission. While President George W. Bush has publicly backed the proposal, the White House supports a national intelligence director with less authority than envisioned by the commission. In 1992, when both houses of Congress were considering legislation to create a national intelligence director, Cheney told then-House Armed Services Committee Chairman Les Aspin that he would urge a presidential veto on the bills as written. Cheney wrote that such a director would “seriously impair” relations between the head of the CIA and the defense secretary, according to a copy of the letter obtained by the Federation of American Scientists (Associated Press/Los Angeles Times, Aug. 6). Back to top

PSI Members to Push World Cargo Declaration Regime The 60 nations participating in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative were expected yesterday to introduce a worldwide cargo inspection regime, known as the 24-hour rule, to prevent the illegal transport of weapons of mass destruction and other dangerous items, Lloyd’s List reported (see GSN, July 27). “The official PSI meeting is expected to recommend that advanced cargo declarations take place everywhere,” said a source close to the talks, being held in Oslo, Norway.  The 24-hour rule is already in place for U.S.-bound cargo. Cargo data filed with U.S. customs agents at international ports would allow time to determine whether containers needed to be searched before the ship left the harbor, according to Lloyd’s List. Maritime security experts remain concerned that terrorists are planning to attack the shipping industry. The industry recognizes “the threat from weapons of mass destruction and is prepared to cooperate closely with governments to prevent international terrorism and the illegal transport of weapons,” according to a statement released yesterday (Justin Stares, Lloyd’s List, Aug. 6). Back to top       Kerry Says He Would Improve U.S. Military’s Ability to Prevent Proliferation if Elected President U.S. Senator and Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry (Mass.) said yesterday that if elected, he would work to improve the military’s ability to counter WMD proliferation (see GSN, July 30). During a campaign speech in Missouri, Kerry said that he would “transform the world’s most powerful military to better address the modern threats of terrorism and the spread of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.” Along with adding 40,000 troops to the military, Kerry pledged to create special nonproliferation units and to double the strength of the U.S. Special Forces (Agence France-Presse, Aug. 5). Kerry has also said that if elected, he would reduce funding for U.S. missile defense efforts, the Ottawa Citizen reported today (see GSN, Aug. 5). “I’m not for the rapid deployment of missile defense,” Kerry said in an interview with Defense News. “I don’t think we’re ready for deployment. I think that’s a pool of money that’s going to be wasted,” he said (Dave Pugliese, Ottawa Citizen, Aug. 6). Back to top

Brazil Seeks IAEA Licenses For Uranium Enrichment Sites Without Further Inspections There is no need for the International Atomic Energy Agency to conduct further inspections in Brazil before approving two uranium enrichment facilities there, Brazilian Science and Technology Minister Eduardo Campos said yesterday (see GSN, June 30). Brazil wants to obtain IAEA licenses before October, when the facilities near Rio de Janeiro are set to begin operation, Campos said. The plants would be used to enrich uranium to 5 percent for use as fuel in two civilian nuclear plants, according to the Xinhua News Agency (Xinhua News Agency, Aug. 6). Back to top       Russia Negotiating Fuel Return From Uzbek Reactor Russia might import spent nuclear fuel next year from a research reactor located in Uzbekistan, Interfax reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 5). Two contracts for transport and handling of the spent fuel, worth “hundreds of thousands of dollars,” are being negotiated, a Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency official said. Once in Russia, the material would be processed at the Mayak facility (Interfax, Aug. 5). Uzbekistan has one operational research reactor, located at the Institute of Nuclear Physics in the city of Ulugbek, and nuclear material from an inactive reactor is also stored at the institute, according a Nuclear Threat Initiative fact sheet. The working reactor was originally fueled with 90-percent highly enriched uranium until it was converted to use 36-percent fuel in 1998. (NTI release, Aug. 6). Back to top       Japan, N. Korea Could Hold Nuclear Talks Next Week Japan and North Korea could hold bilateral working-level talks on nuclear and other issues next week, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Aug. 3). “The both parties have indicated their willingness to hold a meeting as early as next week,” said Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda. His remarks followed the Japanese Cabinet’s decision yesterday to resume food aid to North Korea, the first such assistance in four years. The 125,000 tons of food would be delivered by the U.N. World Food Program beginning later this year (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Aug. 6). Back to top

FBI Searches New York, New Jersey Homes as Part of 2001 Anthrax Attacks Case As part of the federal investigation into the 2001 anthrax mail attacks, FBI and U.S. Postal Service agents yesterday searched the homes of a New York state doctor who created an organization that teaches biological terrorism response methods, according to the Washington Post (see GSN, July 26). Agents carried away bags of material from the Wellsville, N.Y., home of Kenneth Berry, who created the PREEMPT Medical Counter-Terrorism nonprofit organization, the Post reported. A senior Justice Department official described the search as “more about trying to clear the guy than anything else.” “They’re going back and trying to make sure there’s nothing there that they missed,” a law enforcement official said (Powell/Eggen, Washington Post, Aug. 6). Agents also searched Berry’s cottage in Ocean County, N.J., and a Wellsville apartment where he lived three years ago, according to the New York Times. An FBI spokeswoman declined to say what material was removed from the homes (Robert McFadden, New York Times, Aug. 6). Back to top       NIH Tests Faster Countermeasure-Development Grants By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases wants to cut by more than half the time required between the identification of WMD countermeasure concepts and the awarding of grants to develop the drugs, director Anthony Fauci said today in an interview. Getting the funds out faster would involve reducing the time needed for lengthy, multiphase drug-concept reviews that now precede issuances of drug-development grants by the institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. Authorization of the faster reviews is one of three main effects of Project Bioshield, which President George W. Bush signed into law on July 21 (see GSN, July 21). Fauci said reviews could be cut to six months from the current 12 to 14 months, with the expedited process reserved for projects “that you need to move quickly enough, because there is a threat in which the time element plays an important role.” The benefits, Fauci said, are considerable, if difficult to quantify. “I can tell you it’s going to be faster, and that’s the critical thing,” he said. Just two days after Bush signed Bioshield, the institute announced two new grant initiatives it called “consistent with this new authority.” The institute said it was planning in fiscal 2005 to commit $10 million to accelerated development of therapeutic treatments for the most dangerous agents — smallpox, anthrax and others listed in Category A of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s agent-classification system — and $4 million to development of immune-system protections against radiation. The projects would have taken place without Bioshield, said Fauci, but now are serving as test cases in the institute’s bid to achieve six-month turnaround times. The two initiatives chosen roughly illustrate the institute’s priorities for countermeasures, the director said. “They are priorities,” Fauci said, “but I wouldn’t say that absolutely these are the top two things.” Reviews can be accelerated at several points in the process, and the institute is endeavoring to gain time everywhere it can. An optional but customary “concept clearance” by an advisory council, for example, can be reduced from months to days by soliciting council members’ input by e-mail, rather than in person at a meeting. “You don’t want to cut corners on substantive issues, but you can get clearance by the advisory council by e-mail vote, and you don’t have to wait,” Fauci said. Other plans call for giving researchers less time to respond to grant announcements, convening special review groups as needed rather than waiting for scheduled meetings and paying out grants without waiting for final NIAID approval, which can instead be bestowed retroactively. “This just codifies in law what you can do under certain emergency circumstances anyway,” Fauci said. A representative of VaxGen, a drug maker that is in the running for a much-anticipated anthrax-vaccine contract under a separate provision of Bioshield, applauded the move to speed reviews. “Acceleration in the review process,” spokeswoman Kesinee Yip said today, “would certainly help industry to be able to be responsive to government and to government requests for countermeasures that are important for the national security.” Speeding drug development is an overriding theme of Bioshield, with some saying the law does not go far enough. Some Democrats in Congress have said the legislation does too little to shorten “bug-to-drug” time, the time required between identification of a new pathogen and availability of a corresponding drug (see GSN, May 5). Besides speeding the review process for new countermeasures, Bioshield creates a guaranteed government market for otherwise unprofitable existing countermeasures and allows for bypassing Food and Drug Administration drug-approval processes during any attack or other event declared to be an emergency by the Homeland Security, Health and Human Services or Defense department. Bioshield taps the National Institutes of Health to participate in deciding what countermeasures the government should buy and in determining when the approval-bypass authority should be invoked. “They want to make sure that there is a non-FDA scientific input into these decisions, just to help them out,” Fauci said of the latter role. Fauci called the new law generally “very important” for U.S. WMD defenses because it codifies the faster review methods and provides incentives for drug makers. “We have been trying to get industry interested in doing something that they may not have a great incentive to do,” he said. Back to top

Pyongyang Tests Missile Technology in Iran, U.S. Official Says North Korea is developing new long-range ballistic missile capabilities and is sharing the technology with Iran for testing, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Aug. 5). The United States believes the program is based on Russian technology and has been developed with assistance from Russian scientists, which may be ongoing, a Bush administration official said yesterday. The official said North Korea probably has submarine-launched missile technology, but it remains unclear whether Pyongyang has a platform for launching such a missile, the official added (Barry Schweid, Associated Press/Miami Herald, Aug. 6). Back to top

Canada, U.S. Amend NORAD Pact Canada and the United States have amended the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) agreement, allowing the aircraft and missile warning system to supply data for the U.S. ballistic missile defense system, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, July 13). Canadian officials said the move does not mean Ottawa is committed to participating in the new weapons program. That “is a decision that remains with the government and will only be made after extensive consultations,” Defense Minister Bill Graham said yesterday. “We’re keeping both options open,” he added. NORAD’s detection and warning function could have been overtaken by the fledgling antimissile system and left Canada with no authority over its activities had Ottawa not signed on to the change, said Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew. “It makes good sense to amend the agreement so that this essential NORAD function can be preserved and Canada can continue to benefit from the security it provides to our citizens,” Pettigrew said (Associated Press, Aug. 5). Back to top

California Terrorist Drills Test U.S. Response A simulation of a multipronged terrorist attack, including the detonation of a mock “dirty bomb” and derailment of a chemical tanker, was conducted yesterday in Southern California, the Oakland Tribune reported (see GSN, July 16). The exercise was part of a large-scale exercise this week called Amalgam Vergo/Determined Promise 2004, spearheaded by the North American Aerospace Defense Command, U.S. Northern Command, and the Transportation Security Administration, according to the Tribune. Training simulations were also held in Virginia and Canada. Simulations in California included a radiological bomb explosion in the Port of Los Angeles and a train derailment of a chemical tanker in Ventura County.  Local and national authorities were pleased with the coordination of the response. “Overall it was pretty successful,” said FBI Special Agent Michael Gimble, who observed a hijacking drill in Oakland. “The biggest surprise, and it’s a good surprise, is all our agencies worked together,” said Fred Lau, Transportation Security Administration chief at Oakland International Airport (Sean Holstege, Oakland Tribune, Aug. 6).   Back to top

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