FDA Calls Anthrax Vaccine Safe, Effective

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration yesterday announced that the existing anthrax vaccine remains safe and effective for use against the pathogen, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Dec. 5).

The announcement regarding Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed was made in a Federal Register notice, AP reported.

“We believe the vaccine is safe and effective for intended use, which would include (prevention of) inhalation anthrax,” said FDA spokeswoman Julie Zawisza.

Six military personnel sued the Defense Department over the mandatory anthrax vaccinations. A federal judge last year faulted the FDA drug-approval process and ordered the Pentagon to halt the vaccination of military personnel (see GSN, Oct. 28, 2004). The Pentagon earlier this year was allowed to administer the vaccine on a strictly voluntary basis; it is appealing the decision that barred mandatory inoculations.

The Food and Drug Administration review of its earlier findings was required under a court order, according to AP.

The military will “review program options” following the FDA announcement, William Winkenwerder, assistant defense secretary for health affairs, said in a statement. The voluntary vaccination program will also continue.

“The threat of anthrax as a weapon remains real. It is very important to provide our service members with maximum protection against this threat, particularly when operating in certain areas of the world,” Winkenwerder said (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Dec. 16).

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Zarqawi Caught, Released in 2004

Leading al-Qaeda operative Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was briefly taken into custody and then released last year by Iraqi security personnel who did not recognize him, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Oct. 6).

Iraqi police near Fallujah “suspected this man” and held him in late 2004 “along with other members” of his group, said Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal, Iraqi deputy interior minister.

“Afterward, he was released because we did not know the identity of this criminal,” Kamal told the Lebanese Broadcasting Corp.

“He was not armed. He was like any other citizen who was suspected. There was a simple interrogation with him and he was released,” Kamal said.

The brief capture occurred around the time of the November 2004 U.S. assault on Fallujah to push al-Qaeda and other insurgents out of the city. Thousands of people were subsequently taken into custody for limited interrogations before being released, AP reported.

Zarqawi is suspected of masterminding a number of attacks and kidnappings in Iraq, and has been sentenced to death in Jordan in connection with the death of a U.S. aid worker. The Jordanian-born terrorist has also been connected to a foiled 2004 chemical attack in his home country (Robert Reid, Associated Press/phillyBurbs.com, Dec. 16).

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House Critics Thwarted on Iraq War Intelligence Examination

By David Ruppe
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers critical of the Iraq war nearly caught a tiny break last week in their repeated, unsuccessful efforts to compel a government examination of how the Bush administration used intelligence to justify the 2003 invasion (see GSN, Dec. 9).

The Republican-led House International Relations Committee last week failed to reject a proposed Democratic resolution requesting that President George W. Bush give the House all documents used in preparation for an October 2002 speech in Cincinnati and his January 2003 State of the Union address.

In those speeches Bush respectively alleged that Iraq tried to buy high-strength aluminum tubes and sought uranium from Africa for producing nuclear weapons. Information revealed since has raised doubts about those contentions and the White House in 2003 said it was a mistake to include the uranium reference in the address.

A Republican-proposed vote to report the resolution out of committee with a negative recommendation ended in a 24-24 tie, with Representative James Leach (R-Iowa) joining all committee Democrats to oppose the motion. All but two of the remaining committee Republicans were present and backed the motion. The tie meant insufficient support to send the resolution out of the committee with a negative recommendation, or to defeat it.

Committee consideration of the resolution was then suspended until yesterday, when a new Republican motion to report the resolution out without a recommendation was approved by 24 Republicans, beating the 19 Democrats present. Leach was present but did not vote.

Leach told Global Security Newswire afterward he initially supported the resolution proposed by Representative Maurice D. Hinchey (D-N.Y.), “for a whole spectrum of reasons.”

“Some relate to sheer transparency, some relate to lack of vigorous oversight that has been self-apparent, some relate to the depth of mistakes of judgment that have been made,” he said.

Asked why he did not again vote with the Democrats in opposition yesterday, he said the vote “was a vote to go forward. So I can hardly object to a vote to go forward. The last one was a vote to disapprove.  There’s a huge distinction.”

It is not clear why five Democrats did not attend the meeting. Neither motion, however, was likely to bring the measure to the House floor for a vote, according Lynne Weil, spokeswoman for ranking committee Democrat Tom Lantos (Calif.), in an interview yesterday.

Whatever the panel’s stance, she said, the Republican-controlled House Rules Committee was certain to block the resolution’s release to the floor.

Even in the unlikely event that one passed Congress, the resolutions are nonbinding and could not compel any action by the administration.

Despite such poor prospects, Democrats have forced House International Relations Committee votes on nine such resolutions of inquiry, urging release of information on the use of prewar intelligence and the case of former CIA operative Valerie Plame, whose cover was allegedly blown by one or more White House officials.

The committee must continue to vote on such nonbinding resolutions when they are introduced; House rules otherwise enable the resolution’s sponsor to obtain a floor vote.

Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) vowed Democrats would introduce many more. “Unless the committees begin to undertake that … responsibility, these resolutions … are going to go on and on. Because there simply is no alternative for the minority party to attempt to hold the executive accountable for its actions,” he told the committee before the vote.

Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) said in a statement last week prior to the first vote that the resolution was “flawed politically and factually unnecessary.”

He cited conclusions by committee investigations and the independent Silberman-Robb commission that the White House did not force intelligence analysts to draw particular conclusions.

“This issue has been studied repeatedly with the same result — the intelligence was flawed but it was not manipulated,” he said.

The Democrats say they are seeking to examine, however, not whether the intelligence was manipulated, but whether it was fully and accurately portrayed by the administration to the public and Congress.

“When a decision is made on such a monumental issue as going to war, then we owe it to ourselves individually, to the institution of the Congress, and to our constituents to find out in the aftermath … what went into the information that was developed within the White House and what rhetoric was used and what facts were used for making that decision,” said Representative Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.).

Senate Democrats have made better headway in attempts to encourage an examination of the administration’s use of prewar intelligence.

A bipartisan investigation by the Senate intelligence committee on the subject was initiated, though it appeared stalled until Democrats last month in a procedural move forced Republicans to agree to appoint representatives to assess and report on the progress of the inquiry.

Also, according to a Washington Post story today, a new Congressional Research Service report requested by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) concluded Congress did not have access to the same prewar Iraq intelligence as the White House.

Bush administration officials have said Congress had equal access in attempts to rebut criticisms that they misled the country about evidence of Iraqi WMD capabilities.

Crowley in his speech said intelligence information from the White House “trickled down. We were not given everything.  We were given what the White House wanted us to know.”

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Russia Needs to Improve WMD Security, NATO Says

A NATO report issued today found that the international effort to secure Russia’s WMD arsenal has had significant successes, but that managing biological and tactical nuclear weapons needs greater attention (see GSN, Nov. 14).

The report by Canadian Senator Pierre Claude Nolin, NATO general rapporteur, addresses security issues regarding Russia’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, along with export controls and redirection of scientists who conducted WMD work.

While the G-8 Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction has given submarine dismantlement and chemical weapons destruction ample attention, tactical nuclear weapons destruction requires increased monitoring and Russia must provide adequate assurances that it has fulfilled its commitment to completely eliminate its biological weapons arsenal, the report states.

The international community, and especially the United States, has responded responsibly to the challenge of securing Russia’s WMD stockpile — the largest in the world — after the collapse of the Soviet Union with billions of dollars in aid, equipment and expertise, the report says. However, Russia remains reluctant to allow adequate monitoring of several WMD-related installations, according to the report. Nolin recommends greater involvement in the project by Russian officials and experts in order to elicit renewed cooperation from Moscow.

The report also urges Moscow to grant tax exemptions and liability protections for WMD threat reduction programs. Russia’s financial contribution to the programs should also increase to reflect its economic growth, it adds.

The report also recommends strengthening the role of the Senior Nonproliferation Officials Group and increasing the partnership’s membership to include particularly EU countries; accelerating destruction of nuclear weapons and related equipment; accelerating the pace of blending down of highly enriched uranium; and redoubling efforts to track the activities of former WMD scientists.

Nonproliferation efforts should be expanded to additional countries and regions, the report states. The threat-reduction work would be aided by strengthening international agreements such as the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, the Biological Weapons Convention and the Proliferation Security Initiative, and by producing a fissile material cutoff treaty (NATO report, Dec. 16).

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EU Condemns Iranian President’s Anti-Israel Comments, Warns Tehran on Nuclear Program

The European Union today officially condemned Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s most recent anti-Israel rhetoric and expressed renewed concern over Tehran’s nuclear efforts, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Dec. 9).

“The EU condemns unreservedly President Ahmadinejad’s call for the eradication of Israel and his denial of the Holocaust,” says a statement set to be included in the conclusions from this week’s EU summit.

“The comments are wholly unacceptable and have no place in a civilized political debate,” the statement says.

“The European Council is gravely concerned at Iran’s failure to build confidence that its nuclear program is exclusively peaceful,” it adds (Agence France-Presse I/SpaceWar.com, Dec. 16).

The European Union has also lodged a formal protest with Moscow over its sale of missile systems to Iran, the Associated Press reported yesterday (George Jahn, Associated Press/Forbes.com, Dec. 15).

Meanwhile, Washington is trying to build diplomatic support to further challenge Iran, AFP reported yesterday.

“Bilaterally we have few instruments of influence,” said Scott Lasensky, an analyst with the United States Institute of Peace. “On the world stage there is quite a lot you can do.”

“If Russia were to announce that it was ceasing cooperation with the construction of [the] Bushehr [nuclear reactor in Iran], that would be quite a political blow to the Ahmadinejad government,” said Patrick Clawson, an expert on Iran at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Increased military cooperation with the Gulf Cooperation Council and U.S. military flights over Iran could provide added leverage, Clawson said.

A senior State Department official told AFP that concerns about Iran are often discussed at meetings with U.S. allies (Peter Mackler, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Dec. 15).

Elsewhere, Iran today warned that it would respond with “swift and destructive” power in retaliation to any attack by Israel, AFP reported.

“The policy of the Islamic republic of Iran is completely defensive, but if we are attacked, the answer of the armed forces will be swift, firm and destructive,” said Defense Minister Mustafa Mohammad Najjar (Agence France-Presse II/SpaceWar.com, Dec. 16).

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North Korea Reaffirms Disarmament Commitment, Will Not Commit to Multilateral Talks

North Korea today reiterated its refusal to resume multilateral nuclear talks but affirmed its commitment to disarmament, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Dec. 8).

North and South Korean negotiators today released a statement saying that the September agreement (see GSN, Sept. 19) “has be to implemented soon ... for a peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue in accordance to common security and benefits of the people” (Bo-Mi Lim, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Dec. 16).

Meanwhile, the U.S. Treasury Department is scheduled to brief diplomats today on U.S. allegations of illicit financial activities by North Korea, Yonhap News reported.

The briefing will be held for representatives from Australia, the European Union, Japan, Russia, Singapore and South Korea, the State Department announced yesterday (Yonhap, Dec. 16).

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Russia Considers MIRV Warheads for Topol-M Missiles

Russia in a few years could decide to place multiple warheads on its Topol-M ICBMs, Interfax reported today (see GSN, Dec. 6).

Multiple Independently Targetable Re-entry Vehicles (MIRVs) carry multiple warheads that can be launched at several targets from a single missile.

“At the present time Topol-M missiles are equipped with single warheads, but in the future they may carry MIRVs,” Col. Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov, head of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces, told the Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper.

A decision on using the re-entry vehicles would be made based upon policy in place after the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START I) with the United States expires in December 2009, Solovtsov said.

Factors that could reduce the effectiveness of Russia’s nuclear forces could lead the military to install the MIRVs, Solovtsov said.

“Such factors include deployment of foreign missile defense systems, modernization of aerial and space reconnaissance systems … and scientific breakthroughs in the sphere of developing new arms,” he said (Interfax, Dec. 16).

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Activists Oppose Upgrades at Y-12 Plant

As the U.S. Energy Department considers potential upgrades to the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Tennessee, peace activists are lobbying to instead have it closed, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 29).

“Cease weapons production, pursue the long-neglected mission of dismantling nuclear weapons at Y-12,” Ralph Hutchison, coordinator for the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, said in a prepared statement.

Shuttering the facility “has the virtue of a positive environmental impact in every conceivable way. And it has the further benefit of being morally defensible,” he added.

The Energy Department is accepting public comments on the environmental impact of a potential new $1 billion highly enriched uranium processing plant for the facility that produces nuclear weapons parts for the U.S. arsenal.

Other options include maintaining existing operations, upgrading facilities already in use or cutting back work as equipment ages, AP reported.

While a total shutdown is not on the list, said Y-12 spokesman Steven Wyatt, “you have to consider all proposals.”

Hutchison called on the Energy Department to “calculate the increased risk of catastrophic attack by another country or group” following upgrades at Y-12.

“We will take comments and go from there,” Wyatt said (Associated Press, Dec. 15).

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Psychiatric Evaluation for Tokyo Subway Sarin Attack Mastermind Could Be Completed in February

Psychiatric examinations for the Aum Shinrikyo cult founder sentenced to death for the 1995 sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway system and other crimes could be completed in February, Kyodo News reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 30).

The three-judge Tokyo High Court will consider Shoko Asahara’s psychiatric evaluation and decide if he is competent to stand trial on appeal, court sources said yesterday.

If the judges determine Asahara is mentally competent, they may turn down his appeal without conducting further hearings, judicial experts said. Asahara’s attorneys failed to file documents explaining their reasoning for the appeal by the Aug. 31 deadline, Kyodo reported (Kyodo/Yahoo!News, Dec. 15)

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North Korea, Russia Reportedly Aid Iran’s ICBM Work

North Korean and Russian technology is supporting Iran’s efforts to develop longer-range missiles, the Bild newspaper reported, citing information from Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (see GSN, Nov. 7).

North Korea has sold components for 18 missiles to Iran, which is also using Russian submarine-launched missile technology to extend their missiles’ range to 2,200 miles, the German daily reported.

“Germany and other parts of Europe could be directly affected by the Iranian missile program in the medium to long-term,” Bild quoted a new report from Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service as saying.

The agency declined to comment, according to the Associated Press (Associated Press/Irish Examiner, Dec. 16)

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