The U.S. Strategic Command, led by Gen. Kevin Chilton, is examining strategies to deter terrorist WMD attacks against the United States (Ethan Miller/Getty Images). U.S. Strategic Brass Eyes Deterring Terrorist WMD Attack By Elaine M. Grossman Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The general who commands the U.S. nuclear arsenal said last week he is studying how best to deter terrorists from using weapons of mass destruction (see GSN, March 4). “How do you address the al-Qaedas of the world who would love to get their hands on a weapon of mass destruction and employ it against the United States?  How do you deter that entity?” U.S. Strategic Command chief Gen. Kevin Chilton asked during a session with reporters.  “These are really hard questions that we believe we have to address and think about [and] report on.”..Full Story

No Breakthrough Reported in U.S.-North Korea Meeting Yesterday’s meeting between top U.S. and North Korean envoys did not produce a breakthrough in the stumbling effort to eliminate the Stalinist state’s nuclear program, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, March 13)...Full Story

General Plays Down Korean Missile Proliferation The head of U.S. military forces in South Korea said this week that North Korea since 2005 appears to have conducted little to no missile technology trade, the Korea Times reported (see GSN, March 4)...Full Story

	Friday, March 14, 2008

U.S. Strategic Brass Eyes Deterring Terrorist WMD Attack By Elaine M. Grossman Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The general who commands the U.S. nuclear arsenal said last week he is studying how best to deter terrorists from using weapons of mass destruction (see GSN, March 4). “How do you address the al-Qaedas of the world who would love to get their hands on a weapon of mass destruction and employ it against the United States?  How do you deter that entity?” U.S. Strategic Command chief Gen. Kevin Chilton asked during a session with reporters.  “These are really hard questions that we believe we have to address and think about [and] report on.” On Thursday, the head of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency told a Senate panel that the most troubling danger today is the possibility that a terrorist might detonate a nuclear device in a highly populated U.S. city (see GSN, March 13). Military strategists and defense experts have long pondered whether a religious extremist intent on carrying out a terror mission could be deterred, particularly if the individual were willing to commit suicide.  Potential scenarios range in violence from coordinated attacks on a massive level, akin to those on Sept. 11, 2001, to smaller-scale strikes by individuals in suicide vests, as seen with some frequency in Iraq. Some analysts posit that al-Qaeda leaders have hinted at hopes and fears that might be vulnerable to a deterrence strategy.  For example, could Osama bin Laden be turned away from using a weapon of mass destruction if he became convinced that global revulsion to that act would hinder his future ability to recruit new operatives? “It’s not one-size-fits-all for deterrence,” Chilton said.  “What motivates that individual?  What do they value?  What do they fear?  What is [an] unacceptable risk to them?” In response to such questions, the United States might not necessarily select a military tool to achieve deterrence, but rather “an economic solution or diplomatic solution,” said the commander, whose headquarters are based in Omaha, Neb. Asked if he knows how to deter al-Qaeda, Chilton conceded, “I don’t personally right now.”  However, he said, “our team’s looking at that and thinking about those types of problems.” At Strategic Command, intelligence and policy analysts are “constructing a deliberate plan to address the violent extremist organization threat,” Air Force Col. Les Kodlick, the organization’s spokesman, said today.  Determining how to most effectively deter WMD terrorism is an “ongoing” process, he said. Command officials do not anticipate releasing an unclassified report on this matter, Kodlick said.  However, the spokesman added, “any information in this [area] that can be made public, will.” Back to top

No Breakthrough Reported in U.S.-North Korea Meeting Yesterday’s meeting between top U.S. and North Korean envoys did not produce a breakthrough in the stumbling effort to eliminate the Stalinist state’s nuclear program, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, March 13). The six-party process has faltered this year over what Washington says is Pyongyang’s failure to meet its obligation to fully account for all nuclear activities.  Reports this week indicated that a compromise might have been reached that would allow two key issues — North Korea’s suspected uranium enrichment efforts and its alleged atomic exports — to be separated from the rest of the declaration. “We certainly are further along in this consultation than we were when I arrived this morning,” U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill said following his meeting in Geneva with North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan.  “There has been progress.” “We’ve had good discussions on all substantive issues,” Hill said.  “Whether we’ve resolved these issues and achieved our goals I’m not prepared to say.” Kim, meanwhile, said his nation had not sought uranium enrichment capabilities alongside its known plutonium-based weapons program and had not provided nuclear support to Syria. “We did not have, we don’t have and we will not have,” he said (Eliane Engeler, Associated Press I/Washington Post, March 13). Hill was scheduled to leave Geneva today, Reuters reported.  However, lower-level officials from Pyongyang and Washington met again today in the Swiss city for talks aimed at resuming full six-party talks involving China, Japan, Russia, the United States and both Koreas. “I think there might be another need for a consultation but frankly we’ll all have to do a number of consultations with different parties before we have a six-party meeting,” Hill said (Jonathan Lynn, Reuters I/Washington Post, March 14). The nuclear declaration is required under the second phase of a 2007 denuclearization deal, which also involves disabling three key North Korea nuclear facilities.  Once the second phase is completed, work would turn toward dismantling the nation’s nuclear complex. “We are trying to get ready for making that progress, that is for getting to phase 3 (which) would mean a six-party meeting for sure,” Hill said. “But I’m not prepared to say that this has paved the way and that this will be a cake walk,” he added (Stephanie Nebehay, Reuters II/Washington Post, March 14). Back to top       Indian Official Sees No Early Nuclear Deal Indian leaders hope to wrap up a planned nuclear trade deal with the United States as quickly as possible, but persuading critical lawmakers in New Delhi could take time, a senior Indian diplomat said yesterday (see GSN, March 13). “No agreement on any issue can be long lasting unless it’s perceived to be of mutual benefit,” Indian Ambassador to the United States Ronen Sen said in a talk in Washington.  “As democracies we have to take the deal in and through our own democratic processes” (Indo-Asian News Service, March 13). “There is a debate going on in both our countries,” he added.  “But I don’t think any of us would want to lecture the other on what we should do or should not.” The trade deal has drawn fire from key supporters of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s ruling coalition, raising the prospect of Singh losing power if he acts to implement the agreement. So far, Singh has deferred advancing the deal and has sought to keep control of the parliament. “A minority government cannot, need not and should not sign a major agreement like this,” Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said recently (Nilova Roy Chaudhury, Hindustan Times, March 14). Back to top

Drinking Tea Inhibits Anthrax, Researchers Say Scientists in Wales have found that antibacterial compounds in tea can slow the spread of anthrax infection, the Cardiff Western Mail reported today (see GSN, Dec. 19, 2007). “We found that special components in tea such as polyphenols have the ability to inhibit the activity of anthrax quite considerably,” said Les Baillie, an anthrax expert at Cardiff University. The experiment, which compared the antimicrobial properties of coffee and tea, started as a friendly spat between the Welsh team and U.S. scientists from the University of Maryland’s Medical Biotechnology Center in Baltimore. “The discovery came out of some Friday afternoon science.  Our American colleagues were drinking vast amounts of Starbucks coffee and we wanted to show them how much better tea was for you,” Baillie said. “We decided to research, under very strict laboratory conditions, if English breakfast tea was more effective than a commercially available American medium-roast coffee at killing anthrax,” he said. However, Baillie warned not to count on tea as an antidote to the biological warfare and terror agent. “I certainly wouldn’t suggest anyone who discovers anthrax, not to call the emergency services and just pour a cup of tea over it,” Baillie said. “But I like the idea a nice cup of tea could help to get you through a moment of terror.  It’s a very British way of dealing with a problem,” he added. The researchers also found that milk neutralizes tea’s ability to counter anthrax infection (Tim Lewis, Western Mail, March 14). Back to top

Russia Pursues Italian Chemical Weapons Disposal Aid Russian lawmakers are considering legislation that to seal an agreement under which Italy would provide more than $560 million in chemical weapons disposal assistance to the former Cold War superpower, Interfax reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 1, 2007). “The 360 million euro [offer] is our Italian partners’ gift, which is expected to accelerate the construction and commissioning of chemical weapons disposal facilities in Russia,” said Viktor Zavarzin, head of the defense committee in the lower house of Russia’s parliament. The committee on Tuesday discussed the bill that would ratify a Russian-Italian chemical weapons disposal cooperation agreement. “The implementation of this agreement will help Russia strongly to implement the [Chemical Weapons Convention], which meets the interests of Russia and the rest of the world,” Zavarzin said.  The legislation requires Moscow to meet legal and organizational requirements to receive the aid, he added. Russia ratified similar agreements with Canada in March 2006 and France the following November (Interfax, March 13). Back to top       Officials, Experts Differ on Train Rerouting Rule U.S. lawmakers and counterterrorism experts are questioning new rules that requires train companies to consider routes that would move shipments of ammonia, chlorine and other dangerous substances away from the 60 largest U.S. cities, USA Today reported today (see GSN, July 30, 2007). Beginning this spring, rail firms must examine whether they can increase safety by rerouting trains carrying toxic chemicals away from major urban areas.  However, observers are already saying they believe the companies would use cost as a justification against making the actual shifts. “Every day tank cars pass through our urban centers carrying enough chlorine to kill or injure 100,000 people in half an hour,” said U.S. Representative Ed Markey (D-Mass.), who said he would continue working to prevent hazardous substances from being shipped through cities. A spokesman for the U.S. Transportation Department agency that authored the new rule defended the flexibility it offers to train companies.  “We're not interested in just shifting the risk from a big city to a medium-sized city,” said Federal Railroad Administration representative Steve Kulm. Meanwhile, train companies have voluntarily agreed to reduce the amount of time that toxic chemical shipments are allowed to wait in rail yards for pickup, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said earlier this month. Chertoff did not say how long such shipments are usually left unattended, but the Transportation Security Administration and the Association of American Railroads said that time has been cut by 40 percent in the last year. Such efforts have led to “a significant reduction” to threats posed by 110,000 annual rail shipments of toxic chemicals, said TSA Assistant Administrator John Sammon. Rail security expert Fred Millar called the security of chemical rail shipments “an ongoing horrendous risk” that can be resolved only by rerouting trains. “Only if Secretary Chertoff thinks terrorists are terminally stupid and slow on the draw could he maintain that they cannot hit 90-ton, unarmored, slow-moving rail cars, clearly marked and so astonishingly accessible that they are often tagged with graffiti,” he said (Mimi Hall, USA Today, March 14). Back to top

General Plays Down Korean Missile Proliferation The head of U.S. military forces in South Korea said this week that North Korea since 2005 appears to have conducted little to no missile technology trade, the Korea Times reported (see GSN, March 4). Pyongyang is seemingly abiding by the demands of U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718, which among several provisions called on North Korea to “suspend all activities related to its ballistic missile program,” Gen. Burwell Bell told a Senate committee.  The council approved the resolution in October 2006 following the Stalinist state’s nuclear test blast (see GSN, Oct. 10, 2006). North Korea in July 2006 also tested several missiles.  A Taepodong 2 missile believed capable of reaching U.S. territory failed less than a minute after launch (see GSN, July 5, 2006; Jung Sung-ki, Korea Times, March 13). In prepared testimony for the Senate Armed Services Committee, Bell cautioned that the North Korean missile threat should not be taken lightly. “North Korea views its ballistic missile program as a source of international power and prestige, a strategic deterrent, and a source of hard currency derived from exports,” he said.  “With its recent intercontinental missile test conducted in July 2006, and preparations under way to field a new intermediate range missile capable of striking Okinawa, Guam and Alaska, North Korea’s missile development and export program present a threat which cannot be ignored,” Bell added (U.S. Gen. Burwell Bell statement, March 11). Back to top       Guilty Plea Made in Indian Missile Smuggling Case The head of a South Carolina electronics firm pleaded guilty yesterday to illegally shipping missile and other weapon technologies to India, Reuters reported (see GSN, April 3, 2007). Parthasarathy Sudarshan acknowledged that his firm, Cirrus Electronics, failed to obtain required export licenses for shipments to the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center and Bharat Dynamics between 2002 and 2006. “By fraudulently acquiring and shipping controlled missile technology overseas, this defendant violated both our federal law and our national security," said U.S. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein in a prepared statement. The electronics Sudarshan delivered had applications in missile guidance and firing systems, Reuters reported (James Vicini, Reuters, March 13). Sudarshan is scheduled to be sentenced on June 16, when he will face the possibility of a maximum prison term of five years and a $250,000 fine (Sridhar Krishnaswami, Press Trust of India/Hindustan Times, March 14). Back to top

Japan Deploys Sixth Ship With Missile Defense Radar Japan now has six destroyers equipped with Aegis missile defense radar as it seeks to boost its defense against a potential North Korean missile attack, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 18, 2007). Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. has turned over the $1.4-billion, 7,750-ton JDS Ashigara to the Japanese Defense Ministry.  The ship is expected to be deployed to the Japanese naval base at Sasebo, a defense official said (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, March 13). Back to top       Raytheon Develops Missile Launch Detection Sensors Missile defense contractor Raytheon has developed a missile launch detection sensor designed to surpass the performance of current U.S. space-based early warning satellites, the company announced yesterday (see GSN, March 12). The sensor package — dubbed the Risk Reduction Alternative Infrared Satellite Systems program — uses wide-field-of-view infrared detectors installed in a relatively simple payload, according to a company release (Raytheon release, March 13). A single new sensor could monitor an entire hemisphere of the Earth, Raytheon spokesman John Barksdale told Global Security Newswire, and the project is “seen as the next-generation of missile warning technology” (Greg Webb, Global Security Newswire, March 14). The existing U.S. missile launch detection network and the currently planned next-generation system both use more complex scanning technology that does not match Raytheon’s new sensors, according to the company (see GSN, May 26, 2005). “When potential missile threats can come today from anywhere on earth, a persistent, whole-earth-staring capability provides the enhanced detection sensitivity and responsiveness our warfighters need to make critical decisions,” said Raytheon official Brian Arnold in the press release (Raytheon release). Back to top

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