IAEA inspectors were expected today to visit Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Natanz (above; Getty Images/ AFP/Henghameh Fahimi). IAEA Tests Back Iranian Claim on Source of Nuclear Material A preliminary examination of weapon-grade uranium on Pakistani nuclear equipment turned over to the International Atomic Energy Agency last month appears to indicate a match to traces found on centrifuges purchased by Iran through the illicit market network headed by former top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, June 7). The findings bolster Tehran’s claim that the equipment was contaminated with the weapon-grade uranium prior to arriving in Iran, according to AP. Tehran has denied enriching uranium to levels needed for nuclear weapons...Full Story

U.S. Armed Services Outline Implementation of Voluntary Anthrax Vaccinations Programs By David Francis Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The attorney representing six anonymous Defense Department employees in a suit that stopped a U.S. Defense Department’s mandatory anthrax vaccination program is praising implementation plans outlined by the Armed Services last month for a voluntary inoculation program (see GSN, May 23)...Full Story

Review of U.S. Homeland Security Department Moves Forward, Secretary Says By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. Homeland Security Department last month completed the initial, information-gathering phase of its current comprehensive self-review, Secretary Michael Chertoff said today (see GSN, May 25)...Full Story

	Thursday, June 9, 2005

Review of U.S. Homeland Security Department Moves Forward, Secretary Says By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. Homeland Security Department last month completed the initial, information-gathering phase of its current comprehensive self-review, Secretary Michael Chertoff said today (see GSN, May 25). Homeland Security completed its “second-stage review,” as the wide-ranging evaluation is known, on May 30, or one day ahead of schedule, Chertoff told the House of Representatives Government Reform Committee. Ordering the review was the first major step Chertoff took upon assuming office earlier this year as the second secretary in the department’s short history. He estimated this morning that he would be able to begin discussing initial results of the process in another month. Chertoff also told the panel he continues to focus on “risk management” as the “template” for his tenure as head of the agency and that he is seeking to build the department’s institutions around the goals it pursues, not vice versa. Members of the panel took the opportunity to express frustration with the department, notably in the areas of radiation detection, border security, spending priorities, information sharing and intradepartmental coordination. “Additional work is needed to fully integrate and coordinate the disparate entities that constitute the new department,” committee Chairman Tom Davis (R-Va.) said. Davis voiced concern over a lack of adequate information sharing within the department and between the department and private entities. Representative Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) was more sanguine on the same subjects, saying, “The disparate elements of the department have begun to fuse into a force as nimble and discerning as our enemies.” The committee’s top Democrat, Henry Waxman (Calif.), was sharply critical of Homeland Security, a department he called “seriously dysfunctional.” “This administration has misspent literally billions of dollars on wasteful and ineffective contracts,” Waxman said. Included in that figure, he said, are “hundreds of millions” of dollars for “largely ineffective” contracts awarded by Homeland Security. Both Waxman and Shays drew attention to the shortcomings of radiation monitors the United States has installed at border points in a bid to thwart nuclear terrorism. Waxman blasted Homeland Security for deploying detectors that are largely unable to distinguish among different sources of radiation, while Shays warned against overconfidence in technology to foil nuclear terror attempts (see GSN, June 8). “Intelligence is still our best portal monitor,” Shays said. Back to top

U.S. Firm Fined for Illegal Exports A California engineering firm has agreed to pay $700,000 for violating U.S. export rules by selling equipment to nations of proliferation concern without a license, the San Bernardino (Calif.) Business Press reported yesterday. The U.S. Commerce Department determined that Wilden Pump and Engineering Co. shipped special pumps to Iran, China, Israel, Syria and the United Arab Emirates. The machinery, designed for use in the chemical and pharmaceutical industries, could be used to create biological or chemical weapons. The department requires companies to receive an export license before shipping such equipment to those countries. “The size of the penalty assessed to Wilden is due to the significant number of violations, many of them with knowledge that the shipments were destined to an embargoed country,” said the Commerce Department in a statement. The department said Wilden committed 71 Export Administrative Regulation violations between 2000 and 2003. Wilden shipped pumps 26 times without the required license, according to the department, and on 22 of those occasions Wilden shipped the pumps knowing a violation would occur.   The department also said Wilden made false statements on export documents 23 times (Jim Steinberg, Business Press, June 8). Back to top       Support Grows for Dismantling UNMOVIC Support among U.N. Security Council members for shutting down the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Agency is growing, Reuters reported yesterday. The agency and its predecessor, the U.N. Special Commission on Iraq, have been responsible for locating and destroying Iraq’s WMD materials and programs following the 1991 Gulf War (see GSN, Feb. 28). “I can agree that there is a general perception by the council members that the time to wrap up the body has come. The problem is how to do it,” said Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Andrei Denisov. “There was a broad consensus to look at the mandate pretty quickly,” said acting U.S. ambassador Anne Patterson. The agency’s budget — $12 million per year — comes from Iraqi oil revenues, according to Reuters, and the Baghdad government has been lobbying the Security Council to shut it down so that the funds can be reappropriated. French U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere said he hoped discussions to do so could begin by September (Reuters, June 8). Back to top

IAEA Tests Back Iranian Claim on Source of Nuclear Material A preliminary examination of weapon-grade uranium on Pakistani nuclear equipment turned over to the International Atomic Energy Agency last month appears to indicate a match to traces found on centrifuges purchased by Iran through the illicit market network headed by former top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, June 7). The findings bolster Tehran’s claim that the equipment was contaminated with the weapon-grade uranium prior to arriving in Iran, according to AP. Tehran has denied enriching uranium to levels needed for nuclear weapons. A senior diplomat close to the agency, however, said it was too early to draw a definitive conclusion. Final results of the testing are likely to become available in two to four weeks, the diplomat said (George Jahn, Associated Press/Information Clearinghouse, June 9). Meanwhile, international nuclear inspectors have arrived in Iran to verify that all uranium enrichment activities at Natanz have been suspended, in accordance with a November deal with France, Germany and the United Kingdom, Reuters reported yesterday. While Iran has carefully stayed within the boundaries of the agreement, according to diplomats, construction activity at Natanz has continued. Iran has been conducting “work on water and electric infrastructure, including piping, in the underground halls, to serve a cascade of at least 1,000 centrifuges,” a diplomat with access to Iran’s nuclear program told Reuters. This was probably “an attempt by the Iranians to prepare themselves for the day when they decide to operate the facility (and end) their agreement with the Europeans,” he said. Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, confirmed today’s scheduled Natanz visit but denied that Tehran was conducting any sensitive preparations there. “Inspectors are scheduled to visit Natanz tomorrow. Of course a large number of people work and live there and some changes need to be made to the electricity and water system,” Saeedi told Reuters (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, June 8). Ultimately, Iran has plans to install tens of thousands of advanced P-2 centrifuges at the Natanz site, the Los Angeles Times reported today. While there is no definitive evidence that Iran is manufacturing machinery, Western intelligence officials told the Times that preparatory work has begun. Two Western intelligence officials and a nuclear expert said they had information about plans for 54,000 centrifuges, up to two-thirds of which would be the advanced P-2. Diplomats close to the International Atomic Energy Agency, however, said they had no information that Tehran was working on the centrifuges. “Their having made some planning should not be overly surprising,” a Western diplomat in Vienna said. “However, if there were production going on, it would be a breach of the suspension” (Douglas Frantz, Los Angeles Times, June 9). Elsewhere, Rosenergoatom, a Russian federal entity, and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran have established a working group to draw up training courses for Iranian nuclear energy specialists, RIA Novosti reported yesterday. An agreement was made during a visit to the Kalinin nuclear power plant by an Iranian delegation, according to a press release from the plant’s management. Moscow is assisting Tehran in constructing a nuclear energy plant modeled on the Kalinin plant at Bushehr, RIA reported (RIA Novosti, June 8). Back to top       ElBaradei Not to Bow to U.S. Pressure Senior diplomats said International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei would not bow to pressure to be tougher on Iran to secure U.S. support for a third term, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, June 8). “One of the reasons he’s been successful is because he has not pandered to any one country’s agenda or any group of countries’ agenda and always strives to maintain his impartiality,” an IAEA official said. A second IAEA official said ElBaradei had made the decision to approve a critical report on Iran before being asked to by the United States. Other diplomats believe ElBaradei might agree not to seek additional terms as IAEA director beyond his third in exchange for U.S. support. ElBaradei is scheduled to speak with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her top nonproliferation deputy Robert Joseph today in Washington. An IAEA spokesman said ElBaradei’s third term “in all likelihood” would be discussed. A Western diplomat said the Iraq issue would also be addressed (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, June 9). Back to top       Bush, Roh to Meet in Washington Tomorrow to Discuss North Korea Nuclear Standoff South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun and U.S. President George W. Bush are set to meet in Washington tomorrow to discuss the nuclear standoff with North Korea, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, June 8). Roh intends to emphasize that Seoul believes any military option is “unacceptable,” according to South Korean officials. He also plans to offer assurances that Seoul will, if necessary, support tougher U.S. measures — including support for referring North Korea to the U.N. Security Council — to pressure Pyongyang to resume disarmament talks. “If we try every diplomatic path possible and nothing works, we are prepared to support anything up to the point of a military response,” said a South Korean source. “We will tell the Americans that.” The overriding purpose of the summit, though, was to make a gesture of unity at a time when relations between the two countries have become tense, according to officials in Seoul. Washington’s close alliance with Tokyo has prompted Roh to present a new role for South Korea as a “balancer” between the two powers, according to the Post. South Korean officials have since characterized Roh’s statement as South Korean unease over rising nationalism in Japan, but many experts continue to see Roh’s vision as one for a more independent relationship with Washington. South Korea is also expected to hold Cabinet-level talks with the North a week after tomorrow’s meeting, Roh said this week (Faiola/Cho, Washington Post, June 9). Meanwhile, a top North Korean official said yesterday that his country was building more nuclear bombs, the Associated Press reported. Asked by ABC News if North Korea was manufacturing more missiles, Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye Gwan said, “Yes.” “As for specifically how many we have, that is a secret,” he said. Kim also implied the North was able to mount nuclear warheads on missiles. “Our scientists have the knowledge, comparable to other scientists around the world,” he said (Burt Herman, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, June 9). U.S. President George W. Bush suggested yesterday that he hopes China would press harder for Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear program, AP reported. “China has been at the table,” Bush said in an interview on Fox News. “Can they do more at a different time frame than we’re interested in? Perhaps.  But the relationship is such that I’m able to explain to Hu Jintao, my counterpart, that, you know, keep the pressure on” (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, June 9). Back to top       Centrifuge, Warhead Designs Still at Large Uranium centrifuge and nuclear warhead blueprints circulated on the black market by the former Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Kahn could still be available for illicit purchase, the Guardian reported today (see GSN, Nov. 17, 2004). “We know there were several sets of them prepared,” said one senior official. “So who got those electronic drawings? We have only actually got to the one full set from Libya. So who got the rest, the copies?” “We have no evidence they were destroyed. One possibility is another client.  We just don’t know where they are,” said the official. The International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded, based on investigations of Libya’s and Iran’s nuclear programs, that there could still be missing data and equipment. “We are still missing something from the picture in terms of critical equipment, certain parts of centrifuges ... There is equipment missing important enough for us to search, an amount that makes us worried,” said the official. Khan is known to have kept an apartment in Dubai, which he likely used as his headquarters. In October 2003, investigators found that the residence had been cleared out, apparently by Khan’s daughter, Dina, according to the Guardian. Libya gave up its secret nuclear program in December 2003, and three months later Tripoli provided inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency with two CD-ROMs and a computer hard drive where they found blueprints for the P-1 and P-2 uranium centrifuges, the Guardian reported.  The designs were from Urenco, the Dutch-British-German consortium where Khan worked the 1970s. Investigators now know that the original blueprints were scanned in Dubai, according to the Guardian. “There is reason to believe that there might even be some drawings related to nuclear weaponization in electronic form,” said the senior official (Ian Traynor, Guardian, June 9). Back to top       Sale of U.S. Fighter Jets to Pakistan Advances The U.S. House of Representatives International Relations Committee yesterday voted down a measure to stop the sale of military equipment to Pakistan — including F-16 fighters jets — unless Islamabad provides access to former top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, under house arrest for his role in setting up an international nuclear black market, Bloomberg reported yesterday (see GSN, May 26). Representative Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y) introduced the measure, but James Leach (R-Iowa) and Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), the two senior committee members led opposition to defeat the amendment to the State Department funding bill 28-14. “There is a recognition that Pakistan is an important ally on the global war on terrorism,” said Lantos, who argued during the debate that the measure would undermine Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf’s attempts to support Washington, a position unpopular in Pakistan (Tony Capaccio, Bloomberg News, June 8). Back to top       Israeli Police Look Into Possible Theft of Heavy Water Production Information Israeli police are investigating whether instructions on how to produce heavy water, which can be used to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons, were stolen from water company Gal-Al, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, April 27). Gal-Al has accused a rival firm of stealing the instructions by hacking into company computers. Twenty individuals have been arrested so far in the “Trojan Horse” investigation into theft of Israeli nuclear secrets. Computers from television stations, public relations firms, car importers and car companies were all infiltrated by hackers. The Trojan Horse investigation has spread beyond Israel to the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany (Agence France-Presse, June 9). Back to top       Officials Investigate Los Alamos Whistleblower Assault Investigators are trying to determine whether an assault on Los Alamos National Laboratory whistleblower Tommy Hook in Santa Fe, New Mexico is related to testimony he is scheduled to give to Congress, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, June 7). “It has made it a little bit hard on the investigators, being that this case has attracted so much media attention, not only on the local level but the national level,” said Eric Johnson, deputy chief of Santa Fe police. Johnson said his department has been flooded by information on the assault. “That’s why it’s taking a little bit longer that usual before we can release a lot of information,” Johnson said. Employees of the topless bar Hook was assaulted at said they had no reason to believe an altercation was about to occur, adding that Hook was well behaved before leaving the bar. Rumors have circulated that Hook got into an argument with another patron in the parking lot and that he backed into another car. Beth Daley with the Project on Government Oversight said her organization stands by Hook.  Whatever Hook’s behavior inside the bar, “it doesn’t have anything to do with the question of why he was lured to this bar and savagely beaten,” Daley said (Associated Press, June 9). Hook has maintained he was lured to the bar with the promise of information on financial mismanagement at the laboratory, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported today. Bob Rothstein, Hook’s attorney, discounted rumors that Hook was intoxicated or involved in a car accident. The owner of the bar, Elmo Montoya, said Hook was not a regular customer and did not appear to be intoxicated. Montoya pointed out bouncers at the bar chased away Hook’s assailants. Fellow Los Alamos whistleblower Chuck Montano said the rumors are an attempt to discredit Hook before his congressional testimony. “We’re dealing with some very vicious mind-sets here,” Montano said. “There was some mean intention involved there” (Diana Heil, Santa Fe New Mexican, June 9). Back to top       NATO Expected to Review U.S. Nukes in Europe NATO defense ministers, including U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, are in Brussels for two days of talks on security, including the status of U.S. nuclear forces in Europe, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, May 19). German Defense Minister Peter Struck said today he planned bring up the issue of the presence of U.S. nuclear weapons in his country. “Of course, I must inform my colleagues about the discussions in Germany,” he said. Asked whether he supported the withdrawal of the warheads, Struck said, “I think if you want to change anything at all, it can only be discussed together with all participants” (Agence France-Presse, June 9). Back to top

U.S. Armed Services Outline Implementation of Voluntary Anthrax Vaccinations Programs By David Francis Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The attorney representing six anonymous Defense Department employees in a suit that stopped a U.S. Defense Department’s mandatory anthrax vaccination program is praising implementation plans outlined by the Armed Services last month for a voluntary inoculation program (see GSN, May 23). However, John Michels, counsel for the Pentagon employees who requested and received an injunction against the mandatory program last October, questioned why the guidance does not require soldiers to give consent to receive the actual vaccination. Instead, under the new practice, vaccine candidates are asked to acknowledge that they have received a brochure outlining the risks associated with the vaccine. “They don’t actually have the guys signing for consent,” Michels said. “They have to sign, ‘Yes, I’ve gotten the brochure,’ but they don’t give consent to be vaccinated. I don’t understand why.” “Why not say I certified that I received the brochure and I consent to be vaccinated?” Michels asked. Calls to the Pentagon for clarification on consent were referred to the individual branches of the Armed Services. Calls to the branches were not returned at press time. Despite his confusion over consent, Michels is pleased with the implementation plans. He said many of the requirements for vaccinations, allowed under emergency use authority granted to the Pentagon by the Food and Drug Administration, mirror what he has been asking the Pentagon for since the original suit was filed. “This looks an awful lot like what we asked for,” Michels said. “We’re surprised they’re going through all this trouble.”   Michels believes the Pentagon is taking special care to ensure no legal challenges to the emergency use authority. The EUA, which allows for voluntary inoculations, took effect at the beginning of May and expires at the end of June. It can be extended by the Food and Drug Administration. Throughout May, military branches gave instructions to commanders on how to implement the voluntary program. The Pentagon has appealed the original ruling that stopped the program in hopes of resuming mandatory vaccinations. Program Implementation The requirements outlined in actions plans for the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines are generally similar. Vaccinations are limited to troops deployed in Central Command theaters, such as Iraq and Afghanistan, and in Korea. Soldiers must be informed that a federal court stopped the mandatory program and that all vaccinations are voluntary, and superior officers cannot pressure anyone to take the vaccine. All wishing to receive the vaccine must be briefed on the risks and benefits of the vaccines by their commanders, and must acknowledge receipt of the brochure explaining these risks. The Air Force requires a soldier sign the brochure, while the Army, Marines and Navy only require a roster be kept of who received the information. All data on immunization will be entered into the soldier’s medical file and tracked electronically using the system of each respective branch. Refusals will also be tracked.   Reports of adverse events associated with the vaccine will be tracked in the Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System. If a soldier is transferred outside of Central Command or Korea, the regimen of vaccination shots does not have to continue. The Coast Guard’s plan is much more limited, only allowing vaccinations of personnel in specific areas determined by the Pentagon. Vaccinations cannot begin until the Military Vaccine Agency certifies that the brochures explaining risks are received by the individual branches. Michels said these requirements ensure soldiers are well-informed before taking the vaccine, and know they have the option to refuse. “This is starting to look more and more like the practice of medicine,” he said. Back to top       Rural U.S. Postal Facility Receives Anthrax Detector The U.S. Postal Service Chestnut Expressway facility in Missouri is the latest mail processing center to receive equipment that can detect anthrax in the mail, the News-Leader reported today (see GSN, June 8). Facilities throughout Missouri, including St. Louis, Kansas City and Springfield have already installed the Biohazard Detection System. The systems are now being installed at smaller facilities such as Chestnut. “We know it’s going to keep our employees safer,” said Gene Bolin, a postal manager at the Springfield facility. “It’s going to keep our mailing public safer.” The system installed at the rural Chestnut facility can only detect anthrax in letters. Systems at facilities closer to urban areas have system that can detect anthrax in letters and packages. Bill Brayman, Springfield postmaster, said the more advanced system could be deployed to Chestnut if a threat warranted the move. “It’s not something that we’re going to redeploy on an hourly basis or a daily basis,” Brayman said. “But it’s something we could redeploy for a period of time” (James Goodwin, News-Leader, June 9). Back to top

Grenada Signs Chemical Weapons Treaty Grenada last week signed the Chemical Weapons Convention, according to a statement released Wednesday by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (see GSN, April 28). The Caribbean island will become the 169th party to the convention on July 3, the organization announced (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons release, June 7). Back to top

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