The United States has verified the dismantlement of Libya’s WMD programs, following a decision late last year by Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qadhafi (shown in a 2003 photo) to eliminate his country’s chemical, nuclear and missile programs (AFP photo/Alexander Joe). United States Has Completed Verification of Libyan WMD Dismantlement By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States has verified with “reasonable certainty” that Libya has eliminated, or prepared for destruction, all its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction and longer-range ballistic missiles, a senior U.S State Department official said yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 22). Following Libya’s decision late last year to renounce weapons of mass destruction, the United States has worked with the United Kingdom to aid and verify the disposal process, including the dismantlement and removal of Libya’s nuclear weapons program, the elimination of thousands of chemical munitions, the preparation of chemical weapons agents for final disposal and the elimination of Scud C ballistic missiles. The last U.S. team left Libya on Monday, rendering verification “essentially” complete, according to Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance Paula DeSutter...Full Story

Senate Approves White House Choice for CIA Director; Intelligence Reform Bill Moves Forward By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted 77-17 yesterday to confirm Representative Porter Goss (R-Fla.) as the new director of central intelligence (see GSN, Sept. 22)...Full Story

U.S. Won’t Release ‘Dr. Germ’ for Hostage in Iraq Western and Iraqi officials said that Rihab Rashid Taha, a former Iraqi weapons scientist known as “Dr. Germ,” could be freed from custody, but insisted that the release would not mean they are giving in to demands of Islamic militants holding a British hostage, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, May 12, 2003)...Full Story

	Thursday, September 23, 2004

Senate Approves White House Choice for CIA Director; Intelligence Reform Bill Moves Forward By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate voted 77-17 yesterday to confirm Representative Porter Goss (R-Fla.) as the new director of central intelligence (see GSN, Sept. 22). U.S. President George W. Bush, who nominated Goss this summer to replace former CIA Director George Tenet, applauded the confirmation. “Porter Goss is a leader with strong experience in intelligence and in the fight against terrorism. He is the right man to take on the essential mission of leading the CIA at this critical moment in our nation’s history as we face the challenges and the dangerous threats of this century,” Bush said in a statement. Prior to his election to the House of Representatives in 1988, Goss was a former U.S. Army intelligence officer and served 10 years in the CIA Clandestine Service with postings in Latin America, the Caribbean and Europe.  Goss was named chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence in 1997. Opposition to Goss’s confirmation during yesterday’s vote consisted entirely of Democratic senators, including Senator Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence. Rockefeller has repeatedly criticized Goss as being too political of a choice for director of central intelligence. “I sincerely hope that Porter Goss will prove to be an independent and exceptional leader of the intelligence community.   But based on his long record of using intelligence for partisan gain, I feel I owe it to the men and women of the intelligence community to send a clear and strong signal about the paramount importance of independence and objectivity,” Rockefeller said in a statement yesterday explaining his vote. Goss pledged during confirmation hearings held this month that he would be objective and nonpartisan. One of the main issues Goss will face is the matter of intelligence reform. Prompted by the release this summer of the Sept. 11 commission report, lawmakers in both houses of Congress are working to pass reform legislation this fall. Chief among the proposed measures is a restructuring of the U.S. intelligence community through the creation of a national intelligence director. Yesterday, the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee voted unanimously to approve an intelligence reform bill proposed by committee Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-Maine) and top committee Democrat Joseph Lieberman (Conn.).  The Senate Republican leadership had directed the Governmental Affairs Committee to prepare the main Senate intelligence reform bill. The bill would create a national intelligence director with budgetary and personnel authority over many U.S. intelligence agencies, and create a National Counterterrorism Center as also proposed by the Sept. 11 commission (see GSN, Sept. 16). “This is an historic day and a great victory for reform.  The legislation that we passed today is the most sweeping and comprehensive reorganization of the intelligence community in more than half a century,” Collins and Lieberman said in a joint statement. Senate Republican leadership indicated that the bill would appear before the full Senate next week, Collins and Lieberman said. House Speaker Dennis Hastert’s (R-Ill) office did not return calls for comment today on the status of reform legislation in the House of Representatives. Hastert has previously said that he expects a full House vote on intelligence reform legislation by the end of this month. Outside intelligence experts were mixed today on their assessments of Goss’ commitment to intelligence reform and his ability to implement changes. James Carafano of the Heritage Foundation in Washington said that he believed Goss was “committed” to implementing effective change. “I can’t imagine his taking the job if he was committed to anything less,” Carafano said. While “no one doubts Goss’ good faith,” there are still questions surrounding his commitment to the recommendations proposed by the Sept. 11 commission and his views on the reform legislation making its way through the Senate, said Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy. Aftergood also said that he had been unimpressed with Goss’ performance during his Senate confirmation hearings, saying that Goss had not had “a lot of light to shed” on intelligence issues beyond generalities. Goss could also face having reduced authority in his new position due both to efforts to restructure the intelligence community, which could eliminate the position of director of central intelligence, as well as the upcoming November presidential election which could result in a change of administrations, according to experts. “It will unavoidably take him at least through the election to get oriented,” said John Pike, executive director of the GlobalSecurity.org think tank. As a result, Aftergood said, Goss is more likely to “tinker around the edges for a while” than to launch large-scale initiatives. In addition to intelligence reform, experts noted several other issues facing Goss as he becomes director of central intelligence, including obtaining more resources for the intelligence community, improving intelligence analyses and information technology upgrades. Goss must also “clear the decks and make sure that everyone is focused like a laser beam” on the war on terrorism, Carafano said. “If he has time left, he can come paint my house,” Carafano added. Back to top       Congress Set to Enhance Penalties for WMD Attacks Leaders of the U.S. House of Representatives are drafting legislation that would strengthen federal investigators’ antiterrorism powers, including measures that would enhance penalties for threats or attempts to use chemical or nuclear weapons against the United States, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, March 2). A draft of the legislation obtained by AP contains provisions similar to the draft copy of the “Domestic Security Enhancement Act of 2003,” dubbed “Patriot Act II” by some, which a nonprofit group said leaked out of the Justice Department in January 2003. House members are preparing a final version of the legislation, a spokesman for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas) said yesterday. The House is expected to begin amending the bill next week, according to AP (Jesse Holland, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Sept. 23). Back to top

United States Has Completed Verification of Libyan WMD Dismantlement By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States has verified with “reasonable certainty” that Libya has eliminated, or prepared for destruction, all its programs to develop weapons of mass destruction and longer-range ballistic missiles, a senior U.S State Department official said yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 22). Following Libya’s decision late last year to renounce weapons of mass destruction, the United States has worked with the United Kingdom to aid and verify the disposal process, including the dismantlement and removal of Libya’s nuclear weapons program, the elimination of thousands of chemical munitions, the preparation of chemical weapons agents for final disposal and the elimination of Scud C ballistic missiles. The last U.S. team left Libya on Monday, rendering verification “essentially” complete, according to Assistant Secretary of State for Verification and Compliance Paula DeSutter. “I have been involved in verification for a long time, and the opportunity presented by Libya’s decision is unique. This is one of those rare times that a state has volunteered to rid itself of its WMD programs — and it is a first for a state sponsor of terror to do so without regime change,” DeSutter said in her prepared testimony before a House International Relations subcommittee. In her testimony before the International Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Human Rights Subcommittee, DeSutter praised Libya’s cooperation in verifying its WMD disarmament, such as by providing complete access to requested sites, scientists, technicians and officials. Libya has also provided thousands of pages of documents that are still being reviewed, she said. In the latest of a set of rewards offered to Libya for its progress in eliminating its WMD programs, the Bush administration this week lifted most of the economic sanctions that were imposed against Libya in the late 1980s. The White House also eliminated a ban on direct air travel between the United States and Libya and released more than $1 billion worth of assets. The United States did not move forward with each set of rewards, though, until each stage of Libya’s disarmament was verified, DeSutter said. The United States wanted Libya to be “happy” that it decided to disarm and to not feel that its security would be jeopardized by giving up its weapons of mass destruction, she said. Libya will remain on the State Department’s list of terrorism-sponsoring nations, subjecting Tripoli to continued restrictions on foreign assistance, arms exports and dual-use exports. U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell is scheduled to meet with Libya’s foreign minister, according to reports. Reuters cited a senior U.S. official as saying that Libya’s presence on the terrorism-sponsoring list was likely to be a topic of discussion during the meeting.  In addition to preparations for the final destruction of Libya’s stockpiles of chemical weapons agents, plans are in place to eliminate Tripoli’s arsenal of Scud B ballistic missiles, according to DeSutter. She said the agreement to eliminate the Scud B missiles was one of the last to be reached with Libya. There had previously been suggestions that Tripoli might be allowed to keep its Scud B missiles after modifying them to travel a shorter range with a smaller payload. DeSutter provided no information during yesterday’s hearing, though, as to how the Scud B elimination would be carried out. To resolve any issues that might arise in the future, the United States, the United Kingdom and Libya have created a Trilateral Steering and Cooperation Committee, according to DeSutter. In addition, the State Department’s Verification and Compliance Bureau is preparing a report on its efforts in Libya, both to provide a historical record and to help compile the “lessons learned,” she said. The report will address the effect that sanctions had on Libya’s decision to disarm, DeSutter said, adding that “anecdotal evidence” indicated sanctions were highly effective. Democratic and Republican subcommittee members sparred during yesterday’s hearing over what effect the Iraq war and the overthrow of former President Saddam Hussein also had on Libya’s decision. The Bush administration has sought to link Libya’s decision to disarm to Operation Iraqi Freedom. In testimony before the subcommittee, Representative Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) said that during two visits to Libya — one in January and a second in March, Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qadhafi told him that he did not want to meet a similar fate as Hussein.  Representative Brad Sherman (Calif.), the subcommittee’s top Democrat, described Republican attempts to link Libya’s disarmament with the Iraq war as an “ex post facto” excuse to justify the Iraq war. In addition, Sherman dismissed the claims by Qadhafi cited by Republican lawmakers, saying that it was impossible to trust the Libyan leader’s statements. Back to top

U.S. Denies Plans to Attack Iran Over Nuclear Work U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday that Washington had no plans to attack Iran’s nuclear facilities, despite the Defense Department’s recent agreement to sell 500 “bunker-buster” bombs capable of disabling underground weapons facilities to Israel (see GSN, Sept. 22). Powell and Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom did not, however, rule out a military strike against Iran’s nuclear sites. “We’re talking about diplomacy and political efforts to stop this movement on the part of the Iranians toward a nuclear weapon,” Powell said. “We’re not talking about strikes, but every option, of course, remains on the table.” Shalom said that the issue should be sent to the U.N. Security Council. “We know the Europeans are trying now to engage the Iranians, but we know that the Iranians will never abandon their plans to develop nuclear weapons. They’re only trying to hide it,” he said. Powell said he would hope to see the case sent to the Security Council if Iran is unable or unwilling to answer the international community’s concerns by the November meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency (Jim Wurst, GSN, Sept. 23). The Bush administration said it has no plans to seek a Security Council resolution for Iran that would be similar to the one leading to last year’s invasion of Iraq, the Associated Press reported. If the case comes before the Security Council, a senior State Department official said, the United States would call for a resolution seeking the suspension of Iran’s uranium enrichment activities (Associated Press/USA Today, Sept. 23). Iran’s decision to defy the International Atomic Energy Agency’s most recent resolution to halt all uranium enrichment activities almost guarantees that the United States would push for the issue to be sent the Security Council in November, according to the Los Angeles Times. “They’ve thumbed their nose at the international community before and they’re doing it again,” Undersecretary of State John Bolton said. “The important thing is to change the political calculus of this issue. Put it in the spotlight, center stage, here in New York.” Even if the case was brought before the Security Council, some experts doubt that it would do much to change the situation. China, which holds a veto on the council, has said it opposes sanctions. “I’m not sure that the Security Council is such a threat,” said Kenneth Pollack, deputy director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. “The last option is a military attack, which I don’t think anyone wants.” Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon warned yesterday that Iran posed a growing risk. “Iran is involved in efforts which pose a clear danger to Israel — efforts to develop nuclear weapons,” he told Israel Radio. “They have already succeeded in developing ballistic missiles with a range that covers Israel.” “Dealing with this threat does not need to be done by Israel (by) itself,” he said. “This calls for an international effort to increase pressure on Iran.” Israel will “continue taking all defensive precautions necessary to maintain its defensive capabilities as well as deterrence,” Sharon added (Maggie Farley, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 23). Iranian officials warned that the Islamic republic would react “most severely” to any Israeli action against its nuclear installations, the Associated Press reported. Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi, asked yesterday about the U.S. sale of 500 “bunker buster” bombs to Israel, said, “Israel has always been a threat, not only against Iran, but all countries.” Israel’s “freedom to produce as much as they need — nuclear bombs as well as other weapons of mass destruction” is the main conflict in the Middle East, Kharazi said. “But be sure, any action by Israel certainly will be reacted (to) by us, most severely,” Kharazi said (Gerald Nadler, Associated Press/PhillyBurbs.com, Sept. 23). Back to top       Bush Did Not Pressure Musharraf for Access to Khan During Meeting, U.S. Official Says U.S. President George W. Bush did not attempt during a meeting yesterday with Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to obtain access for U.S. investigators to top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who reportedly confessed to transferring Pakistani nuclear technology abroad, according to the New York Times (see GSN, Aug. 12). A senior Bush administration official said the United States is so far satisfied with the information provided by Pakistan about the past activities of Khan, who has acknowledged using an international network to transfer nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea. In an interview with the Times earlier this week, Musharraf said that the United States has never asked for access to Khan, but even if it did, such a request would not be granted. “I mean, we must trust our own agencies,” Musharraf told the Times. Some U.S. intelligence officials have said, though, that Pakistan may not be sharing with the United States information that could embarrass the government, which has denied approving Khan’s activities, according to the Times.  “The administration has had to weigh its priorities, and it is clear to us that pursuing al-Qaeda is a higher priority now than squeezing out” information on the international nuclear network, an intelligence official said last week (David Sanger, New York Times, Sept. 23). In his interview this week, Musharraf said that while he was confident the nuclear network headed by Khan had been dismantled, questions still remain regarding the extent of Khan’s activities. “I'm 200 percent sure that it has been shut down," Musharraf said. “But if you say whether I am sure over what he's provided in the past, no sir, I’m not, I can’t say surely that he has honored everything that he has done” (Warren Hoge, New York Times, Sept. 20). Back to top       U.S. to Issue Guidance on Nuclear Response By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — No universal standards can be set on cleaning up after a radiological or nuclear terrorist attack, a special U.S. working group has found. (see GSN, April 21). Given the wide variety of possible attack sites, it would be inappropriate to issue one-size-fits-all guidance on how thoroughly to clean up such areas, Brooke Buddemeier of the U.S. Homeland Security Department’s Science and Technology Directorate said here Monday. Any attack site should be approached on its own terms, taking into account local conditions and the views of local “stakeholders” on questions such as how the site should be used after the attack, Buddemeier told the National Academy of Sciences’ Board on Radioactive Waste Management at its fall meeting. “The bottom line is at cleanup, it’s an optimization process. We couldn’t come up with a number, and I don’t think you’ll find that surprising,” Buddemeier said. The Homeland Security working group is about to publish new unified federal guidelines on cleaning an attack. An initial version of the “protective action guidelines,” which focus on incidents involving radiological dispersal devices and improvised nuclear devices, will be published “soon” in the Federal Register, and publication of the final version is expected early next year after a public-comment period, Buddemeier said. The working group has been preparing the recommendations, initially expected in June, for more than two years. The recommendations draw heavily from, and are intended to supplant, a hodgepodge of existing guidance from various agencies. Buddemeier said clear standards existed for events such as reactor meltdowns, which occur in controlled and isolated areas, but that guidance was lacking on potential radiological attacks on populated areas. The Sept. 11, 2001, al-Qaeda attacks led to the effort to establish such guidelines. “It does not define safe or unsafe levels” of radiation, Buddemeier said of the forthcoming guidance, but does suggest approximate levels at which various actions — sheltering in place or evacuation, for example — are justified. Back to top       Los Alamos Director Expects Operations to Resume Next Month; Panel Urges U.C. to Bid on Contracts Los Alamos National Laboratory Director Peter Nanos yesterday told University of California regents that he expects most operations at the facility to resume next month, after having been shut down in the wake of several safety and security breaches, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Sept. 16). Nanos said that, while he cannot guarantee there would be no more problems at the New Mexico nuclear research facility, the shutdown provided managers with an opportunity to address existing weaknesses in the system (Michelle Locke, Associated Press/PhillyBurbs.com, Sept. 23). Meanwhile, an advisory panel yesterday urged the university’s governing board to bid to maintain management contracts for the laboratory, the Los Angeles Times reported. The university might have to find an industrial partner to pursue a bid to continue operating the nuclear weapons centers at Los Alamos and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in Northern California, said William Friend, chairman of the advisory council. He recommended that the university do so, despite the recent scandals at Los Alamos. “We on the council believe very strongly that the regents and administration should be proud of [the university’s] performance over the years,” Friend said. University regents are not expected to decide for months whether to pursue continued management at the facilities, the Times reported (Rebecca Trounson, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 23). Back to top       Russia Calls on South Korea to Cooperate With IAEA Investigation of Nuclear Experiments Russia yesterday requested that South Korea cooperate completely with the International Atomic Energy Agency’s investigation of nuclear experiments recently disclosed by Seoul, according to Agence France-Presse (see GSN, Sept. 22). Russian and South Korean diplomats discussed the experiments, which involved small amounts of enriched uranium and plutonium, on the sidelines of a visit by South Korean President Roh Moon-hyun to Moscow, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. “The Russian side stressed our interest in ensuring that the Republic of Korea cooperates in an open and transparent manner with the IAEA,” the ministry said in a statement (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Sept. 22). Back to top       Brazil to Allow IAEA Inspections Brazil has agreed to open its Resende nuclear plant to inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Reuters reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 6). The agreement addresses the country’s fears of industrial espionage, Brazil’s Science and Technology Ministry announced yesterday. Inspectors are to verify that no uncontrolled or illegal removal of enriched uranium from the plant is taking place by examining pipes leading into the facility’s centrifuges, the ministry spokesman said.  The inspectors are due to visit on Oct. 18, according to Reuters (Reuters, Sept. 22). Back to top       Israel Signs CTBT Facility Agreement Israel today signed a facility agreement with the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, according to a press statement (see GSN, Sept. 9). The agreement allows the commission to work on International Monitoring System facilities on Israeli territory.  Compliance with the terms of the treaty, which Israel signed on Sept. 25, 1996, is monitored by a global verification regime, of which the International Monitoring System is a component (Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization release, Sept. 23). Back to top       Liechtenstein Ratifies CTBT Liechtenstein on Tuesday submitted its ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, July 6).  To date, 116 countries have ratified the agreement, including 32 of the 44 nations whose ratifications are necessary for the treaty to enter into force (Associated Press, Sept. 22). Back to top

U.S. Won’t Release ‘Dr. Germ’ for Hostage in Iraq Western and Iraqi officials said that Rihab Rashid Taha, a former Iraqi weapons scientist known as “Dr. Germ,” could be freed from custody, but insisted that the release would not mean they are giving in to demands of Islamic militants holding a British hostage, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, May 12, 2003). Kenneth Bigley was abducted last week from his Baghdad home along with U.S. civilians Eugene Armstrong and Jack Hensley by a militant group led by Jordanian-born terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The militants claimed responsibility for the slayings of Armstrong and Hensley and have demanded the release of all female prisoners in Iraq. The Iraqi Justice Ministry earlier announced that Taha, known as “Dr. Germ” for helping Iraq to weaponize anthrax, would be freed in the coming days because she was no longer a threat to national security, according to AP. The United States says it is holding only two women, Taha and another prisoner, Huda Salih Mahdi Ammash, a biotech researcher known as “Mrs. Anthrax.” Iraqi national security adviser Qassim Dawoud had said the two were in the hands of Iraqi security forces and that “Iraqi judges decided to release them because they didn’t have any evidence.” A U.S. Embassy spokesman disagreed, saying the two “are in our legal and physical custody.” Dawoud today said the two sides were jointly reviewing the status of prisoners, including that of Taha but not Ammash. He insisted that the timing of the review and the demands by al-Zarqawi’s group was a coincidence. “There is no question of the Iraqi government or multinational forces changing these decisions in the light of the demands of a terrorist group which has taken three hostages and criminally and barbarically murdered two of them,” Dawoud said in a statement. Western officials also said they were determined not to be seen as giving in to the militants’ demands. “We want to make certain that there is no connection between the decision to release her with al-Zarqawi’s demands,” a Western official said (Associated Press/ABCNews.com, Sept. 23). Back to top

U.S. Army to Allow Civilian Use of Chemical Antidote The U.S. Army has concluded that the chemical attack antidote Reactive Skin Decontamination Lotion (RSDL) is safe for use by emergency responders and has made it available to local police and fire departments and federal agencies, the company that manufactures the antidote said yesterday (see GSN, June 11). Other NATO countries maintain stockpiles of the lotion for treatment of civilian victims of a potential chemical attack, the Associated Press reported. In the United States, however, “the protocol for treating victims of a chemical attack would be copious quantities of water,” said Rand Sweeney, director of U.S. government contracting for RSDL manufacturer O’Dell Engineering. “The problem that they have is water does not neutralize the chemical agent.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the antidote in April 2003 for the Army’s use, a decision that gave the Army control over whether others could buy the product. For more than a year, the Army declined to make the lotion available to first responders, saying more testing was needed to determine such matters as whether it was safe to use with solutions containing bleach. O’Dell does not plan in the near future to request the right to sell the lotion to the general public (Sharon Theimer, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Sept. 23). Back to top

Canadian Defense Minister Backs Missile Defense Canada should join the U.S. government’s ballistic missile defense program, Defense Minister Bill Graham told the Ottawa Citizen yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 11). “This is not Iraq, this is not an engagement somewhere else. This is about North America.  I think it’s very important for us to be associated in any program that deals with the defense of North America,” Graham said. “I think Canada will regret it if we don’t participate.” Graham said Canadian involvement in the plan was crucial regardless of the outcome of the November U.S. presidential election. “Whether it’s Republican or Democrat down there, we want them to look us in the eye and say, ‘we’re your partner’,” said Graham. “In my view, it diminishes our sovereignty significantly by not being a participant.” Questions over the system’s effectiveness will be answered over time as the technology improves, Graham said. “While there is a significant debate among experts as to how successful or effective the program might be, the Americans intend to do it. And, in my view, when it comes to continental defense, we should be associated with the Americans when they chose to do something. We should work with them on it,” Graham said. “You can make an argument it isn’t working today. But we don’t know where it’s going to go 10 years from now.” Graham’s statements were a strong indication that the Liberal government plans to support missile defense efforts, the Citizen reported. Graham said Canadian officials have not made a final decision and that negotiations with the United States are continuing. Canada wants a guarantee from the United States that the system would not lead to weapons in outer space, Graham said (Mike Blanchfield, Ottawa Citizen, Sept. 23). Back to top

Taiwan Conducts Nuclear Plant Safety Exercise Simulating Terrorist Attack, Chinese Sabotage Taiwan today began an annual nuclear security drill, simulating a terrorist attack and acts of sabotage by Chinese agents at a nuclear plant in the southern part of the island, according to Agence France-Presse (see GSN, Sept. 15). “The drill covers a vast area of five kilometers (three miles) surrounding the plant as this year’s focus is damage control in the event of radiation leak,” an Atomic Energy Council official said. Chemical warfare troops were called to battle terrorists, while a police bomb squad dealt with devices placed on power generators, AFP reported. Meanwhile, Coast Guard Administration officers hunted for mock Chinese agents in the nuclear facility. The drill is set to end tomorrow, AFP reported (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Sept. 23).                 Back to top

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