Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi, shown at the United Nations last year, has said that recent nuclear discoveries in Iran do not indicate nuclear weapon ambitions (AFP Photo/Timothy Clary). IAEA Inspectors Find Centrifuge Equipment at Iranian Air Base International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors have found a gas centrifuge system, designed to enrich uranium, at an Iranian air force base outside Tehran, USA Today reported today (see GSN, Feb. 18). A source knowledgeable of the discovery said Iran had constructed and tested the system at the air base, but there was no indication that any uranium had been inserted or enriched. The discovery of centrifuge components at a military site appears to discredit Iranian claims that its nuclear research is for peaceful purposes only, USA Today reported (Slavin/Diamond, USA Today, Feb. 19)...Full Story

North Korea May Be Willing to Discuss Uranium Enrichment Program Dispute at Talks North Korea has reportedly expressed a willingness to discuss the dispute over whether it possesses a uranium enrichment program during multilateral talks to be held in Beijing beginning next week, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, Feb. 18)...Full Story

Bush Administration Ignores Scientific Advisers, Nobel Laureates Say A group of scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates, issued a statement yesterday claiming that the Bush administration has ignored or rejected the views of U.S. scientists on a wide range of topics, including international security issues...Full Story

	Thursday, February 19, 2004

U.S. Will Keep Firms’ Infrastructure Data Secret The U.S. Homeland Security Department will begin implementing new rules tomorrow intended to encourage private industries that comprise the national infrastructure to share information about their possible vulnerability to terrorist attack, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, Dec. 18, 2003). Beginning tomorrow, companies from such critical infrastructure sectors as the chemical, railroad and utility industries will be able to submit terrorist vulnerability assessments to the federal government with the assurances that their data will not be publicly disclosed, according to the Post. “The government agreed that ‘we’ll keep secret this information you give to Homeland Security, and we won’t do anything with it,’” except to use it for efforts to combat potential terrorism, said Sean Moulton, a senior policy analyst with OMB Watch, a nonprofit group that opposes government secrecy. Moulton expressed concern, however, that companies would use the rules to evade federal regulations. “It’s naive to think we won’t have bad actors in the industry” misusing the protections, he said. Robert Liscouski, the department’s chief of infrastructure protection, said that companies can be charged with felonies if they mislead the department into believing that the information they provide is not related to any enforcement matters within other agencies. U.S. officials found soon after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that many industries were reluctant to share information because of concern that the data could be unearthed by outsiders using the Freedom of Information Act. U.S. officials have no power under the Homeland Security Act to compel companies to provide data about security gaps, so any corporate cooperation would be voluntary. Liscouski said that the motivation for companies providing information is “doing public good in protecting the country.” Other officials added that it is critical that the government synchronize anti-terrorism efforts with private industry (John Mintz, Washington Post, Feb. 19). Back to top

Bush Administration Ignores Scientific Advisers, Nobel Laureates Say A group of scientists, including 20 Nobel laureates, issued a statement yesterday claiming that the Bush administration has ignored or rejected the views of U.S. scientists on a wide range of topics, including international security issues. “The administration has sometimes misrepresented scientific knowledge and misled the public about the implications of its policies,” the statement says (Union of Concerned Scientists release, Feb. 18). In a 38-page report supporting the scientists’ statement, the Union of Concerned Scientists specifically accused the administration of disregarding the views of U.S. scientists when claiming last year that aluminum tubes found in Iraq were intended for use in an illicit Iraqi uranium enrichment effort (see GSN, Sept. 30, 2003). The report says that nuclear experts from Oak Ridge, Livermore and Los Alamos national laboratories believed the tubes were meant to be used for conventional weapons, but this assessment was ignored to enable top U.S. officials to persist with the nuclear claim. In addition, the report criticizes the administration for disbanding scientific advisory panels at the Energy and State departments (Union of Concerned Scientists release II, Feb. 18). Administration officials defended their use of scientific advisers and said the report failed to indicate that the administration had systematically suppressed scientific advice. “I think there are incidents where people have got their feathers ruffled,” said John Marburger, director of the White House Office of Science and Technology and Policy, “but I don’t think they add up to a big pattern of disrespect” (James Glanz, New York Times, Feb. 19). Back to top

IAEA Inspectors Find Centrifuge Equipment at Iranian Air Base International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors have found a gas centrifuge system, designed to enrich uranium, at an Iranian air force base outside Tehran, USA Today reported today (see GSN, Feb. 18). A source knowledgeable of the discovery said Iran had constructed and tested the system at the air base, but there was no indication that any uranium had been inserted or enriched. The discovery of centrifuge components at a military site appears to discredit Iranian claims that its nuclear research is for peaceful purposes only, USA Today reported (Slavin/Diamond, USA Today, Feb. 19). Diplomats said the centrifuge parts found at the air base were compatible with the P-2 centrifuge, a more advanced centrifuge than Iran has acknowledged researching (BBC News, Feb. 19) The discovery will be included in a report to be presented next month at a meeting of the IAEA’s Board of Governors, said sources familiar with the inspection report. The report will also say that the centrifuge discovered at the air base is not of a type that can be used at the nuclear sites Iran has previously declared (CNN.com, Feb. 19). Iran today, though, denied that it was conducting nuclear activities at a military site, according to Reuters. “Iran’s nuclear activities are entirely peaceful and Iran has not had and nor does it have military nuclear activities,” the Iranian Foreign Ministry said (Reuters/CNN.com, Feb. 19). Back to top       North Korea May Be Willing to Discuss Uranium Enrichment Program Dispute at Talks North Korea has reportedly expressed a willingness to discuss the dispute over whether it possesses a uranium enrichment program during multilateral talks to be held in Beijing beginning next week, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, Feb. 18). After talks with North Korea in October 2002, the United States said Pyongyang had admitted possessing a uranium enrichment program along with its already acknowledged plutonium-based nuclear activities. North Korea, however, has publicly denied possessing a uranium enrichment program. A top South Korean official told the Yonhap news agency that North Korea had expressed a willingness to discuss the issue during the next round of multinational talks on North Korea’s nuclear weapons efforts, scheduled to begin Wednesday in Beijing. “I am aware that North Korea has expressed its willingness through a third country to discuss the issue of HEU (highly enriched uranium) with the United States,” the official said. “There are signs of changing in North Korea’s position,” the official added (Agence France-Presse/Channel News Asia, Feb. 19). The official also said North Korea did not admit to possessing a uranium enrichment program, according to the Associated Press. Officials at the South Korean Foreign Ministry and presidential office were unable to confirm the Yonhap report, AP reported. U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said yesterday that North Korea’s continued denial of a uranium enrichment program could derail next week’s talks. “I think North Korea’s unwillingness to discuss the uranium enrichment program could subvert President [George W.] Bush’s determination for a peaceful, diplomatic resolution of the North Korean issue,” Bolton said (Christopher Torchia, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Feb. 18). Back to top       U.S. Urges Tighter Export Controls as Alleged Nuclear Middleman Goes Missing in Malaysia U.S. officials today urged Malaysia to increase export controls, just as a businessman suspected of supplying nuclear components to Libya went missing from Kuala Lumpur (see GSN, Feb. 17; Agence France-Presse/al-Jazeera, Feb. 19). President George W. Bush in a speech last week called Buhari Sayed Abu Tahir, a Sri Lankan businessman living in Malaysia, the “chief financial officer and money launderer” of a nuclear smuggling operation headed by the Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. According to the Associated Press, Tahir sat on the board of a company owned by the Malaysian prime minister’s only son, Kamaluddin Abdullah (Rohan Sullivan and Patrick McDowell, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Feb 18). According to the New York Times, the company has been accused of providing Iran, North Korea and Libya with technology for making atom bombs. Tahir had been under close surveillance by the Malaysian government prior to his disappearance today (Raymond Bonner, New York Times, Feb. 18). In Beijing on Monday, Undersecretary of State John Bolton clarified remarks by President Bush, saying that Bush had not implied that the Malaysian government was involved in shipping centrifuge parts to Libya for its uranium-enrichment program (Agence France-Presse, Feb. 18). Bolton appeared to accept the explanation of the company involved, Scomi Precision Engineering, saying, “perfectly reputable companies” could manufacture “these devices and not have any idea what they’re ultimately being bound for.” U.S. officials today urged Malaysia and other countries to tighten their export control systems to keep unwitting companies from being used. “In keeping with its commitment to nonproliferation, we are encouraging Malaysia to take the steps necessary to bring its export control system in line with international standards, in hopes of preventing future proliferation activities,” U.S. Embassy spokesman Frank Whitaker said (Patrick McDowell, Associated Press/Kansas City Star, Feb. 19). Back to top       India, Pakistan Plan Nuclear Confidence-Building Talks in May India and Pakistan plan to hold expert-level talks in May on nuclear confidence-building measures as part of a planned series of peace talks agreed to yesterday (see GSN, Feb. 18). The Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries yesterday finished three days of talks in Islamabad. A joint statement released afterward by the nuclear rivals outlined a planned series of peace talks that culminates in a summit to be held in August between Indian External Affairs Minister Yashwant Sinha and Pakistani Foreign Minister Khursheed Kasuri. Over the next few months, according to the joint statement, India and Pakistan will hold several technical-level meetings on a number of issues, including talks on nuclear confidence-building measures in the latter half of May. Also in May, the Indian and Pakistani foreign secretaries are scheduled to meet for talks on “peace and security” issues including confidence-building measures and the disputed region of Kashmir (Indian External Affairs Ministry release, Feb. 18). Back to top       European Nuclear Firm Appears to Be Origin of Nuclear Network The European consortium Uranium Enrichment Company (Urenco) appears to be the origin of the international nuclear network recently exposed by the reported confession of top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, Feb. 17). Urenco was established in 1970 by Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to ensure that their nuclear power industries would have a fuel source independent of the United States. According to documents and experts, though, security at the firm was poor. For example, Khan, who worked for a Urenco subcontractor in the early and mid-1970s, was given access to advanced uranium enrichment centrifuge designs, even though Pakistan was already known at the time to be seeking nuclear weapons, the Times reported. In 1975, Khan left Urenco and returned to Pakistan, bringing with him centrifuge designs and supplier lists, according to the Times. U.S. intelligence agencies predicted he would begin seeking the necessary items to build centrifuges for Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program, and soon after, they detected that Khan was obtaining equipment from Urenco’s network of suppliers, the Times reported. The investigation into the international nuclear network confessed to by Khan has found a number of suppliers and middlemen who are involved in Europe’s uranium enrichment industry, with some having been convicted of illegal exports previously, the Times reported. In addition to having played a key role in Pakistan’s development of nuclear weapons, there are also indications that Urenco was a source of nuclear weapons technology for other countries, the Times reported. German intelligence determined that Iraq, as well as possibly Iran and North Korea, had obtained expertise in uranium melting stolen from Urenco in 1984, the Times reported (Craig Smith, New York Times, Feb. 19). Back to top       Putin Announces New Strategic Weapon Development Plans Russian President Vladimir Putin yesterday announced plans to develop new strategic weapons systems and a possible effort to develop a Russian missile defense system, according to the Associated Press (see GSN, Feb. 18). The planned weapons will be "capable of hitting targets continents away at hypersonic speed, with high precision and the ability of broad maneuver both in terms of altitude and direction of their flight," Putin said. Some military analysts said Putin's announcement could be a sign of Russian intentions to revive Soviet-era plans to develop a maneuverable warhead. While such a system would be harder for missile defense systems to intercept, the warhead's accuracy would be greatly reduced, according to experts (Vladimir Isachenkov, Associated Press/Casper Star-Tribune, Feb. 19). On Monday, Aviation Week & Space Technology reported that Russia had conducted a second successful test of a new warhead for the SS-27 Topol ICBM. The warhead is reportedly powered by a supersonic combustion ramjet, according to Aviation Week (Aviation Week & Space Technology, Feb. 16). Arms Control Association Executive Director Daryl Kimball said Putin's announcement signals a Russian intent to continue to engage in a post-Cold War arms race with the United States. "This illustrates that the U.S. and Russia both continue to develop ever more modern and deadly ballistic missile systems, and the Cold War continues, despite the friendly words from Putin and despite the so-called arms-reduction treaty which they agreed to last year," Kimball said, referring to the U.S.-Russian Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times, Feb. 19). Putin's announcement came after two failed missile launches conducted during a massive Russian strategic forces military exercise currently being held, according to the Associated Press. Yesterday, the Russian military successfully tested a Topol ICBM from the Plesetsk cosmodrome in northern Russia and an SS-18 ICBM from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan  In his remarks yesterday, Putin dismissed the two failed launches. "We have not had such exercises for almost 20 years," he said. "Naturally, in the course of such exercises there are minuses and pluses ... and those minuses will be detected and clearly we'll be drawing conclusions. It is only for the better," Putin added (Isachenkov, Associated Press). Meanwhile, the Russian Navy is preparing to receive new submarines armed with new missiles, Gen. Yuri Baluyevsky, first deputy chief of the General Staff of the Russian military, said today. He also said that Russia would continue to place a high priority on the development of its submarine forces (Interfax/BBC Monitoring, Feb. 19). Back to top

British Scientists Develop Bubonic Plague Vaccine A vaccine for the bubonic plague, the bacteria that caused millions to die from the “Black Death” during the Middle Ages, may be available within the year as the result of a breakthrough at a British Defense Ministry laboratory, according to the London Times (see GSN, April 3, 2002). Scientists at the laboratory have been working on a vaccine since the 1991 Gulf War when it became apparent that Iraq had been developing huge stocks of chemical and biological warfare agents, including bubonic plague. The head scientist on the British team, Rick Titball, said that several thousand test subjects would be needed for clinical trials, but that he expects no difficulty in finding enough volunteers “because we have already shown that this is a safe vaccine with no adverse side effects.” There is an existing vaccine in Australia, but Titball said it “was not particularly effective.” A similar American version was abandoned in 1999 (Michael Evans, London Times, Feb. 19). Back to top

U.S. Army Orders 159 PAC-3 Interceptors The U.S. Army has ordered more than 150 Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missile interceptors and related equipment, U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin announced today (see GSN, Dec. 11, 2003). Under a set of contracts worth a total of $505 million, Lockheed Martin will produce 159 PAC-3 interceptors, 22 of which are needed to replace those used during Operation Iraqi Freedom. In addition, the company will also produce PAC-3 related ground equipment, including six Enhanced Launcher Electronic Systems and nine Fire Solution Computers. The contracts call for all interceptors and related equipment to be delivered to the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command by 2006 (Lockheed Martin release, Feb. 19). Back to top       Japan to Test Missile Defense Radar, Purchase PAC-3 System From U.S. Japan’s Defense Agency will conduct tests in April of its newly developed radar for the country’s missile defense system. Japan began developing the new radar in 1999 when the country faced growing threats from North Korean ballistic missiles, according to Tokyo’s Daily Yomiuri (see GSN, Nov. 11, 2002). Japan also plans to purchase U.S.-made Patriot Advanced Capability 3 missile interceptors in the next fiscal year (Daily Yomiuri, Feb. 19). Back to top

Yucca Mountain Advisory Board Member Resigns A member of an independent board of experts that provides oversight for the U.S. Energy Department’s plan to construct a nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain in Nevada resigned last month in order to speak out more against the project, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Jan. 15). Paul Craig, a physicist and engineering professor at the University of California-Davis, resigned from the Nuclear Waste Technical Review Board. Yesterday, Davis said the Energy Department’s plans for the repository are flawed and could lead to the leakage of the radioactive waste to be stored there (see GSN, Nov. 3, 2003). “The science is very clear,” Craig said. “If we get high-temperature liquids, the metal would corrode and that would eventually lead to leakage of nuclear waste,” he said. Energy Department spokesman Allen Benson, however, defended the department’s plan for the Yucca Mountain repository, scheduled to begin operation in 2010. “We stand by our work,” he said yesterday (Scott Sonner, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Feb. 19).   Back to top

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