IAEA safeguards head Olli Heinonen announces a timetable agreed to by Iran yesterday for disclosing more information about its nuclear activities (Behrouz Mehri/Getty Images). Iran, IAEA Reach Agreement on Nuclear Timetable Iranian and U.N. nuclear watchdog officials yesterday agreed to a schedule for actions intended to clarify Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Aug. 21). The International Atomic Energy Agency and Iranian officials did not give details about the timetable, which was expected to call on Iran to provide agency inspectors with more information on its nuclear program and improved access to Iranian nuclear sites...Full Story

Khan Network Should Be Top Priority, Experts Say Shutting down the remnants of a smuggling network once led by top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan should be the top priority of nonproliferation policy-makers, according to experts polled this summer at a major nonproliferation conference in Washington (see GSN, July 27)...Full Story

Report Knocks CIA’s Pre-9/11 Antiterrorism Efforts The Central Intelligence Agency in the years prior to Sept. 11, 2001, made a number of missteps in its efforts to prevent a terrorist attack against the United States, according to an agency document released yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 26, 2005)...Full Story

	Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Report Knocks CIA’s Pre-9/11 Antiterrorism Efforts The Central Intelligence Agency in the years prior to Sept. 11, 2001, made a number of missteps in its efforts to prevent a terrorist attack against the United States, according to an agency document released yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 26, 2005). The report by investigators from the office of CIA Inspector General John Helgerson was completed two years ago and submitted to Congress, the Washington Post reported.  A 19-page declassified summary of the document was made public following demands from lawmakers that it be released. The report found that then-CIA chief George Tenet and other agency heads failed to overcome bureaucratic and funding barriers to the fight against al-Qaeda.  They also did not “properly share and analyze critical data,” it said. “Agency officers from the top town worked hard” against the terrorist organization but “they did not always work effectively and cooperatively,” investigators reported.  There were a number of “failures to implement and manage important processes” and to “follow through with operations.” The “ultimate responsibility” for the lack of a comprehensive strategy lies with Tenet, according to the report.  Intelligence agencies “did not have a documented, comprehensive approach” to dealing with al-Qaeda and Tenet “did not use all his authorities” to see one produced, it states Agency messages dating back to 2000 addressed travels by two of the Sept. 11 plotters, Nawaf Alhazmi and Khalid Almihdhar, the report says.  However, the agency never put them on a watch list that could have ended with them in custody prior to the strikes on the Pentagon and World Trade Center, the Post reported. The inspector general said that a special board should be formed to consider “potential accountability” for Tenet and other former high-level CIA personnel. Tenet rejected the report’s findings. “The IG is flat wrong,” he said in a statement.  He argued that he repeatedly warned lawmakers and the White House about al-Qaeda prior to the attacks. “There was in fact a robust plan, marked by extraordinary effort and dedication to fighting terrorism, dating back to long before 9/11,” said Tenet, who resigned from the agency in June 2004 (Warrick/Pincus, Washington Post, Aug. 22). Among the other CIA officials who, in the report’s words, “did not discharge their responsibilities in a satisfactory manner” were former deputy director for operations James Pavitt and former counterterrorism chief Cofer Black, the New York Times reported. No past or present CIA officials have faced discipline for failures to prevent the Sept. 11 attacks. “Accountability is a concept the American people understand,” Representative Rush Holt said in a statement.  “I am stunned that [current CIA chief Michael] Hayden still does not get the message” (Mark Mazzetti, New York Times, Aug. 22). Back to top

Canadian Military Tests $94M Training Simulator Canadian reserve forces are preparing for battle in Afghanistan using a $94 million training simulator capable of conjuring up the effects of nuclear and chemical attacks, the Canadian Press reported today (see GSN, July 17). The Weapons Effects Simulation, now being tested at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright in the province of Alberta, also recreates bomb explosions and gunfire in a training system that one military official called the “closest thing to live bullets.” “Canada, right now, in all the Western countries of the world, has the most advanced, state-of-the-art WES system,” said Col. Craig King, head of Canadian Maneuver Training Center, which manages the training simulator exercises. “The WES system allows us to portray that in the most realistic possible manner, short of using live munitions,” he said. Soldiers are equipped with camouflage vests covered in electronic sensors to track where they are shot or injured, and helmets with Global Positioning System devices for military analysts to follow their movements.  The simulator determines the seriousness of injuries by registering where on the body and by what weapon soldiers are hit (Steve Rennie, Canadian Press/Hamilton Spectator, Aug. 22). Back to top

Iran, IAEA Reach Agreement on Nuclear Timetable Iranian and U.N. nuclear watchdog officials yesterday agreed to a schedule for actions intended to clarify Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Aug. 21). The International Atomic Energy Agency and Iranian officials did not give details about the timetable, which was expected to call on Iran to provide agency inspectors with more information on its nuclear program and improved access to Iranian nuclear sites. “We have now in front of us an agreed working plan,” said IAEA safeguards head Olli Heinonen.  “We have a timeline for the implementation.” “The talks produced very great and constructive progress,” said Iranian nuclear negotiator Javad Vaidi, adding that the sides had reached agreement on a basis for answering remaining questions about Iran’s nuclear program. The officials did not say what questions the framework would address, but they are expected to include Iran’s history of research using small quantities of plutonium (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press I/Washington Post, Aug. 21). The U.S. envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency today said Iranian moves to cooperate with IAEA officials were part of an effort by Tehran to avoid U.N. Security Council sanctions while continuing its disputed nuclear activities, AP reported. “Iran is clearly trying to take the attention from its continued development of bomb-making capabilities, and I don't think the Security Council will be distracted," said Ambassador Gregory Schulte. "We are continuing to move forward with other members of the Security Council on a third resolution.” Schulte furthered past assertions by U.S. officials that the United States views Iranian cooperative gestures as a “charm offensive” intended to prevent the Security Council from agreeing to impose new sanctions. “If Iran's leaders truly want the world's trust, they would … start to cooperate fully and unconditionally and suspend activities of international concerns,” he said. Schulte suggested that the timetable did not include provisions for resolving all questions about Tehran’s nuclear program, according to AP. “We understand there are real limitations with the plan,” including the issue of the Iranian prohibition on short-notice IAEA inspectors, he said. An IAEA-accredited diplomat said the schedule included other “omissions” but did not elaborate. U.S. State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said the United States wants the Security Council to “move forward as soon as possible with additional sanctions.” The State Department added that it is continuing talks over possible new sanctions with permanent Security Council members “to make clear to the Iranian regime the costs for failing to comply with its nonproliferation obligations.” Iran has so far not provided information about secret experiments it conducted using plutonium in the 1990s or Iranian plutonium that has remained unaccounted for in IAEA investigations.  Agency inspectors also aim to learn more about unexplained traces of plutonium and highly enriched uranium they found at a nuclear waste site last year, and about the “Green Salt Project,” an alleged collaboration between Iran’s military and nuclear programs (see GSN, Feb. 1, 2006; George Jahn, Associated Press II/Washington Post, Aug. 22). Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns on Monday urged U.S. allies to sever their trade ties with Iran to step up pressure on the government in Tehran to halt its controversial nuclear activities, the Washington Times reported (see GSN, Aug. 1). Burns said that India, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and various U.S. allies in Europe have continued making trade deals with Tehran and offered credits to businesses trading with the country, undermining U.S. efforts to financially isolate Iran. Burns said the United States lost its major properties in Iran following the nation’s 1979 Islamic revolution, and that this country has had minima l trade links with Iran since that time. “We have paid the price. It is time for our allies to pay the price as well,” Burns said (David Sands, Washington Times, Aug. 21). Back to top       Khan Network Should Be Top Priority, Experts Say Shutting down the remnants of a smuggling network once led by top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan should be the top priority of nonproliferation policy-makers, according to experts polled this summer at a major nonproliferation conference in Washington (see GSN, July 27). Some individuals participating in the network remain at large and “it is impossible to know whether blueprints for components or for a nuclear weapon have been distributed to actors that either were not in the original network or were undetected,” says a summary of the poll released this week by the Carnegie Endowment’s Nonproliferation Project. Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program continues to rely on smuggling materials and technology into the country, raising concerns that “today’s importing network might … become tomorrow’s distributor to other buyers,” the summary says. Beyond the problem of the Khan network, conference participants encouraged nations to find ways to reduce international demand for nuclear facilities and to address the implications of U.S. and Russian efforts to promote exports of nuclear fuel. The experts also urged three strategies to help nuclear nonproliferation efforts:  seeking the help of the nuclear industry to report suspicious trade requests, specifying an international course of action when nations are found in noncompliance of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty requirements, and compounding the effect of U.S. economic sanctions by encouraging European nations to adopt similar measures (Carnegie Endowment for International Peace release, August 2007). Back to top       India Plans Nuclear Inspection Talks Next Month India plans to open talks next month with the International Atomic Energy Agency to set the terms for the agency’s oversight of the nation’s civilian nuclear activities, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 21). U.S. lawmakers have required India to complete an agency safeguards agreement before a pending U.S.-Indian nuclear trade deal can take effect.  The deal also awaits a revision of international nuclear trade guidelines that currently bar such trade with countries that have not joined the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. India’s leadership has faced parliamentary criticism of the deal from both the left and the right, but talks with the agency would proceed nevertheless, according to a ruling party official. “Just like we do not negotiate out of fear, we should not and do not fear to negotiate,” said Congress party spokesman Abhishek Singhvi (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Aug. 21). The domestic discord, however, could threaten the current Indian government, said some political analysts.  India’s communist parties have expressed particular concern, saying the U.S. deal would give Washington undue influence over Indian affairs.  The parties are not formally members of the ruling coalition, but their support is nevertheless needed for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to retain his office, the Christian Science Monitor reported. “I would say this is the beginning of a big comedown for the government,” said independent political analyst Mahesh Rangarajan.  “Even if the collapse doesn’t happen immediately, I would bet on early elections before they are scheduled in 2009” (Mian Ridge, Christian Science Monitor, Aug. 22). Back to top       Strategy Seen Behind North Korean Rhetoric Experts said North Korea is trying to improve its negotiating position in coming talks with the United States by lashing out against the latest U.S.-South Korean military exercises, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, Aug. 22). The annual Ulchi Focus Lens drill is “a product of U.S. hostile policy” against Pyongyang, a Foreign Ministry official said. “If the U.S. persists in its military hostile actions against its dialogue partner, the D.P.R.K. will take strong countermeasures different from the stand for dialogue it has so far maintained,” he said. Pyongyang might fire off a short-range missile in a test or conduct a military maneuver of its own, experts said. The Ulchi drill began Monday, ahead of talks expected this month in Geneva on normalizing diplomatic relations between Pyongyang and Washington.  The negotiations are one component of efforts to entice North Korea into fully eliminating its nuclear program. “It is likely that the North will raise this issue strongly at the bilateral working-level talks with the U.S. to put pressure on it to move fast in normalizing ties,” Dongguk University professor Lee Chul-ki told AFP. “By making an issue of the exercise, it seeks to gain an upper hand in the six-party nuclear talks,” said Jeung Young-tae of the Korea Institute for National Unification. North Korea might also be looking to undermine South Korea’s relationship with the United States, said Baek Senug-joo of the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses. “The North is also seeking to lay the groundwork for it to demand in the summit the halt” of U.S.-South Korean military exercises, he said (Park Chan-kyong, Agence France-Presse, Aug. 22). Meanwhile, six-party nations have developed a system for providing the energy and economic aid that North Korea stands to receive for shuttering its nuclear complex, ITAR-Tass reported. South Korea has already supplied its neighbor with 50,000 tons of fuel oil.  China would be next, followed by the United States, Russia and Japan.  In total, North Korea would receive another 950,000 tons of oil or equivalent assistance. By offering assistance in stages, leaders hope to ensure that the process of declaration and disablement of North Korea’s nuclear program goes smoothly, ITAR-Tass reported (ITAR-Tass, Aug. 22). Back to top

DHS to Discuss Future of Plum Island Lab The U.S. Homeland Security Department has scheduled a meeting for tomorrow in Southold, N.Y., to hear public comment on whether Plum Island should house a $450 million biological defense facility, Newsday reported (see GSN, July 12). The Plum Island Animal Disease Center is due to be replaced around 2013 by the National Bio- and Agro-Defense Facility.  The list of five candidate states for the new facility does not include New York.  However, Homeland Security regulations require that the operating location be considered should the chosen sites fall through. “When you do an environmental impact statement, one of the options always on the table is to do nothing, which would mean Plum Island would still be the location,” said department spokesman Larry Orluskie. The new research center is planned as a Biosafety Level 4 facility, designed for study of the most dangerous pathogens.  Elected officials in the Plum Island area oppose any changes to the laboratory’s Biosafety Level 3 designation. “Plum Island as it is today doesn’t meet the needs,” Orluskie said.  “It could be a location to build a new facility.” “No decision has been made as to the future of Plum Island” if the new facility, as expected, ends up in another state, Orluskie said. The Plum Island laboratory for 50 years has studied animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth and swine fever.  As of June 2006, it had roughly 220 employees (see GSN, June 29, 2006). “It’s my sincere hope that they decide to reconstruct the facility and continue to use it.  I know that is probably an unlikely scenario but it’s an important facility for this town,” said Southold Supervisor Scott Russell (Bill Bleyer, Newsday, Aug. 21). Back to top       Putin Announces New Rules for Biological Exports Russian President Vladimir Putin today approved an enhanced list of biological materials and technologies that are subject to export controls, his office announced (see GSN, Aug. 17). Putin’s move is intended to help Russia comply with the Biological Weapons Convention and the U.N. Security Council’s 2004 resolution encouraging nations to strengthen their WMD nonproliferation measures (see GSN, Nov. 8, 2006; Vladimir Putin release, Aug. 22). Back to top       U.S. to Fund Late-Stage Anthrax Treatment Research The U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases plans to work with the biotechnology firm Advanced Life Sciences Holdings Inc. to develop late-stage treatments for anthrax, United Press International reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 20). The firm said in May it had completed a study that found the antibiotic cethromycin to be effective in protecting primates from infection by inhaled anthrax. Research is being funded through Project Bioshield, the multibillion-dollar government effort to promote research and production of drug-based treatments for responding to a large-scale public health crisis (see GSN, July 3). The project aims to contribute to the Strategic National Stockpile of emergency medical supplies maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We are very excited about our partnership with the NIAID as it allows us to leverage the financial and scientific resources of the U.S. government's premier research institute to develop cethromycin as a broad spectrum medical countermeasure,” said Michael Flavin, chief executive officer of Advanced Life Sciences Holdings (United Press International, Aug. 21). Back to top

Activists Fear More Off-Site Chemical Waste Shipping U.S. environmental activists have expressed concern that a federal court ruling permitting VX hydrolysate to be shipped from Indiana to Texas for incineration could pave the way for future off-site chemical weapons waste disposal, Defense Environment Alert reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 8). Opponents of waste shipments fear that the ruling could set a precedent supporting the shipment of waste produced by neutralization of weapons at two U.S. Army chemical depots.  A recent National Academy of Sciences report endorsing off-site VX wastewater disposal has further worried activists (see GSN, July 27). “It seems to me that the court either missed some of the basic facts, or misinterpreted the law,” said an activist with the Sierra Club. The decision “technically has no direct implications” for chemical weapons disposal planned at Pueblo, Colo., and Bluegrass, Ky., the activist said, but “as a practical matter, it could be very serious.”  The Defense Department’s Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives program would oversee disposal projects in Colorado and Kentucky.  Weapons neutralization plants have not yet been built at either depot (see GSN, July 12). The Army Chemical Materials Agency is managing work at the Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana. Once the chemical agents at the facilities are neutralized, the resultant waste must undergo a secondary disposal process either at other sites or the facilities where they are stored.  Waste from Newport is being burned at a plant in Port Arthur, Texas. The U.S. Army might consider shipping the waste from Pueblo and Blue Grass to another location, but has not yet changed its plans for conducting waste treatment at the depots. Plaintiffs in the Indiana case intend to file a motion within the next few weeks for the same court to reconsider the case, the source said.  If the motion to reconsider is unsuccessful, the activist said the plaintiffs would take their case to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals (Defense Environment Alert, Aug. 21). Back to top

Iran Develops Remote Missile-Launching System Iran has completed a system for remotely launching dozens of its Shahab ballistic missiles from underground bunkers in the event of a U.S. or Israeli strike on the country’s nuclear facilities, the Jerusalem Post reported today (see GSN, June 22). North Korea aided development of the remote-control system, which uses Chinese technology, Western sources said.  Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Yayha Rahim Safavi said that Iran has also outfitted its Shahab missiles with an advanced guidance system for steering the weapons after launch. Iran’s Shahab 3 ballistic missiles have been recently upgraded to increase their range from about 800 miles to more than 1,200 miles, the Post reported. Israeli military officials said recently that Iran would most likely respond to an attack by launching Shahab missiles at Israeli or U.S. targets in the Middle East (Yaakov Katz, Jerusalem Post, Aug. 22). Back to top

U.S. Lawmakers Want Nuclear Plant No-Fly Zones By Jon Fox Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — U.S. lawmakers from New York have introduced a bill that would permit the head of homeland security to declare no-fly zones around certain nuclear power plants, but the Nuclear Regulatory Commission sees little need for such a measure (see GSN, April 27). In a post-Sept. 11 world nuclear power reactors are seen as potential targets for terrorist attacks that could have disastrous consequences should radioactive material be released into the environment.  Just 35 miles north of Manhattan, the Indian Point power facility seems to embody this concern. As the owners of the Indian Point reactors seek renewed licenses to operate for the next three decades, New York’s attorney general filed a legal brief supporting demands that federal officials in making their decision consider terrorism risks and the feasibility of evacuating the surrounding area. Westchester County officials in New York have appealed the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s refusal to alter criteria considered in relicensing power plants. In the meantime, Democratic New York Representatives Nita Lowey, Eliot Engel, and Maurice Hinchey have sponsored a bill that could keep planes away from any nuclear power plant within 50 miles of an urban area where more than 15 million people live. The bill would allow but not require the homeland security secretary to designate no-fly zones around nuclear plants in those regions.  It does not call for a specific security circumference. “Al-Qaeda has publicly asserted that they have considered targeting nuclear facilities, and we don’t know what method that would be,” said Lowey spokesman Matt Dennis.  “That just poses an unacceptable risk.” Dennis noted that one of the planes that hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, flew over the Indian Point site. According to the Sept. 11 commission report, original al-Qaeda plans for the 2001 attacks included a total of 10 planes with nuclear power plants in the set of targets. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, however, is not particularly concerned about a scenario in which a plane strikes a reactor.  “These are naturally robust facilities that are meant to withstand many types of natural disasters,” said spokeswoman Holly Harrington.  “Studies have shown that there’s a low likelihood that it would penetrate to the extent that it would be a public safety hazard.” Dennis said that argument is less than convincing.  “These facilities were not built to withstand that and we can’t know for sure,” he said. While there are presently no no-fly zones, the Federal Aviation Administration has issued a notice for pilots “that basically tells them not to linger around nuclear power plants,” Harrington said. If a plane or helicopter were perceived as a threat to a power plant, military jets could be scrambled.  “We do have a lot of close communication with NORAD,” she said, referring to the North American Aerospace Defense Command. Given the location of some power plants, a no-fly zone could be “highly disruptive” to air traffic, she added. The New York lawmakers’ legislation has been referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.  Even if approved in Congress and signed by the president, it seems unlikely to be used by the Homeland Security Department. “The department has done an extraordinary amount of work with the various entities that regulate nuclear facilities,” said agency spokesman Russ Knocke, indicating that the department is satisfied with the current security measures.  “We’ve struck the right the balance in risk management of high consequence sites.” Since 2001, plans to protect commercial nuclear reactors have incorporated expanded threat scenarios with a greater number of terrorists attacking by land or possibly over water.  The commission rejected a suggested requirement that private reactor security forces be prepared to defend against armor piercing ammunition and rocket-propelled grenades.  The guidelines do not require facilities to prepare for an air attack. In April, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposed a rule that companies apply to certify new nuclear reactor designs assess what the impact of a commercial airplane striking the structure would be. At research reactors, where there is often highly enriched uranium that could be weapons usable, federal official have issued rules requiring additional fingerprinting and background checks of those with access to the facilities. Regarding threats posed by aircraft, it is “important to not lose sight of the effort that’s been made to harden our aviation sector since 9/11,” Knocke said.  “There are extraordinary layers of security in the aviation sector that have been put in place.” Knocke would not comment specifically on no-fly zones surrounding nuclear reactors.   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.