Iraq I:  United States, United Kingdom Delay Security Council Vote

The United States and the United Kingdom decided not to call for a U.N. Security Council vote today, as they had originally planned, on their draft resolution on Iraq that sets a March 17 deadline for full Iraqi compliance with U.N. demands, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, March 10).

The council has instead chosen to hold an open meeting on Iraq today and tomorrow at the request of the Nonaligned Movement, which is made up of about 115 developing countries, AP reported.  This meeting could push back a vote on the resolution until at least Thursday, diplomats said (Edith Lederer, Associated Press/Yahoo.com, March 11).

In the meantime, British officials have begun revising the resolution after a majority of council members indicated they would not vote for it as it now stands, diplomats and White House officials said.

The proposed changes include an extension of the March 17 deadline and the inclusion of a series of “benchmarks” that would help judge Iraqi compliance, according to the Washington Post.  The benchmarks would consist of several broad categories of specific required Iraqi actions:  arranging a large number of private interviews with Iraqi scientists; providing substantial information on alleged VX stockpiles, accounting for all outstanding anthrax stockpiles and providing all information on ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, the Post reported.

“We are examining whether a list of defined tests for Iraqi compliance would be useful in helping the Security Council come to a judgment.  What we’re proposing is eminently reasonable.  We are not expecting [Iraqi President] Saddam  [Hussein] to have disarmed in a week or so,” British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said.  “But what we are expecting is that the Iraqi regime should demonstrate by that time the full, unconditional, immediate active cooperation demanded of it by successive U.N. Security Council resolutions,” he added.

There is little chance that the United States will support an extension of the deadline past March 21, officials said.

A number of the six still-undecided nonpermanent Security Council members had requested the inclusion of the benchmarks and said yesterday that they did not object to the inclusion of a deadline.  The benchmarks would only be feasible, however, if there was a post-deadline Security Council meeting to determine if Iraq had met them, they said.

“The normal process would be for (the inspectors) to continue, then come back to the council and say” whether the goals have been met, said a diplomat from one of the six still-undecided countries.  “Then the council decides,” the diplomat added.

A British official said that a collective decision by the council on Iraqi compliance would not be needed, adding that it would be apparent if Iraq had chosen to comply.  “We can tell the difference between someone who is genuinely committed and someone who is hanging back,” the official said (DeYoung/Lynch, Washington Post, March 11).

U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday called the leaders of a number of countries, including China, Japan, South Africa, Turkey, Nigeria and Spain, in an attempt to increase support for the draft resolution, according to the White House.  While only China and Spain are Security Council members, the others are seen as having influence over the council members in their respective regions, according to the Washington Times.

“Today is a very busy day of phone diplomacy at the White House,” White House press secretary Ari Fleischer said.  Bush “is working this issue and making phone calls to the various nations, calling undecided nations, calling other nations, for example, and urging them to call members of the Security Council,” he added (Nicholas Kralev, Washington Times, March 11).

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin yesterday concluded a visit to the three African members of the council — Angola, Cameroon and Guinea — which had been an attempt to sway them into joining France in opposition to the draft resolution, according to Reuters.  The three countries, however, did not indicate that they had made a decision on their stance.

Angola will not be pressured into making a decision, Foreign Minister Joao Bernardo de Miranda said.

“We are not giving into pressure … Angola’s position is closer to neither the U.S. nor France.  It is Angola’s position,” de Miranda said.  “Angola is for peace but the disarmament of Iraq is a primary question,” he added (Saliou Samb, Reuters, March 11).

French President Jacques Chirac said yesterday that his country would vote “no” on the current draft resolution.

“There could, effectively, be a majority of nine votes or more for a new resolution, one which would authorize war,” Chirac said.  “If that was the case, then France would vote ‘no.’  France will vote ‘no’ because she considers tonight that there is no reason to wage a war to reach the goal we set ourselves, that is the disarmament of Iraq,” he added (PBS Online NewsHour, March 10).

A member of Pakistan’s ruling Muslim League-Quaid-e-Azam party said today that his country would abstain on the vote.  “The decision is that Pakistan should abstain,” said Azeem Chaudhary.

A Pakistani government spokesman said, however, that Islamabad had still not arrived at a final decision.  “The decision will be taken at the crunch time, keeping in view the national interests,” the spokesman said (United Press International, March 11).

White House Criticizes Blix Over Missing Data

Meanwhile, the Bush administration yesterday criticized U.N. chief weapons inspector Hans Blix for omitting from his briefing to the Security Council last week several examples of Iraq’s development of banned weapons systems.

Blix did not tell the council about a discovered Iraqi drone capable of being armed with chemical weapons, a possible large supply of anthrax and the possible existence of a cluster bomb that could have been filled with biological or chemical agents, Bush administration spokesmen said.  While these systems were mentioned in the written report Blix provided to council members, he did not include mention of them in his oral presentation, according to the Boston Globe.

U.N. spokesman Ewen Buchanan denied, however, that Blix had concealed any important information.  Inspectors have not yet determined whether the drone is a prohibited item and Blix has repeatedly discussed missing anthrax stockpiles, Buchanan said.  Blix had also included the issue of drones in his presentation, Buchanan added (Donnelly/Neuffer, Boston Globe, March 11).

There is evidence that Iraq attempted to dismantle the undeclared drone last week after it had been discovered by inspectors, according to U.N. and U.S. officials.

Inspectors found the drone, which has a wingspan of almost 25 feet, at the Samarra East flight-test facility north of Baghdad in mid-February, officials said.  They raised questions about the drone last week after visiting the Ibn Fernas Center in northern Baghdad, where drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles are produced, according to the Washington Post.

When inspectors returned to the Samarra East site the next day, they found two large drones, with Iraqi technicians dismantling one of them, as well as two smaller drones, a senior Bush administration official said.  “They apparently did not expect the inspectors,” the official said (Walter Pincus, Washington Post, March 11).

U.S. Action Could Violate U.N. Charter

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said yesterday that if the United States chose to go to war with Iraq without Security Council approval, it could be in violation of the U.N. charter.

The U.N. charter is “very clear on circumstances under which force can be used,” Annan said in The Hague.  “If the U.S. and others were to go outside the council and take military action, it would not be in conformity with the charter,” he added.

In a reply, Fleischer countered that “from a moral point of view,” if the United Nations failed to support the U.S. stance, it will have “failed to act once again,” such as it did during the genocide in Rwanda in the 1990s (Tyler/Barringer, New York Times, March 11).

Iraq Complains of U.S. Treatment of Diplomatic Couriers

The United States has denied visas to Iraqi diplomatic couriers, which has forced Iraqi envoys within the United States to communicate through electronic measures subject to interception, Iraqi U.N. Ambassador Mohammed al-Douri said (see GSN, March 6).

“We cannot get visas for our couriers.  As such, we can no longer send any diplomatic pouches,” al-Douri said.

The visa denials appear to be part of a larger U.S. effort to disrupt Iraqi diplomatic communications throughout the world, al-Douri said.  He added that U.S. officials have approached several members of the Iraqi U.N. delegation and encouraged them to defect.

“Everyone on my staff has been approached to defect but me,” al-Douri said.  “I expect to be declared persona non grata,” he added (Stewart Stogel, Washington Times, March 11).

U.S. Spying Controversy

British authorities are investigating a British intelligence employee in connection with a leaked U.S. National Security Agency memo that detailed increase U.S. surveillance of Security Council members, according to the Baltimore Sun (see GSN, March 4).

A 28-year-old female employee of the Government Communications Headquarters was arrested last week and held overnight before being released on bail the following day, said Inspector Richard Smith of the Gloucestershire Constabulary.  The employee has not been charged but is being investigated “on suspicion of contravening the Official Secrets Act,” which protects intelligence information, Smith said (Scott Shane, Baltimore Sun, March 11).

Inspections

U.N. inspectors visited at least seven suspect Iraqi sites yesterday, according to an International Atomic Energy Agency press release.

Biological experts from the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission visited the Nehrawan branch of the Mesopotamia State Company for Seed Handling.  Inspectors also visited the State Establishment for Mechanical Industries in Iskandariyah and the Hiteen State Company.

IAEA inspectors visited al-Tuwaitha to review the status of radioactive waste still in storage there and to conduct a radiation survey (IAEA release, March 10).

For further information, see:

UNMOVIC

IAEA Iraq Action Team

U.N. Resolution 1441

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Iraq II:  Summary of Inspections

Experts from the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency have conducted hundreds of inspections in Iraq since resuming the post-Gulf War inspection regime Nov. 27, 2002.  About 100 inspectors are now based in the country at two facilities in Baghdad and Mosul.  The following chart summarizes some of the inspectors’ recently reported activities.

Date	Site	Activity
March 10	Nehrawan branch of the Mesopotamia State Company for Seed Handling	See GSN, March 11.
	State Establishment for Mechanical Industries in Iskandariyah
	Hiteen State Company
	Al-Tuwaitha	IAEA inspectors reviewed the status of radioactive waste stored at the site and conducted a radiation survey (see GSN, March 11).
	Al-Taji	Inspectors observed the destruction of prohibited al-Samoud 2 missiles (see GSN, March 10).
	Al-Aziziyah Airfield and Firing Range	Inspectors searched for additional R-400 bombs (see GSN, March 10).
	Nahrawan leather-dyeing factory	See GSN, March 10.
March 9	Al-Taji	Inspectors observed the destruction of prohibited al-Samoud 2 missiles (see GSN, March 10).
	Al-Qa Qaa storage site	Inspectors verified the tagging of al-Samoud 2 warheads and inspected the facility’s solid propellant production plant (see GSN, March 10).
	Al-Fatah Factory of the Karama State Company	Inspectors destroyed mechanical parts of guidance and control assemblies for al-Samoud 2 missiles (see GSN, March 10).
	Al-Aziziyah Airfield and Firing Range	UNMOVIC biological experts supervised the transfer of excavated R-400 bombs to a more secure section of the site (see GSN, March 10).
	Tadmur Company for Tanning and Leather Industry	See GSN, March 10.
	Undisclosed areas northwest of the northern city of Kirkuk.
	General Systems Company in central Baghdad
	Jurf al-Naddaf complex, south of Baghdad	IAEA inspectors conducted a radiation survey at buildings within the complex (see GSN, March 10).
March 8	Taji Technical Battalion	Inspectors supervised the destruction of al-Samoud 2 missiles (U.N. release, March 8).
	Al-Samoud Factory	U.N. release, March 8.
	Al-Qa Qaa	UNMOVIC missile inspectors verified the emptying and tagging of warheads for al-Samoud 2 missiles (U.N. release, March 8).
	Al-Aziziyah Airfield and Firing Range	UNMOVIC biological inspectors supervised the excavation of R-400 bombs (U.N. release, March 8).
	Al-Qa-Qaa sulfuric acid plant	U.N. release, March 8.
	Yellow Corn Workshop/al-Haydaria
	Military factory currently under construction south of Baghdad
	High explosives-related sites south of Baghdad
	Sahal al-Din Company
	Area northwest of Baghdad	IAEA inspectors conducted a radiation survey (U.N. release, March 8).
March 7	Maintenance department of the Mosul railway station	U.N. release, March 7.
	Branch of the Mesopotamia State Company for Seed Handling
	Al-Aziziyah Airfield and Firing Range	UNMOVIC biological inspectors took samples from the remainders of containers used to transport biological agents (U.N. release, March 7).
March 2-March 6	See GSN, March 7.

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Iran:  IAEA Examines Uranium Enrichment Capability

The International Atomic Energy Agency yesterday began processing detailed information on Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment facility to better understand its current capabilities and past activities, the Financial Times reported (see GSN, March 10).

News accounts yesterday reported that Iran’s uranium enrichment capability is much more advanced than previously thought.

“We are expecting to receive design details of the plant,” the IAEA said yesterday.  “We have gathered a lot of information and we are analyzing it,” the organization added.

IAEA officials also plan to investigate allegations that Iran has another, undeclared uranium enrichment facility, according to the Times.

Tehran has said that it has not enriched uranium during centrifuge testing, but that assertion is most likely untrue, according to David Albright, head of the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington nonproliferation research organization.

U.S. national security adviser Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of State Colin Powell recently criticized IAEA efforts to monitor nuclear weapons development in the region.  U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that Washington has been urging Russia and Pakistan to avoid helping Iran develop its alleged nuclear weapons effort.  Boucher said that Pakistan “takes this responsibility seriously” (Dinmore/Cookson, Financial Times, March 11).

Washington Alleges Nuclear Weapons

Iranian officials said again that Tehran is developing its nuclear facilities for civilian energy needs, but Washington challenged those claims.  U.S. officials have said Iran’s extensive gas and oil resources undermine any suggestion of a need to develop domestic nuclear energy.

“We completely reject Iran’s claim that it is doing so for peaceful purposes,” said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer (Associated Press/Boston Globe, March 11).

Iran, however, said nuclear power would allow it to sell more oil.

“If we develop our nuclear power sector, we will be able to increase our oil exports and, consequently, earn more,” said Kamal Kharrazi, the Iranian foreign minister (Interfax news agency/BBC Monitoring, March 11).

Iranian officials said Washington is souring Tehran’s relationship with the IAEA.

“Iran’s nuclear program is in accordance with realities and in our opinion the United States tries to thwart the constructive cooperation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency,” said Hamid Reza Asefi, a Foreign Ministry spokesman (Modher Amin, United Press International, March 10).

Bushehr Fuel to Arrive in May

Russia is scheduled to deliver 80 metric tons of uranium in May to power Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power reactor, set to begin operating in the second half of next year, according to Assadollah Saburi, deputy head of Iran’s national atomic agency.

“The reactor and peripheral equipment have been installed and the first phase of the plant is to be completed in the next year,” he said today.  “At the moment more than 1,000 technicians are working at the site,” he added (Agence France-Presse, March 11).

Russia supported Iran’s efforts to develop nuclear power.

“Establishing a balance between energy sources is the sovereign right of any country,” said Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, visiting Tehran.

“Nevertheless, it was important for us to obtain first-hand information about plans for the development of the nuclear power sector for peaceful purposes,” he added (Interfax news agency/BBC Monitoring, March 11).

Saburi said that Tehran is not planning to sign an additional protocol to Iran’s IAEA safeguards agreement (see GSN, Feb. 24).  The protocol would place “new restrictions” on Iran’s nuclear efforts, which are already facing “all sorts of obstacles,” he said (Agence France-Presse, March 11).

Nuclear Weapons to Counter Israel

Meanwhile, Iranian officials have asserted that Iran has the right to develop nuclear weapons to counter Israel, the Washington Post reported today.

“Are nuclear weapons bad?” asked Amir Mohebian, an adviser to Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.  “Why don’t you make the same protest against Israel?” he added.

Members of the reformist party that controls Iran’s Parliament shared Mohebian’s sentiment.

“It’s basically a matter of equilibrium,” said Mostafa Tajzadeh, a leading theorist in the reformist party.  “On the one hand Israel says, ‘If I don’t have it, I don’t have security.’  And we say, ‘As long as Israel has it, we don’t have security.’  We believe the way to deal with Israel’s expansionism is to democratize the region,” he added.

“But while things are the way they are, public opinion in Muslim countries, and in Iran, is not going to be against having nuclear weapons,” Tajzadeh said (Karl Vick, Washington Post, March 11).

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North Korea:  China, Japan Agree to Seek “International Approach,” Fleischer Says

In discussions with U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday, Chinese and Japanese leaders “agreed to continue working for an international approach” to the North Korean nuclear crisis, according to White House spokesman Ari Fleischer (see GSN, March 7; Olivier Knox, Agence France-Presse, March 10).

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said Washington would probably meet with Pyongyang in the future, but only in a multilateral setting.

“I think eventually we will be talking to North Korea, but we’re not going to simply fall into what I believe is a bad practice of saying the only way you can talk to us is directly,” Powell said Sunday.

“We want a solution that involves all the countries in the region, and I hope North Korea understands that it is also in their interests to have all the nations in the region part of this dialogue,” he added (Agence France-Presse/South Africa Business Day, March 11).

Japanese officials, meanwhile, have begun discussing sanctions against North Korea.

“Would it be possible to generate adequate results if we were to go ahead with sanctions alone?”  Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda asked.  “If sanctions are implemented, it would have to be done with international cooperation.  A decision to impose sanctions would depend on what North Korea does,” Fukuda added.

Senior Japanese Foreign Ministry officials have said that if North Korea launches a ballistic missile or begins to reprocess nuclear fuel, economic sanctions must be discussed in earnest (Asahi Shimbun, March 11).

Japan is Pyongyang’s largest market, Associated Press reports.

North Korea sent $226 million in exports to Japan in 2001, according to the South Korea-based Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency.  South Korea imported $176 million in goods and China received $167 million worth of imports, AP reported.

Pyongyang also receives millions of dollars from Korean expatriates in Japan, according to the article.

About 200,000 descendents of Korean workers live in Japan, and many others have returned to North Korea in recent decades as part of a repatriation campaign.

“Some 93,000 people went to the North in the repatriation movement.  It is as though they are all being held hostage,” said Katsuei Hirasawa, a lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.  Hirasawa estimated that Koreans in Japan annually send $85 million to North Korea.

If sanctions are imposed and the money stops, “North Korea will collapse,” he said (Audrey McAvoy, Associated Press/Washington Times, March 11).

Meanwhile, Washington has formally protested North Korea’s intercept of a U.S. spy plan earlier this month (see GSN, March 4).

“We reiterated our call on the North Koreans to adhere to international standards of behavior and avoid further provocative or escalatory steps,” U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo.com, March 11).

North Korean planes were trying to force the U.S. Air Force surveillance aircraft to land in an attempt to take the crew hostage, a senior U.S. defense official said last week.

A North Korean pilot, using hand gestures, indicated the U.S. plane should follow, the New York Times reported.

“Clearly, it appears their intention was to divert the aircraft to North Korea, and take it hostage,” the official said.  Military officials said the North Korean planes had not “locked on” with their radar, as had previously been reported (Eric Schmitt, New York Times, March 8).

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United States I:  Energy Department Requests $8.8 Billion for NNSA

The U.S. Energy Department’s National Nuclear Security Administration has requested almost $9 billion for fiscal 2004, which would go toward maintaining the U.S. nuclear arsenal, funding nuclear nonproliferation programs and maintaining security at department facilities, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham told a House Appropriations subcommittee last week (see GSN, March 7).

Energy has requested $8.8 billion for the NNSA for next fiscal year, a $925 million increase from fiscal 2003, Abraham told the House Appropriations Energy and Water Development Subcommittee.  Out of that funding, $6.4 billion would go toward nuclear weapons activities; $1.3 billion to nuclear nonproliferation efforts; $768 million to help fund naval nuclear reactor upgrades and $348 million for agency administrative costs, Abraham said.

Energy’s $6.4 billion request for NNSA weapons activities would help maintain and improve the U.S. nuclear weapons infrastructure, as well as fund safeguards and security for agency sites, Abraham said.  The request includes:

*         $532 million for research and development and production infrastructure investments, a 9 percent increase from fiscal 2003;

*         $84 million to help rebuild a nuclear weapons trigger, or “pit,” production capability (see GSN, Sept. 20, 2002);

*         $751 million to help develop computing platforms and simulation capabilities for nuclear testing (see GSN, Oct. 22, 2002);

*         about $1 billion to operate NNSA facilities, including national laboratories and nuclear weapons production plants;

*         $273 million to help fund eight new construction projects and 12 ongoing construction projects; and

*         $1.2 billion for safeguards and security at NNSA sites, an increase of almost $180 million from fiscal 2003.  Of this, $586 million would go toward security at NNSA weapons sites, $357 million to securing Cold War-era materials at environmental cleanup sites, $238 million to departmentwide security and $48.1 million to security at department scientific research facilities.

The $1.3 billion funding request for nuclear nonproliferation activities is a 30 percent increase from fiscal 2003, Abraham said (see GSN, Jan. 30).  The increase would help fund the construction of a U.S. mixed-oxide fuel production facility and help Russia construct its own MOX plant, he said (see GSN, Dec. 6, 2002). 

The request “reflects the administration’s full commitment to reducing the global nuclear danger,” Abraham said.  It includes:

*         $657 million for reducing fissile material stockpiles;

*         $30 million to help purchase Russian highly enriched uranium above the amounts set in the U.S.-Russia “Megatons to Megawatts” program, under which the United States purchases Russian HEU for use as fuel in nuclear power plants (see GSN, Feb. 12);

*         $40 million to help prevent the migration of Russia nuclear weapons expertise;

*         $50 million to help provide Russia with replacement power production capacity to cease the production of weapon-grade plutonium;

*         $204 million to develop new proliferation detection technologies;

*         $226 million for International Nuclear Materials Protection and Cooperation program, which helps improve the security of Russian weapon-grade materials; and

*         $102 million to help improve export controls (Mike Nartker, GSN, March 11).

During the hearing, subcommittee members called on Abraham to begin seeking competitive bids on operating contracts for the department’s national laboratories, according to Energy Daily (see GSN, Feb. 28).

“I’ll tell you right up front there is no way you can convince me that not competing these jobs for more than 60 years is in the best interest of taxpayers,” subcommittee Chairman David Hobson (R-Ohio) said.

The University of California, which operates Los Alamos, has come under heavy criticism for theft and fraud allegations at the site.  Abraham told the committee that the department was prepared to “take the appropriate action” to improve conditions, which could mean ending the university’s operating contract before it expires in 2005.  He said he was expecting a report on the issue from senior Energy officials by the end of April.

Some subcommittee members, however, said there was little reason for Abraham to wait until then.  “I think we have cause for the contract to be canceled sooner rather than later,” Representative Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) said (Jeff Beattie, Energy Daily, March 6).

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United States II:  NNSA Seeks to Improve Nuclear Material Storage At Weapons Plants

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration has begun a program to improve the management and disposal of “inactive” nuclear materials at U.S. nuclear weapons facilities, Energy Daily reported today (see GSN, Jan. 28).  Inactive materials include weapon-grade uranium and plutonium stocks that are not currently needed for use in weapons.

In a Jan. 31 report to the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board, the NNSA said there were concerns over whether nuclear weapons plants were safely storing inactive nuclear materials.  The agency’s report also noted concerns that quantities of such materials were building up at plants that were never meant to serve as long-term storage sites, such as Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, according to Energy Daily.

In its report, the NNSA indicated an interest in the decisions on plutonium disposal made by the Energy Department while cleaning the Rocky Flats former nuclear weapons plant in Colorado, Energy Daily reported (see GSN, June 13, 2002).  The agency said it was examining using similar methods to reduce nuclear material stockpiles at its sites, as well as allowing some of the materials to be reused by Energy or private companies (George Lobsenz, Energy Daily, March 11).

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International Response:  Iraq Crisis Derails Central Asian Treaty Talks

By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — A meeting planned for this month between the five declared nuclear weapons states and five Central Asian states on a treaty establishing a nuclear weapon-free zone in Central Asia has been postponed, a U.N. official told GSN yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 15).

The meeting, which was to discuss written proposals submitted by the nuclear states to modify the treaty’s text, has been delayed because of the Iraq situation, said Stefano Tomat of the U.N. Disarmament Affairs Department.  He indicated that the meeting might be rescheduled for the end of April.

This month’s planned meeting was meant to give the Central Asian states an opportunity to respond the nuclear weapons states’ proposals, which were submitted at a meeting held in New York in December of last year.  Of the five declared states, China and Russia have openly offered support for the treaty and have recommended few changes to its text, U.N. Undersecretary General for Disarmament Affairs Jayantha Dhanapala said in January. 

The three Western nuclear powers — France, the United Kingdom and the United States — have expressed concerns with several of the treaty’s provisions, including those related to the transit of nuclear weapons through the zone, the possible further expansion of the zone, and the relationship between the treaty and other regional agreements.

The five Central Asian states involved in the zone’s creation — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — had planned to sign the treaty next month.

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Smallpox:  Acambis Completes First Phase in Smallpox Vaccine Testing

Vaccine developer Acambis has completed the first phase testing of its new smallpox vaccine, ACAM2000, the company said today (see GSN, Feb. 26).

Researchers did not record any side effects in the testing of the vaccine on 100 subjects.  A protective immunity can be determined by the development of a pockmark on the skin or a neutralizing antibody response.  All but one subject developed the pockmark and 96 of the subjects developed the antibody response.

The second phase trials have already begun and the third phase is scheduled to begin later this year (Acambis release, March 11).

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French Response:  Paris to Begin Smallpox Vaccinations and Other Readiness Measures

One hundred fifty volunteers, mainly health workers but also firefighters and gendarmes, will be vaccinated against smallpox within coming days in France, Liberation reported today.

In an overview of the main elements of France’s bioterrorism response plan, in place for about 1« years, the newspaper reported that hospitals, firefighters, gendarmes and emergency health clinics are stepping up their preparations to respond to a potential biological or chemical attack.

The smallpox vaccinations are meant to provide a small response force in case of an attack and, according to Liberation, those receiving the immunization will be the first in France to get it since France ended routine vaccinations in 1984.  The last French smallpox case was in the 1950s, and the disease was eradicated worldwide in 1977.

Liberation reports that no large-scale vaccinations are planned because the risk of an attack is small and the side effects of smallpox vaccine can be serious.  In case of a high alert, though, French health officials hope to vaccinate 60 million people in two weeks. 

France expects to have 72 million smallpox vaccine doses and 60 million special needles on hand by the end of May.

In terms of other threats, one official told Liberation that France would have “no problem” providing enough antibiotics in case of an anthrax attack.  Plans are also in the works to use drugs with mineral known as Prussian blue to neutralize radioactive thallium or cesium, and anti-botulism planning is also under way (see GSN, Feb. 3).  Water authorities have been ordered to increase chlorination to 0.3 milligrams per liter to respond to a possible botulism attack, and large water and food companies have been asked to improve their security with surveillance cameras and alarm systems.

French experts cited by the newspaper, though, said they fear a chemical attack most, believing an anthrax attack would not yield a “guaranteed result” and that the risk of a smallpox outbreak is “less than minimal.”  Hospitals and emergency facilities have for months been stocking up on respirators, antidotes and protective gear to respond to a potential chemical assault, as well as stepping up chemical weapons training for their staff.  Chemical attack response has also been added to the curriculum of French medical schools (Julie Lasterade, Liberation, March 11, GSN translation).

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U.S. Plans:  MDA Considering Hawaii For Sea-Based X-Band Radar

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency is considering stationing the Sea-Based Test X-Band radar platform, a component of a U.S. missile defense system, in Hawaii for testing, the Honolulu Advertiser reported Sunday (see GSN, Jan. 28).

If Hawaii were to be chosen, the radar would be moored for up to nine months at one of two locations in the state and then moved to one of three operational areas in the northern Pacific, according to the Advertiser.  In addition to Hawaii, the agency is considering five other locations for the radar platform — California, Washington state, the Marshall Islands and two sites in Alaska.

The agency last week invited the public to comment on a draft environmental impact statement for the radar platform.  Public comment will be taken until March 24, with a final statement expected in August, the Advertiser reported.  The radar platform itself will probably not be deployed until at least 2005, said U.S. Navy Cmdr. Robert Dees, a radar platform technical adviser (William Cole, Honolulu Advertiser, March 9).

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Taiwan:  U.S., Taiwanese Defense Officials Meet, Discuss Chinese Missile Threat

A Taiwanese newspaper reported today that U.S. defense officials have arrived in Taipei to examine Taiwan’s missile defense capabilities, according to Agence France-Presse (see GSN, Feb. 26).

The U.S. delegation, led by Mary Tighe, head of Asia Pacific security affairs at the Pentagon, met with Taiwanese defense officials today to discuss the threat of a Chinese missile strike, the United Daily News reported.  Tighe is the highest-ranking U.S. defense official to visit Taiwan since the United States granted diplomatic recognition to China in 1979 (Agence France-Presse, March 11).

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Radiological Weapons:  IAEA Calls for Increased Radioactive Material Safeguards

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei today urged countries to step up security measures related to radioactive material to head off the possibility of a terrorist attack with a radiological “dirty bomb” (see GSN, March 4).

“It is clear that additional security measures are urgently needed,” said ElBaradei, pointing to recent reports of terrorist attempts to get radioactive material for use alongside conventional explosives.

ElBaradei said some countries are reviewing regulations of radioactive material in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States but that many other countries have yet to take up the matter.

“While a number of countries are stepping up relevant security measures, many others lack the resources ... to effectively control radioactive sources,” said ElBaradei, who cited 280 known cases of criminal trafficking of radioactive material (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters, March 11).

ElBaradei’s remarks came at the first dirty bomb conference, a three-day Vienna event attended by hundreds of scientists and government officials and hosted by the United States and Russia.

Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev said Moscow is “ready to solve” problems related to its stores of radioactive material (Associated Press/CNN.com, March 11).

U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced $3 million in aid during the next year to help developing countries track down radioactive material.

“The threat requires a determined and comprehensive international response,” Abraham said.  “It is our responsibility to determine how to prevent such an attack in the first place and how to respond if, despite all our best efforts, such an attack occurs anyway” (Charles Hanley, Associated Press/Yahoo.com, March 11).

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