Fifteen British sailors and marines stand on the tarmac at London’s Heathrow Airport today after being released by Iran (Carl De Souza/Getty Images). Iran Frees British Troops, Restores Nuclear Contacts Fifteen British sailors and marines detained by Iran for nearly two weeks flew home today, a move that appeared to allow EU and Iranian officials to return their attention to resolving the Iranian nuclear crisis, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, April 4)...Full Story

North Korea Nuclear Deadlines Could Be Extended Officials have begun to discuss extending a deadline for North Korea to freeze its nuclear activities, the Washington Times reported today.  The move may be needed because of unanticipated problems in freeing up once-frozen North Korean bank accounts, U.S. and Asian officials said (see GSN, April 4)...Full Story

Report Urges Shift Away from Rail-Bound Chlorine A report from the Center for American Progress recommends the federal government take action to spur drinking and waste water treatment facilities to shift away from using chlorine gas (see GSN, Jan. 24)...Full Story

	Thursday, April 5, 2007

Intelligence Director Warns of Cyber-Attack The head of the United States intelligence network said yesterday concerns of a terrorist cyber-attack rank near the top of his list (see GSN, Nov. 9, 2006). Mike McConnell, who replaced John Negroponte as director of national intelligence nearly two months ago, said a cyber-assault could be paired with use of biological agents with significant effect. Speaking before a gathering of about 200 government employees and contractors at a conference in Washington, McConnell said a computer attack on the U.S. financial sector could come at the same time anthrax-laced letters are mailed, Bloomberg News reported (See GSN, April 2). “It would have a devastating impact,” he said, according to the wire service. McConnell said preventing such attacks on vulnerable computer networks by terrorists or foreign governments will be a focus during his tenure as intelligence head (see GSN, Feb. 26). McConnell also used the conference as a forum to air some of his problems with the relatively new position he inherited from Negroponte.  The post was created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist strikes when U.S. intelligence agencies underwent a restructuring. The position, McConnell said, does not carry sufficient authority to effectively run the nation’s 16 intelligence agencies.  The director has no power to remove employees giving sub-par performances, he said. “You cannot hire or fire,” McConnell said, according.  “It puts you in a challenging management position.” The director of national intelligence also decried the lengthy process required to gain security clearances for government employees dealing with sensitive material.  In some cases it can take as long as a year, McConnell said, while noting in the financial industry similar background checks can be completed in a number of weeks. “I have a great deal of frustration” with the clearance process,” McConnell said according to the wire service (Bloomberg News/New York Times, April 4). Back to top       U.S., EU and Russia to Work Against Terror A meeting between European Union, U.S. and Russian officials in Berlin yesterday has resulted in an agreement to work more closely together to combat terrorism, a German official said (see GSN, April 4). “We have agreed on a range of concrete measures,” said German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble.  Germany currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union. Emerging from the meeting were plans to combat the recruitment of “younger generations” by terror networks, cracking down on opium production in Afghanistan and increasing Interpol’s ability to track individuals using false identities, Agence France-Presse reported. According to Victor Ivanov, an advisor to Russian President Vladimir Putin, a working group to fine tune cooperation between the parties has been established. “We have agreed to produce a roadmap,” he said. U.S. homeland security chief Michael Chertoff said the “worst nightmare” imaginable remains a nuclear attack by a terrorist group.  Preventing nonstate actors from obtaining nuclear or radiological material was a subject of the discussions, AFP reported. Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, U.S. security concerns have also become those of European nations and Russian, Chertoff said. “We are bound by the common agenda of protecting our people from terrorism, and we plan on strengthening the bonds forged by difficult times,” he said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo! News, April 4). Back to top

Iran Frees British Sailors, Restores Nuclear Contacts Fifteen British sailors and marines detained by Iran for nearly two weeks flew home today, a move that appeared to allow EU and Iranian officials to return their attention to resolving the Iranian nuclear crisis, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, April 4). EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and lead Iranian nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani spoke by phone yesterday after the Iran announced its decision to free the British personnel captured in Persian Gulf waters Tehran claimed were within Iranian territory. “We hope we can get back to the negotiating table,” said one EU official praising the release.  “It is good news. It can only improve the context in which the nuclear file can be discussed” (Raf Casert, Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, April 5). The 15 Britons arrived in London today on a commercial airliner.  Their release followed a press conference yesterday by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in which he said the United Kingdom had sent a letter pledging to respect Iranian territorial waters, AP reported. Ahmadinejad said the British were guilty of entering territory but he was releasing them nevertheless. “This pardon is a gift to the British people,” he said (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press/Canada.com, April 5). One analyst said Iran used the imbroglio as a signal to world powers to resolve the nuclear crisis diplomatically. “They got what they wanted,” said Bruce Riedel of the Brookings Institution. “They sent a message:  If you don’t deal with us, if you think you can push us around, you’re in for some nasty surprises. But if you deal with us, you can get a ‘gift.’” “The Revolutionary Guards wanted to send a signal to the U.S. and U.K. that ‘if you mess with us, we'll mess with you. We know where you're vulnerable,’” Riedel added (Robin Wright, Washington Post, April 5). Other experts suggested Iran released the British personnel because leaders in Tehran found their seizure to be unconstructive. “I think Iran was becoming increasingly aware that what they had done was a mistake and that the longer they held these people, the more the whole thing began to resemble the ugly hostage crisis of 1979,” said Wayne White, a former Middle East specialist at the U.S. State Department. “In addition, in the context of the ongoing nuclear impasse,” White said, “the last thing Iran needed was to become involved in yet another affair that furthered the impression — particularly in the West but also in some regional capitals — that Iran was dangerous and could be dangerously irresponsible in its behavior.” “Iranian leaders never imagined the consequences when they seized the sailors off Iranian or Iraqi waters,” added Mehrdad Serjooie, a political analyst with a group affiliated with former Iranian President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani.  “The televised confessions of the sailors provoked sympathy from the international public opinion, and such conditions were pushing Iran further into isolation” (Sarah Lyall, New York Times, April 5). Back to top       North Korea Nuclear Deadlines Could Be Extended Officials have begun to discuss extending a deadline for North Korea to freeze its nuclear activities, the Washington Times reported today.  The move may be needed because of unanticipated problems in freeing up once-frozen North Korean bank accounts, U.S. and Asian officials said (see GSN, April 4). Under a Feb. 13 deal agreed by six nations in Beijing, North Korea had 60 days to suspend operations at its Yongbyon nuclear facility, and the other parties would provide a small batch of fuel oil in the same period. Those steps have stalled, however, as North Korea waits to receive funds from bank accounts frozen under U.S. pressure.  Unforeseen problems with the transfer have emerged as other banks have shown reluctance to accept the funds, the Times reported. Deadline extension talks have begun but are considered to be preliminary so as not to undermine the current deadline, according to the Times. “I basically do believe that the bank issue can be resolved by the time frame, South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said.  “But we do consider the possibility that it will not be” (Nicholas Kralev, Washington Times, April 5). Some of the aid contingent upon North Korea suspending its nuclear activities would be provided even if Pyongyang misses the deadline, Reuters reported today. South Korea would deliver 400,000 tons of rice aid the North Korea, said one official today. “We will be giving rice as planned,” said South Korean Vice Unification Minister Shin Eon-sang, who added that the aid and the nuclear freeze were linked but not strictly. “Either of them can come half a step earlier,” he said (Reuters, April 5). The difficulty of transferring the frozen North Korean funds surprised all parties, a U.S. spokeswoman said yesterday. The process “has been more complex in its implementation than anybody from any of the six parties could have imagined, said U.S. Treasury spokeswoman Molly Millerwise. U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Treasury Daniel Glaser “continues to work hard in Beijing and remains focused on implementation of the agreement ... as quickly as possible,” she said. The main problem has been finding a bank to receive the funds that were frozen by the Macau-based Banco Delta Asia.  Banks are concerned that if they accept the money, once described by the United States as being tainted by money laundering activities, they could later be sanctioned, the McClatchy news service reported. Concerns in the banking community stem an article of the 2001 U.S. PATRIOT Act, which enables the Treasury Department to ban banks from the international financial system without providing any evidence or undergoing any legal proceedings, McClatchy reported. “It clearly shows that the Bush administration miscalculated when it thought that it could snap its fingers and the money problem would be solved,” said Peter Beck of the International Crisis Group.  “Even the Chinese bankers are holding their nose and saying, ‘We don't want to be blacklisted next’” (Tim Johnson, McClatchy Newspapers/Centre Daily Times, April 5). Back to top       Russia Seeks to Lift U.S. Uranium Price Controls U.S. and Russian officials met this week in Moscow to discuss U.S. tariffs on Russian uranium imports (see GSN, July 17, 2006). The tariffs have been imposed since the 1990s to address U.S. accusations that Russia was seeking to sell its uranium at below-market, or price-dumping rates, the Russia and CIS Business and Financial Newswire reported. The United States does not apply the 112 percent tariff to Russian uranium produced from former nuclear weapons under the Megatons to Megawatts program, but that effort is schedule to end in 2013 and Russia is hoping to maintain its foothold in U.S. markets, the newswire reported. Russian nuclear agency head Sergei Kiriyenko discussed the issue this week with U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez in Moscow.  Serious discussions on the issue began last year, according to the newswire. U.S. power plants should “have a chance to sign long-term contracts, to choose their suppliers, and should not depend on the same supplier,” he said.  “There should be competition, and we are willing to join in it.” “We support the idea of working out such decisions [to lift the restrictions] via mechanisms of agreements. Our cooperation should be based on trust, whereas court rulings help solve commercial problems but do not serve to build up trust,” Kiriyenko added. About half the nuclear fuel in U.S. power plants comes from uranium blended down from Russian nuclear weapons, and Russia has offered to reduce that portion to one-quarter in exchange for lifting the tariff, the newswire reported (Russia and CIS Business and Financial Newswire, April 4). Back to top       LANL Could See Shift in Focus, Bingaman Says With design work for a next-generation U.S. nuclear warhead going to Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos scientists should expand their work to cover more non-nuclear-weapon research, U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) said yesterday (see GSN, March 21). The New Mexico national laboratory should turn its attention to problems of economic security and greenhouse gas emissions, Bingaman said while in Los Alamos. “My message was very simple,” the senator said to a group of business leaders and residents in Los Alamos (Andy Lenderman, Santa Fe New Mexican, April 3). “We … need in Washington to get back to a focus on the major long-term challenges that we face in this country.  I think we’ve been diverted from those challenges in recent years, both with the war in Iraq and to some extent with the war on terror.” Los Alamos National Laboratory will continue to play a role in a planned transformation of the nation’s nuclear weapons complex, but its attention should be diversified into other areas, Bingaman said. “LANL’s present and future value to the country lies in it remaining the pre-eminent national laboratory for performing science that will help the national not only meet its security needs but to meet a whole range of national needs,” Bingaman said. The facility could invest its brainpower into research for cleaner coal technology, he said.  He also reasserted his opposition to large-scale production of plutonium bomb cores at the New Mexico site.  “It’s my hope Los Alamos can be at the cutting edge of the resurgence of focus on long-term science for resolution of many of our nation’s problems,” Bingaman said.  “I think long-term future demands for nuclear weapons work may diminish.  We all hope they do as the world begins to move away toward less reliance on nuclear weapons.” Bingaman, who chairs the Senate Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee, said the laboratory has a “great deal to contribute” (John Arnold, Albuquerque Journal, April 3). Back to top       Lax Maintenance Caused Y-12 Spills, Official Says Two spills of enriched uranium solution at the Y-12 nuclear facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in the span of a week were the result of improper maintenance, a federal spokesman said Tuesday (see GSN, March 16). “The spills would not have occurred had the system been properly maintained and aligned,” said Steven Wyatt, spokesman for the National Nuclear Security Administration. More than 2 gallons of the enriched uranium solution was found on the floor of the main production facility on Feb. 6, and then a week later 8 ounces of the liquid was found. The two leaks shut down the secondary extraction process, part of the procedure to reprocess the uranium for use in nuclear weapons. The secondary extraction process remains “on administrative hold” until the problems are resolved, a spokesman for BWXT, the contractor that manages the plant, said. Storage tanks at the facility are known to leak when the liquid levels inside creep up too high.  The rules at the plant call for tank levels to be kept below that level and as part of an inquiry into the problems officials are trying to determine what cause the liquid in the tanks to rise unexpectedly (Frank Munger, Knoxville News Sentinel, April 4). Back to top

Report Urges Shift Away from Rail-Bound Chlorine A report from the Center for American Progress recommends the federal government take action to spur drinking and waste water treatment facilities to shift away from using chlorine gas (see GSN, Jan. 24). Chlorine gas tanks, which are shipped by rail to the facilities, could be targeted by terrorists and potentially kill thousands of people, according to the report released this month. Citing the recent uses of chlorine gas tanks by insurgents in the Iraq, the report says “railcars of chlorine gas represent a distinct national security vulnerability” (see GSN, March 29). Only 37 water treatment facilities receive chlorine gas by rail, but more than 25 million residents “live in harm’s way near these facilities,” according to the report. It suggests, however, that this vulnerability could be easily removed by prompting these treatment plants to shift away from using chlorine by employing other methods such as bleach or ultraviolet light. Since 1999, 25 water utilities that had received chlorine by rail switched to alternative treatment methods.  “These alternative treatment options eliminate the danger of a catastrophic toxic gas cloud,” according to the report. Another six utilities are currently in the process of moving away from chlorine, the report notes. While utilities cite cost as a reason to continue using chlorine, the cost of conversion, according to the report, is roughly $1.50 per customer.  “A comprehensive solution can only come from the federal level,” Paul Orum writes in the report (Jon Fox, Global Security Newswire, April 4). Back to top

Russian Missile Designer Plays Down Fears Over U.S. Plans to Deploy Missile Defense in Europe Breaking rank from Russia’s political leaders, a top Russian weapon scientist yesterday said U.S. missile defense plans in Europe do not threaten Russian security, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, April 3). The United States is seeking deals to deploy 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar system in the Czech Republic, moves that have drawn brash criticism from Russian President Vladimir Putin and other senior Russian officials. Calling for a “sober and calm” response, Russian strategic missile designer Yuri Solomonov said the U.S. plans would not affect Russian military might. “We mustn’t yield to that provocation as we did 25 years ago,” he said, referring to the failed Soviet effort to boost military spending in response to then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative.  “We spent huge resources over a very short time and got a zero effect.” “The deployment of missile interceptors is, foremost, an element of a psychological war,” he said. “We need to be extremely careful while implementing any retaliatory action in the diplomatic or military-technical fields.” (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, April 4). Meanwhile, a group of Czech lawmakers plans to visit a U.S. radar facility in the Marshall Islands next week to learn what such sites look like and how they work, the CTK news agency reported. “This will be the first chance to see the radar with our own eyes, along with its surroundings,” said lower house defense committee head Jan Vidim. The 10-member delegation of deputies and senators will leave for the four-day visit on April 15, Vidim said (CTK I/Prague Daily Monitor, April 4). To provide more information for Czech citizens, the Foreign Ministry has created a Web site that describes the U.S. radar plans, provides government reports and offers recent news accounts of the planned system, CTK reported (CTK II/Prague Daily Monitor, April 4). Back to top

About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines

© Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.