U.S. Senator Pete Domenici (R-Nev.) speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill last week. Domenici praised the apparent resolution on liability for U.S.-funded nuclear security projects in Russia which could lead to construction of facilities in both countries to convert weapon-grade plutonium into mixed-oxide nuclear fuel (Getty Images/ Joe Raedle). Liability Resolution Boosts U.S.-Russian MOX Plans The apparent resolution on liability for U.S.-funded nuclear security projects in Russia will boost efforts to build facilities in both countries to convert weapon-grade plutonium into mixed-oxide nuclear fuel, two U.S. senators said yesterday (see GSN, July 20). “This will allow the MOX program at the Savannah River Site to get back on track,” said U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “I look forward to a formal agreement being reached in the coming weeks.”..Full Story

Senate Ups Money for Nuclear Test Ban Organization By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate yesterday raised potential funding for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization by $5 million to $19.4 million, which if approved by Congress would partially reverse a nearly $8 million budget cut by the Bush administration for fiscal 2006 (see GSN, June 27)...Full Story

Russia Approves Chemical Weapons Disposal Plan Russia yesterday approved a plan to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile by 2012, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 19)...Full Story

	Thursday, July 21, 2005

Democrats Say Bush Fails to Protect Against WMD U.S. Democrats are blasting the Bush administration for what they characterize as its failure to protect the United States against weapons of mass destruction, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, June 16). “The most important threat we face is the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, yet this administration's missteps in Iraq have made tackling that threat so much harder,” said Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). “This report shows we must keep our eye on the ball.” “Worst Weapons in Worst Hands: U.S. Inaction on the Nuclear Terror Threat Since 9/11, and A Path Of Action,” was drafted by the National Security Advisory Group. Former Defense Secretary William Perry and former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright are members of the group consisting of former security officials, AFP reported (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 20). The report praised British and American diplomatic efforts that led to Libya’s renunciation of weapons of mass destruction. The exposure of the nuclear trafficking network led by former Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan is also commended, according to a Democratic press release. However, not all the equipment has been located and the network might still be operating in some form, according to the report. Cited as White House failures are the growth of North Korea’s nuclear arsenal, Iran’s retention of its nuclear program, the Bush administration’s poor efforts to secure loose nuclear weapons and materials and failure to strengthen the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The report calls on the president to engage North Korea diplomatically and to decide on a course of action for dealing with Iran. The U.S./Russian partnership to secure loose nuclear materials must be accelerated and the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty must be strengthened, according to the release (U.S. Newswire, July 21). Back to top

Liability Resolution Boosts U.S.-Russian MOX Plans The apparent resolution on liability for U.S.-funded nuclear security projects in Russia will boost efforts to build facilities in both countries to convert weapon-grade plutonium into mixed-oxide nuclear fuel, two U.S. senators said yesterday (see GSN, July 20). “This will allow the MOX program at the Savannah River Site to get back on track,” said U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.). “I look forward to a formal agreement being reached in the coming weeks.” France, Germany and the United States are collaborating to help Russia construct a MOX facility, Graham said, according to the Associated Press.   Russia and the United States have each pledged to convert 34 tons of plutonium into the MOX fuel. “As we see the world become more and more dangerous, it is critical that we make progress on reprocessing weapons-grade plutonium into MOX,” said Senator Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) in a prepared statement. “Black marketers and terrorists would love to get their hands on this plutonium.” Concerns over Russian funding and safeguarding of its plant still need to be addressed, said Tom Clements of Greenpeace International. “I do think both Senator Domenici and Senator Graham are trying to play politics and influence the House-Senate conference committee funding on the MOX plant. That much is clear to me,” Clements said. The Senate recently approved a $339 million White House funding request for the facility. The planned facility only received $35 million from the House of Representatives, AP reported. A report by a House Appropriations subcommittee said the White House request combined with a MOX program balance of more than $650 million brings the budget to more than $1 billion for fiscal 2006. However, this budget has not led to nonproliferation benefits because of continued delays in the project. “Faced with severe budget constraints, the committee cannot support the continued inefficient use of these nonproliferation funds,” according to the House report, which also called for a Government Accountability Office investigation into the program. With the liability issue out of the way, plant construction would begin next year and create up to 1,500 jobs, said National Nuclear Security Administration spokesman Bryan Wilkes (Jacob Jordan, Associated Press/Myrtle Beach Online, July 20). Back to top       Senate Ups Money for Nuclear Test Ban Organization By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate yesterday raised potential funding for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization by $5 million to $19.4 million, which if approved by Congress would partially reverse a nearly $8 million budget cut by the Bush administration for fiscal 2006 (see GSN, June 27). Administration officials have attributed the budget cut to a broader White House budget reduction effort, and not to any change in support for the organization. The added CTBTO funding is a tiny component of the $32 billion fiscal 2006 Foreign Operations Appropriations Bill that passed the Senate last night with a 98-1 vote. It also is small relative to the Vienna-based organization’s $105 million 2005 budget, which mainly funds ongoing expansion of an international network of stations for monitoring restricted nuclear weapons tests. Its potential impact on the organization, however, could be substantial because a significant reduction in dues from the United States — the organization’s largest contributor — could significantly disrupt the CTBTO activities and perhaps prompt other countries to reduce contributions, some observers have said. “The additional funds will make it much more likely that the United States will find the money to pay its full assessment for IMS [the International Monitoring System] and will help keep the world from becoming a much more dangerous place,” Senator Joseph Biden (D-Del.), who co-authored the amendment to boost funding with Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), said yesterday in a statement. Lugar is the chairman and Biden is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Adding the money is important for “ensuring the organization does not have to make radical changes in its operations,” said Daryl Kimball, director of the Arms Control Association. It will also help in “reducing the growing gap in U.S. contributions to the organization,” he said, noting the administration in 2001 began withholding annual contributions specifically for the on-site inspections mission and treaty promotion activities of the organization. He described those withholdings as “accumulated nonpayments.” The $19 million payment still would leave the total U.S. contribution this year short of the $22 million the United States had committed to pay. If the increase survives a conference over differences with the House bill, which includes only the $14.4 million budgeted by the administration, the money would be taken from the State Department Economic Support Fund, which is intended to promote economic and political stability in strategically important regions.  Biden cited help from the staff of Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), the chairman and ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Subcommittee in redirecting the money. In a move linked to the increase, however, Majority Leader Senator Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) also amended the appropriations bill to allow a key State Department official to redirect money assigned to the Test Ban Treaty Organization or the larger State Department Nonproliferation, Antiterrorism, Demining and Related Programs budget, for use on “certain nonproliferation efforts and counterproliferation” projects, such as the administration’s Proliferation Security Initiative. While the Bush administration opposes ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, since taking office it had funded about 22 percent of the organization’s annual budget to help build the monitoring network, which is said to be valued for its growing capability to detect nuclear testing across the globe. CTBTO member states in 2004 approved a budget increase for the organization for this year, from $95 million to $105 million. That effectively raised the U.S. contribution from around $19 million to $22 million.  Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a letter this year that the budgeted reduction did not signal a change in U.S. support for organization activities and that funding to make up the shortfall might be found in next year’s fiscal 2007 budget. “That’s no way to run a railroad,” Biden said in his statement this week. “It would be far better to find some of that extra money now and not put the United States so far in arrears,” he said. Back to top       IAEA Chief ElBaradei Expresses Support for U.S.-India Nuclear Energy Cooperation International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei yesterday expressed support for a Bush administration plan to potentially lift nuclear sanctions on India, Reuters reported (see GSN, July 20). “Making advanced civil nuclear technology available to all countries will contribute to the enhancement of nuclear safety and security,” ElBaradei said. While India has not agreed to sign the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, it has said it would allow snap IAEA inspections of nuclear energy installations, Reuters reported. “I have always advocated concrete and practical steps towards the universal application of IAEA safeguards,” ElBaradei said. The deal does not, however, provide for inspection of military nuclear sites. “Inspections of civilian facilities mean very little as long as India’s military facilities are pumping out plutonium for nuclear weapons,” said Joseph Cirincione, nonproliferation director for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. The Nuclear Suppliers Group, 44 of the world’s top nuclear exporting nations, would have to approve the agreement, experts said. The organization does not allow sales to countries without international safeguards on both civilian and military nuclear facilities. ElBaradei’s endorsement of the deal could, however, push international opinion to favor it as well, Cirincione said. “ElBaradei is very well respected and his endorsement of the deal will influence other countries’ opinions of it,” he said (Francois Murphy, Reuters, July 20). Former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee criticized New Delhi’s promise to separate India’s civilian and military nuclear facilities and to allow inspections, the Associated Press reported. “We believe that separating the civilian from the military would be very difficult, if not impossible. The costs involved will also be prohibitive. It will also deny us any flexibility in determining the size of our nuclear deterrent,” Vajpayee said in a statement released yesterday. “It is difficult to resist the feeling that while India has made long-term and specific commitments, the U.S. has merely made promises, which it may not be able to see through either (in) the U.S. Congress or its friends in the exclusive nuclear club,” he said (Associated Press/Khaleej Times, July 21). The U.S. deal will, however, is likely to provide India with access to nuclear fuel and technology from other nations, said former Indian nuclear scientist R.R. Subramanium. “This will ease American objections,” said Subramanium. “And once America leads change, other countries will fall behind” (Denyer/Watts, Reuters/Yahoo!News, July 21). Back to top       China Refutes U.S. Report on Military Buildup China yesterday refuted a U.S. Defense Department report warning of Beijing’s military modernization efforts and its potential threat to the region, Reuters reported (see GSN, July 20). “The report groundlessly attacks China’s military modernization and makes unwarranted charges about China’s normal national defense building and military deployments,” Vice Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said in a statement. The Pentagon document “ignores the facts, spares no effort to spread the ‘China threat theory,’ rudely interferes in China’s internal affairs,” Yang said. Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said China’s intentions are peaceful. “China not only poses no threat to anyone, we also are willing to establish friendship and all kinds of win-win cooperation with other countries to push forward cooperative development,” he said. Beijing had little response, however, to news that Washington was considering civilian nuclear cooperation with India, another power in the region (see related GSN story, today). “We hope the relevant cooperation between China and India will benefit the safeguarding of peace and stability in the Asian region,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement (Reuters/Yahoo!News, July 20). The White House yesterday also played down the potential threat posed by China, Agence France-Presse reported. “We’re committed to peace and stability in the region, but that should not be viewed as us viewing China as a threat,” said spokesman Scott McClellan. “We do have concerns about the size and pace of China’s military modernization, and it’s important for us to pay close attention to it,” he said (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, July 20). Back to top       Russia, U.S. Open Antinuclear Trafficking Center Russian and U.S. officials are expected to announce today the opening of an antinuclear trafficking center, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 20). The Russian customs service and U.S. Energy Department are collaborating on the project, intended to help keep terrorists from obtaining radioactive materials. The United States is also helping to fund radiation-detecting equipment at Russian border posts, AP reported (Associated Press/MosNews.com, July 21). Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Department inspectors have finished checking a military installation in southern Russia in accordance with the Russian-American Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, ITAR-Tass reported today. “Military specialists from the U.S. accompanied by representatives of the Russian National Center for Reduction of Nuclear Risk have inspected a large air base stationed near Engels,” said a Russian Defense Ministry official. The Pentagon experts found no violations of the treaty’s provisions, the official said.  Heavy bombers that can carry nuclear weapons are deployed at the base (ITAR-Tass, July 21). Back to top       North Korea to Demand Withdrawal of Alleged U.S. Nuclear Weapons From South Korea North Korea plans to demand that the United States withdraw nuclear weapons allegedly deployed in South Korea at next week’s multilateral talks on Pyongyang’s nuclear program, Interfax reported yesterday (see GSN, July 20). “If the final goal of the talks is the complete denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, then … the process should involve both sides simultaneously — North Korea and the U.S.A.,” a North Korean diplomatic source said. Pyongyang also wants written security guarantees from the United States, he said. He added that Pyongyang “cannot rely on verbal collective guarantees by other parties involved in the talks even if they are put on paper” because the United States “may, under various pretexts, subsequently renounce obligations which have not been made legal by a bilateral agreement” (Interfax/BBC Monitoring, July 20). Meanwhile, Tokyo announced today it was determined to raise the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang during the Cold War, the Associated Press reported. Both Pyongyang and Seoul have argued against including the issue in next week’s talks. “It may be Japan has been saying things North Korea is not so happy to hear, but we will bring up the kidnapping issue,” said Yu Kameoka, a spokesman for Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Japanese Foreign Ministry official Akitaka Saiki departed for Beijing yesterday to seek Chinese assistance in resolving the abductions issue, Kyodo reported (Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, July 21). While the five nations negotiating with North Korea all have a “slightly different perspective” on the talks, they agree that Pyongyang’s nuclear program is a threat, said Thomas Schieffer, U.S. ambassador to Japan. “I think at the end, the problem will not be whether the five parties are speaking with one voice. The problem would be whether or not North Korea is willing to forgo nuclear weapons,” said Schieffer. He added that the matter of the Japanese abductions was important but should be a secondary issue at the talks. “The issue of nuclear weapons is not the only issue that the United States has with North Korea. There are all sorts of issues, and the abductee issue is one of those that we have great concerns” over, Schieffer said (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, July 20). Back to top       Iran Advises EU on Pending Nuclear Proposal Iranian officials in London yesterday for consultations with their British, French and German counterparts presented a message regarding a nuclear proposal the European Union plans to present to Tehran in the coming weeks, Deutsche Presse-Agentur reported today (see GSN, July 15). Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani briefed the European officials on President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s plans for Iran’s nuclear program, said nuclear delegation spokesman Hossein Mousavian. Mousavian did not offer details of the message presented to the European officials (Deutsche Presse-Agentur, July 21). Back to top       U.S. Customs Unveils Radiation Detectors at Ports Radiation detectors that will scan incoming cargo for nuclear materials and bombs have been installed at the Los Angeles-Long Beach port complex, Associated Press reported today (see GSN, June 20). U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert Bonner said yesterday the devices would not slow down the flow of cargo into the United States. “We have to save American lives, but we also have to do it in a way ... that preserves American livelihoods,” Bonner said. More than 40 percent of cargo entering the United States comes through the dual Los Angeles-Long Beach ports; the figure is 80 percent for cargo from Asian manufacturing nations, AP reported. Fourteen monitors have been installed so far, with 90 planned by year’s end. The cargo will be scanned once loaded on trucks. If a container tests positive for radiation, it would be scanned again and possibly inspected by hand-held devices to determine the type of radiation. The second inspection can take up to 10 minutes, according to AP. If the second test is inconclusive, data from the tests would be sent to federal authorities in Virginia to determine if the cargo contains highly enriched uranium or plutonium. The cargo would be isolated during this review as not to cause delays to other shipments. Approximately 540 radiation monitors are being used at ports and borders crossing points throughout the United States. Each costs $250,000 and is federally funded, AP reported (Jeremiah Marquez, Associated Press/Monterey Herald, July 21). Back to top       India PM Voices Unease on Pakistani Nuke Security Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday expressed concern that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal could fall into the wrong hands if Islamic militants were to overthrow the government of Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 5) “If they get into the hands of the jihadi element, that could pose a serious problem,” Singh told CNN. “I hope that this does not happen. And I pray that it will not happen,” he said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 21). Back to top

Russia Approves Chemical Weapons Disposal Plan Russia yesterday approved a plan to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile by 2012, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 19). Under the $6 billion proposal, 20 percent of Russia’s 40,000 ton arsenal would be destroyed by 2007, 45 percent by 2009, and 100 percent in 2012.  The Russian schedule would meet the deadline for parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention to fully eliminate their chemical munitions. “Even though it has the biggest chemical weapons stockpile in the world, Russia has also come up with the safest technologies for disarmament,” Russia’s RIA Novosti quoted Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko as saying. Russia to date has only constructed one chemical weapons destruction facility, but it plans to build six more by 2009, AFP reported, citing Russia’s Interfax news agency. Foreign countries are expected to cover $385 million of the plan’s cost. Members of the Group of Eight nations in 2002 offered Russia up to $20 billion to secure WMD facilities and destroy military plutonium and chemical weapons. Final approval of the chemical weapons disarmament plan is expected before Aug. 15, according to AFP (Agence France-Presse/DefenseNews.com, July 21). Back to top       McConnell Secures Funding for CW Disposal Sites U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell has secured additional funding to ensure that preparatory construction begins next year on chemical weapons disposal sites in Kentucky and Colorado, the Chemical Weapons Working Group said yesterday (see GSN, June 20). McConnell (R-Ky.) earmarked $53 million in the fiscal 2006 defense budget for early work at the Blue Grass Chemical Depot in Kentucky and Colorado’s Pueblo Chemical Depot.  “This fiscal year, DOD requested $33 million of the wrong kind of money. My provision provides $53 million of money which can be used for construction purposes. These monies should put us on a path to begin preliminary construction next year,” the release quotes McConnell as saying (Chemical Weapons Working Group release, July 20). Back to top       U.S. Army Officials Consider Separating Rockets from Chemical Warheads Before Destruction Officials at the U.S. Army’s Blue Grass Chemical Depot in Kentucky are considering separating aging rockets suspected of causing fires at other facilities from chemical warheads before the weapons are destroyed, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported Tuesday (see GSN, June 30). Several fires have ignited in recent months while weapons were being destroyed at the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Oregon and Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Arkansas (see GSN, July 18). Officials at Blue Grass, which does not yet have a disposal facility, want to study the rocket fuel to avoid trouble. “If it is deteriorating, we want to know that sooner than later,” said Blue Grass Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives Program project manager Jim Fritche. “If we don't have an emergency, we're not going to go forward on this.” However, Chemical Weapons Working Group Director Craig Williams is concerned that separating warheads from the rockets would increase costs and delay plans to destroy all chemical weapons at the facility. Others have expressed lukewarm support for separating the chemical weapons. “It certainly would reduce the storage risk,” said Doug Hindman, chairman of the Kentucky Chemical Demilitarization Citizens Advisory Commission. “The question is, how do you do it? ... As they say, ‘The devil is in the details’” (James Carroll, Louisville Courier-Journal, July 19). The project would involve slicing in half 69,500 M55 rockets filled with sarin, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader. After hearing the details of the proposal, Hindman called the plan “pretty darned scary.”  “I'm concerned about the speed with which the decision-makers may be moving on this … without really understanding what caused the fires,” said local activist Peter Hille. The Herald-Leader reported yesterday that one theory about the cause of the fires is shifting of nitroglycerin to the portion of the rocket where propellant is stored. The chemical was sparked when cutting equipment sliced the rocket. The advisory commission wants the Army to assume the propellant contains nitroglycerin and plan accordingly. Other concerns include transportation of the rockets to the building where separation would occur. The Herald-Leader described the proposed building as being constructed of fabric, aluminum ribs and a concrete slab. Williams of the Chemical Weapons Working Group said the advisory board should not make a recommendation until more details of the plan are known. The panel wants to work closely with the Army as the proposal develops (Peter Matthews, Lexington Herald-Leader, July 20). Meanwhile, the Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet on Tuesday approved a permit for Blue Grass to build a neutralization facility to destroy weapons containing sarin, the Richmond Register reported. The permit may be extended to VX and mustard gas if sarin disposal goes well, according to the Register. “This is an unusual permit that we asked for,” said Blue Grass spokesman David Easter. “If this permit is successful, then the permit can be expanded as a regular permit.” The Kentucky Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet has made construction of the facility a top priority because of concerns over the long-term storage of chemical weapons at Blue Grass (Ronica Brandenburg, Richmond Register, July 20). Also this week, a mustard gas leak was detected in a storage igloo at Blue Grass, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader (Peter Matthews, Lexington Herald-Leader, July 20). Back to top

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