U.S. officials said this week that seven guards at Tennessee’s Y-12 nuclear weapons facility have been disciplined since 2000 for sleeping on the job (U.S. Energy Department photo). U.S. Now Says Seven Guards Caught Sleeping at Y-12 U.S. officials have revised the number of sleeping-guard incidents at a Tennessee nuclear weapons facility they reported earlier this week, now indicating that seven guards have been caught napping since 2000, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 15)...Full Story

Israel Conducts Ballistic Missile Test Israel today conducted a successful test launch of a ballistic missile, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Oct. 26, 2006)...Full Story

IAEA Still Seeking Data on Kyrgyz Cesium Kyrgyz officials have yet not given U.N. nuclear inspectors more information about a seizure of radioactive material that could have been used in a radiological “dirty bomb,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 11)...Full Story

	Thursday, January 17, 2008

U.S. Now Says Seven Guards Caught Sleeping at Y-12 U.S. officials have revised the number of sleeping-guard incidents at a Tennessee nuclear weapons facility they reported earlier this week, now indicating that seven guards have been caught napping since 2000, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 15). On Monday a U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration spokesman said two guards had been disciplined in the past four years at the Y-12 facility, but yesterday the spokesman said seven officers were found asleep in the past eight years.  The site is responsible for storing weapon-grade uranium and assembling U.S. nuclear weapons, among other activities. “Given how serious NNSA considers our responsibility of safeguarding our nuclear facilities, we feel it is important to provide you with a complete accounting of inattention incidents involving security police officers found sleeping on the job at Y-12,” said spokesman Steven Wyatt. Of the seven sleeping guards, three were found to have been “intentionally sleeping on duty” and were fired, Wyatt said.  The remaining four received lesser penalties, including suspensions without pay of up to three weeks, and all were placed on 12-month probations. The guards worked for Wackenhut Services Inc., a security firm whose parent company lost a contract to protect 10 U.S. nuclear power plants after two of its security officers were filmed sleeping on the job at a Pennsylvania power plant (see GSN, Jan. 4). A Wackenhut spokeswoman said the firm has been trying to enhance guard alertness by reducing the amount of overtime they work.  She also said the sleeping incidents were unusual. “There have been a few isolated incidents for us, which we took very seriously,” said Courtney Henry.  “For the number of security officers that we have working at Y-12, it is a very small number” (Duncan Mansfield, Associated Press/The Oak Ridger, Jan. 16). Back to top       IAEA Still Seeking Data on Kyrgyz Cesium Kyrgyz officials have yet not given U.N. nuclear inspectors more information about a seizure of radioactive material that could have been used in a radiological “dirty bomb,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 11). The December incident was announced last week by officials in the Central Asian nation who described finding cesium 137 in a rail shipment of scrap metal bound for Iran. One nonproliferation expert said the incident was worrisome but probably a benign case of someone accidentally leaving behind a measurement tool. “In all probability, a radioactive source — which was used for measuring the thickness of a steel band or something of that sort, or aluminum band — was left behind when the equipment was scrapped, and that source got mixed in with the scrap metal in the shipment,” said Peter Zimmerman a former U.S. State Department scientist.  “This happens even in the most developed countries with the best radiation protection, once or twice a year.” Still, the case merits investigation, he said. “Cesium chloride is very much like table salt,” Zimmerman said.  “It dissolves in water and it can be blown away, and so on. And this is a very dangerous form to use, simply because it can enter the environment easily and it can be spread easily by a terrorist” (Jeffrey Donovan, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Jan. 16). Back to top       West Confident that Syria Was Building Nuclear Weapons Site Before Israeli Attack, Diplomat Says Key Western nations have agreed that a Syrian building hit by an Israeli air attack last year was part of a nuclear weapons effort undertaken with North Korean cooperation, a senior European diplomat said yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 14). After checking intelligence sources, the Western governments reached “some sort of common ground … that there seems to have been cooperation between Syria and North Korea” at the bombed building, the diplomat said. Syria has denied that the structure was nuclear in nature and has begun new construction at the site, raising concerns among some experts that Damascus is trying to conceal previous activities there, the Los Angeles Times reported today. The Western conclusion, however, has not been universally adopted.  Top U.N. nuclear official Mohamed ElBaradei has indicated that his review of photographs of the site before the air strike suggested the structure was not nuclear-related (see GSN, Jan. 8). Syria has rejected an ElBaradei request to visit the site for further examination (Paul Richter, Los Angeles Times, Jan. 17). Back to top       U.S. Presses for New Iran Sanctions The Bush administration plans to continue pushing for new sanctions against Iran although congressional investigators have questioned their effectiveness in swaying Tehran’s nuclear policies, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Jan. 16). At a meeting of six world powers scheduled for Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to argue that new sanctions are necessary in response to Iran’s refusal to suspend uranium enrichment and other activities that could help it build nuclear weapons. The State Department said yesterday that it would not alter its plan to press for new sanctions despite a report by the Government Accountability Office challenging the impact of the measures. “The whole strategy here is to use various kinds of diplomatic pressure at a gradually increasing rate to try to get a different set of decisions out of the Iranian leadership,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.  McCormack declined to guess whether the foreign ministers from Germany and the five permanent U.N. Security Council member nations would agree on a new draft resolution during their meeting next month. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte said a U.S. intelligence assessment released last month indicated that Iran has suspended only its warhead design program while moving forward with uranium enrichment work and development of missiles that could carry a nuclear weapon. “Work continues by Iran on two out of those three parts of that program,” Negroponte said in Beijing today before he attended talks to press a Chinese counterpart to support a new round of sanctions (Matthew Lee, Associated Press/Google News, Jan. 17). “We think it is important that there be an additional Security Council resolution because Iran is out of compliance on previously passed resolutions. … That is the argument that will be presented to the Chinese authorities,” he said, according to Agence France-Presse. “On the Iranian nuclear issue, [China’s] position is consistent.  We hope that Iran will abide by (an existing) U.N. resolution and demonstrate flexibility and work with the international community,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu.  “We also hope the international community will intensify diplomatic efforts for an early resumption of negotiations,” she said. Top Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili was also in Beijing today to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi and other officials over the next two days. “The two countries will exchange views on bilateral relations and the nuclear issue,” Jiang said (Agence France-Presse I/Google News, Jan. 17). Jalili said today that Western powers have failed to pressure Iran to halt its disputed nuclear work, Reuters reported. The West has suspected that Iran’s nuclear program is aimed at developing nuclear weapons.  Iran has insisted that its nuclear activities are intended solely for civilian energy development. “Those countries who so far have been after imposing sanctions and putting pressure on Iran have not achieved any success,” Jalili told Iranian state media.  “Today, global developments and Iran’s logical behavior do not allow anybody to do this” (Reuters, Jan. 17). Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri said yesterday that international suspicions about Iranian nuclear intentions could soon be cleared up, AFP reported. “We think the conditions and circumstances are quite favorable and we are getting ready to solve the (nuclear) issue once and for all,” Bagheri told reporters. Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, has “showed that some of the problems related to the nuclear issue have been solved,” he said (Agence France-Presse II/Google News, Jan. 16). However, the U.S. envoy to the U.N. nuclear watchdog yesterday expressed skepticism that Iran is willing to disclose enough information on its nuclear program’s past to answer all of the agency’s outstanding questions in time to meet a deadline next month. “We are disappointed that Iran failed to meet the November deadline [and] the December deadline,” Gregory Schulte said.  “Let's see if they are ready to really fully cooperate over the next four weeks to meet this new mid-February deadline.” “We always supported the IAEA and [ElBaradei] in trying to move forward with this work plan.  But we've always been worried that Iran is using the work plan to try to buy time,” Schulte said, referring to an agreement reached by Iran and the agency last year for Tehran to gradually disclose information on its past nuclear activities. “Full cooperation means they need to come clean with their past, they need to explain these nuclear weapon activities they have, and they need to commit to giving full insight into the present, concluding by implementing the Additional Protocol,” which would allow IAEA inspectors to conduct short-notice audits of all Iranian nuclear sites (Agence France-Presse III/Google News, Jan. 16). Back to top       North Korea Would Reap Economic Benefits from Denuclearization, Incoming South Korean President Says South Korean President-elect Lee Myung-bak said today his government would use economic enticements to press North Korea toward eliminating its nuclear weapons program, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, Jan. 16). The primary inducement would come through increasing the per capita income in the Stalinist state to $3,000, according to Lee’s plan. “Our cardinal effort will be placed on the complete resolution of the North Korean nuclear problem and concomitantly, the creation of a new peace structure on the Korean Peninsula,” he said. “We will continue to persuade North Korea that giving up its nuclear weapons program will benefit both its regime and its people,” Lee added. He did not say how South Korea would respond should Pyongyang fail to take up the offer, AP reported. The current round of denuclearization negotiations began in 2002 and has slowed again while participating nations wait for North Korea to submit a full declaration of its atomic activities.  Pyongyang said it delivered the list in November. “Although the dismantlement process is currently being delayed, we remain patient and mindful of the need to proceed carefully,” Lee said (Burt Herman, Associated Press I/Yahoo!News, Jan. 17). Lee’s plan to combine the South Korean Unification Ministry with the Foreign Ministry could have ramifications on the nuclear negotiations, AP reported. The Unification Ministry has been Pyongyang’s primary supporter when it needed economic aid from Seoul.  It’s elimination as a stand-alone agency would be “viewed in a negative way from North Korea,” said International Crisis Group analyst Daniel Pinkston, who works in Seoul. He said the Kim Jong Il regime might further slow the nuclear negotiations while it assesses the situation under the new government.  The conservative Lee is expected to take a harder line on North Korea than his recent predecessors (Burt Herman, Associated Press II/CNN.com, Jan. 16). Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected to address the nuclear issue next month during visits to China, Japan and South Korea, Agence France-Presse reported. Rice is expected to be in Seoul on Feb. 25 for Lee’s inauguration, according to Japanese news reports (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Jan. 17). Back to top       China to Allow U.S.-Indian Nuclear Deal, Singh Says Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Tuesday that China would probably not attempt to prevent a civilian nuclear trade agreement between India and the United States from entering into effect, the Hindustan Times reported (see GSN, Dec. 14, 2006). While China has made past statements supporting the deal, Beijing has not explicitly stated how it would vote when the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group decides whether to allow New Delhi to import nuclear material and technology even though it has not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. The deal also requires approval from the U.S. Congress and a nuclear safeguards arrangement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. “When the (civil nuclear) issue comes before the relevant agencies (IAEA and NSG), I don’t think that China will be an obstacle.  I can’t say I have an assurance today,” Singh told reporters.  The prime minister added that India’s top nuclear official could hold talks with his Chinese counterpart. “I invited the Chinese government to send the chief of their atomic energy agency to come and meet the chairman of our Atomic Energy Commission.  The Chinese authorities said they will consider the suggestion,” he said. Domestic opposition in India to the nuclear trade agreement is now the last major obstacle to implementing the deal, the Times reported (Amit Baruah, Hindustan Times, Jan. 16). Back to top

Kazakh Plague Samples to Aid Biodefense Research Samples of bubonic and pneumonic plague have been shipped from Kazakhstan to the United States, where they will be used for research on treatments for the disease, U.S. Senator Richard Lugar announced yesterday (see GSN, July 11, 2007). After more than five years of negotiations between Washington and Astana, U.S. scientists last week were allowed into the Asian nation to package the samples.  A U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane then flew the material to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fort Collins, Colo. U.S. and Kazakh scientists plan to use the samples in their research on preventive measures and possible cures for the deadly disease, which continues to occur naturally in Central Asia and has been identified as a potential bioterrorism agent. The shipment occurred through Kazakhstan’s participation in the U.S. Nunn-Lugar program, which aims to secure and eliminate weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union.  Astana last month agreed to extend involvement in the program for another seven years (U.S. Senator Richard Lugar release, Jan. 16). Back to top

Israel Conducts Ballistic Missile Test Israel today conducted a successful test launch of a ballistic missile, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Oct. 26, 2006). “There was an important test, which was carried out successfully, of a ballistic missile,” Israeli army radio said without elaborating. However, Ynetnews said the test was “part of a future multilayered defense system designed to counter various aerial threats against the Jewish state,” Agence France-Presse reported. Israel has been developing its capability to deter an attack from Iran, which has carried out periodic missile tests over the past several years (see related GSN story, today). Israel is believed to be working on the Jericho 3 ballistic missile, which could be capable of delivering a chemical, biological or nuclear warhead to a ground target as far as 2,800 miles away, AFP reported (see GSN, Oct. 4, 2002; Agence France-Presse/Google News, Jan. 17). Israel Radio suggested that the missile used in the test was capable of carrying an “unconventional payload,” Reuters reported. The Israeli Defense Ministry said the missile launch occurred “within the framework of examining rocket propulsion” (Reuters/New York Times, Jan. 17). Back to top       Iran Increasing Pace of Missile Work, U.S. Says Iran has stepped up its program to build long-range missiles capable of hitting targets in Europe, the head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 27, 2007). Lt. Gen. Henry Obering made the assertion in Prague while making the case that proposed missile defenses the United States hopes to deploy in Poland and the Czech Republic are necessary to defend the continent against a possible Iranian missile attack, the Associated Press reported. “They are developing missiles today in an accelerated pace,” Obering said at the Czech Foreign Ministry.  He noted that only China and Russia conducted more missile flight tests in 2007 than Iran. “They’re developing ranges of missiles that go far beyond anything they would need in a regional fight, for example, with Israel,” he said.  “Why are they developing missiles today that … will be possible to reach Europe in [a] few years?” Iran said in November that has developed a new missile, dubbed the “Ashura,” with a 1,200-mile range that would enable it to hit Israeli targets and U.S. bases throughout the Middle East. “[Iran has] also made statements that once you reached that range, getting beyond that is fairly easy,” Obering said. “Currently, there’s no protection in Europe against the intermediate-range or long-range weapons,” he said (Karel Janicek, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Jan. 16). Back to top

Czech Republic, U.S. Move Toward Missile Radar Deal Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said yesterday that his nation in the next few months could agree to become home to a U.S. missile defense radar, the New York Times reported (see GSN, Jan. 3). The deal would involve three separate agreements, covering deployment of the radar base, involvement of Czech companies in developing and deploying the missile defense system, and the status of U.S. military personnel staffing the installation. “We hope to conclude the negotiations by the end of spring,” Schwarzenberg said of the missile defense cooperation plan.  “The document should minimize the legal, trade and political limitations for establishing new ties and contacts between Czech and American researchers and businessmen.” Schwarzenberg made his comments as Czech and U.S. officials, including Missile Defense Agency chief Lt. Henry Obering, met in Prague for talks on the radar plan (Judy Dempsey, New York Times, Jan. 17). Preliminary construction on the radar base could begin by the end of 2008, Obering said.  Washington anticipates spending $100 million on that phase of the project, the Xinhua News Agency reported (Xinhua News Agency, Jan. 17). The radar would complement 10 missile interceptors that the Bush administration hopes to deploy in Poland.  Warsaw, though, is driving a harder bargain than the government in Prague, the Times reported (see GSN, Jan. 16; Dempsey, New York Times). Polish officials believe hosting the interceptors could increase the danger to their country and want the United States to provide hundreds of millions of dollars in defense improvements, the Washington Times reported.  The request reportedly includes short- or medium-range air defense systems. Russia, in particular, has objected to the $3.5 billion U.S. missile shield plan, which Washington says is intended to counter missile threats from Iran or another Middle Eastern nation. “It’s a negotiation.  We are allies, but even allies have negotiations,” said State Department spokesman Sean McCormack.  “They have a certain set of interests, and we want to talk to them about how, in the framework of these negotiations and our understanding, that we can accommodate their interests” (Kralev/Borowiec, Washington Times, Jan. 16). “We take Polish considerations very much into account,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried said yesterday following a meeting in Warsaw with Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski. “The Poles have made a sound case that missile defense may expose them to additional risks that have to be addressed.  We understand this, and we respect this,” Fried added (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Jan. 16). 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.