National Nuclear Security Administration head Linton Brooks said today that the United States has no plans to research low-yield nuclear weapons (NNSA photo). U.S. Has No Plans to Research Low-Yield Nuclear Weapons, Brooks Says By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States is currently conducting no research and development for low-yield nuclear weapons, and has no immediate plans to do so, a senior Bush administration official said today (see GSN, April 22). “There are no military requirements identified for any new nuclear weapons, there are no plans now to develop any new nuclear weapons at any yield, and there is no research going on about low-yield nuclear weapons,” said National Nuclear Security Administration head Linton Brooks, speaking at the Heritage Foundation...Full Story

Six-Nation Talks on North Korea Begin in China Six-party working group meetings on the North Korean nuclear crisis began today in Beijing, and parties are expected to finalize a date for the third round of high-level multilateral talks, according to the Press Trust of India (see GSN, May 11; Press Trust of India, May 12)...Full Story

United States Imposes Economic Sanctions on Syria By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States yesterday imposed several new economic sanctions against Syria for continuing its official support for terrorist groups and for failing to cease its suspected efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction (see GSN, May 11)...Full Story

	Wednesday, May 12, 2004

Official Details U.S. Homeland Security Spending By William New Technology Daily WASHINGTON — Most of the U.S. Homeland Security Department’s spending is focused on protecting borders and transportation systems, and it targets immediate needs, experts said yesterday. The top 10 department contractors in 2003 received 42 percent of all departmental spending, said Gregory Rothwell, the chief procurement officer at Homeland Security. Only six contractors receive more than $100 million in department contracts, he added, and four out of five contractors are with the Transportation Security Administration. Overall, the department made 82,192 procurements worth $6.76 billion, of which 88 percent were new contracts, Rothwell said. Top contractors included: Boeing, with $998.5 million; NCS Pearson, $549.5 million; Integrated Coast Guard Systems, $423 million; Unisys, $341 million; and Covenant Aviation Security, $104.8 million. The most money was spent on the category of alarms, signals and other security systems, followed by other administrative support services, radio navigation [except air], basic services, and telecommunications services. Software was among the top acquisitions for the Transportation Security Administration, law enforcement training, immigration and customs enforcement, the Secret Service and federal emergency management. The Homeland Security Advanced Research Projects Agency (HSARPA) is targeting its efforts toward countering biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives attacks, according to David Edwards, a staff officer to HSARPA Deputy Director Jane Alexander. The department soon will begin cyber research through a virtual facility that has been contracted outside government, Edwards said. The department has open requests for bids on detection systems, methods for analyzing “scenes,” bioinformatics and container security, Edwards said. Upcoming requests for bids include bomb detection, chemical detection and small-business solicitations. HSARPA officials will highlight plans for the future at a July conference in San Diego, Edwards said. Under the HSARPA bid process, providers send short summaries and may be invited to follow with full “white papers” describing their technologies, Edwards said, adding that staffers are evaluating hundreds of white papers. He said the agency is more interested in contracts than grants or mutual agreements. The white-paper process allows more communication between submitters and department officials about bids, he added. Defense and homeland security received the majority of the increases in research and development funding in the fiscal 2004 and fiscal 2005 budgets, said Kei Kozuimi, director of the research and development budget and policy program at the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Under the White House request for fiscal 2005, Homeland Security research and development spending would increase by 15 percent, by far the most of any agency. “Clearly this is an area where the federal government feels a lot needs to be done,” Kozuimi said. Kozuimi said the majority of spending addresses immediate needs but added that there are signs the department is developing the basis for forward-looking research. He also said the biggest portion of government-wide research and development spending goes to the Health and Human Services Department. Back to top

United States Imposes Economic Sanctions on Syria By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States yesterday imposed several new economic sanctions against Syria for continuing its official support for terrorist groups and for failing to cease its suspected efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction (see GSN, May 11). The two new sanctions include a restriction on U.S. exports except food and medicine and a ban on any Syrian government-owned aircraft from taking off from or landing in the United States. The sanctions were included in the Syria Accountability Act, which U.S. President George W. Bush signed into law late last year after both houses of Congress overwhelmingly approved the bill. The act bans U.S. exports of dual-use items to Syria and requires the president to impose at least two additional sanctions from a list of six diplomatic and economic measures.  The act also allows the president to waive the penalties if they would interfere with U.S. national security interests. In a message to Congress yesterday, Bush said he exercised his waiver authority on the new sanctions to allow the export of aircraft components for “purposes of flight safety” and telecommunications equipment and related items to “promote the free flow of information.”  Bush also said that he amended the flight ban to allow Syrian officials to continue to travel to the United States on official business, to allow takeoffs and landings during an emergency and to allow overflight rights. According to reports, the sanctions imposed against Damascus are expected to be mostly symbolic based on the relatively low value of U.S.-Syrian trade — about $550 million last year — and the fact that there already were no flights between the two countries. In addition to the sanctions included in the Syria Accountability Act, the White House yesterday announced a freeze on all assets in the United States belonging to “certain” Syrian individuals and government entities, as well as plans to require all U.S. financial institutions to sever ties with the Commercial Bank of Syria “based on money-laundering concerns.” The Commercial Bank of Syria has been implicated in helping to divert more than $1 billion from the U.N. Oil for Food program to the regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, according to a U.S. Treasury Department release. The bank is also suspected of having been involved in “numerous transactions” suggesting terrorism financing and money laundering, including some transactions that referenced the “reputed financer” of terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, the department said. While warning of possible additional sanctions, Bush said yesterday that the duration of the new measures would be based on Syria’s efforts to improve its record related to terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. “The Syrian government must understand that its conduct alone will determine the duration of the sanctions, and the extent to which additional sanctions may be imposed should the Syrian government fail to adopt a more constructive approach to relations with its neighbors, weapons of mass destruction and terrorism,” Bush said.  “If the Syrian government demonstrates a genuine intention to seek true peace by confronting terror and violence, ending its pursuit and development of weapons of mass destruction, and respecting the sovereignty and independence of Lebanon, the United States will respond positively,” he added. The White House’s decision to impose sanctions was praised yesterday by bipartisan supporters of the Syria Accountability Act in both houses of Congress. “We have been patient with Damascus, but the Syrian government has failed to take the necessary steps to avoid sanctions. This sends a clear message that the United States will not conduct business as usual with a nation that allows terrorists to operate within their borders,” Senator Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) said in a press statement. In a telephone interview with Global Security Newswire, Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-Fla.) said the sanctions send “a good message to the entire neighborhood” that governments would be held responsible for their actions. Damascus, today, however, dismissed the sanctions. “The Syrian position says these sanctions are in short of credibility and hard evidence,” the state-owned Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) said. Murhaf Jouejati of the Middle East Institute in Washington told GSN today that while the new sanctions were likely intended as “more of a political measure,” they will do little to influence Damascus’ foreign policy. That is especially true regarding the issue of terrorism, which he described as the “great irritant” in U.S.-Syrian relations. Syria’s position of distinguishing between terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda and “legitimate national resistance movements” such as Hezbollah would make it difficult for President Bashar Assad to cease support of all groups the United States views as terrorists for fearing of alienating political supporters both within Damascus and in the greater Arab world, Jouejati said. U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher yesterday criticized Syria’s support of militant groups on the basis that they are legitimate political movements. “I’m afraid we don’t think you can play games with terrorism. You can’t talk your way out of it or around it. There are terrorists in this world, Hezbollah and Hamas are among them, and no country should be supporting them,” he said during a departmental press briefing. Jouejati also warned today that the new sanctions could damage U.S.-Syrian relations, describing the move as akin to “shooting one’s self in the foot.” Boucher said yesterday, though, that the United States planned to continue to work with Damascus. “We would still hope that Syria would look at the situation, look at the region around it, stop supporting terrorist groups and adapt its policies to be a stable and harmonious member of that region. That is something we’ll continue to pursue,” he said. Back to top

U.S. Has No Plans to Research Low-Yield Nuclear Weapons, Brooks Says By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States is currently conducting no research and development for low-yield nuclear weapons, and has no immediate plans to do so, a senior Bush administration official said today (see GSN, April 22). “There are no military requirements identified for any new nuclear weapons, there are no plans now to develop any new nuclear weapons at any yield, and there is no research going on about low-yield nuclear weapons,” said National Nuclear Security Administration head Linton Brooks, speaking at the Heritage Foundation. Brooks stressed, however, that his statement did not rule out the possibility that work on low-yield nuclear weapons could begin in the future. Such weapons are defined as those with yields less than the equivalent of five kilotons of TNT. “I want to make it clear, if further examination by the Defense Department suggests that there be a … need for those, then I wouldn’t have the slightest reservation about going ahead and carrying out research,” he said. A Misunderstanding Brooks said the administration was seeking to eliminate confusion about its nuclear weapons plans, particularly regarding low-yield bombs. “There has been some mischaracterization in the press and from some in Congress,” he said, adding that the administration “has not been clear about our policy.” Last year, Congress partially approved a Bush administration request to eliminate a law prohibiting research and development that could lead to producing low-yield nuclear weapons. Following the ban’s partial repeal, Brooks sent a letter urging the national nuclear laboratories to take advantage of their new freedom, a move that outraged some legislators and prompted Brooks to say that he erred in the letter (see GSN, March 22). Brooks today restated the administration’s contention that eliminating the restriction was intended simply to eliminate an unintended consequence of the ban: that it also constrained work on higher yield weapons. “We wanted to be able to explore new concepts without this chilling effect,” he added. Brooks’ comments elaborated on his March 24 testimony before the Senate Armed Services Strategic Forces Subcommittee that the administration had “no such plans” to develop low-yield nuclear weapons. He noted then that advanced development for low-yield nuclear weapons would require congressional approval. In a report sent to Congress earlier this year on the implications of removing the low-yield research and development ban, however, the administration argued that there could be value in developing and fielding nuclear weapons that could be perceived as more usable (see GSN, April 14). A benefit would be gained from potential adversaries thinking the threshold for use would be lower, the report says, while assuring that “the nuclear threshold for the United States has been, is, and always will be very high.” “Nuclear modernization efforts may well strengthen deterrence by altering an adversary’s perception of what the United States is able to do,” the report states. Advocates have said that low-yield weapons could improve the U.S. deterrence capability, because they would be less destructive and therefore more likely to be considered as a military option. Back to top       Six-Nation Talks on North Korea Begin in China Six-party working group meetings on the North Korean nuclear crisis began today in Beijing, and parties are expected to finalize a date for the third round of high-level multilateral talks, according to the Press Trust of India (see GSN, May 11; Press Trust of India, May 12). While there was little information yet on the status of the closed-door talks, the United States and North Korea did not seem to have approached a compromise on fundamental issues, according to Agence France-Presse. However, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported that U.S. and Japanese delegates met ahead of the talks yesterday and supported a South Korean offer of energy aid to North Korea. “South Korea, the United States and Japan have agreed to avoid a confrontational approach and try to find a solution through in-depth negotiations,” South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said The U.S. delegation, headed by State Department envoy Joseph DeTrani, met yesterday with delegations from each of the countries involved in the talks, with the exception of the North Koreans, the U.S. Embassy confirmed. Meanwhile, North Korea today urged South Korea to join with Pyongyang in opposing what it said was a U.S. plan to start a war on the peninsula, Agence France-Presse reported. “A touch-and-go tension in the true sense of the word is persisting in Korea due to the U.S. imperialists’ reckless moves to start a war against (North Korea) under the pretext of the nuclear issue,” said North Korea’s official newspaper, the Rodong Sinmun. “Unavoidable is the confrontation between the Koreans in the north and the south, who are advancing along the road of peace and peaceful reunification, and the U.S., which is working to block it,” the statement added (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, May 12). Back to top       U.S. Backs Chinese Membership in Nuclear Suppliers Group The United States has decided to support China’s effort to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group — a 40-member body that establishes export control regulations for nuclear trade — despite concerns over Beijing’s past proliferation record and its current plans to provide Pakistan with nuclear reactors, Reuters reported yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 27). “We’re supporting their membership,” a State Department spokesman said. “They are a significant nuclear supplier, have a good enough nonproliferation record and have made significant improvements in exports controls on nuclear and dual-use items,” he said. Officials said that there had been debate within the administration over supporting China’s membership bid, with State Department moderates backing the move while a more hard-line faction, led by Undersecretary of State John Bolton, voiced its opposition. The United States sought assurances from China in recent days that nuclear reactors Beijing plans to sell to Pakistan would be subject to international safeguards, but has yet to receive a satisfactory response, an official said. “We’ve approached China about some of our concerns; we’re still awaiting a response back,” the official said (Carol Giacomo, Reuters/Yahoo!News, May 11). Back to top       Lawmakers Call for End to “Bunker-Buster” Funding A group of U.S. lawmakers yesterday called on the House Armed Services Committee to eliminate funding for a Bush administration effort to research a nuclear “bunker-buster” weapon (see GSN, May 11). In a letter to committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and top committee Democrat Ike Skelton (Mo.), more than 80 house members, including one Republican, called for the elimination of $27.6 million in the Bush administration’s fiscal 2005 defense budget request for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator, which the lawmakers called a “dangerous and wasteful use of taxpayer money.” While the administration has said that funding would be used to study the new weapons system, the lawmakers yesterday said they thought the administration had greater plans. “We believe the administration … intends to pursue full development and deployment of this new nuclear weapon,” they wrote. In their letter, released by Representative Edward Markey (D-Mass.), the lawmakers warned that the pursuit of new nuclear weapons damages U.S. nonproliferation credibility abroad. “Nations that see the U.S. expanding and diversifying our nuclear arsenal are encouraged to seek or maintain nuclear deterrents of their own and ignore nonproliferation obligations,” they wrote. The lawmakers also said that the pursuit of new nuclear weapons contradicts U.S. obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. In addition, the United States already possesses both nuclear and conventional munitions capable of destroying enemy bunkers, they wrote (Representative Edward Markey release I, May 11). In a separate press release, Markey said he and his supporters were willing to take the issue to the full House of Representatives if the Armed Services Committee failed to act. “We stand ready to take this debate to the House floor, where every year the margin has been getting closer and closer. 2004 may be the year when we finally prevail,” he said (Representative Edward Markey release II, May 11). Back to top       Senate Committee Passes Full Bush Nuclear Weapons Request By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — As the House Armed Services Committee meets today to consider the fiscal 2005 defense authorization bill, the Senate Armed Services Committee last week approved in full the Bush administration’s budget request for several controversial nuclear weapons-related programs, according to a congressional source. In a closed-door markup to the authorization bill, the Republican-controlled committee approved all $27.6 million sought for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator effort that involves studying options to modify an earth-penetrating nuclear warhead to better strike deeply buried and hardened targets. The administration last year received half of the $15 million it sought for the second year of a three-year feasibility study for the penetrator, which is part of an effort called the Advanced Concepts Initiative. In addition, the committee approved $30 million requested for the Enhanced Test Readiness program to reduce the amount of preparation time to 18 months for conducting a live nuclear weapons test in Nevada if ordered by the president. The estimated preparation time is now 24 to 36 months. The committee also approved $9 million requested for other Advanced Concepts Initiative efforts, $3 million more than requested for fiscal 2004. Similar to a bill that emerged from a different committee last year, the bill would freeze the $9 million until the administration submits a research plan showing how that money on Advanced Concepts Initiatives would be spent, according to the source. Nuclear Weapons Plans Remain Uncertain The committee also approved in full $29.8 million for the Modern Pit Facility program, which would build a center for manufacturing plutonium pits that serve as triggers for nuclear weapons, according to the source (see GSN, May 11). It froze half of that until the Energy Department submits to Congress a long-overdue plan for the future configuration of the nuclear weapons stockpile and a plan for the anticipated number of pits. Last year, Congress cut $12 million from the administration’s $22.8 million fiscal 2004 request for the program, writing, “Until Congress reviews the revised future Stockpile plan it is premature to pursue further decisions regarding the Modern Pit Facility.”  Those plans are sought to give Congress an idea of what kinds of nuclear weapons, and how many, the administration intends to maintain in the nuclear weapons stockpile.  Democratic legislators have raised concerns that the administration seeks to develop and deploy new nuclear weapons capabilities, including low-yield bombs, and possibly resume live nuclear testing while concealing those intentions. Funding for these programs, critics have said, could result in such actions and possibly undermine U.S. efforts to persuade other countries to forgo nuclear weapons. Administration officials have said there are no plans to resume testing and that Congress would need to approve advanced development of the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator or low-yield nuclear weapons. Provoking congressional criticism, the administration disclosed in a budget document this year that it would extend the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator study by a year, would request $95 million for the effort for fiscal 2006, and could spend as much as $485 million over the next five years, including for work beyond the study phase that requires congressional approval (see GSN, March 10).   Administration officials said the disclosure was a “placeholder” to protect the project’s ability to move forward, and not an expression of a formal plan. A group of 84 House legislators, including a senior Republican, yesterday sent a letter urging House Armed Services Committee Chairman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and senior Democrat Ike Skelton (D-Mo.) to eliminate all funding for the earth-penetrator study, charging it was part of a plan to develop and deploy a new nuclear weapon (see related GSN story, today). The full Senate is scheduled to consider amendments and vote on the bill next week. The full House Armed Services Committee was scheduled to mark up its version of the bill today. Funding for the programs was not approved at the subcommittee level there (see GSN, May 7). Back to top       Nuclear Agency Managers Among Diploma Mill Users By David McGlinchey Government Executive WASHINGTON — A U.S. General Accounting Office investigation has uncovered three National Nuclear Security Administration managers with top-level security clearances who received fraudulent degrees from diploma mills, schools that essentially sell degrees while requiring little or no academic work. The NNSA, an Energy Department agency, is responsible for handling, maintaining and protecting the nation’s nuclear weapons stockpile. NNSA officials have reviewed the situations of all three employees and determined “the conditions of employment did not rest on the education that they were claiming,” NNSA spokesman Brian Wilkes told Government Executive. As a result, the revelations would not affect their job status. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), chairwoman of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, said yesterday that revelations of fraudulent degrees cast doubt on the employees’ technical qualifications and their integrity. The NNSA employees work in the Office of Emergency Operations and have Q-level security clearances, an Energy Department standard that allows access to nuclear weapons information. One of the employees paid $5,000 for a master’s degree from a diploma mill in Louisiana known as LaSalle University in 1996. In an interview with the General Accounting Office, he referred to his degree as a “joke.” The second NNSA employee received a bachelor’s degree in 2000 from Chadwick University, an unaccredited institution. The GAO reported that the second employee had not received any legitimate postsecondary academic degrees. The third person received a doctoral degree in engineering administration in 1985 from Columbia Pacific University, an institution that was shut down in 1999 by a California judge for failing to meet academic requirements, awarding undue credit for life experience and failing to employ qualified staff members. “They were people who had security clearances and who were in sensitive positions,” said Robert Cramer, the managing director of GAO’s Office of Special Investigations. The revelations were part of a larger report unveiled Tuesday at a Governmental Affairs Committee hearing. It found that the federal government has paid at least $170,000 for “coursework” at California Coast University and Kennedy-Western University, two unaccredited schools that are widely believed to be diploma mills. Those two schools, along with Pacific Western University, provided information showing that 463 federal employees are enrolled in their courses. The Defense Department had the highest number, with 257 registered with the schools. The initial investigation found that federal funding has been used to pay for at least 70 employees to enroll in diploma mills, according to Collins. GAO investigators said Tuesday that diploma-mill representatives tailor their billing to help employees gain reimbursement from the federal government. GAO officials also asked eight agencies to review the personnel folders of employees with ranks of GS-15 or above, to determine if they had obtained degrees from a diploma mill. That review uncovered 28 employees with degrees from unaccredited schools, including the three NNSA employees and a Senior Executive Service employee at the Transportation Department. All specific personnel cases have been referred to the individual agencies, according to the General Accounting Office. The investigation was launched last year after Laura Callahan, a senior director in the office of the Homeland Security Department’s chief information officer, was placed on paid administrative leave following allegations that her degrees came from a diploma mill in Wyoming. Callahan has resigned her position. Because the GAO investigation involved only three diploma mills and eight federal agencies, the results are simply “a window” on what is probably a much larger problem, according to Cramer. Collins agreed. “I believe this is only the tip of the iceberg,” she said. Representative Tom Davis (R-Va.), chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, urged federal officials to better define diploma mills for government hiring purposes. He also called on the Education Department to create a list of accredited and legitimate schools. Education Secretary Rod Paige has said his staff would develop such a list. “This problem can be solved,” Davis said. “Congress’s job is to provide the oversight and, if necessary, the authority to solve it. Diploma mills will not go away.  It is time to make an unequivocal statement that fake degrees have no place or value in the federal workplace.” Back to top       Iran Vows to Fulfill Nuclear Obligations by Saturday An Iranian official said yesterday his country would fulfill nearly all its obligations to the International Atomic Energy Agency by Saturday, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, May 11). “The Islamic Republic of Iran has so far met its obligations, and by May 15, almost all the things that were agreed upon will be fulfilled,” national security chief Hassan Rohani said. As a follow-up to its December signing of the Additional Protocol to its IAEA safeguards agreement, Iran must submit a report on its nuclear activities. The U.N. nuclear watchdog is set to review Iran’s case in June, after having reprimanded Iran in recent sessions of its board of governors (Agence France-Presse, May 11). Back to top       Japan to Reassess Fast Breeder Reactor Development The Japanese Atomic Energy Commission has reportedly decided to re-evaluate Japan’s development of fast breeder nuclear reactors, which produce more fissionable nuclear material then they consume as fuel, Agence France-Presse reported yesterday (see GSN, Nov. 11, 2003). The development of fast-breeder reactors has been the main focus of Japan’s nuclear energy policy, according to AFP. Power companies, however, have been reluctant to use the reactors because of safety concerns, and the commission is expected to instead call for the use of conventional light-water reactors, according to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun. Officials who provide administrative support for the commission, however, denied the Japanese newspaper’s report, AFP reported. “The story was speculation. We regret that.  We have made no decision over the long-term direction of Japan’s nuclear energy policy,” said an official with the Cabinet Office, which includes the commission (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, May 11). Back to top

Australia to Use $90 Million Against Bioterror, Flu Australia is set to spend $90 million to battle killer flu pandemics and the threat of biological attack, the Sydney Daily Telegraph reported today (see GSN, April 6). Approximately $79 million would be spent on antiviral medications for emergency outbreaks of viruses such as SARS and bird flu, while another $11 million would go toward vaccines and antidotes to potential bioterror weapons such as smallpox. Approximately $28.2 million of the total spending would strengthen national health security. As a result, Australian laboratories are expected to double their capacity to diagnose deadly viral infections (Anna Patty, Daily Telegraph, May 12). Back to top

U.S. Plans Sea-Based Missile Defense Tests A U.S. Missile Defense Agency environmental study completed last month says the agency plans to use a converted Navy assault ship to conduct six missile defense tests over the next 18 months, Inside Missile Defense reported today (see GSN, April 27). The department two years ago converted the ship into a mobile launch platform that can be transported to missile defense test sites. During tests, the ship would be used as a platform for launches of target and interceptor missiles and for operating sensors, according to the study.  While the agency said the ship could be used for as many as four tests a year between 2004 and 2009, the study only provides details on six of the exercises, Inside Missile Defense reported. Three of the tests to be conducted would be intercept tests involving the Arrow, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems. The other tests would involve data collection to improve the national missile defense system set to be deployed later this year, Inside Missile Defense reported (Thomas Duffy, Inside Missile Defense, May 12).   Back to top

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