British Ambassador to the United Nations Emyr Jones Parry said a draft resolution to expand Iranian nuclear sanctions would be circulated to the U.N. Security Council today (Stan Honda/Getty Images). U.N. Powers Agree to Iran Nuclear Sanctions Six leading U.N. Security Council nations agreed today on new sanctions against Iran, hoping to persuade Tehran to suspend its nuclear program, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, March 14). A draft resolution containing the new measures is to be circulated today to the entire council, said British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said after a meeting of ambassadors from China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States...Full Story

End of Bank Case Could Prod N.Korea to Close Reactor The end of the U.S. investigation of a bank connected to illicit North Korean financial activity could prod Pyongyang to close its primary nuclear reactor, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, March 14)...Full Story

9/11 Suspect Says He Sought Bioweapons By Jon Fox Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The man believed to have orchestrated the Sept. 11 attacks said he also managed al-Qaeda efforts to produce biological weapons and detonate a radiological “dirty bomb” on U.S. soil, according to a transcript of a military hearing released yesterday by the Defense Department (see GSN, Sept. 7, 2006)...Full Story

	Thursday, March 15, 2007

Nevada Legislation to Outlaw Terror Hoaxes Legislation approved yesterday in the Nevada Assembly would make it illegal to disperse harmless materials intended to simulate a biological agent or other WMD material, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Jan. 19). The bill also would increase the punishment for a false terrorism threat from one to six years in prison to two to 20 years. “We must be prepared to respond to a real terrorist threat.  A false threat is a diversion of resources that we cannot afford,” said the bill’s sponsor, Assembly Majority Leader John Oceguera (D-Las Vegas). The Senate must now act on the legislation (Associated Press/Las Vegas Sun, March 14). Back to top

9/11 Suspect Says He Sought Bioweapons By Jon Fox Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The man believed to have orchestrated the Sept. 11 attacks said he also managed al-Qaeda efforts to produce biological weapons and detonate a radiological “dirty bomb” on U.S. soil, according to a transcript of a military hearing released yesterday by the Defense Department (see GSN, Sept. 7, 2006). Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who was arrested in Pakistan in 2003 and later transferred to U.S. custody, is among 14 terrorism suspects that the United States transferred to the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba from secret CIA prisons abroad last year. Following the November 2001 death in Afghanistan of Mohammed Atif, listed by the United Nations as a senior lieutenant to al-Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed said he took charge of managing and “following up on” a terror cell dedicated to the production of biological agents such as anthrax, according to the government transcript. Sheikh Mohammed also took control of “dirty bomb operations on American soil,” according to his testimony. In the wide-ranging confession given Saturday, he also claimed to have been behind the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center and a nightclub bombing in Indonesia, as well as plans to kill Pope John Paul II, former U.S. Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf.  He said he personally decapitated Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002, the Washington Post reported today. Back to top       Iraqi Misinformant Remains Under German Protection A key informant supporting the Bush administration’s prewar claims about Iraq’s biological weapons program continues to live under protection in Germany, ABC News reported yesterday (see GSN, June 26, 2006). The Iraqi defector claimed that Iraq had mobile biological weapon laboratories, a charge made by then-Secretary of State Colin Powell in 2003 as he laid out the U.S. case for war to the U.N. Security Council.  No such mobile laboratories have been found in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion. Known only by his codename “Curveball,” the informant now lives outside Munich as part of the deal he struck with German officials when he defected in 1999, ABC reported. One former CIA official has claimed he tried to remove Curveball-provided information from Powell’s speech because he was suspicious of the source’s truthfulness. Tyler Drumheller, former European operations chief at the agency, told ABC he personally eliminated all Curveball-backed claims from an early copy of Powell’s presentation. “We said, ‘This is from Curveball.  Don’t use this,’” he said. Powell’s former chief of staff Larry Wilkerson, however, denied ever hearing any criticism of the Curveball-sourced information. “In fact, it was the exact opposite,” Wilkerson said.  “Never from anyone did we even hear the word ‘Curveball,’ let alone any expression of doubt in what Secretary Powell was presenting with regard to the biological labs.” Drumheller said he regrets that the information made it into Powell’s speech. “People died because of this,” he said.  “All off this one little guy who all he wanted to do was stay in Germany” (Ross/Schwartz, ABC News, March 13). Back to top       Pentagon Certifies Wyoming WMD Response Team The U.S. Defense Department has certified that the Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team for Wyoming is ready for operations, according to a notice sent yesterday to Congress (see GSN, Feb. 5). The Wyoming National Guard unit based in Cheyenne would aid civil authorities in the response to a WMD incident.  Members have “the requisite skills, training and equipment to be proficient in all mission requirements,” the Pentagon said in a press release. The Pentagon is organizing 55 civil support teams, one for each U.S. state, territory and the District of Columbia.  The final seven units are expected to be certified by September of this year (U.S. Defense Department release, March 14). Back to top

U.N. Powers Agree to Iran Nuclear Sanctions Six leading U.N. Security Council nations agreed today on new sanctions against Iran, hoping to persuade Tehran to suspend its nuclear program, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, March 14). A draft resolution containing the new measures is to be circulated today to the entire council, said British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry said after a meeting of ambassadors from China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. “We anticipate that the voting [on the resolution] would happen maybe well into next week,” said council president Dumisani Kumalo, South Africa’s ambassador. The group of six has been consulting daily to craft mutually acceptable ways to ramp up pressure against Iran, which has ignored a December council resolution demanding a halt to the nation’s uranium enrichment activities.  That resolution also initiated a limited set of economic sanctions. The new batch of sanctions would expand a list of Iranian individuals and firms that will have their foreign-held assets frozen.  The new sanctions add 10 individuals and eight entities to the previous list, AP reported.  Seven of the individuals belong to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and three of the entities are also linked to the guards, according to AP. In addition, the new sanctions would ban Iran from exporting “any arms or related material” and encourage all nations “to exercise vigilance and restraint” when considering selling heavy weapons to Iran, AP reported. Furthermore, the draft resolution calls on nations to avoid new “grants, financial assistance, or concessional loans” to Iran. A Western push to bar the international travel of certain Iranian officials was dropped during negotiations, but the new measures would encourage nations to use “vigilance and restraint” when allowing members of the asset-freeze list to visit their territory (Edith Lederer, Associated Press I/Washington Post, March 15). The draft resolution sets another 60-day deadline for Iran to freeze its sensitive nuclear activities, Reuters reported. If Iran were to comply, all the sanctions would be suspended.  If Iran were to refuse the demand again, the council would consider further action (Evelyn Leopold, Reuters, March 14). Iran’s past actions and current statements suggest it will not freeze its program, AP reported. “You are wrong if you think you can sit and draft ... something in order to isolate the Iranian nation,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday.  “Not only are you unable to hurt Iran, but you would further isolate yourselves and make yourselves more hated” (Edith Lederer, Associated Press II/Boston Herald, March 14). Bushehr Dispute Meanwhile, Russian officials hinted yesterday that recent delays to the completion of a Russian-built nuclear power reactor in Iran could become permanent. Officials from Russia’s nuclear export firm have said that Iran’s failure to make payments on the project has forced them to suspend it just before the first batch of nuclear fuel was scheduled to be delivered this month. “If the Iranian side doesn’t resume funding for the project, the process could become irreversible,” said a statement from Atomstroiexport. Iranian officials have denied that they are in arrears and have accused Russia of caving to Western pressure to stall all aspects of Iran’s nuclear program. A U.S. official yesterday praised Russia’s actions. The Russian decision was “consistent with our common interests and common concerns as to what going on in Iran,” said U.S. Deputy Energy Secretary Clay Sell during a visit to Moscow (Jim Heintz, Associated Press III/Washington Post, March 14). Back to top       End of Bank Case Could Prod N.Korea to Close Reactor The end of the U.S. investigation of a bank connected to illicit North Korean financial activity could prod Pyongyang to close its primary nuclear reactor, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, March 14). Under an agreement reached last month, North Korea would begin denuclearization by halting operations at its Yongbyon reactor and readmitting international inspectors.  It has, however, demanded that Washington first lift economic sanctions. The U.S. Treasury Department announced yesterday that it had completed its investigation of Banco Delta Asia in Macau, which has been linked to North Korean counterfeiting and money laundering.  The institution froze $24 million in North Korean assets after being blacklisted by the United States in 2005. A Treasury Department order issued yesterday prohibits U.S. financial institutions from conducting any business with Banco Delta Asia, the agency said in a release.  The move opens the door for the Macau bank to release a portion of the North Korean funds, possibly as much as half of the money. It remains to be seen if the Stalinist regime will accept the action as adequate and begin the nuclear shutdown.  Pyongyang is not likely to make its move immediately, analysts told the Post, instead waiting to see how its international banking relationships develop in the wake of the latest U.S. action. “The North Koreans have the upper hand, and they know that,” said Charles Pritchard, a former U.S. negotiator with North Korea who now leads the Korean Economic Institute.  “They can ride this as long as they want to” (Kessler/Cody, Washington Post, March 15). North Korea is in the past made agreements on principle but then used seemingly minor details as reasons for not following through on its pledge, the New York Times reported today (Kahn/Weisman, New York Times, March 15). China today expressed “deep regret” over the action against Banco Delta Asia, and indicated the move could harm the disarmament process, the Associated Press reported.  Semiautonomous Macau remains under Chinese rule. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, lead U.S. negotiator at the six-party talks, said he did not believe the move would hurt the negotiations (Alexa Olesen, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, March 15). Negotiators from the nations involved in the talks began meeting in working groups today in Beijing, leading to the next full round of negotiations starting Monday, Agence France-Presse reported. The working talks are intended to address components of the Feb. 13 disarmament agreement. “The energy and economic assistance working group is starting today,” Hill said.  Pyongyang would receive 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil or equivalent assistance for taking the first denuclearization steps, and 950,000 tons when the process is complete. A denuclearization working group” is scheduled to meet tomorrow, Hill said.  A meeting on a Northeast Asia security mechanism is also planned (Agence France-Presse, March 15). A number of obstacles remain on the road to North Korean nuclear disarmament, AP reported.  Along with the financial issue and reactor shutdown is the issue of diplomatic relations. Hill met earlier this month with lead North Korean negotiator Kim Kye Gwan to discuss normalization of diplomatic relations between the two countries.  While officials said the meetings went well, they are not believed to have produced any set agreements (see GSN, March 7).  A similar meeting between North Korean and Japanese officials broke down over long-standing disputes (see GSN, March 8). Pyongyang is also required to submit a full list of its nuclear programs (Burt Herman, Associated Press ii, March 15). Back to top       DHS Considers Nuclear Detector Tests in NYC By Jon Fox Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. Homeland Security Department is scheduled to decide this week whether to formally begin testing next-generation radiation detectors at a sea cargo terminal in New York City (see GSN, March 6). Following approval to begin testing at the New York Container Terminal on Staten Island, the portal machines would be put in place for about four weeks — enough time to send 10,000 shipping containers through them, said Vayl Oxford, head of Homeland Security’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office.  The new technology would operate alongside the current detectors and DHS officials would evaluate the rate of false alarms. Even as the detection office prepares to put the new machines through real-world paces, doubts persist in Congress about the value of the new technology. Congress has blocked any additional funding for the new detectors until the homeland security secretary could assure Congress of the efficacy of the detectors.  It is all part of a push and pull the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office is in the middle on Capitol Hill, Oxford said. “We find ourselves in an interesting tug of war,” he told reporters.  “There’s this ‘Do it faster.’  And in the other case ‘Slow down and make sure you do it right.’” The Advanced Spectroscopic Portal monitors are designed to detect radiation and identify the source material.  That would allow screeners to determine if the radiation source is the potassium in a shipment of bananas or the radiation emitted by a material of concern such as uranium or plutonium.  The large number of secondary inspections currently required would be reduced, Oxford said. The technology presently in place throws up the same red flag for all radiation regardless if it comes from natural sources or a radiological “dirty bomb.”  Discriminating between the two requires secondary screening with handheld detectors.  Lawmakers and the Government Accountability Office, however, have questioned the $377,000 price tag for each machine, which is more than four times the cost Homeland Security cites for the cargo screeners now in use.  There are plans to spend $1.2 billion on the new detectors (see GSN, Oct. 3, 2006). “DNDO’s cost-benefit analysis does not provide a sound analytical basis for its decision to purchase and deploy the new portal monitors,” Gene Aloise, a GAO expert on nuclear issues, told a House Homeland Security technology subcommittee yesterday.  “The data used in the analysis was incomplete and unreliable, and as a result we do not have any confidence in it.” Aloise said the detection office assumed the portals would identify highly enriched uranium 95 percent of the time, when in reality the number was much lower.  Test conducted in 2005 indicated the three types of radiation monitors selected could only correctly identify highly enriched uranium about half the time. DHS analysis also used skewed data on the current technology’s performance that made the second-generation machine look better by comparison, he said. “We’re a fact-based organization, and we believe cost-benefit analyses ought to be based on fact,” Aloise told the committee. Oxford said that 95 percent is an ideal goal for HEU identification.  He expressed confidence that the next-generation screeners would reduce false alarms and alleviate pressure on Customs and Border Patrol agents forced to conduct secondary inspections to determine sources of radiation. “Some of the numbers coming out of our ports of entry right now are staggering,” Oxford said.  At the port of Long Beach in California there are 400 to 500 alarms a day, he said.  “If I were to take Mr. Aloise’s statement on its face you screwed up big time,” Representative Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) told Oxford.  “You’re kind of leading us down a big rat hole with a lot of money.” Oxford said the 2006 study on the benefits of the new detectors was only preliminary and that the machines are still being evaluated. The three designs for the new detectors – provided by three separate companies – have been put through a first round of testing at the Energy Department’s Nevada Test Site.  A second round is expected to take place later this year. Back to top       British Parliament Approves Trident Plan The British House of Commons yesterday voted 409-161 in favor of the government’s plan to replace its fleet of submarines carrying nuclear-armed ballistic missiles, the Los Angeles Times reported (see GSN, March 14). Prime Minister Tony Blair needed support from the opposition Conservative Party, after members of his Labor Party came out strongly against the proposal. “With the end of the Cold War, it was understandably hoped that the role of nuclear weapons in shaping the international system might become less relevant. … But unfortunately, they still have a major relevance,” said Conservative Party lawmaker William Hague.  “The abandonment of our nuclear deterrent would be extraordinarily ill-advised, and indeed an act of national folly.” More than 85 Labor Party MPs voted against the submarine replacements, and four lawmakers resigned their government posts in protest. “If the argument is made that the future is uncertain, what right does anyone have to say that Iran should not get a nuclear weapon?  If Iran gets a weapon, Saudi Arabia will want one, as will Egypt, Turkey, Jordan and perhaps even the Gulf States,” said former Cabinet member Clare Short.  “There will be a very dangerous proliferation in the most unstable region in the world.” The United Kingdom’s nuclear weapons are deployed only on four Vanguard-class submarines, which are scheduled to end their service lives in less than two decades.  The government would need no less than 17 years to build three or four replacement vessels, the Times reported. The number of operational British nuclear weapons would be reduced by 20 percent this year, to fewer than 160, under the plan. “Since the Cold War ended, we have withdrawn and dismantled our tactical maritime and airborne nuclear capabilities.  We have terminated our nuclear-capable Lance missiles and artillery.  We have the smallest nuclear capability of any recognized nuclear weapon state, accounting for less than 1 percent of the global inventory,” said Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett. Alongside its submarine replacement plan, Downing Street is also seeking to collaborate with the United States on a project extending the service life of D5 Trident missiles through the 2040s (Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times, March 15). The London Guardian reported yesterday that the United Kingdom has already started upgrading its Trident missiles by installing a firing device that would allow for changes in the power, impact and radioactive fallout of the weapon based on the target. “The bottom line is that the new (device), which we now know is being added to the British system, is part of an effort to increase the warfighting effectiveness” of the Trident D5 missiles, said Hans Kristensen, director of the Federation of American Scientists’ Nuclear Information Project (Richard Norton-Taylor, London Guardian, March 14). Defense Secretary Des Browne told the BBC the replacement fuse “reported to the (Parliament’s) Select Committee in 2005 and is not an upgrading of the system; it is merely making sure that the system works to its maximum efficiency,” the federation said. Kristensen said Browne was “either being ignorant or economical with the truth” (Federation of American Scientists release, March 14). Back to top       U.S. Energy Secretary to Visit India U.S. and Indian officials plan to discuss a pending bilateral nuclear deal next week when U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman visits New Delhi, the Press Trust of India reported today (see GSN, March 12). Bodman is scheduled to begin a three-day visit after leaving Washington on March 18. The nuclear deal would be just one component of Bodman’s agenda, said department spokeswoman Anne Kolton.  Under the planned agreement, the United States would sell nuclear power technology to India in exchange for India opening its civilian nuclear sector to international monitoring. “I am sure the issue will come up, it will be raised in meetings,” Kolton said.  “But the secretary really sees this trip as an opportunity to talk about the broad cooperation on energy security generally” (Press Trust of India, March 14). Back to top

U.K. to Stage Mock Chemical Releases on Subway Stop The British Defense Ministry plans twice in coming weeks to release a harmless chemical in the London Underground subway system to see how a chemical agent might spread during a terrorist incident, the BBC reported today (see GSN, June 26, 2006). The tests involving sulfur hexafluoride are scheduled for March 25 and April 1 at the St. John’s Wood station. “The purpose of the study is to gather data within a genuine rail environment,” said Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander.  “It is not a reaction to any threat increase or a measure to enhance security at this or any other station.” “All the data and feedback gained will merely help to inform future decisions,” he added (BBC News, March 15). Back to top       Funding Cuts Delay Kentucky CW Disposal, Army Says Estimates have lengthened for the time needed to complete operations at a planned U.S. chemical weapons disposal facility at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the Richmond Register reported yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 7). Once expected to be completed by 2011, the destruction of chemical agents at the site is now more likely to done in 2023, said project manager Jim Fritsche.  Both the estimated design and construction periods have more than doubled, according to lead contractor Bechtel. An Army official blamed the delays on reduced funding. “If this community is concerned about the timeline, they should write a letter to their local representatives in the Senate and in Congress asking for more project funding,” said Mike Parker, program manager for Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives.  He spoke Tuesday at a community meeting. Current plans call for weapons at the site to be chemically neutralized and for resultant waste materials to be treated on site, Parker said (see GSN, Feb. 2). So far, about 11 percent of the project has been completed, including the construction of access roads, fencing and environmental sampling, the Register reported (Ronica Shannon, Richmond Register, March 13). Back to top

U.S. Missile Defense Chief Continues European Tour U.S. Missile Defense Agency Director Lt. Gen. Henry Obering is expected to meet with German officials today, part of a tour of several nations aimed at addressing concerns over Washington’s missile shield plans in Europe, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, March 14). Obering spent two days in Ukraine this week, and after his stop in Berlin is also expected to meet with officials in France. “He will brief the Germans on exactly what we’re doing with regard to missile defense and, of course, try to put to rest concerns about this being some sort of new arms race, which of course it is not,” a U.S. official said. Russia has vehemently protested the U.S. plan to deploy 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic. Obering yesterday again addressed Moscow’s concerns about the perceived threat to its strategic security. “We are talking about no more than 10 interceptors,” he said.  “They would have no effect against hundreds and thousands of warheads that the Russians have. … They are not even in a proper position if we were concerned about Russian missiles.” Washington says the interceptors would instead provide defense against Middle Eastern missile threats. German officials said they looking forward to meeting with Obering, but reaffirmed their belief that NATO should play a stronger role in deployment discussions, AP reported. “It is a very complex process,” said Defense Ministry spokesman Thomas Raabe.  “There’s a lot of money involved, also a lot of technical questions … and we simply believe that such a complicated issue is best taken up through NATO” and regular NATO-Russia talks (David Rising, Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, March 14). German Chancellor Angela Merkel is expected to pursue that argument during a two-day visit to Poland beginning tomorrow, Reuters reported. “She will argue something very important, that this can’t be done on a bilateral basis when the decisions will have consequences for other European states,” said Deputy Foreign Minister Gernot Erler (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters I/Washington Post, March 15). Obering said today that he would not be “averse” to integrating the missile defense components with NATO’s defense capabilities, Reuters reported (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters II/Yahoo!News, March 15). Meanwhile, residents of the village of Trokavec in the Czech Republic are scheduled to vote Saturday on whether to support the radar base, which would be placed 1.2 miles from their homes, Agence France-Presse reported. Mayor Jan Neoral, who opposes the plan, said he expects all of the roughly 88 residents to vote.  It would be purely symbolic, as the government has rejected any sort of national referendum on the plan (Agence France-Presse, March 15).   Back to top

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