A cargo vessel leaves Southampton Container Terminals in the United Kingdom, one of three international ports to scan all U.S.-bound cargo containers for radioactive sources (Scott Barbour/Getty Images). Scanning of Containers Abroad Daunting, U.S. Says By Jon Fox Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Expanding a pilot radiation inspection program from three foreign ports to eventually cover all U.S.-bound cargo is a daunting task involving technological and diplomatic challenges, and, in one case, radioactive concrete, a U.S. Homeland Security Department official said yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 16). ..Full Story

Russia Made Secret Nuclear Proposal, Iran Says Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei received an offer of an unknown nature regarding his nation’s nuclear program this week during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Oct. 16)...Full Story

Libya Wins U.N. Security Council Seat The U.N. General Assembly yesterday elected Libya to serve on the U.N. Security Council, reflecting the nation’s strides toward the mainstream since agreeing to abandon its WMD programs in 2003 (see GSN, Aug. 16)...Full Story

	Wednesday, October 17, 2007

TOPOFF 4 Exercise Begins in U.S., Guam The TOPOFF 4 terrorism exercise began yesterday with simulated “dirty bomb” attacks in Arizona, Oregon and Guam, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Oct. 3). The fourth iteration of the three-day national drill is intended to assess the capabilities of federal, state and local government agencies to cooperatively respond to a major act of terrorism. In Oregon, a mock radiological weapon went off on a dummy version of the Steel Bridge set up at the Portland International Raceway.  The mock-up included destroyed cars, debris and actors in the role of victims.  The initial responders were police officers and then firefighters using radiation detectors. “Any time they respond to an explosion they are required by protocol to pull out a (radiation) monitor,” said Patty Hopkins, exercise and training program manager for the Portland Emergency Management Office. Emergency responders identified the victims with the most critical injuries.  They conducted “dry contamination” by removing victims’ clothing to prevent additional radiation exposure and to block further dispersal of radioactive material. Meanwhile, hazardous materials personnel monitored the movement of radiation following the blast that combined conventional explosives with radioactive material, AP reported. The exercises in Guam and Phoenix, Ariz., were tabletop drills that focused on communications rather than deployment of personnel or equipment (William McCall, Associated Press/Casper Star Tribune, Oct. 17). Despite TOPOFF drills and others conducted regularly around the nation, the United States remains vulnerable to a dirty bomb strike, one expert told the Oregonian newspaper.  Radioactive materials that could be used in such a weapon are distributed widely around the globe. “The security community agrees that there will be a dirty bomb attack on an American city at some point,” said Graham Allison, director of Harvard University’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.  “The puzzle is why it hasn’t happened yet, especially since the means and motives are readily available.” The federal government has failed to direct adequate planning or funding toward preparing to decontaminate an area subjected to a radiological weapon, Allison said.  “That they could do an adequate job is just not believable,” he said, noting the three-month cleansing process of the Hart Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., following the 2001 anthrax mailings (see GSN, Oct. 4). Radiation from a weapon containing cesium 137 could prevent habitation of part of a city for months or even years, he said. “The good news is that the most lethal material is the hardest to get,” Allison said. Another expert said there is value in the TOPOFF drills, but that local and state agencies generally do not receive funding afterward for exercises that would test whether they have addressed issues found during the first event. “If these new operating procedures aren’t exercised regularly, counties and cities aren’t going to be prepared when something really happens,” said Costanza Galastri, a research fellow at the Henry L. Stimson Center (Rose/Jung, Oregonian, Oct. 17). TOPOFF and similar drills, and lessons learned from the widely reviled response to Hurricane Katrina (see GSN, Jan. 26, 2006), provide guidance on saving lives and ensuring supplies and services reach victims of future disasters, said Michael Greenberger, director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Health and Homeland Security. “You can never do enough of these exercises,” he told AP. Details of this year’s drill, along with those from the 2005 TOPOFF exercise, are not expected to be fully released, said Federal Emergency Management Agency head David Paulison.  That would “be like giving our enemies a playbook,” he said (McCall, Associated Press). Back to top

Libya Wins U.N. Security Council Seat The U.N. General Assembly yesterday elected Libya to serve on the U.N. Security Council, reflecting the nation’s strides toward the mainstream since agreeing to abandon its WMD programs in 2003 (see GSN, Aug. 16). “It means I can say we are back to the international community, that all the problems we have faced in the past are now behind us,” Libyan Ambassador Giadalla Ettalhi told reporters.  “Our relations with the U.S. nowadays are back to normal.” Libya received 178 of a possible 192 votes in support of its two-year term that begins Jan. 1.  The 15-member council has five permanent members and 10 elected nations (Edith Lederer, Associated Press, Oct. 17). The development drew criticism from many observers, including relatives of the victims of 1988 airliner bombing over Lockerbie, Scotland, conducted by Libyan agents. “They were involved in promoting terrorism for a long time against Americans,” said Vincent Cannistraro, a former CIA counterterrorism expert.  “To see that we now liaise with the Libyans, that we are promoting diplomatic relations, signing new oil agreements — it's kind of a bitter pill for a lot of people” (Colum Lynch, Washington Post, Oct. 17). “The world changes,” countered U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Alejandro Wolff, who acknowledged the presence of Lockerbie victim families in the U.N. galleries.  “Their presence was felt here today.  I felt it and I know other delegations felt it,” he said (Lederer, Associated Press). Back to top

Scanning of Containers Abroad Daunting, U.S. Says By Jon Fox Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Expanding a pilot radiation inspection program from three foreign ports to eventually cover all U.S.-bound cargo is a daunting task involving technological and diplomatic challenges, and, in one case, radioactive concrete, a U.S. Homeland Security Department official said yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 16). The program, operating for the past several weeks at ports in Honduras, Pakistan and the United Kingdom, is part of the federal government’s Secure Freight Initiative to test the feasibility of scanning all cargo for radiation before it leaves for the United States. “Our pilots are showing us how complex the challenges are even as they show us the successes,” Stewart Baker, assistant homeland security secretary for policy, said yesterday during a hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee.  “There’s a hundred problems that we’re going to have to solve port by port.” Developing the pilot programs was mandated in the SAFE Ports Act signed into law a year ago in a bid to beef up port security.  Congress this summer passed a second piece of legislation that requires all U.S.-bound cargo to undergo radiation inspections by 2012 (see GSN, Aug. 6). The bill issuing the 100 percent scanning requirement offers the homeland security secretary broad powers to waive that mandate at ports where such a demand would adversely affect commerce.  However, Homeland Security officials will push aggressively for complete coverage, Baker said during the hearing, held to assess the progress made since the passage of the port security bill. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), a co-author of the SAFE Ports Act, expressed doubts about the benefits of requiring that all cargo be scanned for radiation, suggesting that it could negatively affect U.S. security.  Focus would be diluted by shifting attention across all cargo containers instead of those considered “high risk,” she said. Republican lawmakers led opposition to the 100 percent scanning requirement that was included in the 2007 bill implementing a number of security recommendations made by the Sept. 11 commission (see GSN, July 20). “I continue to believe that requiring the scanning of all cargo bound for the U.S. at every foreign port is misguided,” Collins said.  “It is contrary to the risk-based, layered system of security established by the SAFE Ports Act.” Following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the federal government initiated a massive effort to address the growing fear that terrorists would use the global shipping infrastructure to deliver a nuclear, chemical, biological or radiological weapon to a U.S. city. “Each of the containers has the potential to be the Trojan horse of the 21st century,” Collins said (see GSN, May 25). Progress has been made over the last six years, Baker said, suggesting that “no terrorist organization can have confidence that they can use our supply chain against us now.” The Homeland Security Department has six more months before it is required to report back to Congress on the success of the foreign pilot scanning program, but Baker offered that the agency was already “learning a lot.”  Most of his comments, however, focused on the challenges likely associated with expanding the U.S. radiation detection network beyond domestic ports. “I too am daunted by the prospect of 100-percent scanning at every port,” he said.  “There are many, many unknowns there.” In expanding the program there are two limiting factors, areas that simply cannot be rushed, Baker said.  The first is technology — advances occur at their own pace, he said — and the second is diplomacy. Not every nation puts the same priority on or has the same enthusiasm for scanning cargo containers as the United States, and Washington is put in the position of trying to convinced foreign governments that participating in such a program is in their interest.  “Sometimes it takes longer to make that case than we would like,” he said. Since the pilot sites have been in operation, Baker said one of the most useful developments the department has seen is the flow of “integrated data.”  An analyst at the U.S. National Targeting Center in Virginia can pull up on one computer screen information about what is on a container’s manifest as well as data from radiation and density scanning. So far, traffic through the pilot ports is moving “fairly well,” he said, but noted that more evaluation is still needed.  Heat reaching 110 degrees has posed a problem at Port Qasim in Pakistan, as have “cloudbursts” at Port Cortes in Honduras, Baker said. The reactions by shippers have varied.  Baker said officials in Pakistan have seen firms looking to ship their cargo from the pilot port with the expectation that the containers will then face fewer delays when they land stateside. In Honduras, however, the Homeland Security Department has seen shipping companies actively trying to avoid Port Cortes to dodge the additional fee associated with shipping from a port covered by the pilot scanning program. Even if the program is eventually integrated smoothly into the three pilot locations, expanding it to other locations would be by no means cut and dry.  “I think we’re going to encounter a lot of complexity as we mover to larger ports,” Baker said. Each port is unique and each presents an individual set of challenges.  At the port in Hong Kong, cement used in paving releases natural background radiation that is not insignificant and could pose problems for radiation scanning, he said.  In testimony before the committee yesterday, Government Accountability Office expert Stephen Caldwell identified a number of challenges to implementing the full scanning requirement. Customs and Border Protection officials might have difficulty balancing the total scanning mandate with the current risk-based approach to container security, Caldwell warned. In addition, the logistical feasibility of implementing scanning at all foreign ports — each with a different layout — remains unknown.  It is also unclear who would pay for the program, if the technology is mature enough to provide for 100 percent foreign scanning, and who would manage and maintain the reams of data that would likely be collected, according to Caldwell. Back to top       Russia Made Secret Nuclear Proposal, Iran Says Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei received an offer of an unknown nature regarding his nation’s nuclear program this week during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Oct. 16). Iranian sources said they believed the proposal involved a “time out” on U.N. sanctions in exchange for Iran’s suspension of uranium enrichment activities. “The main reason for Putin's visit to Iran was to convey this message personally to the ultimate power in Iran,” said one of the two Iranian officials. “We will ponder your words and proposal,” Iran’s state media quoted Khamenei as saying.  The report said that Iran’s highest leader would give the proposal serious consideration before making a decision (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press I/Google News, Oct. 17). Putin yesterday said that repeated delays in Russia’s construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant for Iran had been caused by “worn-out equipment” brought to Iran in the 1970s by a German firm that began construction of the plant, Agence France-Presse reported.  “The equipment left from that time is worn-out, old and new equipment should be used.  This is one of the problems preventing swift completion of the work in Bushehr,” he told Iranian state media.  “The delay is because of technical and legal issues.” He added, however, that the Russian state-controlled contractor building the plant would finish the project. “Russia has said it has the intention to finish the works at Bushehr and we do not intend to and will not renounce on these engagements,” he said.  "We are seriously working to finish the Bushehr power plant as soon as possible.  But there are issues that should be resolved.” Russia promised earlier this year that the plant would be operational by the end of 2008.  Moscow said it would provide nuclear fuel for the Bushehr facility required under the contract once the technical obstacles are overcome.  Putin, however, refused to give a firm deadline for delivering the fuel. “I only promised things to my mother when I was small, he said (Agence France-Presse I/Spacewar.com, Oct. 16). Meanwhile, in an apparent move to discourage nations bordering Iran from being used during an invasion of that country, the five Caspian Sea nations pledged in a declaration yesterday “that they will not allow other countries to use their territories for acts of aggression or other military operations against any party,” RIA Novosti reported. The declaration’s signatories — Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia and Turkmenistan — said they would build mutual confidence, stability and security in the region and pledged to avoid using force in addressing shared problems. The declaration states that the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty is vital in promoting international security and stability, and affirms “the unassailable right of all signatories to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty to research, produce and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, without discrimination and within the provisions of this treaty and the safeguards of the [International Atomic Energy Agency]” (RIA Novosti, Oct. 17). Responding to the Caspian Sea declaration and related comments by Putin, State Department spokesman Tom Casey reaffirmed the U.S. intention to defuse the Iranian nuclear standoff through diplomatic measures, the New York Times reported. “I think the president’s made clear, and U.S. policy’s been consistent, that we’re pursuing a diplomatic path with respect to Iran,” he said (Fathi/Chivers, New York Times, Oct. 17). In Washington, Republican U.S. presidential candidates during a forum yesterday lashed Iran repeatedly and threatened tough action against the Middle Eastern country Agence France-Presse reported. “We have seen what Iran will do with ordinary weapons,” said former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who accused Tehran of supporting attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq and dismissed the possibility of dealing with Iran as a nuclear weapons power. “If I am president of the United States, I guarantee you, we will never find out what they will do if they get nuclear weapons, because they are not going to get a nuclear weapon,” he said. Fred Thompson, a former actor and senator, offered similar remarks. "The U.S. must make it clear that we will not allow Iran to be a nuclear threat,” he said, adding that more drastic steps should be taken to take out Iran’s “hated regime” (Agence France-Presse II/Google News, Oct. 16). In South Korea, former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said be believed the Iranian nuclear standoff could be handled without resorting to military action, AP reported. “I think we can handle that one diplomatically,” he said during an address in Seoul, adding that Iran seemed fixated on pursuing its nuclear ambitions and possibly developing a nuclear weapon. He did not give additional details (Associated Press II/Google News, Oct. 17). Elsewhere, chief Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana have planned to meet Tuesday to continue discussions on Iran’s uranium enrichment, AFP reported today. “The negotiations of Dr. Larijani and Javier Solana will be held next Tuesday,” deputy Iranian nuclear envoy Javad Vaidi was quoted as saying. Vaidi said the meeting “will probably be in Vienna or Rome". Solana and Larijani have been unable to reach any breakthrough agreements in their past talks on the nuclear standoff (Agence France-Presse III/Google News, Oct. 17). Back to top       No Talks Expected on North Korean Nuclear Proliferation, Says Top Negotiator From South Negotiators at upcoming six-party talks are not expected to address suspected North Korean nuclear proliferation, the head negotiator from Seoul said yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 16). “After they (North Koreans) pledged they won’t do it, what more is there to discuss?” Chun Young-woo told the Korea Herald. Pyongyang allegedly was assisting Syria in developing a nuclear facility that was the reported target of an Israeli air strike last month (see GSN, Oct. 15).  The Stalinist state at the last round of six-nation negotiations this month, though, “affirmed its commitment not to transfer nuclear materials, technology, or know-how.” “When a government publicly says in a statement that it will not do it (proliferate), then there is little more that one can demand,” Chun said.  He also expressed doubt about the reports. “(The speculations) are reportedly based on information from Israel.  Why I am doubtful is that if Israel is sure and has evidence, why can’t they share that information with the most relevant country, us?” Chun said he expected North Korea to follow through on its pledge to fully detail and disable its nuclear complex, including any uranium enrichment work. “The most important thing in the declaration step is for North Korea to report how much plutonium it has produced, how much of it has been spent, how much of it has been used in nuclear tests and how much is left in stock.  It is also important to see how cooperative it is in verifying the list,” he said. The focus of negotiations must remain on denuclearization rather than on formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War, Chun said (Lee Joo-hee, Korea Herald, Oct. 18). A Chinese official concurred today, Reuters reported. “Establish a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula when there are still nuclear weapons here?  That just does not stand up,” said Ning Fukui, China’s ambassador to South Korea.  “To improve relations between North and South Korea and to replace the armistice with a peace treaty, the matter of denuclearizing (the North) must be resolved in full” (Jack Kim, Reuters/Yahoo!News, Oct. 16). Officials from Pyongyang and Seoul are expected next week to discuss the supply of energy assistance to North Korea as a reward for denuclearization, Agence France-Presse reported today.  The meeting at Mount Kumgang in North Korea “is aimed at facilitating progress in the next round of the six-nation working group meetings on providing energy to North Korea,” a South Korean Foreign Ministry official said. North Korea is set to receive a total of 1 million tons of fuel oil or related assistance (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Oct. 17). Back to top       Syria Denies Israel Struck Nuclear Target A Syrian diplomat appeared to acknowledge yesterday that Israel had attacked a nuclear site in Syria last month, but the nation’s Foreign Ministry quickly denied the comment (see GSN, Oct. 15). The New York Times reported Saturday that Israel had attacked an unfinished Syrian nuclear reactor in a Sept. 6 air raid.  U.S. officials confirmed the nature of the target and said it appeared to be based on North Korean designs. Yesterday, a Syrian official speaking the U.N. General Assembly’s First Committee seemingly confirmed the report, although his account as summarized by U.N. rapporteurs was somewhat muddled. Directing remarks toward Israel, the diplomat complained that “Israel was building eight reactors in a small territory and preparing itself ‘in nuclear terms’ for a possible war, with 20 nuclear warheads, using thousands of cluster bombs,” according to the U.N. summary. Israel, he continued, “had taken action against nuclear facilities, including the July 6 attack in Syria,” the summary says.  There have been no reports of Israeli attacks on July 6, leading to the possibility that the diplomat confused the date with the Sept. 6 strike. Syria’s Foreign Ministry announced today that the reports of the official’s comments were incorrect. “The ministry denies media reports that Syria's ambassador in New York had said the Sept. 6 raid targeted a nuclear plant because no such facility exists in Syria,” said a Foreign Ministry statement, reported by Agence France-Presse. That statement appears to overlook a small Syrian research reactor that became operational in 1996, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency database.  The 30-kilowatt reactor, dubbed SRR-1, was built with Chinese assistance (Greg Webb, Global Security Newswire, Oct. 17). Back to top       White House Sees Life in Indian Nuclear Deal The Bush administration expressed continuing hope yesterday that its nuclear trade deal with India would take effect next year, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Oct. 16). “India is a thriving democracy and they have work to do and they may need some additional time on their end to get their part of this deal done,” said spokesman Tony Fratto.  “The president is willing and is very understanding that the Indians may need more time for this.  But no, it's not — it's not dead.” The affirmation followed a Monday phone call between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President George W. Bush in which Singh acknowledged facing strong domestic opposition to the agreement. The deal would give New Delhi access to U.S. nuclear material and technology, but left- and right-wing Indian critics have complained that U.S. conditions on the pact would give Washington undue influence over Indian affairs.  Singh’s government faces the prospect of early elections if it presses the deal forward and loses the parliamentary support of some the deal’s critics. Both countries had hoped to implement the agreement in 2008, before Bush leaves office and U.S. lawmakers face November elections. The troubles described by Singh could force delays beyond that schedule, given the need for India to negotiate a nuclear safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, the requirement for New Delhi to be exempted from nonproliferation trade rules set by the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group and another U.S. congressional review. “A delay puts the deal in jeopardy because it leaves little time for consideration by the IAEA and NSG and perhaps too little time for Congress to review the controversial and flawed bilateral U.S.-Indian nuclear cooperation agreement before adjournment in the early fall of 2008,” said deal critic Daryl Kimball of the Arms Control Association (P. Parameswaran, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Oct. 16). Back to top       Turkey Intent on Pursuing Nuclear Power Turkey has shown no intention of halting plans to develop nuclear energy, heightening fears that such an effort could be turned toward a weapons program, Voice of America reported yesterday (see GSN, March 7). “To meet the growing energy demands of Turkey, nuclear energy is a must, rather than a preference to Turkey,” Turkish Energy Minister Hilmi Guler said after meeting with a panel of business leaders According to retired Turkish Gen. Aramgan Kuloglu, a Turkish nuclear program is necessary to prevent Iran, its centuries-old rival, from becoming too strong an influence in the Middle East as it pursues its own nuclear ambitions. “We have a competition with Iran; we do not want to pass the regional control to Iran,” said Kuloglu, who now heads the research group Strategi.  “And also if Iran has more power from Turkey and maybe they can begin to regime export from Iran to Turkey.” Kuloglu called on the West and the U.N. Security Council to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. “It is a danger … for Turkey.  For that reason Turkey has to prevent this position in advance with the United States [and] with the United Nations.  But if Iran has such kind of weapon.  In this case for creating the balance, Turkey needs nuclear weapons also,” he said. The region could be tipping toward a nuclear arms race, analysts say. “If another country introduces nuclear weapons into the region (there) will be a chain reaction of chain reactions,” said Mustafa Kibaroglu, an assistant professor at Bilkent University.  “It will really render the region into a very chaotic situation” (Dorian Jones, Voice of America, Oct. 16). Back to top       Nuclear Detection Training Set for African Experts A one-week training course on advanced nuclear sensors has been set for 18 experts from the African nations of Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia, the Guardian newspaper reported today (see GSN, March 21). The session in Dar es Salaam is intended to promote awareness among key personnel on the potential smuggling of nuclear or radioactive materials, said Tanzania Atomic Energy Commission chief Abraham Nyanda. Personnel working with the right equipment are needed to prevent illicit transfers of weaponizable material in the region, he said. “The training will enable participants to meet global as well as regional targets to mitigate incidents and acts related to nuclear and radioactive materials,” Nyanda said. Nations in east and central Africa are involved in worldwide efforts mitigate, track and respond to nuclear smuggling or other incidents involving radioactive materials, he said.  Even greater efforts are needed to prevent attacks involving such materials, according to Nyanda. “The international community needs regional collaboration to prepare for and deal with a diverse range of terrorist scenarios, including illicit trafficking of radioactive materials,” he said. The commission is organizing the event with the International Atomic Energy Agency (Angel Navuri, Tanzania Guardian, Oct. 17). Back to top

Japan Raids Suspects in Weapons Disposal Fraud Case Japanese investigators today raided the homes and offices of three Tokyo contractors suspected of embezzling $773,000 from a government-funded program to eliminate Japanese weapons left in China after World War II, the Asahi Shimbun reported (see GSN, Sept. 28). The Tokyo District Public Prosecutors Office searched the offices of Abandoned Chemical Weapons Disposal Corp. and Pacific Program Management Co. and the home of the former president of Pacific Consultants International. Japan’s Cabinet awarded Pacific Consultants International and at least one other company a three-year, $51 million contract beginning in fiscal 2000 to act as consultants for the destruction of hundreds of thousands of chemical weapons. Abandoned Chemical Weapons Disposal Corp. won a role in a contract beginning in fiscal 2004 to manage the weapons disposal effort. Following a complicated process of outsourcing, about $7.7 million of the funds went missing.  There is suspicion that the money was inappropriately spent by 71-year-old former president of Pacific Consultants International and others, according to sources. Tokyo is expected to fund the construction of an $806 million chemical weapons disposal facility in China to help carry out Japan’s disposal obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention (Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 17). Back to top

U.S. Mistakenly Fires Patriot Missile in Qatar The U.S. Army accidentally fired a Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missile during a training exercise at Camp As Sayliyah in Qatar, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, May 18, 2004). The Qatari military reported that the PAC-3 missile landed on local farmland about four miles north of the base, causing no damage.  One PAC-3 missile costs more than $4 million, according to the defense research group GlobalSecurity.org. A source at U.S. Central Command said the missile was fired by Battery A, 3rd Battalion of the 43rd Air Defense Artillery into land possibly owned by Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, a member of Qatari royalty. However, Lt. Col. Holly Silkman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Central Command in Qatar, indicated that al-Thani might not own the land in question. “It was an unexplained and accidental launch,” she said.  “It is under investigation.” The Army has revealed little about the accident partly because of its embarrassing nature but also because Qatar wishes the U.S. military not to publicize its presence there, the Post reported (Thomas Ricks, Washington Post, Oct. 17). Back to top       U.S., Israel Consider Layered Missile Defenses Top U.S. and Israeli defense officials have pledged to study the potential for a layered missile defense system to protect Israel from Iranian and Syrian ballistic missiles as well as smaller rockets launched from Lebanon and the Gaza strip, Reuters reported today (see GSN, Aug. 20). U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak agreed to establish a joint committee to examine how Tel Aviv might receive support from Washington might in deploying such a system, said Defense Department spokesman Geoff Morrell. The two senior officials also discussed improvements to the Arrow 2 Israeli air-defense system, which the United States is already a partner in maintaining, according to an Israeli security source.  The system is in place to destroy incoming missiles launched by nations such as Iran and Syria. “This proposal now has to go to the relevant work teams,” said the source. David’s Sling, another joint U.S.-Israeli project, would intercept medium-range rockets of the type that Hezbollah guerillas fired at Israeli targets in the Lebanon war in 2006. However, the U.S. officials have remained unconvinced that current Israeli missile defenses are capable of taking out shorter-range targets. Iron Dome, a third Israeli defense system now in development, would guard against rockets fired at short range from Palestinian enclaves (Roberts/Williams, Reuters/Yahoo!News, Oct. 17). Back to top

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