U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns has defended a U.S.-Indian nuclear trade deal from congressional criticism (Louisa Gouliamaki/Getty Images). U.S. Lawmakers Bash Indian Deal The U.S.-Indian nuclear trade agreement formally announced last week was greeted with skepticism by some U.S. lawmakers who questioned whether the deal could deter India from enhancing its nuclear weapons program, Agence France-Presse reported Friday (see GSN, July 26). Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.) who co-chairs the House’s nonproliferation task force, promised that Congress would give the deal tough scrutiny...Full Story

Hong Kong to Join U.S. Cargo Screening Initiative The United States will provide cargo scanning equipment and expertise to the port of Hong Kong under a pilot agreement reached today, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced today (see GSN, June 8)...Full Story

North Korea Affirms Denuclearization Pact North Korea’s foreign minister yesterday repeated his country’s support for a February denuclearization agreement but did not announce a firm date for its full implementation, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 27)...Full Story

	Monday, July 30, 2007

U.S. House Approves Security Bill The U.S. House of Representatives approved a package of counterterrorism measures on Friday, sending the bill to President George W. Bush for final approval, the New York Times reported (see GSN, July 27). The House’s 371-to-40 approval vote followed the bill’s Thursday passage in the Senate. Bush is expected to sign the bill now that Congress has addressed concerns about the original legislation, such as a provision that would have granted collective bargaining rights to airport security personnel, White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said. The bill would require airport workers to check all passenger jet cargo within three years, shift counterterrorism funds to cities and states deemed to be at highest risk of attack and set a five-year goal to screen all U.S.-bound cargo ships leaving foreign ports for nuclear and radiological weapons (David Stout, New York Times, July 27). The bill would also bar freight trains carrying chlorine, ammonia and other hazardous chemicals from downtown Washington, D.C., and other urban areas, the Washington Post reported (see GSN, July 18). “These shipments of toxic chemicals are literally 'Hell on Wheels' rolling through our communities,” said a statement by Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.), who first proposed the measure. Under the legislation, U.S. Transportation Department officials would work with cities, counties and rail companies to decide the safest and most secure routes for delivering dangerous chemicals, rerouting them by April 2009. An intentionally detonated 90-ton freight car loaded with chlorine, for example, could kill or injure 100 people per second and be fatal to everyone within five miles, taking up to 100,000 lives in 30 minutes in the District, the Washington Post reported. CSX Transportation, which owns and operates railroads in Maryland and the District, volunteered in 2004 to stop carrying its most dangerous cargo on a line that passes the Capitol and the National Mall, but its trains continue to carry hazardous chemicals on another line through Northeast Washington. The District of Columbia passed a law in 2005 banning hazardous materials from rail lines running through the city. CSX Transportation and the Bush administration have opposed the ban in federal court, and a ruling on the ban is pending (Carol Leonnig, Washington Post, July 29). Back to top

Hong Kong to Join U.S. Cargo Screening Initiative The United States will provide cargo scanning equipment and expertise to the port of Hong Kong under a pilot agreement reached today, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced today (see GSN, June 8). The measure would establish the U.S. Secure Freight Initiative in Hong Kong, expanding upon the port’s current radiation screening infrastructure.  U.S. shipping security experts would train Chinese cargo inspectors, provide them with handheld radiation detectors and help oversee the container screening process. The pilot initiative would operate in a limited capacity at the Chinese port.  Singapore, South Korea and Oman also are expected to implement small-scale trial screening programs under the program.  Pakistan, Honduras and the United Kingdom are soon expected to begin fully implementing the cargo screening plan at their main container-shipping ports (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, July 30). Back to top

U.S. Lawmakers Bash Indian Deal The U.S.-Indian nuclear trade agreement formally announced last week was greeted with skepticism by some U.S. lawmakers who questioned whether the deal could deter India from enhancing its nuclear weapons program, Agence France-Presse reported Friday (see GSN, July 26). Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.) who co-chairs the House’s nonproliferation task force, promised that Congress would give the deal tough scrutiny. “I can only surmise that it includes provisions they fear will raise the hackles of Congress," said Markey.  "Of course the administration will argue that they aren't breaking the law, but I think that folks up on the (Capitol) Hill have become increasingly skeptical of the administration's legal arguments (P. Parameswaran, Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 27). Meanwhile, several high-level Indian officials praised the agreement, Agence France-Presse reported Saturday. “We have got a very good deal which should meet requirements of both the countries,” said Anil Kakodkar, chairman of India’s atomic energy agency. “You give some and you get some and we are satisfied with this.” Indian national security advisor M.K. Narayanan, who helped lead negotiation of the implementation agreement, called the deal “as good a text as one can possibly get,” but added that New Delhi does not intend to use its right under the deal to reprocess U.S.-supplied nuclear fuel to create material for nuclear weapons. “I think it's time certain countries overcame the belief that we are interested in proliferation,” he said (Pratap Chakravarty, Agence France-Presse/Space War, July 28). Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the agreement would not affect New Delhi’s weapons program and encouraged officials to finalize the deal “as soon as possible,” the Press Trust of India reported Sunday. “Our weaponization program will not be interfered with in this arrangement,” Mukherjee said, but he added that India should not expect cooperation from the United States or any other country for its weapons activities (Press Trust of India/India Abroad, July 29). Meanwhile, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns dismissed claims in Washington Friday that the agreement could trigger an arms race in Southeast Asia while stressing that the United States would not make similar deals with any other countries, the Press Trust of India reported. The [U.S.] relationship with India is based on this extraordinary growth of trade and investment between our private sectors,” Burns said.  “The fact that India has the greatest number of students here, 75-80,000, and the fact that we are going to do things with India — civil nuclear trade, democracy promotion worldwide, HIV/AIDS cooperation — that are going to be unique.” (Press Trust of India/Zee News, July 28) Burns told reporters that India’s offer in early June to dedicate an IAEA-supervised facility to nuclear fuel reprocessing was a “fundamental turning point” in negotiations to finalize the agreement, the Press Trust of India reported Saturday. “They knew they had to do that in order to earn the reprocessing consent that we have subsequently given,” Burns said (Press Trust of India/DNA India, July 28). In formulating its view of India as a “unique” strategic partner in Asia, Burns said the Bush administration took into account the country’s record in fighting nuclear proliferation, the Press Trust of India reported yesterday (Press Trust of India/Udayavani, July 30). “We have made the argument that India has not proliferated its nuclear technology; that India, in effect, outside the system, has played by the rules and that the system would be strengthened by bringing it in.  But we’re not anticipating, in any way, shape or form, a similar deal for any other country,” Burns told reporters. Leonor Tomero, nuclear nonproliferation director for the Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation, criticized the deal in a statement for allowing India to reprocess fuel obtained from the United States for weapons production and not establishing clear consequences if New Delhi conducts a bomb test. “These further concessions and lack of clear rules of the road undermine the U.S. ability to limit the consequences of Indian actions that threaten nonproliferation efforts, such as a potential Indian nuclear weapon test, the production of weapons-usable material, and India’s military ties to Iran,” Tomero said (Center for Arms Control and Nonproliferation release, July 27). Michael Krepon, co-founder of the Henry L. Stimson Center, also criticized the deal.  “At the very least, the Bush administration should not make it easier for New Delhi to resume nuclear testing and to produce fissile material for nuclear weapons,” Krepon said.  “It appears that the 123 agreement fails to meet these minimal standards as well as the clear requirements established in the Hyde Act,” he added, referring to the legislation exempting India from most U.S. nuclear nonproliferation trade restrictions (Stimson Center release, July 27). Back to top       North Korea Affirms Denuclearization Pact North Korea’s foreign minister yesterday repeated his country’s support for a February denuclearization agreement but did not announce a firm date for its full implementation, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 27). North Korea “is committed to the agreement signed in February to move forward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” said Pak Ui Chun while meeting in Manila with Philippine Foreign Secretary Alberto Romulo. “The six-party talks have been producing good progress,” Pak added according to a Philippine spokesman. The North Korean minister, however, insisted that the parties follow an “action for action” timeline in which North Korea would be given oil and other incentives for the gradual uncloaking and shuttering of its civilian and military nuclear programs.  Pak made the remarks during his visit to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum hosted by the Philippines, AP reported (see related GSN story, today; Kwang-Tae Kim, Associated Press/Washington Post, July 29). Meanwhile, a new team of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors arrived in Pyongyang Saturday to continue verifying the shutdown of North Korea’s main nuclear reactor, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 26). The first group of IAEA inspectors had been in the Stalinist state since July 12 before the relief team arrived.  The new inspectors are scheduled to stay at the Yongbyon reactor complex for about two weeks before being relieved, said Ryszard Zarucki, chief inspector on the arriving team (Agence France-Presse I/Khaleej Times, July 28). Pyongyang is expected to receive today or tomorrow the last shipment of a 50,000-gallon award of fuel oil for freezing activity at the Yongbyon facility, Agence France-Press reported (see GSN, July 25). The oil has intermittently arrived at the North Korean port of Sonbong since mid-July, when IAEA inspectors confirmed that no facilities at Yongbyon were operating. A six-nation discussion on further aid to Pyongyang might convene Aug. 8 and 9 in the inter-Korean border village of Panmunjom, AFP reported (Agence France Presse II/Brisbane Times, July 29). Back to top       ASEAN to Charter Regional Nuclear Watchdog The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is expected this week to charter its own regional nuclear watchdog while revisiting a decade-old treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons in the region, the Associated Press reported Saturday (see GSN, July 25). The watchdog would seek to enforce the treaty’s weapons ban and better secure regional nuclear plants against terrorist infiltration and military use. “Nuclear energy for power and peaceful purposes … that’s OK,” said Philippine Foreign Minister Alberto Romulo, who is hosting the annual ASEAN security forum this week.  Romulo said group’s members do not want to “allow the exportation of certain materials which could lead to the development of nuclear power other than for peaceful purposes.” “The emergence of possible nonstate actors that might be eager to resort to the threat or use of nuclear weapons highlights the seriousness of this problem,” Romulo added.  The revamped nuclear agreement could include a regional response plan and early warning system in the event of a nuclear accident in a member nation, AP reported (Jim Gomez, Associated Press/Daily Times, July 28). Meanwhile, two high-ranking U.S. officials plan to attend the ASEAN meeting, potentially opening back-channel nuclear talks with North Korean negotiators, Agence France-Presse reported Saturday. U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill and Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte are expected to attend the forum, though no official meetings have been scheduled with the Stalinist state, AFP reported. “Whether or not Hill meets the North Koreans while he is in Manila, I could not say,” one U.S. embassy official said. Though neither the United States nor North Korea is a member of the Southeast Asian security pact, both will attend as observers (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo! News, July 28). Back to top       IAEA to Visit Iran to Discuss Inspection Framework International Atomic Energy Agency officials are expected to visit Iran next week to discuss rules for governing future inspections at the Natanz enrichment facility and other Iranian nuclear sites, Agence France-Presse reported Saturday (see GSN, July 27). “Technical inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency will visit Iran on August 6 to work on the regulations under which inspections of Iranian nuclear sites will be carried out,” an unnamed Iranian official told the Iranian Student’s News Agency. IAEA and Tehran officials are expected to focus on inspection arrangements for the Natanz enrichment facility, the Isfahan uranium conversion plant and other nuclear sites in Iran (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 28). Iran’s former chief nuclear negotiator on Thursday blamed delays in the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant on Russian “political problems,” dismissing Russian claims that Iran failed to deliver payments for the project, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported (see GSN, July 26). Hasan Rohani said Russia was “due to start (operating) this power plant in 2005,” and that Russian President Vladimir Putin had later promised it would be ready by 2006, a deadline again postponed to 2007. The “problem is on the Russian side,” Rohani said, the Iranian Students’ News Agency reported.  “The Russians are not doing their work.” Rohani said the plant might have become operational already if the U.N. Security Council had not become involved in the international response to Iran’s nuclear program and instead left management of the nuclear crisis to the International Atomic Energy Agency (Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, July 27). Back to top

Ohio Police Arrest Ricin Suspect Pataskala, Ohio, police Wednesday arrested a man who could face charges for attempting to develop the lethal biological agent ricin and disperse it with homemade explosives, the Columbus Dispatch reported (see GSN, April 30). Police discovered castor seeds, a key ingredient in ricin, alongside model rocket fuel while searching the Pataskala home of Stanley Elliott.  The search, initiated by unrelated sexual assault charges against the 44-year-old Elliott, did not turn up any actual ricin, the Dispatch reported. “It would appear that the may have had the intent to process the ricin,” said Police Chief Chris Forshey.  “He may have intended to kill some animals with it.” “Model rocketry is one thing,” Forshey added.  “Some of the same chemicals can be mixed with others to become something totally different” (Dean Narciso, Columbus Dispatch, July 29). Back to top       N.C. Workers Conduct Anthrax Drill A North Carolina community simulated an anthrax attack on a U.S. Postal Service facility on Thursday to practice dispensing medicine to large numbers of people during a health crisis, the Greensboro News Record reported (see GSN, July 13). The drill began with a mock exposure to anthrax sent by mail to a U.S. Postal Service facility in Gilford County, N.C.  Emergency workers distributed M&Ms as antidote pills to about 60 “victims” donned in hospital gowns at Guilford College’s Methodist Church fellowship hall, where the exercise was carried out.  County workers carry out such drills about twice a year, officials said, but Thursday’s scenario involved workers from surrounding counties to include a total of 110 people. Thursday’s “point of dispensing” drill only simulated the second part of a response to a biological weapons attack.  In a real emergency, responders would have evacuated workers, decontaminated them in showers, given them hospital gowns and wristbands and then bused them to 40 dispensing points where they would have begun distributing antidote. A consultant said that workers generally carried out Thursday’s exercise well, but suggested public signs and radio and phone communications between workers as potential areas for improvement. Connie Lawson, a spokeswoman for Guilford County’s public health department, said the patients evacuated during the exercise numbered far fewer than the hundreds who might have to be evacuated during a real emergency. Lynne Beck, another health department spokeswoman, said the county used the emergency response drill as a “model to teach” workers from other counties, who can then use or adapt it (Lex Alexander, Greensboro News Record, July 27). Back to top

U.S., Russia to Discuss Missile Defense Today U.S. and Russian technical experts are expected to discuss competing plans today for a European missile defense system and might address a key conventional arms treaty recently suspended by Moscow, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 26). “We hope that the meeting would be productive and Russia and the United States can agree to some serious cooperation on missile defense against common threats,” said one U.S. official. The missile defense plan championed by U.S. President George W. Bush would place radar installations in the Czech Republic and missile interceptors in Poland.  Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has consistently decried those plans, earlier this month offered to cooperate with the United States by incorporating Azeri radars into a missile defense array (see GSN, July 3). Russia views the two plans as mutually exclusive, according to AFP. The Russian proposal “will be possible only if the United States declines to deploy … a missile shield on European territory, as well as strike components in space,” said a Russian Foreign Ministry statement. Officials hope to start resolving these discrepancies at the Washington talks, AFP reported. The experts also planned to discuss the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe, which Russia recently renounced in a thinly veiled response to the U.S. missile defense plan (see GSN, July 16; Agence France-Presse/Turkish Press, July 27).   Back to top

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