U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and former Sept. 11 commission vice chairman Lee Hamilton speak to the press Monday, one day before the House approved sweeping homeland security measures (Mannie Garcia/Getty Images). Democrats Pass Security Bill Despite Cost Criticism By Jon Fox Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Wielding their new majority, House Democrats pushed through legislation yesterday that would require radiation scanning of all U.S.-bound cargo at foreign ports and increase funding to secure weapons of mass destruction in former Soviet states (see GSN, Jan. 9). The component of the Democrats’ “100 hours” agenda also mandates steps to crack down on international trade of illicit nuclear technology.  ..Full Story

Iran Intends to Stay With NPT Iran plans to remain a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, but could modify its cooperation with international nuclear inspectors, the nation’s top nuclear negotiator said yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 9)...Full Story

Japan Remains Undecided on U.S.-Indian Nuclear Deal Japan has made no official decision on whether to support the U.S.-Indian nuclear trade agreement or changes to international export rules the deal would require, a senior official said today (see GSN, Dec. 22, 2006)...Full Story

	Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Democrats Pass Security Bill Despite Cost Criticism By Jon Fox Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Wielding their new majority, House Democrats pushed through legislation yesterday that would require radiation scanning of all U.S.-bound cargo at foreign ports and increase funding to secure weapons of mass destruction in former Soviet states (see GSN, Jan. 9). The component of the Democrats’ “100 hours” agenda also mandates steps to crack down on international trade of illicit nuclear technology.  The bill passed by a vote of 299-128, with a number of Republicans standing behind the measure implementing recommendations made by the Sept. 11 commission. Democrats heralded the nearly 300-page bill as a step toward addressing the threat of nuclear terrorism. Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.), a vocal supporter of scanning all cargo containers bound for the United States, said smuggling a nuclear weapon onto U.S. soil remains al-Qaeda’s highest goal. “When it’s in a port in the United States — New York, Long Beach — it’s already too late,” he said while pushing for the bill on the House floor.  “It’s al-Qaeda’s dream to have a nuclear explosion in a major American city.” “That may be the greatest threat but you wouldn’t know it by the allocation of resources and what we are doing today,” said Representative John Spratt (D-S.C.). Critics, however, question the feasibility of scanning all sea cargo heading to the United States within five years.  Late last year, Homeland Security Director Michael Chertoff called such a goal admirable but unrealistic, suggesting it could cut the flow of international trade to the United States by three quarters (see GSN, Sept. 27, 2006). During debate yesterday, some Republicans assailed the legislation.  The 100-percent goal might be impossible given the current radiation detection technology, could bring commerce to a “screeching halt” and will carry an enormous price tag, they said. “The ideas and proposals contained in this bill are overly costly and draconian even,” said Representative Harold Rogers (R-Ky.).  “This bill will waste billions.” The cost of screening air cargo alone is expected to cost $3.6 billion over the next 10 years, and some expect inspections of shipping containers could top that. Four months ago, the Senate rejected a similar measure that would have required scanning of all U.S.-bound shipping containers for radioactive material.  Roughly 11 million such containers arrive in United States from foreign ports each year. “This is primarily a political gesture without a great deal of result,” said Representative Don King (R-Alaska).  “What we’re asking for in this bill is the expenditure of a huge amount of dollars.” Representative Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) said inspections mandated by the bill would cost about $30 to $50 per container, a “modest fee” that would be paid by shippers. The legislation also seeks to strengthen the Proliferation Security Initiative, a loose partnership between the United States and other nations to interdict the illicit shipment of weapons of mass destruction or related equipment. The House bill gives the initiative a separate budget, opens membership to non-NATO countries and encourages Russian and China to join.  The bill also calls for a U.N. Security Council resolution codifying the initiative into international law. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) described the PSI effort as one of the “most valuable tools in stopping the spread of weapons of mass destruction and stopping them from falling into the hands of terrorists.”  However, she cautioned against seeking U.N. involvement in the program, painting the Security Council as ineffective and obstructionist. The legislation removes the cap on funding to secure weapons of mass destruction and related materials in countries outside the former Soviet Union.  Oversight of such funding would also be strengthened.  Also included are additional funds for fiscal 2007 to support both the Cooperative Threat Reduction program and the Global Threat Reduction Initiative.  In the Senate, the Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee yesterday held a hearing on fully following recommendations of the 2004 Sept. 11 commission report.  Committee Chairman Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) said he hopes by the end of January to draft a bill “that will take steps forward to adopt some of the unadopted, unimplemented or inadequately implemented parts” of the commission’s recommendations. Testifying before that committee, former congressman and commission member Tim Roemer urged “maximum effort” in securing weapons of mass destruction and related material. “We lost 3,000 people on 9/11,” he said.  “We don’t have a convention hall big enough for the mourning that will take place when this country or Europe may be attacked with a nuclear weapon.  We have to do more.” Testifying before the same committee, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said complete control of the material flowing in and out of the New York metro area’s maritime port is probably beyond possibility. Asked by Senator John Warner (R-Va.) about his confidence in the security of the port, Bloomberg said, “Without violating any intelligence information, I think we do a not terrible job.” Inspectors, he said, are likely to spot significant problems but are a long way from inspecting every container.  “And it’s not clear to me that you’d really want to do that.  The cost benefit may not be there,” Bloomberg said.  “The country may have other ways to protect itself with the limited dollars that it has.” Committee member Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) expressed concerns about the cost of screening 100 percent of inbound cargo.  “This committee has spent a lot of time on that issue,” he said.  “It’s going to cost a lot of money, and I’m not sure we have the technology.  It probably sounds good. We have X number of dollars, what are you going to spend it on?” Back to top       U.S. Infrastructure Protection Grants Announced The U.S. Homeland Security Department in fiscal 2007 plans to distribute $445 million among five grant programs that provide funding for ports, transit systems and other components of the country’s critical infrastructure, the agency announced yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 9). Funding this year is $46 million higher than in fiscal 2006.  The Infrastructure Protection Program to date has provided more than $1.5 billion to local, state and private entities for protection against terrorism of crucial sites. “We’re investing resources where risk is greatest and where the funds will have the most significant impact,” Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said in a press release. The Port Security Grant Program is set to receive $201.2 million in fiscal 2007.  Sixty percent of the funding — $120 million — will be directed toward eight “Tier 1” port areas believed to be at highest risk for terrorism.  These are New York-New Jersey, New Orleans, Houston-Galveston, Los Angeles-Long Beach, Puget Sound in Washington state, Delaware Bay, San Francisco Bay and Sabine-Neches River in Texas.  The remaining funds will be distributed among ports in three risk tiers.  Training, exercises, employee credentials and access controls are among the funding priorities. The Transit Security Grant Program will release $171.8 million for security of rail and bus systems.  Of that, $141 million will go toward security at eight Tier 1 urban areas — New York-Connecticut-New Jersey, National Capital Region, Boston, San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago, Philadelphia, Greater Los Angeles and Atlanta.  Among the grant funding priorities are securing underground and underwater systems, safeguarding against weapons of mass destruction and improvised explosive devices, training, exercises and public awareness.  The program will also provide $8 million to Amtrak for passenger rail security efforts and to coordinate its work with that conducted by local and regional transit systems. A number of regions are eligible for funding to boost security of ferry systems.  The regions are:  Seattle, New York-New Jersey, Houston, San Francisco Bay Area, North Carolina, Connecticut-New York, Boston, Alaska-Washington, New Orleans, Martha’s Vineyard, Mass., Jamestown, Va., Delaware-New Jersey and Greater Los Angeles. The remaining grant initiatives are the Buffer Zone Protection Program, which will distribute $48.5 million; the Intercity Bus Security Grant Program, funded at $11.6 million; and the Trucking Security Grant Program, due to release $11.6 million in grants (U.S. Homeland Security Department release, Jan. 9). Back to top       British Officials Plan to E-Mail Terror Alerts The United Kingdom plans to announce changes to its terror threat level through e-mail alerts and cell phone text messages, the MI5 domestic security agency announced yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 10, 2006). The move would serve to both inform British residents about potential threats and generate new intelligence leads, said MI5 head Eliza Manningham-Butler. “If individuals are aware of an imminent threat, they are more likely to notice odd behavior,” she said.  “They are added eyes and ears for the security services.” The alert system follows an official analysis of the July 2005 London subway bombings which concluded that the government performed poorly in advising citizens of security risks, the Washington Post reported. “It is important that we are as open as possible with the general public about security measures,” said Labor Party parliamentarian Phyllis Starkey. The British security level is currently listed as “severe,” downgraded from “critical” late last year.  Home Secretary John Reid cautioned last month that a Christmas-season terrorist attack was “highly likely,” though nothing happened. Starkey urged the government to keep the alerts credible, cautioning that many people feel the Bush administration has used similar alerts to build political backing in the United States. “That’s only added to the problem here,” she said, “because it makes people in this country think our government is going down the same route” (Kevin Sullivan, Washington Post, Jan. 10). Back to top

China Blasts U.S. Sanctions China yesterday lashed out at sanctions imposed by the United States on three companies suspected in Washington of selling weapons-related material to Iran and Syria, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Jan. 8). The United States on Friday announced sanctions against the Chinese firms and 21 others it believes violated the Iran and Syria Nonproliferation Act.  Targeted entities are banned from doing certain types of business with the U.S. government and U.S. companies. “We strongly oppose this and demand the U.S. side correct this erroneous action,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao.  The Chinese government steadfastly opposes proliferation, and companies there should not be penalized without evidence of wrongdoing, he argued. Malaysia is also questioning U.S. sanctions on one company, AFP reported. The U.S. Embassy in Kuala Lumpur confirmed that Target Airfreight was among the sanctioned companies, but could not provide details on why it made the list. “We will have to investigate because one can’t simply conclude that any trade, if there is, may necessarily contravene international law,” Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar told the Star newspaper.  “But I am not aware of any company selling weapons to these countries.  This is because Malaysia does not trade in weapons.” Sanctions are set to continue through December 2008 (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Jan. 9). Back to top

Iran Intends to Stay With NPT Iran plans to remain a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, but could modify its cooperation with international nuclear inspectors, the nation’s top nuclear negotiator said yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 9). “We do not insist on quitting the NPT,” Ali Larijani said.  “There are various methods to revise the cooperation level.” Following last month’s action by the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions against Iran for refusing to curb its nuclear activities, the nation’s parliament approved a bill to give President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad the authority to “revise” Tehran’s cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (see GSN, Jan. 3). Larijani urged Western nations to negotiate for a long-term resolution to the nuclear crisis. “We think that returning to talks is the best way to resolve the nuclear issue” (Parisi Hafezi, Reuters/Washington Post, Jan. 9). Meanwhile, unusual criticism of government policy has emerged in Iran’s press, with two conservative newspapers questioning Ahmadinejad’s handling of the nuclear crisis, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday. “The tone in which the nuclear issue is treated is aggressive and implies to listeners that there is a kind of stubbornness in our nuclear drive,” says an editorial in Jomhuri Eslami.  “Propagating the nuclear issue in your speeches implies that you are using it to cover up some of the government’s shortcomings,” it tells Ahmadinejad. A second paper complained of the expense of the nuclear program, among other things. “The hot speeches of the president brought about two U.N. resolutions against us,” says an editorial in Hamshahri.  “The sensitivities are such that high-ranking Iranian officials have to come up with an efficient strategy before it is too late to bring about more unity in the country and secondly to stop the soaring cost” (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Jan. 9). Suspected Spy Arrested Also in Iran, authorities have arrested a parliamentary researcher for allegedly selling nuclear secrets to an exiled Iranian opposition group (see GSN, June 29, 2005). “The man transferred classified information, including a bulletin on nuclear activities, to the hypocrites (the armed opposition group the People’s Mujahedeen),” state radio announced yesterday. The suspect worked for the Iranian Parliament’s Research Center, an institution that advises lawmakers on foreign and strategic policy, the Associated Press reported (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, Jan. 9). Back to top       Japan Remains Undecided on U.S.-Indian Nuclear Deal Japan has made no official decision on whether to support the U.S.-Indian nuclear trade agreement or changes to international export rules the deal would require, a senior official said today (see GSN, Dec. 22, 2006). As a member of the international group that sets nuclear trade guidelines, Japan has been lobbied by U.S. and Indian officials to support the deal.  As India has not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and does not allow international monitoring of all its nuclear facilities, it is currently ineligible to receive nuclear technology and materials from members of the group.  U.S. President George W. Bush signed a law last month that exempted India from U.S. nuclear nonproliferation restrictions, clearing one hurdle to the deal’s implementation (see GSN, Dec. 18, 2006). “Japan and the global community have valued the international system of nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation based on the NPT,” said Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki (Kana Inagaki, Associated Press/The Hindu, Jan. 10). “Taking this into consideration, I believe we have to decide our nation’s thinking through careful examination of the details of the U.S.-India agreement,” he added (Reuters, Jan. 10). Back to top       ElBaradei Calls for World Without Nuclear Weapons The world’s inventory of nuclear bombs and missiles threatens to “end life as we know it,” International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 1, 2006). The U.N. nuclear watchdog has only “uneven authority” in its effort to prevent nuclear proliferation, ElBaradei said during a nuclear energy conference in Algeria, according to Reuters.  That weakness could be reduced with a new international security system that opposes nuclear weapons while promoting negotiations and the fight against poverty, he said. “We should always remember that the goal of the [Nuclear] Nonproliferation Treaty is a world free from nuclear weapons,” ElBaradei said. “We have nine countries that possess nuclear weapons, we have 27,000 warheads in existence.  We still have more than 30 countries that are members of alliances that rely on nuclear weapons as part of their security,” ElBaradei said. China, France, India, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are known to have nuclear weapons.  Israel is also widely assumed to possess a nuclear arsenal, but maintains a policy of ambiguity (see GSN, Dec. 13, 2006). “We witness increasing concern regarding the proliferation of nuclear weapons and with it the increased danger of both the intentional or accidental use of nuclear weapons that could end life as we known it,” ElBaradei said (Reuters I/New York Times, Jan. 9). ElBaradei also identified negotiations as the only means for ending the nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea, Reuters reported. “In my opinion these questions can only be solved through direct negotiations between the parties concerned,” he said.  There is a need to create “a climate for bringing the concerned parties to the same table of negotiations in Iran or in North Korea,” ElBaradei said, according to the Algerian El Moudjahid newspaper. ElBaradei has worried that the U.N. Security Council approved sanctions against Iran too soon (see GSN, Jan. 3), and that Tehran ultimately might respond by quitting the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and barring visits by IAEA inspectors, diplomats said (see related GSN story, today; Reuters II/New York Times, Jan. 10). Back to top       North Korea Should Consider U.S. Offer, South Says North Korea should consider what the United States is offering in exchange for nuclear disarmament before the next round of six-party talks, South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said today (see GSN, Jan. 9). The U.S. offer includes security guarantees, a treaty to end the Korean War, normalized relations, and Pyongyang’s removal from the list of state sponsors of terrorism, the Associated Press reported. “I expect North Korea to come to the talks with realistic and positive proposals after seriously reviewing” the U.S. offers, Song said. Participating nations — China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States — want to resume the negotiations soon, Song said.  He could not say when that would occur. The presidents of China, Japan and South Korea are expected to discuss the nuclear standoff when they meet Sunday in the Philippines, Song said (Kwang tae-Kim, Associated Press/Washington Post, Jan. 10). Back to top       India Unveils Mobile Radiation Detection Lab A new mobile laboratory developed at an Indian research center would be used to assess the accidental release of radiation from a nuclear reactor or during transport of radiological materials, the Press Trust of India reported yesterday (see GSN, April 24, 2006). The Bhabha Atomic Research Center equipped the vehicle with technology for environmental and radiological monitoring.  It is capable of operating continuously for two weeks. Data collected by the laboratory would be used to prepare a remediation plan following the release of radiation.  The vehicle is also available for normal environmental and radiological surveillance, PTI reported (Press Trust of India, Jan. 9). Back to top       Algeria Calls on African Nations to Join CTBT Algeria yesterday urged all African nations to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (see GSN, Aug. 10, 2006). Adding parties to the treaty would “contribute to an increased respect for the fundamental principles that determine the future of world security and discourage the arms race,” Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika told an international nuclear conference in Algiers (Associated Press/CNN.com, Jan. 9). Only two out of 53 African states have not signed the treaty, and 20 nations have not yet ratified the pact, according to a fact sheet from the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization. Algeria ratified the treaty in 2003.  It is one of 44 specific nations whose ratifications are necessary for the pact to enter into force.  Ten of these nations — including the United States, North Korea, India, Pakistan and Israel — have not ratified the accord (Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization fact sheet, Jan. 10). Back to top

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