British diplomat John Sawers, shown last year, chaired a meeting of U.N. powers yesterday in London to discuss the Iranian nuclear crisis (Stan Honda/Getty Images). U.N. Powers Begin Next Resolution on Iran Nuclear Standoff Six leading nations plan to gather again Thursday to discuss their strategy on slowing Iran’s nuclear activities.  Diplomats from the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany met yesterday in London for the first time since Iran was formally found to have ignored a December council demand to freeze its nuclear program (see GSN, Feb. 26). “We had a productive first discussion of the next steps following the director general of the [International Atomic Energy Agency’s] confirmation that Iran has failed to comply” with the December resolution, said John Sawers, the British Foreign Office official who led yesterday’s meeting.  “We are all committed to seeking a negotiated solution.”..Full Story

North, South Korean Officials Meet Senior officials from North and South Korea met for the first time today since Pyongyang’s Oct. 9 nuclear blast, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Feb. 26)...Full Story

U.S. Questions Iranian Rocket Test U.S. missile launch sensors have not detected any Iranian sounding rocket tests, such as one officials in Tehran announced Saturday, leading to U.S. doubts that the test actually occurred, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 26)...Full Story

	Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Israel Prepares Missile Attack Drill Israel’s first nationwide exercise involving strikes by missiles carrying nuclear or chemical warheads has been scheduled for March, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, June 30, 2006). The drill follows Israel’s summer 2006 war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, and calls for the country’s elimination by Iran, which Israeli leaders fear is developing nuclear weapons. The drill is expected to involve major rocket strikes on cities, along with a “conventional and nonconventional missile attack,” according to a spokesman for the Magen David Adom rescue services. Army rescue forces, police, medical and firefighting personnel are expected to participate in the drill.  Air-raid sirens might be heard around Israel (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Feb. 26). Back to top       WMD Detection System Going to Memphis The city of Memphis, Tenn., is due to receive the first commercial mobile chemical and radiological detection system, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 17, 2006). The U.S. Energy Department and Knoxville engineering firm Cadre5 developed the portable sensor and video system that operates from a trailer. The $600,000 unit going to Memphis will come equipped with five gamma-ray radiation sensors, five video cameras, and eight chemical sensors able to detect materials such as ammonia, cyanide and chlorine. The system is also able to use information on wind and weather to indicate escape routes away from clouds of chemicals or radioactive material following an industrial accident or a terrorist “dirty bomb” attack, AP reported. The system is scheduled to arrive prior to the Memphis in May festival. “Obviously we can’t deploy this type of technology at every site,” said Capt. Dale Lane of the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office.  “This will be deployed for specific threats or to certain venues or around large crowds. “Anything that could draw national attention.  Anything that could up the threat level,” he added, citing sporting events or races at the Memphis Motorsport Park. A prototype system is in use in Washington, D.C. Cadre5 plans to market its system to other cities, including Knoxville.  Municipalities in the western third of Tennessee would have access to the Shelby County system, Lane said (Duncan Mansfield, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Feb. 26). Back to top

U.N. Powers Begin Next Resolution on Iran Nuclear Standoff Six leading nations plan to gather again Thursday to discuss their strategy on slowing Iran’s nuclear activities.  Diplomats from the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany met yesterday in London for the first time since Iran was formally found to have ignored a December council demand to freeze its nuclear program (see GSN, Feb. 26). “We had a productive first discussion of the next steps following the director general of the [International Atomic Energy Agency’s] confirmation that Iran has failed to comply” with the December resolution, said John Sawers, the British Foreign Office official who led yesterday’s meeting.  “We are all committed to seeking a negotiated solution.” The group plans to confer again Thursday by telephone (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Feb. 27). “There is a big chance that we will all be able to agree quickly, including the Russians and the Chinese, the Americans, the British and the French, on a second resolution with economic sanctions,” French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said yesterday (Edmund Blair, Reuters, Feb. 27). U.S. officials said the there was time for diplomacy to work, but urged Iran to suspend its sensitive activities to enable talks to begin. “The genie isn’t out of the bottle yet, but … they are working very aggressively to get it out,” said one U.S. official (Dombey/Fidler, Financial Times, Feb. 27). “We are equally committed to sending the message to the Iranian government:  should they choose not to proceed down that [diplomatic] pathway, then there will be consequences,” U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday (Agence France-Presse, Feb. 27). U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has offered to hold nuclear talks with Iran at any time, but only after Tehran freezes its uranium enrichment program, a demand that drew criticism yesterday from a former Bush administration official. “I do not think this call for a precondition of stoppage of all enrichment activity ought to be allowed to torpedo diplomacy,” Richard Haass, former head of the State Department’s Policy Planning Office, said at a New York international security conference.  “This is the sort of thing that can be finessed, very easily and very quickly, I think.” The U.S. policy drew more criticism from Hans Blix, former IAEA chief and former top U.N. weapons inspectors in Iraq. “This is in a way like telling a child, first you will behave and thereafter you will be given your rewards,” Blix told the conference.  “And this, I think, is humiliating.” A long-term solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis could hinge on whether Washington is willing to offer security guarantees and diplomatic recognition to Iran. With U.S. forces in Iraq, Afghanistan, and some bases in Pakistan, “It’s not absurd that [Iranian leaders] might feel a little worried about their security,” Blix said (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, Feb. 26). Meanwhile, domestic criticism of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has continued, the London Guardian reported today.  His fiery language, including yesterday using a brakeless train metaphor for Iran’s nuclear program, has concerned moderate political leaders. “This rhetoric is not suitable for a president and has no place in diplomatic circles,” said Mohammad Atrianfar, a political commentator allied with reformist leader and former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.  “It is the language people in the bazaar and alleyways use to address the simplest issues of life.” “The brake exists to get the train safely to its destination,” said Fayaz Zahed, a reformist party leader.  “Perhaps on the journey, we might find the track broken and are obliged to move our passengers by using the reverse gear to get to a safer track” (Tait/Black, The Guardian, Feb. 27). Back to top       North, South Korean Officials Meet Senior officials from North and South Korea met for the first time today since Pyongyang’s Oct. 9 nuclear blast, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Feb. 26). The meeting in Pyongyang moves South Korea closer to resuming aid shipments to its neighbor, after North Korea agreed during the latest six-party talks to begin eliminating its nuclear weapons program. North Korea must see that the benefits of divesting itself of those weapons outweigh the drawbacks, said South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun. “We have to keep sending signals (to the North) that their security will be guaranteed and they could get profits through reform and openness,” he said. North Korea is unlikely to use its nuclear weapons unless it comes under attack, Roh said.  Such a move would be something “only mental patients would do,” he said. Officials at the Cabinet-level meeting are expected to discuss implementation of the Feb. 13 denuclearization agreement, South Korean Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung said before leaving Seoul. “A good agreement was reached … based on the principle of equality and balance,” he said during an informal meeting with North Korean Senior Cabinet Councilor Kwon Ho Ung. Meanwhile, senior North Korean nuclear negotiator Kim Kye Gwan was in China today, and is expected to continue on to the United States (Bo-Mi Lim, Associated Press/Time, Feb. 27). Kim is expected to meet U.S. officials in New York “within the next couple weeks,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said yesterday. “We expect the venue will be New York for the start-up of that working group between the United States and North Korea that comes about as part of the six-party agreement that was signed just a few weeks ago in Beijing,” he said (Agence France-Presse Yahoo!News, Feb. 26). Japan said yesterday North Korea should provide information about its alleged uranium enrichment program following the six-party agreement, AFP reported. “It is a matter of course to include it” in future negotiations, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki.  “We hope they come forth to have in-depth talks.” North Korea’s known nuclear weapons program involves plutonium.  The United States said in 2002 that Pyongyang acknowledged operating a uranium enrichment program, a charge the Stalinist state has denied (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Feb. 26). Back to top       Japan Looks to Strengthen Nuclear Terror Laws Japanese lawmakers are considering legislation to strengthen domestic nuclear terrorism laws, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported today (see GSN, Feb. 12). The government has introduced a bill that would increase punishments for possessing, threatening to use, or using radioactive materials in terrorist attacks.  The maximum sentence for triggering a radiological weapon would increase from 10 years to life imprisonment, according to the Yomiuri. The legislation is intended to pave the way for Japan to ratify the U.N. Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, which has been formally approved by 13 nations since it was opened for signature in April 2005.  For the treaty to take effect, it must be ratified by 22 countries (see GSN, Dec. 19, 2006; Yomiuri Shimbun, Feb. 27). Back to top       U.S. Begins Dismantling New Set of Warheads The United States has begun dismantling an aging class of nuclear warheads that was once deployed on antisubmarine weapons, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported today (see GSN, May 30, 2006). Workers at the Y-12 plant at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee have started to take apart W-55 warheads, which were retired from naval vessels in 1990. “Our dismantlement mission at Y-12 is growing in importance as we have dramatically increased the pace of this activity over the past year,” said laboratory spokesman Steven Wyatt. Fissile material from these and other warheads is scheduled to be stored in the Highly Enriched Uranium Materials Facility, now about half built, the News Sentinel reported (Frank Munger, Knoxville News Sentinel, Feb. 27). Back to top       University Cited for Safety Violations at Los Alamos The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration has cited the University of California for multiple safety violations in the operations of the Los Alamos National Laboratory, the agency announced yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 23). The violations all occurred in 2005 while the university was the sole operator of the nuclear weapons research facility in New Mexico.  A team led by the university and engineering firm Bechtel won the management contract in December 2005 following a series of security and safety failures at the laboratory. A Preliminary Notice of Violation lists 15 violations of NNSA nuclear safety regulations in the areas of work planning and control, adequacy of procedures, training, quality improvement, assessment programs, safety basis, and radiological and contamination controls. “The PNOV noted that many of the deficiencies were programmatic and long-standing in nature, and had been the subject of previous enforcement actions directed to the laboratory,” according to a NNSA press release. Several employees were exposed to small amounts of radiation while conducting decontamination work in one building in March 2005.  A worker who accidentally contaminated himself with radioactive material in July 2005 spread radiation to a number of locations outside the facility and in other states (see GSN, Feb. 16, 2006). “Although the resulting worker radiation doses were below the department’s limits in both cases, the effects could have been significantly greater,” the agency said. An Energy Department inspection in November 2005 also found various problems with Los Alamos environment, safety and health programs. The university could have been fined $1.1 million for the violations, the largest single civil penalty under the Price-Anderson Amendments Act of 1988.  The university at the time was exempt from paying such fines, but that is no longer the case for the present management entity, Los Alamos National Security, LLC.  The management team must also implement corrections to problems identified in the report (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, Feb. 26). Back to top

People Decontaminated After Powder, Bomb Scare Authorities decontaminated 23 people today following a standoff with a man who claimed to have anthrax and a bomb at the University of Missouri-Rolla, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Nov. 23, 2005). The suspect was described as an international graduate student at the university who “had problems and was depressed,” said Rolla Mayor William Jenks.  He was troubled by poor grades, said acting Police Chief Mark Kearse. The standoff began at about 2:30 a.m. outside the campus civil engineering building.  Police found the student holding a knife and a bag he said contained a bomb.  He also said he was carrying anthrax. After using a stun gun to end the standoff, police found a white powder on the student and a note threatening to destroy the building, AP reported. Decontamination was conducted outside the building.  Classes were canceled while authorities searched the building for a bomb (Jim Salter, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Feb. 27). Back to top

Mustard Agent Leak Found at Deseret Depot Workers at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah yesterday found a minute amount of mustard agent leaking from a bulk container in storage, the U.S. Army said (see GSN, Feb. 12). Workers plan to contain the vapor using specialized equipment and then move the container to another storage site for repairs (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, Feb. 26). Back to top

U.S. Questions Iranian Rocket Test U.S. missile launch sensors have not detected any Iranian sounding rocket tests, such as one officials in Tehran announced Saturday, leading to U.S. doubts that the test actually occurred, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 26). Iranian defense and aerospace officials said the rocket reached the upper limits of Earth’s atmosphere and was launched as part of an effort to develop a satellite booster. “We have no indication that that’s true,” said a U.S. defense official.  “Nothing we’ve come up with would indicate that’s happened.” The U.S.-based North American Aerospace Defense Command monitors rocket and missile launches around the world, AFP reported. “There was nothing on this one,” the official said.  “The intelligence points to that the event didn’t happen” (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Feb. 26). Back to top

U.S.-Poland Missile Defense Talks Expected Soon Negotiations on deploying U.S. missile interceptors in Poland could begin in a “short time, counted in weeks,” Polish Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski said today (see GSN, Feb. 26). Kaczynski yesterday discussed the plan with U.S. Ambassador Victor Ashe, the Associated Press reported.  The U.S. plan also calls for installing a radar system in the Czech Republic, in an effort to track and eliminate missiles fired from the Middle East toward Europe or the United States, according to Washington. Negotiations must focus on the Polish requirement that the plan strengthen its security, Kaczynski said. “We do not hide that we find the idea a good one, but under that condition,” he said.  “This condition will take on a concrete form in the course of the negotiations.” Russia said last week that some of its missiles could be aimed at Poland and the Czech Republic if they house the U.S. installations, AP reported. “There are threats against Poland that will certainly be carried out, and Poland needs to have an answer for them,” Kaczynski said (Associated Press/Washington Post, Feb. 27). Ukrainian Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovich yesterday chided the United States for failing to consult with his country and Russia on its European missile defense plans, Reuters reported. “The stationing issues should have been discussed with everyone in advance, including Ukraine and Russia,” he told the German business daily Handelsblatt. “Only once there has been a comprehensive European debate, a dialogue between Western and Eastern Europe, can such a decision be made,” he said.  “Europe must not be split again like it was before the Iraq war” (Reuters/The Scotsman, Feb. 26). Back to top

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