U.S. Senate Committee Approves Biodefense Bill

A U.S. Senate committee yesterday approved legislation aimed at boosting the U.S. capacity to respond to public health emergencies such as an act of bioterrorism or influenza outbreak, the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy reported (see GSN, July 17).

The Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act was received unanimous support from the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said Laura Caudell, spokeswoman for the bill’s author, Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.)

“We passed it unanimously this morning out of committee, and now it’ll be put on the legislative calendar in the Senate,” Caudell said.

The legislation would reauthorize the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act of 2002. The act would otherwise expire at the end of September, according to a release from Burr’s office.

If approved, the bill would designate the health and human services secretary as the governmental leader for dealing with health emergencies; boost training, logistics and planning for medical professionals; require states to meet preparedness standards and assist with the cost of preparedness; and seek to develop a system for preparing health care volunteers for an emergency.

“This legislation is a first step toward making sure our federal, state, and local governments and public and private health care systems have more tools to better manage an emergency be it a hurricane, a terrorist attack, or a pandemic,” Burr said in the release.

Another goal of the legislation is funding public health and medical preparedness. The bill would allocate $824 million for state and local preparedness and $474 million for hospital preparedness for fiscal 2007. It calls for “such sums as may be necessary” for fiscal years 2008 through 2011, CIDRAP reported.

The bill would require Health and Human Services to develop “measurable evidence-based benchmarks and objective standards that measure levels of preparedness” within six months. It also transfers the management of the Strategic National Stockpile of drugs and medical supplies from the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention to the HHS assistant secretary for public health emergency preparedness, Caudell said. The position title would change to assistant secretary for preparedness and response (CIDRAP News July, 19).

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Uranium Enrichment Risky, Australian Lawmaker Says

Conducting uranium enrichment in Australia would increase the likelihood of a terrorist attack against the island continent, an opposition lawmaker said yesterday (see GSN, May 12).

Following discussions with the Bush administration, Prime Minster John Howard plans to study the potential for Australian uranium enrichment, the Australian Associated Press reported yesterday. Senator Bob Brown, Australian Greens party leader, said any such decision should be put to a vote by the people.

“We’re a democratic country,” Brown said. “We have a right here for citizens to have a say in something that will potentially affect this country for many centuries or millennia to come. John Howard thinks it’s good enough for [U.S. President] George Bush to have a decisive say in Australia’s nuclear future. The Greens think it’s good enough for 20 million Australians to have a say in our nuclear future.”

“The long-term consequences are Australia becoming a global nuclear waste dump, Australia having uranium enrichment facilities which will need massive infrastructure and Australia being a supplier of enriched uranium in an unsafe world where nuclear weapons are inevitably spreading on the planet,” he said. “Nuclear installations in Australia will make Australia a greater target for terrorism,” (Australian Associated Press/Sydney Morning Herald, July 19).

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New Pentagon WMD Committee to Meet in August

A new U.S. Defense Department panel formed to help address the international dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction is scheduled to meet for the first time next month, Inside Missile Defense reported yesterday (see GSN, June 9).

The “executive committee” consists of personnel at the level of flag officer or senior executive service, and is scheduled to meet once or twice a year, a Pentagon official said earlier this month.

The committee is to be led by the deputy director for the war on terrorism in the J-5 [strategic plans and policy] directorate, the assistant to the defense secretary for nuclear and chemical and biological defense programs, and the deputy defense secretary for combating weapons of mass destruction and negotiations policy.

The main goal of the committee is to establish priorities for the Combating WMD Action Group, a lower-level panel made up of officials from the combatant commands, four military services, Office of the Secretary of Defense and the defense agencies. That group is expected to meet biweekly through teleconference to consider WMD threats.

A Pentagon strategy released in February listed eight anti-WMD priorities: offensive operations; elimination operations; interdiction operations; active defense; passive defense; WMD consequence management; security cooperation and partner activities; and threat reduction cooperation.

U.S. Strategic Command chief Gen. James Cartwright last year formed the Center for Combating Weapons of Mass Destruction. The unit began operations in January and shares space with the Defense Threat Reduction Agency at Fort Belvoir in Virginia (Sebastian Sprenger, Inside Missile Defense, July 19).

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U.N. Powers Continue Iran Talks

The United States and other world powers are scheduled to meet again today at the United Nations to discuss a draft resolution on Iran’s controversial nuclear program, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 19).

Following a second day of talks yesterday, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said the Security Council’s permanent members and Germany today would “try to hash out some of these differences in language.”

“My instructions remain to get this resolution passed as soon as possible, this week if possible,” Bolton said.

Foreign ministers from the six countries agreed last week to return Iran’s case to the Security Council, as Tehran has not yet responded to an incentives package aimed at curbing its nuclear program.

“There is agreement that what the ministers agreed to was to make the suspension of uranium enrichment mandatory,” Bolton said. “What we have not reached agreement on is the right formulation of the words that will do that.”

The dispute hinges on possible invocation of Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter, which can authorize sanctions or the use of force, according to AFP (Agence France-Presse I/ChannelNewsAsia.com, July 19).

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday that Moscow was open to imposing sanctions on Iran if it failed to comply with the world powers’ demands, AFP reported.

“If the first resolution calling on Iran to respond to the demands of the [International Atomic Energy Agency] doesn’t work, we have agreed that after a period it will be necessary to discuss additional measures, including measures of an economic character,” Lavrov said. “This period should be a reasonable one so that Iran can realize the attractiveness of the proposals.”

“The resolution currently being discussed ... says that the Security Council, while expecting an answer from Iran, intends to look at additional measures if there isn’t an answer. It clearly states that these measures do not include the use of force,” he added.

“If after a certain period we don’t hear an answer from Iran and discussions aren’t renewed, we will look in the Security Council at additional measures,” he said (Agence France-Presse II/Yahoo!News, July 20).

However, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said yesterday that the council was not in a hurry to apply such measures, the Associated Press reported.

“We are not in a rush at all,” Churkin said. “We do not want to ambush Iran in any way. We’re very much in a negotiating political mode. We do not want to dictate things to Iran” (Nick Wadhams, Associated Press I/Yahoo!News, July 20).

Iran today announced it would offer its formal response to the world powers’ incentives offer on Aug. 22, AP reported.

“The package of incentives requires a logical time to study it ... Aug. 22 has been set for declaring (our) views,” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a statement.

“In case the path of confrontation is chosen instead of the path of dialogue ... and Iran’s definite rights are threatened, then there will be no option for Iran but to reconsider its nuclear policies,” the statement says.

“Iran is not after tension, but if others push things toward tension and create problems, then all will face problems. Iran believes dialogue is the most logical solution. It is serious in this path.  We want the other side to return to the negotiating table,” it adds (Associated Press II/Yahoo!News, July 20).

Meanwhile, Bulgarian officials intercepted a shipment of radioactive material en route to Iran, AFP reported.

A truck registered in Turkey and carrying cesium and other radioactive materials was “destined for Istanbul and Tehran,” said a top Bulgarian nuclear official.

“In our view these materials could be used for industrial purposes,” the official said (Agence France-Presse III/IranMania.com, July 19).

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Top U.S. Nuclear Negotiator Demands Pyongyang Shut Down Nuclear Reactor as Condition of Visit

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, Washington’s top envoy to stalled North Korea nuclear talks, said yesterday that he would not make a trip to Pyongyang unless North shut down its main nuclear reactor, the Washington Times reported today (see GSN, July 19).

“We would consider a trip if it would serve our interest to do so,” Hill said.

“But our concern is that North Korea is continuing to run a nuclear reactor whose purpose is to make bombs, and to be talking to them while they are making bombs doesn’t appear to be in our interest,” he said, referring to the nuclear facility at Yongbyon.

Hill dismissed complaints from some experts that Washington has not attempted to engage North Korea sufficiently.

“We’ve met with them in separate rooms, at very big conference tables, in a very dignified setting. We’ve had plenty of bilateral meetings,” he said.

“This is about some misplaced concept that somehow we don’t give them enough respect. I think they are really trying to gut the process,” he said, referring to the multilateral nuclear disarmament forum.

Hill added that a U.N. Security Council resolution adopted Saturday condemning Pyongyang’s recent missile launches was not enough “to address the threat posed by North Korea” and that a “diplomatic track” must also be employed (Nicholas Kralev, Washington Times, July 20).

A South Korean official said yesterday that Washington could reinstate full economic sanctions against North Korea in response to its missile tests earlier this month, the Associated Press reported.

U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey told South Korean officials recently that tough, Korean War-era sanctions could be reimposed, a Foreign Ministry official said.

Washington reduced sanctions when Pyongyang established a long-range missile test moratorium in 1999. The move reopened trade in commercial and consumer goods, eased investment restrictions, and allowed for travel and personal and commercial financial transactions (Jae-Soon Chang, Associated Press I/The China Post, July 20).

Chief Japanese Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said today that North Korea must be forced to resume nuclear talks and stop missile launches, AP reported.

“North Korea must be made to understand that if it does not alter its stance, there will be bad consequences,” he said.

“We must create a situation that North Korea has no other choice than to take some big decisions,” Abe added (Hiroko Tabuchi, Associated Press II, July 20).

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said yesterday that Tokyo planned to launch two satellites this year to monitor North Korea’s military activities but that it would wait to impose more sanctions on the country, AP reported.

“North Korea should take the [U.N. Security Council] resolution and the [Group of Eight] chairman’s statement seriously. I think it’s better for us to wait and see,” Koizumi said (Hiroko Tabuchi, Associated Press III/Yahoo!News, July 19).

Meanwhile, Chinese Gen. Guo Boxiong said yesterday that his country is doing everything possible to persuade Pyongyang to reach settlements on its nuclear and missile programs, Agence France-Presse reported.

“The D.P.R.K. is a sovereign state. It has its own assessment of the situation, and its own way of doing business,” Guo said.

“China cannot possibly force the D.P.R.K. to do anything or not to do anything,” he said.

“However, bearing in mind the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula as well as the goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, China still tries every means in its power to persuade the D.P.R.K.,” he said.

Guo added that the North Korean missile launches took the Chinese leadership by surprise (Agence France-Presse I/ChannelNewsAsia.com, July 19).

Japanese and Chinese officials are scheduled to conduct security talks today in Beijing, AFP reported.

Officials plan to “discuss the two countries’ security and defense policies, and the region’s condition in general,” the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that North Korea’s missile tests would be on the agenda (Agence France-Presse II, July 19).

South Korea’s top nuclear negotiator is holding meetings on North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs in Tokyo today, the Japanese Foreign Ministry announced (Agence France-Presse III, July 20).

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U.S. Lawmakers Question F-16 Sales to Pakistan

The Bush administration’s $5 billion arrangement to sell F-16 fighter jets to Pakistan has garnered criticism from U.S. lawmakers who support India, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, June 30).

The House International Relations Committee is scheduled to consider the transaction today.

Critics said the White House ignored concerns that the arrangement could give China access to U.S. technology, given Beijing’s military relationship with Islamabad. They have charged that the deal rewards Pakistan despite its moral support for anti-India terrorist groups.

“This material is not being used against al-Qaeda. It isn’t.  The potential is that it would be used in a war against India,” said Representative Frank Pallone, (D-N.J.). “We don’t need to reward Pakistan for being our friend in the war on terrorism by giving them advanced weapons systems that are not likely to be used in that effort.”

Representative Diane Watson (D-Calif.) commended Pakistan’s assistance to the United States in looking for terrorists on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. Pakistan, however, has not curtailed its “moral, if not material, support for like-minded extremist groups” she said.

The Bush administration believes Pakistan is worthy of U.S. military support and has approved the sale of 18 new jets, AP reported. The agreement would also include the opportunity for Pakistan to order 18 more Lockheed Martin jets and have 26 existing jets refurbished.

Halting the sale would be a challenge, lawmakers said. Both houses of Congress would have to approve resolutions before a 30-day review period expires at the end of July. President George W. Bush could veto the resolution, unless the House and Senate both voted by 2-1 margins to override it.

Lawmakers were troubled about the possibility that Pakistan would spread the technology to other countries. Scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, considered the father of Pakistan’s nuclear bomb, has admitted to having run a nuclear smuggling ring over the years

“Pakistan is an ally in the war on terror, but they have a checkered past on proliferation,” said Representative Joe Crowley (D-N.Y). “This is some of our most sophisticated weaponry” (Associated Press/Star-Tribune, July 20).

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Depot Reports Five Mustard Agent Leaks in Two Days

Staff at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah discovered five storage containers leaking mustard agent vapor Tuesday and yesterday (see GSN, March 22).

Workers conducting routine monitoring Tuesday in a storage igloo found vapor leaking from the valves of two bulk-storage containers (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, July 18).

Three more leaking containers were found yesterday (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, July 22)

In both instances, toxic personnel wearing protective gear moved the containers under engineering controls to another location for replacement of plugs and valves. They are expected then to be returned to storage.

Filtering prevented the escape of any mustard vapors from the storage igloos, the releases said. The depot notified Tooele County officials, but said the incidents posed no danger to nearby residents (CMA releases).

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Italy, U.S. Expected to Sign Missile Defense Deal

The United States and Italy are expected to sign a general missile defense cooperation agreement by early fall, Inside Missile Defense reported yesterday (see GSN, June 2, 2005).

The agreement would be “similar to framework [missile defense] agreements with other partners,” including the United Kingdom, a U.S. Defense Department official said. 

The 2003 U.S.-British “Framework Memorandum of Understanding” on missile defense “facilitates bilateral information exchanges on missile defense matters, establishes a top-level management structure to oversee cooperative work, and prepares the way for fair opportunities to be given to U.K. industry to participate in the U.S. program,” British Defense Minister Geoff Hoon said shortly after he and U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld signed the pact.

U.S. Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Trey Obering said in March that the signing of a similar U.S.-Italy agreement was “imminent.” However, turnover of personnel within Italy’s Defense Ministry caused a delay, the U.S. defense official said this week. The deal could be signed by early fall, the official said.

Washington has similar agreements with Australia, Denmark and Japan, according to Inside Missile Defense (John Liang, Inside Missile Defense, July 19).

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Japan, U.S. to Deploy Patriot Batteries

Japanese and U.S. officials today announced plans to begin deploying Patriot Advanced Capability 3 ballistic missile interceptors in Japan next month, the Washington Post reported (see GSN, July 10).

“In view of the development, deployment and proliferation of ballistic missiles in the region, and the clear and present threats such as the recent missile launches by North Korea in particular, the government of Japan will continue to do its utmost to build up its ballistic missile defense capabilities in close cooperation with the United States,” Japan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The U.S. Defense Department plans to begin sending PAC-3 batteries and 600 troops from Fort Bliss, Texas, to the U.S. Kadena Air Base next month, according to the Post. The systems should have some operational capability before the end of 2006.

Japanese defense officials said they would install PAC-3 batteries at their bases by next March, beginning at Iruma Base. Tokyo intends to deploy the system at several more installations through 2010.

Tokyo and Washington last month activated an X-band Radar system on a northern Japanese air base as part of a wider joint missile defense scheme, according to the Post (Anthony Faiola, Washington Post, July 20).

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Taiwan Fires Patriots During War Game

Taiwan today launched two Patriot missile interceptors during a large-scale, live-fire military exercise simulating a Chinese invasion, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Feb. 23).

The drill, codenamed Han Kuang 22, also included fighter jets and ground troops, according to AFP.

The U.S.-made Patriots successfully brought down an incoming target missile. 

“This is the first time Patriot missiles were launched before the eyes of the public ... to show our determination to safeguard Taiwan,” said President Chen Shui-bian.

Beijing, which considers Taiwan part of its territory, has 784 ballistic and 36 cruise missiles aimed at the island, Chen added. The missile count rises by 120 each year, he said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 20).

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