U.S. Intel System Remains Troubled, House Says

Significant problems remain within the U.S. intelligence system, despite reform efforts that followed the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to a report issued yesterday by the House Select Intelligence Committee (see GSN, April 20).

Problem areas include information sharing between agencies and their sense of urgency about the threat about threats facing the country, the Associated Press re[ported.

The report also criticizes National Intelligence Director John Negroponte — whose office has overseen all 16 intelligence agencies for 15 months — for “trying to do a little of everything, which slows down improvements in key areas.” 

The intelligence chief needs to “create an environment in which agencies complement each other rather than compete against each other,” according to the report. That “is no easy task,” it said.

The 41-page review recommended that Negroponte create performance plans with the agencies and be more responsive to Congress. It noted, though, that intelligence agencies have used videoconference calls to improve information sharing, and that including information from second-tier agencies has improved intelligence reports for the White House and Congress.

“Some good, needed steps have been taken, while other reforms have lagged,” the report stated. “Some believe that the new structure is too cumbersome and bureaucratic; others believe that the director of national intelligence is not showing the leadership and degree of change for which they hoped.”

Negroponte’s office responded that it has “acted with urgency and focus” in revamping the intelligence community that faced widespread criticism for failure preceding the 2001 attacks.

Negroponte also released a nine-page report addressing the steps his office took in its first year to improve the collection and sharing of information, AP reported.

The intelligence community “has made critical improvements to the security of the United States of America,” his report stated. It also noted that the agencies “met considerable success” and have “clear plans for moving forward.”

Negroponte’s office said the House report “acknowledges the complexity and importance of the task before us.”

“Similarly, we recognize that change does not come easily to large enterprises and that we must continue to aggressively work to fulfill the mandate of the intelligence reform legislation,” Negroponte’s office said in a statement (Associated Press/USA Today, July 27).

Back to top

U.S. Needs More Work to Trace Nuke Blasts, Experts Say

By Jon Fox
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — The interagency network responsible for defending the United States against nuclear terrorism is compiling a global database of nuclear “fingerprints” in an effort to trace fissile material to a source in the event of a nuclear attack, a senior Homeland Security Department official said yesterday (see GSN, June 21).

The effort began in 1995, said Vayl Oxford, head of the agency’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office.

The project fits into what experts call the government’s attribution capabilities, the ability to link a bomb’s nuclear signature to the facility that produced the weapon.

Attribution technology is an element in both deterring attacks and in bringing perpetrators to justice, but experts told a Senate subcommittee on terrorism yesterday that U.S. abilities in that sector are a potential weak spot in the nation’s nuclear defenses.

The current effort to fill gaps in U.S. nuclear intelligence involves a number of agencies, including the FBI and the Defense, Energy and Homeland Security departments. Ultimately, it will include cooperation from foreign governments, Oxford said.

He called the global initiative against nuclear terrorism, announced by U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month, a major step forward (see GSN, July 19). Still, Oxford was reluctant to gauge just how far the government has come in its more than 10-year effort.

“It’s hard to put a metric to this,” he said.

Discussion of attribution technology in open sources and public forums is limited, and detailed outlines of U.S. capabilities are shrouded behind a wall of classification.

At the hearing before the Senate Judiciary Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security Subcommittee, however, nongovernmental nuclear terrorism experts identified lagging attribution abilities as a serious issue.

“That is a deep problem,” said Fred Ikle, a scholar with the Center for Strategic and International Studies and former defense undersecretary under President Ronald Reagan.

Ikle’s remarks on the topic were limited given the classified nature of the topic, but his comments to Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) — the only subcommittee member present — suggested the matter warrants significant attention.

“I don’t know if your committee wants a closed hearing sometime, but that is a big problem area,” Ikle said. “That’s all I can say now.”

The concept behind robust attribution technologies is somewhat analogous to defense strategies of deterrence during the Cold War. The Soviet Union knew the United States had missiles that would launch in response to a nuclear attack — thus theoretically reducing the likelihood of a nuclear exchange.

To deter nations from transferring fissile material or nuclear weapons to a nonstate terrorist group, the United States is developing attribution technology that would enable Washington to track the material back to its origins — even after a blast — thus creating the threat of major U.S. counterstrike.

Experts, however, have said that accurate attribution could be very difficult, and the government has been nearly silent about its capabilities.

Kyl said he hoped the status of U.S. technology could soon emerge from behind the classified curtain.

“If you have that capability, it’s one you probably want to announce in advance,” he said. “Whoever you are thinking about doing it, just like the FBI and the fingerprints, we will find you because we know what each of you have. It would be nice to be able to use that as a deterrent.”

The belief that the United States has credible attribution abilities is a core element in deterring nuclear terrorism, said Steven Aoki, deputy energy secretary for counterterrorism.

Yet despite its importance, “a lot of hard work remains in fleshing out both the technical and policy dimensions of attribution,” he said in his prepared testimony.

A limited release of information on U.S. capabilities could be beneficial, said Michael Levi, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He suggested a measured dose of information in technical journals that would indicate how far the United States has come.

The technique is similar to what India and Pakistan did to indicate movement on their nuclear programs, he said. Those nations, he said, released results in technical journals and studies of experiments indicating they had the technology to separate plutonium, thereby implying the ability to manufacture nuclear weaons.

“I have encouraged DOE scientists to try to look at doing something similar, publishing enough to get the other guy worried but not enough that he can evade your defense,” Levi said.

He said a complete picture of global nuclear signatures is lacking. “The biggest shortfall right now is having fingerprints to match to whatever we find.”

Levi also leveled a sharp critique of interagency communication. “I don’t hold a clearance, but I have been told there is poor sharing in some important cases between critical parts of the U.S. government” regarding attribution, he said.

Communication between DNDO, the Energy Department and the Central Intelligence Agency on the subject of attribution has been difficult, Levi said later.

Oxford rejected Levi’s criticism following the hearing. The branches of government tasked with defending against nuclear terrorism are in close contact, he said, citing members of other agencies on loan to his staff.

Back to top

U.N. Powers Inch Closer to Iran Resolution

Diplomats said yesterday that world powers moved toward agreeing on wording for a U.N. Security Council resolution addressing Iran’s nuclear activities, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 27).

The draft was sent to national capitals for consideration, according to AFP, and ambassadors were deliberating this morning whether to submit it to Security Council members. One diplomat said a vote could come next week.

Meanwhile, China expressed anger over a “watered-down” statement on the death of four U.N. peacekeepers in Lebanon during an Israeli strike this week. Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Wang Guangya warned that U.S. refusal to criticize Israel could have a “negative impact” on the Iran document and other U.N. matters (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 27).

U.S. Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency Gregory Schulte said yesterday that the conflict in Lebanon focused attention on Tehran’s support for Hezbollah and indicated the threat posed by Iran should it produce the bomb.

“Maybe [the conflict] is taking the focus a little bit off the nuclear issue right now. But I think it has put increased focus on Iran and the implications of its behavior,” Schulte said, according to Reuters.

A nuclear-armed Iran might lead to a Middle East arms race, Schulte said.

“These are the countries that are within range of the Shahab 3 missile force,” he said (Reuters, July 27).

Former Russian Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeny Adamov said Wednesday that Iran is probably considering development of nuclear arms.

“It is my deep conviction that Iran, being in the environment it is, in the conditions it is in, must be thinking … about having the weapons,” Adamov told Ekho Moskvy radio.

“It has more than enough people with a good education, not a Soviet one — under the shah they were taught in the best universities of Europe and the United States, among others,” he said. “Therefore they have an excellent basis and … if they, indeed, set themselves a task of this kind, they are well capable of accomplishing it within three to five years” (Ekho Moskvy radio/BBC Monitoring, July 26).

Back to top

U.S., India Could Finish Nuclear Pact in September

India and the United States could conclude negotiations on the bilateral civil nuclear agreement by September, the Press Trust of India reported today (see GSN, July 27).

“It is the intention of the two countries that the agreement … be concluded by September and efforts are being made in this direction,” a diplomatic source said yesterday.

The two nations have completed “60 percent” of their negotiations in two rounds of talks. Another session is expected to begin soon.

India is also moving forward in talks on the deal with the International Atomic Energy Agency and the Nuclear Suppliers Group, PTI reported.

“We are optimistic that we will see progress,” said Geoffrey Pyatt, an official at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. India has been “very effective in its outreach to the IAEA and NSG,” Pyatt said. He added that the crucial Nuclear Suppliers Group nations have come to support the agreement after previously expressing doubts (Press Trust of India/Hindustan Times, July 28).

Meanwhile, the Bush administration is pressing the Senate to pass legislation that would allow the deal to move forward. The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved its version of the bill.

“I want to applaud the House of Representatives for passing an important piece of legislation when it comes to America’s relationship with India,” President George W. Bush said yesterday in a speech.

“The president urges the Senate to act expeditiously to pass companion legislation to enable this important initiative to become a reality,” White House spokesman Tony Snow said in a statement. “This initiative … advances U.S. nonproliferation objectives by bringing India into the international nonproliferation mainstream” (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 27).

Back to top

North Korea Refuses Nuclear Talks, Stays Away From Regional Security Meeting at ASEAN

North Korea today again rejected international calls to resume multilateral talks on its nuclear and missile programs, reiterating its position that the United States must first drop financial sanctions, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 27).

“The U.S. says it’s difficult to lift the financial sanctions, but there is nothing difficult. If the U.S. wants to, it can do it easily,” said North Korean spokesman Chong Song Il. “We believe if the U.S. earnestly wants dialogue, it can do this.”

Chong also berated the United Nations for a resolution it adopted condemning Pyongyang’s missile tests earlier this month.

“The missile launches were part of a routine military exercise and a self-defense project,” he said. “It’s brigandish for the U.N. Security Council to take issue with this.”

North Korea’s delegation to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations forum in Malaysia also boycotted today’s security talks among top diplomats, including U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her counterparts from Asian powers, AP reported.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, also in attendance, said Pyongyang’s diplomatic isolation was clear.

“They are completely isolated,” he said. “If it’s isolation they want, it’s going to be isolation they get.”

Foreign ministers from Australia, Canada, China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, South Korea and Russia joined Rice at the security discussion (Christopher Torchia, Associated Press/ABCNews.com, July 28).

Back to top

U.S. Lawmakers Try to Block F-16 Sales to Pakistan

U.S. Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.) yesterday introduced legislation that would block the sale of F-16 fighter aircraft to Pakistan unless President George W. Bush certifies that Islamabad has halted construction on a new heavy-water reactor, Reuters reported (see GSN, July 21).

“If this arms sale goes through, we will only be putting additional fuel on the fire of an Indian-Pakistan nuclear arms race,” Markey said.

If Congress does not pass a resolution of disapproval by this weekend, Bush would be authorized to deliver up to 36 F-16 C/D models and related gear to Pakistan.

However, Congress would still be able to block the sale “up to the point of delivery,” which could take a period of years, said Richard Grimmett, an arms expert at the Congressional Research Service.

Representative Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) has also introduced legislation to stop the deal. He cited fears of technology leaks to China (Jim Wolf, Reuters, July 27).

China said yesterday that its nuclear cooperation did not involve support for Islamabad’s weapons program, the Press Trust of India reported.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said Beijing was “aware of the report” documenting the reactor project, which reportedly could produce 200 kilograms or more of weapon-grade plutonium annually when finished (see GSN, July 25).

Asked whether China had assisted the work, Liu reiterated that Beijing’s nuclear cooperation with Islamabad involved exclusively civilian projects conducted under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards (Press Trust of India/onlinenews.com.pak, July 28).

Back to top

CDC Clears VX Waste Transport, Disposal Plan

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has signed off on U.S. Army plans to ship VX nerve agent disposal waste from Indiana to New Jersey, where it would be processed and dumped into the Delaware River, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Jun 13).

The Army has already begun neutralizing VX stored in bulk containers at the Newport Chemical Depot. Its plan to ship hydrolysate wastewater produced by neutralization to a DuPont facility in Deepwater, N.J., sufficiently addresses the risks involved with transportation and treatment of the agent, according to a CDC report issued yesterday. The federal health agency said it “has no critical technical issues in the Army going forth with its plan.”

The report also states that the Environmental Protection Agency found that the Army had adequately considered ecological concerns related to the plan.

New Jersey Representatives Robert Andrews (D) and Frank LoBiondo (R) said the report did not deem the Army’s plan completely flawless. Andrews said the report’s findings were based on “the rosiest of scenarios, the best-case assumption.”

“Residents are scared out of their wits. We have to thoroughly examine every aspect of this,” LoBiondo said.

Col. Jesse Barber, project manager for the Army Chemical Materials Agency’s Chemical Stockpile Elimination Project, lauded the report.

“We will continue to destroy the nation’s chemical stockpile in a manner that is safe to the American public and will not adversely impact the environment,” Barber said.

CDC and EPA officials made a few recommendations for the Army prior to the execution of the plan, calling for assessments of the byproduct’s impact on fish in Delaware River. The agencies also proposed that the Army research the long-term effects of storage on the byproduct.

The start of shipments remains on hold until at least February while the Government Accountability Office completes its own assessment of the plan.

The Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility to date has destroyed about 20 percent of the 250,000 gallons of the Cold War-era agent stored at the depot. Under the Chemical Weapons Convention, all U.S. chemical weapons must be destroyed by April 2012, though Washington has acknowledged that it does not expect to meet that deadline (see GSN, April 18; Associated Press/Los Angeles Times, June 22).

Back to top

U.S. Accuses Indian Firms of Missile Sales to Iran

U.S. officials said yesterday the Bush administration plans to sanction two Indian firms for transfers of “dual-use items related to missiles” to Iran (see GSN, July 25).

“We are going to report to Congress about transactions by two private Indian companies with Iran” under the U.S. Iran-Syria Nonproliferation Act, one official told Reuters.

The administration is required to report violations of the law to Congress every six months, Reuters reported, though sanctions are applied at the discretion of the White House. Details of the sanctions to be imposed against the Indian firms were not disclosed.

A U.S. official said the administration attempted to inform Congress about the sanctions before the House voted Wednesday on legislation to implement a U.S.-Indian civilian nuclear technology sharing agreement (see GSN, July 27).

However, a congressional aide said he did not learn of the report until yesterday.

“Clearly they were waiting for the House to vote on the nuclear agreement,” the aide said. He said lawmakers, had they known of the development, might have deferred that vote until India was pressed for more cooperation on curtailing Iran’s controversial nuclear program (Carol Giacomo, Reuters, July 27).

Back to top

Cheyenne Mountain to go on ‘Warm Standby’

The Cheyenne Mountain airspace and missile defense complex in Colorado is scheduled to be shut down within two years, the Denver Post reported yesterday (see GSN, May 1).

Adm. Tim Keating, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command, said the massive underground operation center would be shifted to Peterson Air Force Base, which is already home to the U.S. Northern Command. He said 230 surveillance staff would be relocated, along with other support personnel.

Intelligence “leads us to believe a missile attack from China or Russia is very unlikely,” Keating said. More pressing threats, such as suicide bombers, have emerged, he said.

“We don’t need to maintain Cheyenne Mountain in a 24/7 status. We can put it on ‘warm standby,’” Keating said. 

He wants to maintain the upkeep of the complex in hopes that it could be brought online within an hour if needed, the Post reported (Bruce Finley, Denver Post, July 27).

Back to top

Japan to Request Early PAC-3 Deployments

Senior Japanese officials are expected to visit Washington next month to seek early delivery of U.S. Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missile interceptors, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, July 20).

However, the need for additional PAC-3 batteries in the Middle East and other regions might leave Washington unable to comply with that request, Japan’s daily Mainichi reported. Japan is now scheduled to buy the interceptors and install them by March 2007 at a base near Tokyo.

Tokyo also plans to ask for deployment of another U.S. Aegis destroyer carrying Standard Missile 3 interceptors, in addition to one the United States already plans to send next month, the report says (Chisake Watanabe, Associated Press, July 28).

Back to top

Two Radioactive Sources Found in Georgia

Georgian authorities and the International Atomic Energy Agency have recovered two potentially lethal radioactive devices in the alpine region of the former Soviet state, the U.N. nuclear watchdog announced yesterday (see GSN, June 17, 2003).

The devices were secured in the first three days of an effort to find such abandoned radioactive sources in Georgia. Georgian Environment Ministry and IAEA personnel discovered a powerful source in a dirt pile in an old factory in the village of Iri. They located a smaller device in a container of nuts and bolts in a house in the village of Likhaura. A family bedroom was on the other side of a thin, wooden wall.

Both sources were cesium 137, which is used commonly in industry to find flaws in materials and for measurements, according to an IAEA release. “New, powerful, backpack-mounted instrumentation with which the search team was equipped helped reveal and locate both sources,” the release said.

Team members said absence of available records prevented them from determining the sources’ origins. The first source might have been missed when the factory shut down. The second source was probably found and taken to the house. Both radioactive sources should have been stored in shielded containers.

Roughly 300 radioactive sources have been retrieved in Georgia since the mid-1990s. At least one death and numerous injuries to the public have been attributed to exposure to the sources (International Atomic Energy Agency release, July 27).

Back to top