U.S. Response I:  Justice Freezes Grants to First Responders

In the aftermath of a U.S. congressional decision to postpone spending decisions until January, the U.S. Justice Department has suspended grants to fund emergency personnel who are likely to be called on in the case of another terrorist attack, the Los Angeles Times reported today (see GSN, April 24).

“At this point, we can only speculate on the availability of resources for the balance of the fiscal year,” Assistant U.S. Attorney General Deborah Daniels said in a memo explaining the department action Monday.

Congress has suspended action until the new year on most of its spending bills, including the grants, which would provide equipment and training to firefighters, police and other emergency personnel.  The delay is also affecting funding boosts to the Coast Guard, the Customs Service and the FBI.

While White House officials blamed the grant freeze on congressional delays, Democrats accused President George W. Bush of promising popular programs and then backing out when funds were required.

“There’s a lot of uncertainty, and it doesn’t make sense (to award grants) until we see what Congress ultimately decides,” an administration official said.

“Punting the budget until January is not the best way to govern,” said John Scofield, Republican spokesman for the House Appropriations Committee.

Bush proposed a large increase to $3.5 billion in grant funds, up from $651 million.  Democrats have complained, however, that the president has refused to spend $150 million that Congress provided in an August supplemental bill (Janet Hook, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 4).

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U.S. Response II:  “Dirty Bomb” Game Forecasts Disastrous Consequences

A recent war game has illustrated that a “dirty bomb” attack implemented through the U.S. cargo shipping system could have disastrous economic consequences, the Wall Street Journal reported today (see GSN, Nov. 20).

The exercise, organized by U.S. consultants and business researchers, explored the economic impact of a terrorist attack involving dirty bombs in several U.S. ports, one of which exploded in Chicago three weeks after the plot was learned, according to the Journal.  In the excercise, the U.S. stock market plummeted, U.S. ports to shut down twice for several days each time and cargo backed up so that it would take months to clear.  Participants estimated the total economic costs at almost $60 billion.

While the U.S. shipping system is believed to be vulnerable to a terrorist attack, participants in the dirty bomb war game said they were shocked at how quickly such an attack could become a nightmare.

“It showed how ill-prepared we are,” said Peter Scrobe, a vice president at the American International Marine Agency, the cargo insurance arm of American International Group.  A well-coordinated attack could “shut down the world economy,” he said.

Tension between security agencies, shipping firms, manufacturers and retailers resulted in poorer coordination, according to the final report on the exercise.  Participants often focused more on their particular duties than on the impact that their actions would have on others, according to the Journal.  Such short-term actions led to large, long-term economic consequences.

“Closing the ports was easy,” said Mark Gerenscher, who oversaw the exercise for the consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton.  “Reopening the ports and transportation system was another issue,” he added.

After the war game, participants agreed that U.S. officials need to screen cargo abroad and that companies need to upgrade their own security systems, according to the Journal (see GSN, Nov. 6).  They also agreed that a central government organization that could oversee the U.S. supply chain and responses by all parties as a whole would help improve coordination.

Former top FBI counterterrorism official Dale Watson indicated that the exercise illustrated the need for Washington and industry officials to create a response plan.

“If you don’t have a plan, what you get is a knee-jerk reaction,” Watson said (Gary Fields, Wall Street Journal, Dec. 4).

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Iraq I:  Inspectors Visit Crucial Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Sites

International inspectors today visited two sites believed to have been crucial in Iraq’s attempts to obtain weapons of mass destruction — the main site for the country’s nuclear weapons program and the former center of its biological and chemical weapons efforts (see GSN, Dec. 3).

International Atomic Energy Agency experts visited the Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center, located south of Baghdad (see GSN, Oct. 9).  The agency has monitored the center, considered to be Iraq’s main nuclear facility, for the past 10 years, according to Reuters (see GSN, Jan. 31).  The facility once operated several research reactors and conducted research into plutonium separation, waste processing and uranium enrichment.  Several metric tons of uranium have been stored at Tuwaitha under IAEA seal since 1998.

Inspectors from the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission visited the al-Muthanna State Establishment, located 45 miles north of the Iraqi capital (Haddadin/Giacomo, Reuters, Dec. 4).  When U.N. inspectors had discovered in the 1990s that the facility played a crucial role in Iraq’s attempts to develop biological and chemical weapons, they destroyed the chemical and biological equipment and materials at the site.  Inspectors visited the site today to ensure that no one has restarted arms production there (Charles Hanley, Associated Press/Yahoo.com, Dec. 4).

Missing Equipment

Iraqi officials yesterday provided more information on equipment believed to be missing from the al-Karama General Company, a key Iraqi missile development site.  U.N. inspectors had tagged the equipment in 1998, and inspectors who visited the site Monday discovered it was missing.

Iraqi officials said they had acknowledged moving the equipment and indicated its new location in an Oct. 1 declaration in Vienna, according to the New York Times (see GSN, Oct. 1).  The location of the missing tagged equipment will also be included in the full declaration of WMD programs that Iraq is required to provide by Sunday, the officials said.

U.N. experts are examining the Vienna declaration, U.N. spokesman Hiro Ueki said (John Burns, New York Times, Dec. 4).

Declaration Deadline

Meanwhile, Baghdad said yesterday that it plans to provide the full declaration of its WMD programs required under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441 one day before of the Dec. 8 deadline.

“We are going to deliver this declaration in the proper time, on the 7th of this month,” said Hossam Mohammed Amin, head of the Iraqi National Monitoring directorate.  “The declaration will have new elements but ... will not ... necessarily include a declaration of weapons of mass destruction,” Amin added.

The declaration might consist of a list of Iraq’s dual-use equipment — equipment that has both civilian and WMD applications — according to the Financial Times.  It might also include information on weapons of mass destruction for which officials have failed to account during past U.N. inspections.  Iraq might send an initial list including the most important items and might then ask for additional time to prepare a more detailed list of controlled dual-use items, diplomats in Baghdad said.

Iraq must provide its declaration to the IAEA and UNMOVIC, which both have offices in Baghdad, and to the U.N. Security Council.  Mohammed al-Douri, Iraq’s U.N. ambassador, might not be able to hand over all of the information making up the declaration to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan until Sunday, diplomats said.

The United States plans to carefully study and assess Iraq’s declaration, regardless of its possible length, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said yesterday.

“We don’t know how many pages they’ll provide,” Fleischer said.  “It could be hundreds, it could be thousands of pages ... but depending on how long it is, we’ll take the appropriate time to review it, assess it, study it,” he added (Ghattas/Hoyos, Financial Times, Dec. 4).

The United States is preparing to conduct an extensive analysis of Iraq’s WMD declaration and plans to publicly counter any Iraqi claim that it lacks weapons of mass destruction, officials said.

“The U.S. government will put a lot of effort into analyzing it,” a senior State Department official said.  “A lot of people will be working the moment it arrives.”

“We know what they’re doing,” the official said, referring to the Iraqis.  “We don’t know what we’re going to get.”

A false declaration by itself, however, would not be enough justification for military action, according to Security Council diplomats and senior U.S. officials.

If Iraq were to provide the United Nations with a false declaration, however, it might be among the first steps toward military action, especially if the United States could show that Iraq intentionally provided false information, according to the Baltimore Sun.

“If Iraqis continue to maintain in their declaration that they do not have weapons of mass destruction, we are certainly prepared to show the international community this is not the case,” a Bush administration official said.

The possible Iraqi responses range from an outright denial to a partial admission that some of its WMD arsenal remained and would be surrendered, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said yesterday.

Iraq might decide to acknowledge part of its WMD efforts to satisfy the Security Council, a move akin to a animal caught in a trap that “chews off one leg to survive,” said Jon Wolfsthal of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (Mark Matthews, Baltimore Sun, Dec. 4).

Annan Challenges Bush’s View of Inspections

Annan yesterday countered the Bush administration’s pessimistic view of the U.N. inspections so far, saying that Iraqi cooperation “seems to be good.”

It is too early to determine Iraq’s willingness to disarm itself, Annan said, adding that he is pleased that inspectors have had easy access to all the sites they have visited, including one of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s palaces.  Annan called on Baghdad to maintain its cooperation with inspectors.

“It’s only been a week and obviously the cooperation seems to be good, but this is not a one-week wonder,” Annan said.  “They have to sustain the cooperation and the effort and perform,” he added (Lynch/Allen, Washington Post, Dec. 4).

Oil-for-Food

Meanwhile, the United States is expected to increase its efforts to strengthen U.N. sanctions against Iraq over the next two weeks, despite opposition from France, Russia and other members of the Security Council, according to the Financial Times (see GSN, Dec. 2).

The United States is refusing to renew the U.N. oil-for-food program with Iraq for the customary six-month period without first amending the Goods Review List, which details what items Iraq is barred from importing without Security Council approval.  The U.S. Defense Department has called for several additions to the list, including the antibiotic Cipro, geopositioning systems and atropine injectors, an antidote to nerve gas, the Times reported.

The U.S. move has angered several Security Council members, who do not want to hold up the oil-for-food program, according to the Times.  Instead, they are more willing to reduce the number of items on the list, saying that this would help increase trade with Iraq.

Diplomats have said they expect the Pentagon’s list of amendments to the Goods Review List to be reduced over the next two weeks.  The Pentagon’s call for reopening negotiations over the list, however, has hurt the atmosphere in the council, they said.

“It has renewed worries among some members about how seriously the whole U.S. system is committed to the peaceful option (of disarming Iraq),” a Western diplomat said (Carola Hoyos, Financial Times, Dec. 4).

Turkish Support

Turkey yesterday appeared to waffle on its support of potential U.S. military action in Iraq, first saying it would allow the use of its airbases and then later saying that its commitment was not firm, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Nov. 18).

Turkish Foreign Minister Yasar Yakis first said that in the event of military action, Turkey planned to open its airspace and allow U.S. troops to utilze facilities within the country.  Several hours later, however, the Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying Yakis was speaking of “possibilities” and was not making promises.

“The fact that he has referred to these possibilities does not mean a commitment on the part of Turkey,” the ministry said (Associated Press/Philadelphia Inquirer, Dec. 4).

For further information, see:

UNMOVIC

IAEA Iraq Action Team

U.N. Resolution 1441

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Iraq II:  Summary of Inspections

Inspectors from the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency have visited more than a dozen sites near Baghdad in the round of post-Gulf War inspections that resumed Nov. 27 after a four-year lapse.  The following chart summarizes their activities.

Date	Site	Activity
Dec. 4	Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center, located south of Baghdad	The IAEA has monitored the center, considered to be Iraq’s main nuclear facility, for the past 10 years, according to Reuters (see GSN, Dec. 4).
	Al-Muthanna State Establishment, located 45 miles north of Baghdad	Inspectors visited the site to check for resumed chemical and biological weapons activity after equipment and materials were destroyed in the 1990s (see GSN, Dec. 4).
Dec. 3	Al-Sajoud palace	Inspectors were quickly admitted but appeared to have found nothing, according to the Associated Press.
Dec. 2	Three distilleries near Bakuba, north of Baghdad (first previously unvisited site)	IAEA inspectors did not explain why they visited the distilleries, but possibly searched for hidden nuclear equipment (see GSN, Dec. 3).
	Waziriyah ballistic missile development site at the al-Karama General Company, outside of Baghdad	Several pieces of equipment tagged in 1998 are now missing, according to the IAEA (see GSN, Dec. 3).  Iraqi officials said they revealed the new locations of the equipment in a declaration in October (see GSN, Dec. 4).
Dec. 1	Khan Beni-Saad cropdusting facility, 35 kilometers north of Baghdad	Satellite information “called for a specific investigation of modified aircraft fuel tanks,” according to a U.N. spokesman.  Onsite for five hours, the inspectors took samples from tanks and downloaded files from the base director’s computer (see GSN, Dec. 2).
	Al-Taji complex that houses the bin Firnas and al-Quds missile production facilities	“We gave the inspectors every assistance and answered all their questions,” bin Firnas director Brahim Hussein said (see GSN, Dec. 2).
Nov. 30	Balad Chemical Defense Battalion, where troops train to defend against WMD attacks	Inspectors spent five hours examining storage sheds, opening ordnance crates and operating handheld sensors (see GSN, Dec. 2).
	Um al-Maarik dual-use equipment production facility, a machine tool factory	Iraqi officials said the facility only produces parts for light machinery and vehicles (see GSN, Dec. 2).
	Al-Meelad dual-use equipment production facility, formerly known as al-Furat, where centrifuges have been developed	Recent satellite imagery has indicated that construction has taken place at the site since 1998 (see GSN, Dec. 2).
Nov. 28	Al-Dawrah Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccine Production Laboratory	Following four hours of inspection, U.N. experts concluded that the plant is no longer operational for any purposes (see GSN, Dec. 2).
	Al-Nasr industrial complex where uranium enrichment centrifuge rotors and missile engine parts were once made	A newly constructed building identified by U.S. intelligence as suspicious appeared to be inactive, according to IAEA team leader Jacques Baute (see GSN, Dec. 2).
Nov. 27	Al-Tahidi Scientific Research Center	Seven IAEA representatives spent three hours speaking with workers, examining documents and removing an air sampler installed by inspectors in 1998 (see GSN, Dec. 2).
	Al-Rafah graphite production facility	Graphite can be used in missile components (see GSN, Dec. 2).
	Al-Rafah missile test stand	UNMOVIC inspectors looked for information indicating range of missiles tested here (see GSN, Dec. 2).

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North Korea:  Pyongyang Rejects U.N. Call For Nuclear Inspections

North Korean Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun Monday rejected the recent International Atomic Energy Agency call for the country to open alleged nuclear weapons programs to international inspections, North Korea’s state news agency reported today.

North Korea “cannot accept the Nov. 29 resolution of the IAEA board of governors in any case, and ... there is no change in its principled stand on the nuclear issue,” the news agency said, citing a letter it said the foreign minister sent Monday to IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei.

During an October visit by U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, North Korea was presented with intelligence reportedly indicating it was pursuing uranium enrichment for nuclear weapons.  Pyongyang asserted a sovereign right to pursue such a program, and the United States said North Korea had acknowledged the program’s existence.

The IAEA board last week called on the country to drop its nuclear weapons programs and accept international inspections.  The board said North Korea’s assertion of a right to pursue nuclear weapons violates the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (Reuters/MSNBC.com, Dec. 4).

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U.S. Response:  Scientists Readying for New Laboratory Regulations

By David Ruppe
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — U.S. microbiologists anticipate publication of federal regulations Monday that will require increased government oversight and new security measures at laboratories and clinics across the country.

They will be looking to see how the new regulations balance changing perceptions of security needs with openness in scientific research.

“We … clearly are going to have a new biosecurity component of the regulations that we have not seen yet,” Ronald Atlas, president of the American Society for Microbiology, told a conference here yesterday.

“The potential for misuse of scientific information is pitting national security concerns against traditional openness of biomedical research,” Atlas said.

The regulations will be published as an interim final rule, as required by the Bioterrorism Preparedness Act, which became law in June (see GSN, June 12), and are scheduled for publication in final form in February, after a 60-day comment period.

The act requires facilities possessing certain dangerous biological materials to provide the Justice Department the names of individuals with access to those agents for screening against criminal, immigration and national security databases.  Previously, since 1997, federal law only required persons transferring restricted agents to notify the U.S. Centers for Disease Control before the agents are shipped.

The regulations are expected to set out procedures for registering people and facilities dealing with such agents.  Exemptions will be allowed for medical, clinical and diagnostic laboratories and for approved investigational products, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Director John Marburger said in congressional testimony in October, giving a preview of the new regulations.

Strengthened Security Measures Required

The regulations also are expected to specify requirements for laboratories to increase security in ways relevant to the nature of the facility and the types of agents possessed.

“Institutions will be required under the new regulations to prepare a comprehensive security plan based on threat analyses and risk assessments.  The decision to purchase ‘guns, gates and guards’ should be thought through carefully and any security enhancements should be based on a thorough, professional risk assessment,” Marburger said.

“We’re all going to have to consider how you don’t leave the door open for someone, how you have appropriate surveillance, how you have an inventory of what you do,” said Atlas.

Atlas said he expects the regulations to require reporting to federal authorities of suspicious incidents.

“This is new for the scientific community.  Not a lot of my colleagues meet regularly with FBI agents.  I think many will find this a new and challenging aspect of entering into biodefense,” he said.

Impact on Research

The Bioterrorism Preparedness Act implements a new government approach to biosecurity set out in the Patriot Act, passed in the wake of the Sept. 11 and subsequent anthrax terrorist attacks in 2001 (see GSN, May 9).  The Patriot Act made it crime to knowingly possess any biological agent, toxin or delivery system that cannot be “reasonably justified” for prophylactic, protective, “bona fide” research or other peaceful purposes.

Some scientists have expressed concern the new government approach to security could hamper civilian research using sensitive biological materials.

A Massachusetts Institute of Technology panel produced a well-publicized report in June called In the Public Interest that argued against conducting classified research on campuses, requiring security checks of students seeking to perform thesis research and restricting foreign nationals with valid visas from access to courses, research or publications on campus (see GSN, June 14).

“Openness enables MIT to attract, educate, and benefit from the best students, faculty and staff from around the world.  This is especially important, as competence in science and technology has grown throughout the world so that access to research and knowledge outside the United States is critical to our own progress,” said MIT professor and former Air Force Secretary Sheila Widnall, also testifying in October.

Widnall said Patriot Act requirements regarding personnel, students, faculty, and staff, “are not consistent with MIT’s principles.  It is likely that in the current climate, the number of biological agents on the list will grow and the restrictions placed on personnel, physical access, and publication of research findings may grow as well.”

In a high-profile application of the new law, the Justice Department this year was preparing to prosecute a University of Connecticut graduate student for retaining two vials of tissue samples from a cow that died of anthrax, he reportedly said, for possible future research.  The student was charged with possessing anthrax “not reasonably justified by a prophylactic, protective, bona fide research, or other peaceful purpose” (see GSN, July 23).

The charges were dropped in exchange for community service, but Atlas said the incident was intended by the Justice Department to “send a message” and has “led many of my colleagues to destroy cultures.”

Atlas told Global Security Newswire he had no inherent problem with the Patriot Act requirement, saying rather that it requires interpretation in the courts so the civilian community can properly implement them.

“The law set up an ambiguity that has to be interpreted.  Saying that you have to have bona fide reason, that’s not going too far,” he said.  The question, he said, is “how you interpret bona fide.”

Question Over Consultation

Altas’ organization has charged the Centers for Disease Control and the Agriculture Department with allowing civilian experts an insufficient opportunity to influence the new regulations.

He appeared to reiterate that concern in his comments to the conference yesterday.

“In theory, there is a 60-day comment period.  In reality, if we follow the Bioterrorism Preparedness Act, it says the regulations will go into effect by the time we hit the end of the 60-day period,” he said.

Marburger suggested in October the Bush administration was attempting to address concerns about scientific openness. 

“The administration is sensitive to the need to avoid erecting barriers to legitimate scientific research,” he said.

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Smallpox:  Orlando Sheriff Begins Smallpox Immunizations

Impatient with indecision in the upper echelons of U.S. government, a Florida sheriff has begun a program to administer smallpox vaccinations to his 1,400-member force of deputies, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Nov. 25).

Orange County, Fla., Sheriff Kevin Beary received a smallpox inoculation yesterday and plans to offer immunizations to his deputies.  Mid-Florida Biologicals — a company that is producing a treatment for adverse reactions to the smallpox inoculations — has provided the vaccine to Orange County officials (see GSN, Nov. 12).

Beary’s efforts are believed to be unique, national law enforcement officials said.  U.S. President George W. Bush has not yet made a decision on a national plan that could include immunizing 500,000 emergency workers and 500,000 military personnel.

“The best place to be is the lead dog on the sled,” Beary said.  “We on the local level are waiting for the federal government to get things done.  They’re doing a good job up there but I don’t have time to wait,” he added (Mike Schneider, Associated Press, Dec. 3).

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United States:  Academy Advocates Incineration

A U.S. National Academy of Sciences report released yesterday advocates incinerating U.S. chemical weapons as soon as possible.

According to Evaluation of Chemical Events at Army Chemical Agent Disposal Facilities, by a 13-member committee of experts, the chance of a chemical accident is lower if the United States incinerates its chemical weapons quickly than if it continues to store them.

“The risk to the public and to the environment of continued storage overwhelms the potential risk of processing and destruction of stockpiled chemical agent,” the committee wrote.  “The destruction of aging chemical munitions should proceed as quickly as possible,” it added.

While the report acknowledges that there have been incineration accidents, it says that there have been many more chemical leaks from aging storage facilities.

Forty accidents occurred during the first 12 years of operations at two military incinerators, according to the committee.  None of the accidents spread dangerous agents beyond incinerator facilities, the report says.  In contrast, two storage units experienced hundreds of leaks, one of which allowed 78 gallons of mustard agent to escape out of the facility, the committee wrote.

The Army must take serious steps to ensure that incinerators are safe, but that is achievable, committee chairman Charles Kolb said.

“There will be future chemical events,” Kolb said.  “But we are saying it’s still possible to do this if we strictly observe procedures at the plants and make safety the highest priority,” he added.

The Army should establish uniform criteria for reporting accidents, explore improving emissions sensors, establish review boards that include local civilian representatives and improve training for incinerator personnel, the report says  (see GSN, Dec. 3).  If these steps are taken, then “safe chemical weapons disposal operations are feasible at the new facilities scheduled to begin operations at Anniston, Ala.; Umatilla, Ore.; and Pine Bluff, Ark.,” the report says.

At least one advocate of neutralization, an alternative destruction process, criticized the report.

“The committee only examined selected incidents of leaks and other problems and ignored other significant incidents,” said Craig Williams, director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group, a coalition of incineration opponents (see GSN, Nov. 21; Warren Leary, New York Times, Dec. 4).

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Russia:  Weapons Stockpiles Are Safe, Munitions Official Says

Russian chemical weapons storage facilities are safe from the threat of terrorist attacks — secured by a revamped security system and enhanced technology, a top Russian official said today (see GSN, Dec. 2).

“The sound protection and defense of the facilities in the context of intensified terrorist activities is among the most important tasks on ensuring the secure storage, transportation and destruction of chemical weapons,” said Igor Kondakov, deputy director of the chemical weapons storage and disposal division of the Russian Munitions Agency.

To enhance security at guarded chemical weapons storage sites, over the last two years the agency has integrated into existing safety measures more than 150 detection devices, 23 systems for gathering and processing data and 12 video cameras, Kondakov said.  The agency also monitors and maintains the condition of the chemical weapons, operates emergency systems at the storage sites and manages the weapons’ disposal, he added (BBC Online/Financial Times, Dec. 4).

For further information, see:

Federation of American Scientists List of Chemical Weapon Agents

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U.S. Plans I:  Pentagon Orders Faster Patriot Production

The U.S. Defense Department announced yesterday that it would increase production of the Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missile interceptor by 16 percent (see GSN, Nov. 25).  Pete Aldridge, defense undersecretary for acquisition, logistics and technology, formally signed a memorandum calling for the increased PAC-3 production Monday, Pentagon spokeswoman Cheryl Irwin said.

The Pentagon memo calls on Lockheed Martin to produce 208 PAC-3s by fiscal 2004, according to Reuters.  Previously, only 179 interceptors were planned for production in that time frame (Reuters/New York Times, Dec. 4).

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U.S. Plans II:  United States, Marshall Islands to Negotiate Kwajalein Lease

U.S. and Marshallese negotiators are scheduled to meet in Washington at the end of this week to negotiate terms for the long-term use by the United States of the Kwajalein missile testing range (see GSN, Sept. 9).

The United States currently pays about $13 million per year to lease Kwajalein until 2016 and has indicated a desire to extend the lease for an additional 40 years.  The Marshall Islands, however, has requested about $21 million per year for extending the lease until 2043. 

It will take more than the day of scheduled discussions to create an agreement that would be acceptable to both sides, said Marshallese Foreign Minister Gerald Zackios (Agence France-Presse, Dec. 4).

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NATO Plans:  U.S.-European Cooperation “Still a Long Way Off,” Report Says

Any decision on U.S.-European cooperation on missile defense remains in the far future, says a report prepared by a Dutch government-financed think tank, Defense Daily reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 26).

“As regards to the issue of ballistic missile defense, the decision-making stage is still a long way off,” says the report, prepared by the Advisory Council on International Relations and submitted last month to Dutch legislators.

The report also analyzes the potential threat posed by long-range ballistic missiles.  The threat from such missiles “is not as yet realistic, but ... could manifest itself in the future,” the report says.  Instead, more emphasis should be placed on developing theater missile defense systems and improving NATO’s conventional military abilities, it adds.

“A terrorist organization that wishes to use weapons of mass destruction [such as] ... biological or chemical weapons has technically more simple means of delivery at its disposal than a missile,” the report says.  “Missile defense does not provide protection against such an attack.  At present, the terrorist threat from [the] use of weapons of mass destruction with relatively simple means of delivery is more urgent than the threat from long-range missiles,” it adds.

The Netherlands should continue dialogue on missile defense and work to increase its role in ongoing discussions on the issue, according to the report, which calls for conducting a common analysis — in consultation with Russia —on the missile threat to all NATO territory.

A joint analysis should be a precondition for any future collaboration on missile defense research among NATO members, the report says.  While missile defense is one possible area of cooperation, officials should also pursue other measures such as nonproliferation, it says (Kerry Gildea, Defense Daily, Dec. 3).

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Radiological Weapons:  U.S. Postal Service Orders Anti-Radiation Pills

Preparing for a potential nuclear or radiological attack, the U.S. Postal Service has decided to acquire enough potassium iodide pills to treat all of its 750,000 employees for two days, the Los Angeles Times reported today (see GSN, July 9).

The service is the first U.S. agency to provide such pills — which would help guard against thyroid cancer during any nuclear disaster — to its entire workforce.  U.S. officials have not recommended that agencies acquire the pills, according to White House Office of Homeland Security spokesman Gordon Johndroe.  The postal service’s mail security task force, which was founded after last year’s anthrax attacks, recommended the move.

“The postal service got hurt by the anthrax scare and became more sensitized to national security,” said Alan Morris, president of Anbex, the New York company that is supplying the pills.

Postal officials ordered 1.6 million pills at a cost of $293,000, and 1 million pills have already been sent.

“It sounds like a lot of money but in postal budget terms, it’s pocket change,” said spokesman Gerry Kreinkamp.

The Postal Service, which has a $70 billion budget, is expected to have a $600 million surplus to work with next year, according to the Times (Randy Trick, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 4).

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