U.K. Does Not Act on Bioweapons Warning

The British government has failed to close a legal loophole that could allow online purchases of DNA sequences for pathogens that could be used as biological weapons, the London Guardian reported today (see GSN, June 14).

The Guardian in June exposed the availability of short DNA sequences of smallpox and other pathogens, which some scientists fear could be linked together to produce viruses. The investigation revealed that there is no requirement that the companies selling the DNA screen buyers or know what the sequence is.

The Trade and Industry Department failed to act following submission of several questions on the matter by Phil Willis, chairman of the House of Commons science and technology select committee. 

“I am incredulous that having exposed a serious flaw … the government should take such a cavalier attitude to dealing with that threat,” Willis said.

British Medical Research Council chief executive Colin Blakemore said in June “this is one area where legislation or new regulation might be appropriate.”

“What we are looking for is foolproof protection against highly unusual behavior and I don’t think that codes of conduct are the right way to approach that,” he said.

However, Trade and Industry Department chief Jim Fitzpatrick argued that existing legislation on terrorism, animal diseases and other matters adequately addresses the threat.

“There are no specific regulations that govern the sale, supply, or purchase of DNA sequences,” he said.

“The DTI is just being a little naive here, I think, in thinking ‘we are fine, we can pull up the drawbridge and no one will get to us,’” said Alistair Hay, a biological and chemical weapons expert at Leeds University (James Randerson, The Guardian, Aug. 1).

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Smallpox Vaccine Trial Results Called “Encouraging”

British vaccine maker Acambis PLC yesterday announced “encouraging” results from continuing testing of its experimental smallpox vaccine, Reuters reported (see GSN, July 25, 2005).

“With these Phase 2 clinical trial results, we achieve another milestone in our program to develop MVA3000. Both the safety and immunogenicity results are in line with our expectations about MVA3000, with the results from our Phase 1 trial of the vaccine and with previous data on other MVA vaccines,” the company said in a statement.

Acambis is seeking the U.S. contract for a weaker smallpox vaccine that could be used for the elderly or patients with compromised immune systems, according to Reuters.

Bavarian Nordic of Denmark is seeking the same contract (Reuters/Boston Globe, July 31).

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India Says Nuclear Sites Under Threat From Islamists

Indian Defense Minister Pranab Mukherjee yesterday warned that Pakistan-based Islamic militants were planning to attack India’s nuclear infrastructure, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 26).

Mukherjee said intelligence reports indicate that the al-Qaeda-linked group Lashkar-e-Tayabba was targeting nuclear facilities in India, along with military and religious sites.

“Necessary steps are being taken to protect our vital installations and other high-profile targets,” he said (Associated Press/Khaleej Times, July 31).

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Clock Ticking on Iran, U.S. Says

The United States and European Union nations are waiting to see whether Iran will obey a U.N. Security Council resolution approved yesterday demanding that the nation suspend all sensitive nuclear work by Aug. 31, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, July 31).

“The clock has begun to tick,” said U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton. “The ball is now clearly in Iran’s court. The choice is up to them.”

“I am quite confident that if this continues and if Aug. 31 there is not a positive answer, then we’ll be able to come to agreement on a next resolution under Article 41,” said U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, referring to possible economic and political sanctions if Iran does not comply with Resolution 1696.

“I’m also confident that we have very good cooperation with Russia and China on this issue,” she said. “I think this is a record of moving steadily ahead and I’m quite confident that when the time comes to the next step, we’ll move ahead again” (Tim Witcher, Agence France-Presse I/Yahoo!News, Aug. 1).

Rice added, however, that adoption of the resolution did not mean diplomatic efforts had ended, Reuters reported.

“The Iranians still have a six-party package on the table that could take this along another route but we have said repeatedly that if Iran was unwilling to make the choice to move on the path toward cooperation, the Security Council would have to act,” she said (Sue Pleming, Reuters/Yahoo!News, Aug. 1).

One U.S. official said the resolution “put the focus back on Iran,” the Washington Post reported today.

“The fighting in Lebanon had taken pressure off Iran’s nuclear program, and they were benefiting,” the official said.

Chinese and Russian officials said the purpose of the resolution was to persuade Tehran to resume talks, along with cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency, rather than to move toward sanctions (Colum Lynch, Washington Post, Aug. 1).

China today said the standoff should be resolved diplomatically, AFP reported.

“China hopes the ... resolution on Iran’s nuclear issue would serve the ongoing diplomatic efforts to settle the standoff,” said Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao. “China calls on all parties concerned to keep calm and exercise restraint, and continue to push forward (for an) early resumption of negotiations” (Agence France-Presse II, Aug. 1).

Iranian officials today expressed further outrage at the resolution, AFP reported.

“The Americans must be sure that Iran will not take part in a game which it will lose,” said Kazem Jalali, spokesman for parliament’s foreign affairs commission. “If there were to be a loser, it would be those who have shifted the Iranian nuclear issue away from dialogue” (Stefan Smith, Agence France-Presse III/Yahoo!News, Aug. 1).

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White House Opposes Changes to India Nuclear Deal

The Bush administration has said it opposes potential new congressional requirements to a civilian nuclear cooperation deal with India, the Indo-Asian News Service reported today (see GSN, July 31).

The White House announced in a statement last week that the July 2005 joint statement signed by President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should not be altered. 

“We have been working very closely with [Congress] so that they exercise those prerogatives in such a way, in the form of amendments or other types of things, so that the fundamental principles of the agreement with India are not touched so that you can move forward on this agreement,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday.

The House of Representatives last week, in approving legislation paving the way for the nuclear agreement, struck down amendments addressing India’s use of fissile material and its cooperation with Iran (see GSN, July 27). The full Senate has yet to consider its version of the legislation.

The Bush administration objects to requiring India to institute a fissile material production cap without similar pledges by regional nuclear powers China and Pakistan, the White House statement says. It adds that India is involved in multilateral fissile material cutoff treaty negotiations, making a cap unnecessary.

The statement also says that New Delhi should not be required to conform its policy on Iran to U.S. dictates.

“As a responsible member of the international community, India has supported our efforts to address Iran’s nuclear program, voting twice in the International Atomic Energy Agency Board of Governors to find Iran in noncompliance with IAEA safeguards and to report the issue to the U.N. Security Council,” the statement says.

“India has made the decision that it is in its own national security interest to oppose the development of Iran’s nuclear weapons program,” it adds (Indo-Asian News Service/Hindustan Times, Aug. 1).

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U.S. Lab Sells Computer Without Erasing Hard Drive

A Los Alamos National Laboratory computer sold at auction in 2005 still had information on its hard drive, another apparent security lapse at the New Mexico nuclear weapons research facility, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, June 12).

A report released yesterday by the Energy Department inspector general stated the documents left on the hard drive originated from a Los Alamos training facility and were not classified. The documents included individuals’ names, and budget and attendance information.

However, the matter should be taken seriously given the amount of classified information that is kept at the laboratory where the atomic bomb was first developed, the report stated. 

Los Alamos personnel did not obey protocol for preparing the computer for auction, the report found. The facility did not erase or remove the hard drive and was unable to locate documents certifying that the computer and seven others had been prepared for clearance.

It will never be known if the other seven computers were auctioned with their hard drives, according to Inspector General Gregory Friedman.

This is the latest in a series of computer security mishaps at Los Alamos, according to AP.

Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman earlier in July criticized the 10-month delay in informing 1,502 nuclear weapons personnel that a computer hacker had accessed their Social Security numbers and other personal information, AP reported.

“Recent events concerning the loss of personal information by government agencies have highlighted the need to protect sensitive information and take timely follow-up actions when that information may have been compromised,” Friedman wrote in a letter accompanying the July 26 report.

Los Alamos has increased training and reviews of equipment to be cleared, according to Los Alamos spokesman Steve Sandoval. “We have taken some short-term and long-term corrective actions,” he said (Jennifer Talhelm, Associated Press, Aug. 1).

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U.S. Plans On-Site Chemical Weapons Disposal Technology Testing at Blue Grass Army Depot

The U.S. Defense Department plans on-site testing of chemical weapons neutralization technology at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, despite a review panel’s call for fuller testing at another location, Defense Environment Review reported July 25 (see GSN, May 19, 2005).

The Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives program plans to conduct pilot-scale testing of supercritical water oxidation technology while a disposal facility is built at depot, an ACWA source says.

Full-scale testing would follow as the facility prepares to go online.

A National Research Council panel last month called for using a full-size site at another location to test for technology testing.

“The committee believes that, at the proposed flow rates, the full-size SCWO unit could have an unacceptably high level of technical risk because there is no mechanistic understanding of corrosion, hydriding, salt flow, and, in particular, the effect of fluid velocity in the reaction zone. The committee believes the level of technical risk would be acceptable for the near-full-scale SCWO unit at the flow rates demonstrating during testing,” the report states.

“The technical risk for the proposed full-size SCWO unit at the proposed flow rates could become acceptable if adequate additional testing is performed before the unit is used,” it adds.

The council’s recommendations, however, would drastically increase costs, according to the source. “We’d rather spend the money on the plant itself than for full-scale testing elsewhere,” the source said.

Moving chemical agent across state lines also could violate the international Chemical Weapons Convention, the source said. The source added that no full-scale site now exists which could perform the testing recommended by the National Research Council panel (Defense Environment Alert/Chemical Weapons Working Group, July 25).

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Mustard Leak Found at Chemical Depot

Workers at the Deseret Chemical Depot on Thursday discovered a storage container leaking mustard agent vapor, according to the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency (see GSN, July 20).

No vapor escaped the storage igloo, and the leak posed no danger to the public, the agency said in a press release.

Toxic chemical materials handlers moved the container from a storage igloo to another location, where it is expected to be fitted with new valves and plugs (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, July 31).

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North Korean Long-Range Missile Test Labeled Failure

Japanese and U.S. military analysts have concluded that North Korea’s long-range ballistic missile test early last month was a failure, Jiji Press reported yesterday (see GSN, July 25).

While Tokyo at first believed that the Taepodong 2 landed in the Sea of Japan after flying roughly 500 kilometers, experts have since concluded that the bulk of the missile crashed less than 100 kilometers from its launch pad. The Japanese Defense Agency believes the booster malfunctioned and the second-stage missile was prevented from separating, Jiji Press reported.

The other six rockets Pyongyang launched were Scud short-range and Nodong medium-range missiles, according to the analysis (Jiji Press, July 31).

The United States is considering re-imposing sweeping economic sanctions on North Korea in response to the Taepodong launch, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday.

“It’s one of the options that’s on the table,” said Molly Millerwise, a spokeswoman for Stuart Levey, U.S. treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

Meanwhile, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said there would be no military response to Pyongyang’s boycott of nuclear disarmament talks. He said the United States would focus on stopping North Korean counterfeiting of U.S. currency and preventing it from acquiring more missile technology.

“We’re going to do everything we can do to make it difficult for the North Koreans to do that,” he said (Agence France-Presse I/Yahoo!News, July 31).

Hill said Washington would collaborate with China to encourage North Korea to resume nuclear negotiations.

“We don’t want to consider this as a bilateral issue. We are going to do this multilaterally,” he said.

“As we go forward from here, we can work closely with the Chinese government to bring the North Koreans” back to talks, he added (Agence France-Presse II/Channel NewsAsia, July 31).

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Taiwan Conducts Two Missile Intercept Tests

Taiwan successfully intercepted two target missiles in test firings of its Patriot interceptors, Space & Missile Defense Report reported yesterday (see GSN, July 20).

Taiwan is bolstering its missile and anti-aircraft defenses in response to China’s growing missile arsenal, according to Space & Missile Defense Report (Space & Missile Defense Report, July 31).

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Rumsfeld Opposes Missile Defense Budget Cut

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld in a July 24 letter to U.S. lawmakers expressed his opposition to a $56 million congressional reduction to the fiscal 2007 missile defense budget, Inside the Army reported yesterday (see GSN, July 21).

The proposed cut would eliminate plans funding to establish a missile interceptor site in Europe, a move Rumsfeld called “particularly damaging.”

“In light of current world events, the department strongly opposes the proposed reduction in the missile defense program which would delay the fielding of critical defensive capabilities,” Rumsfeld stated in the letter to the heads of the House and Senate armed services committees. The “heartburn appeal” addresses White House concerns about defense authorization spending plans moving through Congress.

The reduction is expected to cause a 12- to 18-month delay “in deploying a defense capability for the United States against longer-range ballistic missile threats from Iran as well as protect our European friends and allies, and our U.S. forward deployed forces, from Iranian medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missile threats,” Rumsfeld wrote (Jason Sherman, Inside the Army, July 31).

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