Jeffrey Sachs, director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, warned today that the Bush administration has pursued a dangerous antiterrorism strategy (Columbia University photo). Critics Slam Both U.S. Parties for Ineffective Antiterror Policies By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Key U.S. liberal thinkers this morning laid into both Republican and Democratic leaders over their approaches to combating terrorism and addressing weapons of mass destruction. Current U.S. antiterrorism policy keeps the populace in fear to create support for military action abroad but avoids taking obvious steps that could reduce terrorists’ motivation for attacking the United States and bolster WMD response capabilities within the country, said John Tirman, executive director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for International Studies. He spoke during a panel discussion as part of a Campaign for America’s Future conference here...Full Story

Legislation Signals Dissatisfaction With Bush Administration’s Nuclear Threat Reduction Efforts Three pieces of recent federal legislation cut funding and expressed deep dissatisfaction with the Bush administration’s efforts to resolve a key dispute in nuclear security cooperation with Russia, an international security organization announced yesterday (see GSN, May 5)...Full Story

Riyadh Urged Not to Seek Limited Nuclear Monitoring The United States has been trying to persuade Saudi Arabia not to sign the Small Quantities Protocol to its nuclear safeguards agreement, an arrangement that would limit International Atomic Energy Agency oversight of Saudi nuclear activities, Reuters reported yesterday (see GSN, June 1)...Full Story

	Thursday, June 2, 2005

Critics Slam Both U.S. Parties for Ineffective Antiterror Policies By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Key U.S. liberal thinkers this morning laid into both Republican and Democratic leaders over their approaches to combating terrorism and addressing weapons of mass destruction. Current U.S. antiterrorism policy keeps the populace in fear to create support for military action abroad but avoids taking obvious steps that could reduce terrorists’ motivation for attacking the United States and bolster WMD response capabilities within the country, said John Tirman, executive director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Center for International Studies. He spoke during a panel discussion as part of a Campaign for America’s Future conference here. “Is there a significant threat of a terrorist attack against America? We don’t know the answer to that question, but a large number of Americans do believe there is such a threat,” Tirman said. Liberals should address that threat, he said, but the Democrats offer only “complaints about civil liberties and spending priorities” even though “there are much more fundamental issues at stake that are not being addressed.” While “the ideology of homeland security” at home creates “fear and anxiety” that boost support for war abroad, liberals are missing a chance to “challenge Bush” on his “hypocrisies,” Tirman said. In particular, he cited the potential for changes in energy and health policy that he said would both increase domestic security and bring everyday benefits to citizens. “We have, in terms of national security, the exactly wrong energy system,” Tirman said. Reducing dependence on oil and increasing the focus on renewable energy sources and on conservation, he said, could reduce both the risk of attacks on U.S. energy facilities and Washington’s motivation to become entangled in the Middle East, which Tirman said increases the threat of anti-U.S. terrorism. Improving U.S. public health would also make the country more secure, Tirman said. He said health insurance coverage should be expanded and access to doctors and hospitals should be increased to make early detection of emerging diseases more likely. Currently, he said, many in the United States decline to seek treatment when ill because of lacking insurance coverage or concerns about missing work. “This is not a system optimally designed for early warning of a biological weapons attack,” Tirman said. Columbia University Earth Institute Director Jeffrey Sachs agreed with Tirman that the U.S. populace is kept in fear and argued that if it was better informed it would be less inclined to support military action as the primary response to the terrorist threat. “They have been hoodwinked into what is the most dangerous possible policy for them and their families,” Sachs said. Former top CIA analyst Ray McGovern added that more wars could be ahead based on exaggerated fears of terrorism and WMD threats — and outright “lies” in the case of Iraq, he said. “When things go sour for the crazies, they are more likely to launch new adventures than they are to change course. ... Iran could be next,” McGovern said. Nation editor Katrina vanden Heuvel said the Bush administration has brought the country into “an endless battle against terrorism” with important support from “the Democratic establishment.”  “We need a realignment of the military budget ... to scrap Cold War programs” and instead fund development, human rights and programs to secure weapons of mass destruction, vanden Heuvel said. Back to top

Riyadh Urged Not to Seek Limited Nuclear Monitoring The United States has been trying to persuade Saudi Arabia not to sign the Small Quantities Protocol to its nuclear safeguards agreement, an arrangement that would limit International Atomic Energy Agency oversight of Saudi nuclear activities, Reuters reported yesterday (see GSN, June 1). “The Americans are putting pressure on the Saudis to drop their plan to sign the Small Quantities Protocol, but it’s unclear if the Saudis will agree,” a European diplomat told Reuters. Several other Western diplomats on the agency’s Board of Governors confirmed the move. The board would have a difficult time rejecting the request if Riyadh does not voluntarily withdraw it, diplomats said. Saudi officials have said, however, that they would allow additional inspections that go beyond the protocol, according to diplomats on the Board. “The Saudis are prepared to make a statement that they will allow inspections that go beyond the Small Quantities Protocol,” an EU diplomat said (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, June 1). Back to top       Legislation Signals Dissatisfaction With Bush Administration’s Nuclear Threat Reduction Efforts Three pieces of recent federal legislation cut funding and expressed deep dissatisfaction with the Bush administration’s efforts to resolve a key dispute in nuclear security cooperation with Russia, an international security organization announced yesterday (see GSN, May 5). The House and Senate versions of the Defense Authorization Act, as well as the House Energy and Water Appropriations bill all indicate dissatisfaction with the inability to resolve a disagreement on liability protections under U.S.-Russia cooperative nuclear threat reduction agreements. “Congress is sending a clear signal to the administration to drive the liability dispute to a conclusion. Hundreds of millions of dollars were cut because promises of progress are no longer enough,” said Kenneth Luongo, executive director of the Russian-American Nuclear Security Advisory Council. “The heart of the Nunn-Lugar agenda is at risk if the impasse continues.” The dispute has prevented construction of mixed-oxide, or MOX, fuel facilities in the two countries that are necessary for disposal of weapon-grade plutonium, according to RANSAC (RANSAC release, June 1). Back to top       North Korea Accuses Cheney of Undermining Six-Nation Talks With Tough Rhetoric North Korea called U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney a “bloodthirsty beast” today and accused him of undermining six-nation talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear drive with his accusations that North Korean leader Kim Jong Il ran a police state, Reuters reported today (see GSN, May 31). “Cheney is hated as the most cruel monster and bloodthirsty beast, as he has drenched various parts of the world in blood,” a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by Pyongyang’s official KCNA news agency. “What Cheney uttered at a time when the issue of the six-party talks is high on the agenda is little short of telling the DPRK not to come out for the talks,” the spokesman said (Jon Herskovitz, Reuters, June 2). North Korea also demanded that Washington withdraw F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighters recently deployed to South Korea, the Associated Press reported. “The United States would be well advised to promptly take out of South Korea the F-117 stealth fighter bombers and other military hardware, stop its war moves against the North and withdraw its aggression forces at an early date,” KCNA said (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, June 2). Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld departed for Singapore for regional security talks scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, Agence France-Presse reported. Asian defense ministers are expected to discuss North Korea’s nuclear drive with Rumsfeld in bilateral meetings, a U.S. defense official said. Rumsfeld is unlikely, however, to discuss possible common responses to a potential North Korean nuclear weapons test, the official said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, June 2). Back to top       Final MX Missiles to Be Deactivated by September The United States plans to dismantle the last of its active MX intercontinental ballistic missiles by September, Inside the Air Force reported Friday (see GSN, Dec. 8, 2004). Under the terms of an arms control agreement with Moscow, each country must reduce its deployed strategic nuclear warheads by nearly two-thirds by the end of 2012, according to Inside the Air Force. “Our first big installment in the ICBM business, in terms of helping the overall strategic force get down to those levels, is deactivation of the Peacekeeper missiles,” said Maj. Gen. Frank Klotz (Inside the Air Force, May 27). Back to top

Early Tests Show No Danger From Powder Sent to Indonesian Embassy in Australia Australian authorities said the substance delivered to the Indonesian embassy Wednesday was most likely not dangerous, the Australian Associated Press reported today (see GSN, June 1). The Australian Federal Police have determined the substance was not anthrax. “At this stage ACT Policing has been advised it is very unlikely that there are any bacteria of major pathogenic significance. However, it must be stressed these findings are interim and analysis is continuing,” the Australian police said in a statement. It is widely suspected that the letter was sent in retaliation for the incarceration of Australian national Schapelle Corby, who was recently convicted on drug charges in Indonesia, according to AAP. However, lawyers for Corby cautioned against drawing a connection between their client’s conviction and the letter. “We don’t know who has done it yet,” said Corby’s attorney Vasu Rasiah. Australian Prime Minister John Howard warned the incident could lead to attacks on Australians in Indonesia. “Just as we cannot guarantee a random act of stupidity with an evil intent … equally I cannot expect a guarantee from the Indonesian government that some evil act of retaliation won’t occur in that country,” Howard said (Australian Associated Press I/The Age, June 2).  The Australian Associated Press also reported today that authorities have expanded their investigation of the letter’s origin to Victoria, where officials believe the letter originated. The letter, written in Indonesian, “was abusive, let me just say that, very abusive,” said Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer. Federal Police Chief John Davies said ample resources are being committed to the investigation. “Clearly the sending of that particular letter was designed to cause major disruption and to instill fear and as such it is a very serious matter and the AFP is obviously giving this a very, very high priority,” said Davies (Paul Osborne, Australian Associated Press II, June 2). Back to top       Mississippi Postal Facility Gets Anthrax Detector An anthrax detection system has been installed at the mail processing center in Gulfport, Miss., WLOX reported yesterday (see GSN, May 31). The U.S. Postal Service began installing Biohazard Detection Systems following the death of two postal workers in 2001 from anthrax contamination.  “We know that it’s going to be detected. We know that we’re going to be able to find it. And we’ll find it in time that they’ll actually be able to do something about it,” said postal worker John White. Larry Gray, the manager of the Gulfport facility, said the new device would not slow mail delivery (Steven Phillips, WLOX, June 1). Back to top

Officials to Consider Additional Studies into Cause of Umatilla Chemical Weapon Fires Officials from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility were set to meet today to discuss additional studies and investigations to determine the cause of recent fires at the facility, the Oregonian reported (see GSN, May 26). Three recent fires and earlier incidents since rocket destruction began in April at Umatilla had caused the Environmental Quality Department to stop destruction at the plant, putting the Army further behind schedule. “We had too many crises,” said Don Barclay, manager of the facility. In response, the Army altered its planning and management approaches, putting rocket destruction back on schedule until the recent fires again slowed the process. To this point, 14,530 of 91,400 sarin-filled rockets have been destroyed, averaging 55 rockets per day. This has been well below the pace of the Pine Bluff Chemical Weapons Depot in Arkansas, which has destroyed about 130 per day. “I expected to have twice as many rockets processed at this point as I do. And there’s a lot of reasons for that,” including poor training and errors in planning and management, Barclay said. An internal audit conducted by the Army and the Washington Group, which is contracted by the Army to help run the facility, found that workers at the plant were having difficulty adjusting to weapons destruction from building the facility. Barclay said managers are working to fix problems identified by the audit. The audit spurred “a lot of work force retraining,” said Washington Group’s Rick Kelley. “It’s going to add safety to our employees. It’s going to help us better serve our client.” Barclay said that Umatilla has not been alone in dealing with fires among weapons disposals facilities. All five of the Army’s facilities have had fires recently, Barclay said. Army spokeswoman Marilyn Daughdrill says the Army has been investigating the fires at all weapons destruction facilities (Andy Dworkin, Oregonian, June 2). Back to top

Contract Awarded for European Missile Defense MEADS International has signed a $3.4 billion contract with NATO MEADS Management Agency to develop the Medium Extended Air Defense System, according to a MEADS International release (see GSN, April 21). MEADS International is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin in the United States, MBDA in Italy and EADS/LFK in Germany. “The MEADS program and its promise of unprecedented capability for the warfighter are moving forward,” said Lockheed Martin’s Jim Berry. “We will now complete development of the system and prepare it for production. That's important for our tri-national forces who have asked for greater mobility, interoperability and lethality.” MEADS components would consist of launchers, 360-degree fire control, surveillance radars and plug-and-flight battle management control, all of which current missile defense systems lack, the company said. The system is expected to take the place of Patriot systems in Germany and the United States and the Nike Hercules systems in Italy (MEADS International release).   Back to top

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