Family members of several detained Pakistani scientists today attended a hearing in the city of Rawalpindi (AFP photo/Farooq Naeem). Pakistan Promises to Punish Scientists Involved in Nuclear Proliferation Pakistan yesterday appeared to confirm that some Pakistani nuclear scientists had engaged in proliferation activities, and promised to punish those involved, according to the London Independent (see GSN, Jan. 26)...Full Story

Bush Administration Defends Iraq War Following Kay Criticisms The Bush administration yesterday continued to defend the U.S. invasion of Iraq, despite recent criticism by former chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq David Kay of prewar assessments of Iraq’s WMD programs, according to reports (see GSN, Jan. 26)...Full Story

Libya Promises Full Cooperation in WMD Dismantlement Libya has promised to provide “full transparency and cooperation” to U.S. and British experts currently there to dismantle WMD programs, the London Times reported today (see GSN, Jan. 26)...Full Story

	Tuesday, January 27, 2004

Bush Administration Defends Iraq War Following Kay Criticisms The Bush administration yesterday continued to defend the U.S. invasion of Iraq, despite recent criticism by former chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq David Kay of prewar assessments of Iraq’s WMD programs, according to reports (see GSN, Jan. 26). White House press secretary Scott McClellan said yesterday that the Bush administration would reserve judgment on U.S. prewar intelligence on Iraq until the Iraq Survey Group completed its search for evidence of Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. “It is important to compare the intelligence before the war with what we learn on the ground through the Iraq Survey Group,” McClellan. “The first step is to let the Iraqi Survey Group finish their work so the intelligence community can have as complete a picture as possible,” he added (U.S. State Department release, Jan. 26). When asked if the Bush administration still believed that WMD stockpiles would be discovered, McClellan said, “I think it was the judgment of intelligence agencies around the world, as well as the United Nations Special Commission on Iraq, that there were large, unaccounted-for stockpiles.” Whatever the Iraq Survey Group’s conclusions, McClellan said, the U.S. invasion of Iraq was justified because of the intent of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein to develop weapons of mass destruction. We know he had the intention, we know he had the capability,” McClellan said. “And, given his history and given the events of Sept. 11, we could not afford to rely on the good intentions of Saddam Hussein,” he said (James Risen, New York Times, Jan. 27). Vice President Dick Cheney refused for a second day in a row yesterday to answer questions by reporters about U.S. prewar intelligence, according to the Washington Post (Mike Allen, Washington Post, Jan. 27). Attorney General John Ashcroft, though, also defended the invasion of Iraq yesterday based on the “continued” threat posed by Hussein. “Weapons of mass destruction, including evil chemistry and evil biology, are all matters of great concern, not only to the United States but also to the world community. They were the subject of U.N. resolutions,” Ashcroft said. “I believe there is a very clear understanding that Saddam Hussein continued to pose a threat,” he said (William Kole, Associated Press/Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 27). Aides to President George W. Bush have indicated that the White House is preparing to acknowledge it was mistaken about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction if none are found within the next few months, the Washington Post reported. Other Bush administration officials said, though, that they would not make such a decision until Charles Duelfer, Kay’s replacement, submits his final report (Allen, Washington Post). Intelligence Review In the U.S. Congress, Democratic lawmakers have begun using Kay’s criticisms of the U.S. intelligence community to call for a more aggressive inquiry into the handling of prewar intelligence on Iraq, according to the New York Times. Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) said that Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) was trying to limit the scope of his panel’s inquiry. “Unfortunately, it appears neither the administration nor the chairman of the Senate intelligence committee shares this view” of the need for a vigorous investigation, Daschle said. According to the Times, the Senate intelligence committee has prepared a report critical of the CIA’s handling of prewar intelligence, and is waiting for testimony from CIA Director George Tenet before completing its inquiry. Tenet is scheduled to testify before the committee March 4, a congressional official said (Risen, New York Times). A senior U.S. intelligence official said yesterday that Kay’s criticisms were for the most part correct. “With the caveat that the search for weapons is still going on and that it’s not over yet, it would be kind of hard to argue with the substance of what David Kay is saying,” the intelligence official said. Even so, there is anger within the U.S. intelligence community about Kay’s decision to make his criticisms public, the intelligence official said. The official said that there is suspicion that Kay’s criticisms were intended to deflect blame from the White House. “There is the view that Kay did seem to be leaning over backwards not to make trouble for the administration. I am not sure what his unstated agenda is. He is basically apolitical, and I respect him, but I don’t know what’s going through his mind,” the intelligence official said (Financial Times, Jan. 26). British Intelligence Meanwhile, an Iraqi exile group that has claimed to be the source for a claim made in a British dossier on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction that Iraq could deploy biological and chemical weapons within 45 minutes has said the claim might have been wrong, according to Agence France Presse (see GSN, Dec. 8). The disputed “45-minute” claim was taken from raw information provided by only one source, and was part of a large amount of information provided to British intelligence, said Nick Theros, a U.S.-based representative of the Iraqi National Accord. “We were passing it on in good faith. It was for intelligence services to verify it,” he said (Agence France-Presse/Khaleej Times, Jan. 27). Back to top       Libya Promises Full Cooperation in WMD Dismantlement Libya has promised to provide “full transparency and cooperation” to U.S. and British experts currently there to dismantle WMD programs, the London Times reported today (see GSN, Jan. 26). The pledge was made by Libyan Minister Responsible for Services Affairs Matoug Matoug, who heads Libya’s WMD programs, according to the Times. “We want to remove any suspicions that the U.S. and the U.K. have,” Matoug said. “We don’t have anything to hide. We are here today, tomorrow, anytime, to answer any questions you may have for us,” he said. His remarks were made to one of two U.S. congressional delegations in Tripoli that met with Libyan leader Muammar Qadhafi yesterday. Compensation Meanwhile, Qadhafi’s son, Saif al-Islam Qadhafi, has said that Libya has been promised financial compensation for any WMD-related equipment removed from the country, along with assistance to develop a civilian scientific infrastructure (Richard Beeston, London Times, Jan. 27). In addition, the United States may develop a program to fund the disposal of Libya’s nuclear and chemical programs similar to the Cooperative Threat Reduction program, through which the United States funds WMD disposal efforts in the former Soviet Union, U.S. Representative Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) said yesterday. Weldon and a delegation of U.S. lawmakers arrived in Tripoli over the weekend. According to the London Guardian, he told Matoug “we would be interested in a similar program in Libya, with American dollars to help you dismantle your weapons program” (Brian Whitaker, London Guardian, Jan. 27). Representative Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), who headed a second delegation of U.S. lawmakers that visited Libya over the weekend, said yesterday that he would work with the White House and the U.S. State Department on a plan that would ultimately result in the full resumption of diplomatic relations, according to the Washington Post. “I am very hopeful and optimistic that this truly historic change will come to fruition, probably in less than a year, allowing the two countries to re-establish embassies in their respective capitals,” Lantos said in a telephone interview from Amsterdam after leaving Tripoli. Lantos said that, once he returned to the United States, he would recommend an immediate end to the U.S. ban on travel to Libya. He said that the next step would be to develop a joint counterterrorism strategy, which would help Libya get off the U.S. list of terrorism-sponsoring countries. “They clearly have to — in some form acceptable to the U.S. — develop a working document on jointly fighting terrorism. Qadhafi’s very much interested in fighting terrorism,” Lantos said (Robin Wright, Washington Post, Jan. 27). Motivation In an interview with the Financial Times over the weekend, Libyan Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem explained Libya’s reasons for agreeing to disclose and dismantle its WMD efforts, citing economic and security concerns. “Countries think about things for a long time. For a small country like Libya, with limited resources and big power opponents, your thinking is to defend yourself by all means, especially when a country like Israel has all these weapons,” Ghanem said. “But then you find out that they’re eating all your money. … So economically it’s not wise to develop it. Guns are costing you more every day and you find out that in this international atmosphere, this is taken against you. So economically and politically it becomes a burden,” he said. Ghanem also said that Libya determined that weapons of mass destruction would not even be militarily useful. “Then you find out you can’t use these weapons. Even the U.S. used them only once, so it doesn’t make any sense. It gives you a false sense of power,” he said. “And there are internal problems of how to guard them — if someone steals them or misuses them. They make you even more crippled.  Logically they are not useful,” Ghanem added (Financial Times, Jan. 27). Back to top       U.S. Action Halted Al-Qaeda WMD Effort in Afghanistan, Officials Say U.S. and Malaysian security officials have said that an al-Qaeda program to develop chemical and biological weapons was in its “conceptual stages” when it was disrupted by the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 18, 2003). The biological and chemical weapons program was based in the Afghan city of Kandahar and was believed to have been operated by Yazid Sufaat, a former Malaysian army captain, and led by Riduan Isamuddin, or Hambali, who is suspected of heading al-Qaeda operations in Southeast Asia, officials said. Both men have been arrested, with Sufaat in Malaysian custody and Isamuddin in U.S. custody, AP reported. Isamuddin has provided U.S. interrogators with some information on the aborted WMD program, but Sufaat is believed to know more detail, according to AP. So far, U.S. officials have only made informal attempts to question Sufaat, a Malaysian official said. Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said that Malaysian was “willing to consider” any U.S. request to question Sufaat (Associated Press/USA Today, Jan. 27).   Back to top

Pakistan Promises to Punish Scientists Involved in Nuclear Proliferation Pakistan yesterday appeared to confirm that some Pakistani nuclear scientists had engaged in proliferation activities, and promised to punish those involved, according to the London Independent (see GSN, Jan. 26). “One or two people acted in an irresponsible manner for personal profit. Money is involved in the matter,” Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed said, refusing to name those scientists involved. Ahmed said three scientists and four security officials remained in detention yesterday, and earlier reports have identified one of those scientists as Mohammed Farooq, the former director of Pakistan’s main nuclear laboratory (Matthew Pennington, London Independent, Jan. 27). Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf yesterday promised to punish those scientists who had aided other countries’ nuclear efforts, labeling them “enemies of the state.” “We will punish them,” Musharraf said. “We are going to be very harsh with them,” he added (Anton La Guardia, London Telegraph, Jan. 27). Meanwhile, the former head of the Pakistani Army said today that he had never approved any transfer of nuclear information, according to the New York Times. “I was never confronted with any such situation,” said retired Gen. Mirza Aslam Beg (see GSN, Jan. 21). Beg, who as head of the army from 1988 to 1991 also oversaw Pakistan’s nuclear program, is believed to have knowledge of what, if any, nuclear-related transfers occurred, according to the Times. Pakistani authorities, however, have not questioned Beg, and the general said they were unlikely to do so in the future. “They would not dare. They would not dare,” Beg said (David Rohde, New York Times, Jan. 27). Back to top       China Seeks to Join Nuclear Suppliers Group China yesterday filed a formal application to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a 40-member organization that establishes export control regulations for nuclear trade, according to the Xinhua News Agency (see GSN, July 28, 2003). The application was filed to current NSG President Cho Chang-beom of South Korea by Zhang Yan, China’s permanent representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna. Zhang also notified International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei about China’s application (Xinhua News Agency, Jan. 27). Back to top       Security Teams at U.S. Nuclear Weapons Facility Cheated During Exercises, Investigators Charge U.S. Energy Department investigators revealed yesterday that security exercises at a U.S. nuclear weapons facility in Tennessee were repeatedly undermined when plant security forces received advance information about the plans of mock attacking forces. The findings raise doubts about the credibility of security team performance assessments from the last 20 years, according to Energy Daily (see GSN, Jan. 20). The exercises were conducted at the Y-12 facility, which houses nuclear weapons components and weapon-grade uranium, and were designed to test the ability of security forces to repel terrorist attacks (see GSN, Jan. 16). “Several current and former protective force personnel provided us with compelling testimony that there had been a pattern of actions by site security personnel going back to the mid-1980s that may have negatively affected the reliability of site (security) performance testing,” said Energy Department Inspector General Gregory Friedman in a report sent Friday to Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham and released yesterday. Friedman began his investigation after Y-12 security teams achieved suspiciously surprising success against mock attacks during exercises held June 26, 2003. The teams repelled attacks in each of four scenarios they faced when they were only expected to succeed in two of the scenarios. Friedman later learned that the security teams had been provided in advance with details of the mock attacks, such as which site building would be attacked, whether a diversionary tactic would be used and what specific target the attackers were seeking. The investigation also revealed a long-standing pattern of cheating by security personnel during exercises, including: deploying additional personnel on security exercise days; tampering with specialized clothing worn during drills to indicate whether the wearer had been “shot;” monitoring attack team testers as they visited Y-12 in preparation for their mock attacks; and prepositioning trucks or other equipment in tactically useful places to provide cover during the attacks. Officials at the National Nuclear Security Administration, which oversees all U.S. nuclear weapons facilities, said they accepted Friedman’s findings and were implementing remedial measures. “If such testing were in any way compromised so as to skew the quality of information we have about our ability to protect, the results could have extremely significant effects in a way which is entirely unacceptable. We will take all appropriate steps to ensure that is not the case,” said Michael Kane, NNSA’s associate administrator for management and information, in a response to a draft version of Friedman’s report (George Lobsenz, Energy Daily, Jan. 27). Back to top       India, Pakistan to Hold Talks Beginning Feb. 16 India and Pakistan are scheduled to hold three days of talks in Islamabad starting Feb. 16, as part of a planned peace dialogue between the nuclear rivals that was announced earlier this month, officials said today (see GSN, Jan. 21). According to an Indian External Affairs Ministry spokesman, the first two days of the talks will be at the “joint secretary level.” The third day will involve a meeting of the Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries, the spokesman said. The details of the talks were confirmed in separate remarks by a Pakistani Foreign Ministry spokesman (BBC News, Jan. 27). Back to top

Anthrax Attack “Person of Interest” Presses Forward With Legal Battle A U.S. federal judge indicated yesterday that he was inclined to allow the subject of an FBI investigation into the 2001 anthrax attacks to proceed with his lawsuit against the United States, despite U.S. efforts to delay the case until the investigation is completed. Former U.S. Army biologist Steven Hatfill, who was identified by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft as a “person of interest” to the FBI’s anthrax investigators, filed suit last year against the Justice Department for violating his constitutional rights (see GSN, Dec. 3, 2003). U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton appeared to be sympathetic yesterday during a hearing on a federal motion to delay Hatfill’s suit claiming that government leaks about the anthrax investigation have ruined his career. “I totally understand how his life has been, at least at this point, virtually destroyed,” Walton said. The judge also said that the Justice Department has so far been unable to persuade him to postpone Hatfill’s lawsuit until the anthrax investigation is completed. “Is Mr. Hatfill still a suspect?” Walton asked. “Are there any suspects?  At some point, it seems to me, if Mr. Hatfill did not commit this crime, he should get his life back,” Walton added. Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Nagle told Watson that the Justice Department would provide an affidavit of secret additional information on the anthrax investigation to justify the continued delay of Hatfill’s lawsuit, according to the Sun. Watson said that after he reviewed the department’s affidavit and additional information provide by Hatfill’s attorney, he would either issue a ruling on the Justice Department’s request to freeze the lawsuit or hold an additional hearing Feb. 6 (Scott Shane, Baltimore Sun, Jan. 27). Back to top

U.S. Missile Defense Test Declared Successful The United States conducted a successful test of its primary missile defense booster rocket yesterday, launching a rocket, developed by Orbital Sciences Corp., from the U.S. test facility on Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. Yesterday’s test did not include an attempt to intercept a target (see GSN, Jan. 23). Two defense contractors are developing booster rockets to compete for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense program, a limited missile defense system scheduled to be deployed later this year. The Missile Defense Agency has chosen to use Orbital boosters in the first set of missile interceptors because of delays to the competing version under development by Lockheed Martin (see GSN, Nov. 10, 2003). In yesterday’s test, the Orbital booster carried a mock kill vehicle for the first time, and Orbital officials said that initial results suggested the test achieved its goals, listed as demonstrating silo-launch capabilities, carrying a kill vehicle and confirming guidance and propulsion systems (Orbital release, Jan. 27).   Back to top

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