A Pakistani Shaheen 2 nuclear-capable missile on parade last month. A U.S. federal grand jury indicted a Pakistani man Wednesday on charges of smuggling nuclear weapon-usable equipment to Pakistan.(AFP photo/Farooq Naeem). Pakistani Indicted in U.S. on Smuggling Charges A U.S. federal grand jury indicted a Pakistani businessman Wednesday on charges of smuggling nuclear weapon components, the Los Angeles Times reported (see GSN, March 28)...Full Story

North Korea Rejects “Step-by-Step” Dismantlement of Nuclear Program, Expert Says After Trip North Korea is no longer willing to consider a “step-by-step” elimination of its nuclear program, but might agree to conditionally freeze weapons production, said a U.S. expert who visited Pyongyang this weekend (see GSN, April 8)...Full Story

Millions in Antiterror Funds Unspent in D.C. Area Most of the $145 million in federal antiterrorism funding directed to the Washington, D.C., area from 2002 to 2004 has not been spent, the Washington Post reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 2)...Full Story

	Monday, April 11, 2005

Millions in Antiterror Funds Unspent in D.C. Area Most of the $145 million in federal antiterrorism funding directed to the Washington, D.C., area from 2002 to 2004 has not been spent, the Washington Post reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 2). Only $25 million of the federal money targeted for hospital beds, protective gear and other items has been spent by the District of Columbia and state and local governments of Maryland and Virginia. Local officials said, though, that they have committed $115 million to projects in the region. The slow movement of spending this money is in contrast to the rapid expenditure of $324 million directed to the region following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Post reported. Almost 60 percent of that money was used in less than two years, though there were cases of waste and spending on nonrelated programs such as a job program for D.C. teens, the Post found. Local officials purposely moved more slowly with later funding, said Edward Reiskin, Washington deputy mayor for public safety and justice.   However, “We didn’t organize quickly as a region to manage and plan for these expenditures as we might have,” Reiskin said. Representative Christopher Cox (R-Calif.) is pressing for legislation that would force states and regions to coordinate antiterrorism plans before applying for federal money. “The growing pains that we have experienced in the national capital region teach us valuable lessons for the rest of the country,” Cox said. “One of the significant failings of the current system … is the lack of consistency in the way monies are spent. Across the country, there are notorious examples — and too many of them — of what can only be called government waste” (Hsu/Cohen, Washington Post, April 10). Back to top       Cyprus Backs Proliferation Security Initiative Cyprus has agreed in principle to support the Proliferation Security Initiative, a U.S.-led effort to interdict shipments of WMD-related cargo by creating bilateral agreements on ship-boarding rules, the U.S. Embassy in Cyprus announced Friday (see GSN, March 22). The agreement was arrived at after two days of negotiations, according to the embassy (U.S. Embassy in Cyprus release, April 8). Back to top       TOPOFF Report Due in Several Months It will take up to six months to prepare the final report on what emergency officials learned in last week’s TOPOFF 3 drill in New Jersey and Connecticut, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, April 8). “This is not over until we fully capture all of the lessons learned, in about a four-to-six month process,” said Robert Stephan, director of the Incident Management Group at the U.S. Homeland Security Department. “This phase is perhaps the most significant phase, showing us where we did well and where we need to make improvement.” Problems included a lack of protective suits and antibiotics at hospitals in both states, radio failures in Connecticut that forced firefighters to use their cell phones to communicate and a delay in setting up road blocks in New Jersey, the New York Times reported Saturday. New Jersey officials said the response there to a mock bioterror incident displayed the need for maintaining communication between state and local officials, and for developing an autopsy facility that could house people killed by a pathogen, AP reported. “You don’t take sick and perhaps contaminated people to a facility like a hospital where people are trying to get well,” said Attorney General Peter Harvey. States should press for federal legislation allowing states to be declared an emergency disaster area following a biological attack, said acting New Jersey Governor Richard Codey (Rose Cirianni, Associated Press, April 8). Some officials said the exercise should have better tested hospitals’ and authorities’ ability to detect attacks before they occur, the Times reported. “There was too much focus on first-responder reaction,” said Representative Rob Simmons (R-Conn.). “To deal with an incident after the fact is not our priority. Our first priority is to prevent an incident.” Federal, state and local law enforcement agencies had been receiving simulated intelligence on an attack since March, and blocked potential mock attacks, Homeland Security officials said (Kocieniewski/Lipton, New York Times, April 9). The organized drill, by its very nature, could not offer the surprise and large-scale fear that would follow an actual incident, experts said. “It’s like any drill. You get advance notice, make sure the key people are not on vacation and line up your ducks in a row,” Joseph King, an associate professor of law and police science at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, told Reuters. “An actual event is a different issue,” he said. Potential terrorist attacks on the United States will not necessarily involve weapons of mass destruction,” said Robert McCrie, a professor of security management at John Jay College.  “The assumption has been there are atomic, biological, chemical and nuclear risks that put society on edge,” he said. “A future attack might be much different.” “People that hate government or hate America are likely to turn to something cheap and surprising … like an attack on our poorly protected technology infrastructure,” McCrie added (Larry Fine, Reuters, April 7). Back to top

Pakistani Indicted in U.S. on Smuggling Charges A U.S. federal grand jury indicted a Pakistani businessman Wednesday on charges of smuggling nuclear weapon components, the Los Angeles Times reported (see GSN, March 28). Humayun Khan of Islamabad has been implicated in involvement with a network suspected of supplying both Pakistan and India with components for their nuclear weapons and ballistic missile systems, the Times reported. He is charged with illegally exporting on several occasions U.S. equipment that can be used in nuclear weapons programs. The Justice Department on Friday unsealed a plea agreement signed in November by Khan’s associate, Asher Karni of South Africa. The two allegedly directed U.S.-manufactured equipment through South Africa, the Times reported. Top federal authorities said the case implies a potentially grave threat to U.S. security. “The United States government will spare no effort to disrupt the illegal trade in technology with nuclear applications,” said Kenneth Wainstein, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.  The case shows that “the proliferation of nuclear components is not only a homeland security threat but a global threat,” said Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Michael Garcia. If convicted, Khan faces a maximum sentence of 35 years in prison, the Times reported. He is not in custody, and federal investigators have not been able to interview him (Josh Meyer, Los Angeles Times, April 9). Karni pleaded guilty in September to arranging exports of regulated electronic equipment to Pakistan and India, federal prosecutors disclosed Friday. As part of his plea agreement, Karni acknowledged involvement in selling equipment related to nuclear weapons and missile research to India in 2002, the New York Times reported. Karni worked for Khan in 2002 and 2003. He bought and exported to Pakistan oscilloscopes and 200 high-speed electrical switches that can be used in a nuclear device, according to Khan’s indictment.  Khan is believed to be in Pakistan, according to the Times, and a Pakistani Embassy official said he was unaware of a U.S. arrest warrant. The federal investigation has unearthed evidence that Khan was involved in sales of nuclear-related technology to countries other than Pakistan through a network similar to the one established by former top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, a senior Commerce Department official said Friday.  The two Khans are not believed to be related, officials said (David Cloud, New York Times, April 9). Back to top       North Korea Rejects “Step-by-Step” Dismantlement of Nuclear Program, Expert Says After Trip North Korea is no longer willing to consider a “step-by-step” elimination of its nuclear program, but might agree to conditionally freeze weapons production, said a U.S. expert who visited Pyongyang this weekend (see GSN, April 8). Senior North Korean leaders said Washington must promise to support the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity before such a freeze could be discussed, said Selig Harrison of the Center for International Policy. “We have lost the opportunity to negotiate a step-by-step agreement that would lead to the eventual dismantling of their nuclear program,” Harrison said. “They are no longer willing to discuss that possibility.” That represents a “major policy shift” since his last visit to Pyongyang in 2004, which he attributed to the increased influence in recent months of hard-line military elements, the New York Times reported (Joseph Khan, New York Times, April 10). Chinese officials in two recent high-level meetings with North Korean representatives have failed to persuade Pyongyang to resume six-nation talks, senior U.S. officials and diplomats said Friday. Informal discussions have begun by the nations negotiating with North Korea on potential, more aggressive strategies to be implemented if the talks are determined to be dead, the Times reported Saturday. Washington and Seoul, for example, have discussed stepping up military exercises, according to Bush administration officials and diplomats. High-profile intelligence gathering and reconnaissance missions could also be increased, along with enforcement activities against North Koreans involved in drug trafficking and weapons smuggling, according to the officials. While U.S. officials have previously said they had set no deadlines for talks to resume, now “there is a palpable sense of frustration,” a senior U.S. official said. Beijing told Washington last week that North Korea had agreed to resume talks, “‘when the conditions are right’ — the same they have been saying for months,” the official added. “Nothing has changed, as far as I am concerned,” he said (Joel Brinkley, New York Times, April 8). Back to top       Iran Upbeat on Nuclear Talks, Won’t Agree to Permanent End to Uranium Enrichment Even while saying he was optimistic about the nuclear negotiations with France, Germany and the United Kingdom, an Iranian official yesterday vowed again that his country would not permanently stop uranium enrichment (see GSN, April 8). “The atmosphere is better,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi, according to Agence France-Presse. “We hope to reach concrete results ... on April 19,” he said. European and Iranian experts are meeting that day in advance of an April 29 steering committee session. “The prospects are better than before and we hope we will be able to take a positive step” in the next meetings, Asefi said. He added that Iran’s present moratorium on uranium enrichment was “temporary and for a short period” (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, April 10). Back to top       Pakistani, Nuclear Suppliers Group Officials Meet Pakistani officials had their first meeting with international experts from the Nuclear Suppliers Group today, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, April 8). Islamabad has said it wants to join the 44-nation organization that prepares guidelines for exports of nuclear and nuclear-related materials. More talks could be held tomorrow, officials said. As Pakistan is not a member of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, it would face major barriers to joining the Nuclear Suppliers Group, according to AFP. “This is the first meeting and exploratory in nature. Questions like seeking the membership of the group would come later,” said Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Jalil Abbas Jilani (Agence France-Presse/TurkishPress.com, April 11). Back to top       South Carolina Plant Not Ready for MOX, NRC Says The Catawba Nuclear Station in South Carolina must improve security before it can accept a shipment of mixed-oxide fuel heading to the United States, the Associated Press reported Saturday (see GSN, March 23). Weapon-grade plutonium was converted in France to the MOX fuel, which will be tested at Catawba to determine if it can be used at U.S. commercial reactors. However, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s atomic licensing board declared on March 10 that the South Carolina plant had not met four security requirements, AP reported.  “All licensing requirements will be met before the fuel assemblies are sent to Catawba,” said Energy Department spokesman Bryan Wilkes. The requirements involve “safeguards” to reduce the chances of a mishap involving the MOX, said Rita Sipe, spokeswoman for Duke Power, which operates Catawba. There was no word Friday on the amount of time Duke Power would need to make the improvements, or where the fuel will be located when it arrives in the United States in the coming days, AP reported (Associated Press, April 9). Meanwhile, the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League has asked that South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford bar the MOX fuel from being shipped to the nuclear station, The State reported Friday. “We are appealing to Governor Mark Sanford to use his power,” said Lou Zeller, a nuclear campaign official with the organization. “The governors in this state have a tradition of standing up for their people and doing whatever it takes. We hope Sanford is part of that” (Sammy Fretwell, The State, April 8). Spokesman Will Folks said the governor was told that mandated safety measures would be in place for the MOX, AP reported. “Everything would have to be in compliance prior to that material being shipped,” Folks said (Associated Press/MyrtleBeachOnline.com, April 8). Back to top       Russian Officials Tour Wyoming Air Force Base Russian military officials and nuclear experts Friday visited the F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, as part of a joint U.S.-Russian effort to secure their nuclear sites against terrorism (see GSN, Feb. 24). The tour of the facility, which oversees 150 Minuteman 3 ICBMs in three states, was part of an agreement signed Feb. 24 by U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin to increase cooperation on nuclear security, said Maj. Gen. Frank Klotz, commander of the 20th Air Force.  The Russian delegation viewed U.S. methods for protecting the missile sites from terrorists, the Associated Press reported. “The U.S. and Russia have pledged to share ‘best practices’ with the goal of enhancing the security of nuclear facilities in both countries and around the world,” Klotz said in a statement Saturday. “Security must be constantly reviewed and improved to stay ahead of evolving terrorist threats and tactics, and to take full advantage of the latest developments in security technology,” Klotz said (Associated Press/Billings Gazette, April 9). Back to top

U.S. Lawmakers Press for Greater Incentives for Development of Biological Weapons Treatments U.S. lawmakers are preparing legislation that would extend patents on brand-name drugs and reduce the potential liability of drug companies working to produce treatments for biological weapons attacks and natural outbreaks of infectious diseases, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 12, 2004). “There is no question that if terrorists are able to get their hands on a weaponized biological agent … they will use it in a place where Americans gather in their daily lives,” said Senator Judd Gregg (R-N.H.). “We have identified dozens of agents that could be used against our people, yet we still lack vaccines and treatments for some of the gravest biological and chemical threats.” Funding and tax breaks under the 2004 Bioshield legislation are not adequate incentives to invest a drug that might never be needed, some pharmaceutical companies say. Bioshield also does not offer protections from lawsuits, according to the Inquirer. Senators Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) are preparing legislation that would allow drug companies to extend patents on biodefense-related medicine beyond the general 10-year useful patent life. Their proposal would also give companies patent extensions on other lucrative drugs if they agree to produce medicine for the biodefense effort, the Inquirer reported. A bill from Gregg, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) and Senator Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) would also include patent extensions and liability protection to companies preparing drugs to counter biological attacks or infections such as SARS (Chris Mondics, Philadelphia Inquirer, April 10). Back to top

VX Byproduct from Newport Disposal Might Be Reduced Increasing the rate at which VX nerve agent is neutralized at the Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Indiana could reduce the amount of wastewater from the process by 1 million gallons, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, April 7). Using hot water and sodium hydroxide in chemical reactors to neutralize 250,000 gallons of VX has been estimated to create up to 4 million gallons of hydrolysate byproduct. However, contractor Parsons Technology believes it can double the amount of VX in each reactor load, AP reported. Work is set to begin next month at 8 percent weight load, but should before long move up to 16 percent, said Army Col. Jesse Barber, project manager. “Using 16 percent, we will reduce the amount of hydrolysate [to] 2 1/2 to 3 million gallons,” he said The byproduct will be stored at Newport until a disposal plan is approved (Associated Press, April 11). Back to top

Iran Denies Purchasing Missiles From Ukraine Iran yesterday denied ever receiving nuclear-capable X-55 cruise missiles from Ukraine, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, March 31). “Nothing of this sort has been recorded in the documents of the bodies concerned, the Iranian government has not concluded any such deal,” said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi. “It’s up to the Ukrainian government to give more information if it has any,” he said. The comments were the first by Tehran in reference to a statement made earlier this month by Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko that the missiles were smuggled to Iran by arms dealers, according to AFP (Agence France-Presse/IranMania.com, April 10). Back to top

U.S. Tests Missile Defense Target Missile The U.S. Defense Department dropped a target missile by parachute from a C-17 transport aircraft over the Pacific Ocean on Friday as part of its missile defense program, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, April 7). “The missile’s rocket motor then ignited, sending it on a planned trajectory over the Pacific Ocean,” the Missile Defense Agency announced. Radars and sensors tracked the missile and transmitted information to a Colorado command center, AFP reported. The missile was developed to make future tests of the system more realistic by replicating trajectories that an enemy missile might take in a real attack, according to the agency. This was the first time the agency had launched a target missile from the air, said agency spokesman Rick Lehner. The new target missile could be employed in flight tests of the ground-based missile defense system by the end of the year, he added. “What we can do is launch (the test missile) west of the Aleutians in international airspace and it would head in a trajectory that would make it more like a missile coming from North Korea for example,” he said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, April 8).   Back to top

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