Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, shown in March, reportedly said that Arab states have proposed construction of a uranium enrichment plant to supply Iran and other Gulf nations with nuclear reactor fuel for energy programs (Cris Bouroncle/Getty Images). Gulf Nations Propose Iran Nuclear Standoff Compromise The six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council have proposed providing enriched uranium to Iran through a consortium to resolve Tehran’s tensions with the West over its nuclear program, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 1). Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said the proposal would allow Iran to pursue peaceful nuclear power production while defusing international suspicions that it aims to develop nuclear weapons...Full Story

Time Limited to Close India Deal, Experts Say Analysts say time is running out for India and the United States to finalize their nuclear trade agreement, the International Herald Tribune reported Wednesday (see GSN, Oct. 31)...Full Story

News Show Identifies “Curveball” The CBS news program “60 Minutes” is scheduled Sunday to air a segment identifying an Iraqi defector whose claims about Saddam Hussein’s alleged WMD programs bolstered the Bush administration’s case for war, Reuters reported (see GSN, March 15)...Full Story

	Friday, November 2, 2007

Homeland Security Releases Chemical List The U.S. Homeland Security Department today issued a final list of chemicals that could become weapons in the hands of terrorists, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Nov. 2). Businesses and other entities that possess certain amounts of the listed chemicals would be required to file an online report with the agency.  Homeland Security would use the report to determine whether regulation is necessary of the site’s security program. “Once we assess that they have large amounts of chemicals of consequence, then what we will do is work with them on a plan to that they can secure a facility,” said one agency official. Some business operators and academic institutions were angered by the draft list of 344 chemicals issued in April.  Poultry farmers were upset by the reporting requirement for any operation holding more than 7,500 pounds of propane, which is used to heat chicken houses.  The reporting threshold has been shifted to 60,000 pounds, AP reported. Businesses such as paper mills and water treatment plants that keep hydrogen peroxide at a 35 percent concentration would fall under the reporting guidelines.  The substance can be used to produce liquid explosives. The reporting rules would also cover sites that store 2,000 or more pounds of ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer that has been used to manufacture explosives used in the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing and other strikes across the globe. Also required to file reports would be water treatment sites or chemical producers holding 500 pounds of chlorine potentially subject to theft or 2,500 pounds that could cause a hazardous situation if released.  The gas was used as a chemical weapon during World War I and has been employed repeatedly by insurgents in Iraq (see GSN, June 4; Eileen Sullivan, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Nov. 2). Back to top

News Show Identifies “Curveball” The CBS news program “60 Minutes” is scheduled Sunday to air a segment identifying an Iraqi defector whose claims about Saddam Hussein’s alleged WMD programs bolstered the Bush administration’s case for war, Reuters reported (see GSN, March 15). The man known publicly until now only as “Curveball” claimed that Iraq possessed mobile biological weapon laboratories, a charge used by then-Secretary of State Colin Powell in a prewar presentation before the U.N. Security Council.  No evidence of active WMD efforts has been found in Iraq since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion. Curveball is Rafid Ahmed Alwan, who has lived in Germany since 1999, according to “60 Minutes.”  It said he was once accused of stealing from an employer in Baghdad and earned only middling grades in his university chemical engineering studies. “To bolster his asylum case and increase his importance, he told officials he was a star chemical engineer who had been in charge of a facility at Djerf al Nadaf that was making mobile biological weapons,” according to a statement released by the program. Former CIA Director George Tenet passed the information on to Powell, even though German intelligence officials had said in a letter that Alwan’s claim could not be verified. “Through a spokesman, Tenet denies ever seeing the letter,” according to “60 Minutes.” “Alwan was caught when CIA interrogators were finally allowed to question him and confronted him with evidence that his story could not be as he described it,” the program said.  “Weapons inspectors had examined the plant at Djerf al Nadaf before the fall of Baghdad and found no evidence of biological agents” (Reuters/Washington Post, Nov. 1). Meanwhile, the former head of the British intelligence service MI6 acknowledged problems with intelligence on Iraq collected by the agency prior to the invasion, the London Times reported yesterday (see GSN, June 12). “The intelligence that was released was believed to be correct when it was released,” Richard Dearlove said following a lecture in London.  “There were no human (intelligence) resources in Iraq who could have told us authoritatively that there were no weapons of mass destruction” (Michael Evans, London Times, Nov. 1). Back to top

Gulf Nations Propose Iran Nuclear Standoff Compromise The six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council have proposed providing enriched uranium to Iran through a consortium to resolve Tehran’s tensions with the West over its nuclear program, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 1). Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal said the proposal would allow Iran to pursue peaceful nuclear power production while defusing international suspicions that it aims to develop nuclear weapons. “We have proposed a solution, which is to create a consortium for all users of enriched uranium in the Middle East,” Middle East Economic Digest quoted al-Faisal as saying. Under the proposal, the multinational consortium developed by the council would establish a uranium enrichment plant outside the region to produce nuclear fuel that Middle Eastern countries could use to pursue atomic energy programs. “(We will) do it in a collective manner through a consortium that will distribute according to needs, give each plant its own necessary amount, and ensure no use of this enriched uranium for atomic weapons,” al-Faisal said. He said the enrichment facility “should be in a neutral country — Switzerland, for instance.” The Gulf Cooperation Council members — Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates — have expressed interest in civilian nuclear projects, as have Egypt, Jordan and other Middle Eastern nations. “Any plant in the Middle East that needs enriched uranium would get its quota.  I don't think other Arab states would refuse.  In fact, since the decision of the GCC to enter into this industry, the other Arab countries have expressed a desire to be part of the proposal.” The offer is under consideration in Tehran, al-Faisal said. “The U.S. is not involved, but I don't think it (would be) hostile to this, and it would resolve a main area of tension between the West and Iran” (Agence France-Presse I/Google News, Nov. 1). In the first apparent open accusation an Arab nation has leveled against Iran over its nuclear ambitions Bahrain said today that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, AFP reported. “While they don't have the bomb yet, they are developing it, or the capability for it,” crown prince Sheikh Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa told the London Times, adding that “the whole region” would be drawn into any military conflict against Iran. "There needs to be far more done on the diplomatic front," he said.  “There’s still time to talk.” “We need to be very well aware that this could escalate.  And we think that is not advisable,” he told the London Telegraph (Agence France-Presse II/Google News, Nov. 2). Meanwhile, the United States today urged the four other permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany to impose a new round of sanctions on Iran if it does not halt its uranium enrichment program, the London Guardian reported.  Officials from the six nations met in London. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Berlin would back a new Security Council resolution if Iran does not disclose requested details about its nuclear activities to the U.N. nuclear watchdog by a December deadline. Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, a former president of Iran, criticized the U.S. push for new sanctions and argued that Iran has been cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency. “The U.S. is making mistakes,” he said.  “Iran is having talks, and has said it will respond to IAEA questions.  They are gradually coming and taking their response.  One has to wait, talk and make discussions” (Claire Truscott, London Guardian, Nov. 2). U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today that the United States is attempting to address “tactical differences” over Iran that have prevented Russia and China from backing new sanctions, Reuters reported. “The Russians — when I talked to (Foreign Minister) Sergei Lavrov yesterday — he said they were prepared to come and work on the text as we agreed when we were together last and we will just have to see how those discussions go,” Rice said (Sophie Walker, Reuters, Nov. 2). After a meeting with IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei yesterday, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns contested an assertion by Iran’s president that Iran is invulnerable to additional penalties, the Associated Press reported. According to several U.S. officials, the Bush administration has been concerned that Iran’s pledge to disclose information on its nuclear activity would undermine the Security Council’s resolve to impose new sanctions. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials have said that the Security Council’s dispute with Iran would be “closed” if Tehran fulfills its obligation to the International Atomic Energy Agency. “President Ahmadinejad … said in September the Security Council case is closed,” Burns told reporters.  “I am sorry to tell him it's not closed.” Burns said ElBaradei agreed with him that “it's important that Iran finally tell the truth about its activities in the past … but we also agreed that all of us … support going ahead with a third Security Council sanctions resolution should Iran not suspend” (George Jahn, Associated Press I/PR-inside.com, Nov. 1). Late yesterday, IAEA safeguards chief Olli Heinonen closed four days of discussions with Iranian officials over Iran’s use of P-1 centrifuges and its development of higher-speed P-2 centrifuges.  The discussions were part of the “work plan” Iran agreed to pursue with IAEA officials in August. “The IAEA delegation and Iran voiced satisfaction on the trend of talks on issues over P-1 and P-2,” deputy supreme national security council head Javad Vaidi told Iranian state media. “In these negotiations Mr. Heinonen and the other experts presented all the questions and ambiguities they had.  The Iranian side gave all the answers to address their questions,” he said (Agence France-Presse III/Google News, Nov. 1). In Washington, U.S. presidential candidate Barack Obama (D-Ill.) is expected to put forward a Senate resolution today stating that President George W. Bush lacks authority to take military action against Iran, AP reported. Obama spokesman Bill Burton said the senator would formally introduce the measure today to “nullify the vote the Senate took to give the president the benefit of the doubt on Iran.”  He was referring to a Sept. 26 vote that labeled the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist entity. Obama’s rival, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), supported that measure.  In a letter yesterday to Bush, Clinton and 29 other senators said the president has not obtained congressional authority to go to war with Iran (Nedra Pickler, Associated Press II/International Herald Tribune, Nov. 2). Back to top       Time Limited to Close India Deal, Experts Say Analysts say time is running out for India and the United States to finalize their nuclear trade agreement, the International Herald Tribune reported Wednesday (see GSN, Oct. 31). Progress has stalled while the Singh administration attempts to overcome resistance from parties on both ends of the political spectrum to the deal.  Critics say Washington would receive undue influence over Indian policies through the agreement, which would provide New Delhi with access to U.S. nuclear material and technology in exchange for allowing international monitoring of its civilian atomic complex. The Bush administration sees growing difficulty in passing the pact here as U.S. lawmakers become increasingly divided along party lines and the next presidential election approaches, according to the newspaper. There is no certainty that negotiations would go smoothly with the next occupant of the White House, from either party, said Strobe Talbott, who served as deputy secretary of state under President Bill Clinton. The next administration might push India on its plans to invest in an Iranian natural gas pipeline or its demanded right to test nuclear weapons.  A Democratic president could press India to join the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. “This has got to happen soon or it’s going to be on ice for a very long time,” Talbott said.  “I think that would be a very short-sighted calculation on the part of the Indians that all they have to do is take their time, get their own domestic politics out and get the deal done.” Indian officials believe that relations between the two nations would remain strong even if the nuclear deal fails, the Herald Tribune reported.  The White House, though, has quietly indicated that the demise of the agreement could undermine Indian efforts to strengthen defense cooperation with the United States or gain U.S. backing in efforts to acquire a permanent spot on the U.N. Security Council. “The American political establishment [would] view India as an unreliable and ungrateful partner, which will in turn make the many other bilateral differences we must deal with, Iran in particular in the near future, much more difficult to resolve,” said Marshall Bouton, president of the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations (Somini Sengupta, International Herald Tribune, Oct. 31). Back to top       U.N. Panel Approves Nuclear Alert Resolution The disarmament committee of the U.N. General Assembly approved a nonbinding resolution yesterday asking nuclear powers to take their weapons off high-alert status, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Nov. 1). The resolution passed overwhelmingly in a 124-3 vote, with France, the United Kingdom and the United States voting in opposition.  China, Russia and various NATO and Western nations were among 34 countries that abstained. The 192 nations of the General Assembly are now expected to vote on the measure. Chile, New Zealand, Nigeria, Sweden and Switzerland sponsored the resolution, which calls on nuclear weapons powers “to decrease the operational readiness of nuclear weapons systems, with a view to ensuring that all nuclear weapons are removed from high-alert status.” British envoy John Duncan said “we voted against it because we don't think that de-alerting is the primary issue that we need to address if we are to head to a nuclear-free world.” "We think the emphasis should be on other things, the numbers of nuclear weapons, not the operational readiness, and also the concerns of proliferation,” he said. “The United States has an obligation to manage its military forces to ensure we remain able to protect our security and fulfill our commitments to our allies,” said Richard Grenell, spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. While the resolution praised “the increased confidence and transparency” following the end of the Cold War in the early 1990s, it cautioned that “several thousand nuclear weapons remain on high alert, ready to be launched within minutes.” The readiness level "increases the risk of the use of such weapons, including the unintentional or accidental use, which would have catastrophic consequences," the resolution reads. Changing the alert status, the document says, would “contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security, as well as to the process of nuclear disarmament” (Edith Lederer, Associated Press/Google News, Nov. 1). Back to top       U.S. Envoy Foresees Nuclear-Free North Korea in 2008 The top U.S. negotiator to the six-party talks said today he could see North Korea going nuclear-free “soon in the coming year” if it follows through on its pledge to declare its atomic holdings, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Nov. 1). “We’re expecting the first draft declaration … probably in a matter of the next couple weeks,” said Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill. “The idea is that we receive that, we have some information on programs we would want to have follow-on discussions on, with the understanding that by the end of the year we will have a complete declaration that everyone would agree is complete,” Hill said in Seoul. A team of U.S. experts arrived yesterday in North Korea to oversee disablement of the primary facilities at the plutonium-producing Yongbyon nuclear complex.  The team is expected to reach the site today or tomorrow, Hill said. U.N. sanctions instituted following North Korea’s October 2006 nuclear test blast would only be lifted once Pyongyang eliminates its nuclear weapons, he said. “The sanctions are there until the D.P.R.K. gets out of the nuclear business,” Hill said (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Nov. 2). Hill also said that North Korea would only be removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism once it proves it is not involved in such activity, the Associated Press reported. “We want all countries in the list to be removed but we want them to be removed by showing us that they are no longer engaged in the practice that put them on the list,” he said. The U.S. negotiator said also that he has told Pyongyang that it must address the matter of its abduction of Japanese citizens in order to be taken off the terrorism list (Miki Toda, Associated Press/Washington Post, Nov. 2). Back to top       Russia Completes Nuclear Training Center Russia has completed the final stage of a U.S.-sponsored training center in Moscow for preparing emergency responders to handle nuclear and radiological accidents and attacks, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration said yesterday (see GSN, June 29). The Emergency Management Training Center first opened in 2004 under management of the Russian nuclear energy agency Rosatom.  In specialized classrooms, students conduct “tabletop” emergency response drills using computers, communication links, projection displays and software. In the last construction stage, builders refurbished and equipped a conference hall as well as two training rooms and two support rooms, giving the facility a new total of four training rooms and three support rooms. The center now offers eight different training courses and provides emergency response training to 600 people each year. “NNSA is … assisting Rosatom in developing the training manuals and curriculum for the center, including developing computer-based simulation programs for different emergency situations, and computer software for lectures, presentations, exercises and training,” according to a press release. “Both the United States and Russia recognize the critical need to be as well-trained and prepared as possible in order to effectively respond to emergency situations — especially when nuclear and radiological material is involved,” said NNSA Associate Administrator Joseph Krol in the release. “We have had a very successful, long-term nuclear emergency response partnership with Russia and the improvement of this training facility is another example of our cooperation efforts,” he said (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, Nov. 1). Back to top

Deseret Depot Begins New Destruction Project The Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility yesterday began incinerating more than 50,000 155 mm projectiles filled with mustard blister agent, the U.S. Army said (see GSN, Nov. 20, 2006). Disposal of 6,200 tons of mustard agent is the last project planned for the plant at the Deseret Chemical Depot.  The facility since opening in 1996 has eliminated nearly 1 million weapons containing the nerve agents sarin and VX. Solidification of the mustard agent inside the projectiles means the material is not expected to be drained before the weapons are sent through the facility’s metal parts furnace. Deseret is one of five Army chemical storage centers now destroying weapons as required by the international Chemical Weapons Convention.  The plant is scheduled to complete its work in 2016, four years after the U.S. deadline under the pact (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release I, Nov. 1). A fire ignited Wednesday morning near a storage structure at the depot, the Army said. Depot firefighters quickly extinguished the blaze, which did not involve any chemical agents.  No workers were harmed but a monitoring building sustained damage.  The cause of the fire remains under investigation (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release II, Oct. 31). Back to top

South Korea Plans Missile Defense Drills The threat posed by North Korean ballistic missiles has led the South Korean navy to schedule additional missile defense drills, Chosun Ilbo reported today (see  GSN, Oct. 2). The South Korean Aegis destroyer King Sejong has entered into service.  It can detect ballistic missiles at distances of hundreds of kilometers but carries no interceptors.  Missiles are expected to be installed on the ship around 2015. Details for the submarine-to-surface interception exercises have not yet been developed, but the navy plans to employ its developmental Chonryong missile, Chosun Ilbo reported. The United States is expected to support the exercises.  Seoul has refrained from joining Washington’s missile defense effort but requires U.S. intelligence and early warning satellites for its own defenses (Chosun Ilbo, Nov. 2). Back to top

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