GAO investigator Gregory Kutz, shown earlier this year, told U.S. lawmakers today about his efforts to acquire radioactive materials (Chris Graythen/Getty Images). GAO Lashes U.S. Radioactive Material Security Rules By Jon Fox and Seamus Kraft Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Undercover Government Accountability Office investigators posing as business operators were able to become licensed to buy enough industrial radioactive material to make a “dirty bomb,” according to a report on the investigation released today (see GSN, March 28, 2006)...Full Story

Oil Shipment Leaves for North Korea South Korea today shipped the first load of fuel oil to North Korea, which could respond within days by shutting down operations at its plutonium-producing Yongbyon nuclear facility, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 11)...Full Story

Terrorism Biggest U.S. Threat, Intel Official Says By Jon Fox Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Terrorists groups, al-Qaeda foremost among them, pose the greatest threat to the domestic security of the United States, a top U.S. intelligence official said yesterday (see GSN, June 21)...Full Story

	Thursday, July 12, 2007

Terrorism Biggest U.S. Threat, Intel Official Says By Jon Fox Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Terrorists groups, al-Qaeda foremost among them, pose the greatest threat to the domestic security of the United States, a top U.S. intelligence official said yesterday (see GSN, June 21). While the United States continues to receive intelligence on al-Qaeda attempts to acquire chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear weapons, the use of conventional explosives continues to be the most likely scenario for an attack, Thomas Fingar, deputy director of national intelligence for analysis, told Congress in prepared testimony. Giving the House Armed Services Committee a global security assessment, Fingar said that terrorism remains “the pre-eminent challenge to the intelligence community.” A classified U.S. counterterrorism analysis indicates that al-Qaeda has strengthened its operating capabilities to a level last seen prior to the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, the Associated Press reported today.  “They are showing greater and greater ability to plan attacks in Europe and the United States,” said one counterterrorism official. After the threat of terrorism, concerns about the proliferation of unconventional weapons is the second most urgent concern, Fingar told lawmakers yesterday.  Controlling access to sensitive dual-use technologies as well as the scientific knowledge to turn them to weapon-related purposes has become more difficult since the end of the Cold War, he said. “Globalization is the defining characteristic of our age and has more positive than negative consequences,” Fingar said.  “But globalization does facilitate the terrorist threat, increases the danger of WMD proliferation, and contributes to regional instability and configuration of power and influence, especially through competition for energy.” Iran and North Korea remain the paramount concerns regarding the proliferation of unconventional weapons, Fingar said. Iran is continuing to pursue uranium enrichment technology that U.S. analysts are convinced is part of a nuclear weapons development program, he said, adding that Tehran is gaining influence in ways that go beyond its nuclear pursuits and are troubling to its Arab neighbors (see GSN, July 11). A number of Arab countries have recently expressed the desire to develop nuclear energy programs which some experts have called a thinly veiled nuclear hedge against a nuclear-capable Iran (see GSN, May 21.). North Korea tested a nuclear device in October.  It also launched a long-range Taepodong 2 ballistic missile last summer along with six other shorter-range missiles. While the Taepodong crashed into the ocean off North Korea’s eastern shore less than a minute after the test launch, the concern persists that the regime in Pyongyang would sell its missile technology (see GSN, July 9). “We are concerned that it could proliferate these weapons abroad,” Fingar said.  “Pyongyang has a long history of selling ballistic missiles, including to several Middle Eastern countries.” Addressing China, Fingar indicated in prepared testimony that “the Chinese are developing more capable long-range conventional strike systems and short- and medium-range ballistic missile with terminally guided maneuverable warheads able to attack U.S. carriers and airbases.” Back to top

Oil Shipment Leaves for North Korea South Korea today shipped the first load of fuel oil to North Korea, which could respond within days by shutting down operations at its plutonium-producing Yongbyon nuclear facility, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 11). Pyongyang has said it would close the reactor upon receiving one-tenth of the 50,000 tons of oil pledged by other nations in the six-party talks for this first step in North Korean denuclearization.  The shipment of 6,200 tons of fuel was expected to arrive Saturday at the port of Sonbong and to be unloaded within two days. International Atomic Energy Agency personnel are also expected to arrive in North Korea on Saturday.  Monitoring of the nuclear shutdown process should begin “early next week” and be finished “within a maybe month or so,” said agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei. “I expect that operation to move smoothly,” he said during a trip to Seoul.  “I am quite optimistic that this is a good step in the right direction.” ElBaradei said completing the dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, under the terms of an agreement reached by the six nations in February, would be a “long process.” “We should not delude ourselves,” he said.  “It will take time to have a comprehensive solution.” The Chinese Foreign Ministry confirmed today that the next round of negotiations would take place on July 18-19 in Beijing.  This would be the first session since March (Jae-Soon Chang, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, July 12). Movement on the February agreement was stalled for months while North Korea waited to collect about $25 million that had been frozen at a bank in Macau.  Progress picked up recently after the money was finally transferred through U.S. and Russian institutions into Pyongyang’s hands. “We believe that this type of momentum needs to be maintained,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang.  “The meeting of the heads of delegations will press ahead with this positive momentum” (Agence France-Presse I/Spacewar.com, July 12). Diplomats at next week’s planned talks are expected to discuss the second stage of North Korean denuclearization, South Korean Foreign Minister Song Min-soon said yesterday. “These include the listing of all nuclear programs of the North, actions concerning the disablement of its nuclear facility, the provision of the 950,000 tons of fuel and the normalization of ties,” he said, according to Agence France-Presse (Agence France-Presse II/Yahoo!News, July 11). The U.N. nuclear watchdog would require in the second phase that Pyongyang declare all nuclear programs, including its alleged uranium enrichment effort, AFP reported.  Following U.S. claims regarding the existence of a secret uranium program, North Korea in 2002 abandoned the 1994 Agreed Framework under which it suspended its known nuclear work, ejected IAEA inspectors and announced its withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. “This is a process that will obviously take some time because we will also have to make sure that if they have nuclear weapons, as they say they do, these weapons should be dismantled,” ElBaradei said (Agence France-Presse III/Spacewar.com, July 12). Back to top       China Updating Nuclear Arsenal, Study Finds China is diversifying its nuclear weapons arsenal to include mobile ICBMs, according to a report released Monday (see GSN, Jan. 19). The aging Dongfeng 5 strategic missile is the linchpin of China’s nuclear arsenal, the Montreal-based Center for Research on Globalization said.  These nuclear-capable missiles have flight ranges of 7,800 miles but are liquid-fueled, greatly increasing their launch preparation time, United Press International reported.  To gain strategic flexibility, the report said, China is developing mobile ICBMs that can be placed on mobile launchers rather than being limited to the Dongfeng 5’s fixed silo deployment. The report also fixed China’s total number of deployed nuclear weapons at a lower level than other previous estimates. “At this time, reports have placed the number of deployable nuclear weapons China possesses at 400.  Of these, around 20 are deployed in the intercontinental ballistic missile configuration,” the report stated. Close to 220 of China’s nuclear weapons are deployed on platforms such as short-to-medium range missiles, aircraft and submarines, the report said.  “All of these weapons are of tactical capability.  The remaining weapons are held in tactical reserve for short-range missiles, low-yield attacks and demolition purposes,” the report noted. China in 2005 first deployed a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, the Dongfeng 31, the report said.  It estimated that an improved Chinese ICBM under development, the Dongfeng 41, could be deployed as soon as 2010 (Martin Sieff, United Press International, July 11). Back to top       U.S. Begins Delivery of F-16 Jets to Pakistan Pakistan has received the first two of 26 F-16 fighter jets it purchased from the United States, the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 2, 2006). The two countries set the deal in the late 1980s, but U.S. sanctions over Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program blocked the transfer of the jets in the subsequent decade.  The Bush administration following the Sept. 11 attacks eliminated the penalties as a reward for Pakistan’s aid against terrorism, the Associated Press reported. Pakistan already possesses 34 F-16s, and signed a deal with the United States in September to purchase another 18 beyond the 26 now being delivered, according to the embassy statement. The jets’ delivery “symbolizes the U.S. intent to remain engaged with Pakistan over the long term, just as we do with any other important ally and friend,” U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson said Tuesday at a ceremony in western Pakistan attended by Pakistani and  U.S. Air Force officials. Critics of the deal have argued that the fighter jets could become a Pakistani weapon against neighboring rival India rather than a tool against terrorism (Associated Press/The Hindu, July 12). Back to top       Bush and Singh Discuss Nuclear Trade Proposal U.S. President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh spoke by telephone yesterday to discuss the nuclear trade deal their administrations have been negotiating since 2005, Agence France Presse reported (see GSN, July 3). U.S. national security spokesman Gordon Johndroe said the leaders “discussed the transformation of our bilateral relationship, including the civil nuclear cooperation initiative.” Under the proposed deal, India would open its civilian nuclear facilities to international inspections in exchange for access to nuclear technology and fuel from the United States.  However, the agreement has been stalled by Indian displeasure with congressional restrictions.  New Delhi has not accepted limits on its reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel, and Indian officials have demanded continued access to fuel even if New Delhi were to conduct future nuclear tests (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 11). 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U.S. Narrows Picks for Biological Defense Site The U.S. Homeland Security Department yesterday announced five sites as finalists for a planned $450 million biological defense facility, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 14). Plans call for the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility to have the highest level security rating, “BSL-4,” allowing it to handle the deadliest biological agents. The facility would also be the only laboratory in the country to combine studies of human and agricultural disease with research into vaccine countermeasures for animal diseases and animal pathogens that could spread to humans. “The NBAF, when built, will enhance our nation’s defense against animal and plant disease threats,” DHS Undersecretary Jay Cohen said in a statement. Texas A&M University, which has been embarrassed recently by failures to disclose research accidents, was not among the five finalists (see GSN, July 2; Homeland Security Department release, July 11). The proposed 520,000-square-foot facility, which promises at least 300 lab-related jobs, is being planned by Homeland Security and would be managed by the Agriculture and Health and Human Services departments (Ben Evans, Associated Press/Forbes.com, July 11). Finalist sites for the facility are located in Mississippi, Kansas, Texas, Georgia and North Carolina.  The Bush administration was originally considering 18 sites spread across 12 states, including the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Experts are scheduled to complete an environmental impact study of the remaining sites in 2008. The Homeland Security Department plans to choose a final site next year, and construction is expected to begin in 2010. The facility is scheduled to start operating in 2013 or 2014. Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) expressed optimism that Kansas State University will be chosen to house the facility. “We are very well suited and I think we can compete with anybody,” he said. “We stand ready to up the ante or do whatever is necessary (John Milburn, Associated Press/San Jose Mercury News, July 11). Back to top       Europe and Asia Consider Bioterrorism Defenses The European Commission issued a policy paper yesterday addressing the need for greater transnational cooperation to secure biotechnology and prevent bioterrorist attacks, the Xinhua News Agency reported (see GSN, July 6). “Although in the past terrorists used explosives or improvised explosive devices, they may in the future resort to nonconventional means such as biological weapons or materials,” said Franco Frattini, a European Commission vice president. “Therefore, risks from dangerous biological materials and pathogens have to be reduced and preparedness fostered in Europe through a comprehensive approach aiming at achieving a better preparedness in this area,” he added. The report noted that as Europe’s biotechnology sector grows along with its global commerce, dual-use knowledge and equipment could fall into terrorist hands (Xinhua News Agency, July 11). Meanwhile, security experts from 10 Asian countries convened in Jakarta, Indonesia, for a two-day discussion of bioterrorism defense strategies, the Antara news agency reported today (see GSN, March 28, 2006). Representatives from the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations intend to trade ideas and intelligence on combating bioterrorism, said Bambang Kuncoko, a senior officer with the Indonesian National Police. Interpol and civilian experts are also scheduled to take part in the discussions, Bambang added (Antara/The Jakarta Post, July 12). Back to top

Albania First Nation to Eliminate Chemical Arsenal Albania is the first nation to completely eliminate its full stockpile of chemical weapons, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons announced today (see GSN, April 27). The Chemical Weapons Convention verification body said it confirmed yesterday that Albania had incinerated more than 16 metric tons of mustard, lewisite, mixed mustard/lewisite, adamsite and chloroacetophenone agents. The exact provenance of the weapons remains unclear (see GSN, Jan. 13, 2005). Albania and five other treaty nations have declared chemical stockpiles totaling more than 71,000 metric tons.  India, Libya, Russia, South Korea and the United States are continuing efforts to eliminate their arsenals of banned materials such as VX nerve agent and mustard blister agent.  More than one-third of the total amount had been eliminated by the end of June, according to a OPCW press release (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons release, July 12). Back to top       Senators Urge Accelerated Chemical Weapons Disposal Four U.S. senators have charged the Defense Department with neglecting destruction of chemical weapons in Colorado and Kentucky while they introduced a measure to speed up the process, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, June 14). “DOD has been stonewalling for years and it is time for them to produce results,” said Senator Jim Bunning (R-Ky.). Chemical weapons disposal plants have yet to be built at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky and the Pueblo Chemical Depot in Colorado.  The current schedule has operations beginning in 2014 at both sites, with weapons disposal ending in 2020 at Pueblo and 2023 at Blue Grass. Facilities at all other U.S. chemical storage sites have begun or completed their work. Legislation sponsored by Colorado and Kentucky’s senators seeks $49.3 million in extra funds for chemical weapons disposal and would set a 2017 deadline for the destruction of the U.S. stockpile.  It also would require biannual updates from the Pentagon, the AP reported. “It’s a kick in the pants that I think the Pentagon needs in order to get the Kentucky stockpile on a reasonable course for disposal,” said Craig Williams, director of the Kentucky-based watchdog Chemical Weapons Working Group. The Defense Department “has consistently failed to provide sufficient funding for this program, and thus delayed the destruction of chemical weapons on site,” said Senator Wayne Allard (R-Colo.) (Bruce Schreiner, Associated Press/Colorado Springs Gazette, July 11). Back to top

U.S., Russia Plan Missile Defense Talks This Month U.S. and Russian officials plan to meet later this month to discuss Washington’s plans for missile defense installations in Europe, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 5). Russia has vehemently opposed U.S. plans to deploy 10 missile interceptors in Poland and a radar base in the Czech Republic.  Moscow has threatened that it could respond by retargeting some of its missiles at Europe. Experts at the meeting are expected to discuss alternative options offered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, which have included using an existing radar base in Azerbaijan rather than the Czech site and adding a new early detection system in his country (see GSN, July 3). “The first step is for our experts to get together and do a down-in-the-weeds technical assessment of capabilities,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack (Associated Press/PR-inside, July 11). Arms control expert Theodore Postol of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology recommended in a New York Times commentary yesterday that the Bush administration accept Putin’s offer regarding the Azeri radar.  That could resolve the missile defense dispute and provide an additional defense against Iran, which borders Azerbaijan. The low-frequency Azeri system is better at rapidly scanning the sky for objects while the U.S. system is more adept at identifying and tracking them after detection, he said (Theodore Postol,  New York Times, July 11). Back to top       Raytheon Wins $304 Million Missile Defense Contract The U.S. Missile Defense Agency has awarded Raytheon Co. a $304 million contract for development of tracking and discrimination capabilities for the U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense System, Dow Jones Newswires reported yesterday (see GSN, July 10). The Massachusetts-based aerospace and defense company is contracted to develop infrastructure upgrades and radar software for the system and to administer maintenance and support services and deployment mission planning (Josee Rose, Dow Jones Newswires/CNNMoney.com). Back to top

GAO Lashes U.S. Radioactive Material Security Rules By Jon Fox and Seamus Kraft Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Undercover Government Accountability Office investigators posing as business operators were able to become licensed to buy enough industrial radioactive material to make a “dirty bomb,” according to a report on the investigation released today (see GSN, March 28, 2006). Operating in West Virginia and Maryland, two states chosen for their proximity to Washington, D.C., the team of investigators attempted to obtain licenses to buy industrial equipment that contains radioactive sources. In West Virginia, investigators received a license just 28 days after applying through the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, while more stringent requirements in Maryland led the GAO team to abandon the exercise there. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission licensed the phony West Virginia company after a few phone calls to undercover GAO investigators.  The investigators obtained the license “without ever leaving their desks” in Washington, D.C., according to the report. Using widely available office equipment and software, the GAO team was then able to doctor the license to remove restrictions on the number of devices containing nuclear material it was permitted to buy. The team was able obtain commitments from one supplier for 45 industrial moisture density gauges that contain americium and cesium isotopes that could be incorporated into a radiological dispersal device, or “dirty bomb” (see GSN, July 3). While such a device might not kill a great number of people, the psychological and economic impact of such an attack in a dense urban area could be devastating, experts say.  The head of the New York Police Department’s counterterrorism efforts has called such an attack a “nightmare scenario.” The Government Accountability Office abandoned the ruse in Maryland when it became apparent that obtaining the license there would take roughly seven months and that state officials would require a site visit to the nonexistent GAO business. Maryland is one of 34 states that have received federal authority to conduct background checks on companies pursuing licenses in their jurisdiction. “Given that terrorists have expressed an interest in obtaining nuclear material, the Congress and the American people expect licensing programs for these materials to be secure,” GAO investigator Gregory Kutz said in testimony today before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. While the investigators never actually bought the devices, the sting exposed what they called a failure of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to adequately take account of and protect against the threat of terrorists assembling a dirty bomb. “In our view NRC has not been aggressive enough in licensing and tracking radiological sources of material that can be used in a dirty bomb,” said Eugene Aloise, who heads up nonproliferation and nuclear issues for the Government Accountability Office.  “We believe they need to be more aggressive in this area and we have for several years.” Less than two weeks after the GAO team informed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission of its findings, commission officials issued additional screening criteria to help license examiners determine whether to require site visits or face-to-face meetings in evaluating applications. While NRC Commissioner Edward McGaffigan acknowledged that practices must and have changed, he suggested that the dirty bomb threat has been over-hyped and that some of the sources people express concern about offer no more radiation than one would receive from a CAT scan to their chest. Following GAO recommendations regarding the most dangerous industrial nuclear sources in 2003 — those the International Atomic Energy Agency has classified in categories 1 and 2, the most dangerous out of the five classifications — the commission took immediate action, McGaffigan told the Senate committee. The Government Accountability Office suggested then that the commission modify its licensing process by verifying the end use of the most dangerous of industrial radiation sources. If GAO investigators had tried to obtain category 1 or 2 equipment, they would have been caught immediately, he said, while admitting the commission must make NRC licenses less susceptible to counterfeiting.  The licenses currently carry no safeguards such as watermarks or seals and GAO investigators suggested it would be as easy as cutting and pasting to alter them before faxing them to industrial suppliers. The material GAO investigators arranged to buy would have landed within category 3 of the IAEA scale, but with more time, patience and money “we probably could have gotten up to category 2 levels,” Aloise said. The operation was requested by Senator Norm Coleman (R-Minn.), who said today that “it is clear that terrorists are interested in using dirty bombs to wreak havoc.” “The fact is the dirty bomb is likely the worst terrorist threat we face as a nation today,” said Senator Thomas Carper (D-Del.). The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Coleman said, appears “to be more focused on the accident instead of the crime.” “We are serious about this stuff,” McGaffigan said.  “Most people in the world regard us as a world leader,” he said, adding that the commission in considering bolstering safeguards around category 3 sources. “I myself favor it,” he said. Still, he called for a more robust dialogue regarding the dirty bomb threat and noted that even with 45 industrial gauges would-be terrorists would have the difficult job of extracting the americium from double-shielded containers. Without such protection, “you’ll kill yourself,” he said. “Getting this material does not get you an effective dirty bomb,” McGaffigan said. To an extent he faulted the industrial supplier for being willing to supply 45 gauges to a company no one had ever heard of.  That number would be enough to serve all the industrial applications not just in West Virginia but in the surrounding states as well.  “There should have been some bells going off,” he said. Back to top       U.K. Nuclear Industry Ignores Threat, Expert Says A British nuclear expert has warned that no sound plan exists to evacuate the area around a Suffolk nuclear power plant in the event of a terrorist attack, the BBC reported yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 7, 2006). The British nuclear industry has its “head in the sand” regarding the terrorist threat, said consultant John Large. Large recently finished a study assessing the threat that could arise from an attack or airplane strike on the Sizewell B nuclear plant.  About 271,500 people would probably have to be evacuated to escape radiation that could be released during such a strike, he found.  Eleven people would die in the short term, and 7,217 over a longer period, Large stated. A plant spokeswoman fired back at Large, the BBC reported. “We want to reassure people from this type of scare-mongering and welcome the opportunity to do so,” she said.  The Suffolk plant owners have a significant security plan in place already, she added. Large said his work was based on new satellite data on radiation dispersal. “My view is the nuclear industry needs to be more transparent.  The public should be able to make the judgment (on nuclear safety) for themselves,” he said (Nic Rigby, BBC News, July 11).       Back to top

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