Gregory Schulte, U.S. envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said Iran has done little to clear itself of suspicion that it is engaged in nuclear bomb-making efforts (Getty Images) IAEA Report Questions Iranian Transparency on Nuclear Program Iran has not provided adequate information to the International Atomic Energy Agency to back the Middle Eastern state’s claim that it never conducted nuclear-weapon design research, agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said in a report released yesterday (see GSN, May 23). The report states that “Iran has not provided the agency with all the information, access to documents and access to individuals necessary to supports Iran’s statements. “The agency is of the view that Iran may have additional information, in particular on high explosives testing and missile related activities, which could shed more light on the nature of these alleged studies and which Iran should share with the agency,” the report says, adding that the alleged studies “remain a matter of serious concern.”..Full Story

U.S. Awaits North Korean Nuclear Declaration The United States is waiting for North Korea to provide its long-overdue declaration of nuclear activities, a crucial step in resuming the effort to shut down Pyongyang’s atomic programs, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 23)...Full Story

British Nuclear Warhead Site Reopens The United Kingdom’s Trident nuclear warhead assembly plant reopened in April following a nearly yearlong shutdown caused by safety problems, the London Observer reported Sunday...Full Story

	Tuesday, May 27, 2008

GAO Sees Lax Oversight of U.S. Port Security Program An effort to prevent WMD smuggling through U.S. seaports lacks adequate oversight to ensure that promised security measures are actually implemented, congressional auditors found in a report to be issued today. The Government Accountability Office reviewed the Homeland Security Department’s Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism program, designed to improve port security while easing bureaucratic demands on shippers and port operators, the Associated Press reported.  The program calls for reduced scrutiny of cargo containers if shippers agree to department security standards and to federal inspections. The program review, however, found that the Customs and Border Protection agency was not adequately reviewing the firms’ security efforts or ensuring their compliance with the agreed standards. “Until Customs overcomes these collective challenges, Customs will be unable to assure Congress and others that C-TPAT member companies that have been granted reduced scrutiny of their U.S.-bound containerized shipments actually employ adequate security practices,” the GAO study says.  “It is vital that Customs maintain adequate internal controls to ensure that member companies deserve these benefits.” The finding drew congressional criticism. “The bottom line is DHS has basically passed the buck on port security by allowing shipping companies to police themselves with almost no oversight," said Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).  “By not lifting a finger to ensure these companies are doing what they say they are doing, DHS is yet again shirking its primary responsibility.  So many years later, it is shocking that DHS still cannot get its act together” (Hope Yen, Associated Press/Washington Post, May 27). Back to top

IAEA Report Questions Iranian Transparency on Nuclear Program Iran has not provided adequate information to the International Atomic Energy Agency to back the Middle Eastern state’s claim that it never conducted nuclear-weapon design research, agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said in a report released yesterday (see GSN, May 23). The report states that “Iran has not provided the agency with all the information, access to documents and access to individuals necessary to supports Iran’s statements. “The agency is of the view that Iran may have additional information, in particular on high explosives testing and missile related activities, which could shed more light on the nature of these alleged studies and which Iran should share with the agency,” the report says, adding that the alleged studies “remain a matter of serious concern.” Iran pledged in April to explain evidence of the studies, which had been provided to the U.N. nuclear watchdog by Western powers concerned that Tehran might secretly develop a nuclear weapon.  The agency subsequently provided Iran with documents suggesting the country has established an underground weapon test site, developed high-voltage detonator firing equipment and attempted to simultaneously set off exploding bridgewire detonators.  Iran confirmed the simultaneous detonator tests but said they were intended for civilian and conventional military purposes. The agency also presented evidence that Iran had conducted at least one test of a hemispherical, converging explosive shock system that could be used to detonate a nuclear bomb. Iran questioned the authenticity of reports suggesting that it had attempted to create a new payload chamber for the re-entry vehicle of the Shahab 3 missile, stating that the electronic format of the documents made them vulnerable to manipulation. In an overall assessment of the evidence provided by the agency, Tehran said the documents “do not show any indication that the Islamic Republic of Iran has been working on (a) nuclear weapon,” adding that many of the documents had been “forged” or “fabricated.” As expected, the agency reported that Iran continues to enrich uranium in defiance of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.  The uranium enrichment process can produce an essential nuclear weapon ingredient, although Tehran maintains it only desires nuclear power plant fuel. The report confirms the Iran’s development of a new proprietary centrifuge, dubbed the IR-3.  Agency inspectors noted on April 19 that Iran had installed two of the prototype machines in the experimental branch of its Natanz uranium enrichment plant.   Iran placed about 42 pounds of uranium hexafluoride into its experimental centrifuges between Jan. 28 and May 16, the report says. The report calls on Iran to increase its transparency by signing the Additional Protocol, which would allow agency inspectors to conduct more intrusive inspections of the nation’s nuclear facilities.  The report also says that Iran should offer more information on how it received documents describing how to shape uranium metal into hemispheres — a key step to producing nuclear weapon cores — and provide details on activities by Iranian military entities that could have bearing in a clandestine nuclear weapons program (Diane Barnes, Global Security Newswire, May 27). The report states that Iran’s main uranium enrichment site only has 3,500 operating centrifuges, the Associated Press reported.  However, a high-level U.N. official said it is “pretty much plausible” that the nation could meet its goal of increasing the number to 6,000 by this summer. Iran also has yet to shed light on allegations of bureaucratic links between a clandestine uranium enrichment program and an effort to redesign the Shahab 3 missile to accommodate a nuclear warhead (George Jahn, Associated Press/Washington Post, May 27). While the report does not specify the amount of uranium being produced in the main production branch of the Natanz facility, one high-level official close to the agency put the figure at about 330 pounds of uranium, or roughly twice the quantity the being produced 1 1/2 years ago, the New York Times reported. “The Iranians are certainly being confronted with some pretty strong evidence of a nuclear weapons program, and they are being petulant and defensive,” said David Albright, head of the Institute for Science and International Security.  “The report lays out what the agency knows, and it is very damning.  I’ve never seen it laid out quite like this” (Elaine Sciolino, New York Times, May 27). Iran’s envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency yesterday said the new report proves the peaceful nature of his nation’s nuclear work, Reuters reported. The report "is another document that shows Iran's entire nuclear activities are peaceful" Iran’s Fars News Agency quoted Ali Asghar Soltanieh as saying.  "Once more it has been explicitly underlined that there has been absolutely no evidence regarding the diversion of Iran's nuclear activities or materials toward military purposes” (Reuters, May 27). However, the U.S. envoy to the agency said the report offers little new information to clear Iran of nuclear suspicion, Agence France-Presse reported. "Iran continues to rebuff the IAEA's efforts to investigate troubling indications that Iran has engaged in studies, engineering work, and procurement relevant to building nuclear weapons," Gregory Schulte said.  "The report shows in great detail how much Iran needs to explain, and how little it has" (Agence France-Presse I/Google News, May 26). Meanwhile, high-level officials in Israel and the United States continue to debate the option of addressing Iran’s developing nuclear capabilities through military action, Time reported Thursday. Support for military strikes on Iran has flagged among Republican lawmakers concerned about shoring up electoral support, and U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates have publicly expressed little enthusiasm for the use of force against Iran. "A military option is not a good option," for addressing the nuclear stalemate with Iran, one senior Israeli official said.  “But there's only one thing worse than that, which is Iran going nuclear." "People in the region really want to see it solved peacefully," a high-level White House official said, "but they're also concerned for their own safety and they're also mindful of the calendar, and they know that [U.S. President George W. Bush] has been very strong." Yossi Kuperwasser, former senior intelligence officer for the Israeli Defense Central Command, called for military strikes.  "I'm worried that by November it's going to be too late" to prevent Iran from becoming capable of building nuclear weapons, he said.  Referring to the need for military action against Iranian nuclear facilities, he said, "Just do it.  For Christ's sake, do it and solve our problem" (Massimo Calabresi, Time, May 22). In Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana yesterday said he hopes to soon present Iran with a nuclear compromise proposal from the five permanent U.N. Security Council member nations and Germany, AFP reported. "I still don't have a date but it will be soon I hope.  I met [Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr] Mottaki in Lebanon yesterday," Solana told journalists.  "We have a new proposal.  I would like very much to present it to them” (Agence France-Presse II/Spacewar.com, May 26). Back to top       U.S. Awaits North Korean Nuclear Declaration The United States is waiting for North Korea to provide its long-overdue declaration of nuclear activities, a crucial step in resuming the effort to shut down Pyongyang’s atomic programs, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 23). North Korean officials have suggested that the release of the document is imminent, according to one high-level U.S. official. The nation agreed last year to shutter its nuclear program in exchange for economic, diplomatic and security benefits from China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States. The deal called for Pyongyang to fully account for its nuclear activities and holdings by Dec. 31, 2007.  After nearly six months of delays and disputes, a compromise plan has apparently been worked out under which North Korea would provide details of its plutonium operations — including its stockpile of weapon-grade material — while only acknowledging U.S. suspicions regarding uranium enrichment and nuclear proliferation activities. The declaration could arrive in the next four weeks, AP reported.  The nations in the six-party talks could then conduct a full meeting before the end of June. North Korea has also reportedly pledged to soon demolish the cooling tower at its plutonium-producing reactor as a symbolic gesture of its intent to fully dismantle its nuclear infrastructure. How this will all work out remains to be seen.  The reported compromise plan has proven controversial and there are doubts within the administration and among Republican lawmakers on North Korea’s willingness to carry out the denuclearization agreement. “While we are hopefully that we are nearing a period where we can get a full and accurate declaration from the North Koreans, we have reason to be skeptical that it would happen on a certain time frame,” said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.  “So I think instead of saying yes or no, I just think we need to wait and see what will happen.” Pyongyang expects to be removed from the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism after the declaration is submitted.  That could also occur next month, though such a move could face opposition in Congress (Anne Gearan, Associated Press I/Yahoo!News, May 23). U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill could receive the declaration this week during a trip to China, Agence France-Presse reported. It was not yet known whether Hill, the Bush administration’s top envoy to the six-party talks, would meet with his North Korean counterpart while in Beijing from today through Thursday. Hill is also scheduled to spend three days in Moscow beginning Thursday.  He recently met in Washington with the top negotiators from Japan and South Korea amid accelerating efforts to push the denuclearization deal forward (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, May 26). Pyongyang, Seoul and Tokyo have also sent their nuclear envoys to Beijing, AFP reported.  They are expected to meet separately with Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei. “We hope that other relevant parties can have effective communications at the bilateral level so that we can implement the (nuclear agreement) in a comprehensive and balanced way,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang. “As for when the D.P.R.K. will deliver its nuclear declaration, we hope the six-party talks will continue to make progress as quickly as possible,” he added (Agence France-Presse II/Spacewar.com, May 27). The United States is reviewing more than 18,000 pages of documents provided by North Korea on operations of its plutonium-producing reactor, AP reported.  The material could be a walkup to the actual declaration. Washington appears ready to share the material with the International Atomic Energy Agency, with China acting as the middleman.  The U.N. nuclear watchdog could help review the North Korean information. The agency’s involvement could be one step in moving North Korea to rejoin the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, one diplomat said.  Pyongyang would have to sign off on any sharing of the information. The International Atomic Energy Agency itself does not have much documentation on the reactor at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex, the diplomat said. “If the IAEA has never had (any) … documentation, that could make it entirely possible that North Korea could falsify” information on plutonium production levels, enabling it to store away some material for future weapons use, said John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and a critic of the Bush administration’s present policy on North Korea (George Jahn, Associated Press II/Yahoo!News, May 25). Back to top       British Nuclear Warhead Site Reopens The United Kingdom’s Trident nuclear warhead assembly plant reopened in April following a nearly yearlong shutdown caused by safety problems, the London Observer reported Sunday. After 1,000 safety vulnerabilities were uncovered in 2006 at the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Burghfield, the British Nuclear Installations Inspectorate threatened to withhold a new license unless problems were addressed by September 2007.  Operations first came to a halt in July 2007.  “As a result of temporary disruption due to flooding at AWE Burghfield, the nuclear site licensee … took a decision not to undertake live nuclear working while remedial work was undertaken,” Armed Forces Minister Bob Ainsworth told British lawmakers last week. Safety worries led officials that fall to completely suspend nuclear work on the Trident warheads. The inspectorate expressed significant concerns about the site’s ability to meet the deadline to correct safety issues.  Among the issues was the condition of buildings at Burghfield used for placing fissile material and high-explosive parts in warheads, along with the state of the cranes used to lift warheads, the Observer reported. “NII is uncomfortable that some of the Burghfield shortfalls ... will not have been addressed by this time (September 2007),” the agency said in one letter. “In the event that NII feels there has not been adequate remediation in the case of a significant shortfall by the decision date, it may consider requiring the imposition of some form of operational restriction to compensate, until an adequate solution is in place,” it added. Nonetheless, operations are believed to have resumed last month.  The site continues to maintain the British stockpile of 140 Trident missiles. “The disruption did not have an adverse effect on the U.K. deterrent program, and AWE Burghfield maintains its capability to support the deterrent safely,” according to a spokesman for the Atomic Weapons Establishment (Jamie Doward, London Observer, May 25). Back to top       U.S. Finalizes MOX Plant Construction Contract A French firm has accepted a modified $2.7 billion contract with the U.S. Energy Department to build a facility to convert weapon-grade plutonium into mixed-oxide fuel for use in civilian nuclear reactors, the Associated Press reported Friday (see GSN, August 3, 2007). Shaw Areva MOX Services is building the facility at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina.  It would be the first such site in the United States.  Russia and the United States agreed in 2000 to each convert 34 metric tons of plutonium into mixed-oxide fuel.  Shaw received the contract to design and build the 600,000-square-foot U.S. site, which is scheduled to begin operations in 2016.  Construction began in August 2007 but progress has been slowed by issues with Russia’s side of the agreement. In 2007, the United States increased the amount of plutonium its plans to convert (see GSN, July 20, 2007).  A high-level Energy Department official said then that the additional material could be taken from decommissioned nuclear warheads (see GSN, Sept. 19, 2007; Associated Press/The State, May 23). Back to top       Swiss President Defends Nuclear Document Destruction Swiss authorities destroyed detailed nuclear documents last year to prevent them from falling into dangerous hands, President Pascal Couchepin said Friday.  The decision has drawn criticism from legal experts who have argued that the documents might have been useful for the trial defense of some suspected nuclear smugglers (see GSN, May 21). Investigators seized the documents nearly four years ago as they explored the role of Friedrich Tinner, along with his sons Urs and Marco, in an illicit nuclear export ring led by former top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 22). “There were detailed construction plans for nuclear weapons, for gas ultracentrifuges to enrich weapons-grade uranium as well as for guided missile delivery systems,” Couchepin said in Bern.  Destroying those documents was necessary to keep them from “a terrorist organization” or a rogue nation, he said. Officials from the International Atomic Energy Agency monitored destruction of the documents, he said (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, May 24). Some critics, including one Swiss judge, have decried the move. “Outrageous,” said Judge Niklaus Oberholzer, complaining that the Tinner case remains unsettled and the papers’ destruction could undermine the prosecution by giving the defense attorneys a solid claim that their clients were deprived of evidence (Agence France-Presse, May 24). Back to top       Portuguese Port to Receive U.S. Radiation Detectors The United States and Portugal yesterday signed an agreement to deploy U.S. nuclear detection equipment at a major Portuguese seaport (see GSN, Sept. 24, 2007). The memorandum of understanding calls for the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration to provide and help install radiation scanners at Portugal’s Port of Lisbon, according to an Energy Department press release.  The U.S. agency is also set to train Portuguese customs officials on the use and maintenance of the equipment. “Portugal is an important friend to the U.S. and a strong leader in the global effort to combat international terrorism,” U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman, who signed the agreement during a trip to Portugal, said in the statement.  “In a time of increased trade and international commerce, it is more important than ever that we continue our global efforts to maintain security at international ports, to prevent supply disruption and combat nuclear proliferation.” The agreement is part of the Megaports program, through which the Energy Department works to deploy radiation detection equipment overseas to prevent smuggling of material that could be used in nuclear or radiological weapons.  Detection systems are operating at ports in 12 nations and are being deployed at another 19 sites, according to the press release (U.S. Energy Department release, May 26). Back to top

Anniston Depot Eliminates Final VX Artillery Shell The Anniston Army Depot in Alabama on Saturday completed disposal of its stockpile of artillery shells carrying VX nerve agent, the Anniston Star reported (see GSN, June 5, 2007). About four-fifths of the depot’s VX weapons and 48 percent of the site’s total chemical weapons stockpile have been destroyed, said Michael Abrams, spokesman for the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.  The site started chemical-weapon disposal in 2003 and began eliminating the VX munitions last June. The disposal facility is now set to begin several weeks of preparations for destruction of VX-loaded land mines, a procedure that should take about one year, Abrams said (Dan Whisenhunt, Anniston Star, May 25). Back to top

U.S. Notes Chinese, Russian Missile Defense Concerns The Bush administration said Friday it is continuing efforts to address Chinese and Russian concerns about its missile defense programs, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, May 23). The comments came after Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Chinese President Hu Jintao issued a joint statement of opposition to U.S. missile shield efforts around the world. “I would not say we are ‘troubled’” by the statement, said White House spokeswoman Dana Perino.  “I would say that we are aware of their concerns and that we are working to address them.” Russia, in particular, has criticized proposed U.S. missile defense installations in Poland and the Czech Republic.  Moscow says the sites would present a threat to its security, an assertion that Perino both acknowledged and rejected. “We know that this is an important issue that they take very seriously,” she said.  “We do too, and we understand that they have concerns, and its concerns that we want to address, and that’s why we have an open conversation with them.” However, Perino said that “the Russians and their military could crush” any European missile shield. China and Russia “have been very consistent in their discomfort over a defense system that has interceptors and radars in Europe,” said Defense Department spokesman Bryan Whitman.  “So I don’t see it as … their concerns being new or different in that regard.” Washington has offered to make its missile defense programs more transparent in hopes of addressing concerns from Beijing and Moscow, he said. The U.S. missile defense program involves existing land- and sea-based systems and a variety of technology that remains in development.  The United States has also conducted missile defense cooperation with nations such as Israel and Japan to address the threat posed by Iran, North Korea and other “rogue” states (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, May 23). Russian Lt. Gen Yevgeny Buzhinsky said today that his nation’s military is considering “asymmetrical” responses to U.S. missile defenses in Europe, the Associated Press reported.  He did not elaborate. Buzhinsky said there are no plans to bolster existing missile defenses around Moscow (Associated Press/Washington Post, May 27). The United States expects to sign a deal in coming weeks on establishing a radar base in the Czech Republic.  Negotiations continue with Poland on deploying 10 missile interceptors. Warsaw has demanded U.S. support for modernizing the Polish military as part of any deal. “We count on the U.S. treating us, in connection with the talks on the antimissile shield, similar to the way it treats its strategic partners in other parts of the world,” Polish Defense Minister Bogdan Klich said yesterday. Klich said Washington should “earmark for the support of the modernization of the Polish armed forces sums similar to those doled out to, say, Pakistan or Egypt,” Reuters reported. Pakistan has received roughly $10 billion in U.S. defense support since 2001, not all of which went toward military modernization.  The Bush administration provided $200 million in defense funding this year to Egypt (Marcin Grajewski, Reuters/Yahoo!News, May 26). Back to top       U.S. Tests Missile Shield Components The U.S. Missile Defense Agency said Friday that it had successfully tracked a ballistic missile fired the day before from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, (see GSN, May 23). The agency said it used an X-band radar, the Upgraded Early Warning Radar at Beale Air Force Base in California, an Aegis-equipped missile defense cruiser and a mobile AN/TPY-2 radar to trace the Minuteman 3 ICBM’s path over the Pacific Ocean.  Tracking systems relayed missile flight information to the missile defense Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications system. The missile was also used as a tracking target for emerging technology programs, which included the External Sensors Laboratory and F-16 jets equipped with infrared sensors for tracking long-range missiles in their boost phase. The United States plans to analyze information collected from the missile test to determine the current capabilities of its missile countermeasures (U.S. Missile Defense Agency release, May 23). Back to top

IAEA Helps China Prepare for Olympics China has received support from the International Atomic Energy Agency on preparing for a potential “dirty bomb” incident at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 22). In training exercises monitored by the U.N. nuclear watchdog over the past 18 months, Chinese authorities have dealt with a simulated effort to bring a radiological device into an Olympics site and an apparent radioactive source left in a restaurant.  The drills went “very well,” said Peter Colgan, a deputy to IAEA nuclear security chief Anita Nilsson. Personnel from China’s nuclear safety agency have also gone through eight training courses that addressed matters such as tracking radioactive materials, Colgan said. A dirty bomb would involve use of conventional explosives to disperse radioactive material. Beijing plans to deploy small radiation detectors for use at competition locations, he said. The agency has not seen any intelligence indicating potential terrorist threats against the Olympics, which are scheduled from Aug. 8 to 24. However, given the large number of people in attendance at the games, “we can’t afford not to take precautions,” Nilsson said.  “It’s necessary to do as much as possible to have good, secure games.” The International Atomic Energy Agency also provided security preparedness support for the 2004 Olympics in Athens, the 2006 World Cup in Germany and the 2007 Pan American Games in Brazil (William Kole, Associated Press I/GMA News, May 23). Meanwhile, China has identified 50 radiation sources buried by the earthquake that killed tens of thousands of people, AP reported Saturday.  That figure is larger than the number provided earlier last week (see GSN, May 21). Authorities have secured 35 of the sources.  The others could not yet be reached, said Wu Xiaoqing, vice minister for environmental protection. Wu provided no details about the radiation sources.  The sources are not likely to be weapons material, according to foreign observers (William Foreman, Associated Press II/Boston Globe, May 24). 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.