North Korean negotiator Kim Kye Gwan (left) and U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill are neighbors at a banquet table today in Beijing following the second day of six-nation nuclear talks (Greg Baker/Getty Images). No Progress Seen at North Korea Nuclear Disarmament Talks Frustrated negotiators said the first day of resumed six-nation negotiations on North Korea’s nuclear program ended without any significant progress, Reuters reported today (see GSN, Dec. 18). In his opening statement yesterday, lead North Korean negotiator Kim Kye Gwan presented a list of demands other countries must meet if they want Pyongyang to end its nuclear program.  These included an end to U.N. and U.S. sanctions and providing energy assistance and a nuclear reactor...Full Story

Bush Objects to Congressional Limits on U.S.-Indian Nuclear Deal, Calls Them “Advisory” In signing legislation yesterday to enable the U.S.-Indian nuclear trade deal, U.S. President George W. Bush stated that he would not feel compelled to abide by some of the law’s terms and would instead consider them to be “advisory” (see GSN, Dec. 18)...Full Story

Hussein Takes Responsibility for Attacks on Kurds Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein yesterday took responsibility for chemical weapons attacks on Kurds in his country, but did not say whether he personally ordered the strikes, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Dec. 18)...Full Story

	Tuesday, December 19, 2006

NATO Lauds Mediterranean Antiterrorism Patrols NATO patrols of the Mediterranean Sea and Strait of Gibraltar over the last five years have prevented terrorists from attacking ships or using those bodies of water to transport dangerous material, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 27, 2004). “They definitely give (terrorists) a hard time,” said Andrea Nativi, a researcher at the Military Center for Strategic Studies in Rome. “We can say that the Mediterranean now is certainly safer than it was five years ago,” Nativi added. The program, which involves a number of nations and works closely with customs and police agencies in nearby nations, could serve as a model for efforts to prevent North Korea from receiving or shipping nuclear material and technology by sea, according to AP. NATO naval forces’ ships and patrol boats conduct the mission, with support from surveillance aircraft, submarines and helicopters from alliance nations.  Teams have conducted 105 “compliant boardings,” in which captains allowed ships to be searched, according to Cmdr. Alfonso Citarella, head of the NATO maritime operations center in Naples. The authority of patrol teams to intercept and search suspicious ships increased in April 2003 following reports that al-Qaeda was using shipping lanes on the Mediterranean. Illegal weapons have been found at least once, Citarella said.  He declined to offer details (Maria Sanminiatelli, Associated Press, Dec. 18). Back to top       Counterterrorism Chief Leaving State Department The head of the U.S. State Department’s counterterrorism office is expected to announce his exit from government service today, the Washington Post reported (see GSN, Aug. 23). Henry Crumpton has been the agency’s counterterrorism coordinator since August 2005.  He is leaving in the new year due to “unexpected, unplanned and compelling family reasons,” including health issues and higher education costs, a senior State Department official said. Crumpton spent most of his government career as a covert officer with the CIA.  “Henry” was noted in the Sept. 11 commission report for warning U.S. intelligence agencies, prior to the al-Qaeda strikes, that more needed to be done in Afghanistan. Crumpton led the CIA’s efforts in Afghanistan after the attacks, grouping elite intelligence and military personnel into teams that joined with the Afghan opposition against the ruling Taliban.  The effort helped to unseat the Taliban while limiting the lives and materiel lost, according to the Post. At the State Department, Crumpton has warned of the changeable nature of terrorism and warfare. “We don’t understand the enemy and the battlefield,” he said in an interview.  “We’ve crossed a threshold in this conflict.  This is a learning process, and we’ve just started.” He spoke of the threat posed by smaller terrorist groups or lone actors whose activities might harder to detect than those of an organization such as al-Qaeda.  “These looser terrorist network are less capable but also less predictable and in some ways more dangerous,” he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in June (Robin Wright, Washington Post, Dec. 19). Back to top

No Progress Seen at North Korea Nuclear Disarmament Talks Frustrated negotiators said the first day of resumed six-nation negotiations on North Korea’s nuclear program ended without any significant progress, Reuters reported today (see GSN, Dec. 18). In his opening statement yesterday, lead North Korean negotiator Kim Kye Gwan presented a list of demands other countries must meet if they want Pyongyang to end its nuclear program.  These included an end to U.N. and U.S. sanctions and providing energy assistance and a nuclear reactor. “Basically, there has been no major change in what they said yesterday,” a Japanese diplomat said before talks began today in Beijing.  “We still can’t see where their true intention is.” “I think I would be hard-pressed to say any progress was made,” said U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill.  “Certainly there was nothing I heard in the plenary (meeting) to fill me up with a sense of holiday spirit.” Hill and other diplomats said Pyongyang might compromise on its demands as the meeting continues.  The lead U.S. negotiator said it would be in Pyongyang’s best interest to do just that, Reuters reported. “They should come to it in a mood of trying to reach a deal,” said Hill, who met today with his North Korean counterpart.  “They need a lot of things.  They need food, electricity.  They don’t need nuclear weapons.” There has been no agreement on a Chinese “work plan” aimed at implementing the September 2005 agreement in which North Korea agreed in principle to eliminate its nuclear weapons program in exchange for assistance and security guarantees (Ueno/Buckley, Reuters/Yahoo!News, Dec. 19). China today called for patience, saying that the talks had just resumed after a 13-month layoff, Bloomberg reported. “The meeting has only started for two days now,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang.  “I would like to suggest all sides exercise more patience” (Allen Cheng, Bloomberg, Dec. 19). Pyongyang has agreed to allow international nuclear monitors back into the country once its demands are met, but would oppose continuous monitoring of atomic sites, RIA Novosti reported. “The North Korean delegation has expressed its readiness to accept [International Atomic Energy Agency] inspections should sanctions against it be lifted and its relations with the U.S. improve, but not permanent monitoring,” a source said (RIA Novosti, Dec. 19). Finance officials from Washington and Pyongyang met today in Beijing to discuss U.S. financial sanctions, which North Korea has used to justify its extended absence from the nuclear talks. The United States in 2005 barred U.S. institutions from doing business with Back Delta Asia in Macau over allegations it helped launder money acquired by North Korean entities through counterfeiting of U.S. currency and other illegal activity.  That led the bank to freeze $24 million of Pyongyang’s money (see GSN, Nov. 29). Qin said China hopes the two nations can “solve the issue properly,” the Associated Press reported. “We wish to see them make positive achievements that we believe will facilitate the process of the (nuclear) talks,” he said. The Bush administration is not likely to change a policy it sees as a weapon against illegal activity, according to AP (Mari Yamaguchi, Associated Press I/Yahoo!News, Dec. 19). Meanwhile, a report from the South Korean parliament today stated that North Korea’s Oct. 9 nuclear test was meant to help Kim Jong Il pass leadership of the nation to one of his sons, AP reported. Garnering support from the military, which sought the nuclear detonation, would be important in ensuring that Kim’s desired transfer of power comes about. “North Korea’s decision (to conduct the nuclear test) rather than seeking the regime’s survival through the six-party talks … is seen as an attempt to lay the groundwork to proceed with the power transfer with priority,” according to the report from the South Korean National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee. Kim could choose one of his sons — there are at least three — as his replacement by mid-2007 and then begin the transfer of power, the report states (Jae-Soon Chang, Associated Press II/, Dec. 19). Back to top       Bush Objects to Congressional Limits on U.S.-Indian Nuclear Deal, Calls Them “Advisory” In signing legislation yesterday to enable the U.S.-Indian nuclear trade deal, U.S. President George W. Bush stated that he would not feel compelled to abide by some of the law’s terms and would instead consider them to be “advisory” (see GSN, Dec. 18). At issue is a provision of the legislation that seeks to prevent the United States from selling India nuclear technology that is prohibited by international nuclear trade guidelines set by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group.  The group establishes an agreed set of nuclear equipment, material and technology that should not be exported to nations that fail to meet nonproliferation standards. The legislation signed yesterday says that “no item … may be transferred to India if such transfer would be inconsistent with the transfer guidelines of the NSG in effect on the date of the transfer.” The language, set out in section 104(d)(2) of the law, in effect requires the group to modify its export rules before the United States could sell any nuclear technology to India. In statement issued following the signing ceremony, Bush said the language violates the president’s constitutional “authority to conduct the nation's foreign affairs.”  In addition, he said, “a serious question would exist as to whether the provision unconstitutionally delegated legislative power to an international body.” Therefore, “in order to avoid this constitutional question, the executive branch shall construe section 104(d)(2) as advisory,” Bush said (Greg Webb, Global Security Newswire, Dec. 19). Meanwhile in an Indian parliamentary session, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh yesterday defended the deal from critics who argued the agreement would restrict India’s ability to pursue its nuclear programs freely. “Nothing will be done that will compromise, dilute or cast as shadow in India’s full autonomy in the management of its security and national interests,” he said. “Clearly, difficult negotiations lie ahead,” he said, referring to an agreement that still must be negotiated that will detail the U.S. technology and material to be sold. However, “we will do nothing which will hurt the ability of our department of atomic energy to pursue research and development; to pursue the development of fast breeder reactors; and to pursue the complete three-stage fuel cycle from uranium to plutonium to uranium”(Indo Asian News Service/DailyIndia.com, Dec. 18). Back to top       U.S., Russia Remain at Odds Over Iran Sanctions U.N. Security Council diplomats met again yesterday to discuss a draft resolution on the Iranian nuclear crisis, but the prospect of reaching agreement before Christmas remained uncertain, Reuters reported (see GSN, Dec. 15). Chinese Ambassador Wang Guangya said there was a 50 percent chance the five permanent council members and Germany would agree this week on a resolution to impose sanctions on Iran.  The move is under consideration because Iran has refused to comply with the council demand to freeze its uranium enrichment activities. Russia and the United States have continued to disagree over two final sticking points:  a proposed ban on international travel for 12 Iranian officials and a proposed asset freeze on 11 Iranian agencies and firms, according to Reuters. Russia opposes the travel ban outright and is not happy with the list of targets for the asset freeze. “We have not agreed with the list, but we accept the premise and the concept of having some financial restrictions,” said Russian U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin. On the second issue, the “travel ban is a priority and an important element of this resolution and we will continue to push for it,” said acting U.S. Ambassador Alejandro Wolff. Diplomats planned to circulate a new draft resolution today to all 15 council nations, Reuters reported. “On Wednesday, we will see where we are,” said British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry (Reuters/New York Times, Dec. 19). Back to top       Russian Enrichment Site Could Open in January A Russian uranium enrichment site in Siberia could begin producing fuel for other nations’ nuclear energy needs next month, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Nov. 1). Operations at the facility at the Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Plant could begin Jan. 25, following approval of an agreement with Kazakhstan, Federal Atomic Energy Agency chief Sergei Kiriyenko told Russian news agencies. Kazakhstan would provide uranium for enrichment at the center. “All conditions for the center’s work will have been established by late January,” Kiriyenko said. Russia hopes that providing fuel to countries developing nuclear power plants would ensure they do not turn their programs toward atomic weapons, AP reported.  Nations must accept International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards and make other nonproliferation concessions in order to receive the reactor fuel (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, Dec. 18). Back to top       U.N. Urges Nations Join Nuclear Terror Treaty A senior U.N. official has urged nations to sign an international nuclear terrorism treaty that has not entered into force 20 months after it was adopted by the General Assembly (see GSN, Oct. 4). “Currently, more than 110 states have signed and 11 have ratified” the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, U.N. Legal Counsel Nicolas Michel said Friday in a release.  Twenty-two nations must ratify the pact before it enters into force (see GSN, Sept. 15, 2005). The agreement calls on nations to prevent nuclear terror by sharing information about threats, cooperating with prosecutions and protecting vulnerable targets, such as nuclear reactors. “The convention will play a crucial role in preventing terrorists from gaining access to weapons of mass destruction, the use of which could lead to catastrophic circumstances,” Michel said.  “It will strengthen the international legal framework for suppressing terrorism and be a valuable addition to the already existing universal antiterrorism conventions” (United Nations release, Dec. 15). Back to top

VaxGen Misses Deadline for Anthrax Vaccine Testing California biotechnology company VaxGen has missed an extended deadline to begin human safety testing of its experimental anthrax vaccine, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, Nov. 17). The U.S. Health and Human Services Department gave the firm until Dec. 18 to begin testing, after initially setting the deadline at Nov. 13.  The company risked losing its nearly $1 billion contract to produce 75 million doses of the vaccine if it missed the new deadline. However, the Food and Drug Administration has blocked testing due to concerns over the vaccine’s reliability.  That situation will remain until the company can prove “sufficient vaccine stability,” VaxGen said in a prepared statement. “I don’t think we’re in a position to make predictions on how long this will take,” said Lance Ignon, VaxGen vice president of corporate affairs.  “We continue to believe that with the right kind of commitment, we can develop and deliver a modern anthrax vaccine.” VaxGen is years behind schedule on meeting the vaccine order.  Health and Human Services has not decided whether to maintain or cancel the contract, said spokesman Bill Hall (Renae Merle, Washington Post, Dec. 19). Back to top

Hussein Takes Responsibility for Attacks on Kurds Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein yesterday took responsibility for chemical weapons attacks on Kurds in his country, but did not say whether he personally ordered the strikes, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Dec. 18). “Any strike, whether it was by special ammunition chemical as (the prosecutor) interpreted or conventional and by any military or civil official who said Saddam Hussein ordered us to do so, I take the responsibility with honor, whether the order came from me or not,” he told the court during his trial for the deaths of more than 180,000 Kurds in the late 1980s. The prosecution yesterday president 25 documents it said tied the Hussein regime to attacks on Iraqi Kurds.  Some made clear references to use of chemical weapons, AP reported. Iraqi military intelligence in a 1987 letter to Hussein sought permission to use “special ammunition” against Kurdish rebels.  “It identifies the special ammunition right here as ‘mustard gas,’” said chief prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon. Hussein’s office replied with a letter indicating that the strike should target both rebels and civilians, al-Faroon said. A letter that year from the Iraqi air force command stated that “there were 44 strikes carried out by 44 warplanes, using special ammunition on the bases of (Kurdish) agents, except for one village because it was near our ground units,” according to al-Faroon. Another 1987 letter from an intelligence office in the northern Kurdish zone stated that “a number of reporters have arrived at Sarglou area to see the result of Iraqi shelling, using chemical weapons.  It is likely that journalists will be sent to the areas hit to report on the incidents.” One of Hussein’s six co-defendants, former military intelligence head Sabir al-Douri, said his agency lacked the technical know-how to carry out chemical attacks. “There was not a single officer or a body in my organization that was specialized in chemical weapons,” he said.  Al-Douri said he believed some of the documents were forgeries, AP reported. All defendants could face execution if convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity.  Hussein and his cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid, known as “Chemical Ali,” face charges of genocide for their role in the Anfal campaign against Iraqi Kurds (Associated Press/Boston Herald, Dec. 18). Video footage shown today in court showed children and other civilians who appear to have been killed in chemical attacks, Reuters reported. “I want you to view these dead children because these are the ‘honorable battles’ that Sultan Hashim speaks of,” al-Faroon said, referring to comments from one of the defendants. The prosecutor today also presented a memorandum signed by Hussein’s secretary, in which Dutch businessman Frans van Anraat is lauded for supplying illicit weapons to the regime (see GSN, Oct. 10). “He supplied our institutions … with rare and banned chemical weapons … via the Aqaba port in Jordan,” the memo states (Ahmed Rasheed, Reuters/Yahoo!News, Dec. 19). Back to top

U.S. Nears Decision on European Missile Defenses Construction of a U.S. missile defense facility in Poland could begin next year, the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita reported today (see GSN, Nov. 2). The United States intends to announce a formal plan in early 2007 to deploy nine missile interceptors in Poland and a radar installation in the Czech Republic, the paper reported. U.S. officials have not agreed to a Polish request for anti-aircraft defenses, according to the paper (Rzeczpospolita/Polish News Bulletin, Dec. 18).   Back to top

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