North Korea’s No. 2 leader, Kim Yong Nam (center), walks Saturday toward a meeting during the Asia Africa Summit in Jakarta. According to reports, the United States believes North Korea may be preparing to test a nuclear weapon (AFP photo/Philippe Lopez). U.S. Wary of Possible North Korean Nuclear Test Plans There are signs that North Korea might be preparing to test a nuclear weapon for the first time, the Washington Post reported Saturday (see GSN, April 21). Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill flew to Asia yesterday for meetings with Chinese, Japanese and South Korean officials on the possible test preparation, the Post reported...Full Story

Anthrax Vaccine Treatment Funding Remains Uncertain By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — A Senate effort to ensure full funding of special U.S. military centers for treating soldiers suffering side effects from anthrax and other vaccinations failed last week, leaving open the question of whether the clinics will be fully funded in this fiscal year (see GSN, Jan. 13)...Full Story

Battle Over Bolton Nomination as U.N. Ambassador Continues as New Allegations Arise on his Conduct Even as Republican Party leaders continued to boost Undersecretary of State John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, one Republican senator said Sunday the nominee’s success is by no means assured (see GSN, April 22)...Full Story

	Monday, April 25, 2005

Battle Over Bolton Nomination as U.N. Ambassador Continues as New Allegations Arise on his Conduct Even as Republican Party leaders continued to boost Undersecretary of State John Bolton as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, one Republican senator said Sunday the nominee’s success is by no means assured (see GSN, April 22). Bolton’s nomination is “too close to call,” Senator Arlen Specter (Pa.) said on CNN’s Late Edition. His statement came as another Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee expressed support for the delay on a vote on Bolton’s nomination, the New York Times reported. A spokeswoman for Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) said she could not say how Murkowski was prepared to vote on the matter. Murkowski had backed Bolton, but believes the committee “did the right thing delaying the vote on Bolton in light of the recent information presented to the committee,” the spokeswoman said, according to Reuters. Republican committee members George Voinovich (Ohio), Lincoln Chafee (R.I.) and Chuck Hagel (Neb.) have also expressed concerns about Bolton. However, Senate Majority Whip Mitch McConnell said Sunday on CBS News’ Face the Nation that he believes the GOP-controlled panel will send the nomination to the full Senate for consideration. The committee is set to end its investigation on May 6 and vote on May 12, according to the Times. Republicans and Democrats used the weekend news shows to support or excoriate Bolton, who has faced increasing allegations of abusive behavior and efforts to tilt intelligence to support his beliefs. Democrats oppose Bolton “because he’s a tough guy who supports the president’s policy,” Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), said on ABC News’ This Week. The question is “not whether he’s a nice guy or not,” argued Senator Joseph Biden (D-Del.) also on This Week. “This is about whether or not you try to alter intelligence data, alter what intelligence days says, or intimidate experts in the intelligence community to say something different than you want said,” said Biden, ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee. Democratic Senators Christopher Dodd (Conn.) and John Rockefeller (W.Va.) are seeking access for the Senate Foreign Relations and Intelligence committees to examine unedited classified National Security Agency transcripts of 10 communications involving U.S. officials previously obtained by Bolton, the Times reported. The Foreign Relations Committee needs to know “whether [Bolton’s] requests for the names of U.S. officials were solely for appropriate policy purposes,” Dodd said in a letter sent Friday to acting NSA Director William Black (Douglas Jehl, New York Times, April 25). Dodd on Sunday called for Bolton to remove himself from consideration for the job, the Associated Press reported. “I think he’s going to embarrass the president. I think he’s going to … have a very difficult job serving if he’s confirmed narrowly by the Senate,” Dodd said on Face the Nation. “He should withdraw and the president ought to withdraw this nomination.” A White House spokeswoman said President George W. Bush continues to support Bolton (Siobhan McDonough, Associated Press/ABC News, April 24). Meanwhile, 43 people who worked with Bolton at the American Enterprise Institute sent a letter to Biden and Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Richard Lugar rejecting claims that Bolton is given to poor behavior and angry outbursts. “Several of us were Mr. Bolton’s subordinates, and the idea that he would seek to punish or settle scores with those who disagreed with him seems particularly preposterous,” the letter states. Vice President Dick Cheney also took a shot at Bolton’s detractors. “I’ve looked at all of these charges that have been made. I don’t think any of them stand up to scrutiny,” he said. “And if being occasionally tough and aggressive and abrasive were a problem, a lot of members of the United States Senate wouldn’t qualify” (Vicki Allen, Reuters, April 22). New questions about Bolton’s conduct continued to arise even as lawmakers debated previous allegations. British officials have become irked by Bolton’s hard-line stances as undersecretary for arms control and international security, Newsweek reported in its May 2 issue. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw complained to then-Secretary of State Colin Powell in November 2003 that Bolton was undermining efforts to develop an allied stand on Iran’s nuclear efforts. Powell quickly told an aide to get “a different view on (the Iranian problem). Bolton is being too tough.” During 2003 negotiations to persuade Libya to abandon its WMD programs, Bolton rejected a proposed compromise in which the United States would pledge not to seek to unseat Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi, Newsweek reported. An agreement was reached only after high-level British officials persuaded the Bush administration to keep Bolton off the negotiating team, according to Newsweek. An administration official said both accounts are “flatly untrue.” The Foreign Relations Committee is also reportedly investigation claims that Bolton misused or promoted bad intelligence on Syria, China and Iran (Michael Hirsh, Newsweek, May 2). Bolton in October tried to remove a State Department lawyer from a case in which a U.S. company sought a waiver to import goods from a Chinese company that had fallen under U.S. sanctions, Time magazine reported. Bolton opposed the waiver, while the lawyer backed the application. Bolton yelled and shouted as he tried to persuade chief department lawyer William Taft to remove his subordinate from the case. “But that was nothing unusual,” a witness to the meeting told Time, “because John was always a strong friend to his own opinion.” Taft refused to take the lawyer off the case, Time reported (James Carney, Time, May 2). A former U.S. Agency for International Development official said that in late 1982 or early 1983 Bolton — also working at the agency — became enraged when she refused his directive to press U.N. delegates to weaken World Health Organization rules on marketing infant formula to developing nations. “He yelled that if I didn’t obey him, he would fire me,” Lynne Finney stated in a letter to the Foreign Relations Committee. “I said I could not live with myself if even one baby died because of something I did. … He screamed that I was fired” Peter McPherson, AID chief administrator at that time, said before Finney’s letter was released that he did not recollect any troubles between Bolton and his staff, the Boston Globe reported. “He's a man of strong views, but he listened to people that worked for him,” McPherson said (Farah Stockman, Boston Globe, April 24). Back to top       NYC Mayor Defends WMD Response Plan New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg on Friday defended his decision to give the city Police Department primary authority at the site of a biological or chemical attack, the New York Times reported. New York Fire Department officials complained last week that they were better equipped to manage a WMD attack site (see GSN, April 22). “We’ve had these rivalries that have been with us for a long time, and the Office of Emergency Management gives me the advice and then you’ve got to make a decision,” Bloomberg said. The city’s new emergency response plan gives the Police Department more decision-making authority, while Fire Department specialists would continue to focus on safety. “I think the police’s expertise is in doing an investigation and preserving evidence, and the Fire Department’s expertise is in lifesaving and cleanup,” Bloomberg said (Nicholas Confessore, New York Times, April 23). Back to top

U.S. Wary of Possible North Korean Nuclear Test Plans There are signs that North Korea might be preparing to test a nuclear weapon for the first time, the Washington Post reported Saturday (see GSN, April 21). Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill flew to Asia yesterday for meetings with Chinese, Japanese and South Korean officials on the possible test preparation, the Post reported. U.S. spy satellites observed increased activity at missile sites and other locations that could indicate an underground test was being readied, one U.S. official said. “We see these things,” he said. “But much of what we see is open to interpretation.” The Wall Street Journal first reported online Friday about the potential nuclear weapons test, according to the Post. China has long maintained that there is no proof that North Korea possesses nuclear weapons. A nuclear test by Pyongyang, according to another U.S. official, would make it more difficult for Beijing to block moves to refer North Korea to the United Nations for possible sanctions. “It would take them off the edge,” said the official (Glenn Kessler, Washington Post, April 23). Washington delivered a message Thursday to the Chinese Foreign Ministry asking Beijing to convey a warning to Pyongyang about any planning for a nuclear test, U.S. officials told the Los Angeles Times. Some experts said the recently reported North Korean reactor shutdown alone did not indicate that a nuclear test was in the works (see GSN, April 20). “We did see them shut down the [Yongbyon] reactor, but that’s different from preparing for a nuclear weapons test,” said Gordon Flake, a North Korea specialist who heads the Mansfield Center for Pacific Affairs (Sonni Efron, Los Angeles Times, April 23). A senior U.S. official said Washington has not seen concrete evidence of a nuclear test in the making, Reuters reported. “We’ve seen something that suggests they are talking about (a nuclear test). There has been lots of stuff suggesting interesting activity,” the official said. “As far as I can tell, it’s not definitive.” The official was unaware of any warning to China about the possible test, Reuters reported (Reuters, April 22). South Korea’s ruling party chairman also said today he is unaware of any intelligence indicating that Pyongyang is preparing to test a nuclear weapon, the Yonhap news agency reported. “According to the latest intelligence reports that I know of, including those by the intelligence agencies and the government, there is no clear evidence that the North is preparing to test a nuclear weapon,” said Uri Party chief Moon Hee-sang (Byun Duk-kun, Yonhap, April 25). South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said today that a nuclear test by the North would further isolate Pyongyang, Agence France-Presse reported. The “reckless step ... would further deepen the North’s own isolation and would mean moving onto a path where its future is not guaranteed,” Ban said (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, April 25). Meanwhile, the United States is considering seeking a U.N. resolution allowing all countries to intercept North Korean cargo suspected of containing nuclear-related materials, the New York Times reported today. The resolution, not yet formally presented to U.S. President George W. Bush for consideration, would permit intercepting North Korean shipments on the high seas and forcing down aircraft for inspection, according to officials and diplomats familiar with the proposal. Meanwhile, U.S. intelligence agencies continued to study activity at a suspected North Korean nuclear test site, the Times reported (David Sanger, New York Times, April 25). North and South Korean officials met on the sidelines of a conference Saturday, but made no progress in negotiating a return to six-party talks, Reuters reported. “It was the highest-level meeting between the South and the North since the summit on June 15, 2000,” said South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan, after the 30-minute meeting with North Korea’s No. 2 leader, Kim Yong Nam (Ardiansyah/Norton, Reuters, April 23). Kim on Friday accused Washington of trying to topple his government, the Associated Press reported. The United States “is now attempting to stifle the D.P.R.K. system by deploying (the) latest means of nuclear war ... in and around the Korean Peninsula,” Kim said. “Under such circumstances, it stands to reason indeed for the D.P.R.K. to equip itself with a nuclear deterrent as a legitimate self-defensive means,” he added (Chris Brummitt, Associated Press/San Diego Union-Tribune, April 22). Back to top       Iranian Expectations “Partly Fulfilled” in EU Talks Tehran’s expectations have been “partly fulfilled” in nuclear negotiations with France, Germany and the United Kingdom, a top Iranian negotiator said Friday (see GSN, April 22). Sirus Naseri said Iran expects “a definitive response” to Tehran’s proposals at the next round of negotiations, scheduled to begin Friday in London, Agence France-Presse reported. “We insist on having a definitive response at next week’s meeting,” he said (Agence France-Presse/TurkishPress.com, April 22). Iran announced yesterday that the results of the nuclear talks would not deter its intent to resume uranium enrichment, the Associated Press reported. “It is not a matter of a year, but months,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi, referring to the duration of a suspension imposed last year in the run-up to negotiations. “We will put the issue of uranium enrichment on our agenda and, after some time, we will resume doing it. We will do it whether the talks with the Europeans lead to failure or agreement,” he said (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, April 24). Asefi dismissed a report in the German weekly Der Spiegel that it bought a crane from Germany for its ballistic missile program, AFP reported. Mizan Machine reportedly purchased the equipment from the Liebherr company in August. German customs attempted to halt the shipment, which reportedly remains at Port Said in Egypt at the entrance to the Suez Canal, according Der Spiegel. “This is an unfounded theory,” said Asefi. “It’s not very clear how crane equipment can be used in Shahab 3 and 4 production.” Asefi at the same time criticized European nations for “inflicting restrictive measures while claiming to believe in open trade” (Agence France-Presse/Deutsche Welle, April 24). Meanwhile, an International Atomic Energy Agency official said Iran is following international safety operating standards in building the Bushehr nuclear reactor with assistance from Russia, AFP reported. “So far, so good,” said Ken Brockman, the agency’s director of nuclear installation safety.  The comments had no bearing on the potential security risk from Bushehr, according to AFP (Agence France-Presse/IranMania.com, April 22). Back to top       U.S., Ukraine Sign Radiation Detector Agreement The United States and the Ukraine have signed an agreement to install radiation detection equipment at key Ukrainian border crossings, airports and seaports, the U.S. Energy Department announced Friday (see GSN, April 22). National Nuclear Security Administration chief Linton Brooks and Col.-Gen. Mykola Lytvyn, chairman of the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, signed the agreement Friday under the U.S. Second Line of Defense Program, designed to interdict illicit nuclear and radioactive material. “This agreement will enable our countries to further international nonproliferation efforts and better protect the citizens of Ukraine, the United States and other countries against nuclear terrorism,” Brooks said in a statement (National Nuclear Security Administration release, April 22). Back to top       Lawrence Livermore Might Double Plutonium Holdings An environmental plan being considered by the Bush administration could allow the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California to nearly double its plutonium stockpile and move into new nuclear weapons work, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Dec. 23, 2004). Under the plan, the facility could increase its plutonium holdings from 1,540 to 3,000 pounds over the next 10 years.  That amount of material could be used to make hundreds of nuclear weapons, AP reported. Livermore personnel under the plan would also be able to double the amount of plutonium they can work with in a single room, allowing them to conduct multiple projects at one time. Those changes are being considered to allow for creation of an experimental production line for casting of “pits,” the plutonium triggers for nuclear weapons. The government has received comments from more than 9,000 people on the plan. Most opposed the potential pit casting, AP reported. “Where they’ve chosen to work the bugs out of the technology for a bomb factory is a highly populated area riddled with earthquake faults,” said Marylia Kelley, who leads the Tri-Valley CAREs watchdog group. “It’s crazy.  If you tried, you could not find a more inappropriate location” (Associated Press/The Sacramento Union, April 25). Back to top       Senate Approves $26M for Los Alamos Waste Transfer The U.S. Senate approved spending $26 million to fund the transfer of nuclear waste from the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico to Nevada, the Albuquerque Journal reported Saturday (see GSN, Oct. 1, 2004). The funding is included in an emergency appropriations bill that contains $110 million for the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration.  “The NNSA did not budget for this activity, but it is necessary that we take care of this sooner rather than later,” said Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.). The bill, which includes a total of $84 million for nonproliferation projects, is heading to a Senate-House of Representatives conference committee for consideration (Albuquerque Journal, April 23). Back to top

Anthrax Vaccine Treatment Funding Remains Uncertain By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — A Senate effort to ensure full funding of special U.S. military centers for treating soldiers suffering side effects from anthrax and other vaccinations failed last week, leaving open the question of whether the clinics will be fully funded in this fiscal year (see GSN, Jan. 13). Senate leaders negotiated away an amendment to the supplemental appropriations bill for fiscal 2005 that would have provided $6 million for four regional Vaccine Healthcare Centers in the United States that offer treatment and advice on rare but serious side effects from the vaccine. The Senate instead included a nonbinding statement of support for full funding in the bill, which was approved Thursday. The Army earlier this year said it would transfer $5.7 million to the centers from another account, but Senator Joseph Biden (D-Del.) in a speech Wednesday on the Senate floor expressed concern that the absence of confirmed funding could hurt personnel in other military services. “The centers are in danger of losing part of their funding this fiscal year,” he said when he introduced the amendment Wednesday.  “I am very concerned that the funding this year is being redirected because other services have not budgeted for the centers’ work, despite the fact that 46 percent of their cases were related to Air Force, Navy, and Marines personnel,” Biden added. The main Vaccine Healthcare Center, located at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., was created in 2001. Three additional satellite centers were opened at U.S. bases last year, at the Naval Medical Center in Portsmouth, Va., the Womack Army Medical Center at Ft. Bragg, N.C., and the Air Force’s Wilford Hall Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. Together they received $5 million for fiscal year 2004 and sought $5.7 million for this fiscal year, which began Oct. 1, 2004, and ends on Sept. 30.  Praised last year by two senior defense officials, the centers have not been included in the Army’s long-term budget plans or in congressional appropriations bills. They have relied instead on funding transfers in recent years from other Army programs. A statement released in January by the Walter Reed Army Medical Center said the U.S. Army Medical Command, through its North Atlantic Regional Medical Command, would “underwrite the $5.7 million operation” this fiscal year. Biden’s amendment would have appropriated an additional $6 million to the centers by taking the money out of other defense-wide funding in the bill, for the “Global War on Terror Partners Fund,” which provides economic assistance to some countries allied in counterterrorism efforts. “Clearly, force protection in this time of war demands a good vaccination program. Equally clear, that program must include quality care for those who suffer adverse events in every service, not just the Army,” he said. Anthrax vaccinations were required for military personnel until last October, when a federal judge banned mandatory vaccinations, ruling the Food and Drug Administration had not properly reviewed the drug when it licensed it as safe and effective against inhalation anthrax. The judge reiterated last month that the vaccines could be administered voluntarily, though the military so far has not resumed inoculations (see GSN, April 1). Back to top       Hatfill Can Interview U.S. Officials, Judge Rules Former U.S. Army scientist Steven Hatfill has won a federal court order allowing his attorneys to interview Justice Department officials in connection with the 2001 anthrax attack investigation, in which the government described Hatfill as a “person of interest,” the Washington Post reported Saturday (see GSN, Dec. 20, 2004). The Justice Department told U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton that it could now accept some questioning in the lawsuit filed by Hatfill two years ago. Hatfill has accused federal officials, including former Attorney General John Ashcroft, of defamation and violation of privacy. The anthrax investigation is “active and ongoing,” according to court documents filed last week by the government. Law enforcement sources, however, told the Post that there have been no significant developments in the case (Henri Cauvin, Washington Post, April 23). Back to top

Anniston to Begin Destroying 155 mm Shells The Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Alabama is set to begin destroying 155 mm artillery shells filled with the nerve agent sarin as early as this week, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Feb. 15). Workers have nearly finished incinerating 8-inch shells, and are reconfiguring equipment for the new weapons. “It’s been quite smooth,” said facility spokesman Mike Abrams. “It’s not as major as what we’re looking at toward the end of the year, when we begin to retool for a new agent campaign.” Since beginning disposal in 2003, the facility has destroyed 56,234 rockets, warheads and shells and 598,967 pounds of sarin, AP reported. The Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Utah as of today has eliminated 1,003,511 weapons and roughly 14.6 million pounds of chemical agent. The Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Oregon has eliminated 12,530 rockets and 129,616 pounds of chemical agent. The Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility has destroyed 958 rockets containing sarin since incineration began in March, AP reported. About one-third of the U.S. chemical weapons arsenal has been destroyed (Associated Press/Tuscaloosa News, April 25). Back to top

Canada Site Could House U.S. Missile Defense Radar Raytheon Co. is considering a Canadian site for a radar station that could be used in the U.S. missile defense system, Canadian Press reported yesterday (see GSN, March 9). If installed in Happy Valley-Goose Bay in Labrador, the X-band radar would be part of the North American Aerospace Defense Command information systems and would “give additional radar coverage to the coast and might have some utility for ballistic missile defense as well,” said Canadian Defense Minister Bill Graham. He added that no deal was imminent and that Raytheon was exploring several locations for the project. “We’ve never had a formal request for this, there [have] been no substantial discussions about this,” Graham said (Canadian Press/Canoe.ca, April 24).     Back to top

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