NTI: WMD 411 - Chronology 2002

Jan 2002 [C] The Washington subway system activates sensors in two undisclosed stations, making it the first subway in the world that can detect a release of toxic chemicals. Experimentation for such a system had been underway for two years and the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority received Congressional funding in December 2001 to expand sensor presence to 10 additional stations by December 2003.

Jan 4 2002 [N] The U.S. Department of Defense renames the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and emphasizes the increased importance of the agency�s activities to the administration�s security agenda.

Jan 7 2002 [O] Japan endorses a new program to increase funding for destroying WMD production facilities in Kazakhstan.

Jan 7 2002 [B] The United States reports only 152 people of more than 5,100 exposed to the preceding fall�s anthrax attacks have taken a federal offer for free experimental anthrax vaccines.

Jan 8 2002 [C] Russia's first chemical weapons destruction plant, in the village of Gornyy in the Saratov Region, makes a "dry run" demonstration of its destruction technology. The facility is expected to be operational by June 2002.

Jan 8 2002 [N] David Reza, a former mechanic at the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in California, is arrested for making threats against a former co-worker at the nuclear plant, apparently seeking revenge for his dismissal. Police find more than 250 weapons in his home and a nearby storage locker.

Jan 9 2002 [N] The Department of Defense (DOD) holds a press conference to give an overview of the Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), which was submitted to Congress on December 31, 2001, by the Bush administration. The NPR is congressionally mandated and will guide U.S. nuclear force planning over the next five to ten years. The DOD incorporates this review into a broader examination of the U.S. military. The NPR establishes a new triad composed of: 1) offensive strike systems both nuclear and non-nuclear, 2) defense, both active and passive, and 3) a revitalized defense infrastructure that will provide new capabilities in a timely fashion to meet emerging threats.

Jan 9 2002 [C] The U.S. Army announces plans to destroy a large World War II-era stockpile of mustard agent at Aberdeen Proving Ground by the end of 2002, more than three years ahead of schedule.

Jan 11 2002 [B, C] For the first time, Japanese firefighting agencies conduct training on protecting people in from terrorist attacks using biological or chemical weapons.

Jan 11 2002 [N,O] Indian army chief S. Padmanabhan says the situation along the border with Pakistan is serious. Each side has now deployed hundreds of thousands of troops in the border region. Padmanabhan stresses that India will not use its nuclear weapons first, in keeping with its policy, although he emphasized that "should any nuclear weapon be used against India, the perpetrator of that particular outrage will be punished severely."

Jan 12 2002 [O] Pakistani President Gen. Pervez Musharraf declares that Pakistan will not be a base for terrorism and bans two extremist groups accused in an attack on India's parliament on December 13, 2001. Pakistani police raid religious schools and mosques and arrest more than 300 suspected militants. Musharraf's initiatives, taken at U.S. urging, appear to defuse the military crisis with India.

Jan 13 2002 [B, C] The World Health Organization (WHO) makes the first revisions in 32 years to international guidelines regarding response to terrorist attacks with biological and chemical weapons. Changes emphasize multilateral diplomacy through the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to prepare developing nations for such attacks.

Jan 13 2002 [B] Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge says the Fall 2001 anthrax attacks are being investigated primarily as suspected U.S. domestic terrorism, not a foreign plot.

Jan 16 2002 [B, C] The United States Congress approves $6 million in funds to help Kazakhstan clean up remnants of biological weapons testing on Vozrozhdeniye Island in the Aral Sea to prevent terrorists from obtaining incompletely destroyed weapons materials.

Jan 17 2002 [B] The World Health Organization calls for delay of a 2002 deadline for destroying the planet's remaining smallpox virus stocks in order to provide more time for vaccine research.

Jan 24 2002 [O] Undersecretary of State John R. Bolton tells the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva that the Bush administration will use international arms control agreements selectively, while denying WMD access to terrorists and "rogue state" sponsors of terrorism. Bolton says al-Qaida was pursuing a serious weapons program in Afghanistan with an emphasis on developing a nuclear device. Bolton argues for enforcing existing nonproliferation rules, offers support for involuntary inspections of suspected violators of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and says the United States will sanction foreign companies that spread dangerous technology or equipment. Concurrently, the U.S. sanctions two such Chinese companies for selling chemical weapon precursors to Iran.

Jan 25 2002 [N, M] India successfully tests the Agni ballistic missile, with a range of more than 400 miles and the capability of carrying a nuclear warhead.

Jan 25 2002 [B] The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announces it will distribute over $1 billion to help states improve their defenses against biological attacks, with the condition that states first submit detailed preparedness plans.

Jan 27 2002 [O, M] Japan announces plans to help Asian nations control exports of dual-use goods and technologies that could be used to make WMD, in order to deny terrorists such materials and knowledge. Japan also announces it will lobby Asian counterparts to join the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR).

Jan 29 2002 [O] President George Bush, in his first State of the Union address, says the United States will not allow such nations as Iran, Iraq, and North Korea, whom he calls an �axis of evil,� to acquire and use WMD.

Jan 30 2002 [N, B, C, M] The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency submits its biannual Unclassified Report to Congress on the Acquisition of Technology Relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction and Advanced Chemical Munitions. In the report, covering the period January 1 to June 30, 2002, the CIA states that "proliferation of weapons of mass destruction" continues to change in ways that make it more difficult to monitor and control, increasing the risk of substantial surprise" as proliferators seek greater self-sufficiency. The report identifies Russia, China, North Korea and several unnamed Western countries as key suppliers of WMD technology. It further claims that the CIA has believed since the 1990s that North Korea has produced enough plutonium for "at least one, possible two nuclear weapons".

Feb 1 2002 [B] The only U.S. producer of the anthrax vaccine, BioPort Corporation, is cleared by the U.S. government to resume shipping the shots, after a four-year suspension. However, the Pentagon does not immediately commit to resuming a full-scale vaccination program.

Feb 1 2002 [B] The United States releases the first installment of a $1.1 billion appropriation to help hospitals and state and local health agencies in the battle against bioterror.

Feb 1 2002 [N] The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission awards Anbex, Inc. a contract to supply 6 million potassium iodide tablets to the U.S. government by January 31, 2004. The award is given following the NRC�s December 20, 2001 announcement of its plan to provide these tablets, which protect the human thyroid against the effects of radiation, to residents of the emergency planning zones around American nuclear power plants. The move came in response to concerns that there was no such safeguard against a potential terrorist attack on nuclear power plants.

Feb 3 2002 [N] The International Atomic Energy Agency announces discovery of two highly radioactive abandoned Soviet nuclear batteries near the breakaway Georgian province of Abkhazia, causing renewed worries of possible nuclear or radiological terrorism. Such batteries, known as radio-thermal generators (RTGs) were used both by the Soviet Union and the United States to power ground-based communication systems in remote areas. The batteries are retrieved, but Georgian Environment Minister Nino Chkhobadze says there are other such devices still to be found.

Feb 4 2002 [C] Canada signs a joint agreement with Russia to help it destroy its chemical weapons stockpile. The assistance will be focused on building Russia's main chemical weapons destruction facility in Shchuchye, in the Kurgan Region.

Feb 5 2002 [B] A federal panel reports that health officials would be unprepared for a biological attack of a U.S. city today. Concurrently, the FBI asks 30,000 American microbiologists for help in identifying the perpetrator of the Fall 2001 anthrax attacks.

Feb 8 2002 [B, C, N, O] The Nuclear Threat Initiative, a charitable organization founded by media leader Ted Turner and former senator Sam Nunn, announces plans to spend $6 million to assist Russia decrease threats from nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons by securing and dismantling WMD; to slow proliferation; to increase cooperation between scientists on anti-terrorism issues; and to provide civilian jobs for Russia weapons scientists as a deterrent against them helping rogue nations and terrorists.

Feb 11 2002 [N] U.S. Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton, in an interview with the Arms Control Association, questions the value of the U.S. policy that extends negative security assurances to non-nuclear weapon states. Bolton suggests that this kind of approach isn�t �necessarily the most productive� way to deter adversaries from procuring or using WMD against the United States.

Feb 14 2002 [N] Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham formally recommends to President Bush the development of Yucca Mountain, in Nevada, as the nation�s first long-term geologic repository for high-level radioactive waste.

Feb 19 2002 [C] Four Moroccans are arrested in Rome after they are found to be carrying maps of the U.S. Embassy and the city's water system, along with forged documents and four kilograms of a chemical compound containing cyanide (later determined to be harmless ferrocyanide). Subsequently, a large hole found to have been dug underneath the embassy is determined to be unrelated to the incident.

Feb 19 2002 [B] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said ordinary physicians will be the first to detect any new bioterrorism attack and therefore need more related education, better tools for quick diagnoses, and more efficient ways to communicate with authorities.

Feb 22 2002 [N, B, C] State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, in an effort to clarify comments made by Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton on February 22, 2002, reiterates that it remains the official policy of the United States to support negative security assurances. However, Boucher qualified the policy by stating that, �We will do whatever is necessary to deter the use of weapons of mass destruction against the United States or its allies, we will not rule out any specific type of response.�

Feb 27 2002 [N] Pentagon officials report that al-Qaida may have been tricked by con-artists in its attempts to acquire nuclear weapons.

Feb 27 2002 [N] The U.S. National Intelligence Council reports that while Russia has improved protection of its nuclear facilities, there is a major threat of insiders stealing weapons-grade or weapons-usable nuclear materials.

Feb 27 2002 [B] Britain is reported to have conducted biological warfare tests on humans in the London subway system during the early 1960s in preparation for British attacks on foreign transportation systems. The tests used harmless substances and caused no injuries.

Feb 27 2002 [B] Russia and Kazakhstan announce an agreement to conduct research on Vozrozhdeniye Island in the Aral Sea, where biological weapons were tested during the Soviet era. In October 2001, the United States and Uzbekistan completed an agreement to decontaminate the Uzbek part of the island.

Feb 28 2002 [B] The FBI, concluding that anthrax used in the Fall 2001 terrorist attacks came from one of twelve American research labs, subpoenas samples stored at the labs to compare with the bacteria used in the attacks.

March 2002 [O] It is revealed that the Bush administration has activated a Cold War-era plan to locate certain government operations in secret, underground bunkers, to ensure that government would continue to function in the event of a catastrophic attack against Washington, D.C.

March 1 2002 [O] Iraq invites British weapons inspection teams to make on-site inspections of suspected Iraqi WMD facilities.

March 3 2002 [N] The Bush administration is reported to have deployed sensors and Special Forces teams around the country and abroad to detect nuclear or radiological weapons that may be in development or in transport by terrorists. The move is in reaction to beliefs that al-Qaida may have acquired lower-level radionuclides, which cannot create a nuclear explosion, but can be used as a �dirty bomb.�

March 4 2002 [N] Time Magazine reports that U.S. intelligence agencies received a report in October of 2001 of a threat to detonate a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb, allegedly stolen from Russia, in Lower Manhattan. Very few officials were informed of the threat, which was ultimately determined to be false, and Russia asserts that it is not missing any nuclear weapons. Among those not informed of the threat is New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

March 4 2002 [N] Representative Ellen Tauscher (Democrat, California) and Representative John McHugh (Republican, New York) introduce The Russian Federation Debt Reduction for Nonproliferation Act of 2002, which offers to restructure the Russian debt with the Treasury Department in exchange for Russia expending the funds saved to secure its nuclear materials. The bill is modeled after similar agreements that sought to encourage environmental cleanup in the former Soviet Union.

March 6 2002 [C] The Union for Chemical Safety announces that there are 350 sites in Russia used for the burial of obsolete chemical weapons that pose an environmental threat.

March 6 2002 [N] The Federation of American Scientists testify to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations regarding the impact of �radiological attacks,� which entail the release of nuclear material without the use of a nuclear explosive device. Among other points, the Federation testified that a single, highly radioactive source exploded as part of a �dirty bomb� in Lower Manhattan could cause radioactive contamination throughout the island, resulting in panic and great financial losses.

March 7 2002 [B] The Institute of Medicine reports that anthrax vaccines are safe and effective, and can work even against weapons-grade strains. The study could remove obstacles to vaccinations of U.S. servicemen and women.

March 7 2002 [B] The Environmental Protection Agency reports that cost of the anthrax cleanup on Capitol Hill will top $23 million, almost twice the original prediction. Congress appropriated $21 million to handle such cleanups across the country.

March 7 2002 [C] The California Public Interest Research Group says that thousands of industrial facilities around the United States that use and store hazardous chemicals are vulnerable to terrorist attacks, potentially endangering the lives of millions of Americans living near the plants.

March 8 2002 [B] The Johns Hopkins University's Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore reports that aggressive antibiotic therapy cut by approximately 50% the number of people who contracted fatal inhalation anthrax in the Fall 2001 bioterrorist attacks.

March 9 2002 [N, M] The Los Angeles Times reports on the classified Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), revealing that the United States includes North Korea, Iraq, Iran, Syria and Libya—none of which are recognized nuclear-weapon states—among the list of nations it targets, along with China and Russia. The NPR further discusses the use of nuclear weapons "against targets that non-nuclear weapons could not destroy; in response to attacks with weapons of mass destruction; and 'in the event of surprising military developments'." The NPR also suggests the need to develop smaller, tactical nuclear weapons, which is in conflict with a provision to the FY 1994 defense authorization bill that prevents national laboratories from research and development of nuclear weapons of a yield below 5 kilotons.

March 18 2002 [N] New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clarke reaffirms the ban on nuclear weapons in New Zealand ports. She argues that the September 11 attacks highlight the need to keep harbors safe, and that banning nuclear weapons is key to doing so.

March 20 2002 [N, M] The Bush administration tells Congress that it cannot certify that the North Korean government is in compliance with the 1994 Agreed Framework. Such certification is required for continued assistance in freezing the DPRK�s nuclear weapons program.

March 20 2002 [N] While briefing Members of Parliament, British Defense Minister Geoffrey Hoon warns that Britain may strike rogue states with nuclear weapons if its troops in the field are ever attacked with WMD.

March 20 2002 [C, O] The Bush administration calls for the resignation of the director of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Jos� Bustani, on the grounds that he mismanaged the organization and demoralized its staff. Bustani refuses to resign, however, provoking a crisis at the organization to be resolved at a plenary session of states parties called for April 2002.

March 21 2002 [C] Reacting to American charges that that Chinese military forces possess advanced plans for chemical warfare, China claims it has no chemical weapons and closely follows the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). The United States also claims that Iran continues to acquire chemical weapons materials, technology, and equipment from China and Russia.

March 22 2002 [O] The Bush administration orders removal of information from government agency websites that could be used by terrorists seeking WMD.

March 22 2002 [B] The electricity provider to Russia�s State Center for Applied Microbiology, located near Moscow, threatens to cut off the center�s electricity due to its three-year failure to pay its bills. The shut-off could lead to the inability to keep frozen the center�s stores of some the country�s most dangerous pathogens.

March 23 2002 [B] U.S. forces in Afghanistan are reported to have discovered a lab under construction near Kandahar, where al-Qaida apparently planned to develop biological agents, including anthrax. However, no biological agents were found in the laboratory. Investigating officials believe that al-Qaida would need help foreign experts or governments to conduct an effective WMD production program.

March 23 2002 [B] The New York Times reports that Ahmed Alhaznawi, one of the September 11 hijackers, went to an emergency room in a Fort Lauderdale, Florida hospital in June 2001 with a case of what might have been cutaneous anthrax. U.S. officials challenge this suspicion.

March 26 2002 [B] A U.S. Army personnel study finds that anthrax vaccinations do not appear to affect women's pregnancy rates nor endanger pregnancy outcomes.

March 26, 2002 [N] Police in Tajikistan arrest four people in possession of two kilograms of radioactive uranium, apparently stolen from the Vostokredmet metal plant in the town of Taboshar outside Chkalovsk, where the individuals were arrested. There is no indication that the material is suitable for use in nuclear weapons or as part of a radiological dispersal device.

March 26 2002 [N] An inspector general releases a report stating that the Department of Energy is not certain of the location of all sealed capsules of plutonium provided to 33 different nations through the 1954 Atoms for Peace program. The capsules contained between 16 and 80 grams of plutonium, for use in calibrating radiation-measuring devices or for research, and were distributed until the late 1970s. In 1996, the Clinton administration reported that the United States had distributed between two and three kilograms through this program. The capsules were to be followed by the Sealed Source Registry, but the registry was closed by the Reagan administration in 1984.

March 27 2002 [N] Russia announces plans to complete the construction of a planned nuclear reactor at Bushehr, in Iran, by 2005, as scheduled, despite U.S. opposition. Russia further states that it is considering a similar project in North Korea.

March 28 2002 [O] In speeches to the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament, Iran and Pakistan warn the United States that a new arms race might result if it went ahead with plans to develop new types of nuclear weapons, withdraw from the ABM Treaty and develop a missile shield, and oppose toughening the international ban on biological weapons.

March 28 2002 [O] Responding to concerns following the contraction of leukemia by a number of NATO soldiers who had served time in the former Yugoslavia, UN scientists issue a report confirming widespread traces of depleted uranium in the soil of five sites. Depleted uranium is used to harden the tips of tank-busting shells. Despite these observations, the report reiterated World Health Organization assertions that the levels are too low to pose a health risk.

March 28 2002 [B] Responding to concerns regarding U.S. stocks of the smallpox vaccine, American scientists report that if terrorists attacked the United States with smallpox, doctors could dilute enough of the current smallpox vaccine stockpile to vaccinate more than half the population.

March 29 2002 [B] Aventis Pasteur announces that it has found millions of extra smallpox vaccine doses, which are later tested and shown to still be effective, lessening concern over U.S. preparedness for a smallpox attack.

March 30 2002 [N] North Korea announces that it will continue to abide by the 1994 Agreed Framework, which froze the North Korean nuclear weapons program, but it accuses the United States of failing to comply with its obligations to provide two light water nuclear reactors.

Late March 2002 [M] An explosion at a Scud missile plant in northern Syria kills 35 people.

April 1 2002 [N] India begins construction of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant in Tamil Nadu. This plant is the first of two reactors to be built with assistance from Russia. The two reactors will have a combined output of 2000 Megawatts, and are scheduled to join the Indian energy grid by 2007. All other members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group have frozen nuclear exports to India.

April 2 2002 [N] U.S. Nuclear National Security Agency chief General John Gordon claims that designing a new nuclear “bunker buster” weapon need not violate the 1994 Congressional prohibition on the development of new nuclear weapons. Gen. Gordon proposes that such a program would use a modification of the B61-7/11 nuclear bomb, which already exists.

April 3 2002 [B, N] Officials in Kazakhstan announce that a U.S.-funded project to destroy the Soviet-era biological weapons facility at Stepnogorsk will require an additional $5.5 million to ensure against any threats to the environment. On the same day, the Kazakhstani parliament votes to extend a U.S.-Kazakhstani agreement on Cooperative Threat Reduction programs until December 13, 2007.

April 6 2002 [N] Ichiro Ozawa, the leader of Japan’s opposition Liberal Party, announces that Japan has enough plutonium to “easily” produce thousands of nuclear warheads. Ozawa also suggests that nuclear weapons may be needed to develop a deterrent force against China. The Japanese government quickly responds by reaffirming its long-standing policy not to pursue such weapons, and expresses regret over Ozawa’s remarks.

April 8 2002 [C] The United States announces that it will not certify that Russia is in compliance with the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) or the Biological Weapons Convention. The certification is needed to permit new U.S. spending for assistance under the Cooperative Threat Reduction program.

April 8-19 2002 [N] The first session of the Preparatory Committee (Prep Com) for the 2005 NPT Review Conference is held at the United Nations in New York. The Prep Com adopts no final report. Instead, the Prep Com chairman issues a Chairman's Summary.

April 11 2002 [N, M, B] Chairman of the Defense Science Board William Schneider claims that he has been given encouragement from Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to examine the option of using nuclear-tipped interceptors to defeat decoys and other countermeasures that might be used to overwhelm a U.S. missile defense system. Nuclear-tipped interceptors would also be effective in destroying ballistic missiles armed with warheads carrying biological agents.

April 14 2002 [N] The Taiwanese military declassifies documents detailing 1958 plans to retake the mainland using nuclear weapons provided by the United States. The United States had collaborated with Taiwan in drafting the plans, but backed out after determining that such an attack would result in heavy Chinese casualties, and would likely motivate Communist China to acquire assistance from the Soviet Union in developing its own nuclear weapons program.

April 15 2002 [N] Bruce Riedel, a senior official in the U.S. National Security Council under President Clinton, claims that the Pakistani Army had prepared to use nuclear weapons during the Kargil crisis with India in 1999.

April 16 2002 [M] Retired Russian Space Forces General Anatoly Sokolev says that the missile defense system protecting Moscow since the early 1970s has grown obsolete.

April 22 2002 [O, C] Jose Bustani is forced to step down as Director General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) by a vote of 48 to 6. The movement to oust Bustani is led by the United States, and is opposed only by Brazil, China, Cuba, Iran, Mexico, and Russia. Australian John Gee will act as temporary chairman until a new leader is elected.

April 24 2002 [M] A nuclear capable X-22 cruise missile misfires from a Russian Tu-22M3 bomber. The missile is destroyed in-flight by Russian officials, but crashes in Kazakhstan. The weapon is not carrying a warhead.

April 25 2002 [M] The U.S. Army claims “partial success” in a test of the PAC-3 terminal missile defense system. Later analysis by the Army, however, shows that while one of the two missiles tested hit its target, it did not destroy it. The second missile fails to launch.

May 1 2002 [M] Sources close to the U.S. Defense Department report in Jane’s Defense Weekly that the United States will not likely deploy a national missile defense system by 2004, as originally planned. Also, the more advanced tiered system would not likely see deployment before 2010.

May 1-3 2002 [N, B, C, M, O] Iraq and the UN hold a second round of talks aimed at resuming weapons inspections in Iraq. UN officials call the meetings “useful and frank.” Iraq seeks a guarantee that sanctions, including the imposition of the no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq, be lifted if Iraq is shown to be in compliance with previous disarmament resolutions.

May 9 2002 [M] The U.S. State Department, citing the Iran Nonproliferation Act of 2000, announces sanctions against China for its export of cruise missile technology to Iran.

May 14 2002 [N] An Israeli court convicts Brig. Gen. Yitzhak Yaacov of revealing Israeli nuclear secrets in two books he had written. The court acquits him, however, of attempting to harm state security.

May 23 2002 [N] South Africa presents a working paper on a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty to the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

May 24 2002 [N, M] U.S. President George W. Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin sign the Strategic Offensive Reduction Treaty in Moscow (Treaty of Moscow). In this treaty, each side agrees to reduce its number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads to 1700-2200 by the year 2012. The treaty allows each side to determine for itself the composition of its nuclear forces within these limits. At the same meeting, Bush and Putin also reaffirm the START I treaty, and discuss the possibility of cooperating in a national missile defense program.

May 24 2002 [O] The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves a new “smart sanctions” regime for Iraq, which will enable civilian goods to enter the country more easily, while further restricting military-related items.

May 25-27 2002 [M] Pakistan successfully completes three ballistic missile tests, including the first-ever tests of its Hatf-2 and Hatf-3 missiles with a range of up to 290 kilometers. Although India criticizes the tests, both India and Pakistan agree that the tests are routine and are not related to the current tensions between the two over Kashmir.

May 26 2002 [M] Iran announces the successful test of its Shahab-3 ballistic missile. The missile has a range of 800 kilometers. Iran claims that it has no plans to develop Shahab-4 or Shahab-5 missiles, but argues that American efforts to deny foreign assistance to Iran’s missile program will have no effect.

May 26 2002 [N] U.S. intelligence estimates that a Pakistani-Indian nuclear war would kill 12 million people immediately, and leave another 7 million injured.

May 30 2002 [N] Pakistan orders its military to prevent Pakistani militants from crossing the line of control that divides the disputed Kashmir region. The order helps defuse the crisis between the Pakistan and India, both nuclear-armed.

June 1 2002 [N, B, C] U.S. President George W. Bush, speaking to the graduating class at the West Point Academy, outlines a new foreign policy based on pre-emptive strikes to prevent the proliferation of WMD, arguing that, “if we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long”.

June 3 2002 [N, B, C] The U.S. Customs Service announces a new system to detect WMD at U.S. border crossings and ports. The system includes portable X-ray and gamma ray scanners, mobile laboratories and new “smart cards” that can detect the presence of biological agents such as anthrax.

June 4 2002 [O] India, Pakistan, China, Russia, and 12 other countries sign the Almaty Act, pledging to support efforts to destroy chemical, nuclear, and biological weapons and to cooperate in combating international terrorism.

June 5 2002 [O, C] The European members of the World Health Organization announce a plan to develop an alert system to reduce the effects of a future terrorist attack with chemical weapons. The system would facilitate the quick and efficient response to a chemical attack.

June 6 2002 [N] Russia begins scrapping the first Akula-class strategic nuclear submarine at Severodvinsk. Work on disassembling twenty others is to begin in June. One hundred others are scheduled for destruction in the next few years.

June 6 2002 [C] A World War II-era bomb believed to contain mustard gas washes up onto a beach in Latvia. It is believed to be one of approximately 40,000 such bombs lost by Germany in the Baltic Sea.

June 6 2002 [C, B] The Australia Group, at an annual meeting held in Paris, adopts new guidelines for controlling exports of equipment that can be used in the production of chemical or biological weapons. Included in the new guidelines are a “no undercut” provision whereby members agree not to allow the transfer of any equipment to a state that has been denied similar equipment in the past by another member, and a “catch-all” provision that directs members to deny transfers of equipment that they have reason to believe might be used in a weapons program, even if transfers of the equipment is not explicitly proscribed by the Australia Group.

June 10 2002 [N] U.S. officials announce that they have arrested Abdullah al-Mujahir, an alleged Al-Qaida operative and U.S. citizen who is believed to be behind a plan by that group to detonate a radiological weapon in the United States.

June 13 2002 [M] The U.S. withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty formally takes effect, six months after U.S. President George W. Bush announced the decision to withdraw.

June 13 2002 [M] In the South Pacific, the U.S. Navy conducts its first test of the Seabed system, the naval-based component of a national missile defense system. In the test, the cruiser USS Lake Erie shoots down an Aries ballistic missile launched from Hawaii. The cruiser uses its own onboard Aegis radar system to track and destroy the missile.

June 15 2002 [B] A report published in the New York Times claims that a 1971 Soviet weapons test involving smallpox resulted in an outbreak that caused three deaths in the Aral Sea port city of Aralsk.

June 17 2002 [M] Representatives from over 100 countries attend a conference in Madrid to discuss the creation of an International Code of Conduct to limit the proliferation of ballistic missiles. Notable countries that refuse to participate are Syria and North Korea. Iran attends the conference, but withdraws on June 18.

June 17 2002 [C] Israeli Television Channel Two reports that the terror group Hamas has threatened to use chemical weapons in future terrorist attacks against Israel.

June 17 2002 [N] Pakistani leader General Pervez Musharraf credits Pakistan’s nuclear deterrent with preventing an Indian invasion during the recent crisis over Kashmir. In response, Indian presidential nominee A.P.J. Abdul Kalam cites the deterrence capabilities of both sides in preventing war.

June 19 2002 [N, M] Russian Armed Forces General Anatoly Kvashnin claims that Russia has, and will continue to have, an ICBM force equipped with multiple re-entry warheads.

June 19 2002 [B] The FBI arrests a Washington state man believed to be developing the toxin ricin. If convicted on the charge of possession of a toxin to use as a weapon, he faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. The man claims his work is simply part of a project for his Boy Scout troop.

June 22 2002 [N] The German newspaper Die Welt reports that Western intelligence agencies have determined that Egypt, with Chinese assistance, has begun to mine and process uranium in the Sinai Peninsula. The Egyptian Ministry of Energy dismisses claims that Egypt is pursuing nuclear weapons, claiming instead that the activities are part of a civilian nuclear program.

June 25 2002 [N, R] The International Atomic Energy Agency announces that it has created a working group with U.S. and Russian officials aimed at securing radioactive material in the former Soviet Union which could be used in a radioactive weapon, or a “dirty bomb.”

June 26 2002 [C] The Tokyo District Court sentences Tomomitsu Niimi to death for his role in the 1995 Sarin gas attacks on the Tokyo subway system. Niimi is the ninth member of the Aum Shinrikyo cult, now called Aleph, to be sentenced to death, although none to date have been executed.

June 26 2002 [N] Israel’s Army Radio announces that the Shin Bet security force has arrested six Palestinian men who were allegedly planning a suicide attack on a warehouse where nuclear warheads and Jericho missiles are stored.

June 27 2002 [N, M] The U.S. Senate passes a resolution banning the research, development, and deployment of nuclear-tipped anti-ballistic missile interceptors. On the same day, the U.S. House of Representatives passes a resolution that praises such interceptors as “a prudent step” in defending the United States from missile attack.

June 27 2002 [O] The leaders of the G-8 countries issued a statement outlining a new initiative, entitled the Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction. It agrees to spend up to $20 billion over the next 10 years to help Russia initially, and then other countries, dismantle their stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction.

July 1 2002 [N] The International Atomic Energy Agency warns in a report that radioactive material in Thailand may not be secure, and may therefore increase the threat of terrorist acquisition of radiological weapons.

July 5-6 2002 [N, B, C, M, O] Negotiations between Iraq and the UN fail to result in an agreement on resuming weapons inspections.

July 8 2002 [B] The New York Times cites a senior U.S. official in a story claiming that the United States is preparing to vaccinate 500,000 first responders and health workers against smallpox. Many health workers, however, oppose the plan.

July 8 2002 [M, N] Yevgeny Velikhov, director of the Russian Research Center Kurchatov Institute, one of Russia’s leading nuclear laboratories, proposes in Defense Week that the United States and Russia cooperate on a national missile defense program using nuclear-armed interceptors.

Mid-July 2002 [M] China test launches a CSS-5 medium-range ballistic missile from a base in southern China. The missile is rigged with several decoy warheads that might be used to overwhelm regional missile defense systems, such as those being developed by the United States and Japan.

July 12 2002 [M] The Pentagon’s annual report on Chinese military capacity is released to Congress. The report notes that by the middle of the current decade, China will complete its replacement of its arsenal of 20 DF-5 ICBMs, which are able to reach targets only in the Western United States, with the longer-range DF-A, which are able to reach targets throughout the United States. The report also indicates that China is preparing to deploy a more modern solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile by mid-decade. It predicts China will have a mix of at least 60 missiles able to reach part or all of the United States by 2010. In addition, the report indicates that China is adding short-range ballistic missiles, capable of hitting Taiwan, at a rate of 50 per year.

July 14 2002 [B] The Washington Post reports that Washington, D.C. has been selected as one of four cities to take part in the National Bioweapons Defense Analysis Center program to develop models for bioweapons defense. Albuquerque and two other cities yet to be decided will also participate in the program.

July 15 2002 [C, B] The Pentagon admits conducting potentially dangerous CBW experiments in the 1960s on American sailors aboard ships off the coasts of San Diego and Hawaii. The tests, conducted between 1964 and 1968, involved exposing sailors to harmful strains of bacteria, as well as the chemical agents Sarin and VX.

July 18 2002 [M] Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, known as the father of India’s ballistic missile program, is elected president of India.

July 18 2002 [C] U.S. Army scientists confirm that five M55 rockets are leaking the nerve agent GB at the Anniston Army Depot in Alabama. They stress that no workers have been exposed to the agent, and the surrounding community is not at risk.

July 19 2002 [B, C] The United States announces it is placing sanctions on eight Chinese firms suspected of aiding Iran's development of WMD. None of the firms, however, conducts business with the United States. Also sanctioned are a Chinese individual and an Indian individual.

July 22 2002 [B] U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton, citing reports by intelligence sources and émigrés, accuses Cuba of developing an offensive BW program. Secretary of State Colin Powell later issued a clarification stating that the United States believes that Cuba has a biological offensive research capability, but that "we didn't say that it actually had such weapons.”

July 22 2002 [N, B, C] In a Pentagon press briefing, U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld urges pre-emptive action in dealing with “rogue states” attempting to develop WMD.

July 22 2002 [B] A student at the University of Connecticut is arrested and charged with keeping samples of anthrax in a university laboratory. If convicted of possession of a biological weapon agent, he could face a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Authorities determine that the sample would need further processing to develop the deadly spores needed to construct a weapon.

July 25 2002 [C, O] Rogelio Pfirter of Argentina becomes the head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. He replaces Jose Bustani, who stepped down in April due to international pressure against him led by the United States.

July 29 2002 [N, B, C] U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld claims that air strikes alone could not destroy Iraqi WMD programs.

July 31 2002 [N] During meetings with Russian Atomic Energy Minister Alexander Rumyantsev, U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and Under Secretary of State for Arms Control John Bolton express the Bush administration’s displeasure over Russia’s assistance to Iran’s nuclear program.

July 31 2002 [N, B, C] In testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, several experts, including former UN weapons inspectors, Iraqi defectors, and Middle East analysts, warn U.S. lawmakers that an invasion of Iraq may result in an Iraqi WMD counterattack.

Aug 8 2002 [M] Russia announces that it has refitted and is preparing to test launch its SS- 18 Satan and SS-19 Stiletto, both multi-warhead ICBMs. These missiles had been scheduled for deactivation, but Moscow ordered they be refitted in response to the U.S. withdrawal from the ABM Treaty.

Aug 13 2002 [B, C] The Pentagon approves a request from the U.S. Central Command for a large quantity of a new decontaminating foam. The foam, which was developed by Sandia National Laboratories, is said to be able to render all known chemical and biological agents harmless in 30 minutes.

Aug 14 2002 [M] The Pentagon announces that the PAC-3 terminal missile defense system is ready for deployment. Missile Defense Agency Director General Ronald Kadish claims that although problems do exist with the system, they can be fixed. At this point, 30 batteries of the system are ready for deployment.

Aug 14 2002 [N] The U.S. Assistant Secretary of Defense for Chemical and Biological and Nuclear Affairs announces that the United States will likely need to resume nuclear testing in five to ten years, due to aging warheads in the U.S. arsenal.

Aug 15 2002 [N] Israeli defense analyst Zeev Schiff claims that Israel could respond with nuclear weapons to any WMD attack by Iraq.

Aug 21 2002 [N] The United States, working with Russian and Yugoslav authorities, as well as with the Nuclear Threat Initiative, transports over 100 kilograms of highly enriched uranium from the Vinca nuclear reactor in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, to Russia. Russia will render the material unusable for nuclear weapons by blending it with natural uranium to reduce its enrichment level.

Aug 22 2002 [M] The United States announces it is imposing sanctions against North Korea for exporting Scud missile parts to Yemen during the Clinton administration. The sanctions will apply to the North Korean government and the North Korean Changgwang Sinyong Corporation.

Aug 23 2002 [N] Taiwan’s Cabinet drafts a bill banning the use of nuclear weapons and reaffirming Taiwan’s support for global nuclear nonproliferation efforts. (Taiwan is a non-nuclear weapon state party to the NPT.)

Aug 25 2002 [M] China announces new export controls on missiles that will create a system of licensing and registering companies that export missile-related or dual-use items. The system parallels the restrictions contained in the Missile Technology Control Regime guidelines.

Aug 27 2002 [B] A Tokyo District Court finds that the Imperial Japanese Army had in fact used biological weapons in the Chinese provinces of Zhejiang and Hunan during World War II.

Early September 2002 [N] Khalid Sheik Mohamed and Ramzi Binalshibh, both Al-Qaida operatives, allege that the original targets of the September 11 attacks were actually nuclear facilities in the United States. The terror group abandoned the plan, claiming that “it would go out of control,” but did not rule out the possibility of such attacks in the future.

Sept 2 2002 [N] Iraq allows foreign reporters to tour the Al-Qaim uranium extraction plant, claiming that the site has not been rebuilt since it was destroyed by Allied bombing in 1991.

Sept 4 2002 [N] The United Kingdom begins a plan to upgrade its national radiation-monitoring system, which would help British authorities manage the threat of attack with nuclear or radiological weapons.

Sept 4 2002 [C] In a test burn at the Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon, an incinerator designed to destroy U.S. chemical weapons stockpile releases heavy metals into the atmosphere in levels that violate Oregon’s environmental regulations.

Sept 4 2002 [M] The U.S. Department of Defense initiates a plan proposed by NORAD to establish a cruise missile defense for the U.S. homeland.

Sept 5 2002 [N, B, C] Australia unveils a 300-member response force to counter WMD terrorism against Australian interests around the world

Sept 5 2002 [C] Officials at the U.S. Army Deseret Chemical Depot, in Utah, sound a terrorist alert after a possible intruder is sighted in a secure area. The suspect flees, and officials are unable to confirm whether it was an intruder or a depot employee in a restricted area. No damage is found.

Sept 6 2002 [N] Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon claims that Libya is “working hard” to acquire nuclear weapons, and will likely become the first Arab state to do so. He accuses Iraqi and Pakistani nuclear scientists of aiding Libya.

Sept 6 2002 [N] U.S., Russian, and Uzbek officials announce a plan to remove a large quantity of highly enriched uranium from the Institute of Nuclear Physics at Ulugbek, Uzbekistan, and relocate it in a secure location in Russia.

Sept 6 2002 [N] A team of 15 scientists at the International Atomic Energy Agency begin analyzing a photo taken by a commercial satellite of a nuclear-related site in Iraq. The picture is compared to 1998 photos of the site taken by UN weapons inspectors. This reveals that new construction and other unexplained changes have taken place.

Sept 8 2002 [C] The U.S. Army receives approval from the Environmental Protection Agency to close the chemical weapons disposal facility on the Johnston Atoll, in the Pacific Ocean. In 2000, the facility had completed destruction of the four million pounds of chemical weapons housed there.

Sept 9 2002 [O, C] The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons begins a week-long exercise aimed at combating terrorist use of chemical weapons in an attack on an airport. The exercise, which takes place in Zadar, Croatia, involves 300 people and 12 nations, including Iran.

Sept 9 2002 [N, B] Former UN weapons inspectors, testifying before the U.S. House Armed Services Committee, claim that they believe Iraq has not ceased its programs to develop nuclear and biological weapons.

Sept 9 2002 [N] The International Institute for Strategic Studies claims that Iraq possesses the capability to produce nuclear weapons within months of acquiring fissile material.

Sept 10 2002 [C, B, N] A report of the Federation of American Scientists concludes that American emergency services lack the training necessary for responding to a WMD attack. The report also encourages greater coordination between federal, state, and local responders.

Sept 10 2002 [B] North Korea dismisses as “nonsense” accusations made by U.S. Under-Secretary for Arms Control John Bolton that North Korea is creating the world’s most powerful offensive BW program.

Sept 12 2002 [N, B, C, M, O] U.S. President George W. Bush addresses the UN General Assembly, where he accuses Saddam Hussein of flouting commitments, developing WMD, and supporting international terrorism. He signals that the United States will work in cooperation with the UN in ensuring that Iraq is disarmed.

Sept 14 2002 [N] The Cuban representative to the UN General Assembly announces that Cuba will adhere to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Treaty of Tlatelolco, as a non-nuclear weapon state. The decision will bring the NPT an important step closer to universality and permit the Treaty of Tlatelolco to enter into full force.

Sept 16 2002 [N] Khidir Hamza, a former Iraqi nuclear scientist who had defected to Great Britain, claims that Iraq is pursuing a gas centrifuge-based uranium enrichment program, using copies of German designs for centrifuge equipment.

Sept 17 2002 [N, M] At a summit in Pyongyang, North Korean and Japanese leaders release the Pyongyang Declaration. In this declaration, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il announces North Korea will abide by all international obligations concerning its nuclear program. He also agrees to maintain North Korea’s unilateral moratorium on ballistic missile testing throughout 2003.

Sept 17 2002 [N] Chinese Foreign Minister Kong Quan denies allegations that China has shipped special aluminum tubes used in uranium enrichment programs to Iraq.

Sept 17 2002 (C,B,N,M) President Bush releases the “United States National Security Strategy”, espousing an assertive and pre-emptive policy towards WMD proliferation among rogue states, significantly modifying traditional notions of deterrence.

Sept 24 2002 [B, C] The British government releases a dossier that alleges that Iraq is continuing its BW program and has also drafted plans to use CBW in the event of a U.S.-led attack. The report also accuses Iraq of continuing work on its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, in violation of UN resolutions.

Sept 24- 27, 2002 [M] The Missile Technology Control Regime holds its 17^th Plenary Session in Warsaw, Poland. The 33 member states agree to add clarifications to the regime’s definition of the relationship between missile range and payload. These clarifications would make it more difficult for states to falsify the compliance of missile systems, specifically cruise missiles, with the MTCR

Sept 26 2002 [B] An article in USA Today claims that the United States is not prepared for an attack with the biological agent botulism. The article claims that although the disease is 100,000 times more deadly than sarin and was widely produced by Iraq prior to the Gulf War, the United States still has not developed a vaccine and will not likely be able to do so for at least four years.

Sept 26 2002 [C, B] The White House announces that it has ordered gas masks for White House staff to protect them from a possible chemical or biological attack.

September 30 2002 [C] Pakistan announces that it will allow inspections at five different chemical facilities for the first time since it joined the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Late September 2002 [N, B, C, M] Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix meets with Iraqi officials in Vienna to discuss the creation of a new inspection regime under current UN mandates. Iraq insists that it will not accept new terms imposed by any subsequent UN Security Council Resolutions.

Oct 10 2002 [N] A conference committee of U.S. House and Senate members approve $15 million to research Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrators, or nuclear “bunker busters.” The approval, however, includes the requirement that the military first submit a report to Congress detailing where and how the weapons might be used, as well as the ability of conventional weapons to complete similar missions.