Libyan leader Col. Muammar Qadhafi’s regime will largely destroy its stockpile of chemical weapons either through incineration or neutralization, officials and experts said (AFP photo/Alexander Joe). Experts Say Much Work Needed To Finish Libyan Disarmament By Chris Schneidmiller Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Despite Libya’s quick re-emergence into the international community, years of work remain to confirm the country’s disarmament and dispose of its remaining WMD stockpiles, according to chemical and biological weaponry experts. Libya has shipped its nuclear technology to the United States, and claims it did not have a biological weapons program. But there is much work left in the area of chemical weapons. Libya submitted its Chemical Weapons Convention declaration this month, and pledged to destroy all parts of a chemical weapons program that was apparently shut down in the mid-1990s (see GSN, March 5). The country has already destroyed its stockpile of 3,563 unfilled aerial bombs developed to disperse chemical weapons, and said it has no filled munitions, according to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which oversees the convention...Full Story

Russian Officials, Experts, Dispute Al-Qaeda Nuclear Weapon Claim Russian officials and experts on Russia’s nuclear weapons dispute a recent claim by a Pakistani journalist that al-Qaeda has purchased former Soviet suitcase-size nuclear weapons, the San Francisco Chronicle reported today (see GSN, March 22)...Full Story

White House Strikes Back at Former Counterterrorism Adviser’s Criticism of Handling of Terrorist Threat By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The White House yesterday launched a multipronged attack on former White House “counterterrorism czar” Richard Clarke, who has recently criticized the Bush administration for its handling of the war on terrorism and for seeking nonexistent connections between prewar Iraq and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks (see GSN, March 22)...Full Story

	Tuesday, March 23, 2004

White House Strikes Back at Former Counterterrorism Adviser’s Criticism of Handling of Terrorist Threat By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The White House yesterday launched a multipronged attack on former White House “counterterrorism czar” Richard Clarke, who has recently criticized the Bush administration for its handling of the war on terrorism and for seeking nonexistent connections between prewar Iraq and the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks (see GSN, March 22). In an interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes broadcast on the eve of the release of his book Against All Enemies, Clarke accused the Bush administration of failing to adequately consider the threat posed by al-Qaeda after taking office. As an example, Clark said that he sent a memo in January 2001 to national security adviser Condoleezza Rice requesting a Cabinet-level meeting to discuss the al-Qaeda threat, but no meeting was held until April, and then only with deputy-level officials in various relevant departments. Clarke also described White House meetings held soon after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to determine an appropriate military response — meetings that Clarke said he had expected to focus on al-Qaeda and Afghanistan, but instead involved discussions on attacking Iraq. In addition, Clarke said that President George W. Bush personally directed him “in a very intimidating way” to examine whether former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein had any connections to the attacks. The White House launched an aggressive defensive yesterday, with Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney conducting several media interviews regarding the allegations. In a radio interview with conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh, Cheney criticized Clarke for failing to stop several al-Qaeda attacks against U.S. interests during the 1990s while working as a White House counterterrorism adviser during the Clinton administration. “He was here throughout those eight years, going back to 1993, and the first attack on the World Trade Center; and ‘98, when the embassies were hit in East Africa; in 2000, when the USS Cole was hit. And the question that ought to be asked is, what were they doing in those days when he was in charge of counterterrorism efforts?” Cheney said. The criticism of Clarke’s counterterrorism record continued yesterday on the floor of the U.S. Senate. “For him [Clarke] to have the gall or the nerve to start pointing a finger at President Bush saying he did not do enough in fighting the war on terrorism when Mr. Clarke was actually in a position to really do something for two or three years during the Clinton administration, I find unbelievable,” Senator Don Nickles (R-Okla.) said. While denying that the White House focused solely on Iraq as being responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks, Rice said yesterday that it had been a “logical question” to consider whether Hussein might have had some involvement. “It makes perfectly good sense that when you’re thinking about against whom are you going to retaliate, that you keep an open mind. And the president asked about Iraq.  It was a logical question, given our history with Iraq. But I can tell you … that when we got to Camp David on Sept. 15, it was a map of Afghanistan that was spread out on the table,” Rice said in an interview with CBS’ Early Show. In her appearances yesterday, Rice also responded to Clarke’s criticism of the administration’s response to his efforts to brief officials on the threat posed by al-Qaeda soon after the inauguration. At that time, she said, Clarke was told that such a briefing was not needed and was instead asked to provide proposals to attack al-Qaeda. Rice also said that several of Clarke’s proposals had been “tried by the Clinton administration.” “The key here was not to have a meeting. The key was to have a strategy.  We needed a broad and comprehensive strategy that would not roll back al-Qaeda, which had been the strategy of the past, but would eliminate al-Qaeda,” Rice told NBC’s Today. Personal, Political Reasons for Criticism, Administration Says In several instances yesterday, the White House also said there were personal biases behind Clarke’s criticisms. For example, White House press secretary Scott McClellan accused Clarke of criticizing the creation of the Homeland Security Department only after failing to obtain the deputy homeland security secretary position. “If someone is going to make these kind of serious allegations, it’s important to look back at his past comments and his past actions and compare that with what his current rhetoric is,” McClellan said. In his interview with Rush Limbaugh, Cheney also suggested Clarke might have personal reasons for criticizing Rice. “I’ve worked with a lot of them over the years. I suppose he may have a grudge to bear there since he wanted a more prominent position than she was prepared to give him,” Cheney said. McClellan yesterday also accused Clarke of having political motivations behind his criticisms, saying Clarke’s “best buddy” was Rand Beers, a foreign policy adviser to the presidential campaign of Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.) . “Why all of a sudden, if he had all these grave concerns, did he not raise these sooner? This is 1 1/2 years after he left the administration. And now all of a sudden he’s raising these grave concerns that he claims he had,” McClellan said. “And I think you have to look at some of the facts. One, he is bringing this up in the heat of a presidential campaign. He has written a book, and he certainly wants to go out there and promote that book,” McClellan added. White House Criticism Expected, Clarke Responds In an interview today with ABC’s Good Morning America, Clarke said he was not surprised by the criticism leveled at him by the White House. “They’ve got lots of people, on taxpayers’ dollars by the way, out refuting these charges. But they’re not really going after the main charge,” Clarke said. “They’re throwing lots of things up in the air — flak — to divert me, and to divert other people, to, you know, basically personal attacks. And I don’t think we should be involved in that sort of personal attack and trivia,” he added. Clarke also denied that personal or political reasons were behind his accusations. “I’m not doing this because I’m disgruntled. I’m doing this because I think the American people need to know the truth. And if someone else had told the truth, if the story had already been out there, I wouldn’t be doing this. But I think the American people, this year especially, need to know all the facts. That’s why I’m doing it,” he said. The White House’s quick and aggressive response to Clark may be indicative as to how serious the administration views his claims, according to Charles Pena, director of defense polices studies at the CATO Institute in Washington. Pena compared the reaction Clarke’s book received to the relatively milder response garnered earlier this year by a book written by former Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill, which also criticized the Bush administration for its focus on Iraq. Clarke’s book is “much more damning” than O’Neill’s, Pena said, because of Clarke’s former position as a top White House counterterrorism adviser (see GSN, Jan. 14). The White House, though, may also have felt that an aggressive response was needed to repudiate what it saw as false allegations, Pena told Global Security Newswire today. “If you are innocent, you are much more vocal about being innocent,” he said. Back to top

Experts Say Much Work Needed To Finish Libyan Disarmament By Chris Schneidmiller Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Despite Libya’s quick re-emergence into the international community, years of work remain to confirm the country’s disarmament and dispose of its remaining WMD stockpiles, according to chemical and biological weaponry experts. Libya has shipped its nuclear technology to the United States, and claims it did not have a biological weapons program. But there is much work left in the area of chemical weapons. Libya submitted its Chemical Weapons Convention declaration this month, and pledged to destroy all parts of a chemical weapons program that was apparently shut down in the mid-1990s (see GSN, March 5). The country has already destroyed its stockpile of 3,563 unfilled aerial bombs developed to disperse chemical weapons, and said it has no filled munitions, according to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which oversees the convention. Remaining to be dismantled or destroyed are a production facility, 23 metric tons of mustard agent and more than 1,300 metric tons of precursor chemicals for nerve gas development. The entire effort could take two years, but is not an overwhelmingly difficult challenge, said Paul Walker, director of the Legacy program at Global Green USA, an organization dedicated to eliminating weapons of mass destruction. “Twenty-three tons isn’t much,” Walker said of the mustard gas. “In the United States, you’re talking about thousands of tons, and in Russia many more thousands of tons,” he said. Libya submitted two options for destroying the mustard gas — incineration or neutralization, a U.S. government official said. The plans will be discussed this week at the OPCW executive council meeting. “Whatever technology you do use, they have to be chosen in such a way as to not harm the environment or people living near the plant,” said OPCW spokesman Peter Kaiser. Libya is expected to pay for the disposal, but can seek expertise and financial support from other convention member states, Kaiser said. Cost estimates will not be known until the method of destruction is known, the U.S. official said. Walker estimated building a secured incinerator could take two years and cost $100 million, based on known costs for larger facilities in the United States. A neutralization center could be built in half that time and for $10 million to $50 million, he said, making it the most likely option for Libya. Neutralization could be completed in a few weeks to a few months, Walker and the U.S. official said. Mustard gas would be manually or robotically drained from storage tanks into a container and mixed with hot water. It would then be piped to an adjoining structure for bioremediation, in which microbes would be added to the substance to decompose and digest the remaining toxic chemicals. Sludge left over from the process would have to be shipped to a landfill for toxic substances, Walker said. “It’s not an enormously complicated process. Fortunately, it’s something that’s been done,” Walker said. “I bet you could do at least a ton a day,” he added. Varying types of precursor agents will be incinerated, neutralized or mixed with cement, the U.S. official said. Libya hopes to begin work on disposing of the precursors by the middle of this year, and move on to the mustard gas by late 2004 or early 2005, the official said. OPCW inspectors will be present during all chemical destruction activities, Kaiser said. Under the Chemical Weapons Convention, Libya must have disposed of all chemical weapons material by April 29, 2007. “Our presumption is that that will definitely take place,” Kaiser said. Libya also must dismantle its chemical weapons manufacturing equipment in the Pharma 150 plant at Rabta, the U.S. official said. The official estimated it would take two years remove and cut up the reactors and steel tanks used to develop the mustard gas and precursor agents.  A 20-meter-tall berm of sandbags that surrounded the facility, used to protect it from air strikes, also must be removed, the official said. Pharma 150 will be converted to produce pharmaceuticals for African nations and other developing countries. Pharma 150 was built as a dual-use facility in the mid-1980s, so the capability to make drugs was always there, the official said. The United States and United Kingdom provided advice as Libya prepared its Chemical Weapons Convention declaration, and will similarly support the chemical destruction process, the official said. There has been no discussion of financial assistance from the United States. Some economic sanctions would have to be lifted to provide funding through sources such as the Defense Department’s Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction Program, officials told a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing last month (see GSN, Feb. 27). Issues of human rights and Libya’s designation as a sponsor of terrorism, among others, must be addressed before sanctions can be lifted. That could happen by the end of the year, the U.S. official said. Back to top       Proliferation Security Initiative Checkpoint Training Set For Next Month The United States and 13 other countries are set to conduct a training session in Poland next month as part of the U.S. Proliferation Security Initiative, the Daily Yomiuri reported today (see GSN, March 19). The training scenario is to include search procedures for trains and trucks at international checkpoints, and is the first of its kind to be conducted under the auspices of the initiative, according to Japanese officials. An airport customs and airplane search exercise is to be held in Frankfurt prior to the checkpoint training, officials added. Security training sessions for initiative members have been held worldwide in recent months. Australia hosted a session on its northeastern coast in September, which was followed by another exercise in London in October. An air-training session took place in Italy last month (The Daily Yomiuri, March 23). U.S. President George W. Bush announced the establishment of the initiative in a speech given prior to the G8 summit last year. The initiative is the first step in the creation of international agreements and partnerships that would allow the United States and its allies to search planes and ships carrying suspect cargo and seize illegal weapons or missile technologies (see GSN, June 2, 2003). Back to top

Russian Officials, Experts, Dispute Al-Qaeda Nuclear Weapon Claim Russian officials and experts on Russia’s nuclear weapons dispute a recent claim by a Pakistani journalist that al-Qaeda has purchased former Soviet suitcase-size nuclear weapons, the San Francisco Chronicle reported today (see GSN, March 22). Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. last week that during a 2001 interview, senior al-Qaeda operative Ayman al-Zawahri bragged about purchasing Russian suitcase nuclear weapons in Moscow and Central Asia. Russian officials and experts, however, deny that al-Qaeda could have purchased the weapons, according to the Chronicle. “(Al-Zawahri) is bluffing,” a Russian Federal Nuclear Energy Agency official said yesterday. “It is practically impossible not only to buy nuclear weapons but even their components in Russia,” the official said. Russia’s suitcase nuclear weapons were too difficult to maintain and only had a lifespan of one to three years, making them almost impossible to be used now by terrorists, said Maxim Shingarkin, a former major in the Russian Defense Ministry’s 12th Directorate, which oversees Russia’s nuclear weapons. In addition, the former Soviet Union kept its supply of suitcase nuclear weapons in its western states, such as Ukraine, and not in Central Asia, Shingarkin said (Anna Badkhen, San Francisco Chronicle, March 23). Former U.S. Senator Sam Nunn (D-Ga.) said yesterday that al-Qaeda was more likely to obtain the weapon-grade materials needed to make a nuclear weapon than an actual device. “Plutonium or highly enriched uranium could make a crude bomb, and that crude bomb could take out an American city or any other city in the world,” Nunn said during a speech at Georgia Tech University. “Everybody in the world has a stake in getting every single kilogram of weapon-grade material under secure control and that is a global partnership, (it) has to be a global partnership to do that,” he said (Jon Shirek, 11Alive.com, March 22). [EDITOR’S NOTE: Sam Nunn is chief executive officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative.  NTI is the sole sponsor of Global Security Newswire, which is published independently by National Journal Group.] Back to top       First U.S. Seaport Radiation Detectors Installed Radiation detectors to scan incoming cargo for nuclear and radiological weapons have been installed at a New Jersey seaport and soon will be operating at most ports, Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, March 18). The Global Marine Terminal at Port Newark-Elizabeth in New Jersey, the largest East Coast seaport, now has the capacity to screen all of the approximately 500 containers that leave daily, according to Richard O’Brien, the port’s deputy chief inspector. Before acquiring the new equipment, port security officials could only examine approximately 8 percent of cargo containers for radiation because the work was done by hand, O’Brien said (Wayne Parry, AP/Bakersfield Californian, March 22). U.S. Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Robert C. Bonner said similar equipment will be made available to 90 percent of U.S. seaports by the end of the summer, and that the equipment would help to secure U.S. borders and prevent terrorist attacks. “The best way to prevent a terrorist attack is by preventing terrorists or terrorist weapons from entering our country in the first instance,” Bonner said. “The new highly sophisticated radiation detection devices U.S. Customs and Border Protection is deploying in our seaports are a major step in ensuring that our border and our country are more secure,” he added (U.S. State Department Release, March 22). Back to top       Chinese Foreign Minister Heads to Pyongyang; North Korea Again Delays Talks With South Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing arrived in North Korea today, likely looking to draw the Pyongyang back into nuclear negotiations with new offers of aid, experts said (see GSN, March 18).  “China is very keen to keep the momentum going,” said Brian Bridges, a China expert at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, told AFX News. China is likely to offer North Korea “food but more probably oil” in exchange for resuming talks, Bridges said (AFX News, March 23). Meanwhile, North Korea delayed rapprochement talks with South Korea for the second time in a week, in protest of U.S.-South Korean military exercises, Agence France-Presse reported today. “The talks cannot be held as South Korea is launching ... exercises with the United States,” Pyongyang said in a message to Seoul. The working-level talks were to be held in the North Korean border city of Kaesong, and were to last for three days starting Wednesday. The main item on the agenda was the rebuilding of cross-border railways. The delay comes on the heels of North Korea’s cancellation of economic talks, citing political instability over the impeachment of South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun. The meeting has not been rescheduled (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, March 23). South Korea’s top negotiator, Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck, said yesterday that Pyongyang is also dragging its feet on resuming six-nation nuclear talks, according to the Associated Press. “All the countries, except North Korea, think that the working group should meet as soon as possible,” Lee said. “Once again, the question of when the talks will resume seems to depend on North Korea’s attitude,” he added. Lee later met in Seoul with his Japanese counterpart, Mitoji Yabunaka (Associated Press, March 23). Back to top       Failed Missile Tests Blamed on Expired Service Life Russian naval chief Adm. Vladimir Kuroyedov said that two failed launches last month of the SS-N-23 ballistic missile occurred because the missile had exceeded its service life, ITAR-Tass reported today (see GSN, March 17). During a major Russian strategic exercise last month, two Russian ballistic missile submarines were set to launch SS-N-23 missiles, but the launches failed for several reasons, according to ITAR-Tass. Kuroyedov said the missile’s service life had been extended to 17 years, well past its intended span of 7 1/2 years. “It is possible to extend the patience of a human being, not of a missile, a complex electronic mechanism,” Kuroyedov said (ITAR-Tass, March 23). Kuroyedov also said that he has ordered the Russian nuclear battle cruiser Peter the Great to return to port for two weeks because of its poor condition. “The ship’s condition is fine in those places where admirals walk, but where they don’t go everything is in such a state that it could explode at any moment. This includes the upkeep of the nuclear reactor,” Kuroyedov said (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, March 23). Back to top       Russia to Adopt New Facility Safety Legislation by 2006, Expert Says Russia is set to adopt by 2006 new legislation to help improve nuclear and radiation security, Russian Green Cross President Sergei Baranovsky said today (see GSN, March 10). “By that time 18 legal acts meeting the world standards of nuclear power industry facilities safety will be adopted,” Baranovsky told a Moscow ecological seminar. “A future legal base, incorporating the world experience, will make it possible to detail the rules of the industry’s development more thoroughly and to enhance the safety of all nuclear facilities,” he said (Anatoly Yurkin, ITAR-Tass, March 23). Back to top       Russia Says Iran Nuclear Plant Deal Back on Track Russia has resumed plans to complete a nuclear power plant in Iran after delays caused by the International Atomic Energy Agency investigations of Iran and a reshuffling of Russian government ministries, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, March 22). Alexander Rumyantsev, head of Russia’s Atomic Energy Ministry, planned to travel to Iran at the end of March to finalize the deal, according to spokesman Nikolai Shingaryev. Shingaryev said, however, that Russia’s recent ministerial reorganization, during which his ministry was downgraded to a federal agency, delayed the trip until May (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, March 22). Rumyantsev said yesterday that Iran’s recent wrangling with the IAEA slowed work on the Bushehr power plant, but that the deal was never halted, according to Reuters. “A certain pause in Russia’s cooperation with Iran happened because of an IAEA board meeting where this new resolution on Iran was passed,” Rumyantsev said. “But the question of construction of the Bushehr power plant in Iran has never been revised,” he added. Rumyantsev also said that while Iran is prepared to sign a provision requiring it to return spent nuclear fuel to Russia, it would likely take a number of months to do so. “The Iranian side wants a few months to study what other countries normally do when it comes to returning spent nuclear fuel,” he said. “They have, however, said they are in principle ready to sign this document,” he added (Reuters/Yahoo!News, March 22). Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Gholamreza Shafei, told ITAR-Tass today that the spent fuel protocol would be signed in the near future, and that cooperation between the two countries on the project is “absolutely transparent and is being carried [out] in full compliance with international legislation and the applicable rules” (Valery Agarkov, ITAR-Tass, March 23). Back to top       Uranium Recovered in Democratic Republic of the Congo Two cases of uranium were recovered earlier this month in Kinshasa, the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, atomic energy officials in the African nation said yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 14, 2003). The cases contained less than 100 kilograms of uranium 235 and 238 and the material was not sufficient to be used to produce a nuclear weapon, said atomic energy expert Fortunat Lumu Badimayimatu, adding that the material may have been intended for use in oil industry. He also said that the material is “very much sought after” and could have been sold for as much as $500,000. International Atomic Energy Agency experts are set to travel to Kinshasa in the next few months to investigate the find, Badimayimatu said (Associated Press/CNN.com, March 22). Back to top

U.S. Official Says Bio Attacks on U.S., Japan Certain It is only a matter of time before biological weapons are used in attacks on the United States and Japan, according to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, Agence France-Presse reported today (see GSN, March 22).  “Japan is going to have a bioterrorism attack sometime in the future, just like America is going to,” Thompson told the Asahi Shimbun newspaper yesterday. “It is not if there is going to be an attack in Japan, it is when it is going to be,” he added. He said Japan has not yet developed a comprehensive plan for responding to such an attack, and urged the country to adopt policies similar to those developed by his agency. He urged Japan’s government “to come and see what I am doing and look at ways in which they could replicate the same things in Japan” (Agence France-Press/Khaleej Times, March 23). The Aum Supreme Truth sect was the first terrorist group to carry out a chemical weapons attack when it released sarin nerve agent into the Tokyo subway system in 1995. The attack caused 12 deaths and thousands of injuries (see GSN, Feb. 27). Back to top

Congressman Wants to Kill VX Byproduct Disposal Plan U.S. Representative Rob Andrews (D-N.J.) said last week that he would attempt to kill a U.S. Army plan to ship the byproduct created through the neutralization of VX stockpiles at the Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana to a facility in his state for treatment, according to the Indianapolis Star (see GSN, March 12). Under the Army’s plan, the VX byproduct would be shipped over two years to a facility in southern New Jersey, where it will be further treated before being dumped into the Delaware River. New Jersey officials, however, have recently expressed concerns about the plan, according to the Star. “We must consider whether VX can reconstitute itself, what would happen if an accident occurred on the highway when the VX components are transported from Indiana to South Jersey, and most importantly, what the risks are of dumping these foreign and once deadly remnants into the Delaware River,” Andrews said in a statement last week (Matthew Tully, Indianapolis Star, March 23).           Back to top

About Newswire  |  Contact National Journal  |  Re-Use Guidelines

© Copyright 2008 by National Journal Group, Inc. The material in this section is produced independently for NTI by National Journal Group, Inc. Any reproduction or retransmission, in whole or in part, is a violation of federal law and is strictly prohibited without the consent of the National Journal Group, Inc. All rights reserved.