Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, shown in June, yesterday reaffirmed Iran’s intention to continue its uranium enrichment activities (Getty Images). Iran Turns Away IAEA Inspectors On the eve of plans to formally reply to a Western offer to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis, Tehran has refused to allow international inspectors to visit a sensitive nuclear site, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Aug. 18). Diplomats and U.N. officials said Iran had denied access to International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors seeking to visit the controversial Natanz facility, home to Iran’s uranium enrichment activities. The move was an apparent violation of Iran’s obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, according to the sources (George Jahn, Associated Press I/Houston Chronicle, Aug. 21)...Full Story

South Korea Increases Nuclear Monitoring South Korea last week increased efforts to detect and monitor a potential nuclear test explosion by North Korea, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 18)...Full Story

Hussein Genocide Trial Begins Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein refused to enter a plea today as he went on trial for the deaths of tens of thousands of Kurds, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Aug. 18)...Full Story

	Monday, August 21, 2006

Kazakhstan Vows Continued Nonproliferation Support Kazakhstan plans to expand its biological weapon nonproliferation measures, Kazakh officials told U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) during his visit Saturday to the capital city of Astana (see GSN, Feb. 7). The officials, led by Kazakh Security Council secretary Marat Tazhin, said Kazakhstan would establish a disease surveillance system in part by building and updating diagnostic facilities, upgrade security measures at biological sites, and expand cooperative research efforts with U.S. scientists (see GSN, Dec. 10, 2004). Tazhin reaffirmed Kazakhstan’s support for other nonproliferation programs as well, citing past progress in eliminating the nuclear weapons inherited from the Soviet Union, converting military programs to civilian purposes, improving export controls (see GSN, Dec. 15, 2005) and meeting international standards for tracking nuclear activities (see GSN, Oct. 11, 2005; Kazinform, Aug. 19). Back to top       WMD Material Found in Hong Kong Flower Container Materials found last week in Hong Kong that could be used in a nuclear or chemical weapons program were intended for shipment to Iran, the Ming Pao newspaper reported (see GSN, Aug. 7). A report led authorities to a box sitting in a flower tub in the Kai Yip Housing Estate. Police found box held two packets containing a white powder and two bottles of a liquid. A shipping company delivery bill, attached to the box, indicated the material was supposed to have been sent to Iran eight months ago, Ming Pao reported. Police have not identified the materials. However, a reporter saw “KHF2” written on both powder packets. KHF2 is the chemical formula for potassium bifluoride, a corrosive that could be used as a nerve gas precursor agent. It could also be used as a component in the extraction of plutonium, Ming Pao reported (Ming Pao, Aug. 18). Back to top

Iran Turns Away IAEA Inspectors On the eve of plans to formally reply to a Western offer to resolve the Iranian nuclear crisis, Tehran has refused to allow international inspectors to visit a sensitive nuclear site, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Aug. 18). Diplomats and U.N. officials said Iran had denied access to International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors seeking to visit the controversial Natanz facility, home to Iran’s uranium enrichment activities. The move was an apparent violation of Iran’s obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, according to the sources (George Jahn, Associated Press I/Houston Chronicle, Aug. 21). Meanwhile, Iranian officials have indicated that they will not comply with a U.N. Security Council demand to suspend the nation’s uranium enrichment program.  An incentives package offered by leading European nations and the United States hinges on such a suspension, and Iran has promised to formally reply to the offer tomorrow. While the official response to the offer “will be multidimensional,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said yesterday, “suspension of uranium enrichment is not on our agenda” (Reuters I/Los Angeles Times, Aug. 21). Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reaffirmed Iran’s plans today. “The Islamic Republic of Iran has made its decision and, in the issue of nuclear energy, will continue its path powerfully … and it will receive the sweet fruits of its efforts,” he said (Edmund Blair, Reuters II, Aug. 21). “Arrogant powers and the U.S. are putting their utmost pressure on Iran while knowing Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons,” he added (Nasser Karimi, Associated Press II/Forbes.com, Aug. 21). Tehran’s refusal to allow IAEA inspectors into Natanz reflects escalating tensions between the two parties. Iran has formally complained about one agency investigator, claiming the person acted “outside the responsibilities of an inspector,” said a Western diplomat close to the agency. The dispute apparently centers on remarks made by the inspector and alleged spying activity, Agence France-Presse reported Saturday. In addition, Iran had “withdrawn the designations” of two additional inspectors earlier this year, according to the diplomat and a second source close to the agency. “Iranians are posing a lot of problems to inspectors,” said a third diplomat (Michael Adler, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Aug. 19). Back to top       South Korea Increases Nuclear Monitoring South Korea last week increased efforts to detect and monitor a potential nuclear test explosion by North Korea, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 18). The South Korean military on Aug. 14 placed six staffers at a state-operated seismology facility to search for any signs of a nuclear test, according to a defense official. “It is not linked to the U.S. media reports but we have been on an around-the-clock vigilance on North Korea’s nuclear activities since July,” the official said. ABC News reported Thursday that U.S. officials believe Pyongyang might be preparing for a nuclear test (Agence France-Presse I/Yahoo!News, Aug. 20). U.S. President George W. Bush on Friday refused to respond directly to the news report, but said a North Korean nuclear test would be a strong sign of its questionable intentions, The Press Trust of India reported. “It’s a hypothetical question,” Bush said. “You’re asking me to divulge any intelligence information I have, and I’m not going to do that, as you know.” “If North Korea were to conduct a test, it’s just a constant reminder for people in the neighborhood that North Korea poses a threat, and we expect our friends and those sitting around the table with us to act in such a manner as to help rid the world of that threat” (The Press Trust of India, Aug. 19). A Russian military expert said he believes North Korea is capable of conducting a nuclear test, Interfax reported. “The KGB reported back in the 1980s that North Korea had several nuclear charges but did not test them for political reasons and the fear of sanctions. That is why we should have no doubts that North Korea can carry out an underground nuclear explosion,” said Maj. Gen. Vladimir Dvorkin. “Most likely, this is a kind of a nuclear charge but not a missile warhead or an air bomb. It would take Pyongyang a rather long time to develop them,” he said. A nuclear test would bring an even stronger reaction from the world community than did Pyongyang’s missile tests last month, Dvorkin said. “After the world reacted negatively to the North Korean missile tests, one can predict with confidence that very tough sanctions would be imposed on that country by the U.N. Security Council. It would be difficult for Russia and China to object to this decision,” he added. Also, “the possibility of U.S. unilateral precise strikes on North Korean nuclear and missile facilities using conventional weapons would grow,” Dvorkin said (Interfax, Aug. 20). Meanwhile, Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qadhafi has been pressing North Korea to relinquish its WMD programs, AFP reported Friday. Qadhafi met last week with Japanese Science and Technology Policy Minister Iwao Matsuda, who lauded Tripoli’s 2003 renunciation of weapons of mass destruction. “In response, leader Qadhafi said … he has been calling on North Korea and other nations of concern to follow Libya’s example,” according to a Japanese Foreign Ministry statement. “He said further cooperation from industrialized nations is necessary for such efforts to be effective” (Agence France-Presse, Aug. 18). Back to top       U.S. Reclassifies Decades-Old Nuclear Weapons Data Bush administration officials have recently removed data from previously open historical documents describing U.S. strategic nuclear weapon deployments during the Cold War, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, April 26). The move reflects a trend toward secrecy adopted by the White House following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, according to the Post. Specifically, the Energy and Defense departments have reclassified the numbers of deployed weapons detailed in official reports from the 1960s and 1970s. The move was revealed in a report from the National Security Archive, a nonprofit watchdog group based at George Washington University. “The Pentagon is now trying to keep secret numbers of strategic weapons that have never been classified before,” said report editor Willam Burr. “It would be difficult to find more dramatic examples of unjustifiable secrecy than these decisions.” The United States has shared far more detailed information with the Soviet Union and later Russia in information exchanges required by the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks and Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties, the Post reported. “I would say the horse is out of the barn and they are only making themselves look ridiculous,” said Cold War historian Robert Norris of the Natural Resources Defense Council. “At someone’s direction, declassification reviewers have gotten carried away and are applying the rather vague and open-ended guidelines to the point of absurdity.” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Patrick Ryder told the Post that the department would explore why the information was blacked out (Christopher Lee, Washington Post, Aug. 21). Back to top

Hussein Genocide Trial Begins Former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein refused to enter a plea today as he went on trial for the deaths of tens of thousands of Kurds, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Aug. 18). As he did during his first trial, Hussein defied the authority of the Iraqi High Tribunal to judge him and six former members of his regime. “This is the law of the occupation,” Hussein said when told by Chief Judge Abdullah al-Amiri that the defendants were legally required to identify themselves for the trial record. “This trial is on charges of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Are you innocent or guilty,” al-Amiri said. “That would require volumes of books,’ Hussein replied. Al-Amiri ordered that a plea of innocent be filed on Hussein’s behalf. An innocent plea was also ordered for Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as “Chemical Ali.” The remaining defendants pleaded innocent on their own, AP reported. Hussein and the other defendants are charged with directing the deaths of Iraqi Kurds during the 1987-1988 Anfal campaign. “It’s time for humanity to know … the magnitude and scale of the crimes committed against the people of Kurdistan,” said lead prosecutor Munqith al-Faroon. “Entire villages were razed to the ground, as if killing the people wasn’t enough,” he said. “Wives waited for their husbands, families waited for their children to return — to no avail.” The judges in this case are not to consider the 1988 chemical attack that killed 5,000 Kurds in the town of Halabja. The High Tribunal plans to conduct a separate inquiry on that incident (Rawya Rageh, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Aug. 21). The Hussein regime used blister and nerve agents against 20 to 25 Kurdish villages in 1988, the New York Times reported today. “I was totally blinded. I couldn’t see anything,” said Robitan Hama Amin of a March 22, 1988, strike on the village of Sewsenan. “Everybody tried to escape.  People vomited. Their skin burned.  Some people lost their minds.” “I’d like to put a rope around the neck of Saddam Hussein myself and drag him through all the Kurdish villages,” he added (Edward Wong, New York Times, Aug. 21). Back to top       Tooele Begins Final Chemical Disposal Campaign The Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Utah on Friday began the last phase of disposal of toxic agents stored at the Deseret Chemical Depot, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Aug. 10). Elimination of more than 6,200 tons of mustard agent now filling munitions and storage containers is expected to last six to 10 years. Work is beginning with draining and destruction of 1-ton bulk containers, AP reported. Weapons disposal began in 1996 at Deseret, which once contained the largest portion of the U.S. chemical arsenal (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Aug. 21). Back to top

Poland Still Interested in U.S. Missile Defenses Poland remains open to hosting components of a U.S. missile defense system, despite news accounts to the contrary, but no detailed discussion have been held between the two nations, a senior Polish official said Saturday (see GSN, Aug. 11). “Explanatory talks were held between April and July,” Deputy Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski told the Polish news agency PAP (see GSN, May 23).  Waszczykowski was seeking to rebut a story published earlier Saturday in the Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita, which reported that Polish delays were pushing the United States toward selecting the Czech Republic to serve as the site for a European missile defense base (see GSN, Aug. 8).  He disagreed with the newspaper reporting that progress in U.S.-Czech talks was intended to place pressure on Polish officials to accede to U.S. demands. “There is no question of the Polish side having dragged out these talks or put them off,” Waszczykowski said (PAP, Aug. 19). Meanwhile, Czech officials said substantive progress has been made in discussions with Washington. In particular, the United States has agreed that Czech laws would apply to a U.S. base and its personnel, according to a Foreign Ministry statement. “The base locality would not be exempted from the Czech Republic’s jurisdiction and … the immunity of the personnel of the military facilities would be under the Czech Republic’s jurisdiction,” the statement says (CTK, Aug. 18). Back to top

Markey Blasts Delays in Radiation Pill Distribution U.S. Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.) on Friday sent a letter to the White House criticizing delays in distribution of pills designed to protect people from radiation released during a terrorist attack or meltdown at a nuclear power plant, The Boston Herald reported (see GSN, Oct. 11, 2005). “We know that al-Qaeda has long considered nuclear power plants to be a potential target for future attacks,” Markey wrote. “It is now long past time for the final guidelines for potassium iodide stockpiling and distribution to be finished.” The 2002 Bioterrorism Preparedness and Response Act required the federal government to set up guidelines within one year for stockpiling and distribution of the pills to residents who live within 20 miles of any U.S. nuclear reactor. The guidelines have yet to be finished, according to Markey’s letter. “How many more lessons do we have to learn?” said Mary Lampert, spokeswoman for Pilgrim Watch, a watchdog group for the Pilgrim reactor in Massachusetts. “Hopefully, after (Hurricane) Katrina we would move in a proactive way on emergency planning and not wait until after the disaster has occurred and people have suffered.” The White House Management and Budget Office has been considering the guidelines since February of this year, Markey said. Potassium iodide helps prevent the thyroid from absorbing cancer-causing radioactive iodine, an expected component of material that would be released in a containment failure at a nuclear power plant (Dave Wedge, The Boston Herald, Aug. 19).   Back to top

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