China displayed this surface-to-surface missile defense system at a 2004 exhibition in Zhuhai, but the Chinese ambassador to the United States said yesterday that the Beijing spends relatively little on new weapons (Getty Images/Mike Clarke). China Spends on Troops, Not Weapons, Says Ambassador to U.S. By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Amid growing U.S. concern about China’s nuclear and missile programs, Ambassador to the United States Zhou Wenzhong yesterday said most of Beijing’s recent military spending increase does not reflect new weapons acquisitions (see GSN, Aug. 12). Most new spending has gone to increase troop pay, Zhou told students who packed a Georgetown University auditorium to hear him. “Only a small percentage was spent on additional equipment,” Zhou said. The ambassador said that despite recent increases, China’s per capita military expenditures remain “much lower” than other powers. He defended the transparency of the official military budgeting process, which U.S. officials and nongovernmental experts say applies to less than half of actual Chinese defense spending...Full Story

U.S. Finalizes Food Bioterrorism Rule By David Francis Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week finalized a rule developed after the 2001 terrorist attacks to protect the food supply against bioterrorism (see GSN, June 29)...Full Story

Iran Expected to Resume Nuclear Talks With EU International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said yesterday that he anticipates that Iran will soon resume talks on its nuclear program with France, Germany and the United Kingdom (see GSN, Oct. 5)...Full Story

	Thursday, October 6, 2005

U.S. State Department Official Meets With Central Asian Leaders to Discuss WMD Proliferation U.S. Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Robert Joseph yesterday discussed WMD nonproliferation with Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Oct. 5). “We talked about the need to prevent the overflight of [Turkmenistan] by those states that could use [the] country’s airspace to ship weapons of mass destruction-related materials,” Joseph said (Associated Press, Oct. 5). Joseph also met with Tajik President Emomali Rakhmonov, who said his country is working to bolster its borders against WMD proliferation. “Tajikistan is a party to all conventions relating to nonproliferation and is a firm advocate of their strict observance and unconditional fulfillment by other parties,” Rakhmonov said. “We are trying to create a firm barrier on our borders in order to prevent trafficking in illegal weapons and to establish an exchange of information with our neighbors and to strengthen our customs controls. We need help on these questions,” he said (Agence France-Presse, Oct. 5). Back to top

China Spends on Troops, Not Weapons, Says Ambassador to U.S. By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Amid growing U.S. concern about China’s nuclear and missile programs, Ambassador to the United States Zhou Wenzhong yesterday said most of Beijing’s recent military spending increase does not reflect new weapons acquisitions (see GSN, Aug. 12). Most new spending has gone to increase troop pay, Zhou told students who packed a Georgetown University auditorium to hear him. “Only a small percentage was spent on additional equipment,” Zhou said. The ambassador said that despite recent increases, China’s per capita military expenditures remain “much lower” than other powers. He defended the transparency of the official military budgeting process, which U.S. officials and nongovernmental experts say applies to less than half of actual Chinese defense spending. “China’s defense budget is open and transparent, as it’s subject to deliberation and approval by the National People’s Congress,” Zhou said. Official Chinese military figures put defense spending this year at about $30 billion. The U.S. Defense Department, however, said in July that China was upgrading its nuclear and missile programs and that Beijing’s military spending could reach $90 billion this year (see GSN, July 20). A week earlier, senior Chinese Gen. Zhu Chenghu had fueled U.S. concerns by saying China could use nuclear weapons in reacting to a U.S. military intervention in the dispute over Taiwan’s status (see GSN, July 15). A leading U.S. expert on China’s military disputed Zhou’s claims in an interview today. Richard Bush, a former U.S. National Intelligence Council specialist on East Asia, said that Zhou is correct in saying China is increasing troops’ pay but dismissed the ambassador’s budget claims and warned that China is gearing up for a potential conflict with the United States. “They are paying the troops more, but they are spending an awful lot on advanced systems, and they’re spending on advanced systems for a very specific purpose, and that is to fight a war in the Taiwan Strait,” said Bush, who directs the Brookings Institution Center for Northeast Asian Policy Studies. “This is to fight a war against Taiwan and to keep the United States out of that war.” Bush said much of China’s foreign weapons procurement does not pass through the National People’s Congress deliberation process. “You at least double the NPC figure to get a realistic sense of what the true spending is,” Bush said. “To get trapped into a discussion of budgetary figures is to miss the point,” he said. “The question is:  What is this money, however much it is, buying? And what can the equipment do?  And what is the training enabling China’s soldiers to do?” Zhou said yesterday that China remains “determined” to reunite the “motherland” and reiterated Chinese calls on the United States to stop selling arms to Taiwan. The ambassador said a meeting last month in New York between U.S. President George W. Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao “pointed the direction in which U.S.-China relations should go.” President Bush reportedly reassured Hu that the United States does not support independence for Taiwan, while Hu reportedly vowed to focus more on reducing Chinese-U.S. tensions and on making progress in talks on North Korea’s nuclear programs. Days later, an agreement was announced under which North Korea would end its nuclear weapons program in exchange for energy and economic aid and security guarantees. Back to top       Iran Expected to Resume Nuclear Talks With EU International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said yesterday that he anticipates that Iran will soon resume talks on its nuclear program with France, Germany and the United Kingdom (see GSN, Oct. 5). “I am optimistic that in the coming months we will see a resumption of these negotiations,” ElBaradei said. Tehran and its negotiating partners are looking for “a face-saving solution” following a suspension in talks that ElBaradei described as a temporary “hiccup,” Agence France-Presse reported. ElBaradei said, however, that questions persist regarding Iran’s nuclear effort. “We are making good progress in understanding the nature of the program,” he said. “But there [are] still a number of outstanding issues that we have not resolved. Until we resolve these issues ... we cannot say it is a strictly peaceful” program, ElBaradei said. Meanwhile, one of Iran’s top diplomats, U.N. Ambassador Mohammad Javad Zarif, had resigned as a nuclear negotiator for Tehran. He is considered a moderate, according to AFP (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 5). The United States yesterday expressed concern about reports that Iran’s military has taken control of the country’s nuclear program, the Washington Times reported. “It stands to reason that the one logical conclusion of a military involvement in a nuclear program is they are trying to build a nuclear weapon,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. One member of Iran’s parliament also expressed concerns about the direction of his nation’s nuclear program. “Sadly, the first action of the government was to change the nuclear negotiators and deprive itself of their expertise and the trust they built up,” lawmaker Hassan Afarideh, who is considered a moderate, said of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s administration (David Sands, Washington Times, Oct. 6). Iran has made progress in developing a complete nuclear fuel cycle program, Ahmadinejad said yesterday. “In the sphere of nuclear fuel cycle activities, today we are one step ahead of two months ago,” he told state television. He said Iran was considering taking up nuclear negotiations with more European countries. “We are ready for negotiations with different countries. There are other countries in Europe except those three [France, Germany and the United Kingdom] who have sent requests for negotiations with Iran. We are now examining it,” Ahmadinejad said (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press/Hindustan Times, Sept. 29). Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said today that while Tehran was prepared to engage in nuclear negotiations, it would not bargain over its atomic facilities, AFP reported. “What is important is that Iran possesses the nuclear fuel cycle and that this is not diverted to atomic weapons, and within this framework we can give the necessary guarantees,” Larijani said (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 6). Back to top       Former U.S. Official Expects Prolonged, Difficult North Korea Nuclear Negotiations Officials working to negotiate a deal for North Korea’s nuclear disarmament can expect long and difficult talks due to lack of trust between North Korea and the United States, a former senior U.S. official told Reuters today (see GSN, Oct. 5). “If anything, I think trust is lower because North Korea clearly violated the terms of the Agreed Framework in pursuing an enriched uranium program, which was clearly barred by the Agreed Framework” in 1994, said Thomas Hubbard, a former U.S. envoy to South Korea and member of the U.S. team that negotiated that nuclear deal with Pyongyang. Negotiators plan to establish a sequence for dismantling North Korea’s nuclear programs while the other parties to six-nation negotiations provide rewards for completion of the various steps, Reuters reported. “The way we played out the lack of trust in the ‘94 agreement was through this careful phasing,” Hubbard said. “I don’t think we know yet whether North Korea is prepared to give up nuclear weapons. That is a central element in the lack of trust in this whole process,” Hubbard said (Jon Herskovitz, Reuters/Yahoo!News, Oct. 6). Some U.S. conservatives have expressed skepticism about the Beijing agreement reached at the fourth round of multilateral talks last month, the Associated Press reported yesterday. “It looks like a pretty devastating self-evisceration,” said Nicholas Eberstadt, an analyst with the American Enterprise Institute. “Bad deals are not necessarily better than no deals, and this looks like a bad deal.” Eberstadt also criticized U.S. negotiators for endorsing, at least theoretically, Pyongyang’s right to a nuclear energy program and possible provision of a light-water reactor. North Korea’s civilian nuclear program is “an entirely imaginary animal — akin to the unicorn,” he said. Meanwhile, the House of Representatives International Relations Committee, chaired by Representative Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), has titled a hearing today on the matter, “The Six-Party Talks and The North Korean Nuclear Issue: Old Wine in New Bottles?” Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, the top U.S. envoy to the talks, however, has said that “the one option we don’t have is to walk away.” “It’s an issue that will not find its way toward a stability,” Hill said this week. “If left alone, it won’t just find some natural level and be OK. So we need to stay with it, and we need to find a solution.” Representative Jim Leach (R-Iowa), chairman of the House International Relations subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, said it would be to Pyongyang’s benefit to make a deal with the Bush administration. “While you hear some conservative skepticism, I’m confident that Congress will pass virtually anything the Bush administration negotiates,” Leach said. “I’m not so confident of that circumstance with a more liberal administration” (Foster Klug, Associated Press, Oct. 5). Elsewhere, a top South Korean official today rejected fears that the negotiations are straining relations between Seoul, Tokyo and Washington, Agence France-Presse reported. Ruling Uri Party Chairman Moon Hee-sang said the three countries were playing different roles in attempting to convince the North to disarm. “We have strategies to deal with Pyongyang which can only happen when there is a strong relationship among South Korea, Japan and the U.S.,” Moon said. “Seoul is playing the role of bringing Pyongyang to the table of the international community,” he said (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 6). Back to top       IAEA Chief Promotes Nuclear Fuel Plan Offering a guaranteed nuclear-fuel supply to nations that agree to forgo producing their own fuel is the best option for preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 23). “Objective, apolitical, nonproliferation criteria” should be used to guarantee the fuel supplies, said agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei. “If a country meets these criteria, it would be assured of the supply of fuel. That, I think, would take care, in my view, of at least 80 percent of the problem.” Under the proposal, Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty signatories that do not possess a nuclear arsenal would agree to a moratorium on nuclear fuel production, the Los Angeles Times reported today. Countries would then receive fuel, which would be returned to the suppliers after it was used in reactors. The Nuclear Threat Initiative, a foundation that works to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction, “has already committed itself to provide a substantial sum of money to build a fuel bank that we can use as a last-resort supplier in case a country is facing difficulty in acquiring the nuclear reactor technology or the nuclear fuel,” ElBaradei said. Former U.S. Senator and foundation co-founder Sam Nunn said the proposal to supply fuel, impose a production moratorium and require repatriation of spent fuel covers “the three components that, in my view, are absolutely essential to begin to close this huge loophole in the Nonproliferation Treaty.” The plan would place 10 percent of all nuclear fuel in the world under the control of the agency, he added. “That’s the concept. It depends on governments’ reaction. Governments have to do the heavy lifting here, but I know the private sector has a real interest,” Nunn said (David Holley, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 6). [EDITOR’S NOTE: Sam Nunn is chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative.  NTI is the sole sponsor of Global Security Newswire, which is published independently by the National Journal Group.] Back to top       Report Urges Update of U.S. Nuclear Arsenal The United States should begin designing new nuclear weapons to replace its aging stockpile, says a report approved Tuesday by an Energy Department advisory board (see GSN, July 15). The six-member task force that drafted the report recommended starting a competition for design of a weapon for the White House’s Reliable Replacement Warhead plan, the Contra Costa Times reported yesterday. However, several members of the panel dissented from the recommendation to proceed with that plan, which is intended to update the arsenal with fewer, more reliable warheads that require less costly maintenance. “If we do this it has worldwide consequences, and it will stir up some kind of hornet’s nest,” said panel member Burton Richter, former director of the Stanford Linear Accelerator Center. He added that alternatives should be considered, according to the Times. “You’ve narrowed the choices to only one,” he said. The report also recommends building a new weapons production center and removing nuclear materials from heavily populated areas. “All the production elements of the [nuclear] complex are antiquated, and we suggest they should all be replaced,” said task force leader David Overskei, president of Decision Factors Inc. The report suggests consolidating weapon-grade nuclear materials at the new center. Such materials “pose a threat to the civilian community,” Overskei said (Betsy Mason, Contra Costa Times, Oct. 5). Back to top       Russia Warns Switzerland Not to Send Former Nuclear Energy Minister to U.S. for Embezzlement Trial Switzerland’s decision to extradite former Russian Nuclear Energy Minister Yevgeny Adamov to the United States on embezzlement charges could hurt its relations with Russia, Moscow warned yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 4). The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement yesterday that the Swiss charge d’affaires in Moscow had been told it was an “unjust decision, with which we do not agree,” the Associated Press reported. “We also noted that this puzzling and disappointing decision will affect Russian-Swiss relations,” the statement says. U.S. officials have accused Adamov of diverting up to $9 million in U.S. nuclear safety assistance to Russia (Associated Press/USA Today, Oct. 5). Back to top

Consortium to Work on Tularemia Vaccine The University of New Mexico and the Cerus Corp. yesterday announced the creation of a federally funded consortium to develop a tularemia vaccine (see GSN, Oct. 5). The consortium also includes the Lovelace Respiratory Research Institute, Arizona State University, and the University of Texas, San Antonio, according to a Cerus press statement. It has received $23 million from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The vaccine is expected to be based on Cerus’ KBMA vaccine technology, which consists of bacteria that have been killed but remain metabolically active. This technology can be used whenever a metabolically active vaccine is safer than a live vaccine, the release said. “The funds for this research will be important in developing strategies that are not only applicable to a vaccine for [tularemia] but will also assist in defining a paradigm for developing vaccines against other emerging infections,” said Rick Lyons, director of the University of New Mexico Center for Infectious Diseases and Immunity. “Emerging infections are recognized as a significant medical issue and innovative approaches to vaccine development are required. We are extremely excited about the opportunity provided to us by NIAID” (Cerus release, Oct. 5). Back to top       Researchers Fear Escape of Lethal Flu Strain Researchers are concerned about the potential security risk produced by the recreation of the 1918 Spanish flu, which killed 50 million people, the London Guardian reported today (see GSN, Oct. 3). Undisclosed quantities of the flu are being held in a high-security lab at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Georgia. Researchers have worked for nine years to recreate the virus. Its genetic sequence is available online, adding to fears that it could be recreated elsewhere, the Guardian reported. Scientists working with the virus argue their work has provided insight into the flu’s lethality and its unique genetic formation. Other researchers have warned that the virus could escape. “This will raise clear questions among some as to whether they have really created a biological weapon,” said Ronald Atlas, co-director of the Center for Deterrence of Biowarfare and Bioterrorism at the University of Louisville in Kentucky (Ian Sample, Guardian, Oct. 6). Back to top       Japanese Labs Lack Bioagent Handling Manuals A Japanese government survey released yesterday found that half of the 114 medical facilities in Japan that store samples of anthrax and resistant tuberculosis do not have manuals on how to handle the agents, Kyodo News report (see GSN, July 20). Japan’s Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry contacted 8,000 medical and research facilities for the survey. Of these, 79 have tuberculosis samples, 27 have anthrax and eight have both. Fifty-eight of these facilities do not have directions on how to handle to pathogens, according to Kyodo News (Kyodo News/Japan Today, Oct. 6). Back to top

Experts Dispute Russian Account of CW Explosion Russian chemical arms experts and others are disputing the official statements regarding a chemical weapon that exploded last month in the Saratov region, Ren TV reported (see GSN, Sept. 28). Several police officers were hospitalized following the controlled explosion of the weapon, which was reported as possibly dating back to World War II. The shell was found “in a pile of manure and earth,” said Mikhhail Ustalov, head of the Balakovskiy District Interior Department said. “The shell had been corroded.  It was probably damaged when the earth was being removed by shovel. It must have been hit several times.” Vera Muravyeva, whose husband found the weapon, said that the shell was dry and looked as if it had just been placed there. The content of the weapon is also in dispute. The theory that the shell contained sulfur mustard agent has been denied, Ren TV reported. The provenance of the munition also remains in doubt. “This kind of ammunition, this kind of mine are not stored at depots,” said Vladimir Mandych, an expert with the Saratov military institute of protection against radiobiological, chemical and biological weapons. “They were destroyed back in the late 1950s, early 1960s. So this shell belongs to World War II.” However, Lev Federov, president of the For Chemical Security Union, disputes this account. “Everything is postwar.  Because everything manufactured during the war and for war purposes has long perished or become rotten.” Seven of the 12 victims from last month’s blast remain hospitalized. Officials said they are undergoing rehabilitation, but Ren TV reported they are in intensive care. They are not permitted to contact anyone outside of the hospital, make mobile phone calls or meet with journalists, according to Ren (Ren TV/BBC Monitoring, Oct. 5). Back to top       Expert Says Jordan Suspects Had Dangerous Chemicals A chemical weapons expert told Jordan’s military court yesterday that “hazardous chemicals” were taken from terror plot defendants, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 14). However, the expert said it would take great expertise to convert the chemicals into a harmful substance. The defense called the expert in an attempt to show that the 13 suspects accused of planning a chemical attack in the capital city of Amman did not possess harmful chemical agents.  Authorities reportedly confiscated substances including cyanide and chlorine from the suspects. Under questioning from defense lawyers, the expert said that a specific mix of the chemicals “could affect the nerves, cause death, paralysis and suffocation.” “But to manufacture such harmful chemicals, you need good knowledge in chemistry, expertise in mixing chemicals and the appropriate equipment,” said the expert, implicating prime suspect Azmi al-Jayousi, who the prosecution claims received the training necessary to properly mix the chemicals. Al-Jayousi in a televised confession last year said that his group planned an attack on the Jordanian intelligence service headquarters on orders from terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. He later told the court the confession was coerced, according to AP (Shafika Mattar, Associated Press, Oct. 5). Back to top       Workers Contain Deseret Mustard Gas Leak The Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah yesterday contained an artillery projectile that was leaking mustard gas, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Oct. 4). Workers detected the leak while conducting monitoring in a weapons storage igloo. They donned protective gear to put the weapon into a larger airtight container, according to a depot statement (Associated Press/KUTV, Oct. 5). Back to top

U.S. Finalizes Food Bioterrorism Rule By David Francis Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week finalized a rule developed after the 2001 terrorist attacks to protect the food supply against bioterrorism (see GSN, June 29). The final rule requires all domestic and foreign facilities that pack, store, manufacture or process food in the United States to register with the agency. There are no significant changes between the final rule and the interim draft rule issued in 2003, according to the agency.   “This rule is one of our critical tools for safeguarding the American food supply,” acting FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach said in a statement. “By finalizing this rule, we now have another important safeguard in our ongoing efforts to make sure that human and animal foods are protected from a deliberate or accidental act of contamination.” The rule covers facilities that deal with meat, poultry, processed eggs, animal feed, dietary supplements, beverages and food additives. So far, more than 260,000 domestic and foreign facilities have registered with the agency. The agency said that the final rule would help it to quickly trace contaminated food back to any facility it passed through. This would allow FDA officials to determine if other food from the facility had been tainted. This is the third FDA food bioterrorism rule drafted after the September 2001 terrorist attacks to be finalized. A rule allowing the agency to detain food for 30 days if it has credible evidence that the food poses a risk was finalized in June 2004. In December of last year, the agency finalized a rule requiring companies to retain records of food origins and destinations for six months to two years, depending on a product’s shelf life.  The agency has yet to finalize a rule requiring prior notice for imported food shipments. Former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said last year that he was surprised that terrorists have not yet attempted to contaminate the supply (see GSN, Dec. 6, 2004). The World Health Organization, in a 2002 report, said that while steps have been taken to prevent terrorist contamination of the food supply, food bioterrorism is perhaps a greater threat than a terrorist attack with a weapon of mass destruction. “Food is also the most vulnerable to intentional contamination by debilitating or lethal agents,” the report said. “The diversity of sources of foods, including the global market, makes prevention difficult, if not impossible. At the same time, many developing countries lack basic food safety infrastructures and are vulnerable to deliberate acts of sabotage.” Food bioterrorism has been used in the past, according to the World Health Organization. In 1984, a cult in the United States contaminated salad bars with salmonella, resulting in 751 illnesses. A disgruntled Texas laboratory worker in 1996 infected colleagues’ food with dysentery.  One critic has charged that the new U.S. rules are not sufficient to counter the threat. “FDA still lacks essential tools to manage the threat of bioterrorism,” said Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director at the nutrition and health advocacy organization Center for Science in the Public Interest. “FDA still doesn’t do enough inspections of food at the border. FDA still does not have authority to inspect the plants where food is being processed outside the borders,” she told Global Security Newswire. “We’re relying on a weak safety net.” DeWaal said her group since 2001 has asked for increased funding for food safety programs. She is concerned that costs of the war in Iraq and the recovery from Hurricane Katrina will leave less money for food safety. The fiscal 2006 FDA budget request seeks $180 million for food safety and other counterterrorism activities. “As the Bush administration considers budget cuts, food safety programs should be exempt from those kind of across the board budget cuts,” DeWaal said. “The programs simply cannot afford to be cut.”   Back to top

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