U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns is expected to attend nuclear talks with Iran this weekend (Dmitry Kostyukov/Getty Images). U.S. to Join Iran Nuclear Talks The Bush administration plans to send a high-level State Department official to attend multilateral talks Saturday on Iran’s nuclear program, reversing an earlier position to engage Tehran only after the nation suspends key nuclear activities, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, July 15). The Bush administration had long maintained it would only speak directly to Iranian diplomats if Tehran first froze its uranium enrichment effort, which Western powers suspect is aimed at supporting nuclear weapons development...Full Story

Obama Calls for U.S. Nuclear Drawdown The United States must reduce its arsenal of nuclear weapons if it hopes to stem proliferation by other nations, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (Ill.) said yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 2, 2007)...Full Story

Umatilla Begins New CW Disposal Effort The Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon is preparing to begin destroying 8-inch projectiles that contain VX nerve agent, the U.S. Army announced yesterday (see GSN, June 30)...Full Story

	Wednesday, July 16, 2008

WMD Detection Systems Remain Faulty, Reports Find Recent government reports have found significant problems with costly U.S. programs to detect biological or radioactive agents that could part of a terrorist attack, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, July 15). The federal government this year has received $2.8 billion for nuclear detection efforts, which are spread across 74 programs.  The Congressional Research Service and Government Accountability Office found, though, that the Bush administration has not developed a strategic plan to strengthen those programs. While the effort has focused on screening cargo containers entering the country by land or sea, it has failed to pay due attention to the small boats or private aircraft that could be used as weapons couriers (see GSN, Sept. 6, 2007).  The Homeland Security Department’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office has begun to take on those security gaps, but “it has not yet developed an overarching strategic plan to guide its transition” to a broader scheme, according to a GAO statement released by the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The Homeland Security agency has failed to establish a full detection system, address potential holes or duplication of efforts or develop transparent signposts of success, according to panel Chairman Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.).  The committee is expected today to consider the CRS and GAO reports. Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke noted that Energy Department officials in another GAO report lauded Homeland Security for emphasizing the need to look beyond ports in detection of nuclear material overseas, thus producing “a more balanced defense of our homeland.” Meanwhile, the House Homeland Security Committee today is scheduled to consider the state of the 5-year-old Biowatch program, which installed systems in more than 30 large U.S. cities for detection of airborne biowarfare agents such as anthrax, plague and smallpox (see GSN, April 2). The value of the $400 million program remains unclear, according to testimony submitted by state and local public health officials.  They also said the program has not received sufficient funding and operates under poor management. “The Biowatch program has been variously described by my fellow state and local laboratory directors as a parasite to the public health laboratory and squatters in valuable public health laboratory space,” according to submitted testimony from Frances Pouch Downes, head of the Association of Public Health Laboratories.  “I am hard-pressed to disagree.” Knocke did disagree.  He said that Biowatch had paid for its own personnel, technology and material and that municipalities were supposed to develop operating rules for the program using federal guidelines. The Bush administration is also likely to miss the congressionally mandated September deadline to begin operations of the National Biosurveillance Integration Center, according to the House committee.  The center is intended to act as a clearinghouse for information on possible acts of biological terrorism (Spencer Hsu, Washington Post, July 16). Back to top

U.S. to Join Iran Nuclear Talks The Bush administration plans to send a high-level State Department official to attend multilateral talks Saturday on Iran’s nuclear program, reversing an earlier position to engage Tehran only after the nation suspends key nuclear activities, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, July 15). The Bush administration had long maintained it would only speak directly to Iranian diplomats if Tehran first froze its uranium enrichment effort, which Western powers suspect is aimed at supporting nuclear weapons development. U.S. Undersecretary of State William Burns is expected to meet on Saturday with Iranian nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, according to a high-level Bush administration official.  The other four permanent U.N. Security Council member nations and Germany also plan to attend the meeting. Speaking on behalf of Iran’s government, Jalili is set to address an offer of political and economic incentives — put forward last month by the six powers — that Iran would receive for halting its enrichment program. Clifford Kupchan of the Washington-based Eurasia group said U.S. attendance at the meeting would be “a much needed and an extremely welcome correction” in U.S. diplomatic strategy. However, U.S. officials stressed that the appearance by Burns does not imply the development of diplomatic ties or Washington’s future participation in Iranian nuclear talks.  Burns is not expected to speak privately with Jalili and he will continue to press Iran to halt uranium enrichment, they said (Steven Lee Myers, New York Times, July 16). “Bill Burns will reiterate our terms for negotiation remain the same,” one official told Reuters.  “This will be a one-time participation designed to show unity (among major powers) and the message will be very clear” (Reuters I/Financial Times, July 15). In a July 4 response to the six-nation proposal, Iran dismissed calls to cease uranium enrichment. "We have no intention of changing this path," Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki wrote in the three-page letter published by a French weekly. "The time for negotiating from the condescending position of inequality has come to an end," Mottaki wrote, referring to a “lack of trust (due to) the duplicitous behavior of certain big powers" based on what he described as a colonial outlook developed after World War II. "The world has changed … The people of Iran have worked out plans for the advancement of their country without asking for help from others," he wrote. Mottaki did not refer to any of the proposed incentives or a “freeze-for-freeze” arrangement under which Tehran would not expand its uranium enrichment program and the world powers would suspend efforts to impose new economic penalties on the Middle Eastern state. (Mark Heinrich, Reuters II, July 15). Meanwhile, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard boasted in remarks released today that Tehran is capable of dissuading threats against the country. "The enemies of Iran would not dare to undertake any direct threat or any other action against Iran," Iranian state media quoted Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari as saying. Earlier, the Iranian air force said it would conduct maneuvers as a deterrence measure against possible attacks (Fredrik Dahl, Reuters III/Washington Post, July 16). In Washington, the Senate Banking Committee is set to review a bill this week that would add to current unilateral U.S. penalties against Iran. "This bipartisan bill strengthens economic sanctions against Iran, and authorizes divestment from companies that do business with Iran's key oil sector to increase pressure on its government to meet the demands of the international community," said committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-Conn.).  “It also helps to prevent the illegal diversion of sensitive U.S. technologies to Iran.” The bill would also cut Iran off from U.S. oil and natural gas pipelines and tankers as well as tools for building and maintaining them.  In addition, it would call on state governments and localities to pull financial support from any firm with more than $20 million invested or loaned to Iran’s energy industry (Nancy Waitz, Reuters IV, July 15). The legislations would also aim to tighten restrictions on shipments of dual-use devices and technical knowledge to Iran. Elsewhere, U.S. Treasury Undersecretary Stuart Levey yesterday began a visit to European nations aimed at persuading officials to cut financial ties with Iran, Associated Press reported. "Private sector banks and many companies are deciding not to pursue potential business" with Iran, he told journalists, adding that the Iranian oil industry has been starved of international funds (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, July 15). Back to top       Obama Calls for U.S. Nuclear Drawdown The United States must reduce its arsenal of nuclear weapons if it hopes to stem proliferation by other nations, Democratic presidential candidate Senator Barack Obama (Ill.) said yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 2, 2007). “It’s time to send a clear message:  America seeks a world with no nuclear weapons,” Obama said during a speech in Washington.  “As long as nuclear weapons exist, we must retain a strong deterrent.  But instead of threatening to kick them out of the G-8, we need to work with Russia to take U.S. and Russian ballistic missiles off hair-trigger alert; to dramatically reduce the stockpiles of our nuclear weapons and material; to seek a global ban on the production of fissile material for weapons; and to expand the U.S.-Russian ban on intermediate-range missiles so that the agreement is global. “By keeping our commitment under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, we’ll be in a better position to press nations like North Korea and Iran to keep theirs.  In particular, it will give us more credibility and leverage in dealing with Iran,” he added. The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty requires the five recognized nuclear powers — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — to take “effective measures” toward disarmament but sets no schedule for completion.  Iran is party to the treaty and says its nuclear program is strictly civilian in nature (see related GSN story, today).  North Korea withdrew from the pact in 2003. “We cannot tolerate nuclear weapons in the hands of nations that support terror.  Preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons is a vital national security interest of the United States.  No tool of statecraft should be taken off the table,” Obama said.  “I will use all elements of American power to pressure the Iranian regime, starting with aggressive, principled and direct diplomacy — diplomacy backed with strong sanctions and without preconditions.” Obama said he was also prepared to face the threat of terrorist acquisition of a nuclear weapon.  Civilian sites around the world, some with minimal security, hold roughly 50 tons of highly enriched uranium, he said.  The candidate said that, if elected, he would seek during his first term to ensure that all loose nuclear material is placed under safeguards (Senator Barack Obama presidential campaign release, July 15). Back to top       India to Brief IAEA Board This Week on Nuclear Deal India has scheduled a Friday session to brief members of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s governing board on a draft nuclear inspections agreement that New Delhi hopes will pave the way for opening nuclear trade with the United States and other nations, the Hindustan Times reported yesterday (see GSN, July 15). The board’s approval of the agreement, which could take place in a special meeting set for Aug. 1, would clear a significant hurdle toward advancing the trade deal.   Also needed is the backing of the 45-nation Nuclear Suppliers Group, which currently bars sales of sensitive atomic material to nations that have not signed the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and do not allow international oversight of all their nuclear activities.  India has steadfastly refused to join the NPT regime, and the U.S. nuclear deal would require the nation to open only its civilian nuclear sector to IAEA monitoring (Hindustan Times, July 15). One key U.S. lawmaker yesterday promised to speed approval for U.S. sales once the other hurdles have been cleared, the Economic Times reported. “I am going to push like the devil” to approve the deal this year, said Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Joseph Biden (D-Del.). “It's going to be very, very tight because it has to go through the International Atomic Energy Agency and you got to get the Nuclear Suppliers Group signed off," he said  “(And) once that occurs, under our law, there is a 30-day of continuous session — which will taken about 50 days to get there.” Still, "I am an optimist. I am not going to say [time] has run out" (Economic Times, July 16). Back to top       Pakistani Court to Rule Monday on Khan’s Status A Pakistani court announced today that it would rule Monday on the detention rules for admitted nuclear smuggler Abdul Qadeer Khan, once the nation’s leading nuclear architect, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, July 15). The court held hearings this week to consider Khan’s request to ease the restrictions of the house arrest he has lived under since confessing in 2004 to leading a black market network that supplied nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea.  This year he has recanted that confession in repeated media interviews and has accused President Pervez Musharraf of being involved in nuclear transfers to North Korea. Government lawyers have sought to keep Khan under detention and to restrict his access to telephones and the Internet. Khan told the Islamabad High Court today that news outlets had wrongly reported his comments. “I beg to submit that the media has misquoted me on several occasions and my rebuttals/disclaimers were published,” he said in a letter to the court’s chief justice, Sardar Muhammad Aslam.  “As I am confined to my house/subjail and have no direct interactional control or power to influence the media, the charade goes on.” He said that “vested interests” have been “disseminating disinformation as well as malicious propaganda” insinuating that he has been disloyal to Pakistan.  “I cannot ever imagine making a statement detrimental to the interests of my beloved country for which I and my family made so much sacrifice” (Agence France-Presse/Google News, July 16). Back to top       GAO Blasts Los Alamos Security Reforms The U.S. Government Accountability Office yesterday reported that it has found continuing nuclear security problems at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, a finding that triggered criticism from lawmakers in Washington (see GSN, Feb. 13). The nuclear weapons laboratory has experienced a number of security lapses in recent years, including the misplacement of computer disks (see GSN, March 4, 2005) and the removal of classified documents from the site by a contract employee (see GSN, Dec. 21, 2007). U.S. Energy Department officials and laboratory managers have vowed to establish better security procedures, but yesterday’s GAO report found that “significant security problems at LANL have received insufficient attention.” The report cites lagging efforts to consolidate classified information into fewer, more secure areas, poor use of contractor award fees to create incentives for better security, and a failure to implement recommendations issued by the department’s own reviewers. To correct the problems, the auditors “recommend that the secretary of energy and the administrator for the [National Nuclear Security Administration] require LANL to develop a comprehensive strategic plan for laboratory security that addresses all previously identified security weaknesses and focuses on improving the effectiveness of LANL’s security program.” “Overall, we continue to believe that the key issue is that NNSA and LANL cannot ensure that initiatives such as these will be sustained, or that changing security vulnerabilities will be identified and proactively addressed, without implementing our recommendations,” the report adds. NNSA officials answered the charges by arguing that they have made significant progress on improving security and by complaining that many GAO claims were unfounded. “The report … addresses perceived inadequacies in the laboratory’s security program and gives the impression that the significant problems that remain are, by-and-large, not being addressed.  NNSA does not believe this to be the case,” said NNSA Associate Administrator Michael Kane in a written response to the GAO report (U.S. Governmental Accountability Office release, July 15). On Capitol Hill, lawmakers riddled the laboratory with rhetorical ordnance. “World War II was prosecuted in less time than it is taking DOE and its contractor to bring a robust security system into force at this nuclear weapons lab,” said Representative John Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. “Regrettably, the security problems at Los Alamos no longer seem to shock and appall.  A dozen hearings by the Energy and Commerce Committee revealed, confirmed and reconfirmed that the lab was run more like a corner hamburger stand than the crown jewel of the nation’s nuclear weapons program,” added the committee’s ranking Republican, Representative Joe Barton (Texas).  “Most frustrating was a culture that treated America’s nuclear secrets like leftover napkins” (U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee release, July 15). Back to top       Laboratory Evaluating Training After Plutonium Spill The National Institute of Standards and Technology laboratory in Boulder, Colo., is re-evaluating employee training procedures after a radioactive plutonium mixture was spilled and dispersed around the facility last month, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, July 15). "Based on the information available at this time, this incident was preventable," NIST Deputy Director James Turner told the House Technology and Innovation Subcommittee at a hearing on the incident, which exposed some workers to radioactive contaminants, and led plutonium to be spread to different parts of the laboratory and possibly into Boulder’s sewer system. Several investigations of the spill have been completed or remain in progress, and medical examinations have indicated no major health threats to people exposed to the material, Turner added. "I am very disappointed that we are all here today — this incident never should have occurred in the first place," Representative Mark Udall (D-Colo.) said (Associated Press/Google News, July 15). Udall noted that the laboratory was researching more effective methods for detecting radiological "dirty bombs" when the leak took place, the Denver Post reported.  "That's very admirable work," he said.  "But it has to be done in a safe way." All research activities at the site involving radioactive material have been suspended (see GSN, July 3). "I asked at the end of the hearing that NIST, along with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, seriously consider releasing all those hazardous and radioactive materials that NIST has on site or utilizes as long as there was not a national security concern that might be compromised," Udall said. Stephanie Grainger, Boulder’s interim city manager, complained about the laboratory’s response to the leak. "NIST initially indicated that the spill was contained with no contamination outside the affected laboratory room and the adjacent hallway area," she said in a statement.  “However, days later, the city learned that the plutonium was not contained and had been released into the city's sanitary sewer system.” The city "finds the lack of containment facilities and compliance with safety protocols unacceptable," she said (Howard Pankratz, Denver Post, July 15). Back to top

Umatilla Begins New CW Disposal Effort The Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon is preparing to begin destroying 8-inch projectiles that contain VX nerve agent, the U.S. Army announced yesterday (see GSN, June 30). Personnel yesterday began moving the weapons from storage to the Umatilla Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.  Incineration operations are expected to begin soon, according to an Army press release. This will be the 11th of 13 planned campaigns at the disposal facility, which began operations in 2004.  All sarin-based weapons at the depot have been eliminated.  Most recently, workers destroyed 32,313 155 mm projectiles filled with VX. The last two planned projects are destruction of VX land mines and incineration of mustard blister agent stored in bulk containers (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, July 15). Meanwhile, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported yesterday that the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky had intended earlier this year to destroy sarin nerve agent found leaking last week (see GSN, July 14). Operation Swift Solution was intended by May to have drained and neutralized 157 gallons of sarin held in three deteriorating bulk containers.  That has yet to occur. “Literally, we are moving as fast as we can,” said depot spokesman Richard Sloan.  “It may look like a turtle in the middle of a race, but we are moving as fast as safety dictates.” The slowdown in the “overly optimistic” schedule is linked to delays in obtaining state permission for the project, according to depot officials. “Unfortunately, the amount of information that has needed to be put together and submitted to the state was unrealized, said Dave Easter, a spokesman for the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives program, which manages weapons disposal efforts at Blue Grass. The Defense Department agency has received approval to begin installing the 20-gallon neutralization reactor to be used in the project (Ashlee Clark, Lexington Herald-Leader, July 15). Back to top

Iranian Missile Could Strike Europe, U.S. Says Iran now possesses a ballistic missile able to reach Belarus, Greece, Romania or Serbia, the head of the U.S. Missile Defense Agency said yesterday (see GSN, July 14). Speaking at a press briefing, Lt. Gen. Henry Obering said that Iran is believed to have a variant of its Shahab 3 missile that can fly as far as 1,250 miles, placing parts of Europe within striking distance, Reuters reported. Iran said that it tested this long-range missile during a series of launches last week; experts have since argued that the weapon appeared identical to an older version of the missile with a range of less than 800 miles. "The Iranians themselves are describing … a [1,250-mile] range missile launch," Obering said.  "I believe, based on what I have seen, that they have the ability to do that and to continue to advance in the future, based on what I have seen so far from those (Iranian state media) reports and from the intelligence reports.” Obering did not contradict experts’ doubts about the missile launch.  "I won't go into detail as to what was fired when.  That's something I think the intel community should answer,” he said (David Morgan, Reuters, July 16). Back to top

Technical Glitch Hinders U.S. Missile Defense Test The United States must delay a test-firing of a Ground-based Midcourse Defense interceptor originally planned for this Friday due to defective electronic components, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, March 18) The U.S. Missile Defense Agency will only simulate the interception of an incoming ballistic missile because of issues involving telemetry cards used to log actual test flight information, MDA chief Lt. Gen. Henry Obering said in a news conference. The U.S. Defense Department plans to conduct an actual GMD test interception this December, once problems stemming from improper soldering of the cards have been resolved, Obering said.  He did not state whether Boeing Corp., the system’s main contractor, would be reprimanded for the technical issue. U.S. missile defenses currently incorporate 20 ground-based interceptors at Fort Greely, Alaska, and three interceptors at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.  The Pentagon plans to test the interceptors against missiles that detach from their warhead payloads during flight (Associated Press/International Herald Tribune, July 15). Back to top       Czech Republic to Get U.S. Missile Defense Support The recent U.S.-Czech radar deal calls for the United States to provide missile defense support for its European ally, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, July 8). The top foreign officials from Prague and Washington last week signed an agreement allowing installation of a U.S. early warning radar in the Czech Republic.  The system would assist 10 missile interceptors the Bush administration wants to deploy in Poland to counter threats from nations such as Iran. The agreement states that the United States “is committed to the security of the Czech Republic and to protect and defend, by means of its ballistic missile defense system, the Czech Republic against a potential ballistic missile attack.” The defense would come through Mediterranean Sea-based U.S. Navy ships that are equipped with the Aegis system, officials from the State and Defense departments told the Post.  The radar in the Czech Republic would be connected to an Aegis system. The Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense System, intended for deployment in Europe, would also provide the Czechs with protection from Middle Eastern missile threats, a Defense Department spokesman said. Further, a planned NATO missile shield would be connected to the Czech radar (see GSN, June 16). The agreement requires Washington to assist Prague in dealing with potential threats that might develop in relation to the radar base and for the two nations to conduct joint missile shield research and development (Walter Pincus, Washington Post, July 16). Back to top       Kuwait Purchases U.S. Patriot System Kuwait has sealed a $156 million purchase of U.S.-built Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missile defenses, joining Israel and Saudi Arabia among the Middle Eastern state to receive the system, the Jerusalem Post reported today (see GSN, Dec. 20, 2007). The U.S. defense contractor Raytheon said it is also pursuing PAC 3 sales to the United Arab Emirates and Turkey (see GSN, April 29; Jerusalem Post, July 16). Back to top

Yucca Mountain to Cost $90B, DOE Estimates The U.S. Energy Department yesterday said that constructing and running a long-planned nuclear waste storage facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada would cost $90 billion, a $19 billion increase from a 2007 estimate, the Las Vegas Sun reported (see GSN, June 4). U.S. lawmakers had asked the Bush administration for the new estimate, which accounts for inflation, an updated site design, rising quantities of nuclear waste and increases in the time needed to bury it, according to project director Edward Sproat.  The facility has experienced repeated delays and is now scheduled to open in 2020.  The Energy Department, which is also preparing a report on a possible second waste storage site, faces continued opposition from Nevada lawmakers and residents. “It’s always more, more, more,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said in a statement.  “The evidence that Yucca Mountain will never happen is growing by the day.” Representative Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) denounced the planned facility as “grade 'A' radioactive pork” in a separate statement.  “We could spend a fraction of that amount to pay for keeping waste safely on-site at existing plants for the next 100 years" (Lisa Mascaro, Las Vegas Sun, July 15). Representative Jim Matheson (D-Utah) has reintroduced a bill originally put forward in 2005 to continue storing roughly 77,000 tons of nuclear waste at U.S. reactor sites under Energy Department supervision, the Salt Lake Tribune reported today (see GSN, July 2). "The transportation of nuclear waste across the continent creates more problems than leaving it where it is," he said on Capitol Hill.  "Even if we were to magically open Yucca Mountain today, we wouldn't have enough room for the waste we have." If the Yucca Mountain site is completed, 87 to 95 percent of waste now in storage could be shipped to the facility through Utah.  When the site is filled to capacity, Utah could be considered as a possible host for additional waste, the Tribune said. For the facility to open by its currently projected completion in 2020, it must be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and then approved and funded by Congress (Thomas Burr, Salt Lake Tribune, July 16).   Back to top

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