Iran’s Isfahan nuclear facility. Intelligence reports indicate that North Korea is secretly assisting Iran with its nuclear program (Henghameh Fahimi/Getty Images). North Korea Reportedly Giving Iran Nuclear Assistance North Korea is secretly assisting Iran with its nuclear program, according to intelligence reports obtained by Reuters (see GSN, July 6). “In the late 1990s, cooperation began between the two countries, which focused on nuclear (research and development),” said an intelligence report delivered by a non-U.S. diplomat...Full Story

Half of U.S. Military Personnel Refuse Anthrax Shot By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Half of U.S. military and civilian personnel offered anthrax vaccinations under a voluntary program that began in May have refused the inoculation, according to figures released yesterday to Global Security Newswire by a Defense Department agency (see GSN, May 6)...Full Story

G-8 Meeting Continues Following Bombings By Greg Webb, Global Security Newswire EDINBURGH, Scotland — After a set of coordinated bombings of the London transit system this morning, leaders from the Group of Eight nations expressed determination to press on with their annual summit in Scotland. Ironically, this meeting's agenda had placed less emphasis on terrorism and WMD proliferation concerns than it had in the past three years (see GSN, July 6)...Full Story

	Thursday, July 7, 2005

G-8 Meeting Continues Following Bombings By Greg Webb, Global Security Newswire EDINBURGH, Scotland — After a set of coordinated bombings of the London transit system this morning, leaders from the Group of Eight nations expressed determination to press on with their annual summit in Scotland. Ironically, this meeting's agenda had placed less emphasis on terrorism and WMD proliferation concerns than it had in the past three years (see GSN, July 6). Explosions on three London subway trains, plus an additional blast on a double-decker bus, brought the city's public transportation grid to a halt this morning shortly before 9 a.m., according to a briefing Home Secretary Charles Clarke delivered to the House of Commons early this afternoon. The entire subway network has been closed at least for the rest of the day, as have many bus routes and train service to London's airports, Clark said. Although emergency personnel were seen donning chemical response suits, there have been no reports that the blasts involved any unconventional weapons. Media reports at press time stated that at least 40 people had been killed and 350 injured, with the count expected to increase as rescue efforts continue underground this afternoon. Looking grim and shaken, British Prime Minister Tony Blair called the bombings “barbaric” and said it was no coincidence the blasts occurred today. “Just as it is reasonably clear that this is a terrorist attack, or a series of terrorist attacks, it is also reasonably clear that it is designed and aimed to coincide with the opening of the G-8,” he told summit reporters at noon in Gleneagles, Scotland, about 50 miles from Edinburgh. “It is important, however, that those engaged in terrorism realize that our determination to defend our values and our way of life is greater than their determination to cause death and destruction to innocent people in a desire to impose extremism on the world. Whatever they do, it is our determination that they will never succeed in destroying what we hold dear in this country and in other civilized nations throughout the world,” Blair added. Blair said he would return to London this afternoon, but the G-8 leaders would continue their discussions. The G-8 consists of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. “Each of the countries round that table have some experience of the effects of terrorism and all the leaders, as they will indicate a little bit later, share our complete resolution to defeat this terrorism,” Blair said. “It is the will of all the leaders at the G-8, however, that the meeting should continue in my absence, that we should continue to discuss the issues that we were going to discuss, and reach the conclusions which we were going to reach.” Speaking an hour later, this time flanked by all the G-8 leaders, Blair read a joint statement. “Today's bombings will not weaken in any way our resolve to uphold the most deeply held principles of our societies and to defeat those who would impose their fanaticism and extremism on all of us. We shall prevail.  They shall not,” he said. The summit's major discussions had been expected to focus on African debt relief and climate change measures, although quieter talks were planned for improving joint efforts to reduce the risks of weapons of mass destruction falling into terrorist hands. Those security talks were scheduled mostly for this afternoon, according to official briefings prior to the summit, but today's bombings could reprioritize the meeting's security agenda. Nonproliferation experts had hoped that Russia and the United States might resolve a legal dispute that has threatened to stall a wide range of U.S.-funded efforts to secure and dismantle WMD materials in Russia. The dispute has already slowed two programs to give civilian employment to former Soviet weapons scientists and to assist in reducing Russian stocks of weapon-grade plutonium. The consequences of terrorists acquiring weapons of mass destruction would be much greater than today's bombing casualties, said Leonard Spector, head of the Washington office of the Monterey Institute's Center for Nonproliferation Studies. “Seeing the television images today brought home to me how this episode could have been much worse if these others dimensions had been present,” he said. “It would have been much worse if a nuclear weapon had been used.” Spector did not, however, call for the G-8 nations to dramatically alter their public agenda. “It may be that the behind-the-scenes work on things such as U.S.-Russian nonproliferation talks or discussion on Iran are making important progress,” he said. “There are a lot of other pressures as well,” on the G-8 leaders, Spector said, and “as long as nonproliferation remains on the active agenda, it doesn't need to receive publicity.” The G-8 attention on poverty in Africa also has security implications, he said. “To alleviate terrorism you have to go back to some of the causes, such as poverty and the ideology of the have-nots," Spector said. “We need to continue this mission as a way of protecting ourselves in the end. Africa has not been the hotbed of terrorism, but it's been part of the larger picture.” Scottish Security Gleneagles and major Scottish cities have been under extreme security this week as the summit approached and antiglobalization protesters tried to disrupt the meeting. In Edinburgh, however, security appeared to lighten today as authorities reopened some roadways and reduced police presence on the streets. One bus driver said no additional security measures had been imposed today following the London blasts. “You'd expect some sort of emergency protocol, but I don't believe we have anything,” said the driver who asked not to be named. Authorities “think it's London, they're not concerned about here,” he added. Back to top

Former Los Alamos Weapons Designer Named Lawrence Livermore Nonproliferation Chief The former chief weapons designer at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has been appointed to lead the Nonproliferation, Arms Control and International Security Directorate at California’s Lawrence Livermore Laboratory, the Oakland Tribune reported earlier this week (see GSN, June 15). Ray Juzaitis is also serving as acting director of the laboratory’s Homeland Security Organization, Lawrence Livermore announced in a press release. His appointment was announced June 29 and took effect immediately. Juzaitis takes control of an office, with an annual budget of $350 million, responsible for intelligence analysis of the weapons capabilities of terrorists and foreign nations and for managing nuclear weapons materials outside the United States. He will also be responsible for creating plans to stop a WMD attack in the United States. “More and more, as we're working the problem, we're seeing that our nonproliferation work and homeland security work are two sides of the same coin,” said Juzaitis. He plans to meet with National Intelligence Director John Negroponte soon to discuss the reorganization of U.S. intelligence services, the Tribune reported. “As the intelligence community reorganizes, we'll have to be close to those changes to make sure the technology products and the analysis we provide are what the nation needs,” said Juzaitis. According to the Tribune, installation of radiation detectors in the United States and overseas to stop smuggling of nuclear materials before they can be used in a bomb is of particular concern. Juzaitis said there was “no easy silver-bullet solution” to this problem (Ian Hoffman, Oakland Tribune, June 4). Back to top       Gas Release Simulated in New York Train Station The U.S. Homeland Security Department last month used a nontoxic gas to test how vapor might spread through the Grand Central Terminal in New York City following a WMD attack, the New York Daily News reported today (see GSN, March 9). Scientists from four national laboratories participated in the exercise from June 26-30. Gas was released to establish how its circulation was affected by different factors, including the movement of people. “If there was some kind of emergency — smoke or who knows what — released in Grand Central Terminal, we want to know how it's going to move around and how best to evacuate it,” said Marjorie Anders, a spokeswoman for rail line Metro-North. “Everybody knows that some kind of biological, chemical or radiological threat is something we have to plan for, and this is part of that planning.” The data gathered from the test will be used to improve response to an attack and to prepare other transportation stations throughout the country. It might also be used to change ventilation, heating and air conditioning systems at Grand Central, the Daily News reported (Pete Donohue, New York Daily News, July 7). Back to top

North Korea Reportedly Giving Iran Nuclear Assistance North Korea is secretly assisting Iran with its nuclear program, according to intelligence reports obtained by Reuters (see GSN, July 6). “In the late 1990s, cooperation began between the two countries, which focused on nuclear (research and development),” said an intelligence report delivered by a non-U.S. diplomat. “There has been a significant improvement in relations between Iran and North Korea over the past few months,” the report says. The document also describes a “special secret course to provide technological and practical information to outstanding students” taught by, among others, senior North Korean scientists and technicians. The course includes instruction on dual-use technology that could be used in civilian or military nuclear programs, according to Reuters. “It seems Iran is taking another step to promote its military nuclear project by exploiting North Korea’s extensive technological information in the nuclear sphere,” the report says. A senior Iranian official refused to comment on the paper, according to Reuters. North Korea is the only country presently likely to provide Iran with nuclear technology, said David Albright, head of the Institute for Science and International Security. “No legitimate country would come to Tehran and teach this stuff,” he said. He said North Korea could be trying to take up nuclear proliferation efforts like those conducted by the nuclear black market operated by former top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. “The fear is that North Korea would replace the Khan network,” Albright said. An expert involved in the International Atomic Energy Agency investigation of Iran’s nuclear activity said the agency was incapable of acquiring the type of information contained in the report. “Only intelligence agencies can get this kind of information, not the IAEA,” the expert said. “But it’s credible. No one would be surprised if this was true,” he said (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, July 6). Meanwhile, Tehran has requested that it be allowed to break IAEA seals on some of its nuclear equipment in order to test the technology, Reuters reported yesterday. The request was “aimed at testing Europe’s degree of flexibility towards Iran, and the strength of the seam line between the EU3 and the IAEA,” said a diplomat who informed Reuters about the effort. The move is not related to Iran’s suspension of sensitive nuclear work under last year’s Paris Agreement with the European Union, said Mohammad Saeedi, the deputy head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization. “Iran’s request to temporarily remove seals at some parts of the Isfahan’s (uranium conversion) facility is not related to the suspension,” said Saeedi. “We have asked the (agency) to let us remove the seal at some parts of the facility in the presence of the visiting IAEA inspectors. We want to test equipment there to check whether those are functional. It does not mean lifting the suspension,” he said. A diplomat from one of the European powers said the EU reaction was as yet uncertain. “The odds are that we will see this as a maintenance operation that does not amount to a significant breach of the Paris Agreement,” the diplomat said. Washington, however, said it would not tolerate any violation of the suspension. “Any contravention of (the) Paris Agreement would be a step backwards, not a step forward,” said U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. Iran seemed to be making an attempt to break the agreement, said a U.S. official. “It looks at first sight that what they’re asking for would contravene the Paris Agreement,” the official said (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters II, July 6). Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani will keep his position at least until new hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad takes office, the Associated Press reported yesterday. Rohani’s spokesman denied an Islamic Republic News Agency report that he had resigned, adding that Rohani yesterday discussed nuclear matters with the president-elect. “Rohani will remain in his position until President Mohammad Khatami’s term ends. After that it is up to Ahmadinejad, who has not announced any stance on Rohani,” he said (Nasser Karimi, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, July 6). Washington, meanwhile, said it was Tehran’s business to select its nuclear negotiators, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday. “That’s up to the Iranians who they send to sit across the table from the EU3,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack. Rohani is well-regarded among many EU diplomats dealing with Iran. “Rohani’s departure would be a very bad signal,” said a top European diplomat close to the talks (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 6). Back to top       Rice to Discuss Alternative Options on North Korea With Allies During Asia Mission U expected to discuss possible options in the event that diplomacy fails to resolve the North Korea nuclear standoff, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, July 6)..S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in her upcoming trip to Asia is The July 8-13 trip to China, South Korea and Japan will be a critical one, analysts said. “It is recognizing that we are down to a critical period, a crossroads in the diplomatic process,” said Derek Mitchell of the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “On the one hand, patience is running out, so there will be discussions on what point is being patient, too patient, and on the other hand, if North Korea does decide and come back with a date for the six-party talks, how we should organize ourselves and what to put on the table,” he said. Options could include referring Pyongyang to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions or using the Proliferation Security Initiative to interdict sea vessels heading to and from North Korea, according to AFP. Rice is expected to push Beijing to use its influence with Pyongyang, analysts said (P. Parameswaran, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 7). Rice is scheduled to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing in Beijing on Sunday before going on to South Korea, the Associated Press reported (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, July 7). Meanwhile, South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun said today that the United States could not choose a military solution to the standoff, Reuters reported. “Neither side has the freedom to take the situation to a breakdown,” he said. “Under no circumstances can the North choose nuclear weapons, and under no circumstances can the United States choose military means,” said Roh (Reuters/RedNova.com, July 7). Elsewhere, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is considering accepting an invitation to visit North Korea, the Associated Press reported yesterday. Richardson intends to consult with the Bush administration about the potential visit, said spokesman Billy Sparks. He could not say whether Richardson would have the opportunity to visit North Korea’s nuclear reactor, according to AP. Ambassador to the United Nations during the Clinton administration, Richardson has diplomatic experience with Pyongyang (Associated Press/KOBTV.com, July 6). Back to top       Dutch Pledge $1 Million to Close Russian Reactors The Netherlands has pledged more than $1 million to a U.S. effort to shut down Russia’s last three plutonium-producing nuclear reactors (see GSN, Feb. 25). The Dutch government made its pledge June 30 to the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration’s Elimination of Weapons-Grade Plutonium Program. The United Kingdom and Canada have pledged $20 million and $7.4 million respectively to the program.  “The signing of this [memorandum of understanding] is a positive step in the effort to address nonproliferation and nuclear safety concerns shared by both Dutch and Americans,” said NNSA Deputy Administrator Paul Longsworth. The funding is set to be used to shut down three remaining Russian nuclear reactors that produce plutonium. As these reactors supply power to two Russian cities, the United States is supporting construction of replacement fossil fuel energy facilities (U.S. State Department release, July 1). Back to top       Russia to Complete Testing of New Missile Next Year Testing of Russia’s new submarine-launched, nuclear-capable Bulava missile is expected to be completed in 2006, ITAR-Tass reported yesterday (see GSN, March 29). “The Bulava is going through the period of testing that we plan to complete next year. So far everything has been going by schedule,” Adm. Vladimir Kuroyedov, Russian navy commander in chief, said yesterday. It was not immediately known when the navy would put the missile into service. “We will have to look at the results of the testing. We will be able to say that after it is 70 percent completed,” Kuroyedov said. The Bulava can carry 10 nuclear warheads and has a range of at least 8,000 kilometers, according to ITAR-Tass (Alexander Konovalov, ITAR-Tass, July 6). Back to top       Y-12 to Consolidate Work to Improve Security The Y-12 nuclear weapons plant in Tennessee plans to use up to $25 million for the relocation of warhead parts inspection to improve security, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, June 21). Workers inspect warhead parts for damage or deterioration at the plant. A memo from the Defense Nuclear Security Safety Board indicates that this work is being moved to a building where weapons are assembled and disassembled, AP reported. “If we get material in fewer locations, it’s just easier to protect,” said Y-12 manager Bill Brumley. “Obviously, there are security advantages to having fewer places to worry about.” According to the Safety Board memo, two large sealed gloveboxes used for inspections must be relocated. Work is expected to cost between $21 million and $25 million and should be completed by April 2007, said Y-12 spokesman Bill Wilburn (Associated Press, July 6). Back to top       Trial of Dutch Nuclear Smuggling Suspect Postponed The trial of a Dutch businessman accused of transferring nuclear technology to former top Pakistani nuclear scientist and proliferator Abdul Qadeer Khan has been postponed as the result of a procedural issue, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 12, 2004). Testimony in Henk Slebos’ trial was scheduled to begin yesterday. The trial was rescheduled to Oct. 19 after prosecutors requested to keep confidential the names of two Dutch secret service agents expected to testify. The court is expected to rule on the request in July, according to AP. Slebos and an employee both face up to six years in prison in convicted of unlawfully exporting dual-use technology on five occasions between 1999 and 2002 (Associated Press, July 6). Back to top

Half of U.S. Military Personnel Refuse Anthrax Shot By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Half of U.S. military and civilian personnel offered anthrax vaccinations under a voluntary program that began in May have refused the inoculation, according to figures released yesterday to Global Security Newswire by a Defense Department agency (see GSN, May 6). Since May 19, the vaccine has been offered to about 14,000 personnel, and roughly 7,000 of them have refused to take it, according to Col. John Grabenstein, director of the Military Vaccine Agency. No explanation was given for the high number of refusals. “We can’t speculate on individual decisions,” he said. The current pace of vaccinations is expected to increase, he said, as additional clinic workers are certified to give the vaccine and additional military units offer treatments to personnel. The high refusal rate comes amid persisting complaints by some servicepeople and nongovernmental experts that the U.S. military has been reluctant to acknowledge a connection between the vaccine and uncommon but potentially debilitating side effects, which they say has hindered access to medical benefits and compensation (see GSN, Nov. 16, 2004). It comes also despite a determination in December by then-Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, citing classified intelligence, that there is “a significant potential for a military emergency involving a heightened risk” of an anthrax attack on U.S. forces. Wolfowitz’s finding preceded the Food and Drug Administration’s granting of an emergency legal authority in January to give the vaccine voluntarily to servicepeople. The vaccinations are focused on personnel stationed for prolonged periods in South Korea and the area of the U.S. Central Command, which includes the Middle East, along with those deployed for special biodefense-related missions. “We are concerned that those who decline vaccination could die or be harmed if attacked with anthrax spores,” Grabenstein said. The military has maintained that the vaccine is as safe as other commonly used vaccines, and Grabenstein said the recent treatments have produced only minor side effects. “Adverse events are similar to previous experience, primarily temporary injection-site pain, swelling, or redness,” he said. Steve Robinson, executive director of the National Gulf War Resource Center, however, said officials have been reluctant to acknowledge severe side effects that sometimes occur, making it difficult to obtain proper medical support. The refusal rate, he said, suggests “that soldiers are not willing to take the risk if [the Defense Department] is not willing to provide medical care and compensation should they become injured.” Approximately 1,200 military personnel were treated in 2003 and 2004 by four special clinics called Vaccine Healthcare Centers, for complex reactions to the anthrax or other military vaccines, the Army told Global Security Newswire this year (see GSN, May 6). Mandatory Vaccinations Could Resume The vaccinations began May 19. Under the voluntary program, personnel cannot be punished for refusing the vaccine. A mandatory anthrax vaccination program that began months before the March 2003 invasion of Iraq and inoculated more than 1 million personnel was halted last October. The decision came after a federal judge ruled the vaccine could not be mandatory because the Food and Drug Administration had not licensed it as effective against inhalation anthrax, the type soldiers most be most likely to face in the field. Personnel who refused then were subject to possible removal from deployment status and disciplinary action. A licensing decision is pending from the Food and Drug Administration for using the vaccine against inhalation anthrax, which could lead to renewed mandatory vaccinations. A final period for public comment ended in March. The refusal rate appears to resemble that experienced by the voluntary anthrax vaccination program administered by the British government prior to and during the Iraq war. Statistics made public by the British Defense Ministry in February 2003 showed that as many as 49 percent of 20,000 military personnel offered anthrax vaccinations prior to the Iraq did not accept. “The [Defense Ministry] is clearly losing the battle to convince the armed forces that anthrax infection is a clear and present danger in the Gulf,” MP Paul Keetch, Liberal Democrat shadow defense secretary, said then. “When weighing the risks of infection with fear of health complications from the vaccine, the majority of RAF [Royal Air Force] and naval personnel are rejecting vaccination.” A former officer from the Royal British Legion, a charity supporting British servicepeople and veterans, said in September 2004 that statistics indicated then that one-third of an estimated 45,000 British personnel involved in the invasion had refused anthrax vaccinations, according to a report by the Guardian. A Canadian judge in May 2000 ruled Canadian military personnel could refuse the vaccinations without penalty, questioning that vaccine’s safety. More than 40 Australian soldiers reportedly were recalled from Iraq around the time of the invasion for refusing anthrax vaccinations, though they reportedly were not disciplined. The Bush administration justified the invasion of Iraq as necessary primarily for removing an alleged threat posed by a suspected Iraqi nuclear weapons program, and alleged chemical and biological weapons, including anthrax. A CIA-sponsored team concluded last year Iraq no longer had such weapons, having abandoned its banned programs after the 1991 Gulf War. The terrorist network al-Qaeda is believed to have sought to use anthrax, but failed to obtain the agent or full capability for producing a weapon before it was routed from Afghanistan in late 2001.  A Defense Department report in 2001 alleged that North Korea had pursued biological weapons capabilities since the 1960s and possessed a rudimentary technical infrastructure capable of producing anthrax and other biological warfare agents. That same report alleged Iran had an active biological warfare program. Anthrax mailings to several U.S. Senate offices and news media organizations in fall 2001 killed five people and sickened 22. No one has been caught. GSN staff writer David Francis contributed to this article Back to top       Florida Anthrax Cleanup to Continue The contents of the former American Media Inc. building in Boca Raton, Fla., exposed to anthrax in 2001, are set to be decontaminated for a second time to ensure all of the pathogen is eliminated, Cox News Service reported today (see GSN, June 10). Building owner David Rustine hired MARCOR Remediation Inc. to conduct a second cleaning of thousands of boxes previously treated by BioONE. Rustine did not extend BioONE’s contract to complete its work on the building. The building itself does not need to be recleaned, Cox reported. The Environmental Protection Agency has already approved MARCOR’s disinfection plans. The Palm Beach Country Health Department, however, has yet to sign off on the plan, and is requiring that all boxes — whether they were previously cleaned or not — be disinfected. “Everything is suspect,” said Health Department Director Jean Malecki. “We want to err on the side of ultimate caution” (Tania Valdemoro, Cox News Service/Herald Today, July 7).     Back to top

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