Iranian Ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh has blocked nations from formally starting a Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty meeting (Samuel Kubani/Getty Images). NPT Meeting Remains Stalled Over Agenda Language Dispute Iran has continued to hold up a Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty conference in Vienna by objecting to a proposed agenda that reaffirms “the need for full compliance with the treaty,” the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, May 1). “Our position remains the same,” said delegation leader Ali Asghar Soltanieh.  ..Full Story

U.S.-Indian Nuclear Deal Advances U.S. and Indian officials made progress this week toward completing a nuclear trade deal, and could wrap it up this month, according to a State Department release (see GSN, April 30)...Full Story

Russia Unsure of Nuclear Holdings, Tenet Says Russia might not have a complete accounting of its nuclear weapons and materials, according to the book released this week from former CIA Director George Tenet, the Washington Times reported (see GSN, April 13)...Full Story

	Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Bush Administration Seeks Added Surveillance Rights Bush administration officials argued yesterday that changes are needed to the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act to promote the fight against terrorist acquiring weapons of mass destruction, the Chicago Tribune reported (see GSN, Jan. 17, 2006). Federal authorities under the revamped law would have increased ability to monitor foreign nationals within the United States suspected of terrorist connections. The U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court now can only authorize warrants for secret monitoring of foreigners who are linked to a foreign terrorism suspect or another nation.  The court rejected only one surveillance or search request in 2006, according to the Justice Department. The Bush administration wants the law changed to cover citizens of other nations who are thought to be holding, receiving or passing on foreign intelligence information, along with those alleged to be involved in obtaining weapons of mass destruction, the Tribune reported. National Intelligence Director Michael McConnell told lawmakers yesterday that the 1978 law is outdated, and does not address cellular telephones, the Internet and other technological advancements.  The unwieldy process of obtaining FISA warrants might also prevent investigators from acquiring important information on suspected terrorists, he said. “We’re actually missing a significant portion of what we should be getting,” he told the Senate intelligence committee.  “In today’s environment, the FISA legislation is not agile enough to handle the country’s intelligence needs.” Democratic senators questioned the proposal, given the Bush administration’s use of wiretaps conducted without warrants following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. “This is what the American people are scared about,” said Senator Bill Nelson (D-Fla.), “that their civil rights and civil liberties are going to be invaded upon because somebody determines, outside of what the law says in black and white, that they think better than what it says” (Aamer Madhani, Chicago Tribune/The Buffalo News, May 2). Back to top

Researchers Develop WMD Detection Robots Researchers at Kansas State University are developing robot technology that could be used to search for weapons of mass destruction, according to a press release issued yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 5, 2005). The U.S. Defense Department has provided $219,140 for the work. The technology has a number of potential applications, including explosives sensing; responding to biological, chemical, nuclear or radiological incidents; reconnaissance in uninhabited air and ground vehicles; border patrol; and fire detection and warning. “These applications include any situation where teams of robots can be used with or without human control,” researcher Scott DeLoach, associate computing and information sciences professor, said in the release.  “The goal of our projects is to develop mechanisms that integrate human and semiautonomous agents into teams for use in constantly changing environments” (Kansas State University release, May 1). Back to top

NPT Meeting Remains Stalled Over Agenda Language Dispute Iran has continued to hold up a Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty conference in Vienna by objecting to a proposed agenda that reaffirms “the need for full compliance with the treaty,” the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, May 1). “Our position remains the same,” said delegation leader Ali Asghar Soltanieh.  Iranian officials believe the wording of the agenda targets Iran and serves as “an additional provocation” in the continuing crisis surrounding that nation’s nuclear program, one diplomat said. Still, Soltanieh offered hope for compromise by suggesting the agenda include language urging nuclear-weapon states to speed their disarmament efforts. Iran might accept wording specifying “that when we are talking compliance we are talking about all provisions, particularly disarmament.” This week’s treaty meeting was scheduled to last two weeks, but the agenda dispute could shorten it, said some delegates.  The agenda must be approved by a consensus of the roughly 130 nations attending the session.  Delegates could agree, however, to accede to Iran’s demand to remove the disputed language and begin the meeting with a limited agenda, while negotiating the compliance language in the background, according to AP. The session is the first of three annual “preparatory committees” for the treaty’s 2010 review conference (George Jahn, Associated Press/Khaleej Times, May 2). Iran’s procedural maneuvering has surprised and annoyed many nations that typically support Tehran in multinational meetings, Agence France-Presse reported. Arab nations, for example, were unhappy because they had fought for the agenda to include an item on discussing a Middle Eastern nuclear weapon-free zone, one diplomat said (Michael Adler, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, May 1). Back to top       U.S.-Indian Nuclear Deal Advances U.S. and Indian officials made progress this week toward completing a nuclear trade deal, and could wrap it up this month, according to a State Department release (see GSN, April 30). Indian Foreign Secretary Shiv Shankar Menon met with U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns on Monday and Tuesday to discuss disagreements over the detailed terms of the nuclear pact. “The U.S. is encouraged by the extensive progress that was made on the issues,” says the State Department release.  “Undersecretary Burns will visit India in the second half of May to reach a final agreement” (U.S. State Department release, May 1). “We still have issues we have to settle,” Menon told reporters yesterday.  “But I think it’s doable.” The two nations have disagreed over how the deal would limit Indian nuclear activities, such as weapons testing and plutonium production, the Associated Press reported. A final agreement would “require some creativity and some compromise on both sides … if we’re going to be able to move this as quickly as we would have hoped,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack (Foster Klug, Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, May 1). “Our overall sense is that the Indians came here with some constructive ideas, and that there's a possibility that we could move the process forward based on these ideas, although that's not a foregone conclusion,” he said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, May 1). Back to top       Russia Unsure of Nuclear Holdings, Tenet Says Russia might not have a complete accounting of its nuclear weapons and materials, according to the book released this week from former CIA Director George Tenet, the Washington Times reported (see GSN, April 13). Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, U.S. President George W. Bush conferred with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss al-Qaeda’s nuclear weapon ambitions, Tenet says in his book, “At the Center of the Storm.” The CIA had information suggesting that the terrorist network was trying to buy three Russian nuclear warheads. Bush “asked Putin point blank if Russia could account for all of its (nuclear) material,” says Tenet’s book. “Choosing his words carefully, the Russian president said he was confident he could account for everything — under his watch,” Tenet says, expressing concern over possible nuclear smuggling efforts shortly after the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union. Tenet also discloses that his agency discussed with Russian intelligence officials the possibility of former Russian nuclear scientists working with al-Qaeda. The Russian officials “refused to delve into any matters related to the security of their nuclear facilities and nuclear weapons, including reports sourced to Russian officials concerning possible theft of Russian ‘suitcase nukes,’” Tenet says, referring to concerns in the mid-1990s that Russia was missing a number of portable nuclear warheads (see GSN, Oct. 27, 2004).  Russia has publicly denied that any weapons are missing (Bill Gertz, Washington Times, May 2). Back to top       Added Security Ordered for U.S. Research Reactors U.S. research and test reactors have been required to further enhance their security under an order announced yesterday by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 14, 2006). Fingerprinting and an FBI background check are now required for any person who would have unescorted access at any of the 33 research and test reactors covered by commission rules.  Universities operate most of those plants. Previously, only reactor personnel who had access to sensitive security information were required to go through the security checks.  Lawmakers required the change in 2005 legislation. The security enhancements are “one of the many steps the NRC has taken … to keep U.S. research reactors secure,” commission Chairman Dale Klein said in a statement. University research reactors in recent years have undergone security improvements, AP reported.  Few U.S. research plants continue to use highly enriched uranium that could be used in a nuclear weapon. “I believe the level of security is appropriate for those educational facilities to continue safely serving their students, their communities and the country,” Klein said (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, May 1). Back to top       Former Iranian Nuclear Negotiator Arrested Iranian authorities on Monday arrested former nuclear negotiator Hossein Mousavian on unspecified charges, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 4, 2005). The former official had played a major role in Iran’s nuclear diplomacy after the nation admitted in 2003 to concealing an extensive atomic program for nearly two decades. Mousavian was an ally of former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was defeated by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in the 2005 elections, according to AP.  The new president replaced the entire nuclear diplomatic team (Associated Press/New York Times, May 2). Back to top       U.S. Japan Keep Pressure on North Korea The United States yesterday again urged North Korea to keep to its February commitment to begin dismantling its nuclear weapons program, Reuters reported (see GSN, May 1). “We agree that we must continue to expect North Korea to immediately fulfill its initial action agreements,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said following a meeting with Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso and Japanese Defense Minister Fumio Kyuma.  “We don’t have endless patience.  We do recognize that North Korea has continued to publicly affirm its obligation under the Feb. 13 agreement and to affirm its intention to carry through.  We expect them to do so.” North Korea has yet to collect $25 million in formerly frozen funds from the Banco Delta Asia in Macau, which it has used as justification for delaying closure of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor and allowing international inspectors into the country.  Pyongyang would receive 50,000 tons of fuel oil and related aid for taking those steps. The money matter proved “considerably more complicated than perhaps we had realized,” Rice said. “And so, we have been willing to step back and give some time for this to be resolved,” she said.  The Bush administration believes it “has done what it needs to do” to end the dispute, Rice added (Reuters I/New York Times, May 1). Additional sanctions could be necessary should Pyongyang continue to delay progress on the nuclear deal, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said today. “If North Korea doesn’t carry out what it has promised, the situation that they are in — economically, food-wise — will not improve, and they have to understand that if anything, things will get worse,” he said during a news conference in Cairo.  “North Korea still hasn’t done what it should for the initial steps.  So keeping this in mind, depending on the circumstances, we may have to think of additional measures” (Elaine Lee, Reuters II/Yahoo!News, May 2). Back to top       Ex-Nuclear Lab Worker Considers Plea Deal Federal prosecutors have offered a plea agreement to a former Los Alamos National Laboratory contract worker who removed classified nuclear weapons information from the site, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported yesterday (see GSN, April 20). Jessica Quintana, 23, has not been formally charged in the incident detected last October when a local police raid on her home produced three portable data storage devices and 228 sheets of paper, some of which contained classified information (see GSN, Nov. 6, 2006). “I can confirm that a plea offer was faxed to me after hours (5:15 p.m.) on Friday, and that we are in the process of reviewing its terms,” said Quintana attorney Steve Aarons in an e-mail.  “I cannot confirm the details of the plea offer until the parties have reached an agreement.” Quintana told authorities that she had taken the information home to help meet looming deadlines on a project to scan paper documents.  She no longer works at the laboratory (Andy Lenderman, The New Mexican, May 1). Back to top

Wastewater Plant Conversion Could Cost Millions U.S. wastewater plants have found that converting from using chlorine gas to another disinfectant could cost as little as $650,000 to more than $13 million, the Government Accountability Office said in a report released yesterday (see GSN, April 24). There have been persistent fears in recent years that chlorine could become a terrorist weapon in the United States.  Several cities have sought to reroute trains carrying the substance (see GSN, Jan. 24).  Insurgents in Iraq in recent months have also made use of chlorine in attacks (see GSN, April 11). Most of the large U.S. plants studied by the Government Accountability Office had switched, or planned to switch, from chlorine to sodium hypochlorite for treating wastewater. Having the new material delivered was found to be less expensive than producing it at plants or using other disinfection methods such as ultraviolet light. The wastewater plants also reported that preparing vulnerability assessments cost between $1,000 and $175,000, while the price tag for risk management plans ran from $1,000 to more than $31,000 (U.S. Government Accountability Office report, May 1). Back to top       Small Mustard Leak Found at Deseret Chemical Depot Less than one milliliter of mustard agent was found Monday to have leaked from a container at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah, the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency said (see GSN, Feb. 27). Personnel in protective gear tightened the plug through which the agent was escaping and conducted agent decontamination, according to a press release. No mustard agent escaped the filtered storage structure (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, April 30). Back to top

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