Indian Prime Minster Manmohan Singh yesterday told U.S. President George Bush of difficulties surrounding the nations’ nuclear trade agreement (Getty Images). U.S.-Indian Nuclear Trade Deal in Jeopardy, Singh Says Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signaled for the first time yesterday that a nuclear trade deal with the United States could be in serious jeopardy of permanently stalling, the Washington Post reported (see GSN, Oct. 12). In a phone call yesterday with U.S. President George W. Bush, Singh said that “certain difficulties have arisen with respect to the operationalization of the India-U.S. civil nuclear cooperation agreement,” according to a press release issued by Singh’s office (Wright/Lakshmi, Washington Post, Oct. 16)...Full Story

France Fails to Sell EU Sanctions Against Iran French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner waged an unsuccessful attempt yesterday to persuade the 27 EU nations to enact new sanctions against Iran separately from a possible new U.N. Security Council resolution intended to pressure Tehran to halt its uranium enrichment activities, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Oct. 15)...Full Story

North Korea Must Give up Plutonium, U.S. Says North Korea must give up its stockpile of 50 kilograms of plutonium if it hopes to see additional benefits from denuclearization pledges made this year, the lead U.S. negotiator said today (see GSN, Oct. 15)...Full Story

	Tuesday, October 16, 2007

U.S. Senate Panel Approves Terror Insurance Deal By Bill Swindell CongressDaily WASHINGTON —     The Senate Banking Committee has reached a deal on legislation to reauthorize the federal government's terrorism risk insurance program for seven years, but it does not include language that would require carriers to make available coverage for a nuclear, biological, chemical or radiological attack (see GSN, Sept. 20). The agreement represents a culmination of months of wrangling between committee Chairman Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.), an industry ally who has called for a permanent extension of the program created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and ranking member Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), who has been wary of any expansion because of potential liability for the federal government.   The draft would give Dodd a lengthy expansion and pits him against a White House that seeks a temporary extension. The administration would like to eventually phase out the program and transfer the risk back to the private market.  The House-passed bill would extend it for 15 years. For Shelby, the draft would not include the House proposal to expand the bill by requiring coverage of a nuclear, biological, chemical or radiological attack.  That provision was strongly backed by the real estate industry and some large insurers, which argue that it is essential to have such coverage because the private market cannot underwrite such risks. “We certainly hope that moving forward in its final passage there will be some way of addressing that NBCR gap that exists,” said Marty Depoy, coordinator of the steering committee for the Coalition to Insure Against Terrorism, which represents policyholders such as retailers and hotel owners. But it was opposed by the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America and the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies that argued its inclusion would result in massive risk exposures for smaller companies that could not afford such liabilities. “This has been an uphill battle to convince members of Congress of the need to eliminate this provision to allow medium and smaller insurance companies to participate in the program,” said Marliss Browder, senior federal affairs director for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. Many lobbyists noted that no group got everything it wanted in the draft, but most did not walk away empty-handed. “The real estate sector and our financial markets cannot afford any dislocation and risk to credit.  This is a positive step toward reaching a sustainable solution that will provide certainty in the market and protect our economy,” said Brendan Reilly, senior vice president of government relations for the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association. The draft would keep the program's trigger at its current level of $100 million; the House bill lowered it to $50 million — a provision that benefited smaller carriers.  Like the House bill, the draft includes expansion coverage for acts of domestic terrorism.  It also would not include group life coverage — a priority for life insurers.  That provision was attached to the House bill. “We circle back and strategize for our best possible chances for conference, reconnecting with our strong group life supporters particularly in the House,” said Maurice Perkins, vice president for federal relations for the American Council of Life Insurers. Back to top

U.S.-Indian Nuclear Trade Deal in Jeopardy, Singh Says Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signaled for the first time yesterday that a nuclear trade deal with the United States could be in serious jeopardy of permanently stalling, the Washington Post reported (see GSN, Oct. 12). In a phone call yesterday with U.S. President George W. Bush, Singh said that “certain difficulties have arisen with respect to the operationalization of the India-U.S. civil nuclear cooperation agreement,” according to a press release issued by Singh’s office (Wright/Lakshmi, Washington Post, Oct. 16). Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee delivered a similar message to U.S. Ambassador David Mulford yesterday in New Delhi, Agence France-Presse reported. Singh’s assessment followed meetings by his administration last week with Indian communist parties that have threatened to withdraw their support from Singh’s Congress party-led government if the bilateral pact proceeds (see GSN, Oct. 11).  The parties indicated that they would force early elections if Singh took steps to implement the agreement.  In the end, Singh decided that domestic political stability was more important than acquiring U.S. nuclear technology, said one analyst. “For Congress allies, the nuclear deal is not an issue on which elections can be fought and won, though it would have improved India's image abroad,” said political analyst Rasheed Kidwai.  “They are more interested in issues that the electorate are bothered about” (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Oct. 16) The deal, first announced in 2005 (see GSN, July 19, 2005) and finalized earlier this year (see GSN, Aug. 3), would give India access to U.S. nuclear materials and technology in exchange for placing the nation’s entire civilian nuclear program under international supervision. Such trade has been barred for decades by U.S. and international nonproliferation rules that deny the sale of key nuclear technologies to nations that do not belong to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty or do not allow monitoring of all their nuclear activities. The United States altered its nonproliferation rules last year to exempt India from these rules (see GSN, Dec. 18, 2006), but the trade deal remains contingent upon New Delhi receiving a similar exemption from the international rules set by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group and negotiating a nuclear safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. In Washington, U.S. officials expressed hope that the agreement could be salvaged one day. “This [is an] arrangement that is a positive one and a good one for the United States, for India and for the broader efforts of nonproliferation,” State Department spokesman Tom Casey said yesterday in a daily press briefing. “I'm not going to try and tell the Indians how to manage their own internal process on this,” he added.  “We certainly think this is again an arrangement that's positive for both countries and the broader international community and we'd like to see it done as soon as possible, but that's within the context of what each country has to do and has to accomplish” (U.S. State Department release, Oct. 16). While the agreement has no specific timetables written into it, both nations have felt pressure to implement the deal before U.S. congressional and presidential elections in 2008.  After that, a new president might not place the same priority on the issue as Bush has, the Post reported. “The administration sees India as part of its legacy and is loathe to see (the deal) go down the drain,” said nonproliferation expert Robert Einhorn of the Center for Strategic and International Studies.  “I would guess they want to low-key this in the hope that it’s only a temporary setback.” Another U.S. specialist agreed. “I would not say the deal is dead.  It’s in the hospital in intensive care,” said Daryl Kimball, head of the Arms Control Association.  “The reason it’s in intensive care is that there is a tight timeline that the U.S. and India have to keep to follow through on all the steps” (Wright/Lakshmi, Washington Post). Back to top       France Fails to Sell EU Sanctions Against Iran French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner waged an unsuccessful attempt yesterday to persuade the 27 EU nations to enact new sanctions against Iran separately from a possible new U.N. Security Council resolution intended to pressure Tehran to halt its uranium enrichment activities, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Oct. 15). Following the meeting of EU foreign ministers, Kouchner said that France would consider placing unilateral sanctions on Iran if the Security Council does not agree to a new round of sanctions by the end of 2007. “We could at that moment develop more individual, national sanctions,” Kouchner said. Russia and China have not said whether they would support new economic or political Security Council sanctions on Iran next month if inspectors for the U.N. nuclear watchdog and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana report making little progress in negotiations with the country. A statement issued by the foreign ministers said the European Union “will consider what addition measures it might take” after the negotiators issue their reports in November.  New sanctions could include blocking foreign investors from supporting Iranian businesses. Referring to the ongoing debate over how to push Iran to halt its disputed nuclear activities, Solana said, “It remains my mandate (from the U.N.) to continue working on the possibility of further sanctions.  We are not thinking of sanctions right now” (Constant Brand, Associated Press I/PR-Inside.com, Oct. 15). Meanwhile, China postponed a meeting of six world powers scheduled for tomorrow on the Iranian nuclear standoff, Agence France-Presse reported. China put off its meeting with high-level officials from France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States in a presumed act of protest against the Dalai Lama’s trip to the United States to receive the Congressional Gold Medal tomorrow. “I think they had indigestion … over the presence of certain spiritual leaders," an official said, referring to the high-profile figure in the Tibetan independence movement. “The Chinese, in this instance, just decided that Wednesday is not the date to have that meeting,” the official said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Oct. 15). Elsewhere, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates called Iran “an ambitious and fanatical theocracy” that, lacking the “elusive Iranian moderate,” cannot be swayed solely by the United States to abandon its disputed nuclear activities, AP reported. “With a government of that nature, only a united front of nations will be able to exert enough pressure to make Iran abandon its nuclear aspirations — a source of great anxiety and instability in the region,” he said in an address to the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. “Our allies must work together on robust, far-reaching and strongly enforced economic sanctions.  We must exert pressure in the diplomatic and political arenas as well.  And, as President [George W.] Bush has said, with this regime we must also keep all options on the table,” he added, referring to possible military intervention (Robert Burns, Associated Press II/Google News, Oct. 16). In Tehran, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in a veiled reference to U.S. threats of military action against Iran that no Caspian Sea state should allow a foreign military to use it as a base to attack another country in the region, Reuters reported. “We should not even think of making use of force in this region.” he told the leaders of Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan at a one-day summit of Caspian Sea nations. “We need to agree that using the territory of one Caspian Sea (state) in the event of aggression against another is impossible,” he said (Shchedrov/Hafezi, Reuters/Washington Post, Oct. 16). Back to top       North Korea Must Give up Plutonium, U.S. Says North Korea must give up its stockpile of 50 kilograms of plutonium if it hopes to see additional benefits from denuclearization pledges made this year, the lead U.S. negotiator said today (see GSN, Oct. 15). “The issue will be to get this 50 kilograms,” said Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill.  “We need to get the North Koreans to agree to abandon this 50 kilograms.  That’s going to be the toughest sell.” “They need to understand that we will not normalize (relations) with North Korea, we will not see their way into international organizations, there will be limits to the kinds of economic systems we can all provide unless they make the decision to finally do away with this 50 kilograms,” he added. Pyongyang has not publicly acknowledged possessing the weapon-usable material, Agence France-Presse reported.  However, relinquishing the plutonium could jump-start the peace process for the Korean War, which has never been formally resolved, Hill said. “Frankly, there’d be a lot in it for North Korea,” he said (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Oct. 16). Fully disabling the Yongbyon nuclear complex would also aid the peace process, Hill said. “It is very important for us to see whether we can actually disable this thing in a way that allows us to go forward, to have North Korea make the psychological break with this nuclear reactor, and understand that we’ll continue until there is denuclearization,” he said. Hill also said he anticipates an end in 2007 to North Korea’s suspected uranium enrichment program, the Associated Press reported. “I think … we will have good reason to believe that whatever uranium enrichment program they have going, they will not have going by the end of the year,” he said in Sydney. The United States said Pyongyang in 2002 quietly admitted that it was pursuing uranium enrichment capabilities.  North Korea has denied that claim (Rohan Sullivan, Associated Press I/Time, Oct. 16). Meanwhile, there could be working-level talks next weekend on the provision of assistance to North Korea in return for denuclearization, AP reported.  The session is expected to involve officials from the six-party talks nations — China, Japan, Russia, the United States and the Koreas — and be held in the truce village of Panmunjom. Negotiating nations in February agreed to provide Pyongyang with 1 million tons of fuel oil or related aid, along with security and diplomatic concessions.  China and South Korea have already each sent 50,000 tons of oil. The meeting is expected to follow completion this week of a trip by U.S. experts to North Korea.  The U.S. team is discussing a nuclear disablement plan with officials in Pyongyang. North Korea has already halted operations at the Yongbyon complex under monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency.  Washington wants to see the regime fully declare and disable its nuclear holdings this year (Hyung-Jin Kim, Associated Press II/Yahoo!News, Oct. 16). Back to top       Indian Missile Submarine Under Construction An Indian submarine capable of carrying nuclear-armed ballistic missiles could be ready for sea trials in 2009, Defense News reported yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 29). Workers have laid the hull for the submarine, called the Advanced Technology Vessel, at the Larsen & Toubro shipyard, according to Navy sources. India is seeking to add a sea-based component to its strategic nuclear forces, much like the major nuclear-weapon states, said one defense analyst. “The sea leg of the nuclear triad is best provided by ballistic missiles positioned on a nuclear submarine, because this leg is clearly the least vulnerable, and therefore, the most survivable,” said Gurpreet Khurana, of the Institute for Defense Studies and Analysis.  “India has very rightly opted for this course for its sea-based leg of the nuclear triad, as is evident from the ATV project” (Vivek Raghuvanshi, Defense News, Oct. 15). Back to top       Presidential Contenders Chime in on Proliferation U.S. presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton called on the United States to speed up its own disarmament efforts and supported diplomacy to disable North Korea’s nuclear program, while fellow contender Senator John McCain urged caution to ensure Pyongyang is serious about its denuclearization commitments, the Yonhap News Agency reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 2). Clinton (D-N.Y.) criticized Bush administration policy on North Korea in an essay in the November/December issue of Foreign Affairs magazine (see related GSN story, today). “Like Iran, North Korea responded to the Bush administration's effort to isolate it by accelerating its nuclear program, conducting a nuclear test, and building more nuclear weapons,” Clinton wrote. “Only since the State Department returned to diplomacy have we been able, belatedly, to make progress,” she stated. Clinton added that the United States must shrink its own nuclear stockpile to put pressure on Iran and North Korea to shutter their nuclear programs. A stronger U.S. denuclearization effort, she said, would “build support for the coalitions we need to address the threat of nuclear proliferation and help the United States regain the moral high ground.”  She pledged, if elected, to seek a pact with Russia under which both nations would make significant reductions to their nuclear stockpiles, Yonhap reported. “This dramatic initiative would send a strong message of nuclear restraint to the world, while we retain enough strength to deter others from trying to match our arsenal,” Clinton said.  McCain (R-Ariz.) expressed skepticism in his Foreign Affairs piece that North Korea would follow up on its recent pledges to close its nuclear facilities and declare all of its nuclear materials and equipment. “It is unclear today whether North Korea is truly committed to verifiable denuclearization and a full accounting of all its nuclear materials and facilities, two steps that are necessary before any lasting diplomatic agreement can be reached,” he wrote. “Future talks must take into account North Korea's ballistic missile programs, its abduction of Japanese citizens, and its support for terrorism and proliferation,” McCain said. He called for renegotiation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, including determining whether non-nuclear weapons states should be allowed to use nuclear technology and allowing immediate suspension of nuclear exports to suspected treaty violators until they prove their compliance with international safeguards.  The International Atomic Energy Agency also needs more funding to ensure it can carry out its nuclear monitoring and safeguards work, McCain said (Yonhap News Agency, Oct. 16). Back to top       Nepal Nears IAEA Membership Nepal has moved closer to joining the International Atomic Energy Agency, a move that would enable the Himalayan nation to take advantage of radiological medical and agricultural treatments, the Press Trust of India reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 30, 2006). Agency members approved Nepal’s membership at last month’s annual meeting in Vienna, and parliamentary backing would be the next step toward finalizing the move, according to a Nepalese official. “Without being a member of the agency, Nepal could not buy high doses of radioisotopes and other nuclear material which are important in various research work,” said Devi Dutta Poudel, a senior scientific adviser in the Environment, Science and Technology Ministry. “Here we are not going to use nuclear energy for destructive purposes like making [an] atom bomb, but we will seek benefit in the agriculture sector (for promoting production and livestock), medical purposes and no doubt, scientists would benefit while doing research in this sector,” he added (Press Trust of India, Oct. 15). Back to top

VX Disposal Begins at Pine Bluff Arsenal Incineration of rockets carrying VX nerve agent began Saturday at the Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas, the U.S. Army announced (see GSN, May 22). The Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility halted operations for five months after destroying all sarin-filled weapons stored at the depot.  Site personnel during that time conducted equipment maintenance, processed waste and decontamination fluid and underwent training. “We successfully transitioned from the first disposal campaign to the second,” site project manager Mark Greer said in a press release.  “We expect VX rocket processing to progress just as smoothly as we did through [sarin] rocket processing.” Disposal of VX rockets is expected to last six months.  It is expected to be followed by another changeover period to prepare the facility and staff for destruction of VX landmines (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, Oct. 15). Meanwhile, the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Oregon is also gearing up to begin elimination of VX munitions, the Tri-City Herald reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 7).  The incinerator began a changeover period in July after finishing off the Umatilla Chemical Depot’s stockpile of sarin weapons. “Even though we’ve processed 92,000 (sarin-filled) rockets, we want to make sure everyone is on top of their game when we start again,” said Doug Hamrick, project manager for contractor Washington Group International. The VX project could begin early next month with destruction of 14,519 M55 rockets, which are considered the most dangerous weapons still held at the depot.  Explosives and propellant remain in the weapons, creating the potential for explosions and releases of nerve agent. The potential exists for further fires during destruction of rockets, the Herald reported.  Fifteen rockets caught fire in previous operations at Umatilla after they had been drained of sarin and were being cut into pieces (see GSN, July 25, 2006).  The VX and sarin rockets contained the same propellant linked to the fires. It is expected to take four months to destroy the VX rockets, said depot site project manager Don Barclay.  The plant must also eliminate 32,313 155 mm projectiles, 3,752 8-inch projectiles, 11,685 mines, 156 spray tanks, and one 1-ton container.  All contain VX nerve agent. Afterward, the facility would prepare for destruction of 2,635 1-ton containers of mustard blister agent (Jeannine Koranda, Tri-City Herald, Oct. 15). Back to top       Teenagers Arrested for Chlorine Bomb Attacks Police in San Jose, Calif., have arrested two teenagers for allegedly throwing homemade chlorine gas bombs into a high school dance and a girl’s birthday party on Saturday, injuring three girls, the San Jose Mercury News reported (see GSN, Jan. 7, 2005). The boys, ages 16 and 17, allegedly filled empty plastic water bottles with a mixture of alcohol and chlorine they had apparently made using online video instructions.  They were detained on suspicion of committing assault with a deadly weapon. No one was reported injured by the chemical bomb tossed into the dance party where about 700 Pioneer High School students were gathered.  However, bombs thrown toward an outdoor birthday party of about 20 people later that night caused minor chemical burns to the birthday girl and two of her friends. One mother at the party said she stood up to investigate a noise that she heard when the first of two bombs was thrown into the party at about 11 p.m.  The second bomb exploded after it was picked up by the birthday girl. The mother said that attendees then ran inside to avoid fumes from the weapon. “It was chaos,” she said.  “It was like a mini terrorist attack.” The three girls were treated at a hospital and released at about 2 a.m.  Paramedics treated five others on-site, the mother said. Chlorine, used in World War I and by insurgents in Iraq (see GSN, July 2), “can burn eyes, mucus membranes and the tissues in the lungs,” said San Jose Fire Department spokesman Craig Schwinge.  “It is one of the highest health hazards” (Leslie Griffy, San Jose Mercury News, Oct. 16). Back to top

Japan Schedules Sea-Based Missile Defense Drill The Japanese Defense Ministry has scheduled a mid-December test of the Aegis ballistic missile defense system aboard the JDS Kongo, the Asahi Shimbun reported today (see GSN, Aug. 8). The Japanese destroyer is expected to use its advanced Standard Missile-3 system to intercept mock intermediate-range ballistic missiles launched near Hawaii by the U.S. Navy. Following the test near Hawaii, the Kongo is expected to return to its home port of Sasebo in Nagasaki to be deployed. By the date of the drill, an upgrade to the ship’s Aegis air-defense system is planned to make it compatible with the SM-3 technology. The Kongo would be the first Japanese Aegis destroyer able to destroy ballistic missiles during their midcourse phase of flight, when they are more than 60 miles above the earth’s surface.  The Defense Ministry said its completed sea-based ballistic missile defense system would use two or three SM-3-compatible Aegis destroyers to shield the entire Japanese archipelago.  By the end of fiscal 2011, Japan plans to upgrade three more Kongo-class Aegis destroyers to be SM-3-compatible (Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 16). Back to top

Sensors Vet All U.S.-Bound Cargo at Three Ports The United States announced yesterday that all U.S.-bound cargo containers leaving from three seaports in Honduras, Pakistan and the United Kingdom are now being scanned for radiation that could indicate the presence of a nuclear or radiological weapon, United Press International reported (see GSN, Aug. 6). Two of the first non-U.S. ports to meet conditions of the 2006 SAFE Port Act, Southampton Container Terminals in the United Kingdom and Port Qasim in Pakistan, are operated by Dubai Ports World, a United Arab Emirates firm whose bid to manage six U.S. ports was thwarted last year by security concerns in Congress.  Puerto Cortez in Honduras was the third port to meet the law’s requirements, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a press release on the Secure Freight Initiative. “Preventing a nuclear weapon or dirty bomb attack has to be one of our highest priorities,” said Deputy Commissioner Jayson Ahern in the release.  “This initiative advances a comprehensive strategy to secure the global supply chain and substantially limits the potential for terrorist threats.” The United States has directed $60 million to the initiative for deployment of radiation detectors and a system to relay scanning data for analysis by the agency’s National Targeting Center. Partial cargo scanning is expected to be put into effect in the near future at the Brani terminal in Singapore, the Gamman terminal at Busan in South Korea, Hong Kong’s Modern Terminal and Salalah in Oman (United Press International, Oct. 15). Back to top

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