U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has not signed a U.S. nuclear deterrence policy paper expected to be approved by the defense and energy secretaries (Paul Kane/Getty Images). Rice Declines to Sign U.S. Nuclear Strategy Paper By Elaine M. Grossman Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has declined to formally endorse an interagency “white paper” on nuclear deterrence strategy, Global Security Newswire has learned (see GSN, July 25, 2007)...Full Story

Anthrax Mailing Suspect Took Spore-Drying Equipment Investigators have learned that microbiologist Bruce Ivins borrowed a device capable of freeze-drying moist anthrax samples into dry spores around the time that envelopes filled with such spores were mailed in 2001, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, Aug. 4)...Full Story

U.S. Repeats Demand for North Korean Verification A senior U.S. official reaffirmed yesterday that a protocol for verifying North Korea’s nuclear programs must be approved before the Stalinist state can come off of Washington’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, Kyodo News reported (see GSN, Aug. 4)...Full Story

	Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Rice Declines to Sign U.S. Nuclear Strategy Paper By Elaine M. Grossman Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has declined to formally endorse an interagency “white paper” on nuclear deterrence strategy, Global Security Newswire has learned (see GSN, July 25, 2007). The roughly 30-page document, which has yet to be publicly released, is intended to expand on a four-page statement about nuclear weapons policy issued jointly in July 2007 by three Cabinet secretaries:  Rice, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman.  The unclassified version of the new paper has been delayed several times but should be unveiled in the next few weeks, according to Bush administration officials. The State Department was consulted on the white paper and supports its contents, but has stopped short of officially sponsoring it, Rice’s staff officially confirmed.  Aides said Rice opted to leave it to her defense and energy counterparts to issue the new document because it is more technical than last year’s statement, and thus lies outside her diplomatic purview. The 2007 statement emphasized a need for a smaller, more modern U.S. nuclear arsenal in the face of increased capability among “rogue states” as well as weapons improvements by other “established nuclear powers.” The three secretaries argued in favor of moving forward with the development of a new nuclear weapon, the Reliable Replacement Warhead.  Proponents say the weapon concept, which has drawn little support from the Democratic-controlled Congress, would offer gains in safety, security, reliability and maintainability, compared to today’s stockpile. A classified version of the expanded report on “National Security and Nuclear Weapons: Maintaining Deterrence in the 21st century” was submitted to Congress in March, according to Thomas D’Agostino, head of the Energy Department’s semiautonomous National Nuclear Security Administration.  He said a declassified copy would soon follow. “We're working to be able to take out the classified sections and release an unclassified version because we are confident that it's important to get as much information out in the public as possible,” D’Agostino told a House panel in early April.  “This administration is driven by Department of Defense [officials] and combatant commanders [who] believe that the effort to study replacement concepts is important to the long-term assurance of the stockpile.” To date, neither D’Agostino nor any other government leader has publicly disclosed that the expanded paper was signed only by two of the three secretaries who issued last year’s statement.  The latest delay in the white paper’s planned debut by the Defense and Energy departments reportedly is due to State Department requests to alter some descriptions of potential nuclear adversaries.  Further details about these discussions could not be independently verified at press time. However, a difference over report language is not the reason that State Department officials are citing for why Rice has declined to co-sponsor the white paper. “The March 13, 2008, paper addresses technical issues for the Congress such as design, manufacturing, and operational status of the U.S. nuclear arsenal,” State Department officials said in a written response to questions.  “These are properly the responsibilities of the departments of Defense and Energy.” They added:  “Appropriate offices of the Department of State were consulted early in the paper’s preparation and the Department supports the paper’s conclusions.” Yet, there might be more to Rice’s decision than meets the eye, according to some observers. State Department leaders might prefer to avoid focusing on new warhead development as the United States seeks to rally global support for dismantling North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and a suspected developmental effort in Iran, said one former defense official involved in nuclear affairs.  An RRW supporter, the former official spoke on condition of anonymity. Some RRW opponents have asserted that the United States might argue more successfully against global nuclear weapons proliferation if it set aside its own plans for stockpile modernization and focused instead on force reductions. In signing the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty in 1968, the United States agreed with other declared nuclear-weapon nations to “achieve at the earliest possible date the cessation of the nuclear arms race and to undertake effective measures in the direction of nuclear disarmament.” Last year’s interagency statement turned that thinking on its head.  “Without assuming serious risk, further reductions in the total stockpile are only achievable with a responsive nuclear infrastructure,” stated the document, referring to RRW program objectives. The three secretaries also declared that delays in producing the new warhead “raise the prospect of having to return to underground nuclear testing to certify existing weapons.” The incoming leaders of the Joint Chiefs of Staff tempered these assertions a few days later. Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, now the vice chairman, told a Senate committee that the proposed warhead would help facilitate stockpile reductions but was not necessary to begin such cuts.  Testifying alongside him, now-Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Michael Mullen emphasized that the Stockpile Stewardship Program continues to allow the nation to avoid explosive nuclear weapon tests (see GSN, Aug. 1, 2007). Still, administration leaders are expected to continue to argue in the new white paper that the United States must maintain a nuclear weapons stockpile numbering roughly 5,000 warheads into the foreseeable future, according to Jeffrey Lewis, director of the New America Foundation’s Nuclear Strategy and Nonproliferation Initiative. While that figure represents just one-quarter of the warheads in the stockpile at the height of the Cold War, it remains far more than some critics believe is necessary to preserve nuclear deterrence against current and projected threats. “At a time when the State Department is trying to get Russia and China to back tougher sanctions on Iran, explaining that we need several thousand nuclear weapons to keep parity with the Russians and overwhelm the Chinese is not helpful, to say the least,” Lewis said yesterday.  “If I were Secretary Rice, I would prefer those things be left unsaid.” These issues are expected to be taken up again later this year.  A congressionally mandated bipartisan review commission on the U.S. strategic nuclear posture is set to report its recommendations by Dec. 1 (see GSN, March 20).  The panel is headed by former defense secretaries William Perry and James Schlesinger. Back to top       U.S. Repeats Demand for North Korean Verification A senior U.S. official reaffirmed yesterday that a protocol for verifying North Korea’s nuclear programs must be approved before the Stalinist state can come off of Washington’s list of state sponsors of terrorism, Kyodo News reported (see GSN, Aug. 4). The verification plan is the next step in carrying out denuclearization in North Korea.  Pyongyang stands to receive a host of economic, diplomatic and security benefits for giving up its nuclear infrastructure and arsenal. The Bush administration in June pledged to move toward removing North Korea from the terrorism list after the regime submitted an accounting of its nuclear operations and destroyed a reactor cooling tower at its Yongbyon complex.  Delisting takes no less than 45 days. U.S. and North Korean representatives were expected to discuss a proposed verification system during meetings last week in Beijing. “Unless we have from the North Koreans a verification protocol that is robust … then Aug. 11 will come and go and there will be no change in the situation,” said Dennis Wilder, Asian affairs chief at the National Security Council.  “It is up to the North Koreans now to come back to us and accept a verification protocol.” North Korean hard-line elements could complicate the issue, as they appear to reject U.S. proposals for full access to all nuclear sites and sampling of sensitive materials, Kyodo reported (Kyodo News, Aug. 4). Meanwhile, South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said yesterday that North Korean nuclear disarmament would be crucial to creating a stronger economic relationship between Seoul and Pyongyang, the Korea Times reported. A 1991 agreement between the two nations urges North Korea to give up its nuclear ambitions.  Pyongyang has generally ignored that agreement while calling for implementation of other bilateral deals such as development of economic projects that would be supported by Seoul (Jung Sung-Ki, Korea Times, Aug. 4). Back to top       Iran Sanctions Deadline Imminent, U.N. Powers Say The five permanent U.N. Security Council member nations and Germany plan to pursue new economic penalties against Iran if it fails today to pledge to halt uranium enrichment activities in return for political and financial benefits, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Aug. 4). The new deadline, announced by the United Kingdom, followed informal calls for Iran to respond to the six-nation incentives offer by last Saturday.  Tehran missed the deadline, and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana yesterday held talks with Iran’s top nuclear negotiator that a spokesman called “inconclusive.” Iranian envoy Saeed Jalili told Solana the Islamic state would submit a written reply today, said U.S. State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos. The United States and other Western powers are concerned that the uranium enrichment process could be used to produce nuclear-bomb fuel, but Iran insists its nuclear ambitions are purely peaceful. "If we don't get an encouraging response from the Iranians, we will have to show firmness [and] resort to sanctions as in the past," French deputy U.N. envoy Jean-Pierre Lacroix told AFP. High-level foreign officials from China, France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States yesterday discussed progress in the talks by telephone (Agence France-Presse I/Spacewar.com, Aug. 4).  The State Department said the nations plan to confer again tomorrow, Reuters reported (Sue Pleming, Reuters/Washington Post, Aug. 5). Iran’s submission to the six powers today addressed neither the incentives offer nor a “freeze-for-freeze” proposal under which Tehran would not expand its uranium enrichment program and the world powers would stop pursuing sanctions while the sides negotiated a permanent halt to Iran’s enrichment, an Iranian official told Reuters. "The letter handed over is not an answer to the offered package.  The letter does not mention the freeze-for-freeze issue," an Iranian official told Reuters (Hosseinian/Pleming, Reuters II/Washington Post, Aug. 5). Meanwhile, the commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said yesterday his nation could place “unlimited controls” on the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway that is key to oil shipments, the New York Times reported.  Iran has threatened to make the move if its nuclear facilities are attacked. “Closing the Strait of Hormuz for an unlimited period of time would be very easy," Iranian state media quoted Gen. Mohammad Ali Jafari as saying. Jafari said that Iran recently tested a proprietary naval weapon. “The Guards have recently tested a naval weapon which I can say with certainty that the enemy's ships would not be safe within the range of [186 miles]," he said.  "Without any doubt we will send them to the depths of the sea." However, defense experts have questioned similar Iranian statements in the past (Nazila Fathi, New York Times, Aug. 5). Back to top       U.S. Readies $50 Million for IAEA Fuel Bank U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman has formally notified the International Atomic Energy Agency that the United States will soon contribute $50 million to an agency-run nuclear fuel bank, the Energy Department announced yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 9). The grant would help fund an agency effort to establish a reserve of fuel that could be sold to nations that experience a disruption in fuel supplies for their nuclear power reactors.  The goal of the program is to discourage nations from fielding domestic fuel production facilities that could be easily used to produce material for nuclear weapons. “Supporting the international fuel bank will help assure a safe and reliable supply of nuclear fuel, while also encouraging international cooperation and commitment to nonproliferation,” Thomas D’Agostino, head of the Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration, said in a press release.  “NNSA is committed to safeguarding sensitive nuclear technology to reduce the threat of nuclear proliferation or nuclear terrorism around the globe.” The fuel bank concept received a kick start in 2006, when the private Nuclear Threat Initiative pledged to contribute $50 million toward the program, contingent upon the U.N. nuclear watchdog raising another $100 million (see GSN, Sept. 19, 2006). “The United States fully endorses the establishment of an IAEA fuel bank as a critical step toward the safe and secure use of commercial nuclear power worldwide," Bodman said in the release.  “We urge others to join us in making similar contributions and to take the steps needed to bring an IAEA fuel bank into being by the end of the year” (U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration release, Aug. 4). [Editor’s Note: The Nuclear Threat Initiative is the sole sponsor of Global Security Newswire, which is published independently by the National Journal Group.] Back to top       Assassinated Syrian General Linked to Nuclear Drive A Syrian military officer shot dead in a resort area last weekend was reported to have headed a suspected clandestine nuclear effort in the country, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, July 1). The Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Brig. Gen. Mohammed Suleiman, 49, had led the alleged program.  The senior security official was also believed to have managed Syria’s program to supply the Lebanese group Hezbollah with weapons, some of which were used against Israel. Suleiman was shot by a sniper operating on-board a yacht, according to Abdul Halim Khaddam, an exiled former Syrian vice president.  Suleiman suffered four wounds, Saudi Arabia’s Asharq al-Aswat said. "The Israeli government has neither any direct knowledge nor any comment on this incident," said Mark Regev, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (Knickmeyer/Sockol, Washington Post, Aug. 5). Back to top       Scottish Leader Flops at Nuke Diplomacy, Critics Say The head of the Scottish government made little headway in a recent effort to separate his nation’s nuclear policy from that of the United Kingdom, the Scotsman reported today (see GSN, April 11). A source said, though, that the government would continue to seek removal of British nuclear weapons from Scotland.  The naval base at Clyde is home to the four submarines that carry the United Kingdom’s only nuclear warheads. First Minister Alex Salmond in October 2007 sent 189 letters to the member nations of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, expressing his government’s opposition to nuclear weapons and proposing that Scotland be allowed to sit in on NPT meetings as an observer. The Scottish government received 21 responses, most of which only noted receipt of Salmond’s letter.  Just one nation, Belarus, indicated interest in considering Scotland for observer status at treaty meetings.  Belarus joined respondents such as Cuba and the Vatican in backing the general abolition of atomic weapons. Salmond, head of the Scottish National Party, made “an international flop” in his attempt to take the world stage, said Labor Party lawmaker Jackie Baillie. “Trying to play politics with extremely serious issue is typical of the first minister, and this issue is of huge importance to many of my constituents,” she said.  “Defense is a reserved matter because it affects the whole of the U.K., not just Scotland.  This exercise in political vanity was a huge waste of time and money.” Added Scottish Conservative chief Annabel Goldie:  “Scotland has got two parliaments and two governments, and Alex Salmond needs to stop grandstanding on the world stage and get on with what he was elected to do.” One source countered that Salmond had not sought to provoke a response or to begin nuclear talks with other nations. “The purpose of the first minister’s letter was to clearly state our opposition and that of the Scottish Parliament, people of Scotland and Scottish civic society to these abhorrent weapons of mass destruction,” the source said.  “It is all the more important because nuclear weapons are based on Scottish soil against the will of the Scottish people.” A working group is scheduled to conduct another meeting this month to consider strategies for removal of nuclear weapons from Scotland, the Scotsman reported. “It is wrong to say that this is a completely reserved matter,” the source said.  “The Scottish government does have powers in terms of planning and transport that are relevant in this area” (David Maddox, Scotsman, Aug. 5). Back to top       Nuclear-Weapon Simulator Damaged A long-delayed U.S. nuclear-weapon research tool encountered another problem last week, putting off its first fully operational test until early next year, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, May 20). The Dual-Axis Radiographic Hydrotest Facility at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico has been in development for decades as part of an effort to study nuclear explosions without actually detonating weapons. As workers last week prepared for the X-ray imaging machine’s first full test, a misaligned electron beam damaged some components, including 17 of the tool’s 74 power cells, according to AP. “It was an unexpected result,” said laboratory spokesman Kevin Roark (Associated Press/Arizona Daily Star, Aug. 5). Back to top

Anthrax Mailing Suspect Took Spore-Drying Equipment Investigators have learned that microbiologist Bruce Ivins borrowed a device capable of freeze-drying moist anthrax samples into dry spores around the time that envelopes filled with such spores were mailed in 2001, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, Aug. 4). The machine, called a lyopholizer, was rarely used at the U.S. Army Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, Md., according to laboratory personnel.  Ivins went through a formal procedure to borrow the equipment, leaving documentation later obtained by investigators.  However, one former co-worker said Ivins had participated in at least one study for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in which the device had a legitimate purpose. Ivins was set to be indicted as the lead suspect in the anthrax mailings that killed five people before he died last week from a medication overdose.  His attorney has said Ivins was innocent, and supporters say the scientist was not alone in having access to material and technology used to link him to the anthrax case (Washington Post, Aug. 5). U.S. officials said Ivins had a longtime fixation on the Kappa Kappa Gamma college sorority, which has a chapter at Princeton University in New Jersey, near the origin point of the anthrax-tainted envelopes, the Associated Press reported today. His reported obsession with the sorority began when a member rejected his advances while he was attending the University of Cincinnati, according to officials.  The fixation could explain why Ivins drove nearly 200 miles to the mailing site if he committed the attacks, AP reported. Court records detailing the fixation might be released today.  The U.S. Justice Department is considering whether to name Ivins as the sole perpetrator of the attacks, a move that would conclude the investigation (Jordan/Apuzzo, Associated Press/Google News, Aug. 5). By developing “microbial forensic” methods to determine details including the genetic makeup of the anthrax in the mailings, the FBI narrowed the field of suspects to at least 10 Fort Detrick researchers with routine access to a specific anthrax vial, along with guest scientists and special recipients of agent samples, the New York Times reported today. The bureau attempted to pick out possible perpetrators by interviewing associates, completing psychological assessments, and conducting searches and surveillance of people who had access to the anthrax, said sources close to the case. The FBI intensified its scrutiny of Ivins around early 2007, looking into the career and private life of the longtime biodefense researcher.  They learned of a 2002 Army inquiry that found Ivins had not reported an anthrax spill in 2002 and attempted to clean the contaminated area with bleach, according to the Times. Ivins was a well-known and liked resident of Frederick, Md.  He juggled as a hobby, played the keyboard for his church and volunteered for the Red Cross. He also struggled with alcoholism and used a post office box rented under a pseudonym to obtain sexually explicit images of women in blindfolds, the Times reported. Some of his former co-workers said the FBI adopted increasingly forceful tactics as it honed in on Ivins.  Fellow researcher Russell Byrne said investigators at one point attempted to compel Ivins’s daughter to admit his involvement in the anthrax attacks. “It was not an interview,” Byrne said.  “It was a frank attempt at intimidation.” “They figured he was the weakest link,” he added.  “If they had real evidence on him, why did they not just arrest him?” According to former colleague Kenneth Hedlund, “the investigators looked around, they decided they had to find somebody.  They went after all of them but he looked the most susceptible to pressure.  It is like prisoners of war:  If they are harassed enough, they will be driven to do anything.  But I don’t believe he would have done what they say he did.” Officials yesterday started telling survivors of the mailings and families of those killed that they would receive details on the investigation prior to their public disclosure.  Some FBI officials said details on the microbial forensic evidence could be released as early as tomorrow (Shane/Wade, New York Times, Aug. 5). Meanwhile, the New York Daily News reported Saturday that the White House in 2002 pressured FBI Director Robert Mueller to find evidence linking the anthrax mailings to al-Qaeda. "They really wanted to blame somebody in the Middle East," a former high-level FBI official said (James Gordon Meek, New York Daily News, Aug. 2). Back to top       Ricin Suspect Pleads Guilty The suspected owner of ricin found in a Las Vegas motel room in February pleaded guilty yesterday to possessing a biological toxin, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, June 16). Roger Von Bergendorff, 57, also pleaded guilty in federal court to possessing unregistered handgun silencers.  As part of a plea deal, prosecutors dropped a another gun charge. Bergendorff is expected to receive a 37-month prison term at his sentencing, which is scheduled for Nov. 3.  The maximum penalty for the original charges was 30 years in prison and a $750,000 fine. "I do have the authority to impose a sentence higher or lower," said U.S. District Judge Robert C. Jones.  "Do you understand?" “Yes,” Bergendorff replied (Ken Ritter, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Aug. 4). The unemployed graphic artist was hospitalized with breathing problems on Feb. 14 and subsequently fell into a coma.  His cousin found the ricin nearly two weeks later while cleaning out Bergendorff’s room at the Extended Stay America motel, the New York Times reported. Bergendorff is believed to have fallen victim to the ricin he produced.  The four grams found in the motel room could have been used to kill more than 500 people, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Damm. However, “there is no evidence to indicate any intent to target any individual or individuals with the substance,” Damm said. No one involved in the case yesterday explained why Bergendorff made the ricin or what his intentions were for its use, the Times reported.  Court records state that Bergendorff had been working with ricin for years and had considered lashing out at people for perceived slights. His cousin, Thomas Tholen, is due for trial in Salt Lake City after pleading not guilty to failure to report Bergendorff’s activities (see GSN, April 30; Steve Friess, New York Times, Aug. 5). Tholen appears set to change his plea during an Aug. 11 hearing, AP reported (Ritter, AP). Back to top

Pakistani Woman Arrested With CW Instructions Afghan police reportedly found a U.S.-educated Pakistani woman allegedly carrying instructions for making chemical weapons and explosives when they detained her last month, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, April 2, 2003). Authorities stopped Aafia Siddiqui, 36, near a government office building in central Afghanistan and uncovered the chemical-weapon instructions during a search of her belongings, according to a criminal complaint. The complaint also states she possessed “chemical substances in gel and liquid form that were sealed in glass bottles and glass jars,” as well as descriptions of “various landmarks in the United States, including New York City.” The document does not address the specific sites described or the contents of the containers, but Afghan provincial governor spokesman Sayed Ismail Jahangir said the containers held “liquid poison.” Prior to a planned interrogation by FBI officials and U.S. military personnel the following day, Siddiqui seized a rifle that she aimed at an Army officer, shouting that she wanted blood, according to prosecutors.  A translator shoved the weapon to the side and Siddiqui fired two shots without hitting anyone, they said.  A soldier shot twice at Siddiqui, wounding her once. Siddiqui has been extradited to New York City, where federal prosecutors plan to charge her today with attempted murder and assault, U.S. Attorney Michael Garcia said in a release.  The former MIT student could be sentenced to 40 years in prison if convicted. Siddiqui was previously suspected as an al-Qaeda operative and associate of convicted terror conspirator Jose Padilla (see GSN, Jan. 22; Tom Hays, Associated Press/Google News, Aug. 5). Back to top

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