U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton took his seat yesterday before a two-day Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on his nomination as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (AFP photo/Brendan Smialowski). Bolton Takes Bipartisan Grilling By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Democratic senators and a Republican, in hearings yesterday and today, questioned John Bolton’s views and actions as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security as he sought their support to become the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (see GSN, April 8)...Full Story

IAEA Checks Out New Nuclear Claims Against Iran The International Atomic Energy Agency is investigating allegations that Iran has moved some processed uranium from a closely monitored facility to a secret location, Reuters reported today. ..Full Story

Iraqi Insurgents Attempt to Produce Chemical Weapons Iraqi resistance groups tried unsuccessfully to manufacture chemical arms after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, March 30)...Full Story

	Tuesday, April 12, 2005

Senators Vow to Finish Intelligence Investigation By Chris Strohm Government Executive WASHINGTON — The leaders of the Senate intelligence committee on Sunday reaffirmed their commitment to investigate whether the administration and policy-makers exaggerated prewar intelligence on Iraq to justify an invasion, but did not offer any timeline for completing the probe (see GSN, Feb. 15). The committee will complete the second phase of its investigation, Senators Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) and Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) said on NBC News’ Meet the Press. “I hope this doesn’t take too long,” Roberts said. “I’m more than happy to finish this, and I want to finish it, but we have other things that we need to do.” Roberts said other priority work for the committee includes Tuesday’s confirmation hearing for John Negroponte to be the national intelligence director and next week’s hearing for Air Force Lt. Gen. Michael Hayden as deputy national intelligence director. The committee completed the first phase of its investigation last summer and found that the CIA incorrectly concluded that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. At the time, Roberts and Rockefeller said they were launching a second phase that would investigate whether senior Bush administration officials intentionally exaggerated information and pressured analysts in order to build a case for invading Iraq in 2003. Rockefeller said he was especially interested in whether Douglas Feith, then-deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, was operating an illegal intelligence operation from the Pentagon that circumvented traditional intelligence channels. The Commission on the Intelligence Capabilities of the United States Regarding Weapons of Mass Destruction also concluded late last month that the intelligence community was "dead wrong" in almost all prewar judgments about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction (see GSN, March 31). The commission did not find any evidence that the intelligence community distorted evidence regarding Iraqi weapons or changed analytic judgments in response to political pressure to reach a particular conclusion. Rockefeller, however, said the commission’s report fell short because it did not investigate allegations that intelligence was hyped. The commission “did not have the authority to look into the use of intelligence, the hyping of intelligence, the misuse of intelligence, and thus half the report really has been left out,” he said. Roberts said the second phase of his committee’s investigation has three parts. The first part compares public statements by administration officials before the invasion to what is now known about the intelligence. The second part examines the intelligence work done under Feith. The third looks at prewar intelligence on the postwar insurgency in Iraq. Roberts and Rockefeller both agreed that current and future intelligence must be carefully evaluated. “Our committee has now determined that we’re not going to take any intelligence at face value, we’re going to be very proactive and very pre-emptive to look at the capabilities of the intelligence community on the tough threats that face our national security,” Roberts said. “We’ve learned our lesson.” Back to top       Louisiana Training Facility Switching to WMD Defense A Louisiana antiterrorism training center for law-enforcement officers will now focus solely on prevention and response strategies for WMD attacks, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 7, 2004). Courses at the Southern Anti-Terrorist Regional Training Academy in Carville previously offered courses ranging from firearms training to responding to a chemical weapons incident, AP reported. The new focus was required to ensure the facility receives money from the Homeland Security Department’s Domestic Preparedness Office. The training center was previously funded by the Justice Department, according to AP. The Carville center has trained 2,430 first responders since opening in 2003. It received $1.5 million this year from the Domestic Preparedness Office (Associated Press/KATC.com, April 11). Back to top

IAEA Checks Out New Nuclear Claims Against Iran The International Atomic Energy Agency is investigating allegations that Iran has moved some processed uranium from a closely monitored facility to a secret location, Reuters reported today. The agency has begun taking an inventory of material at Iran’s uranium conversion facility at Isfahan, according to Reuters. Diverting such material would violate Tehran’s agreement to freeze its uranium enrichment activities while it conducts negotiations with the European Union, along with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, EU diplomats said. IAEA officials declined to comment and no diplomats in Vienna could confirm the charges, according to Reuters. Two European diplomats and a U.S. official, however, said the charge was credible. A non-U.S. diplomat said Iran recently relocated uranium tetrafluoride out of its Isfahan uranium conversion site without IAEA inspectors’ knowledge. “We have evidence that significant amounts of UF4 have been diverted from Isfahan,” the diplomat said, basing his claim on intelligence collected by his country. IAEA rules do not require countries to account for all converted uranium, an EU diplomat said. “There is a margin of error, a percentage that you don’t have to account for because it is lost in waste.  But if you were Iran, you’d want to account for every drop or else you’d be vulnerable to these kinds of allegations,” he said. One expert said Iran was unlikely to be able to remove from Isfahan the large quantity of UF4 needed to make a bomb. “Is the safeguarding of this facility sufficient? No, it’s not.  But the key question is, how much do you need to make a bomb? Even if you’re missing a ton, it’s not like they’re going to be able to make a bomb with it,” said David Albright, president of the Institute for Science and International Security (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters I, April 12). Meanwhile, Russia has decided to delay shipment of nuclear fuel for a Russian-built power reactor in Iran until fall, Reuters reported yesterday (see GSN, April 11). “It’s difficult to say when they (shipments) are going to start but I think we are going to do this in the autumn,” said a Russian Atomic Energy Agency source. Officials previously said shipments to the Bushehr plant could begin this month. However, “There is really no need to start shipments until autumn,” the official said. Fuel must be available six months in advance for the Bushehr plant to go online as scheduled, according to Reuters. The facility is expecting to begin operating in late 2006 (Reuters II, April 11). Elsewhere, Israeli officials provided the United States with aerial photographs of Iranian nuclear installations during a meeting of the two countries’ leaders yesterday, Agence France-Presse reported today. General Yoav Gallan, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s military attache, presented the images and related information gathered by Israeli intelligence services, according to Israeli public radio. The images indicated that Tehran’s nuclear program was at a “very advanced” stage, Israeli public radio reported. White House spokesman Scott McClellan confirmed that President George W. Bush and Sharon had talked about Iran’s nuclear program, but denied they discussed a potential military strike by Israel, AFP reported (Agence France-Presse/Khaleej Times, April 12). Back to top       Two U.S. Reactors to Switch to Low-Enriched Uranium The U.S. Energy Department is converting research reactors in Florida and Texas from using weapon-grade highly enriched uranium fuel to low-enriched uranium, the agency announced yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 2, 2004). Conversion of reactors at the University of Florida and Texas A&M University is being conducted under the Global Threat Initiative’s Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors program. “The Department of Energy is committed to reducing the threat posed by the availability of weapons-grade nuclear material here at home and around the world,” Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman said in a press release. “These research reactors are secure and used for peaceful purposes, but by converting them to use low-enriched uranium, we are taking a significant step forward to ensure that weapons-usable nuclear material does not fall into the wrong hands.” The Energy Department plans to convert 25 research reactors by 2014; 11 have already been altered to use low-enriched uranium. Conversion of the Florida and Texas reactors is scheduled to be completed in late 2006 (U.S. Energy Department release, April 11). Back to top       U.S. Willing to Address North Korean Security Concerns if Six-Party Nuclear Talks Resume Washington would address Pyongyang’s security concerns “in an appropriate way” if six-nation talks on North Korea’s nuclear effort were to resume, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said yesterday (see GSN, April 11). “We continue to believe the right place for North Korea to seek to address its concerns is through the six-party talks,” Boucher said, referring to the forum that also includes China, Japan, Russia and South Korea. “[U.S. President George W. Bush has] made clear we have no intention of invading North Korea, and as [Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice] said during her trip, nobody questions their sovereignty,” he added (William Mann, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, April 11). The United States remains committed to finding a solution to the standoff through the six-party talks, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Christopher Hill said yesterday. When that process comes to a dead end, said Hill, “we will know it when we see it. We are not there yet.” “I’m not quite prepared to pull the plug,” he added. “I still think [the six-party process] is the best mechanism we have for dealing with it, and I would hope that the North Koreans will come around,” he said, adding that he hoped to persuade North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to turn away from nuclear weapons. “I would say, ‘Let’s look at the top 100 problems that North Korea faces,’” Hill said, listing food shortages and other difficulties. “And then I would ask how nuclear weapons could solve any of them.” “I think it should be clear to everybody, and even North Korean leaders, that international prestige is not available by pursuing nuclear weapons,” said Hill. One expert, however, said that privately, many in the Bush administration believe the six-party talks are dead. “I think internally they’ve made a decision that this process is not going to work. There is a high level of frustration,” said Jack Pritchard, a former top U.S. negotiator on North Korea, adding that he believes Washington is ready to refer the matter to the United Nations (Barbara Demick, Los Angeles Times, April 12). Meanwhile, North Korean officials said their budget would continue to focus on military spending but omitted discussions of the nuclear standoff at yesterday’s delayed annual meeting of the Supreme People’s Assembly, Reuters reported. Finance Minister Mun Il Bong said the intended effect of the new military spending was to place “all the people under arms and turning the whole country into a fortress,” according to rare television footage of the parliamentary exercise. However, no mention of the stalled six-party nuclear talks was made in official reports, according to Reuters. The omission was significant, said Koh Yu-hwan, a North Korea expert at Seoul’s Dongguk University. “It suggests there is some kind of meaningful development between the North and China related to the nuclear issue. The North probably saw it would be undesirable to make a resolution that would deteriorate the situation further,” he said (Martin Nesirky, Reuters, April 12). Elsewhere, Seoul’s point man on North Korea today denied reports that South Korea had set a deadline for resuming talks, Agence France-Presse reported. “It is nothing but groundless speculation,” Unification Minister Chung Dong-young said regarding the alleged June deadline (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, April 12). Back to top       Sandia Director Steps Down The director of the Sandia National Laboratories in New Mexico is leaving the post he held for 10 years to help defense contractor Lockheed Martin win the contract to manage Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, March 30). “Somebody asked me to do it, and I looked at the pros and cons and thought, ‘If I don’t do it, who will they get to do it?” said C. Paul Robinson, who will leave Sandia on April 29. Lockheed Martin already manages the Sandia laboratory. Robinson worked at Los Alamos for nearly two decades, leading the New Mexico laboratory’s nuclear weapons programs for six years, AP reported. “I’m sad he’s leaving Sandia, but his departure and new role certainly tells me that Lockheed Martin is intent on putting together a competitive bid,” said U.S. Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.). One critic questioned whether Lockheed would allow academic freedom to persist at Los Alamos, and whether one entity should manage both New Mexico facilities. “I’m not sure a monopoly is beneficial,” said Robert Norris, a senior research associate for the Natural Resources Defense Council. Robinson said he was told at Sandia by Lockheed Martin not to “let anybody try to put corporate interests before what you and your people think are the national interests.” Thomas Hunter will take over as Sandia director. He has worked at the laboratory since 1967, most recently managing nuclear weapons research as senior vice president of defense programs (Mary Perea, Associated Press/SanLuisObispo.com, April 12). Back to top

Singapore Prepares Biological Agent Safety Law Singapore is preparing a new law that would impose penalties of up to life in prison for violations of safety rules for biological agents and toxins, United Press International reported today (see GSN, Dec. 10, 2004). “There has been an increase in the number of institutions working with high-risk biological agents and toxins in Singapore,” said K. Satku, director of medical services at the Ministry of Health. The proposed Biological Agents and Toxins Act, would impose the greatest penalty — a fine of $600,000 and/or life imprisonment — for possession of a biological agent intended for use in biological warfare, according to UPI. Fines or prison time could also be levied for possessing or moving certain substances without government approval (United Press International/Washington Times, April 12). Back to top

Iraqi Insurgents Attempt to Produce Chemical Weapons Iraqi resistance groups tried unsuccessfully to manufacture chemical arms after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, March 30). The insurgents’ chemical weapons work was first revealed in an annex of the Iraq Survey Group’s final report. Teams of CIA and Defense Department personnel working with chief U.S. weapons inspector Charles Duelfer reported in June 2004 having broken up an insurgent group that was attempting to produce chemical weapons, according to AP. The “al-Abud network” had obtained chemicals from farmers who looted state companies and from Baghdad shops, according to the report. A Baghdad chemist they recruited first tried to manufacture tabun nerve agent, but did not have the right ingredients. While he had the ingredients for mustard agent, he was unable to produce it, the report states, nothing his inexperience in weapons work. Another chemist hired by the group tried, but failed, to make ricin. A U.S. raid on the laboratory shortly thereafter disrupted the work, the report says. “The most alarming aspect of the al-Abud network is how quickly and effectively the group was able to mobilize key resources and tap relevant expertise to develop a program for weaponizing CW agents,” the report says. Leaders and financiers of the group, who reportedly included international trader and Saddam Hussein insider Sattam Hamid Farhan al-Gaaod, have eluded capture, according to the U.S. command in Baghdad. The Duelfer report also warns that old regime elements with chemical weapons expertise could agree to assist insurgents. While the United States has made an effort to employ former Iraqi weapons scientists, only 125 out of an estimated 500 have thus far been redirected to civilian work through the U.S. program, according to AP. Some experts, however, said chemical weapons production requires technical ability that the insurgents were unlikely to acquire. Such weapons are also “notoriously difficult to use,” said John Eldridge, editor of Jane’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defense. “They use rocket launchers, and trying to put a chemical warhead into a rocket is pretty difficult,” he added (Charles Hanley, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, April 12). Back to top       Fire Stops Chemical Weapons Incineration in Oregon Incineration of chemical weapons at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon was halted last week when a rocket caught fire while being destroyed, the Tri-City Herald reported (see GSN, March 23). Sarin nerve agent had already been removed from the 8-foot M55 rocket when the fire ignited at 5 p.m. Thursday. A fire-suppression system cut air to the room to extinguish the fire, said depot spokeswoman Mary Binder. Employees conducted repairs on Friday, the Herald reported.  A fire at the facility in November did not stop chemical weapons disposal, according to the Herald (Jeannine Koranda, Tri-City Herald, April 9). The cause of the fire remained unknown following an investigation, the East Oregonian reported. Incineration was expected to resume yesterday (Andrew Binion, East Oregonian, April 11). Meanwhile, Umatilla officials are faced with the possibility that mustard agent stored at the facility might contain mercury, the East Oregonian reported last week. Mustard agent at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah has been found to contain mercury, and officials there are checking whether the chemical can be incinerated without exceeding mercury pollution limits. Umatilla has more than 2,600 ton containers of mustard agent, which are set for disposal beginning in 2008, the East Oregonian reported. Officials are discussing the matter and watching to see what happens in Utah, Binder said (Andrew Binion, East Oregonian, April 8). Back to top

Russia, U.S. Conduct Missile Defense Exercises Russia and the United States today began their fourth joint theater ballistic missile defense exercise, ITAR-Tass reported (see GSN, Jan. 12). The exercises are designed to “coordinate action … in providing protection to third countries from theater-range ballistic missile attacks,” according to the Russian Defense Ministry. This drill is scheduled to continue to April 23 (ITAR-Tass, April 12). Back to top

Bolton Takes Bipartisan Grilling By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Democratic senators and a Republican, in hearings yesterday and today, questioned John Bolton’s views and actions as undersecretary of state for arms control and international security as he sought their support to become the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations (see GSN, April 8). Bolton appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee all day yesterday and this morning. At the hearing today, Carl Ford, former chief of the State Department’s Bureau of Intelligence and Research and self-described “loyal Republican,” charged Bolton had sought in 2002 to have an analyst fired over an intelligence dispute, part of a pattern of bullying underlings, according to news reports. The outcome appeared uncertain yesterday morning, with one of the committee’s 10 Republicans joining all eight Democrats in questioning Bolton on his support for the United Nations and handling of dissent on intelligence questions. However, Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.), viewed as the most likely Republican swing vote, reportedly said yesterday, and after today’s hearing he was “inclined” to support the nominee. A tie would block committee approval and prevent a Senate vote, though Bush could appoint Bolton during the summer congressional recess. A committee vote could happen as early as Thursday, according to a committee source. Intelligence Analyst Bolton yesterday was pressed to comment on allegations that he attempted to have senior State Department intelligence analyst Christian Westermann and a CIA analyst removed from positions in 2002 for opposing language he sought to use in a speech to allege that Cuba was doing biological weapons work. “There is — to state it just bluntly, Mr. Bolton — a concern that your ideological predisposition relating to some of these issues is one that has clouded your judgment,” said the ranking Democrat, Senator Joseph Biden (Del.). Chafee yesterday pressed Bolton repeatedly to say whether he considered such charges a serious matter for the committee to consider.   Bolton would not say, but Chafee answered his own question, calling such an allegation “serious, if it were true.” Bolton said he sought to have Westermann removed because he had lost “trust and confidence in him” because the analyst had gone “behind my back.” Biden yesterday said the committee had not received all information it had requested on the situation regarding the State Department analyst, nor had it been given access to all State Department employees it had sought to interview. Access had been requested on March 21, but, “for two weeks, the department stonewalled,” he said.  Bolton said, “Let’s make all this public.” United Nations Democrats also asked whether previous statements by Bolton indicated a fundamental opposition to the United Nations and some of its missions and whether Bolton’s nomination would run contrary to U.S. interests. A video was played yesterday of Bolton’s appearance on a panel in the 1990s, in which he said, “If you think that there is any possibility in this country that a 51,000-person bureaucracy is going to be supported by most Americans, you better think again. The secretary’s building in New York has 38 stories. If you lost 10 stories today, it wouldn't make a bit of difference.” “I think my problem with your statements about the U.N. is I don’t think they’re true, I don’t think they’re consistent with U.S. policy, and I don’t think — I clearly believe they do not advance U.S. interest,” Biden said. “It’s hard for me to know why you’d want to work at an institution that you said didn’t even exist,” he also said. Senator Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) described himself as a strong supporter of the United Nations and noted how U.N. inspectors apparently were correct with doubts about previously suspected Iraqi weapons of mass destruction programs. “What we’ve seen is that … the United Nations inspectors had it right in Iraq; we had it wrong,” he said. Bolton said the International Atomic Energy Agency’s conclusion that Iraq probably did not have a uranium enrichment program made sense, because there was not evidence showing it did. That IAEA conclusion was not disputed by the administration, he said. Bolton told the committee his commitment to the United Nations should not be in question. “The consistent theme of my writings is that for the U.N. to be effective, it requires American leadership. I say it over and over again.  I deeply believe it. My criticisms during the 1990s were, in large measure, because of what I’d thought was the lack of effective American leadership,” he said. Senator Russell Feingold (D-Wisc.), who has said he generally does not oppose executive branch nominations, did not indicate how he would vote. He did question Bolton’s stated support for the United Nations. “I’m trying to square this idea with your past statements, which really do suggest that you view the U.N. as a deeply flawed institution, and I agree with you with that part of your assessment,” he said. With some past statements, “You appear to believe that the U.N. is at best irrelevant and at worst harmful,” he said. Bolton Approach Chafee also questioned whether a July 2003 speech by Bolton in which he called North Korean leader Kim Jong Il a “tyrannical dictator” may have undermined multilateral negotiations intended to end its nuclear weapons program. “The ramifications of this dispute seemed to be impeding our progress as we try and work with North Korea,” he said.     Back to top

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