Pakistani scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan today denied selling nuclear warhead designs (Aamir Qureshi/Getty Images). Khan Denies Selling Warhead Designs Former Pakistani nuclear chief Abdul Qadeer Khan today denied ever selling nuclear-weapon designs to other nations, a charge leveled yesterday by proliferation expert David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security (see GSN, June 16). “This is all a lie, there is no truth in this.  It is total bullshit," Khan told Agence France-Presse.  “We never prepared (such blueprints), we are not the designer, we are not the proliferator.” Khan was placed under house arrest in 2004 after publicly confessing to leading an international smuggling network that provided uranium enrichment technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.  ..Full Story

Nuclear Deal With U.S. Remains in Danger After Indian Leaders Fail to Persuade Domestic Opponents Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee unsuccessfully tried yesterday to persuade a key political ally to back a nuclear trade deal with the United States, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, June 16)...Full Story

Russia Opens New Chemical Weapons Disposal Plant Russia today opened a new chemical weapons disposal facility, Reuters reported (see GSN, May 23)...Full Story

	Tuesday, June 17, 2008

CTR Program Eliminates Four Ballistic Missiles The U.S. Cooperative Threat Reduction program in May destroyed four nuclear-capable ballistic missiles and deactivated six nuclear warheads from former Soviet states, U.S. Senator Richard Lugar (R-Ind.) said yesterday (see GSN, April 16). The Nunn-Lugar program eliminated two ICBMs as well as two SS-N-20 “Sturgeon” submarine-launched ballistic missiles, which could each carry 10 nuclear warheads.  Russian Typhoon submarines being destroyed under the program could each carry 20 of the SLBMs and 200 nuclear warheads. Last month, the CTR program also destroyed six mobile ICBM launchers, built two new biological monitoring stations, and transported three shipments of nuclear weapons by train to secured storage sites. Since its creation in 1991 to secure and eliminate weapons of mass destruction in the former Soviet Union, the Nunn-Lugar program has deactivated 7,292 strategic nuclear warheads and destroyed 698 ICBMs, 496 ICBM silos, 131 mobile ICBM launchers, 631 SLBMs, 456 SLBM launchers, 30 ballistic missile-capable submarines, 155 strategic bombers, 906 nuclear air-to-surface missiles and 194 nuclear test tunnels. The initiative has also secured 388 nuclear weapon train shipments, increased security measures at 16 nuclear weapon storage facilities and built 15 biological agent monitoring stations.  Efforts under the program have denuclearized Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan, nations that once respectively held the world’s third, fourth and eighth largest nuclear arsenals. By sponsoring the International Science and Technology Centers, the Nunn-Lugar program has helped to provide civilian opportunities for 58,000 former weapons scientists.  The International Proliferation Prevention Program has involved 14,000 former weapons personnel in 750 projects and established 580 technology-sector positions (U.S. Senator Richard Lugar release, June 16). Back to top

Khan Denies Selling Warhead Designs Former Pakistani nuclear chief Abdul Qadeer Khan today denied ever selling nuclear-weapon designs to other nations, a charge leveled yesterday by proliferation expert David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security (see GSN, June 16). “This is all a lie, there is no truth in this.  It is total bullshit," Khan told Agence France-Presse.  “We never prepared (such blueprints), we are not the designer, we are not the proliferator.” Khan was placed under house arrest in 2004 after publicly confessing to leading an international smuggling network that provided uranium enrichment technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.  Restrictions on Khan have loosened this year, and he has recanted his confession in several recent interviews (see GSN, June 4). In a report issued yesterday, Albright disclosed that a detailed, sophisticated warhead design was found on computers belonging to Swiss members of Khan’s network who are now awaiting trial. “It looks like Khan did steal them (blueprints) and try to peddle them,” Albright told CNN yesterday. He urged the United States and other nations to pressure Pakistan to allow international investigators to question Khan. “Khan may be released from house arrest.  And we may never get to the bottom of this,” he said.  “So I think it's very important that we start to put pressure on the governments involved in this to find a way to get to the bottom of it” (Sami Zubeiri, Agence France-Presse I/Yahoo!News, June 17). “Khan needs to be interviewed by the United States, by the International Atomic [Energy] Agency,” Albright added (Agence France-Presse II/Google News, June 17). Pakistani officials, however, have persistently denied foreign access to Khan, who said the latest report was an effort to keep him under control. “The statement is just aimed at putting pressure on (the) Pakistani government.  The story came when there were talks about removing restrictions on me,” he said (Zubeiri, Agence France-Presse I). A senior Bush administration said last week that the United States wants Khan to remain in custody, although earlier in the month another official expressed declining interest (see GSN, June 5). “We’ve been very direct with them that releasing Khan could cause a world of trouble,” last week’s official said.  “The problem with Pakistan these days is that you never know who is making the decision — the army, the intelligence agencies, the president or the new government” (Sanger/Broad, New York Times, June 16). Today, Khan repeated his recent denials of proliferating nuclear equipment. “The Western countries are suppliers of the technology, they sold it, they are the proliferators. … Why don't they publish juicy stories about Israel.  There is not a single word about Israel on the nuclear issue” (Zubeiri, Agence France-Presse I). Smugglers’ Fates Albright expressed concern in his report yesterday that the Swiss decision to destroy the warhead documents could undermine the prosecution of the three suspected smugglers who were caught with the designs (see GSN, May 27). A Swiss judge has ordered Friedrich Tinner and his two sons to remain in custody while awaiting trial. “The destruction of the information without the approval of the defendants has raised the issue of whether the Tinners can receive a fair trial,” Albright said.  “Defense attorneys can now claim that information to prove their clients’ innocence was in the destroyed documents.” “The Tinner brothers could soon be freed from jail or perhaps even have the charges dropped by a court concerned about the Swiss government’s handling of the evidence,” Albright added.  “Given their shady past, there is no telling what the Tinners might do in the future” (Institute for Science and International Security release, June 16). Back to top       Nuclear Deal With U.S. Remains in Danger After Indian Leaders Fail to Persuade Domestic Opponents Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee unsuccessfully tried yesterday to persuade a key political ally to back a nuclear trade deal with the United States, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, June 16). Leftist parties in New Delhi have opposed the pact, arguing that it gives Washington excessive influence over Indian energy and military affairs, since the initial outlines of the deal were announced three years ago.  The critical parties support Prime Minister’s Manmohan Singh’s ruling coalition, but have threatened to withdraw that backing, and force early elections, if Singh moves to implement the deal. Mukherjee met yesterday with Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Prakash Karat and asked for permission to sign a nuclear inspections agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, a key step toward advancing the trade pact. Another communist party leader, however, described the leftist position as unchanged. “We have told the government that the IAEA pact was negotiated on the basis of the pact with Washington,” said D. Raja, national secretary of the Communist Party of India.  “Signing the pact with IAEA means operationalizing the [U.S.-Indian] deal so we are against this.” Another round of talks is planned for tomorrow, but the critics suggested they would continue their opposition in that meeting. While willing to listen to Singh’s officials, opponents would not give a green light to “signing the IAEA accord,” said Marxist leader Sitaram Yechury. “Our objection is not with IAEA.  Our objection is with the India-U.S. deal which according to us is very deeply anchored" in restrictions on nuclear trade passed by the U.S. Congress, he added (Elizabeth Roche, Agence France-Presse I/Spacewar.com, June 17). One analyst said this week’s talks would probably be the last chance for the trade agreement, intended to enable India to purchase U.S. nuclear materials and technology in exchange for placing its civilian nuclear sector under IAEA supervision. Looming elections in November would probably prevent the U.S. Congress from approving the deal this year if there were further delays, said security analyst C.U. Bhaskar.  Lawmakers in the next Congress would probably seek to alter the agreement, he said. “The new U.S. Congress will not accept the deal in the current form,” he said.  “They would like to renegotiate certain aspects.” The only chance for the deal now, Bhaskar said, was for Singh to sign the IAEA inspections agreement and advance the deal without leftist approval and face the prospect of trying to rule as parliamentary minority. “But if this happens, it will be a Pyrrhic victory — in terms of domestic political fissures that are much, much greater than anticipated,” he said (Agence France-Presse II, June 17). Back to top       EU Postpones Decision on New Iran Nuclear Sanctions The European Union did not levy new economic sanctions on Iran yesterday as earlier reports had predicted, opting instead to wait for a formal response to a proposal seeking a freeze to sensitive Iranian nuclear programs, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, June 16). "The decision has not been taken today," foreign policy chief Javier Solana said following talks held by top EU foreign officials (Agence France-Presse I/Spacewar.com, June 16).  Cristina Gallach, Solana’s spokeswoman, emphasized that EU members have agreed in principle to the new penalties, the Associated Press reported “It is clear they are ready to move further.  We will definitely take a formal decision,” Gallach said.  The spokeswoman would not provide a schedule for when the sanctions would be finalized (Associated Press/Google News, June 16). Diplomats said the European Union opted to “wait a bit” for Iran to respond to an offer of diplomatic and financial incentives it would receive for halting its uranium enrichment program, AFP reported. “We are hoping for an answer soon,” Solana said, referring to the incentives package he put forward on Saturday on behalf of the five permanent U.N. Security Council member nations and Germany (Agence France-Presse I). Iran, which insists its nuclear program is strictly peaceful, today threatened reprisals against any new punitive measures by European nations. “People and officials in our country are watchful of the other side's decisions.  If they take a decision against Iran, we have options against it," state media quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini as saying. Hosseini did not specify how Iran might respond to new sanctions (Agence France-Presse II/Spacewar.com, June 17). Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Alireza Sheikhattar added today that Iran would not consider suspending its uranium enrichment program as part of a nuclear compromise, Reuters reported. "We have repeatedly said that enrichment is our red line and we should enjoy this technology.  The work will be continued," he said, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency.  "We will give our answer [to the six-nation proposal] as soon as possible.  But we do not know exactly when it will be.” Another high-level Iranian official told Reuters that Iran would not accept or reject the proposal outright. "It will be a discussable response.  We might accept some elements of the proposal and reject some others," he said.  "But suspension of enrichment is not on the agenda" (Hafezi/Hosseinian, Reuters/Washington Post, June 17). In a letter accompanying the proposal, Solana and the six world powers urged Iran to alleviate the “growing tension and mistrust” overshadowing its relationship with the international community. “Today … we restate our offer to address constructively these important concerns and interests,” states the letter, signed by Solana and the foreign ministers of China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Addressing Iran’s right to a civilian nuclear program under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the letter states:  “We want to be clear that we recognize Iran’s rights under the international treaties to which it is a signatory.  We fully understand the importance of a guaranteed fuel supply for a civil nuclear program.  We have supported the Bushehr [nuclear power plant].  But with rights come responsibilities, in particular to restore the confidence of the international community in Iran’s program” (Diane Barnes, Global Security Newswire, June 17). Back to top       Further North Korea Nuclear Talks Planned The lead U.S. negotiator for the North Korean nuclear crisis is scheduled to meet this week with his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, June 16). The meeting between Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, South Korean envoy Kim Sook and Japanese negotiator Akitaka Saiki is set for midweek in Tokyo.  The three men last met on May 18 and 19 in Washington. This week’s meeting is aimed at moving toward a full round of six-nation talks on North Korean denuclearization.  Talks between the participating nations — China, Japan, Russia, the United States and both Koreas — have been delayed by disputes over a 2007 agreement under which Pyongyang would give up its nuclear programs in exchange for economic, security and diplomatic benefits. The main thorn in the side of the effort recently has been the scope of a required North Korean declaration on its nuclear operations.  The regime missed the Dec. 31 deadline to issue the nuclear declaration.  Pyongyang and Washington have reportedly reached a compromise on the matter and the Stalinist state recently released more than 18,000 pages of documents regarding its plutonium work. Hill is also scheduled to travel Friday to Beijing for a meeting with Chinese envoy Wu Dawei, the Yonhap News Agency reported (Agence France-Presse I/Yahoo!News, June 17). U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday said that diplomacy remains the key to addressing the nuclear programs of North Korea and Iran, Yonhap reported. “The only way, in my judgment, to diplomatically solve these kinds of problems with nations like Iran and North Korean, nontransparent nations, is through a multilateral process, where there’s more than one nation sending the same message to the leaders of these respective countries,” Bush said during a press conference in London. “The facts are the six-party talks is the only way to send a message to the North Koreans that the world isn’t going to tolerate them having a weapon,” he said. Bush said he hoped that Pyongyang would “disclose what they have manufactured and eventually (turn) it over. “We’ll see what they disclose, but we hopefully are in the process of disabling and dismantling their plutonium manufacturing,” he said.  “We’re hopefully in the process of disclosing their proliferation activities” (Yonhap News Agency, June 16). U.S. Ambassador to Japan Thomas Schieffer yesterday characterized North Korea’s pledge to review its kidnappings of Japanese citizens as a “positive thing,” AFP reported. Tokyo has refused to provide fuel aid to Pyongyang under the denuclearization agreement until it feels the abduction issue is resolved.  Japanese officials have previously dismissed North Korean claims that all surviving abductees have been returned. Pyongyang said Friday it would again look into the matter. “It is a positive thing and I hope the North Koreans will take it seriously,” Schieffer said.  “Hopefully it will produce substantive results that will allow the Japanese to participate at some point in whatever [aid] package might be put together” for North Korea (Agence France-Presse II/Yahoo!News, June 16). Meanwhile, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping was expected to address the nuclear issue during his trip to North Korea, AFP reported.  The visit began today. “Vice President Xi Jinping will exchange views on issues of common concern, including the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula,” said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang (Agence France-Presse III/Spacewar.com, June 17). Back to top       U.S. Intelligence Official Urges Broad Domestic, International Effort to Defeat Nuclear Terror Threat A global “strategic shift” is needed to prevent nuclear terrorism as more nations turn to nuclear power in the future, a key U.S. intelligence official said yesterday (see GSN, April 2). “The power of the atom has become one of the most highly sought after prizes of 21st century technological advancement.  States want to harness its power for energy, weapons, deterrence, and prestige.  Substate actors desire it for the asymmetric power of becoming a state,” said Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, director of the U.S. Energy Department’s Intelligence and Counterintelligence Office. “Nuclear terrorism therefore is not a single-point issue but a strategic problem that will continue to grow in significance throughout the 21st century.  To meet this threat, we must make a strategic shift from our traditional views of terrorism, proliferation, nuclear weapons, and nuclear energy as being separate entities and instead view them as parts of a single framework of all things nuclear,” he said in remarks to the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. While praising international efforts to tighten security over fissile materials, Mowatt-Larssen also called for better antismuggling activities, including more programs to purchase illicit materials on the black market. “The continuing instances of trafficking in nuclear materials mean we collectively have not done enough to keep material out of the hands of terrorists,” he said.  “We must take urgent action to scoop up any nuclear material outside state control before terrorists do.” In sum, “the world will be confronted by the nuclear genie in his malevolent forms for the foreseeable future,” Mowatt-Larssen said.  “We must adapt our intelligence and policy efforts to confront the threat along its entire continuum in a persistent, sustained manner.  It must be a global effort incorporating police, intelligence services, militaries, government agencies and ministries, and citizens across the world” (Washington Institute release, June 16). Back to top       French Defense Plan Emphasizes New Threats France yesterday unveiled a plan to build a smaller, better technologically equipped military focused on global threats such as terrorism and nuclear proliferation, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, March 21). The new plan is presented in the first comprehensive French defense posture review completed since 1994.  The blueprint, which took almost one year to complete, addresses challenges of defending against new threats while operating with older equipment and restricted funding. The blueprint includes no plan for France to add to its nuclear stockpile, but states that France would maintain its current arsenal as “life insurance.”  Under the plan, Paris would seek to work more closely with NATO’s military command while retaining control over its nuclear arsenal, possibly by declining to enter the NATO Nuclear Planning Group. The French Defense Ministry would slash about 54,000 of its roughly 340,000 positions under the plan, freeing up funds to pay for new unmanned aerial drones, satellite reconnaissance programs and intelligence efforts. "Weapons always need to evolve," French Defense Minister Herve Morin told AP at a weapon exhibition near Paris.  "We are adapting our defenses against such new threats as, for example, terrorist threats, the risk of nuclear proliferation." Morin said the “centers of gravity” in nuclear counterproliferation efforts have changed while nations such as Iran have pursued programs that could aid nuclear weapons development. The French parliament is expected to review the plan later this month (Jamey Keaten, Associated Press/Google News, June 16). Back to top       Contractor Cited for Y-12 Plant Uranium Fire The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration yesterday faulted safety practices that contributed to a March 2007 uranium fire at the Y-12 nuclear weapons facility in Tennessee (see GSN, March 16, 2007). Exposure to air caused uranium chips to ignite while they were being moved to a storage site at Y-12 on March 15, 2007.  The incident forced one building to be evacuated and led 111 workers to inhale radioactive contaminants.  The fire quickly ceased and the amount of released radiation was too small to affect the health of those exposed, according to an NNSA statement. Babcock & Wilcox Technical Services Y-12, which operates the facility, received a preliminary notice of nuclear safety violations that included inadequate training of workers who moved the uranium; noncompliance with radiological control procedures; problems with material-handling practices; and insufficient checks on the shipment’s evaluation and oversight. The nuclear agency has recommended fining the contractor $123,750; the sum reflects steps the firm has already taken to address the fire’s causes, according to the press release (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, June 16). Back to top

Russia Opens New Chemical Weapons Disposal Plant Russia today opened a new chemical weapons disposal facility, Reuters reported (see GSN, May 23). The facility near Leonidovka in the Penza region is set to eliminate 6,885 metric tons of VX, sarin and soman nerve agents.  That material constitutes roughly 17 percent of Russia’s original 40,000-metric-ton arsenal, the world’s largest stockpile of chemical warfare agents. Russia has pledged to meet its April 2012 deadline to destroy all materials banned by the Chemical Weapons Convention.  Experts have questioned its ability to meet that schedule (see GSN, April 8). “This is now the sixth chemical weapons destruction facility brought on line.  Obviously, it will enhance Russia’s destruction capacity to meet that deadline,” said Michael Luhan, spokesman for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the monitoring body for the treaty. Moscow to date has eliminated 10,500 metric tons of chemical warfare agents, slightly more than one-fourth of its stockpile.  It expects to have destroyed a total of 18,000 metric tons by the end of this year, according to Valery Kapashin, who leads the agency that manages storage and disposal of chemical weapons. The United States, meanwhile, “has now achieved 50 percent (chemical weapons) destruction,” Luhan said.  Washington has acknowledged that it would miss the 2012 deadline. Construction of the seventh and final Russian chemical weapons destruction plant began “about 10 days ago,” Luhan said.  The Pochep facility is set to eliminate roughly 7,500 metric tons of sarin, soman and VX. “Just a milligram of deadly chemical agents is enough to kill persons living in an apartment,” Sergei Baranovsky, head of the environmental organization Green Cross Russia, told Reuters.  “Now we still talk about thousands of [metric tons] left” (Dmitry Solovyov, Reuters/Yahoo!News, June 16). Back to top

U.S. Sentences Missile Technology Smuggler A U.S. federal court yesterday sentenced an Indian-American businessman to nearly three years in prison for illicitly transferring electronic equipment that could be used in missile guidance and firing systems to India, the U.S. Justice Department said (see GSN, March 14). Parthasarathy Sudarshan, 47, admitted he exported parts to Bharat Dynamics, Ltd., a ballistic missile development and production firm within the Indian Defense Ministry, and to a group inside the Indian Space Department. As the firms are included on the U.S. Commerce Department’s Entity List, “exports of U.S.-origin commodities to these entities are restricted and require prior authorization in the form of a license” from the agency, the Justice Department said in a press release.  Sudarshan had not obtained licenses for the deliveries. The South Carolina resident shipped the components to India through the Singapore office of his company, Cirrus Electronics, in an attempt to hide the ultimate recipients of the parts.  Cirrus also provided two U.S. firms “with fraudulent certificates that claimed that the end-users of [their] electrical components were nonrestricted entities in India, when, in fact, the items were for” the Vikram Sarabhai Space Center within the Indian space agency, according to the release. Sudarshan was sentenced to 35 months in prison for violating several U.S. export laws (U.S. Justice Department release, June 16). Back to top

Nations Race to Produce ICBMs, U.S. General Says A U.S. general said Sunday he sees nations such as Iran and North Korea racing to produce ICBMs that could carry nuclear warheads, Space & Missile Defense Report reported (see GSN, Jan. 30, 2007). There were more than 120 ballistic missile tests in 2007, “which is more than we saw in previous years,” Lt. Gen. Kevin Campbell, head of the Army Space and Missile Defense Command, said during an event in Washington. “I’ve looked at what’s going on around the globe, and to me it almost looks like a sprint, not a marathon, to get certain capabilities, particularly the intermediate range and the intercontinental range,” Campbell said.  “Countries are working very hard and diligently on those to ballistic missile programs.” Iran is “very open” regarding its missile aspirations, he said. “The most troubling (aspect) about Iran is what they could be doing in the nuclear business, combined with what they could be doing in the space business, which could then lead to an ICBM-class missile, perhaps with a nuclear tip on it,” Campbell said. Iran has conducted test involving multiple missiles and has used a submerged submarine to launch a missile.  It has also announced its intention to develop a space program; technology used to launch a satellite is akin to that needed for an ICBM. Western nations continue to be concerned about Tehran’s intentions with its nuclear program, which includes uranium enrichment (see related GSN story, today). North Korea, which in 2006 tested a nuclear weapon, has “plenty” of intermediate-range missiles, Campbell said.  “We continue to see work that is geared toward developing an intercontinental ballistic missile,” he said. Campbell also expressed concern about Syria’s missile efforts. He pointed to U.S. missile defense programs as a necessary response to these potential threats, according to Space & Missile Defense Report. Should work begin on European missile shield installations, “perhaps we can begin to devalue some of their (Iranian) missiles,” he said.  “It would be terribly short-sighted if we didn’t move toward Europe and close the door.” The Bush administration expects to soon seal a deal to place an early warning radar in the Czech Republic.  Negotiations continue on installation of 10 U.S. missile interceptors in Poland (see GSN, June 12). In the event of a missile attack, European defenses could give U.S. leaders time to consider responses other than a retaliatory nuclear strike, Campbell said. More interceptors ultimately will also be needed for regional missile defense systems such as the Aegis and the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense, he said (Space & Missile Defense Report I, June 16). Meanwhile, an independent expert said this month there is value in expanding the types of ballistic missile defenses carried by U.S. Navy vessels, Space & Missile Defense Report reported. “The Navy should consider exploring other complementary interceptor options if it aims to be effective at more than regional/theater missile defense around the Asian and European perimeter,” Merrick Carey, chief executive officer of the Lexington Institute, wrote in a June 2 issue brief. “The Kinetic Energy Interceptor could offer one such capability,” he said.  “It is probably too large to be accommodated aboard existing destroyers and cruisers without extensive and expensive modifications.  But there are other hull options that might be worth exploring — converted Trident submarines, amphibious hulls, our next-generation cruiser, CGX.” The Kinetic Energy Interceptor is intended to be capable of destroying missiles in several phases of flight.  It remains in development. While the Airborne Laser program could also address missiles in their boost phase, the energy interceptor could be considered as a weapon against missiles in the midcourse phase of flight. “In today’s context, it makes far more sense to think in terms of a portfolio of missile defense capabilities that can range from theater to intercontinental, from boost to terminal, and potentially handle rogue states as well as emerging great powers like China and Russia,” Carey stated. Ships offer a mobility that might make them less vulnerable to attacks than land-based missile shield installations, he said (Space & Missile Defense Report II, June 16). Back to top

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