U.S. Representative Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) has proposed restoring funds for projects related to a next-generation U.S. nuclear warhead (Pearce photo). House to Consider Restoring Funds for Reliable Replacement Warhead By Elaine M. Grossman Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to debate a measure that would restore funds for design work on a new nuclear warhead, following committee action last week to cut such efforts on the weapon next year. Representative Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) has proposed an amendment to the fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill under which an additional $10 million would be allocated to the Energy Department for the Reliable Replacement Warhead program.  The measure would offset its RRW funding increase by cutting $10 million from energy conservation initiatives at military installations...Full Story

South Korea Wants North’s Nuclear Fuel Rods Nuclear fuel rods removed from North Korea’s plutonium production reactor might end up in power reactors in neighboring South Korea, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, May 21)...Full Story

U.S. Meets With Chinese Weapons Firms Seeking to ease WMD proliferation concerns, the United States has negotiated directly with two Chinese firms that often been the target of U.S. economic sanctions, a State Department official said Tuesday (see GSN, April 20, 2006)...Full Story

	Thursday, May 22, 2008

Understaffing Plagues FBI Counterterrorism Unit More than one-third of all positions are waiting to be filled within an FBI counterterrorism unit responsible for monitoring al-Qaeda and other terrorist activity, the Washington Times reported today (see GSN, May 9). The bureau is scouring its ranks for “volunteers” to carry out the unit’s “critical” duties, according to the newspaper.  A high-level FBI official yesterday said that a lack of experienced supervisors and staffers is hindering the bureau’s ability to protect the United States from “another catastrophic and direct attack by Middle Eastern terrorists.” The al-Qaeda group and the FBI’s other International Terrorism Operations Sections are “inexcusably understaffed,” said Bassem Youssef, who oversees communications analysis for the FBI’s counterterrorism branch. In a statement to a U.S. House subcommittee, Youssef said that only 62 percent of ITOS supervisory positions are filled.  To fill those spots, the agency is approaching supervisors who are ill-prepared for the work, he said. The FBI’s highest-ranking Arab-American member, Youssef is suing the agency for discrimination. FBI Assistant Director John Miller countered the accusations, contending that the agency has made “great and steady strides to build a domestically focused national security organization” while making counterterrorism its top priority. Miller said the FBI has thwarted terrorist plots in the United States and around the world through its intelligence collection activities, law enforcement work, and collaboration with local, state and international entities. “While we appreciate any employee’s views on the state and direction of the FBI, those assessments may be very limited in scope,” he said.  “It is cynical to write off the work of so many dedicated FBI employees or the accomplishments of the bureau by suggesting that these efforts are failing, especially when they are not” (Jerry Seper, Washington Times, May 22). Back to top

U.S. Meets With Chinese Weapons Firms Seeking to ease WMD proliferation concerns, the United States has negotiated directly with two Chinese firms that often been the target of U.S. economic sanctions, a State Department official said Tuesday (see GSN, April 20, 2006). The China North Industries Corp. and the China Great Wall Industries Co. have repeatedly been accused of shipping chemical-weapon and missile technologies to Iran and other nations of concern to Washington. Rather than simply working with Chinese government officials, the State Department has held talks with officials from the two firms, said Patricia McNerney, principal deputy assistant secretary of state, in testimony before the congressional U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. “As part of a broader nonproliferation strategy that we devised last year, we held discussions with [the] two major Chinese companies … both of whom have been sanctioned repeatedly in the past for proliferation-related activities.  We have made absolutely clear to these entities that any trade in technologies useful in WMD programs or delivery systems would constitute proliferation-related behavior, and would subject them to possible future sanctions,” she said. A change in the companies’ policies could aid them, McNerney said. “We have indicated that their decision to cease such proliferation activity would be recognized by the United States.  A commitment to end their proliferation-related activity and concrete, positive action towards this end would likewise increase prospects that Western companies and international financial institutions would have no concerns in developing broad economic and trade ties with these Chinese companies,” she said. She expressed hope that seeds sown in the talks would grow to include other firms as well. “There are indications that the positive results are not limited only to these two companies.  I fully anticipate that if tangible benefits of a solid nonproliferation record begin to accrue, additional Chinese companies will seek to emulate the nonproliferation policies of NORINCO and CGWIC,” McNerney said. Her remarks came in a broader assessment of China’s nonproliferation policies. “We have serious concerns about the proliferation activities of certain Chinese entities and we continue, when necessary, to take action in response to those activities,” McNerney said.  “We work constructively with China on a number of important proliferation issues, yet we also have made it clear that China must do more to halt the spread of WMD, missiles, and conventional weapons and related technologies.” She praised China for progress “in many ways” toward “becoming a responsible nonproliferation partner,” but also repeated long-standing U.S. concerns. “We continue to find that China has important deficiencies in translating its declared nonproliferation objectives into its export control system, particularly with regard to thorough implementation, transparent enforcement and possibly, willingness,” McNerney said (U.S. State Department release, May 20). Back to top

House to Consider Restoring Funds for Reliable Replacement Warhead By Elaine M. Grossman Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to debate a measure that would restore funds for design work on a new nuclear warhead, following committee action last week to cut such efforts on the weapon next year. Representative Steve Pearce (R-N.M.) has proposed an amendment to the fiscal 2009 defense authorization bill under which an additional $10 million would be allocated to the Energy Department for the Reliable Replacement Warhead program.  The measure would offset its RRW funding increase by cutting $10 million from energy conservation initiatives at military installations. House floor debate on amendments to the bill was slated to begin this afternoon. The House Armed Services Committee last week produced a version of the legislation that eliminated RRW design efforts under the heading of “directed stockpile work” by the Energy Department’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration.  Instead, the panel added $10 million for RRW “advanced certification,” which could be used to address questions about certifying nuclear warhead performance without explosive testing (see GSN, Oct. 1, 2007). The committee also refused the Navy’s $23.3 million request for the RRW program, which would first place a new warhead onto the submarine-launched Trident D-5 missile.  However, lawmakers did offer $13.3 million for “arming, fusing and firing” systems usable either for the new weapon or an existing nuclear warhead. The Bush administration has touted the Reliable Replacement Warhead as a weapon that would be easier and faster to produce than existing designs, as well as simpler to maintain.  It would also incorporate security measures that could prevent its use if stolen by terrorists, according to proponents. “Currently, the United States is the only nation with declared nuclear weapons capabilities that is unable to produce new warheads,” Brian Phillips, a spokesman for Pearce, told Global Security Newswire yesterday.  “The pursuit of new warheads under RRW is an important part of our overall national security objectives.” However, critics say the RRW effort is unnecessary for assuring the reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile.  They assert it could undermine U.S. security objectives abroad. “It is hypocritical and counterproductive for the United States to develop new nuclear weapons while we try to convince countries like Iran and North Korea to do exactly the opposite,” John Isaacs and Guy Stevens of the Council for a Livable World said yesterday in a written statement, issued in response to the Pearce amendment. The lawmaker also offered a second amendment to the defense bill that would increase the nuclear security agency’s budget by $50 million to boost the capability to produce plutonium “pits,” the core of a nuclear warhead.  His proposals were among several related to nuclear weapons, global proliferation and missile defense accepted yesterday by the House Rules Committee for floor debate and votes as the chamber deliberates the fiscal 2009 defense legislation.  Others include: — Representative Bill Foster (D-Ill.):  To establish an Energy Department-sponsored fellowship in nuclear chemistry to support nuclear forensics capabilities; enhance international nuclear material databases; and require a report to Congress on Cabinet-level exercises for nuclear terrorism preparedness, among other matters. — Representative Adam Schiff (D-Calif.):  To require the energy secretary to prioritize the research and development plans of the Energy Department and the national laboratories.  The planning document should address nuclear forensic responses to atomic weapons explosions worldwide and include a database to facilitate the attribution of nuclear materials. A second Schiff amendment would direct the defense secretary to study methods for verifiably reducing the likelihood of an accidental nuclear launch by taking U.S., Russian, Chinese and other nations’ weapons off of hair-trigger alert.  — Representative Peter King (R-N.Y.):  An increase in defense funds totaling $3.7 million for the National Guard Weapons of Mass Destruction Civil Support Team in his state.  Funding would be provided through a commensurate reduction in the defense-wide operation and maintenance budget. — Representative Trent Franks (R-Ariz.):  A “Sense of Congress” statement that the Defense Department should develop and maintain a viable military option to prevent Iran from building nuclear weapons. — Representative John Spratt (D-S.C.):  A requirement for the national intelligence director to submit to Congress an annual update of the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran’s nuclear intentions and capabilities, augmented by prompt notification of any significant changes detected in Iran’s nuclear program. — Representative Pete Sessions (R-Texas):  A “Sense of Congress” that Congress should support an ability to field the capability to intercept ballistic missiles in the boost phase of flight. — Representative John Tierney (D-Mass.):  A $966.2 million funding reduction for the Missile Defense Agency.  Instead the funds would be allocated to a number of other programs, including $75 million for the Cooperative Threat Reduction initiative; $592 million for Energy Department nonproliferation and related efforts; and money for a variety of support services for military personnel and their families. A second Tierney amendment would make it U.S. policy not to deploy any ballistic missile interceptor system until the defense secretary has certified it has been successfully demonstrated under realistic test conditions. — Representative Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.):  An initiative to extend transitional heath care to selected personnel separating honorably from active duty, funded through a $22 million reduction in the budget of the Missile Defense Agency. Back to top       South Korea Wants North’s Nuclear Fuel Rods Nuclear fuel rods removed from North Korea’s plutonium production reactor might end up in power reactors in neighboring South Korea, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, May 21). The rods would be removed from the Yongbyon nuclear facility under the 2007 deal for Pyongyang to give up its atomic sector in exchange for economic, diplomatic and security benefits from China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States. “Details of the purchase plan will be discussed at the six-way talks,” a South Korean official said, according to the Yonhap News Agency (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, May 22). The top negotiators from South Korea, Russia and the United States are set to meet next week in Moscow for talks on North Korean denuclearization, RIA Novosti reported (RIA Novosti, May 22). Back to top       U.S. Wants Progress in IAEA Probe, Official Says The U.S. envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency yesterday said that Washington wants to see concrete indications of progress in the agency’s latest report on its probe into Iran’s disputed nuclear ambitions, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, May 21). The United States and other Western powers suspect that Iran intends to use its developing nuclear capabilities to produce a weapon.  Tehran maintains its nuclear program would only produce electricity.  Iran said last month that it would provide IAEA officials with explanations for evidence suggesting that Tehran had conducted nuclear-weapon design research in the past.  A report this week indicated that Iran has instead stymied the IAEA effort. “We are looking for progress,” Ambassador Gregory Schulte told journalists at the U.N. nuclear watchdog’s headquarters.  “And we’re also waiting to see whether Iran is prepared to suspend uranium enrichment.” The United States also hopes Iran will be prepared to sign the IAEA Additional Protocol, a measure that would allow U.N. inspectors to conduct short-notice audits of Iranian nuclear sites. Diplomatic officials familiar with the IAEA probe said the U.N. nuclear watchdog could release its newest report to the agency’s 35-nation governing board late this week or early next week, ahead of a board meeting planned for early June (Agence France-Presse I/Google News, May 21). Meanwhile, U.S. Army Gen. David Petraeus has called for the United States to employ diplomatic and economic coercion to pressure Iran to abandon its controversial nuclear work while keeping military action as a final option, the Associated Press reported yesterday. “A destabilized Iraq, rampant terrorism in the region and a nuclear-armed Middle East are not in any nation’s long-term interest, including Iran’s,” Petraeus said in a 46-page document addressing questions ahead of the confirmation hearing on his appointment as head of U.S. Central Command, the top commander overseeing U.S. military operations in the Middle East (Anne Flaherty, Associated Press/Google News, May 21). U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday endorsed the Bush administration’s policy of employing penalties and possible rewards to encourage Iranian nuclear compliance.  Her statement followed criticism of the policy from Senator Barack Obama (Ill.), a Democratic candidate for presidents, AFP reported. “The Iranian problem is not just America’s problem, it is an international issue, and it is an issue on which the international community is united in confronting Iran with choices before it,” she said. “This is called a successful multilateral coalition of states that have the same view” that Iran should be punished for defying the international consensus on its nuclear work and offered rewards for cooperating, Rice said. “I would like to see what other options there are for the international community, given that this policy is one that I think is the best course for us,” she said (Agence France-Presse II/Google News, May 21). In Vienna, Iran’s envoy to the U.N. nuclear watchdog yesterday presented IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei with an Iranian proposal for new international talks on nuclear issues and other concerns, Iran’s Press TV reported “The package is a clear indication that, apart from Tehran’s full cooperation with the IAEA, Iran is willing to discuss different issues with other countries,” Ali Asghar Soltanieh said after meeting with ElBaradei.  “However, the Islamic Republic of Iran is of the conviction that the IAEA is the only authorized body to judge its nuclear activities” (Press TV, May 22). The text of the proposal, acquired by the Institute for Science and International Security, calls for discussions on preventing the proliferation of nuclear materials and expertise; cooperating to make civilian nuclear technology and programs accessible to “all states;” placing international nuclear fuel enrichment stations in Iran and elsewhere in the world; establishing a committee on international nuclear disarmament; increasing IAEA safeguards measures; cooperating to ensure the security and safe operation of nuclear facilities; and convincing nations to tighten their regulation of nuclear-related exports (Diane Barnes, Global Security Newswire, May 22). Back to top       Pakistan Loosens Rules on Khan’s Confinement Pakistan granted former top nuclear scientist and proliferator Abdul Qadeer Khan a temporary reprieve from house arrest yesterday to meet with friends at a science center he led in the 1990s, Reuters reported (see GSN, April 10). “There has been relaxation to this extent that he was allowed to go the Academy of Sciences yesterday," his wife, Henny Khan, said today.  “But we don't know, we have to wait and see whether that's a one-off thing or they’re going to allow him on a regular basis.” Khan has expressed optimism that Pakistan’s new governing administration would end his four-year confinement, which he decried last month as “irrational.” The new administration is led by the party of assassinated former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who promised before her death to give U.N. nuclear inspectors access to Khan (see GSN, Sept. 27, 2007). Pakistan’s new leaders have not yet articulated their position on Khan’s confinement, but some members of the government have backed his release (Reuters, May 22). Back to top

Chemical Attack Suspects Sentenced Again in Jordan A Jordanian court yesterday sentenced eight would-be terrorists to life in prison for plotting to attack the U.S. Embassy and other sites in the capital city of Amman, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 7, 2007). The suspects, who have been linked to al-Qaeda, were originally sentenced to death following their first trial in 2006.  Their sentences were overturned on appeal when it came to light that the prosecutor had been a target of the foiled 2004 plot. Jordanian authorities said the plan included the release of toxic chemicals that could have caused tens of thousands of deaths.  The plot was discovered only weeks before the attacks were to take place.  By that time, the suspects already had  the chemicals, weapons and vehicles they planned to use against the embassy, the prime minister’s office and the headquarters of Jordan’s intelligence service, court records state. The first trial involved 13 suspects from Jordan, Syria and Palestine, some of whom were charged in absentia.  The court acquitted two defendants and gave short prison sentences to another two.  Reported mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was killed in U.S. air strike in June 2006 (see GSN, June 8, 2006). Three of the remaining suspects were also sentenced in absentia.  Defendants received life in prison rather than the death sentence this time due to changes to a law covering illegal possession of weapons and explosives.  Attorneys for the defendants plan to appeal the verdicts, AP reported (Jamal Halaby, Associated Press/USA Today, May 21). Back to top       Russian Lawmakers Back Italian CW Disposal Aid The lower house of Russia’s parliament has ratified an agreement under which Italy would provide more than $560 million for chemical weapon disposal in the former Cold War superpower, Interfax reported yesterday (see GSN, April 3). The Italian assistance could fund the construction of a new facility for eliminating chemical warfare agents and munitions stored at Pochep, in Russia’s Bryansk region. The deal permits Russia to choose the technological means for eliminating the weapons (Interfax, May 21). Back to top

Czech Government Agrees to U.S. Radar Proposal Czech leaders have officially approved a plan for the country to host a U.S. missile defense radar, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, May 16). The two countries are set to sign the pact when U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visits Prague sometime in the next two months, according to Czech Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zuzana Opletalova. Prague and Washington are still finalizing details of related treaty, which would address ancillary issues such as the legal status of U.S. personnel at the radar base and taxes. Czech lawmakers must approve both agreements. The Bush administration is still in talks with Poland regarding deployment there of 10 missile interceptors.  The European system is being proposed as a countermeasure against a possible missile threat from Iran (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, May 21). Back to top

Nuclear Test Monitoring Agency Finds No Signs of Airborne Radiation Following Chinese Earthquake An international nuclear monitoring organization has found no signs that radiation has escaped from Chinese nuclear facilities located in an area hit by a large earthquake last week, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, May 21). Nuclear experts have been watching for signs of safety problems following the quake, which shook a region containing several civilian and military nuclear sites. “Our radionuclide network has not registered any radioactive release in connection with the earthquake in China,” said Annika Thunborg, spokeswoman for the Preparatory Commission for Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization in Vienna.  The agency monitors the globe for nuclear-weapon tests, in part by measuring air samples for radioactive materials at 52 collection stations around the globe. Chinese officials have generally declared that all the nuclear sites are safe, but the trade journal Nuclear Fuel reported that all nuclear reactors in the region have been shut down and that several sustained some structural damage (William Broad, New York Times, May 22). Back to top       Police Free Suspects After Swedish Nuclear Scare Swedish police released two welders today after arresting them yesterday on suspicion that they were plotting to plant explosives in a nuclear plant, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, May 21). The two had been performing maintenance work at the facility in Oskarhamn, home to three nuclear power reactors (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, May 22). Both were arrested after plant security detected the presence of the explosive TATP on a bag one man was carrying when he arrived for work, the Associated Press reported. Officials detained the other man as well because “there is some uncertainty about who owns the bag,” said plant spokesman Roger Bergman. TATP, or triacetone triperoxide, is not as powerful as other explosives, but can be manufactured more easily using household products, according to AP. “It’s considerably less powerful than TNT, but it will still do the trick,” said arms expert John Pike of GlobalSecurity.org. A search of the facility turned up no evidence of a bomb (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, May 21). Back to top       IAEA Warns of  “Dirty Bomb” Danger at Olympics The International Atomic Energy Agency has cautioned that terrorists could use a radiological “dirty bomb” in an attack on the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, the BBC reported yesterday (see GSN, May 13). The U.N. nuclear watchdog has seen no concrete signs of a planned strike, but it has evidence that terrorists are trying to acquire material that could be combined with conventional explosives to produce a radiological weapon. “There is a threat at some level that these (radioactive) materials could be used,” said IAEA nuclear security chief Anita Nilsson.  “The awareness that these materials do exist in circulation is enough in itself to trigger the measures that we are now working together with the Chinese authorities to implement at the major venues of the Beijing Olympics.” Nilsson added that terrorists would pose the same threat to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London. "There is a major shift in threat perception over the last five to 10 years.  And we have to take that into account … whether it is [the] Olympic Games in Beijing or London.  These measures must be implemented." Officials planning the London Olympics said that “work is progressing to ensure a safe and secure” competition in 2012 (Angus Crawford, BBC News, May 21). Back to top

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