Iranian envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency Ali Asghar Soltanieh, shown in February, defended in a recent letter to the UN nuclear watchdog Iran’s withholding of nuclear information as a security measure (Behrouz Mehri/Getty Images). Iran Defends Nuclear Secrecy Iran claims that the military threat posed by Israel and the United States is forcing it to restrict the release of information on its nuclear program, the Associated Press reported Saturday (see GSN, March 30). Tehran said late last month that the International Atomic Energy Agency would no longer receive prior notice of construction of new nuclear sites.  This came following the “illegal and bullying resolution by [the U.N.] Security Council,” according to government spokesman Gholan Hossein Elham (see GSN, March 26). The council approved new sanctions against Iran as additional punishment for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment activities. In a March 29 letter to the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Tehran said that “the United States and the Israeli regime … are threatening the use of force and attack against the Islamic Republic of Iran and have repeatedly stressed that military action is an option on the table...Full Story

Grand Jury Investigates Blue Grass Chemical Depot The Blue Grass Army Depot is facing a federal investigation of potential criminal conduct related to chemical weapons storage matters at the Kentucky facility, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported Saturday (see GSN, Jan. 5, 2006)...Full Story

Warhead X-Ray Machine Working, LANL Says Development of a high-powered X-ray machine designed to ensure the reliability of nuclear warheads is proceeding smoothly, following trouble in previous years, the Albuquerque Journal reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 15, 2005)...Full Story

	Monday, April 2, 2007

Homeland Security Preparedness Chief Resigns U.S. Homeland Security Preparedness Undersecretary George Foresman submitted his resignation on Thursday, the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch reported (see GSN, March 8, 2006). Foresman was the agency’s first preparedness chief, spending a year and a half on the job.  He led the department’s efforts to assess WMD, terrorism and disaster dangers and to funnel funding to state and local agencies. “I’ve got two little kids and they need to see their dad more often than they see him,” Foresman told the newspaper. “The department is much better prepared than it was when I walked in the door, said Foresman, who worked in local and state government in Virginia for more than two decades prior to joining the Homeland Security Department (Richmond Times-Dispatch, March 30). Back to top

Iran Defends Nuclear Secrecy Iran claims that the military threat posed by Israel and the United States is forcing it to restrict the release of information on its nuclear program, the Associated Press reported Saturday (see GSN, March 30). Tehran said late last month that the International Atomic Energy Agency would no longer receive prior notice of construction of new nuclear sites.  This came following the “illegal and bullying resolution by [the U.N.] Security Council,” according to government spokesman Gholan Hossein Elham (see GSN, March 26). The council approved new sanctions against Iran as additional punishment for its refusal to suspend uranium enrichment activities. In a March 29 letter to the U.N. nuclear watchdog, Tehran said that “the United States and the Israeli regime … are threatening the use of force and attack against the Islamic Republic of Iran and have repeatedly stressed that military action is an option on the table. “As long as such threats of military action persist, Iran has no option but (to) protect its security through all means possible, including protection of information which can facilitate openly stated and aggressive military objectives of the warmongers,” states the letter, which was signed by Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Tehran’s lead envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency. The agency has failed “systematically and repeatedly to maintain confidentiality of sensitive information,” the letter states, “therefore such dangerous dissemination of sensitive information will have to be curtailed through steps which limit their scope and availability.” A letter from the agency describes Iran’s move as “regrettable” and indicates it might constitute a violation of agreements related to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, AP reported.  It asks Iranian leaders “to reconsider their decision.” Iran also has yet to respond to an IAEA request to place additional remote cameras at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant.  Enrichment could begin in a matter of days, diplomats said Friday, and the cameras would strengthen the agency’s capability to detect any efforts to produce weapon-grade uranium. More than 900 centrifuges have been connected in the lowest level at Natanz, a diplomat said.  A wall prevents them from being seen by IAEA cameras (George Jahn, Associated Press I, March 31). Soltanieh said Saturday that Iran has no plans to operate its nuclear program in secret, Agence France-Presse reported. “Inspections and cooperation will go on with no change or halt,” he told state radio (Agence France-Presse I/Spacewar.com, March 31). Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday said that the “Iranian people will hear news about nuclear developments soon,” AFP reported.  Additional details were not available (Agence France-Presse II/Spacewar.com, April 1). Meanwhile, an Iranian opposition group said Saturday that the capture of 15 British military personnel was a response to the nuclear sanctions, AP reported. “You can see that the clerical regime had in a premeditated act arrested British sailors in order to win concessions from the international community and divert attention from its nuclear project,” said Hossein Abedini, of the National Council of Resistance of Iran.  “Claims that the sailors were arrested in Iranian territorial waters are baseless.” The information came from sources within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Abedini said.  His group passed the information on to the British government, but did not publicly provide additional information. The resistance council is the political arm of the dissident group MEK, which the European Union, United Kingdom and United States classify as a terrorist organization (David Stringer, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, March 31). Elsewhere, the United States last week ordered frozen any U.S.-based assets of Iran’s Defense Industries Organization, which has been linked to the country’s nuclear and missile efforts, AFP reported. The freeze was authorized under the two Security Council resolutions aimed at slowing Iran’s nuclear program.  The firm supplies centrifuge parts, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency, and already operates under U.S. sanctions. “We’d be surprised if there were any (DIO) assets in the United States or other the control of U.S. entities,”  said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.  “But there may well be, and so we are going to go through and do due diligence to make sure if there are any of those assets that we find them and we’re going to freeze them” (Agence France-Presse III, March 30). Back to top       Warhead X-Ray Machine Working, LANL Says Development of a high-powered X-ray machine designed to ensure the reliability of nuclear warheads is proceeding smoothly, following trouble in previous years, the Albuquerque Journal reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 15, 2005). The Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrodynamic Test Facility failed under testing in April 2003 to produce images of a mock nuclear explosion.  The research team working on the project at the Los Alamos National Laboratory has since rebuilt the elements which failed and tested them extensively.  An independent review commissioned by the federal government concluded with “high confidence” that the fix is sufficient. “We have real good data that shows it’s going to work,” Ray Scarpetti, leader of the team rebuilding the X-ray machine, told the Journal. It cost more than $300 million to build the device, and another $90 million to fix it (John Fleck, The Albuquerque Journal, April 1). Back to top       Money Issue Persists With North Korea A U.S. envoy remained in Beijing today to pursue the release of $25 million in frozen North Korean funds the regime has linked directly to its willingness to nuclear disarmament, Agence France Presse reported (see GSN, March 30). U.S. officials confirmed that Daniel Glaser, U.S. deputy assistant treasury secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, remained in China after arriving last week.  “I can confirm he’s still here.  We don’t know longer he is going to be here,” U.S. Embassy  spokeswoman Susan Stevenson told AFP (Agence France Presse I/Spacewar.com, April 2). Glaser has held discussions in Beijing with Chinese diplomatic and banking officials.  The extended stay seems to contradict earlier predictions from U.S. diplomats that the issue would be resolved relatively quickly (Associated Press I/Focus Information Agency, March 30). A senior Japanese diplomat today said he doubted that Pyongyang would meet the mid-April deadline, agreed upon at the last round of six-nation talks, to close its Yongbyon nuclear reactor and readmit international inspectors. “We should not give up our hopes, but objectively looking at the situation, I see it is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve,” said Foreign Affairs Vice Minister Shotaro Yachi (Agence France Presse II/Spacewar.com, April 2). Meanwhile, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a Democratic candidate for president, is expected this month to conduct talks with officials in North Korea, AP reported (Nedra Pickler, Associated Press II/The New Mexican, March 31). Back to top       Court Rejects Uranium Smuggler’s Appeal A court in Georgia on Friday rejected an appeal from a Russian man sentenced to eight years in prison for smuggling nearly 100 grams of weapon-grade uranium, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Feb. 1). Authorities arrested Oleg Khinsagov when he tried to sell the uranium to an undercover agent.  He reportedly said the material came from a Russian facility. Defense attorney Zurab Giguari has said his client was in possession of a printing machine chemical rather than uranium.  After the Tbilisi Court of Appeals denied the appeal, and Giguari said he would file another motion with Georgia’s Supreme Court. The court also rejected appeals of the sentences given to four of Khinsagov’s accomplices, AP reported (Associated Press, March 30). Back to top       Radiation Detectors to be Deployed in NY Subways The New York City Police Department plans to deploy next-generation radiation detectors in the city’s subway system as part of a joint initiative with the Homeland Security Department, the New York Sun reported today (see GSN, March 26). The initiative involves the deployment of a new breed of detectors that can sniff out radiation and also determine if it is being thrown off from something harmless  —    like a recently irradiated cancer patient  —   or a nuclear weapon. The detectors, or Advanced Spectroscopic Portals, are undergoing a final phase of testing at the New York Container Terminal in Staten Island and could be employed to protect not just ports but also major urban areas as part of the federal “Securing the Cities” project. The president’s proposed fiscal 2008 budget includes $30 million for the program, which will use New York as a test case to see if it is feasible to encircle cities with radiation detectors. U.S. lawmakers question the cost and effectiveness of the new technology, and have halted future funding until Homeland Security Secretary can certify the new devices as an improvement over current technology.  There are plans to spend roughly $1.2 billion on the new machines (see GSN, March 15). The police department is designing a sport utility vehicle it says can function as a mobile radiation detector to alert to nuclear or radiological devices at bridges and tunnels, the Sun reported (Christopher Faherty,  New York Sun, April 2). Back to top

U.S. Marines Resume Anthrax Vaccinations The U.S. Marine Corps last month resumed mandatory anthrax vaccinations for personnel being sent to nations including Afghanistan, Iraq and South Korea (see GSN, Oct. 17, 2006). The order covering uniformed and civilian personnel and contractors went into effect on March 15, according to a Marine Corps press release.  Vaccinations would begin up to two months before deployment to South Korea and U.S. Central Command, which encompasses nearly 30 nations in Africa, Asia and the Middle East. The vaccination regime requires six shots spread over 18 months to prevent infection in the event of an attack involving the biological agent. A U.S. District Court judge halted mandatory vaccinations in 2004 due to problems with the Food and Drug Administration’s approval process for the anthrax vaccine.  The military reported middling success with its subsequent voluntary vaccination program, and last year said it would resume the mandatory program after the Food and Drug Administration declared the vaccine safe and effective (U.S. Marine Corps release, March 30). U.S. Air Force personnel heading overseas are also being required to receive anthrax vaccinations, the Grand Forks (N.D.) Herald reported yesterday. Vaccinations began March 19 at Grand Forks Air Force Base. “There is evidence that several countries have produced anthrax as a weapon,” said Lt. Col. David Nelson, medical squadron commander.  “Anthrax is out there, especially in the high-risk areas of the Middle East and on the Korean Peninsula.” Opponents of mandatory vaccinations filed another lawsuit in December seeking to end the program, which they say threatens the health of military personnel. “There are people in the medical community who don’t agree with the FDA,” said plaintiffs’ attorney Mark Zaid, who filed the first lawsuit that led to the temporary suspension of the required shots (Angela Nagel, Grand Forks Herald, April 1). Back to top

Grand Jury Investigates Blue Grass Chemical Depot The Blue Grass Army Depot is facing a federal investigation of potential criminal conduct related to chemical weapons storage matters at the Kentucky facility, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported Saturday (see GSN, Jan. 5, 2006). A grand jury is investigating the matter.  The Justice Department in February ordered the depot to “preserve all potentially relevant evidence associated with the grand jury’s subpoena on Dec. 1, 2006, and the ongoing criminal investigation.” The Feb. 8 Justice Department letter does not provide details of the alleged wrongdoing. The investigation relates to treatment of a whistleblower by Blue Grass Chemical Activity, which manages chemical weapons storage at the depot, according to the nonprofit group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. Then-air systems monitor Donald Van Winkle publicly alleged in 2005 that incorrect use of monitoring equipment greatly reduced the likelihood that leaks of VX nerve agent would be detected in storage facilities.  Depot officials denied that claim. Van Winkle said he was transferred to other duties after making his claim, and lost opportunities for training, hazard pay and promotion, the Herald-Leader reported.  A depot official said then that Van Winkle had been transferred and was “being investigated for other things.” Van Winkle has since left the depot, but sued to resume work as an air systems monitor. Three other employees have also complained of misconduct by depot administration.  They and Van Winkle were interviewed by Environmental Protection Agency investigators.  The investigation ultimately ended up at the Justice Department. “In general terms, they are talking about a culture at the Blue Grass Army Depot that does not welcome reports of problems and punishes those that point out discrepancies,” said PEER Executive Director Jeff Ruch.  “This criminal investigation into problems at Blue Grass is long overdue” (Cassondra Kirby, Lexington Herald-Leader, March 31). Back to top       U.S. Decries Chlorine Gas in Bombs, Dutch Man Appeals Conviction for Supplying Chemicals to Iraq Sunni extremists are using chlorine gas as weapons of “murder and intimidation” in Iraq, a senior U.S. Defense Department official said Friday (see GSN, March 29). “I strongly believe this use of chlorine gas should not be dismissed merely as a new tactic or as a new trend,” Maj. Gen. Michael Barbero, a deputy operations director on the Joint Staff, said during a press conference. Insurgents in recent weeks have employed tanks of chlorine gas in at least eight attacks, most recently on Wednesday in the city of Fallujah, the Associated Press reported. “Chlorine is a poison gas,” Barbero said.   “It is a poison gas being used on the Iraqi people.  Before these attacks, the last time poison gas was used on the Iraqi people was by [former Iraqi President] Saddam Hussein” (see GSN, March 19). The chlorine attacks, however, are different in scale from the attacks Hussein ordered that killed thousands.  The U.S. Marine Corps commander in Anbar province, heart of the Sunni insurgency, said Friday that incorporating chlorine gas into bombing attacks was largely an intimidation technique, AP reported. “What you have to understand is that chlorine bombs have more of a psychological effect than they do as a killing effect,” Maj. Gen. W.E. Gaskin said, via teleconference. Still, Barbero said the tactic is a troubling indication of an increasingly relentless insurgency.  “If they’ll resort to this, they’ll resort to anything,” he said (Robert Burns, Associated Press I/The Guardian, March 30). Meanwhile, a Dutch court was scheduled today to hear the appeal from a businessman convicted in 2005 of selling chemicals to Hussein that the Iraqi dictator used against his country’s Kurdish population in the 1980s. Dutch national Frans van Anraat, 64, received a 15-years sentence for selling tons of chemicals that were used to manufacture mustard and nerve agents that were used against villages in Northern Iraq. He was convicted of “complicity in violating the rules of war” but avoided being linked to genocide.  The trial court ruled that he did not know the chemicals would be specifically deployed against the Kurds. Van Anraat, however, contends that the he was unaware that the chemicals –— some of which came from the United States  —    had illegitimate purposes Prosecutors are appealing the loss on genocide charges, contending van Anraat continued to sell chemicals to Iraq even after he learned of an attack on the Kurdish village of Halabja that killed 5,000 people. The appeal case is expected to continue through April, and a verdict is likely in mid-May (Toby Sterling, Associated Press II/Kurdistan Regional Government, April 2). Back to top

India, Pakistan Test Nuclear-Capable Missiles India and Pakistan last week both conducted successful test launches of nuclear-capable missiles, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, March 22). India on Friday fired the sea-based Dhanus missile, which can carry a 1,100-pound conventional or nuclear warhead and has a range of 155 miles.  The Dhanus is based on India’s land-based Prithvi missile (Agence France-Presse I/Spacewar.com, March 30). Pakistan on Saturday tested its Hatf 2 Abdali missile, which “can carry all types of warheads” and can fly 125 miles, the military said (Agence France-Presse II/Yahoo!News, March 31). Back to top

MIT Scientists’ Research Cleared by Pentagon The U.S. Defense Department has found no evidence of misconduct in the missile sensor research of two scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Boston Globe reported Saturday (see GSN, March 6, 2006). Lincoln Laboratory researchers Ming-Jer Tsai and Charles Meins Jr. were among a group of five scientists who in 1998 reported as “basically sound” a 1997 Pentagon test of an infrared missile sensor’s ability to distinguish between a fake warhead and decoys. MIT professor Theodore Postol conducted his own analysis of the test, and determined that flaws in the original data meant that the researchers could not have endorsed the results in good faith.  A report from the then-General Accounting Office also questioned the work. The Pentagon never deployed the technology in question, preferring a design from another firm. The U.S. Missile Defense Agency blocked the university from conducting its own investigation of the allegations, and after extensive negotiations the Defense Department agreed last year to look into the matter. Pentagon civilian scientist Brendan Godfrey said in a report that Tsai and Meins failed to include some pertinent information in their report.  However, he said there were viable reasons for their decisions and that he found no signs of misconduct. “It’s a relief for me,” Tsai told the Globe.  “It has been many years, and I hope it can come to closure at this time” (Marcella Bombardieri, Boston Globe, March 31).   Back to top

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