U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld (shown yesterday at a NATO defense ministers meeting in France) expressed concerns yesterday about North Korea’s announcement that it possessed nuclear weapons and would not return to six-party talks. The White House rejected demands by Pyongyang for bilateral talks on the atomic issue (AFP photo/Pascal Guyot). Pyongyang Demands Bilateral Talks With Washington, South Korean Report Says After announcing that it has atomic weapons, North Korea is calling for bilateral talks with the United States as a step to returning to the six-party nuclear talks, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Feb. 10). “We will return to the six-nation talks when we see a reason to do so and the conditions are ripe,” Han Sung Ryol, a senior member of North Korea’s U.N. delegation in New York, told the South Korean Hankyoreh newspaper yesterday. “If the United States moves to have direct dialogue with us, we can take that as a signal that the United States is changing its hostile policy toward us” (Sang-Hun Choe, Associated Press/Washington Post, Feb. 11)...Full Story

Proposed FY06 DOE Budget Cuts Sandia National Laboratories Budget, Gives Small Boost to Los Alamos The U.S. Energy Department’s proposed budget for fiscal 2006 reduces funding at the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico while offering a slight increase for the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Albuquerque Journal reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 10)...Full Story

Scientists to Test Air Flow in NYC A group of scientists and emergency planners will study air flow next month in New York to see how a release of chemical or biological agents might move through the city, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Jan. 10)...Full Story

	Friday, February 11, 2005

Scientists to Test Air Flow in NYC A group of scientists and emergency planners will study air flow next month in New York to see how a release of chemical or biological agents might move through the city, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Jan. 10). On a calm day between March 7 and March 21, researchers plan to release six different harmless gases from separate locations, then track the gases using trace samplers, the Times reported. They will also use wind vanes and other equipment to chart air speed, direction and moisture. Information gleaned from the test will help researchers develop computer models for the movement of toxic gases. “If a tanker truck carrying toxic gases crashes downtown or a terrorist releases anthrax in the air, you want to be able to start predicting the places that are downwind,” said Tony Fainberg, an official with the U.S. Homeland Security Department’s Science and Technology Directorate. “With computer modeling you can start to figure out whether to tell people to get off the streets immediately or to stay inside. You can also start figuring out where to send the ambulance, police and Fire Department.” “You can avoid having people running into the plume instead of away from it” by offering better information, Fainberg said. Data from the federally funded effort will be shared with local officials, the Times reported. A New York Police Department spokesman said the information would be useful, but noted that the city already extensively uses sensors to detect biological or radioactive agents. Additional field studies in New York are planned for August 2005 and March 2006 (Ian Urbina, New York Times, Feb. 11). Back to top       Chicago to Install Biochemical, Radiological Sensors The city of Chicago will use a $53 million settlement from a cable company to pay for radiological and biochemical sensors and other equipment to detect terrorist activity, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Dec. 8. 2004). The new security system will be installed over 18 months and is set to include 900 miles of fiber-optic cable, more than 2,200 surveillance cameras and sensors able to detect agents such as anthrax, according to emergency management official Ron Huberman (Gretchen Ruethling, New York Times, Feb. 11). Back to top       U.S. Reaffirms Goal of Normal Libya Relations A U.S. envoy this week reiterated Washington’s desire to establish normalized relations with Libya, and praised leaders in Tripoli for abandoning weapons of mass destruction, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Jan. 31). Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs William Burns met Wednesday and yesterday in Tripoli with Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qadhafi and other officials and “once again welcomed Libya’s implementation of its historic decision to eliminate weapons of mass destruction, and its cooperation in the global war on terrorism,” according to a State Department statement. Burns “reaffirmed the goal of fully normalized relations” and reviewed matters of “specific concern over Libya’s past involvement in terrorism, and both sides agreed to continue a comprehensive discussion of this question,” the statement adds. U.S. President George W. Bush lifted most economic sanctions on Libya in September after Qadhafi pledged in December 2003 to reject weapons of mass destruction (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Feb. 10). Back to top

Pyongyang Demands Bilateral Talks With Washington, South Korean Report Says After announcing that it has atomic weapons, North Korea is calling for bilateral talks with the United States as a step to returning to the six-party nuclear talks, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Feb. 10). “We will return to the six-nation talks when we see a reason to do so and the conditions are ripe,” Han Sung Ryol, a senior member of North Korea’s U.N. delegation in New York, told the South Korean Hankyoreh newspaper yesterday. “If the United States moves to have direct dialogue with us, we can take that as a signal that the United States is changing its hostile policy toward us” (Sang-Hun Choe, Associated Press/Washington Post, Feb. 11). The Bush administration today indicated it would not enter into direct talks with Pyongyang, according to the Associated Press. “It’s not an issue between North Korea and the United States. It’s a regional issue,” said White House press secretary Scott McClellan. “And it’s an issue that impacts all of its neighbors” (Deb Riechmann, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Feb. 11). U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld expressed concerns about nuclear weapons in the hands of the North Korean regime, the New York Times reported. “One has to worry about weapons of that power in the hands of leadership of that nature,” he said. “I don’t think that anyone would characterize the leadership in that country as being restrained.” Yesterday’s announcement is likely to strengthen the case being made by some administration officials to further pressure North Korea by blocking the flow of trade and money into that country, current and former administration officials told the Times. Vice President Dick Cheney “has always argued that ‘time is not on our side,’” said one former senior U.S. official who favors increased engagement with North Korea. “Kim’s just made life easier for the hard-liners.” Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence officials have found no visual evidence via satellite that North Korea is preparing a nuclear test, the Times reported (Brooke/Sanger, New York Times, Feb. 11). North Korea appears to be aiming for international acceptance of its status as a nuclear power, the Washington Post reported. The communist nation has advanced its nuclear program with little backlash in recent years, and that trend appears likely to hold after Pyongyang acknowledged holding nuclear weapons and refused to return to the full talks. Some analysts said the United States has limited options on North Korea. If talks do not resume, Washington is likely to have trouble obtaining U.N. Security Council action on the issue, and the standoff with Iran continues to be a concern. “There aren’t good options here,” said Brookings Institution fellow Charles Pritchard. “They still have Iran on their hands, and I don’t think they can take North Korea on in a confrontational manner” (Kessler/Faiola, Washington Post, Feb. 11). The United States yesterday ruled out any new incentives to lure North Korea back to six-party talks, Agence France-Presse reported. “Our position is consistent, and we don’t see a need to review it,” said State Department deputy spokesman Adam Ereli. “We’ve got a proposal on the table. We think it’s a good proposal.  We think it goes in a positive direction in addressing mutual concerns” (see GSN, June 23, 2004). “We have said very clearly that a peaceful diplomatic solution is our preferred option or preferred course and the one to which we are working with full conviction,” Ereli said (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Feb. 11). South Korean officials today questioned Pyongyang’s claim about possessing nuclear weapons. “It was in line with North Korea’s previous contention that it has extracted plutonium to produce nuclear weapons. I don’t see anything new,” said Vice Foreign Minister Lee Tae-sik. “It appears to be part of (North Korea’s) negotiating strategy” (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Feb. 11). Australian Prime Minister John Howard today also questioned Pyongyang’s claims and said he believed the six-way talks could be restarted, Reuters reported. The talks involve North Korea, South Korea, the United States, Russia, Japan and China. “There is an element of bluff, I’m sure, there’s an element of exaggeration — even if [North Korea] does have some nuclear capacity it has probably been exaggerated,” he told Australian television. “I am not absolutely certain that the six-power talks have collapsed and we will renew our efforts, particularly with the Chinese and the Americans and the Japanese, to see if we can’t re-establish those six-power talks” (Michelle Nichols, Reuters, Feb. 11). China, South Korea and Germany joined calls from the United States and around the world for Pyongyang to resume negotiations. “We are going to persuade North Korea by presenting it with a case that its interests are best served by dismantling its nuclear programs,” said Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi (Jon Herskovitz, Reuters, Feb. 11). Back to top       Proposed FY06 DOE Budget Cuts Sandia National Laboratories Budget, Gives Small Boost to Los Alamos The U.S. Energy Department’s proposed budget for fiscal 2006 reduces funding at the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico while offering a slight increase for the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Albuquerque Journal reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 10). Sandia’s next budget is now set at $1.4 billion, $121 million down from fiscal 2005. Los Alamos is expected to receive $1.83 billion, a 1.6-percent increase from this year. Budgets for both facilities call for cuts in computer simulation work used to ensure the viability of the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile without testing, the Journal reported. The Los Alamos simulation budget is proposed to fall by $46 million, a 24-percent cut, while Sandia would lose $48.5 million, or 28 percent. “I am concerned about the impacts that these reductions will have on our ability to carry out the life extension program with our nuclear weapons systems that are so critical to monitoring the safety and reliability of our stockpile,” Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said in a statement. Funding for nuclear nonproliferation activities at Los Alamos would increase by $78.8 million to $220 million, while funding for that work at Sandia would drop from $145 million this year to $137 million in fiscal 2006. The nuclear weapons research budget at Los Alamos would drop by $63.3 million, a 4.5-percent reduction from this year, the Journal reported. Federal fiscal 2006 begins in October (Adam Rankin, Albuquerque Journal, Feb. 10). Back to top       Iran Expresses Hope for Success of EU Nuclear Talks Iran yesterday expressed some hope of success in reaching a settlement over its nuclear program through negotiations with the European Union, Reuters reported (see GSN, Feb. 9). “The chance of striking an agreement is not small because Iran is quite flexible in this regard,” Iranian nuclear negotiator Hossein Mousavian told state television amidst this week’s talks. “We welcome any kind of guarantees to prove that Iran will not divert to making bombs in future.” “In the sessions this week we are witnessing a slight change of behavior from the Europeans,” Mousavian said. “If they strengthen this seriousness we will be in a position in mid-March to say whether we can reach an agreement.” Mousavian said Iran was prepared to accept more stringent inspections of its nuclear facilities. “For a country which is not pursuing the bomb it is not a problem to have more inspectors,” he said (Paul Hughes, Reuters, Feb. 10). EU President Jean Asselborn yesterday said negotiations with Iran were progressing, Agence France-Presse reported. “We’re moving forward,” said Asselborn, foreign minister of Luxembourg, which presently holds the rotating EU presidency. He added, however, that “the Iranians must realize that we will not play with them. And they must not play with us.” Europe is “firmly opposed to Iran having a nuclear bomb,” he said. Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi is scheduled to visit Luxembourg next week, Asselborn said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Feb. 10). Negotiators have decided to conduct another day of talks today, diplomats said, with European leaders hinting that progress was being made, AFP reported. Talks on technology, trade cooperation and other issues began Tuesday in Geneva and were scheduled to end yesterday, when the nuclear program was expected to come up for discussion, according to AFP. One diplomat said it was “worthwhile not to leave any detail unconsidered” and that it was “better to extend the talks than to cut them off.” French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier yesterday urged the United States to back the negotiations. “We have favored the diplomatic option and we want it to succeed for the benefit of everyone,” Barnier said. “These negotiations are difficult and fragile” and “we really need the confidence and support of the United States to help us to succeed,” he said (Agence France-Presse/IranMania.com, Feb. 10). Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that Iran’s nuclear program was a greater security threat than that of North Korea, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported. “We believe the North Korean problem still can be solved through diplomatic means,” Rice was quoted by Le Figaro in an article published today as saying. “Iran poses a direct threat to the peace process in the Middle East through its support of terrorist groups” (Deutsche Presse-Agentur, Feb. 11). Back to top       Pakistani Told al-Qaeda Operatives to Acquire Nuclear Weapons, U.S. Investigators Say A Pakistani national who did business in the United States indicated to al-Qaeda members that he knew where to find nuclear weapons that might be used against U.S. troops, Knight Ridder reported today (see GSN, Jan. 24). Saifullah Paracha, who has television production and import companies in New York, is being held without charges at the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Documents filed in U.S. District Court in Washington state that investigators said at a November tribunal that Paracha “recommended to an al-Qaeda operative that nuclear weapons should be used against U.S. troops and suggested where these weapons might be obtained. The court filing also identifies Paracha as participating in a plot to smuggle explosives into the United States and to help al-Qaeda hide “large amounts of money,” according to Knight Ridder. Paracha denied any terrorist activities during the court hearing. “Is a nuclear weapon something I could buy off the shelf? Can you buy it from [British Prime Minister] Tony Blair?” he said. Paracha’s attorney, Gaillard Hunt, said yesterday that his client was “a businessman getting ready to meet Kmart buyers, the farthest thing from an enemy combatant.” Paracha at most made only generalized statements about nuclear weapons, “something many people have done over the past 60 years in our more anxious moments,” Hunt said in court documents. Investigators also alleged that Paracha met twice with Osama bin Laden and discussed smuggling chemicals and explosives into U.S.-allied nations, according to Knight Ridder. Paracha admitted he met with bin Laden in 1999 to discuss a television project on the Koran and visited Afghanistan with a business delegation in 2000. “Sir, how could anybody know who al-Qaeda is?” he said during his hearing. “I believe in the Quran, that killing one innocent person is equal to killing all humanity.” Paracha’s son, Uzair, is scheduled to go on trial March 21 on charges of trying to help an al-Qaeda operative enter the United States (Frank Davies, Knight Ridder/Yahoo!News, Feb. 11). Back to top       Russian Authorities Record No Recent Incidents of Uranium-Related Smuggling, Official Says Russian authorities have not recorded a single instance of smuggling of uranium-based materials in recent years, the head of Russian nuclear and radioactive security said yesterday, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Jan. 14). “In the 1990s, there were some 20 attempts to take dangerous radioactive material [from Russian facilities], some 15 of them in 1995 alone, but now there are no such attempts,” Alexander Agapov was quoted by ITAR-Tass as saying. High-tech control measures and increased security at sites have eliminated the theft attempts, Agapov added. “If any such attempts are repeated, the mechanisms of certification and licensing of enterprises working with such materials would be boosted” (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Feb. 11). Back to top       UT Board of Regents Votes Against Los Alamos Bid, Backs Collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories The University of Texas Board of Regents voted yesterday against seeking the management contract for the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, but approved a five-year collaboration with the Sandia National Laboratories, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Jan. 14). UT System Chancellor Mark Yudof had recommended against the Los Alamos bid after the university was unable to secure a management partner. The agreement with Sandia gives the university a role in managing the Albuquerque facility, but the focus will be on “more pure science and technology,” Yudof said. Along with promoting education and research collaboration, the agreement calls on the university to review Sandia’s science and technology programs. The university plans to open an office at the laboratory by Oct. 1, AP reported (Brandi Grissom, Associated Press/Houston Chronicle, Feb. 11). Back to top

N.J. Hospital Installs Biological Agent Analyzer A New Jersey hospital has become the first in the nation to install equipment able to identify biological agents within 15 minutes, the Bergen County, N.J., Record reported yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 19). The BioVeris M1M Analyzer will allow Hackensack University Medical Center to detect anthrax, ricin and other toxins without having to send specimens to outside laboratories for tests that can take up to 24 hours to finish, the Record reported. “Identifying a biological agent early will enable us to begin treatment early and save lives,” said Edward Yamin, vice chairman of the hospital’s Emergency Trauma Department. “We know from the attacks of anthrax in 2001 that those patients that were treated early survived, and those that were not died.” The $69,000 unit previously had been sold only to the U.S. military, according to the Record. Substances in test tubes are placed into an opening in the machine, which beeps and provides an analysis if it detects a biological agent. “Bioterrorism is fear driven, and this allows us to screen out fear,” said Gary Munk, hospital clinical virology director. “It’s a ‘squirt and walk.’ You put a little specimen in and it beeps you if there is a problem. Otherwise it gives you peace of mind” (Walter Dawkins, The Record, Feb. 10). Back to top       D.C. Mayor Reassures Residents on Bioterrorism Lab A plan for a bioterrorism laboratory in Washington, D.C. is unlikely to have a “significant impact” on residents, Mayor Anthony Williams said Wednesday (see GSN, Feb. 8). “Residents can be assured that this does not mean a repository for dangerous chemicals,” Williams, according to the Washington Examiner. “We’re not talking about bringing Area 51 from Nevada,” Williams added. He indicated that city officials are looking at placing the facility at the site of the former D.C. General Hospital, the Examiner reported. Some local officials, however, did not seem reassured. It is reasonable to be concerned about a facility that could potentially handle pathogens such as anthrax, said City Council Member Sharon Ambrose (Michael Neibauer, Washington Examiner, Feb. 10).             Back to top

About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines

© Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.