U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice (shown in a March 1 photo) has called on the International Atomic Energy Agency to investigate whether Iran is using tunnels to store nuclear equipment (AFP photo/John McHugh). Iran Wants to Break U.N. Seals and Test Nuclear-Related Equipment, Diplomats Say Iran wants to test nuclear-related equipment that has been placed under U.N. seals, Western diplomats familiar with talks between Tehran and the European powers said yesterday (see GSN, March 3). “Iran wants to expand quality control checks and maintenance of ‘nonessential’ enrichment centrifuge parts to ‘essential’ centrifuge parts that have been sealed by the [International Atomic Energy Agency] under the [uranium enrichment] suspension,” one diplomat told Reuters. ..Full Story

U.S. Approves Final Tests of MOX Fuel The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission yesterday approved the test use of fuel made from weapon-grade plutonium at a U.S. nuclear power plant, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Feb. 18)...Full Story

Institute of Medicine Criticizes Bush Administration, CDC on Smallpox Vaccination Program The Bush administration “severely constrained” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from providing complete information about the U.S. smallpox vaccination program, which undermined efforts to inoculate U.S. medical personnel, the Institute of Medicine said in a report released yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 9, 2004)...Full Story

	Friday, March 4, 2005

Iraq Still Has Nuclear Weapons Expertise, Blix Says Former U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix has said that postwar Iraq still possesses the technical expertise needed to relaunch a nuclear weapons program, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Feb. 28). In an epilogue to the new paperback version of his book Disarming Iraq, Blix wrote that there are hundreds of Iraqi scientists and technicians with expertise retained from their work in Iraq’s pre-1991 weapons program. That, combined with concerns over Iran’s nuclear efforts, “should trigger a more active discussion of the idea of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, including Israel and Iran,” he wrote. Blix also said that now is not the time to shut down the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, which conducted inspections in Iraq, AP reported (see GSN, Feb. 28; Charles Hanley, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, March 4). Back to top

Iran Wants to Break U.N. Seals and Test Nuclear-Related Equipment, Diplomats Say Iran wants to test nuclear-related equipment that has been placed under U.N. seals, Western diplomats familiar with talks between Tehran and the European powers said yesterday (see GSN, March 3). “Iran wants to expand quality control checks and maintenance of ‘nonessential’ enrichment centrifuge parts to ‘essential’ centrifuge parts that have been sealed by the [International Atomic Energy Agency] under the [uranium enrichment] suspension,” one diplomat told Reuters. A diplomat close to the U.N. nuclear watchdog confirmed the Iranian request. “This is clearly a violation of the spirit of the suspension agreement,” said another diplomat, who added that the Europeans had said the demand was unacceptable (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, March 3). U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday pressed the agency to investigate reports that Iran is using reinforced underground tunnels to store nuclear equipment, the Associated Press reported. Rice added that Iran has not yet shown interest in a European offer of economic incentives in exchange for Tehran halting the program (Barry Schweid, Associated Press, March 3). Washington is trying to define the actions that Tehran should to take to move from a “suspension” of its nuclear program to a full “cessation,” U.S. and European Union officials told the New York Times. “The important thing is that we agree with the Europeans that we have to turn the current suspension of their nuclear activities into a full cessation,” said a senior State Department official. The discussions between Washington and the EU would probably lead in the coming weeks to an agreement that would form the basis of an Iran policy, the official added. “We are working with our friends to make sure not only the world hears that but that the negotiating strategy achieves the objective of pointing out where the guilt needs to be, as well as achieving the objective of no nuclear weapons,” he added (Steven Weisman, New York Times, March 4). Vice President Dick Cheney, the Defense Department and top congressional Republicans have expressed skepticism about the incentives deal, the Washington Post reported. They worry that the European nations would not support punitive action against Iran if the plan fails, officials said. “The fear is that there’ll be a windup but no pitch,” a congressional source said. “Whatever support we’re getting from Europe may be soft and, while the rhetoric is good, there won’t be any follow-through. They’ll speak all the right words, but at the end of the day the only thing they’d do is hold our coat” (Robin Wright, Washington Post, March 4). Iran would not consider membership in the World Trade Organization an incentive during nuclear negotiations, said Commerce Minister Mohammad Shariatmadari said, Agence France-Presse reported. “Whether the United States and Europe accept it or not, this is not a favor to Iran and they cannot demand something from Iran in return,” he said. He added that the United States and the EU would actually benefit from Iran’s admission to the organization, as that would give them “freer access” to the Iranian market. Iran “is not very willing to join the WTO under the current circumstances,” he said (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, March 4). Iranian nuclear negotiator Hossein Mousavian yesterday accused the International Atomic Energy Agency of leaking Iran’s nuclear secrets, the Financial Times reported. “The basic shortcoming of the IAEA is that it has not been able to keep Iran’s secrets,” Mousavian said. He also warned France, Germany and the United Kingdom that Tehran would abandon talks unless they yielded “tangible progress,” according to the Times (Smyth/Fidler/Dinmore, Financial Times, March 3). Back to top       U.S. Approves Final Tests of MOX Fuel The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission yesterday approved the test use of fuel made from weapon-grade plutonium at a U.S. nuclear power plant, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Feb. 18). The commission granted a license to allow Duke Power to begin testing four mixed-oxide (MOX) fuel assemblies at a nuclear power plant in South Carolina. Duke Power is awaiting a shipment of MOX fuel from France and expects to begin testing this spring, AP reported. “We are pleased that NRC agrees with our assessment that it is safe,” MOX project manager Steve Nesbit said. “This NRC approval is an important step toward the goal of disposing of surplus nuclear weapons material and thereby advancing international nonproliferation efforts” (Jacob Jordan, Associated Press, March 3). Back to top       North Korea Postpones Assembly Session North Korea’s postponement of a regular session of its parliament might be related to the international efforts to curb its nuclear program, Reuters reported today (see GSN, March 3). The presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly announced yesterday that the third session of its 11th assembly would not begin as scheduled next Wednesday, the official Korean Central News Agency said today. Leaders in Pyongyang might have delayed the legislative session in order to focus on bargaining over a potential return to the six-party nuclear talks, some analysts said. North Korea has not held full negotiations with China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States since June 2004 “The North has taken a big calculated risk of using the nuclear card, and it must be aware that, if the United States does not cooperate in this game, the repercussion would be tremendous,” said Paik Hak-soon, head of North Korea studies at South Korea’s Sejong Institute (Jack Kim, Reuters, March 4). Meanwhile, China today urged calm after North Korea announced it was ending its six-year moratorium on long-range missile tests, Agence France-Presse reported. “The Chinese side hopes the Korean Peninsula can maintain peace and stability,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. “All sides should remain calm and exercise restraint and commonly devote themselves to the resolution of the concerned issues through political dialogue and negotiations” (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, March 4). Back to top       Pakistan Had Nuclear Weapons Capability in 1988, But No Weapon, Former Prime Minister Says Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto has said that while Pakistan had a nuclear weapons capability by 1988, her government chose not to make an actual weapon at the time, the Press Trust of India reported today (see GSN, July 19, 2004). “When I became prime minister, I was told we had not put together the bomb. We had the components of the bomb,” Bhutto said in an interview with Voice of America. “And although we had the components of a nuclear weapon, we took the conscious decision not to put together a nuclear weapon” (Press Trust of India/Hindustan Times, March 4). Back to top       Scientists Allege They Are Scapegoats in Los Alamos National Laboratory Computer Disk Incident Two scientists said they are being wrongly blamed for the incident last year in which two computer disks containing classified information were reported missing from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Jan. 31). Todd Kauppila was fired Sept. 23 after 21 years at the laboratory, while 22-year-veteran John Horne was penalized with 10 days of unpaid administrative leave in December, according to AP. The reported disappearance of the disks caused an extended shutdown of work at the nuclear weapons laboratory. The U.S. Energy Department reported in January that bar codes had been produced for the disks, but that the disks themselves never existed. Kauppila and Horne said the incident resulted from an accounting error following a classified international conference in 2003. Horne received eight bar codes. He said he used six of them for conference presentations and later shredded the remaining two bar codes. Kauppila, the conference chairman, said he never had direct contact with the bar codes, AP reported. “The principal charges against me were clearly trumped up and included ridiculous allegations of misconduct, such as taking too much training,” Kauppila wrote in a letter he posted with Horne on a Web site for Los Alamos employees. Personnel actions at the facility, including terminations and unpaid leave, “followed all due processes and were based solely on the facts uncovered during the lab’s inquiry,” said Los Alamos spokesman Kevin Roark. Kauppila and Horne said they followed security procedures, but the security system is ineffective. “The system is a catastrophe. It’s the people at the lab that make it work,” Horne said (Heather Clark, Associated Press/USA Today, March 4). Back to top       Demonstrators Protest Y-12 Security Company The grass-roots organization Protects USA yesterday staged a demonstration at a labor management conference in Tennessee to criticize the private security force employed at the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Dec. 21, 2004). Four demonstrators appeared at the Tennessee Labor Management Conference in Knoxville dressed as “Keystone Kops” to criticize Wackenhut Services Inc. The company’s general manager and senior vice president, Jean Burleson, presided over the conference. “Wackenhut Security is guarding some of our most sensitive sites in the country, including Y-12,” said demonstrator Susan Slohm. “They have a very bad track record for … lying, tipping each other on tests, doing all kinds of things. This is not who we want guarding our nuclear sites.” It is not yet known if the U.S. Energy Department plans to renew Wackenhut’s contract to guard the Oak Ridge facility, AP reported. The department is investigating Wackenhut billing and training at Y-12, according to AP. Burleson said there had been accusations that the company allowed guards to leave training classes before they were over. Burleson, however, rejected such criticism. “All these allegations are investigated. (And) the investigations show that they are not true,” he said (Duncan Mansfield, Associated Press/The Tennessean, March 3). Back to top

Institute of Medicine Criticizes Bush Administration, CDC on Smallpox Vaccination Program The Bush administration “severely constrained” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from providing complete information about the U.S. smallpox vaccination program, which undermined efforts to inoculate U.S. medical personnel, the Institute of Medicine said in a report released yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 9, 2004). The federal health agency denied the claim within hours, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. “I strongly disagree with any assertion that CDC’s scientific input was constrained in the development of the smallpox program,” said agency Director Julie Gerberding. “I was personally involved with deliberations on this policy decision from day one.” The Bush administration began the vaccination program in December 2002 and initially planned to vaccinate 500,000 health workers and 500,000 service members. The civilian program to date has vaccinated roughly 40,000 workers. The report says the agency did not adequately explain legal and financial liability for the program, the reasoning behind the increase of planned vaccinations from the originally recommended 20,000, or why there was no response to a request from several panels to suspend the effort for evaluation. Agency communications were “severely constrained, presumably by the top levels of the executive branch,” the institute said in its 286-page report. The Institute of Medicine is a division of the National Academy of Sciences and advises Congress on health policy (M.A.J. McKenna, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 4). Back to top       Most Dutch Public Buildings Poorly Protected Against Bioterrorism, Says Report From University Students Most public buildings in the Netherlands are poorly protected against attacks using biological weapons, according to a report prepared by students from Eindhoven’s Technical University, Radio Netherlands reported today (see GSN, March 3). “In many buildings, the air inlets are located at ground level or in other easily accessible places. Up until now, architects and designers have never taken the possibility of bioterrorism into account. Anyone with evil intent can easily release a poisonous substance into the atmosphere inside a building. It’s equally simple to poison the system from inside,” the report says. Two students were able to spread a harmless powder into the university’s Vertigo building though the building’s external ventilation and on an elevator, Radio Netherlands reported. The Dutch Justice Ministry’s national antiterrorism coordinator announced that a security system that will scan for biological and other threats is being developed, according to Radio Netherlands (Hans de Vreij, Radio Netherlands, March 4). Back to top

India’s Agni 3 Nuclear-Capable Missile Will Not be Ready for Final Tests for Another Year Sources have said that it will take about a year before India’s nuclear-capable Agni 3 ballistic missile is ready to undergo final testing, the Times of India reported yesterday (see GSN, July 13, 2004). The solid-fueled missile, which has a range of 3,500 kilometers, was originally expected to be flight-tested in 2003 but has suffered technical problems, according to the Times. A senior Indian researcher said, though, that the problems “were well under control and things were moving well” (Rajat Pandit, Times of India, March 3).   Back to top

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