U.S. Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio) crossed party lines yesterday to block a confirmation vote on U.N. ambassador nominee John Bolton (Getty Images/Joe Raedle). Bolton Vote Stalls Again in Senate; Bush Retains Option of Using Recess Appointment U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday left the door open for a recess appointment of U.N. ambassador nominee John Bolton after Senate Democrats blocked a confirmation vote for the second time, the New York Times reported (see GSN, June 20)...Full Story

U.S. Prepared to Offer North Korea “Respect” if Nuclear Disarmament Talks Resume North Korea could earn the respect and recognition it seeks from the United States by returning to the six-nation talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear program, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told the Yonhap news agency yesterday (see GSN, June 20)...Full Story

Scientists Find Radiation Detection Methods Lacking By David Francis Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Radiation monitors used by the Homeland Security Department would probably be unable to detect small quantities of highly enriched uranium coming into the United States, according to a letter sent to two U.S. lawmakers last week by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (see GSN, June 8)...Full Story

	Tuesday, June 21, 2005

Workers With Phony Immigration Documents Admitted into U.S. Nuclear Weapons Facility A group of construction workers with falsified immigration papers were admitted into the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Tennessee last year due to inadequate security standards, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, March 4). There was no indication that the 16 workers were able to obtain sensitive documents while at the plant, according to the National Nuclear Security Administration. However, authorities discovered “official-use-only” documents “lying unprotected in a construction trailer which was accessed by the foreign construction workers,” says an Energy Department inspector general’s report issued yesterday. “Thus, these individuals were afforded opportunities to access … (this) information,” the report says. “We concluded that this situation represented a potentially serious access control and security problem.” The workers had counterfeit immigration documents and were turned over to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency for deportation, according to the report. As a result of the incident, visitors are now required to present passports or birth certificates to enter the plant, according to AP (Duncan Mansfield, Associated Press/Boston Globe, June 20). Back to top

Bolton Vote Stalls Again in Senate; Bush Retains Option of Using Recess Appointment U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday left the door open for a recess appointment of U.N. ambassador nominee John Bolton after Senate Democrats blocked a confirmation vote for the second time, the New York Times reported (see GSN, June 20). “I think Mr. Bolton ought to get an up-or-down vote on the Senate floor — that’s my call to the Senate,” Bush said. “The American people know why I nominated him — because the U.N. needs reform, and I thought it made sense to send a reformer to the United Nations.” A recess appointment would last until January 2007. Both Democrats and Republicans believe such a move could hurt Bolton and the White House because the ambassador would lack the backing of the Senate. “That’s a legitimate concern,” said Senator George Allan (R-Va.). “I hope that people will take a little longer look at our national interests and say that, ‘Let’s not go down the road to a recess appointment,’” said Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.). Roberts added that he did not think Bolton would be confirmed, according to the Times. “At this juncture, I think it’s a pretty tough climb,” he said. “We tried our best and we failed.” Republicans needed 60 votes to force a vote on Bolton, but received only 54. Senator George Voinovich (R-Ohio), who in the first vote sided with Republicans, crossed party lines in Monday’s vote. Voinovich said information he received since the last vote “confirmed my belief that John Bolton is not the right man for this job.” The debate over Bolton centers around the White House’s refusal to turn over documents requested during the confirmation process. Before yesterday’s vote, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card offered Democrats the draft of a speech Bolton gave on Syria’s weapons program, but refused to provide names Bolton requested from National Security Agency intercepts when he was undersecretary of state for arms control and international security. Senator Joseph Biden (Del.), ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, refused the offer. “I indicated to him that was not sufficient,” Biden said. “We will agree to vote up and down on the Bolton nomination as soon as the administration provides the information requested by the committee.” A Republican aide on Capitol Hill told the Times that unless a compromise is made, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (Tenn.) would not make a third attempt to confirm Bolton. A spokesman for Frist said no decision on an additional vote has been made. Frist said the document requests were unreasonable and that Democrats were acting in bad faith. “Despite hours and hours of relentless questioning, deliberation and debate, the minority has still resorted to parliamentary maneuvers to thwart the president’s choice for U.N. ambassador, a post that has remained vacant now for over five months,” Frist said. White House spokesman Scott McClellan echoed those sentiments. “We have worked in good faith, yet Democratic leaders continue to move the goal posts,” McClellan said. “They are not interested in documents, they are only interested in preventing progress and blocking John Bolton” (Sheryl Gay Stolberg, New York Times, June 21). Back to top       U.S. Coast Guard Stresses New WMD Protections in Explaining Revisions to Modernization Plan By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. Coast Guard’s commandant today defended recent changes to the service’s modernization plan, arguing it needed to encompass new measures, including the introduction of more WMD defenses (see GSN, July 31, 2002). A revised implementation plan submitted to Congress in March is appropriate to the Coast Guard’s post-Sept. 11 mission because it emphasizes “enhanced capabilities” such as improved chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear protections on the service’s vessels, Adm. Thomas Collins told a Senate Commerce Committee subcommittee. Pressed by Fisheries and Coast Guard Subcommittee Chairwoman Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) on why the service now says it may need fewer new vessels than envisioned under the Deepwater modernization plan developed in the late 1990s, Collins spoke of a need to strike the right balance between investments in new systems and in “legacy” equipment. “It’s critical to maintain the right level of operational capability now,” Collins said. The Coast Guard says the revised plan is needed because existing vessels are deteriorating faster than expected — necessitating increased spending on maintenance — and because of a post-Sept. 11 need to focus on improved capabilities, rather than numbers, in new acquisitions. Deepwater was previously expected to cost $17 billion over 20 years and to involve purchase of as many as 91 cutters, 83 unmanned aerial vehicles and 35 maritime patrol aircraft. The revised plan envisions spending up to $24 billion over a 20- to 25-year period and buying as few as 74 cutters, a maximum of 49 unmanned aerial vehicles and a maximum of 20 maritime patrol aircraft. In explaining the cuts in planned acquisitions, Coast Guard officials have stressed a focus on new capabilities such as a better command and control network, improved antiterrorism protections and new detection and defense systems against weapons of mass destruction. Snowe today said the revised plan does not meet today’s needs. She cited studies indicating the service needs higher numbers of aircraft and sea vessels and called for speeding acquisitions of new equipment. “We’re talking about threats that have become a reality in this new threat environment, this new normalcy,” Snowe said. “The Coast Guard should no longer have to say, ‘We can do more with less.’” The fiscal 2006 Coast Guard budget proposal contains $966 million for Deepwater, but congressional panels so far have sought to cut that figure amid concerns about the revised implementation plan. The appropriations bill approved last month by the House of Representatives, for example, would cut $466 million from the Deepwater budget. Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) placed the responsibility for Deepwater’s success with Congress. He called for restoring the funds requested by the administration. Back to top       U.S., EU Leaders Pledge Continued Cooperation on Antiterrorism, WMD Nonproliferation Efforts Stemming the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and keeping such arms out of the hands of terrorists remain the greatest security challenges to the United States and the European Union, Washington and Brussels announced in a declaration yesterday (see GSN, March 21). “We will further strengthen measures against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by state and nonstate actors. In this context, we reaffirm our support for the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and will continue to work together to strengthen it. We will enhance the security of weapons-usable materials, facilities, and technology,” says the statement, released following U.S. President George W. Bush’s meeting with EU leaders in Washington. Washington and Brussels also announced their commitment to resolve the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program. “Towards that end, we reconfirm our full support for the ongoing European efforts to secure Iran’s agreement to provide objective guarantees that its nuclear program is intended for exclusively peaceful purposes,” the statement says. The declaration goes on to demand that North Korea honor its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and disarm. “The D.P.R.K. has clearly violated its commitments under the NPT and its [International Atomic Energy Agency] safeguards agreement and other international nonproliferation agreements. The D.P.R.K. must comply fully with its nonproliferation obligations, and dismantle its nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons programs in a permanent, transparent, thorough, and verifiable manner,” the statement says (White House release, June 20). The message to Iran was that “we’re not going to tolerate the development of a nuclear weapon,” Bush said yesterday, Reuters reported. France, Germany and the United Kingdom remain committed to negotiations with Iran “for the time being,” said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. “If it’s not successful, we’ll look at the issue again,” Barroso said (Steve Holland, Reuters, June 20). Back to top       Terror Insurance Should Cover WMD Events, RAND Says Insurance policies for terrorist events should cover losses caused by attacks involving chemical, biological, nuclear or radiological weapons — a gap in much present coverage, according to a study released yesterday by the RAND Corp. (see GSN, June 21). In addition, while a 2002 federal law that provided billions of dollars to help insurers pay claims encouraged many companies to obtain terrorism insurance, such coverage still equals only half the amount of assets protected by other policies, said Bob Reville, co-author of the report. Another terrorist attack could cause significant damage to the economy if businesses are not properly insured, said Peter Chalk, a RAND political analyst and co-author of the study. “Who would be paying out for compensation? Who would be paying for losses and rebuilding? There would be a general industry slump that would feed into a downward spiral in the economy,” Chalk said. “We think it would be catastrophic” (Jeremiah Marquez, Associated Press/Detroit News, June 20). Back to top

U.S. Prepared to Offer North Korea “Respect” if Nuclear Disarmament Talks Resume North Korea could earn the respect and recognition it seeks from the United States by returning to the six-nation talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear program, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill told the Yonhap news agency yesterday (see GSN, June 20). “When we begin these negotiations, we will conduct them in an attitude of mutual respect to all the parties and also with the sense of equality that a good negotiation should have,” Hill said. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on Friday demanded that the United States treat his nation with “respect” as a condition for resumption of negotiations, possibly as soon as next month (Chang Jae-soon, Yonhap, June 20). Meanwhile, a high-level North Korean delegation arrived today in South Korea to discuss the nuclear issue, Agence France-Presse reported. “Please watch [the meeting] with expectation,” a seemingly upbeat Kwon Ho Ung, a senior cabinet councilor to Kim, said upon arrival. The five-member delegation is expected to hold four days of talks with a team led by South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, according to AFP (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, June 21). At the same time, Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was concluding consultations in Seoul, during which he expressed optimism about a potential resumption of talks, Reuters reported. Elsewhere, South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan arrived in Beijing today to discuss the nuclear issue with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao. The Chinese Foreign Ministry praised South Korea’s role in the diplomatic process, and spokesman Liu Jianchao said Chinese officials planned to have “an in-depth exchange of views on the six-party talks and the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula” with Lee (Reuters, June 21). Back to top       Scientists Find Radiation Detection Methods Lacking By David Francis Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Radiation monitors used by the Homeland Security Department would probably be unable to detect small quantities of highly enriched uranium coming into the United States, according to a letter sent to two U.S. lawmakers last week by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (see GSN, June 8). The organization’s Center for Science, Technology and Security Policy asked physicists Frank von Hippel of Princeton University and Steve Fetter of the University of Maryland to review port radiation monitoring methods. Their findings were reported in a letter from association Director Norman Neureiter to Representatives Edward Markey (D-Mass.) and Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), who had asked the association to explore the matter. The House Homeland Security Committee plans to explore the effectiveness of detection methods at U.S. ports at a hearing this afternoon. In the letter, Neureiter cautioned that the findings were limited to unclassified information about the monitors. However, based on the available information the association confirmed the findings of an earlier report, which concluded that small amounts of highly enriched uranium would go undetected by U.S. monitors. “Relatively simple means exist for avoiding detection that could allow kilogram quantities of HEU to evade detection by even significantly more sensitive and sophisticated passive detection systems than those presently in use,” Neureiter wrote. The monitors are constrained by poor energy resolution, which hinders their ability to differentiate between radioactive materials and normal cargo. The large distance from the monitor and the cargo being inspected, the short time that the monitor scans the cargo and background signals also limit monitors’ effectiveness, wrote Neureiter. He recommended additional research and development to combat these flaws. Neureiter warned that existing monitoring technology would not be likely to identify highly enriched uranium already in a nuclear weapon.  “We note that any system that depends on detecting HEU at a U.S. port of entry is a source of great danger if that HEU has been fashioned into a nuclear device,” Neureiter wrote. “Such a device could easily be set to detonate automatically upon arrival at a U.S.” port. Neureiter backed a proposal to develop an “offshore detection integrated system” for cargo heading to the United States. Under this proposal, monitors would be secured to cargo containers at the port of origin, allowing for collection of data while the cargo in en route. Finally, Neureiter recommended active HEU detection, using such methods as radiography or fission stimulation with neutron sources. Methods being developed by at Oak Ridge and Lawrence Livermore national laboratories might prove effective, Neureiter said. The unreliability of detection methods mandate that highly enriched uranium must be secured against diversion, Neureiter wrote. The material “should be accorded the same level of security as nuclear weapons.   Efforts also should be made to reduce and eliminate stocks of HEU whenever possible,” the letter states. “The conversion of HEU-fueled research reactors and critical assemblies, which are still widespread, is also very important” (see GSN, May 26). In the short term, Neureiter suggested taking more time to examine cargo and narrowing the width of monitors. New shields could be added to decrease background radiation, he said. The report confirms suspected inadequacies in the U.S. nuclear detection system, Markey said. “This report reveals what we have suspected to be true. The system in place for detecting nuclear materials at our ports will not effectively detect highly enriched uranium … from being smuggled into the United States,” he said in a press release.  “The Bush administration finally needs to confront the reality that the laws of physics are working against them in their quest to stop highly enriched uranium at our borders.”  “While there are some short-term engineering fixes and some longer-term R&D that can help make these detection systems better the reality is that the only sure-fire way to prevent a terrorist from smuggling nuclear weapons-grade HEU into this country is to spend more time and money securing it before it reaches our shores,” Markey added. Back to top       Nuclear Suppliers Group to Address Iran, North Korea The annual meeting of international nuclear exporters opened yesterday in Oslo and is expected to address the atomic programs of Iran and North Korea, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, March 21). The Nuclear Suppliers Group, consisting of 44 nations that agree to voluntarily implement a common set of restraints on their exports of nuclear-related materials and equipment, is also expected to discuss other nonproliferation issues. “The discussion among the member states … are not public, but at the end of the session on Friday there will be a statement,” said outgoing NSG head Richard Ekwall (Agency France-Presse, June 20).  Back to top

Researchers find Anthrax Treatment Works on Mice A research team led by the Burnham Institute in California has discovered a molecule that blocks the deadliest part of the anthrax toxin, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, June 17). The researchers, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, believe their findings could lead to a safe anthrax treatment. They found that mice that were exposed to anthrax then injected with the molecule compound and treated with antibiotics survived longer than mice treated only with antibiotics. The report outlining the new development was set to be published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Associated Press/Newsday, June 20). Back to top

N.J. Lawmakers Question VX Byproduct Transportation Two New Jersey lawmakers are questioning the U.S. Army’s methods for shipping the byproduct of VX nerve agent destruction following a spill at the Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Indiana, the New Jersey Courier-Post reported today (see GSN, June 20). The Army plans to ship byproduct from VX destruction to New Jersey for final disposal. “The question now becomes, ‘Can the Army load and ship (VX) without further incident?’” said a spokesman for Senator John Corzine (D-N.J.). Representative Rob Andrews (D-N.J.) is also concerned about possible spills, the Courier-Post reported. Newport spokeswoman Terry Arthur said the proper safety measures are in place. “We know how dangerous VX is.  Everything we do is very deliberate.” Destruction of VX is scheduled to resume at Newport later this week (Jim Walsh, New Jersey Courier-Post, June 21).   Back to top       Japanese Cult Leader Mentally Ill, Family Says The family of the Japanese cult leader responsible for the 1995 nerve gas attack on the Tokyo subway is asking that he be moved from jail to a hospital to treat his mental illness, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, March 21). Shoko Asahara, leader of the Aum Shinrikyo cult that used sarin to kill 12 people and sicken thousands, requires treatment unavailable in prison, his family told the Tokyo District Court.  Asahara has been in a Tokyo jail since his lawyers appealed his death sentence in 2004 (Associated Press/Yahoo!News,, June 21). Back to top

U.S. Conducts Nuclear Safety Training Seminars for Central Asian Customs Officials The United States is conducting radiation safety training seminars in the former Soviet republic of Kazakhstan for customs officials from central Asian nations, Kazakhstanskaya Pravda reported yesterday (see GSN, April 4). The seminars, run by experts from Interpol, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration, the U.S. Energy Department and several U.S. and Austrian national laboratories, have focused on handling radiation incidents, tracking down radioactive sources and identifying dual-use materials at border crossings. “The sooner abandoned radiation sources are found, the more likely it is that nuclear devices will not get into the hands of terrorists who could make a so-called ‘dirty’ nuclear weapon,” said Richard Warren, a specialist in the NNSA international relations department (Kazakhstanskaya Pravda/BBC Monitoring, June 20).       Back to top

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