Iranian Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh yesterday said Tehran has offered a compromise plan to European nations seeking to resolve the conflict over Iran’s nuclear efforts (AFP photo/Behrouz Mehri). U.S. Signals Opposition to Light-Water Reactor Offer to Iran; Tehran Expected to Offer Deal to Europeans The U.S. State Department said yesterday that Washington is concerned about the potential for Iran to obtain additional nuclear technology, following reports that European nations are including a light-water nuclear reactor in a deal aimed at having Tehran halt uranium enrichment activities (see GSN, Oct. 20). “We have long had concerns about Iran’s acquisition of nuclear capability, of nuclear technology, because for many years we have seen a confirmed pattern of noncompliance with safeguards,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. “We fundamentally have concerns about Iran acquiring more nuclear technology and capability,” he added...Full Story

North Korean, U.S. Officials Reportedly Meet; Prospects for Talks ‘Gloomy,’ Pyongyang Says U.S. and North Korean officials met in New York this week, as six-party talks aimed at resolving the standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear work remain stalled, the Yonhap news agency reported (see GSN, Oct. 20)...Full Story

House, Senate Lawmakers Meet to Resolve Differences in U.S. Intelligence Reform Bills House and Senate lawmakers met yesterday to begin their effort to develop a compromise intelligence reform bill, according to the Washington Post (see GSN, Oct. 20)...Full Story

	Thursday, October 21, 2004

House, Senate Lawmakers Meet to Resolve Differences in U.S. Intelligence Reform Bills House and Senate lawmakers met yesterday to begin their effort to develop a compromise intelligence reform bill, according to the Washington Post (see GSN, Oct. 20). Both bills approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate would create a national intelligence director and a national counterterrorism center, though the Senate bill would provide the new director with greater budgetary and personnel authority over most intelligence agencies. The House bill, though, contains a number of controversial nonintelligence-related provisions regarding expanded antiterrorism powers and border security. A three-hour conference committee meeting yesterday left it unclear whether the panel would be able to reach a compromise on the legislation before the Nov. 2 presidential election, the Post reported. The committee is scheduled to meet again today. Representative Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.), the conference committee chairman, announced plans during yesterday’s meeting to put forth “a good-faith global effort” to reach compromises between the two bills, according to the Post. Hoekstra said that House Republicans and White House advisers were finalizing the plan, prompting anger from congressional Democrats, the Post reported. “I would question the usefulness of a Republican House product introduced this late in the process,” said Representative. Jane Harman (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee and the top House Democrat on the conference committee. The top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.) said the conference committee should only focus on intelligence matters and leave the nonintelligence-related issues until the next Congress. “That’s the big question of the will of the conference,” he said (Charles Babington, Washington Post, Oct. 21). Back to top       9/11 Commission Member Promotes International Cooperation, Civil Rights as Bills are Debated By Chris Strohm Government Executive WASHINGTON — The vice chairman of the Sept. 11 commission outlined yesterday how the government can develop a more effective counterterrorism strategy, but warned against creating an intrusive, overly expensive “homeland security industrial complex.” Government agencies must be better at identifying threats, sharing intelligence, promoting integration of efforts, and building international cooperation, said Lee Hamilton, former Democratic congressman and vice chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States. Hamilton gave a keynote speech during a forum in Washington sponsored by the Council for Excellence in Government. While he gave his speech, Senate and House conferees met on Capitol Hill to hammer out a final agreement on overhauling intelligence programs (see GSN story, today). The House and Senate have significant differences in portions of intelligence legislation related to immigration, border controls and how much power a new national intelligence director should hold. Hamilton and former New Jersey Governor Tom Kean, who was chairman of the commission, sent conferees a letter yesterday asking them to drop the most contentious portions of legislation that do not directly relate to the commission's 41 recommendations. “We believe we are better off with broad bipartisan agreement on key recommendations of the commission in support of border security than taking up a number of controversial provisions that are more central to the question of immigration policy than they are to the question of counterterrorism,” the two men wrote. During his speech yesterday, Hamilton emphasized the need for international cooperation and protection of civil rights while pursuing counterterrorism goals. “Every single action you take in counterterrorism is strengthened if you have international help,” he said. The United States needs a “sustained counterterrorism coalition” that works multilaterally and bilaterally on counterterrorism efforts, especially through the United Nations, NATO and the Group of Eight industrialized countries, he added. “You cannot secure your own skies without securing international aviation,” Hamilton continued. “You cannot get the best intelligence without assistance from international partners.” Once intelligence reform legislation is passed, Hamilton will focus on pushing foreign policy recommendations made by the commission. “The great challenge to American foreign policy in the decades ahead is how to relate to the Muslim world,” he said. Hamilton cautioned, however, that the government must guard against overly intrusive and expensive homeland security efforts, adding that one of the toughest challenges facing policy-makers is setting priorities. “Don't kid yourself, homeland security is expanding the role of the government hugely — not just in money, not just in people, but by intrusion into your life,” he said. “We are now developing in this country a homeland security industrial complex,” Hamilton added, making reference to former President Dwight Eisenhower's admonishment to the country in 1961 about a growing “military-industrial complex.” The results on how homeland security funds are being spent so far are “decidedly mixed,” according to Hamilton. “Too often,” he said, “pork and politics, not priorities, are dictating where the money goes.” Back to top       Terrorists Could Obtain Useful Information From NRC Web Site, Activists Warn Information potentially useful to terrorists has been found on the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Web site, CNN.com reported Tuesday (see GSN, Sept. 15). In one instance, Pennsylvania civic activist Scott Portzline over four hours found floor plans for four university nuclear laboratories and details on the types of radioactive materials used at the facilities, CNN.com reported. The floor plans, Portzline said, would allow terrorists seeking to steal radioactive materials to forego having to conduct surveillance of the laboratories. By using the information on the NRC Web site, a terrorist “could prioritize the largest sources, more dangerous sources or the weapons-grade sources” of radioactive material, Portzline said. “You’d know exactly where the sources are, having never visited the facility.” The commission acknowledged this week that inappropriate information sometimes ends up on its Web site, and said it had removed the data discovered by Portzline. More than 1,000 potentially sensitive documents were removed from the Web site following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, an NRC official said. Security needs must be balanced with the public’s right to information, the commission said, according to CNN.com. The commission last summer tightened its restrictions on information for the Web site, and said that it is considering whether to establish a task force on the issue (Mike Ahlers, CNN.com, Oct. 19). Back to top

NATO Seeks More Cooperation With Central Asia NATO seeks to increase cooperation with countries in Central Asia on terrorism and WMD nonproliferation, NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer said yesterday in Uzbekistan (see GSN, Aug. 4). De Hoop Scheffer made his comments during a press conference in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent after meeting with Uzbek Foreign Minister Sodyk Safayev, Xinhua News Agency reported (Xinhua News Agency, Oct. 21). Back to top

U.S. Signals Opposition to Light-Water Reactor Offer to Iran; Tehran Expected to Offer Deal to Europeans The U.S. State Department said yesterday that Washington is concerned about the potential for Iran to obtain additional nuclear technology, following reports that European nations are including a light-water nuclear reactor in a deal aimed at having Tehran halt uranium enrichment activities (see GSN, Oct. 20). “We have long had concerns about Iran’s acquisition of nuclear capability, of nuclear technology, because for many years we have seen a confirmed pattern of noncompliance with safeguards,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said. “We fundamentally have concerns about Iran acquiring more nuclear technology and capability,” he added. Boucher refused to comment on leaked details of the European proposal being presented today to the Iranians in Vienna, but said Washington was familiar with the offer, according to Agence France-Presse. Representatives from Germany, France and the United Kingdom presented the proposal last week to the Group of Eight global economic powers. “We haven’t bought on, signed on or endorsed it, but we know [the Europeans are] going to do it,” he said (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 20). Meanwhile, officials from the three European nations today commenced discussions with Amir Hossein Zamani-Nia, the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s international political affairs director, at the French mission in Vienna, AFP reported. Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Pirooz Hosseini, told AFP earlier that Iran expected to receive the European proposal, but that no decision was likely to come today. “We have to receive the text and then take it back to our capital and see if it is approved, and if it is not approved, then that is another story,” he said (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 21). The European promise of nuclear fuel and economic incentives in exchange for Iran ending its nuclear work would be unacceptable, Hossein Mousavian, Iran’s negotiator at the U.N. agency, told Knight Ridder yesterday “We are prepared for full implementation (of nuclear safeguards), full transparency and full access. At the same time we are insisting on our full rights,” he said (Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson, Knight Ridder/Bradenton Herald, Oct. 21). Iran yesterday offered the European powers a compromise plan to resolve the standoff, Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh said, according to the Associated Press. “We have submitted proposals to the Europeans. Now we are waiting for their reaction to our plan,” Aghazadeh said, without providing details of the proposal (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press/The Herald, Oct. 20). New estimates by foreign policy officials and experts indicate that Iran could enrich significant amounts of uranium in less than a year, the Los Angeles Times reported. A pilot plant in the central city of Natanz could be expanded from the existing 164 centrifuges to 1,000 within weeks and, in less than a year, produce sufficient highly enriched uranium for a crude nuclear device, according to two senior European diplomats. “They need to install more centrifuges and do preparatory work, and they could be in production in shorter than a year,” said one diplomat. For now, the International Atomic Energy Agency is monitoring preparations at Natanz, which is part of a complex where an underground enrichment facility for as many as 50,000 centrifuges is being built, according to the Times. The agency is also monitoring a plant in the city of Isfahan used to produce uranium hexafluoride gas. Once the two plants are operational, Iran could transfer operations to unknown locations or expel IAEA inspectors, according to Western diplomats. There is no evidence that Iran has a hidden plant, but experts have said 1,000 centrifuges could operate in a small building virtually undetectable by satellite. Even officials willing to give Iran the benefit of the doubt have said Tehran’s record of misleading the agency means verification would be a long-term project or even impossible, according to the Times. “When people have looked you literally in the eye across the table and told you this is black and it turns out to be white, your confidence in them is damaged,” said a third senior European diplomat. U.S. accusations that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons have gained acceptance in recent months, despite the lack of clear evidence, because concerns about Iran are the result of information uncovered by IAEA inspectors and not based solely on U.S intelligence, according to the Times. “Evidence gathered by the IAEA makes a circumstantial case that is much stronger than the case that Iraq was restarting its nuclear program,” said George Perkovich, a proliferation expert at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “The only thing missing in Iran is a weapons design.” Estimates differ on when Iran might be able to produce a nuclear weapon. U.S. intelligence reports have indicated that it would take at least three more years, and a leaked Israeli analysis has said Iran could assemble a weapon by 2007. “The truth is that nobody knows for sure,” said a Western intelligence official who monitors Iran. “But this is getting close to the end game” (Douglas Frantz, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 21). Back to top       North Korean, U.S. Officials Reportedly Meet; Prospects for Talks ‘Gloomy,’ Pyongyang Says U.S. and North Korean officials met in New York this week, as six-party talks aimed at resolving the standoff over Pyongyang’s nuclear work remain stalled, the Yonhap news agency reported (see GSN, Oct. 20). Kim Myong Gil, an official in the Disarmament and Peace Institute affiliated with the North Korean Foreign Ministry, met with U.S. officials, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. The two sides probably discussed the nuclear issue, according to Nihon Keizai (Yonhap, Oct. 21). Meanwhile, North Korea today designated the chances for a fourth round of multilateral talks as “gloomy,” the Associated Press reported. “It was agreed at the third round of the six-party talks to hold the fourth round of the talks in September. But its prospect remains gloomy,” said North Korea’s official news agency. The statement was released on the 10th anniversary of the 1994 Agreed Framework deal in which North Korea agreed to freeze its nuclear program in return for energy aid from the United States, AP reported. U.S. officials in 2002 charged that North Korea was operating a secret nuclear program; the deal collapsed and North Korea pulled out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Oct. 21). Elsewhere, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, scheduled to depart tomorrow for a trip to Japan, China and South Korea, denied that internal disagreement within the Bush administration had interfered with effective handling of the North Korea nuclear issue, Agence France-Presse reported. Powell described the various perspectives within the administration as, “Those who want to put more pressure, those who want to put less pressure, those who want to negotiate, those who don't want to negotiate within the six-party framework.” U.S. President George W. Bush remains committed to resolving the standoff diplomatically, Powell told the Far Eastern Economic Review. “All I know is what the president has decided and he’s the only one I’d listen to,” Powell said. Washington has refused bilateral talks with Pyongyang and rebuffed demands for economic rewards in exchange for giving up its nuclear ambitions (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Oct. 20). Democratic presidential hopeful Senator John Kerry (Mass.) said yesterday that if elected he would engage in bilateral talks with North Korea on its nuclear program, AFP reported. He said Bush allowed North Korea the opportunity to develop more nuclear weapons in addition to the two some experts believe Pyongyang had manufactured by the time Bush took office. “That means that North Korea ... a country that will sell anything to anyone, can sell nuclear weapons and still hold an arsenal in reserve,” said Kerry. “I will work with our allies to get the six-party talks back on track. And I will talk directly to the North Koreans, as our South Korean, Chinese and Russian partners have requested us to do,” he added (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Oct. 20). Back to top       IAEA, Brazil Could Soon Reach Agreement on Inspections at Resende Uranium Enrichment Plant Brazil and the International Atomic Energy Agency could reach a deal within 30 days on conducting inspections at the country’s new uranium enrichment plant, Brazilian officials said yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 20). The U.N. agency and Brazil have been in dispute for almost a year regarding the level of access agency inspectors would be given to the centrifuges at the Resende plant. An IAEA team visited the site yesterday to evaluate a Brazilian proposal to allow inspectors to have a limited view of the centrifuges in order to protect trade secrets. “The Brazilian government is being constructive in trying to find an appropriate solution,” said IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming. “The inspectors will be returning to headquarters with their report and assessment to be analyzed before a final decision is reached.” A spokeswoman at the Brazilian Science and Technology Ministry said, “Within 30 days we may have the conclusion” (Andrei Khalip, Reuters, Oct. 20). Back to top

Germany to Spend $1.25 Billion on Missile Defense Germany is expected to spend $1.25 billion over the next eight years in its joint effort with the United States and Italy to develop a ground-to-air missile defense system, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, Sept. 29). Germany is set to order between 12 and 24 Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) units, which have a range of about 1,000 kilometers for shooting down missiles or aircraft, German lawmaker Hans-Peter Bartels of the governing Social Democrats told the Berliner Zeitung newspaper. MEADS is expected to replace the Patriot missile interceptor system in the United States and Germany and the Nike Hercules system in Italy, according to AFP. Lockheed Martin, the European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co., MBDA-Italia and Lenkflugkorpersysteme are developing the system, AFP reported. The United States is paying 58 percent of the project costs, with Germany and Italy respectively contributing 25 and 17 percent, according to Lockheed Martin (Agence France-Presse, Oct. 21). Back to top       Russia Expresses Concern Over Reports of U.S.-British Missile Defense Cooperation Russia is concerned about reports that the United States might deploy missile interceptors in the United Kingdom, ITAR-Tass reported yesterday (see GSN, Oct. 18). “We do not have any official information about this at our disposal,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “But if such a joint decision between the U.S.A. and Britain took place, then it would be a new alarming step in the escalation of U.S. antiballistic-missile defense expansion.” The ministry said that deployment of U.S. missile defense systems, such as radars and interceptors, outside of the United States “could represent a threat to Russia’s nuclear deterrent potential.” “The Americans have assured us that the creation of U.S. antiballistic missile defense along with their foreign bases is not directed at Russia,” the ministry said. “However, we have not yet received an answer to our question on how this pledge can be insured and guaranteed” (ITAR-Tass/BBC Worldwide Monitoring, Oct. 20). Back to top

Russia to Scrap Nuclear Submarine Russia has moved a decommissioned nuclear submarine to a shipyard in Severodvinsk to be scrapped, ITAR-Tass reported yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 24). Canada is providing funding for the scrapping of the submarine through the Group of Eight Global Partnership, which provides nonproliferation funding for projects primarily in Russia. Russia is expected to scrap 18 nuclear submarines this year, of which 13 will be eliminated using Russian funds, ITAR-Tass reported (ITAR-Tass, Oct. 20).     Back to top

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