Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel (left), shown with Russian President Vladimir Putin last month in Russia, has urged Tehran to respond quickly to an EU offer to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis (Vladimir Rodionov/Getty Images). EU Seeks Response to Offer as Iran Continues Enrichment Iran has until the Group of Eight summit in July to respond to the incentives package aimed at curbing its nuclear program, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang, the current European Union president, said today (see GSN, June 8). “This will be discussed within the G-8 framework. Iran has time to consider things until the July summit,” Schuessel told the Frankfurter Allgemeine (Deutsche Presse-Agentur, June 9)...Full Story

Experts Urge Improved U.S.-Russian Cooperation to Counter Biological Weapons Threat By Marina Malenic Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — A panel of experts has urged Russia and the United States to expand their cooperation on biological security issues (see GSN, June 2)...Full Story

U.S. House Panel to Consider India Deal This Month The U.S. House International Relations Committee is expected later this month to choose whether to endorse or give tentative support for the pending U.S.-Indian civilian nuclear cooperation agreement, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, June 8)...Full Story

	Friday, June 9, 2006

Rumsfeld Considers ‘CONPLAN’ to Combat WMD A classified U.S. plan for battling the threat of weapons of mass destruction is scheduled this fall to undergo review by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Inside the Pentagon reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 13, 2005). Rumsfeld’s review will be turned over to U.S. Strategic Command to assess the military’s capabilities for the mission, according to defense officials. The review will be led by the command’s new Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction. Strategic Command is preparing the top-secret “Concept Plan 8099 for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction,” or CONPLAN 8099, said Rear Adm. William Loeffler. The organization is responsible for integrating the government’s efforts in ceasing WMD proliferation and mitigation in the event of a crisis. The document is “out for coordination,” said Loeffler, the center’s deputy director. Officials anticipate approval by Rumsfeld in the fall, according to Inside the Pentagon. The plan would support implementation of the Pentagon’s new National Military Strategy to Combat Weapons of Mass Destruction, according the Catherine Montie, associate director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency anti-WMD project. The strategy’s eight military missions include: offensive operations, including potential conventional and nuclear attacks against WMD sites; elimination operations, in the event that offensive operations pose an “unacceptable risk” to civilians of U.S. and allied forces; interdiction of WMD materials during transport; WMD consequence management; cooperation with allies on WMD nonproliferation efforts; threat reduction work to eliminate WMD arsenals. If Rumsfeld accepts CONPLAN, the other combatant commands would prepare individual anti-WMD implementation plans, Loeffler said. The center would then look for “seams” between the strategies and areas that need further development. “One of the many things we should be able to gain after writing the base plan and then working with the (combatant commanders) on their implementing plans should be to have an appreciation for the capabilities that exist within the combatant commands to address their combating WMD issues,” Montie told Inside the Pentagon. “If you understand that, you then understand what else they need.” Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction officials are developing ties with other U.S. government agencies with counter-WMD missions. “We’ve been welcomed with open arms,” Loeffler said (Sebastian Sprenger, Inside the Pentagon, June 8). Back to top

EU Seeks Response to Offer as Iran Continues Enrichment Iran has until the Group of Eight summit in July to respond to the incentives package aimed at curbing its nuclear program, Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang, the current European Union president, said today (see GSN, June 8). “This will be discussed within the G-8 framework. Iran has time to consider things until the July summit,” Schuessel told the Frankfurter Allgemeine (Deutsche Presse-Agentur, June 9). The revelation in yesterday’s International Atomic Energy Agency report that Iran has begun to enrich a new batch of uranium is likely to cause the United States and the European Union to redouble their insistence on a complete freeze of sensitive nuclear activities as a precondition for formal negotiations, the New York Times reported today. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the United States remained hopeful that Iran would accept the world powers’ offer. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday that Iran was willing to resume negotiations but would not give up uranium enrichment. “On behalf of the Iranian nation, I’m announcing that the Iranian nation will never hold negotiations about its inalienable rights with anybody, but we are for talks about mutual concerns to resolve misunderstandings in the international arena,” he said (Elaine Sciolino, New York Times, June 9). The timing of Tehran’s decision to resume nuclear work appeared to signal that Iran would not heed demands to implement a nuclear moratorium, the Los Angeles Times reported today. “On the timing, knowing the Iranians, nothing is left to chance,” said a European diplomat. British Prime Minister Tony Blair said yesterday that an Iranian refuse to halt enrichment would lead to “a lot of difficulty.” “They should know that all of us are seeking a diplomatic solution to this, and whether we can get one depends to an extent on them,” Blair said. There is “nothing earthshaking” in the IAEA report, said a senior U.N. official, but it does detail remaining questions about Iran’s nuclear program. The document also says inspectors discovered uranium particles enriched above 20 percent, which qualifies as highly enriched — though 80 percent enrichment is necessary for weapon-grade material. “It should not be this kind of contamination,” said a senior U.N. official (Alissa Rubin, Los Angeles Times, June 9). A top Iranian cleric today criticized the world powers’ incentives package, Reuters reported. “Now they want to deprive us of many advantages. The package they have brought is a package that is good for themselves and is not appropriate for the Iranian people,” said Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati. “In short, we must have enrichment to the level of 3.5 to 5 percent and they have no choice but to accept it,” Jannati said (Reuters/Yahoo!News, June 9). Ahmadinejad is scheduled to meet next week in Shanghai with Chinese President Hu Jintao, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday. “President Hu Jintao will hold bilateral discussions with President Ahmadinejad ... the Iran nuclear issue will be discussed,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, June 8). Back to top       U.S. House Panel to Consider India Deal This Month The U.S. House International Relations Committee is expected later this month to choose whether to endorse or give tentative support for the pending U.S.-Indian civilian nuclear cooperation agreement, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, June 8). A decision is anticipated “in the later half” of June, a congressional staff member said. The full House of Representatives would then consider the matter. Committee Chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.), “does have some concerns about the proposed civilian nuclear agreement and is studying ways [of] addressing those,” said a Capitol Hill staffer. Reports this week suggested that Hyde would support the deal, according to AFP (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, June 9). Back to top       U.S. Defense Department in Final Stages of Developing Nuclear Policy Commission The U.S. Defense Department has nearly finished plans for a commission responsible for reviewing U.S. nuclear weapons policy, Inside the Pentagon reported yesterday (see GSN, April 5). The “Commission on the Implementation of the New Strategic Posture of the United States” is expected to study Pentagon implementation of the 2001 Nuclear Posture Review. The review produced the New Triad defense strategy, which consists of nuclear and conventional offensive strike systems; active and passive defenses; and a military infrastructure capable of responding to nuclear attacks. The panel’s congressional mandate also calls for it to consider difficulties in using conventional weapons for strategic missions. Air Force Lt. Col. Karen Finn, an Office of the Secretary of Defense spokeswoman, would not comment on when the process would be completed or whether Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld had yet chosen commissioners. Rumsfeld is responsible for appointing the 12 commission members, according to the law. Democrats have criticized that aspect of the mandate, raising concerns that the commission may not address the issues in a bipartisan fashion. “This would be a commission brought to you by the same people who brought you the Nuclear Posture Review, the withdrawal from the Antiballistic Missile Treaty, who attempted to deratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and who (pushed for) the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator,” a Democratic congressional source said in March. “We don’t really have much to learn from them” (Sebastian Sprenger, Inside the Pentagon, June 8). Back to top

Experts Urge Improved U.S.-Russian Cooperation to Counter Biological Weapons Threat By Marina Malenic Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — A panel of experts has urged Russia and the United States to expand their cooperation on biological security issues (see GSN, June 2). Some Group of Eight Global Partnership nations — notably Canada, France, Ukraine and the United States — have elevated the priority of biological weapons threat reduction programs, according to a report, Advancing International Cooperation on Bio-Initiatives in Russia and the CIS, sponsored by the Russian American Nuclear Security Advisory Council.  However, Russia’s lack of transparency in its biodefense projects has inhibited international cooperation in this area, it says. “Transparency within the Russian bioinstitute network remains a key issue, and facilities managed by the Russian Ministry of Defense and an array of Russian anti-plague research institutes remain off-limits, which hinders the amount of investment [in biosecurity] that can be made by Western governments,” the report says. The experts, who convened in April 2005, also said U.S. funding for biothreat reduction projects is “rising slowly, while the European Union’s budget for such efforts is unlikely to increase substantially over the next six years.” The report says opportunities exist for expanded cooperation with institutes dealing with deadly pathogens in Russia and other former Soviet states. It also advocates building a global consensus on biosafety levels, bioethics, regulations and safety training. Meanwhile, budget cuts in both the United States and the European Union for programs aimed at redirecting WMD experts raise questions about the future of the International Science and Technology Center in Moscow, according to the report. “The U.S. and U.K. are beginning to place emphasis on eliminating the threat and ‘graduating’ the scientific work force from their dependence on Western support through the science centers and other programs,” it says. The experts also concluded that private industry in the former Soviet states is “not the sole or even best conduit to redirect biological scientists.” However, they encouraged those countries to create the right conditions for investment in their emerging biotechnology sector, including providing funding for infrastructure development and training. Back to top       U.S. Agencies Plan for Mass Deaths The Bush administration in planning for a flu or other contagious pandemic might have failed to prepare for handling large numbers of corpses left behind by the outbreak, , the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, Nov. 13, 2003). The White House’s 227-page response plan for pandemic flu makes only a few references to handling the dead. The death toll, however, could reach 1.9 million in an epidemic akin to the 1918 pandemic. “It’s almost too big to wrap your arms around,” said John Nesler, a specialist in mass fatalities who advises the military. In the worst-case scenario, Nesler said the death count would be similar to that caused by “20 nuclear detonations.” Even in a lesser outbreak, funeral homes would be short-staffed for 18 months, crematories would operate 24 hours a day, group gatherings would be limited, and casket supplies would plummet, experts said. It would not take long for morgues and hospitals to reach capacity. Federal Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Teams would be swamped and unable to deploy in another community or state, the Post reported. “I can’t see myself packing my bags to go to another state to help out,” said Joyce deJong, a Michigan medical examiner who joined teams in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina. “I’ll be here dealing with an increase in the number of bodies.” Medical examiners, funeral directors, health experts and casket producers met in March in Virginia to discuss the issue. Ideas discussed included storing bodies in hockey rinks, backyard burials or using temporary mass graves. Officials from the Homeland Security Department, which would coordinate the response to a flu outbreak, were “noticeably absent from the discussion,” said John Fitch, senior vice president for advocacy at the National Funeral Directors Association. “Right now, there is no single agency or individual responsible for mass fatalities,” Fitch said. Bush administration officials, who hosted the conference, say local communities and states would largely be responsible for handling that aspect of a flu crisis. Virginia chief medical examiner Marcella Fierro said the state is developing software systems that would help track the dead and contact family members. Fierro is also preparing a list of retired employees who could aid the office, the Post reported. Nesler suggested “virtual funerals” broadcast over closed-circuit television or the Internet, rather than live gatherings where the disease could be spread. “It’s the one thing nobody wants to address, because it’s ugly,” Fitch said. “People don’t want to think that anyone will die” (Ceci Connolly, Washington Post, June 9)” Back to top

Pine Bluff Destroys Last Chemical Precursors Destruction of the last remaining chemical precursors at the Pine Bluff Arsenal binary destruction facility in Arkansas began this week, officials said (see GSN, April 11). The U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency Nonstockpile Chemical Material Project estimates the process will last six to eight weeks, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported. Workers are to destroy 291 drums of QL, or diisopropyl aminoethylmethyl phosphonite, which is all that remains of the U.S. inventory of the binary precursor chemical. Binary munitions were designed to combine chemicals to form a weapons agent during delivery. Using QL and another agent would have produced the nerve agent VX. The U.S. military developed one type of binary agent munition, but it was never used (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, June 8) Back to top       Research Could Aid Chemical Weapons Injuries The U.S. Army Medical Research and Material Command has provided a $2 million grant to Lexicon Genetics Inc. of Texas for research that could be used to treat nerve damage resulting from exposure to sarin or other chemical agents, the company announced last month (see GSN, Dec. 6, 2005). Funding will allow Lexicon to conduct further study of spinal muscular atrophy, a neurodegenerative disorder, for the one-year initial term of the funding. Research and therapeutics advances in this area might be relevant to treatment of other neurodegenerative diseases or exposure to nerve agents (Lexicon Genetics release, May 11). Back to top

Contract Awarded for SM-3 Work U.S. defense contractor Raytheon Co. said Wednesday that it had received a $424 million U.S. Navy contract to develop the sea-based Standard Missile 3 Block IA and to continue work on Block IB (see GSN, July 22, 2005). “The SM-3 Block IA provides an incremental upgrade to improve missile reliability and supportability at a reduced cost,” the company said in a press release. “Block IB integrates into the kinetic warhead an advanced two-color infrared seeker and a throttling divert and attitude control system providing additional capability against evolving threats” (Raytheon Co. release, June 7). Back to top

China, Russia Object to Weapons in Space China and Russia yesterday told a U.N. body that the threat from space-based weapons would be equal to that posed by weapons of mass destruction, Reuters reported (see GSN, May 11). The U.N. Conference on Disarmament is looking to begin negotiations on preventing an arms race in outer space. The United Kingdom and United States have expressed their opposition to such talks (see GSN, May 18). Russian Ambassador to the conference Valery Loshchinin likened the weaponization of outer space to the “emergence of a new type of weapon of mass destruction.” “If there are no weapons in outer space, no room for the use of force, then there will be no arms race there. We must nip it in the bud,” he said. “A world free of outer space weapons is no less important than a world free of the weapons of mass destruction,” said China’s ambassador to the conference, Cheng Jingye. “The development of outer space weapons keeps progressing quietly and relevant military doctrine is taking shape,” he said. The White House is expected issue a new space policy for the first time in a decade this month, according to Reuters (Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters/Yahoo!News, June 8).   Back to top

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