U.S. President George W. Bush (right) and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder take questions from reporters at the White House yesterday. Schroeder pledged to continue to hold a hard line in negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program (Getty Images/Michael Kappeler). Bush Maintains Support for European Diplomatic Effort on Iranian Nuclear Program Leaders of the European Union’s three most powerful states should continue pressing Iran to forgo developing a nuclear arsenal, U.S. President George W. Bush told German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder yesterday (see GSN, June 27)...Full Story

Pyongyang Reportedly Ready for Nuke Talks Next Month North Korea is reportedly preparing to resume multilateral negotiations on its nuclear program next month, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, June 27)...Full Story

G-8 to Address Nuclear Issues The Group of Eight nations are expected to issue a declaration at their upcoming meeting in Scotland calling on North Korea to return to the six-party talks on its nuclear program, the Daily Yomiuri reported today (see GSN, June 28)...Full Story

	Tuesday, June 28, 2005

Experts Charge United States Not Doing Enough to Prevent Nuclear Terrorism, Proliferation Nuclear weapon experts said yesterday the U.S. government was not doing enough to combat the threat of nuclear terrorism, Reuters reported (see GSN, June 22). Speakers at a public forum said Congress and the Bush administration have become complacent and need to step up nonproliferation efforts, secure nuclear materials and cooperate better with other countries. “We said on the 9/11 commission that there needed to be maximum effort and a sense of urgency. The sense of urgency is more a mood of complacency today,” said Timothy Roemer, a commission member and former Democratic representative from Indiana. “Rather than a brisk pace of activity, we are more seeing a business-as-usual approach.” “From my perspective, the terrorists are racing and we are somewhere between a walk and a crawl,” added former Democratic Senator Sam Nunn (Ga.). He said more needed to be done to secure nuclear materials in former Soviet states and other nations (see GSN, June 27). Security upgrades have only taken place for approximately 26 percent of 600 tons of weapon-usable nuclear material in Russia, according to Reuters. Leonard Spector, a former Energy Department official, added that the United States was in danger of a radiological “dirty bomb” attack. Experts also criticized Congress for withholding funds to secure highly enriched uranium and President George W. Bush for not quickly establishing a weapons proliferation intelligence center (David Morgan, Reuters, June 27). [EDITOR’S NOTE: Sam Nunn is chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative. NTI is the sole sponsor of Global Security Newswire, which is published independently by the National Journal Group.] Back to top

Bulgaria Hosts NATO WMD Conference NATO representatives and experts met today in Bulgaria for a two-day WMD nonproliferation forum, the Sofia News Agency reported (see GSN, June 24). The Bulgarian Foreign Ministry and the NATO International Secretariat organized the meeting (Sofia News Agency, June 28). Back to top

Bush Maintains Support for European Diplomatic Effort on Iranian Nuclear Program Leaders of the European Union’s three most powerful states should continue pressing Iran to forgo developing a nuclear arsenal, U.S. President George W. Bush told German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder yesterday (see GSN, June 27). “My message to the chancellor is that we continue working with Great Britain, France and Germany to send a focused, concerted, unified message that says the development of a nuclear weapon is unacceptable and a process which would enable Iran to development a nuclear weapon is unacceptable,” Bush said. Schroeder said he agreed with Bush’s message on Tehran’s nuclear program. “We are going to continue being tough and firm on that,” he said. While saying Washington continues to support the EU diplomatic effort, White House spokesman Scott McClellan indicated the administration is not optimistic about the outcome. “We’ll see on the negotiations,” McClellan said. “We have reason to be skeptical” (Thomas Rietig, Associated Press/Baltimore Sun, June 27). The election of hard-line President Mahmood Ahmadinejad in Iran has not yet affected the EU diplomatic effort, analysts told Agence France-Presse. “The fundamental dilemma is the same,” nonproliferation expert Gary Samore of London’s International Institute for Strategic Studies told AFP today. “The Iranians have made it clear” that if an EU proposal, expected late next month or early in August, “doesn’t include a provision for Iran to produce nuclear fuel, then the Iranians are threatening to break the suspension of uranium enrichment,” Samore said. EU officials said it was too early to predict how the election would affect negotiations. “We will make our assessment when we see how [Ahmadinejad] addresses all our concerns,” a European diplomat said. While the United Kingdom, Germany and France support continued negotiations with Iran, the international community is not going to “go soft” on the nuclear issue, British Prime Minister Tony Blair said (Michael Adler, Agence France-Presse, June 28). EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said there was no reason for Brussels to alter its policy of engagement with Tehran, AFP reported yesterday. “At this point I am just in a waiting mood. I want to wait and see the actions,” Solana said (Agence France-Presse/IranMania.com, June 27). Meanwhile, two International Atomic Energy Agency officials who arrived in Iran yesterday are expected to discuss with Iranian officials reports that Tehran worked secretly with plutonium in the late 1990s, aides to Iranian Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh told the Associated Press (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press/News24.com, June 27). Back to top       Pyongyang Reportedly Ready for Nuke Talks Next Month North Korea is reportedly preparing to resume multilateral negotiations on its nuclear program next month, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, June 27). “In accordance with the decision taken by the North Korean leadership, the North Korea Ministry of Foreign Affairs has begun preparing a fourth round of negotiations (...) for mid-July,” a North Korean diplomatic source in China was quoted by the Russian news agency Interfax as saying (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, June 28). Meanwhile, South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong-young plans to tell U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney while in Washington this week that softer rhetoric could convince Pyongyang to resume talks, Reuters reported. “Vice President Cheney needs to say something reassuring to North Korea,” the Chosun Ilbo quoted a South Korean official as saying. Cheney recently described North Korean leader Kim Jong Il as an “irresponsible leader” in charge of a “police state.” Pyongyang shot back, labeling Cheney a “cruel monster and bloodthirsty beast” (Reuters/New York Times, June 28). Back to top       G-8 to Address Nuclear Issues The Group of Eight nations are expected to issue a declaration at their upcoming meeting in Scotland calling on North Korea to return to the six-party talks on its nuclear program, the Daily Yomiuri reported today (see GSN, June 28). The Daily Yomiuri also reported that the countries plan to include in the “declaration concerning nonproliferation” demands for Iran to permanently stop uranium enrichment and nuclear fuel reprocessing. Sources said language calling for stronger export controls to prevent terrorists from obtaining nuclear materials and equipment is also planned. Japan, the United States and Europe are still working out details on how these controls should be strengthened. The United States wants a ban on transferring nuclear-related equipment to countries without uranium enrichment and fuel reprocessing facilities, while Japan and Europe wants export standards to be established through International Atomic Energy Agency protocol. G-8 members are also to call for representatives from developing countries to meet with experts to stop the spread of biological and chemical weapons and ballistic missiles. Under the declaration, the G-8 would also work to expand the number of countries participating in the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative (Daily Yomiuri, June 28). Back to top       Former Russian Nuclear Minister Willing to Face Embezzlement Charges in U.S., Attorney Says Former Russian Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeny Adamov is willing to come to the United States to face charges of embezzling U.S. nuclear security assistance funds, the Chicago Tribune reported today (see GSN, May 19). “We admit monies went into his account,” said defense attorney Lanny Breuer. “However, at the same time he was expending monies so that all the scientists were getting paid and all the projects were completed.” A U.S. indictment alleges that Adamov and a partner diverted more than $9 million in U.S. aid into personal bank accounts in the United States, Monaco and France, the Tribune reported. Adamov, currently in Swiss custody on a U.S. warrant, is awaiting a ruling by the Swiss Supreme Court on his detention. A decision could come down later this week, Breuer said. Adamov and U.S. partner Mark Kaushansky are accused of using “multiple bank accounts and companies to conceal the nature of their activities.”  If convicted, Adamov faces a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison, a $1.75 million fine or both, according to the Tribune. Kaushansky could be sentenced to 180 years in prison, be fined $5 million or both. During the 1990s, Adamov was head of NIKIET, a Russian nuclear research institute. NIKIET designated a Russian agency, Energopool, as recipient of U.S. nuclear security assistance funds, the indictment says.  In 1993, Adamov and Kaushansky formed a private Pennsylvania company, Energo pool Inc., according to the Tribune. The two also established a company in the Bahamas and bank accounts in Monaco and France to receive U.S. funds, the indictment says. About $4.6 million in U.S. funds were transferred to private accounts belonging to Adamov and his wife, according to the indictment. “As far as I know, the (Russian nuclear) ministry never received any means from these firms or through them from nuclear laboratories,” Adamov told the Tribune in 2002, adding that he had “no relationship” to the U.S. entities (Stephen Hedges, Chicago Tribune, June 28). Back to top

Researchers from Canada, United States Develop Lassa Fever Vaccine Effective in Monkeys Researchers from Canada and the United States have developed a vaccine that protects monkeys from a disease that could be used in a biological attack, the Canadian Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 25, 2004). The vaccine protects against Lassa fever, a hemorrhagic disease like the Ebola and Marburg viruses that could be used as a biological agent. Researchers at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute in Fort Detrick, Md., found the vaccine effective in protecting four monkeys from developing the fever. The monkeys survived after being exposed to the virus 28 days after receiving the vaccine, while two monkeys who received a vaccine without the Lassa virus protection died. It is expected to take at least five years before testing of the vaccine could begin in humans, said Heinz Feldmann, chief of the special pathogens program at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Canada. Additional primate research must be conducted and work is planned to determine if the immunization process can be reduced from 28 days to a week or less, Canadian Press reported. Feldmann said a vaccine could prevent mass infections if Lassa fever was used in a biological attack. “I think it's quite an achievement if you look at the bioterrorism threat and the threat … that traveling people could bring in an exotic disease that could easily get out of hand and have a big impact on the public-health system,” Feldmann said (Sheryl Ubelacker, Canadian Press/Canada.com, June 27 Back to top

Chicago Alderman Proposes Hazardous Materials Ban The chairman of Chicago City Council’s Health Committee has proposed restrictions that would prevent hazardous materials from being shipped within 2.2 miles of downtown, the Chicago Sun-Times reported today (see GSN, Feb. 24). The proposed “municipal exclusion zone” would prohibit the four most dangerous hazardous materials from being shipped by rail or truck into the area.  Washington, D.C., is immersed in a legal battle to uphold its chemical rail ban, while Baltimore, Cleveland and Boston are considering similar measures. Hazardous material expert Fred Millar said the explosion of a single rail car filled with liquefied chlorine had the potential to kill 100,000 people within 30 minutes. “If we don't reroute these cargoes, we are prepositioning weapons of mass destruction in our high-threat, target cities. It's a little bit like taking huge containers of jet fuel ... up to the top floors of the ... Sears Tower,” Millar said.  “We are offering targets to terrorists which are very easily accessible,” he added. “The rail system is way too far-flung for anybody to protect it with fences. It’s about as easy as anything you can imagine to kill lots of Americans and damage the U.S. economy in a terrible way.” However, Michael Payette of Union Pacific Railroad said such a ban would be disastrous economically for Chicago. He said that 1,200 trains carrying 75 percent of the country’s freight pass through Chicago every day.  “We can't have it both ways,” Payette said. “We can't have the federal government saying that railroads must carry these chemicals and local governments saying, ‘But you can't carry it here.’ It will only serve, like it has in Washington, to create a set of conflicting laws that will force the railroads and the city into court.” No action was taken on the proposal at the hearing yesterday, the Sun-Times reported (Fran Spielman, Chicago Sun-Times, June 28).  Back to top       Anniston Weapons Disposal Could Resume this Week Disposal of chemical weapons at the U.S. Army’s Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Alabama could resume this week following changes to the machinery to allow destruction of 105 mm artillery shells, the Anniston Star reported Sunday (see GSN, May 26). Work was originally scheduled to resume later in July, but changes have been made more quickly than anticipated. “You always plan for a more extensive involvement, and if it’s not there, you do the maintenance that’s required,” said Army project site manager Tim Garrett. Before disposal of the 105 mm shells can begin, workers need to destroy 2,200 8-inch artillery shells that were set aside in case the state required the facility to conduct further test burns on its metal parts furnace, the Star reported. The Anniston incinerator has destroyed 15 percent of the original stockpile, eliminating 66,193 chemical weapons and 74,370 gallons of sarin, the Star reported (Brian Lyman, Anniston Star, June 26). Back to top       China Urges Faster Destruction of Abandoned World War II-Era Japanese Chemical Weapons Japan should quicken the destruction of chemical weapons it abandoned in China during World War II, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said today (see GSN, June 27). “It is the Japanese side that should take more measures to push forward the process of destroying the chemical weapons,” said ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. A Japanese Foreign Ministry official, however, was quoted by Japanese media as saying Tokyo was willing to complete the disposal process more quickly and that Beijing was to blame for the delay, according to the Xinhua news agency (Xinhua, June 28).             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.