Gregory Schulte, U.S. ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, speaks today with reporters in Vienna. Schulte today pushed the agency to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council for its refusal to give up its nuclear program (Getty Images/Joe Klamar). Iran Warns U.N. Agency of Resumed Nuclear Activity By Greg Webb Global Security Newswire VIENNA — Iran raised the stakes today in the dispute over its nuclear activities, as officials here vowed to end significant portions of its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency if the crisis is formally reported to the U.N. Security Council by the agency’s governing board (see GSN, Sept. 20)...Full Story

U.S. Plays Down North Korea Reactor Demand The North Korean demand for a light-water nuclear reactor before disarmament can be seen as a negotiating tactic by Pyongyang ahead of the next round of talks, U.S. officials said yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 20)...Full Story

CDC Considers Bioterror Antidote Kits for U.S. Homes The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering providing bioterror antidote kits to U.S. homes, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, July 14, 2004)...Full Story

	Wednesday, September 21, 2005

U.N. Must Sharpen Response to Evolving “Third Generation” al-Qaeda Tactics, Report Says Al-Qaeda’s evolving tactics and determination to acquire and use weapons of mass destruction must be met by updated U.N. sanctions to block such efforts, according to a report released yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 14). “Terrorist tactics have evolved over the past several years and the (monitoring) team believes the arms embargo should change with the times,” a committee monitoring U.N. sanctions against al-Qaeda and the Taliban said in a report to the Security Council. The report warns that al-Qaeda’s “third generation” of followers are skilled in conducting urban warfare and suicide bombings, and that the terrorist organization is looking to carry out larger-scale attacks in order to generate publicity.  The committee recommended strengthening the U.N. arms embargo to prevent nuclear, chemical or biological weapons from falling into terrorists’ hands. A strong embargo, the committee says, could force the al-Qaeda to use less-effective equipment or to incur greater risk of discovery by trying to obtain better weaponry. All 191 U.N. member states are required to maintain a financial freeze, travel ban and arms embargo on the Taliban, al-Qaeda and its associates, the Associated Press reported (Kim Gamel, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Sept. 20). Back to top

Australian Authorities to Protect 2006 Commonwealth Games Against Terrorist WMD Threat Australia is preparing extensive security measures for next year’s Commonwealth Games in light of a recent al-Qaeda video naming Melbourne as a terror target, the New Zealand Herald reported today (see GSN, July 30). Chemical and biological warfare teams, fighter jets, and special forces backed by Black Hawk helicopters will be deployed to monitor the games, according to the Herald.  All leave and training for Victoria police will be canceled during the games, which is scheduled from March 15 to 26. A 1,200-person military task force is also expected to conduct patrols and searches. Melbourne plans to conduct extensive random searches of people and vehicles at the games, Attorney General Philip Ruddock said yesterday. “There will be a range of chemical, biological and radiological response assets,” Ruddock added. Australia has scheduled a national counterterror exercise, Mercury ’05, for next month. In addition, Prime Minister John Howard has proposed laws that would allow for strict security checks and random searches for airport personnel, yearlong police monitoring of suspected terrorists and special police powers to detain suspects for up to 48 hours in the event of an attack, the Herald reported (Greg Ansley, New Zealand Herald, Sept. 21). Back to top

Iran Warns U.N. Agency of Resumed Nuclear Activity By Greg Webb Global Security Newswire VIENNA — Iran raised the stakes today in the dispute over its nuclear activities, as officials here vowed to end significant portions of its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency if the crisis is formally reported to the U.N. Security Council by the agency’s governing board (see GSN, Sept. 20). “Two voluntary measures, the Additional Protocol [to Iran’s nuclear safeguards agreement with the agency] and suspension [of uranium enrichment activities], will not be continued if there is any referral from here to New York,” said Ali Asghar Soltanieh, a senior member of the Iranian delegation. He made clear, however, that Iran would continue what it considers to be its basic obligations as a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. “There’s no doubt about it. … We are not going to withdraw from the NPT,” Soltanieh said, clarifying ambiguous comments made yesterday in Tehran by top Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani. His remarks were reported differently by various news accounts, some of which said he had warned that Iran could withdraw from the treaty. The United States apparently seized on the ambiguous reporting and Ambassador Gregory Schulte told the agency board today that “Iran has threatened to quit the NPT.” Following its disclosure of a long-secret nuclear program in early 2003, Iran agreed to allow the agency to conduct monitoring activities that exceed the requirements of the treaty and Tehran’s IAEA safeguards agreement. That includes installation of cameras at nuclear facilities to verify that technicians are doing no work with uranium enrichment centrifuges. For their part, however, European and U.S. diplomats have pressed the board recently to send the Iranian issue to the Security Council for what they say is Tehran’s failure to cooperate with international nuclear monitors. Formal discussions on Iran began today after several days of intensifying background negotiations between the board's 35 members here and in national capitals. This morning saw the European Union deliver a scathing presentation, and four nations spoke in support of reporting Iran to the Security Council. The EU report described several areas in which the nuclear agency has complained of not receiving full Iranian cooperation, including Tehran’s failure to completely explain its use of a nuclear smuggling network to acquire uranium enrichment centrifuges.  Sending the issue to New York “will give the Security Council an opportunity to throw its weight and authority behind the board’s resolutions. It will give the Security Council an opportunity to endorse the board’s calls for confidence-building measures, especially full suspension [of uranium enrichment activities] and for the full transparency which was first promised in October 2003,” said British Ambassador Peter Jenkins, delivering the EU statement to the board. The United States also chipped in, charging that Iran has abused the NPT-given right to seek nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. “The treaty does not allow for that right to be manipulated cynically for military ends,” Schulte said in his speech to the board. Other nations speaking in support of sending Iran to the Security Council were Australia, Canada and Japan. The Fight for Consensus The key question is whether the EU would continue its lobbying effort to build consensus or whether it would insist on forcing a vote on the decision this week. It would be the first time the board voted on a nuclear safeguards matter instead of waiting to find consensus, according to an official familiar with agency affairs. Schulte asserted that “a growing majority” of board members now supports the Security Council move, but other diplomats have made it clear that the majority excludes several key nations, including Russia and China, both of which have veto power in New York. “While Iran is cooperating with the IAEA, while it is not enriching uranium and observing a moratorium, while IAEA inspectors are working in the country, it would be counterproductive to report this question to the U.N. Security Council,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Reuters today. Smaller powers have also resisted. The so-called Nonaligned Movement met this morning and agreed that the Iranian nuclear matter “should remain in the purview of the IAEA,” according to a text of the NAM position seen today. This week’s board meeting has completed all other business and recessed today after the NAM countries requested more time to complete their statement. Iran  also deferred its presentation, choosing to wait until all others have spoken. Back to top       U.S. Plays Down North Korea Reactor Demand The North Korean demand for a light-water nuclear reactor before disarmament can be seen as a negotiating tactic by Pyongyang ahead of the next round of talks, U.S. officials said yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 20). “I think we will not get hung up on this statement,” said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. “We will stick to the text of the Beijing statement, and I believe that we can make progress if everybody sticks to what was actually agreed to,” Rice said. One State Department official said there was nothing new in Pyongyang’s demand, according to Agence France-Presse. “This is simply the North Koreans starting the negotiations early,” he said. “As far as we are concerned, there has been no indication from the government of North Korea that it has suddenly decided to change its mind.” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also played down the North’s demand. “I think we shouldn’t rely on oral statements which in fact could be interpreted differently, but we need the text of the agreement itself,” Lavrov said (Agence France-Presse I/Yahoo!News, Sept. 20). Pyongyang today accused Washington of plotting to disarm North Korea before attacking it with nuclear weapons, the Associated Press reported. “The ulterior intention of the United States talking about resolving the nuclear issue under the signboard of the six-party talks is as clear as daylight,” the official Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary. “In a word, it intends to disarm and crush us to death with nuclear weapons,” it said (Jae-Soon Chang, Associated Press/Baltimore Sun, Sept. 21). Rodong added that North Korea was prepared to retaliate in the wake of a nuclear strike, AFP reported. Pyongyang is ready to “decisively control a pre-emptive nuclear attack with a strong retaliatory blow even if the U.S. commits it any moment,” it said (Agence France-Presse II/SpaceWar.com, Sept. 21). North Korea’s demand for a reactor less than a day after it signed a multilateral nuclear deal fits Pyongyang’s pattern of breaking agreements, some analysts said. The North Koreans are known for using heated rhetoric to achieve their ends, according to AFP. Pyongyang’s most severe critics said it is always looking for an out to any agreement. “It goes without saying that we should never trust North Korea to keep its side of the bargain,” the Nautilus Institute said in a 2003 report. They “make a deal, break the deal, then demand a new deal for more, issuing threats until you get what you want,” Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute said in a commentary. Other experts said North Korea tends to interpret agreements narrowly. Pyongyang does keep agreements, according to Scott Snyder, senior associate of the Asia Foundation, but “obligations are interpreted by the North Korean side as narrowly as possible ... adhering to the letter of the law and otherwise challenging both the spirit and terms of implementation of specific agreements” (Agence France-Presse III/SpaceWar.com, Sept. 21). Back to top       Conference on Facilitating CTBT to Convene Today The Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty was scheduled to begin its three-day meeting today in New York, according to a U.N. press release (see GSN, Sept. 14). The meeting — the fourth since U.N. General Assembly adopted the treaty in 1996 — will determine which measures can be taken to quicken the treaty’s ratification process and hasten its entry into force. A number of countries that have not signed or ratified the treaty are expected to do so before or during the conference, according to the release (U.N. release, Sept. 12). The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization today announced that Lebanon has signed the pact, while Vanuatu and Madagascar have deposited their instruments of ratification. The treaty now has 176 member states, 125 of which have submitted their ratification papers. The treaty has 33 of the 44 signatures needed to bring the pact into force (Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization releases, Sept. 21). Back to top       Russia Scraps Old Topol ICBM Launchers The Russian Defense Ministry said yesterday it has completed destruction of aging Topol missile launchers at its Pibanshur scrapping base in the Udmurt Republic, ITAR-Tass reported (see GSN, Aug. 16). “The elimination, which began 5 September in keeping with the procedures envisaged by the START treaty, was carried out under the control of a U.S. inspection group. Nine Topol launchers at the end of their useful life were eliminated during this period,” the Defense Ministry said. “In all, 18 Topol launchers have been eliminated since the start of the year.” “Production capacities at the scrapping bases make it possible to cope fully with the volume of work for the scrapping of missile system which have come to the end of their useful life,” said Col. Gen. Nikolai Solovtsov, commander of Russia’s Strategic Missile Forces (ITAR-Tass/BBC Monitoring, Sept. 20). Back to top

CDC Considers Bioterror Antidote Kits for U.S. Homes The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is considering providing bioterror antidote kits to U.S. homes, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, July 14, 2004). Agency spokesman Von Roebuck said that the kits could be distributed in Seattle to determine their feasibility.  “There are a lot of avenues being looked at as to how we can get vaccines and antidotes to the general public in an emergency situation,” he said, adding that plans are still “in the drawing-board stage.” “At this point, there is nothing set in stone,” Roebuck said. “We want to have a very open mind when it comes to how we distribute things.” Roebuck said that the U.S. Postal Service is being considered to distribute medications in the event of an attack. Stockpiling drugs at hospitals and clinics and “seeing what can be done in folk’s homes” are also being explored, he said. The federal health agency contacted the city of Seattle about “a preparedness initiative,” said city spokesman James Apa. “They want to do a trial in Seattle,” he said. “We had a briefing and are just waiting for more details” (Agence France-Presse/Turkish Press, Sept. 20). Back to top       Japanese Counterterrorism Law to Cover Tuberculosis Japan’s Tuberculosis Prevention Law is set to be abolished so that bacteria that cause the disease can be included in counterterrorism regulations in an updated Infectious Disease Law, the Japan Times reported yesterday (see GSN, July 12). Changes to the Infectious Disease Law are planned to boost regulation of smallpox and other microorganisms by restricting transfer of the diseases, allowing inspections and requiring registration of ownership of samples, Japanese Health Ministry sources said. The law is expected to be revised next year, these sources said. The Tuberculosis Prevention Law, passed in 1951, does not contain counterterrorism provisions or regulations requiring the quick investigation of an epidemic, according to the Times (Japan Times, Sept. 20). Back to top

Second Russian CW Destruction Plant Near Completion Russia’s second chemical weapons destruction facility is expected to be commissioned later this year, Germany’s ambassador to Moscow said yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 12). The facility will operate in Kambark in the republic of Udmurtia, said German Ambassador Walter Jurgen Schmidt. Germany is providing assistance to the project, according to RIA Novosti. Schmidt also said that Germany is considering providing assistance for production of another destruction plant in the Penza region in Central Russia. The Chemical Weapons Convention requires Russia to destroy its 40,000 metric tons of chemical arms by 2012. The treaty mandates that Russia separate disposal into four phases. One percent of weapons are to be destroyed in the first phase, 20 percent in the second phase, 45 percent in the third phase and 34 percent in the final phase, according to RIA (RIA Novosti, Sept. 20).   Sergei Kiriyenko, head of Russia’s chemical arms elimination commission, yesterday praised Germany for its support of Russia’s effort to eliminate its chemical stockpile, according to ITAR-Tass. “Germany is out most stable partner in the process of the elimination of chemical warfare agents,” Kiriyenko said after meeting with Schmidt. “Russian-German cooperation in this sphere has been invariably mentioned as a perfect example in contacts with the leaders of other countries that are Russia’s partners in the process of chemical weapons elimination.” With German assistance, Russia has built and supplied a destruction facility in Gorny that has already processed more than 622 tons of mustard gas and more than 200 tons of lewisite, according to ITAR-Tass. The lewisite stockpile at Gorny is expected to be eliminated by the end of the year, with processing of dry lewisite mixtures to begin soon after, said Alexander Kharichev, secretary of Russia’s state commission for chemical disarmament (Roza Magasumova, ITAR-Tass, Sept. 20). Back to top

Utah Senator Backs Plan to Keep Waste Out of Yucca U.S. Senator Bob Bennett (R-Utah) is set to join Nevada lawmakers in opposing a plan to move nuclear waste from locations across the country to the proposed Yucca Mountain nuclear waste storage site in Nevada, the Salt Lake Tribune reported today (see GSN, Aug. 23). This is a change of position for Bennett, who formerly supported storing nuclear waste in the mountain, according to the Tribune. “However much the idea of a single repository may have made sense decades ago, it's now clear that it does not make sense and we need to move in some future direction,” Bennett said yesterday on the Senate floor. Bennett said yesterday he doubts that Yucca Mountain would ever become a nuclear storage site. Nevada leaders have “earned the right to say to the rest of us, ‘I told you so,’” Bennett said. “I say I will be happy to join with you, too, in seeing how we can think this thing through and get the best solution for our nation and all of those who live here.” Nevada Senators Harry Reid (D) and John Ensign (R) are pushing a plan to keep waste from being sent to Yucca Mountain from 65 U.S. nuclear plants. The plan would also mandate that the U.S. government reconsider the option of reprocessing the waste, according to the Tribune.  “The momentum is shifting and the timing is right to address our nuclear waste challenges in a way that offers real, long-term solutions,” Reid said in a floor speech. “I have spent 20 years fighting the absurd idea that massive quantities of deadly nuclear waste can be transported across thousands of miles. I look forward to joining forces with Senator Bennett as we work to protect our states, the West and the nation” (Fahys/Gehrke, Salt Lake Tribune, Sept. 21). Back to top

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