U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, shown at press conference yesterday, told the Wall Street Journal that the United States was continuing diplomatic strategies to address the Iranian and North Korean nuclear crises (AFP photo/Paul Richards). U.S. Remains Committed to Diplomatic Solution to Iran, North Korea Nuclear Disputes, Rice Says The United States plans to decide this summer on what further action to take on the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program, but Washington remains committed to diplomacy in addressing controversial nuclear work by Tehran and North Korea, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published today (see GSN, April 6). “We still believe that the best course is one in which you can maintain unity among the various actors who are negotiating with the Iranians, and that includes not just the EU-3 but, for instance, the Russians, who have gone to some length to safeguard the Bushehr reactor,” she said, referring to a nuclear power reactor Moscow is building in Iran. “That’s something that I think was really not thinkable two or more years ago” (see GSN, April 12)...Full Story

Chirac Urges Softening of EU Stance on Iran French President Jacques Chirac hopes to persuade the European Union to allow Iran to keep a small-scale uranium enrichment capability as part of a settlement to the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program, Reuters reported yesterday (see GSN, April 13)...Full Story

One Suspect Convicted in U.K. Ricin Plot One of the nine suspects in a plot to spread ricin in London has been convicted, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Feb. 6, 2003)...Full Story

	Thursday, April 14, 2005

Senate Committee Rejects Higher Urban Priority for Homeland Security Funding The Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee yesterday overwhelmingly rejected an amendment to an appropriations bill that would have made homeland security funding for high-risk urban areas a priority over security for rural regions, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, March 22). “We had an important first step today that we were able to get accomplished,” said Senator Mark Pryor (D-Ark). “I think we need to prepare America for the next attack, not for the last attack. We have no guarantee that they are going to hit an urban area next time.” The government must protect the country’s food and water supply, said Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.), noting that her state is a top producer of poultry, rice and soybeans. “That affects everybody across the country that eats a hamburger, or eats rice or eats chicken,” she said. “People are going to choose a target where you’ve got the least defense.” Lincoln also noted that terrorists could target military installations, a chemical weapons depot and a nuclear power plant in Arkansas. “There’s this continuing effort from the major metropolitan areas to use a high-risk type theory,” she said. “I strongly believe that we should not be doing that.” Legislation sponsored by committee Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-Maine) would cut minimum state receipts of homeland security funding from 0.75 percent of the total to 0.55 percent, AP reported. The Bush administration wants to cut state minimums to 0.25 percent, according to AP. Pryor also rejected the risk-based approach. “Basically, the way they want to quantify risk is just by population. They say that they don’t, but if you look at how the numbers work, it’s basically a population issue,” he said (Rainer Sabin, Associated Press, April 14). Back to top

Democrats Delay Bolton Confirmation Vote Senate Democrats yesterday delayed to next week a committee confirmation vote on John Bolton’s nomination to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, April 13). The vote had been expected to occur today. Democrats hope to persuade Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I), the only Republican Senate Foreign Relations Committee member who has not committed to vote for Bolton, to oppose his appointment, according to AP.  Chafee has, however, indicated general support for Bolton, reducing Democrats’ hope of a tie vote on the committee that would block the nomination from going to the full Senate. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday expressed her support for Bolton. “John Bolton has been a very effective manager and diplomat,” she said. “It would be very useful if we could get this nomination done” (Barry Schweid, Associated Press/Philadelphia Inquirer, April 14). Meanwhile, Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), has requested an explanation from Bolton about his requests to obtain details of the identities of U.S. officials involved in communications monitored by the National Security Agency, the New York Times reported. Under federal guidelines for NSA intercepts, names of U.S. citizens generally must be replaced by the term “U.S. person” in any report of the communication. There is an exception, however, for “senior executive branch officials,” including ambassadors and some State Department officials, according to the Times. Dodd was seemingly trying to find out whether Bolton’s requests focused on a specific person, and how he used that information, a Democratic official said. The State Department received Dodd’s request yesterday, a senior official said, estimating that Bolton requested identity information “about a half dozen times, maybe a few more, over a four-year period.” “There are established procedures for intelligence consumers to request the identity of persons referred to in intelligence reports. On those few occasions where Bolton made such inquiries, he followed these procedures,” said department spokesman Richard Boucher (Douglas Jehl, New York Times, April 14). Back to top

U.S. Remains Committed to Diplomatic Solution to Iran, North Korea Nuclear Disputes, Rice Says The United States plans to decide this summer on what further action to take on the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program, but Washington remains committed to diplomacy in addressing controversial nuclear work by Tehran and North Korea, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Wall Street Journal in an interview published today (see GSN, April 6). “We still believe that the best course is one in which you can maintain unity among the various actors who are negotiating with the Iranians, and that includes not just the EU-3 but, for instance, the Russians, who have gone to some length to safeguard the Bushehr reactor,” she said, referring to a nuclear power reactor Moscow is building in Iran. “That’s something that I think was really not thinkable two or more years ago” (see GSN, April 12). “We think the diplomatic course that we’re on is the right course, but obviously at some point the U.N. Security Council is an option,” Rice said. “I think we probably want to make an assessment this summer and see where we are and how far we’ve gone.” The threat of international sanctions and further isolation could have an impact on Iran because, unlike North Korea, “this is not a country that can live in total isolation,” Rice said. Rice also said Pyongyang’s recent announcements about boosting its nuclear arsenal were a ploy for attention, one the international community has largely ignored (see GSN, March 22). “I do think the North Koreans have been, frankly, a little bit disappointed that people are not jumping up and down and running around with their hair on fire because [they] have been making these pronouncements,” she said. She added that the United States is still relying on China to help persuade the North to resume multilateral disarmament talks. “I did have good discussions with the Chinese while I was there about the fact that the North Koreans cannot be allowed just to continue to string the world along and that they can’t be allowed to continue to make statements about their nuclear capability, just essentially denying their responsibility to be in the six-party talks and to work for a non-nuclear Korean Peninsula,” she said. “I think the Chinese took that on board and I expect that they’ll be involved in a series of diplomatic engagements with the North Koreans to see if they can move them.” Rice said that growing international energy demands have made dealing with countries pursuing nuclear programs more complicated. “We do need to recognize and help countries deal with the energy demands they are facing,” she said. “Oil-rich troublesome states will have leverage if you can’t help people find alternative means to meet their energy needs” (King/Robbins, Wall Street Journal, April 14). Back to top       Chirac Urges Softening of EU Stance on Iran French President Jacques Chirac hopes to persuade the European Union to allow Iran to keep a small-scale uranium enrichment capability as part of a settlement to the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program, Reuters reported yesterday (see GSN, April 13). France, Germany and the United Kingdom agreed last month to consider an Iranian proposal to maintain a limited enrichment program monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency. This change in the EU position, which was previously in line with U.S. demands that Iran permanently cease all enrichment, followed pressure from France, according to several diplomats. “Jacques Chirac ... is the one who’s taking the Iranian proposal under consideration,” said a diplomat from one of the three European powers. “Chirac seems to have taken things a bit further forward than everyone else, but his comments do not really represent the official French position on objective guarantees,” said another. Diplomats said that Chirac had pressed French negotiators to look at Iran’s proposal that it be allowed to maintain 3,000 uranium-enrichment centrifuges, Reuters reported. That number of centrifuges could produce enough weaponizable uranium for one weapon annually. French Foreign Ministry spokesman Jean-Baptiste Mattei denied reports that Chirac had pressed the agency into softening its stance. “On the Iran dossier, there’s one, and only one French position,” Mattei said. Chirac yesterday described the talks with Iran as “concerning the peaceful use of its nuclear program.” “An agreement would give a new dimension to Iran’s relations with the states in the region and the members of the international community,” he said. The EU-Iran nuclear working group is expected to meet April 19-20 in Geneva, with a senior level group scheduled to convene in London on April 29, diplomats said. Both groups are expected to discuss the limited enrichment capability proposal, according to Reuters (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, April 13). A U.S. State Department spokesman said yesterday in response to Chirac’s reported position that the United States remains committed to enforcing a permanent ban on Iran’s enrichment of uranium. “The position of the United States and, I think, many other members of the international community has been and continues to be that the suspension of enrichment activity needs to be made permanent, it needs to be turned into a permanent cessation,” said spokesman Richard Boucher. He added that U.S. intelligence continues to indicate that Iran would not be capable of building a nuclear weapon for several years. “I think our intelligence community has used in the past an estimate that said that Iran was not likely to acquire a nuclear weapon before the beginning of the next decade. That remains the case,” he said (State Department daily briefing, April 13). Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said yesterday that Israel was not “planning any military attack on Iran” and supported “an international effort” to resolve the situation, the New York Times reported. “I think that here it should be a coalition of democracies who believe in the danger, led by the United States, in order to put pressure upon Iran,” Sharon told CNN. Asked if his government had ruled out unilateral military strikes against Iranian nuclear sites, he said, “We don’t think that’s what we have to do” (Steven Weisman, New York Times, April 14). Back to top       Chinese Leader Reportedly Postpones Pyongyang Trip Chinese President Hu Jintao has postponed a visit to Pyongyang tentatively scheduled for this month, the Australian reported today (see GSN, April 13). Diplomats in Beijing said Hu has “indefinitely postponed” the trip, probably due to Pyongyang’s refusal to resume multinational talks on its nuclear effort, according to the Australian. China has been unable to persuade North Korea in recent senior-level meetings to resume nuclear disarmament talks that also include Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States (Peter Alford, The Australian, April 14). Back to top       Australia, U.S. at Odds over Fissile Material Treaty Creating a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty without a verification mechanism would make such a pact “meaningless,” Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said in a Sydney Morning Herald article published yesterday (see GSN, March 24). The United States has been a leading opponent of including a verification process in an international pact banning new production of plutonium and highly enriched uranium. U.S. officials argue that such a mechanism could be easily evaded. “The problem is the Americans say: Well we would be in favor of a treaty but we don’t want any verification system,” Downer said. “Well, if you don’t have any verification system, it runs the risk of making the treaty a bit meaningless.” The dispute could arise next month at the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review conference at the United Nations in New York, according to the Morning Herald. There could also be discussion of whether nations that withdraw from the treaty should be referred to the U.N. Security Council for possible penalties, Downer said. Further damage to the nuclear nonproliferation regime could have “immense implications” for Australia, he said. “It’s very important for us in the Asia-Pacific region other than China to keep it nuclear-free, and you’ve got quite a lot of countries in this part of the world which are nuclear capable that could build nuclear weapons programs, and obviously we don’t want to see that happen.” However, Downer expressed no concerns about potential U.S. research on new nuclear weapons capabilities, such as the earth-penetrating “bunker buster.” “Why should the Americans be asked to unilaterally abandon their nuclear program when there are a lot of countries around the world which are building up nuclear programs?” he said (Cynthia Banham, Sydney Morning Herald, April 13). Back to top       Vote on IAEA Chief Expected in June, Diplomats Say A vote on a potential third term for International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohammed ElBaradei is likely to occur in June instead of at an April 27 Board of Governors special session, diplomats at the agency said yesterday (see GSN, April 6). Developing nations, most of which support ElBaradei, were pushing for a vote before the confirmation of a new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, diplomats said (see related GSN story, today). Washington remains opposed to ElBaradei, which led to increasing support for deferring a decision until the regularly scheduled June board meeting, the Associated Press reported. “I think nobody is eager to push this issue — at this point, everyone is hoping for consensus,” said one diplomat familiar with the U.S. position. A possible compromise might be for the board to endorse ElBaradei for a third term but forbid him from seeking a fourth, said one senior diplomat from a board member country. One-third of board member countries must vote against ElBaradei to eliminate him from a third term, according to AP. The United States still has no alternative candidate, diplomats said yesterday (George Jahn, Associated Press/Khaleej Times, April 13). Back to top

One Suspect Convicted in U.K. Ricin Plot One of the nine suspects in a plot to spread ricin in London has been convicted, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Feb. 6, 2003). Kamel Bourgass, 31, of Algeria, was sentenced yesterday to 17 years in prison on a charge of conspiracy to commit a public nuisance by using poisons and explosives. Four other North African men were acquitted Friday at trial, while authorities dropped charges yesterday against the final four suspects. Bourgass was previously sentenced to life in prison for fatally stabbing a police officer as authorities hunted for the suspects in the ricin plot in early 2003. Details of the trials came to light this week after a judge removed bans on media coverage of the case, the Times reported. Prosecutors said during the most recent trial that Bourgass planned to cover building doors and car-door handles with ricin or other poisons, court records state. Police found a bomb design, and recipes and components for toxins such as ricin, cyanide and botulinum at Bourgass’s apartment, according to the Times. “These were no playtime recipes,” said prosecutor Nigel Sweeney. “These are recipes that experts give credence to and experiments show work. They are scientifically viable and potentially deadly.” Early reports from 2003 that authorities had found actual ricin in the apartment later turned out to be false, the Times reported. Defense attorneys said there was minimal indication of an actual plan to use ricin against others. “The ambit of this conspiracy must be a very limited one,” said lawyer Michel Massih. “At its highest there may have been some form of experimentation, but no more. There was not a single target of this conspiracy” (Alan Cowell, New York Times, April 14). Back to top       D.C. Area Officials Discuss Anthrax Scare Washington, D.C., area leaders yesterday discussed communication troubles and other problems that arose as the region responded to last month’s anthrax scare, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, April 5). The Defense Department was slow to notify the Homeland Security Department on March 14 after test samples indicated a Pentagon mailroom had been contaminated by anthrax, said George Foresman, assistant to Virginia Governor Mark Warner for commonwealth preparedness. “The Department of Homeland Security is the national incident manager, but they weren’t managing the incident because they didn’t know they had one,” Foresman said. An after-incident report prepared for the D.C., Virginia and Maryland governments noted a conference call in which outdated information was relayed between 80 officials. Not all relevant federal, state and local officials were involved in the discussion, AP reported. “That should not be acceptable,” Arlington County, Va., Board Chairman Jay Fisette said at the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments meeting. A Fairfax County, Va., building that was locked down for several hours March 14 following a false biological agent alarm had no plan for an extended stay by workers, said county Board of Supervisors Chairman Gerry Connolly. Fairfax County is preparing a public education campaign on emergency preparedness, said spokeswoman Merni Fitzgerald. “The anthrax incident proved unfortunately to us that the public is not as prepared as it should be. Despite warnings to stay in place about half of one of the buildings self-evacuated,” she said. “People didn’t have plans for children when they had to stay late after work. We didn’t have water where we needed to be” (Heather Greenfield, Associated Press/WJLA.com, April 13). Back to top

Phosgene Munitions Found in Hawaii Two munitions believed to contain the choking agent phosgene have been found on the Hawaiian island of Honolulu, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, March 16). Army personnel clearing an impact area of unexploded munitions at the Schofield Barracks found the World War I-era mortar round and artillery projectile. The 155 mm projectile was moved to an ammunition storage site, AP reported. However, the mortar round is fuzed and could not be moved. It will be dealt with Friday at its present location (Associated Press, April 14). 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.