A recent roadside bombing in Iraq (similar to one shown in this May 6 photo) resulted in two members of a U.S. military explosive ordnance team receiving minor exposure to sarin (AFP photo/Roberto Schmidt). Roadside Bomb Containing Sarin Explodes in Iraq Two soldiers were treated for “minor exposure” to sarin after a bomb containing the nerve agent exploded near a U.S. military convoy in Iraq, military authorities said today (see GSN, April 9). The incident, which occurred a “couple of days ago,” involved a binary-type 155-millimeter artillery shell in which two separate chemicals are mixed together after the shell is fired to produce sarin, said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the U.S. chief military spokesman in Iraq. ..Full Story

U.S. Intelligence Misled by Sources of Prewar Iraq Information, Powell Says By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The CIA was “misled” by some of its sources on prewar intelligence on alleged Iraqi WMD efforts, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday. Meanwhile, the former head of the U.S. Central Command criticized the Bush administration’s use of intelligence provided by former Iraqi opposition groups, which have been heavily criticized for providing inaccurate information (see GSN, April 13)...Full Story

U.S. Remains Vulnerable to Al-Qaeda, Says 9/11 Commission Chairman The chairman of the panel investigating the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, said that al-Qaeda operatives are likely inside the United States and planning their next attack and that chemical and biological weapons pose the greatest threat, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 9, 2003)...Full Story

	Monday, May 17, 2004

U.S. Remains Vulnerable to Al-Qaeda, Says 9/11 Commission Chairman The chairman of the panel investigating the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, said that al-Qaeda operatives are likely inside the United States and planning their next attack and that chemical and biological weapons pose the greatest threat, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported yesterday (see GSN, Dec. 9, 2003). “Every single person whom we have talked to who is considered knowledgeable in this subject expects another attack,” former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean said. “We suspect there are people in this country right now planning an attack,” he added. Chemical or biological weapons are hard to detect and could cause significant harm, Kean said. Kean also said congressional oversight was ineffective for years in detecting problems in U.S. intelligence agencies. “It’s obvious that congressional oversight did not work,” he said. While U.S. security agencies have made important adjustments since the 2001 attacks, “we haven't fixed everything,” Kean noted. The commission could develop a plan for restructuring U.S. intelligence services, Kean said. He said intelligence operations might be consolidated under one agency instead of being spread across various agencies. He added, however, that such drastic shifts in organization could temporarily leave the United States more vulnerable. “You can’t just say that this is the best way to restructure intelligence agencies and that this will take you two or three years, because in the world that we live in, we can’t lose a minute of the work that is going on right now,” Kean said (Chris Mondics, Philadelphia Inquirer/Philly.com, May 16). Back to top

U.S. Intelligence Misled by Sources of Prewar Iraq Information, Powell Says By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The CIA was “misled” by some of its sources on prewar intelligence on alleged Iraqi WMD efforts, U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said yesterday. Meanwhile, the former head of the U.S. Central Command criticized the Bush administration’s use of intelligence provided by former Iraqi opposition groups, which have been heavily criticized for providing inaccurate information (see GSN, April 13). During an appearance yesterday on NBC’s Meet the Press, Powell briefly discussed the controversy surrounding an Iraqi defector known as “Curveball,” who reportedly was the source for a now-discredited claim Powell made in February 2003 to the U.N. Security Council that Iraq possessed mobile biological weapons facilities (see GSN, March 29). While saying that his presentation was based on the “best information” made available by the CIA, Powell also reiterated that the sources for such information had been wrong, and went even further by saying they had misled U.S. intelligence. “It turned out that the sourcing was inaccurate and wrong, and in some cases deliberately misleading. And for that I am disappointed, and I regret it,” Powell said. According to reports, Curveball was first made available to Western intelligence agencies by the Iraqi National Congress, a former opposition group headed by Ahmad Chalabi that has been accused of providing bad intelligence on prewar Iraq. In a speech last week, retired Marine Gen. Anthony Zinni, former head of the U.S. Central Command, said that one of the “biggest” mistakes of the Bush administration’s handling of Iraq was its reliance on exile groups. In a May 12 speech before the Board of Directors of the Washington think-tank Center for Defense Information, Zinni outlined a 10-point critique of the Bush administration’s handling of the Iraq crisis. Among the administration’s mistakes, Zinni said, was trusting Iraqi exile groups such as the Iraqi National Congress, which he called “Gucci guerrillas from London.” “We bought into their intelligence reports,” Zinni said. “And we ended up with a group that fed us bad information,” he said. U.S. Senator Joseph Biden (Del.), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, yesterday criticized the Bush administration’s apparent continued use of the National Congress for gathering information. According to reports, the U.S. Defense Department is paying the group more than $300,000 per month for intelligence-gathering efforts (see GSN, March 11). “I think he [Chalabi] seems to be the darling of the vice president and of some of the civilians in the Defense Department. I think he’s a problem.  He’s not part of the solution. But yet there seems to be an unwillingness to break from him,” Biden said during an appearance on Meet the Press. Back to top       European Union Seeks to Quickly Complete Trade Pact With Syria, Official Says While the United States last week imposed new economic sanctions against Syria, European Commission Vice President Loyola de Palacio said Friday that the EU wants to quickly complete a trade agreement with Damascus (see GSN, May 13). The EU initialed an association agreement with Syria late last year, but the signing has been delayed because Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom want the agreement to include a stronger commitment to nonproliferation, according to Reuters. During talks held this weekend in Damascus, de Palacio was set to discuss integrating Syria into regional energy networks and to the EU energy market, Reuters reported. “It is very important for us that we manage to (conclude) this association agreement with Syria,” de Palacio said Friday. “We hope that we shall soon end negotiations with Syria,” he said. The European Union last year required countries that join trade and aid agreements to reject nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. Libya, which did just that last year, may eventually be considered for such pacts (Lin Noueihed, Reuters/AlertNet, May 14) Back to top       French Police Arrest Two in Terror Investigation Two Algerian men were arrested Friday in France as part of an ongoing investigation of an Islamic terrorist cell suspected of working to develop chemical and biological weapons, the New York Times reported (see GSN, May 5). A wave of arrests in December 2002 in Paris is believed to have disrupted the organization as it planned to bomb the Russian Embassy. The nine suspects were found to have a list of chemicals that could be used to make weapons, along with a chemical protection suit. Police also found a laboratory with equipment to make ricin and botulism toxin, the Times reported. Authorities in Europe are concerned that Islamic militants, many with links to al-Qaeda, may be planning a major attack in Europe. Last month more than 1,000 pounds of fertilizer disappeared from a French warehouse, leading French police to conclude that someone may be building a powerful bomb (Craig Smith, New York Times, May 15). Back to top

Pakistan Informs U.S. of Export Control Legislation Pakistani officials yesterday told U.S. Commerce Undersecretary Kenneth Juster that a bill strengthening their country’s export control system on nuclear technology would soon be presented to Parliament, a Pakistani Foreign Ministry official said (see GSN, Feb. 24). Juster was briefed on the bill, which was approved earlier this month by the Pakistani Cabinet, during a two-day visit to Pakistan, the ministry official said. During talks in Islamabad, Juster praised Pakistan’s efforts “to streamline and strengthen its export control regime and welcomed the approval of the new export legislation by the Cabinet,” Pakistan’s state-run news agency reported.  Senior Foreign Ministry official Tariq Usman Haider reportedly discussed during the talks the need to improve U.S.-Pakistan cooperation in civilian nuclear, dual-use and space technologies, according to the Associated Press (Munir Ahmad, Associated Press, May 16). Japan has also begun talks on export controls with Pakistan, a Japanese government source said Saturday. During discussions last month, officials from the Pakistani and Japanese foreign ministries agreed that Pakistani experts would travel to Japan for export control seminars, according to the source (Daily Yomiuri, May 17). Meanwhile, Pakistan has suggested that it would join the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, but only as a designated nuclear weapons state, the Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported. In addition, India has changed its stance from opposing the treaty to saying that it could not join the treaty as a non-nuclear weapons state, according to knowledgeable sources. The United States has opposed recognizing either country as a nuclear weapons state (Dawn/HiPakistan.com, May 17). Back to top       IAEA Head ElBaradei Warns of Threats to “Legitimacy” of Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Mohamed ElBaradei warned Friday of the “erosion of the legitimacy” of the current international nuclear nonproliferation regime and outlined several proposals to correct the problem (see GSN, May 10). In a speech before the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, ElBaradei said that one of the largest threats to the regime is a “perception” of a double standard between those countries that possess nuclear weapons — including the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council and the “de facto” weapons states of India, Israel and Pakistan — and those that do not, including countries suspected of seeking nuclear weapons such as Iran and North Korea. “There are some who have, somebody said, continued to dangle a cigarette from their mouth and tell everybody else not to smoke,” ElBaradei said. “That, in the long run, is difficult to sustain,” he added. To address the issue, ElBaradei called for renewing the commitment to international nuclear disarmament enshrined in the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. “You have to send a powerful message: We need to do better in terms of protecting ourselves, and we cannot just continue to say, well, we have 25 countries, say, the NATO countries, who are relying on the nuclear umbrella, and everyone else should sit quietly in the cold,” he said. Another concern, according to ElBaradei, is a lack of membership in international export-control agreements, which allows nonmembers such as India, Israel and Pakistan to trade in WMD- and ballistic missile-related technologies. He also said that the his agency needs enhanced legal authority to investigate suspected nuclear proliferation and called for countries to sign the Additional Protocol to their agency safeguards agreements, which would give the organization authority to conduct more intrusive monitoring. ElBaradei also warned of a lack of compliance with the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and of the international perception that such noncompliance would be tolerated. “There is a … feeling that you can get away with murder, if you like, and that the international community will not respond or would respond selectively,” ElBaradei said. As an example, ElBaradei cited the case of North Korea, which he described as the “No. 1” international security concern. Pyongyang was able to leave the treaty, he said, with little response from the U.N. Security Council (see related GSN story, today). “If a country is walking out of the NPT, what they are saying — ‘We are getting out of the system to exercise our option to develop nuclear weapons.’ If that is not a threat to international peace and security, what is?” ElBaradei said. Strengthening the Regime In his remarks Friday, ElBaradei outlined several measures intended to help improve the nuclear nonproliferation regime. He called for countries to demonstrate a commitment to nuclear disarmament through the signing and ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and the creation of a treaty banning the production of fissionable materials. In addition, ElBaradei said the United States and Russia need to “continue to send the right signals that they are moving away from nuclear weapons.” His remarks, though, came soon after the U.S. House and Senate Armed Services committees approved the Bush administration’s fiscal 2005 funding requests for nuclear weapons research and development and test readiness initiatives (see GSN, May 13). ElBaradei also discussed Friday a possible moratorium on countries seeking to develop enrichment and reprocessing capabilities. Facilities already in existence could be placed under multinational control as an interim measure, he said. He cited as a successful example the European consortium Urenco, which is jointly operated by Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The Bush administration has also addressed the issue of enrichment and reprocessing facilities and has proposed that the 40 members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, a multilateral regime that establishes export control regulations for nuclear trade, agree to not export enrichment or reprocessing facilities to those countries that do not already possess them. While saying that there was a “convergence of views” between his approach and that of the Bush administration, ElBaradei also warned that countries may not accept the U.S. proposal because of the NPT guarantee that countries have the right to peaceful nuclear technology (see GSN, April 26). “That’s where I came with the idea of multinational control. So it’s not just, again, 10 or 12 countries have it and nobody else could, but maybe a multinational control where everybody can benefit, with assurances of supply,” he said. ElBaradei also called for a U.N. Security Council response mechanism to deter additional countries from leaving the treaty. One possible measure, being developed by France, is a system of sanctions agreed upon in advance so that countries considering leaving the treaty knew of the possible “cost,” he said. In addition, ElBaradei said that he was set to meet later this month with U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham in Vienna to discuss a U.S. plan to eliminate international stockpiles of highly enriched uranium that exist in the civilian fuel cycle.  Back to top       Former President Says Iran Nearing Nuclear Energy Breakthrough; Russia to Complete Reactor Project Iran is nearing a nuclear breakthrough, former President Hashemi Rafsanjani said Sunday, adding that his country is not pursuing nuclear weapons and that the United States is misleading the world about Iran’s intentions, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 14).  “Americans are frightening the world that Iran is on the verge of a huge nuclear breakthrough,” Rafsanjani was quoted as saying by Iran’s official news agency. “That we are on the verge of a nuclear breakthrough is true. But we are not seeking nuclear weapons,” he added. Nuclear scientist Rasoul Sediqi Bonabi said Rafsanjani was referring to a breakthrough in nuclear energy. “Iran is on the verge of producing low-enriched uranium to be used as fuel in nuclear reactors producing electricity,” Bonabi said. “Rafsanjani’s comments mean Iran is on the verge of controlling the whole nuclear fuel cycle from extracting uranium ore to enrich it as nuclear fuel,” he added (Ali Akbar Dareini, Associated Press/Jerusalem Post, May 16). Meanwhile, Russia has said it is committed to completing a nuclear reactor project in Iran at Bushehr, Reuters reported. International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards would guarantee that fuel from the project would not be diverted for military uses, said Russian Deputy Atomic Energy Minister Sergei Antipov. He said Russia would supply fuel for the reactor on the condition that spent fuel be returned, although he said the terms of the agreement had not yet been reached. “Definitely, that is our demand. Otherwise we won't supply it,” Antipov said. “The only question that’s being discussed in this connection is the question of price,” he added. The IAEA has maintained control over Iran’s nuclear work at every stage, Antipov said. “Material mustn’t be outside control for a second. It’s an absolutely closed fuel cycle. At no point can fuel be diverted or extracted for nuclear weapons,” he said (Mark Trevelyan, Reuters, May 14). Back to top       Return of South Korea President Roh Could Weaken U.S. Options in North Korea Nuclear Standoff South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun’s returned to office Friday after the country’s Supreme Court overturned an impeachment charge, potentially weakening U.S. attempts to pressure North Korea to abandon its nuclear efforts, the Sydney Morning Herald reported (see GSN, May 14). During three days of six-nation working-level talks last week, North Korea appeared less inclined to back down from its stance of maintaining some level of nuclear activity, according to the Herald. Roh has indicated that he does not favor either tighter economic sanctions or military pressure on Pyongyang. His liberal Uri Party favors continuing the “sunshine” policy of engagement with North Korea. Meanwhile, the announcement that Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi plans to visit Pyongyang next Saturday for talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il indicates a softening of the Japanese position on North Korea, according to the Sydney Morning Herald (Hamish McDonald, Sydney Morning Herald, May 17). Back to top       Niger Lawmakers Back Nuclear Material Protection Nigerien lawmakers Saturday voted to implement the 1980 Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, which sets standards for protecting enriched uranium and plutonium during transport, according to the Associated Press. While the African country signed the treaty in 1985, it has not adopted it as national law, according to AP. Niger’s president has 15 days to either reject the bill calling for adherence to the treaty or sign it into law. Niger is the world’s third-largest producer of yellowcake uranium, which makes up the bulk of the country’s export earnings (Associated Press/CNN.com, May 15). Back to top       CIS to Discuss Common Nonproliferation Position Defense ministers from the members of the Commonwealth of Independent States are expected to develop a common position on nuclear nonproliferation this week during a meeting in the Armenian capital of Yerevan, Russian government sources said today (see GSN, May 10). The agenda for the meeting, scheduled to be held Friday, includes discussion of coordinating a common nonproliferation position as part of preparations for next year’s planned Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review conference, according to the source. This week’s scheduled meeting will be chaired by acting Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov and will be attended by all CIS members except Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, ITAR-Tass reported (Alexander Konovalov, ITAR-Tass, May 17). Back to top       Contractor Says Private Companies Likely to Continue Providing Security for DOE Sites The head of a private contractor that provides security for the U.S. Energy Department’s Savannah River Site believes private companies will continue to provide security at U.S. nuclear facilities, despite Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham’s proposal to create a federal security force for some of the most sensitive sites, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 7). “I see tremendous opportunity in what the secretary’s speech laid out,” said James Long, president of Wackenhut Corp., which guards the Savannah site and Energy Department facilities in Nevada, Tennessee and Washington. “There are many things that are going to be good for the private security industry, and not many things that are not going to be good for the private security industry,” he added. New opportunities include the creation of one all-encompassing security contract for Energy Department facilities and reducing the number of sites that require high-level protection, according to Long. Long added that he does not think a federal security operation makes sense for many of the routine tasks at some sites, including processing people and material through checkpoints. “Private industry can much better respond to the motivational needs necessary to do the kind of work that needs to be done to protect these facilities,” Long said. “It would be absurd to privatize the Federal Bureau of Investigation or drug enforcement operations, but I also believe it makes no sense to do the things on the mundane end of that continuum with federal employees,” he added (Associated Press/South Carolina Herald, May 17). Back to top

FBI Interviews Former Fort Detrick Worker as Part of Investigation of 2001 Anthrax Attacks Ayaad Assaad, a former researcher at the U.S. Army biological research facility at Fort Detrick, Md., said yesterday that he and his one-time co-workers were recently interviewed by the FBI as to his whereabouts when the letters used in the 2001 anthrax attacks were mailed, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Feb. 18). “They just wanted to know some additional information. They want to cover all their bases, and that’s about it,” said Assaad, who now works for the Environmental Protection Agency. FBI agents assured Assaad that he is not a suspect in the bureau’s investigation into the anthrax attacks, according to Assaad and his lawyer, Rosemary McDermott. The letters used in the attacks had a Trenton, N.J, postmark; Assaad said he provided FBI agents with documentation showing that he was in the Washington area during the times in September and October 2001 when the letters might have been mailed. Assaad also said that FBI agents interviewed him last week about his knowledge of anthrax production. He said he discussed with agents a theory as to how someone could produce the type of anthrax used in the attacks by forcing steam from a hot liquid mixture through a nozzle and then collecting the dried condensed material. Assaad has said that he has never worked with anthrax, according to AP.  The FBI refused to comment on the investigation, AP reported (David Dishneau, Associated Press/Phillyburbs.com, May 17). Back to top

Roadside Bomb Containing Sarin Explodes in Iraq Two soldiers were treated for “minor exposure” to sarin after a bomb containing the nerve agent exploded near a U.S. military convoy in Iraq, military authorities said today (see GSN, April 9). The incident, which occurred a “couple of days ago,” involved a binary-type 155-millimeter artillery shell in which two separate chemicals are mixed together after the shell is fired to produce sarin, said Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, the U.S. chief military spokesman in Iraq.  “The round had been rigged as an IED (improvised explosive device) which was discovered by a U.S. force convoy,” Kimmitt said. “A detonation occurred before the IED could be rendered inoperable. This produced a very small dispersal of agent,” he said. Two members of an explosive ordnance team were treated after the agent release. The regime of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein declared all chemical weapons munitions declared before the 1991 Gulf War, Kimmitt said. Kimmitt also said that he believed that the insurgents who rigged the bomb did not know that it had contained nerve agent (Chris Torchia, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, May 17). Back to top

Scientist Sees Advances at Home, Work Needed Abroad for U.S. Efforts Against Radiological Terrorism By Joe Fiorill Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States is making progress at home but must do more abroad to prevent and counter potential “dirty bomb” attacks, the leader of a congressionally chartered advisory body said Friday. “There’s still a lot to be done. … Although work has been done, there’s more to do,” Thomas Tenforde, president of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, said in an interview. The young Homeland Security Department (DHS) had a rough start but is becoming effective as a coordinator of agencies battling terrorism, Tenforde said, citing the department’s improving response to his proposals for studies by the council. In 2002, Tenforde said, DHS officials “kind of sat on [the proposals] while they deliberated over what’s the highest-priority thing to do on this or that. … Some things needed attention, and they could have gotten started a little faster, and I think it was just bureaucratic inertia.” Now, however, the department has demonstrated a “quicker response and more well-thought-out strategic plan,” Tenforde said. “They had quite a job of getting organized, and they seem to be now much better organized than a year ago, when they were first founded. … I think we’re beginning to see some very productive activities that would detect and counteract radiological terrorism events,” he said. Among recommendations for improvement, Tenforde said the United States must cooperate more with countries around the world on securing radiological sources. “I believe that is something that really needs a lot of attention. … There are a lot of leaky borders, particularly in Asia. Southeast Asia has had a lot of incidents where certain isotopes were detected, and they were not trivial quantities,” he said. Tenforde highlighted the problem earlier this month in a presentation to the National Academy of Science’s Committee on Opportunities for U.S.-Russian Collaboration in Combating Radiological Terrorism. “I think the academy committee is interested perhaps in a dialogue with the Soviets on some of those issues,” he said. Chartered by Congress in 1964 to study ways to measure and protect against radiation, the council traces its roots to the 1929 founding of the U.S. Advisory Committee on X-ray and Radium Protection. An independent nonprofit organization, its major sponsors are government agencies, including NASA, the Defense Department, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission and the Energy Department. Shortly before the September 2001 al-Qaeda attacks on the United States, the council released an Energy Department-financed report on radiological terrorism that Tenforde said “has really served as the basis for much of what the government has done over the last two years.” The council is likely to begin work soon on a study of protection of emergency workers who respond to terrorist attacks, according to Tenforde. The work would be done through Homeland Security, and contract talks are in the final stages, he said. “I think we can take a little more detailed approach and provide some guidance on protection of first responders and recovery workers that could be helpful,” he said. Back to top

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