U.S. President George W. Bush today signed the Project Bioshield Act of 2004 (AFP photo/Stephen Jaffe). Bush Signs Bioshield Bill U.S. President George W. Bush today signed into law Project Bioshield, legislation that pledges government incentives to the drug industry for research and development of antidotes to various chemical and biological weapons, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 15)...Full Story

Changes Anticipated at Test Ban Treaty Organization By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The international organization responsible for promoting a global nuclear test ban treaty and preparing to monitor compliance with the pact could face significant changes over the coming year, according to officials and documents (see GSN, July 25, 2003)...Full Story

Sept. 11 Commission Report to Outline 10 Missed Chances to Possibly Prevent Attacks The U.S. commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks is expected to outline in a report to be released tomorrow 10 missed opportunities by both the Bush and Clinton administrations to detect and possibly prevent the attacks, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, July 20)...Full Story

	Wednesday, July 21, 2004

Sept. 11 Commission Report to Outline 10 Missed Chances to Possibly Prevent Attacks The U.S. commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks is expected to outline in a report to be released tomorrow 10 missed opportunities by both the Bush and Clinton administrations to detect and possibly prevent the attacks, the Washington Post reported today (see GSN, July 20). Of the 10 “operational opportunities” described in the report, six occurred during the Bush administration and four occurred during the Clinton administration, according to a U.S. official. The missed chances include the CIA’s failure to place the names of two of the hijackers on a terrorist watch list barring them from entering the United States and several unsuccessful efforts to kill or capture terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden, according to a second U.S. official. The report also says, though, that many of missed opportunities had a low chance of success to prevent the attacks, according to sources. “There clearly were many opportunities out there that were not taken advantage of,” said one commission member. “From that, some will conclude it could have been prevented, others will say it might have been prevented and the rest will say it’s impossible to tell. … We said we couldn’t get an answer to this,” the commissioner said (Eggen/Allen, Washington Post, July 21). Back to top       Experts Differ on Creating Intelligence Czar By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — Two U.S. intelligence experts yesterday differed on the merits of creating a national director of intelligence (see GSN, July 20). During a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing on intelligence reform, former U.S. National Security Agency Director William Odom spoke in favor of the proposal, saying the position was the “precondition” for other intelligence reforms. Former Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre countered that it would stifle necessary competition among U.S. intelligence agencies. Renewed calls for the intelligence director were prompted by the release this month of the findings of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence inquiry that was heavily critical of the intelligence community’s performance regarding prewar Iraq’s alleged WMD efforts. Following the release of the committee’s report, a group of senators led by Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) introduced legislation that would establish a position, separate from the CIA director, with authority over intelligence collection priorities and intelligence community resources. In addition, the U.S. commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks is expected to include support for the position in a report of its findings set to be released tomorrow.  There appears to be some debate within the Bush administration over the merits of the proposal. Acting CIA Director John McLaughlin has publicly spoken out against the recommendation several times, saying that the CIA director already fills such a role and that the proposal would add needless bureaucratic layers to the intelligence community. Following McLaughlin’s comments Sunday, though, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said Monday that the acting CIA director was not speaking for President George W. Bush. In his prepared testimony before the Senate intelligence panel yesterday, Odom said he supported Feinstein’s legislation, but added that the bill does not outline how a national intelligence director would relate to the defense secretary and the various regional military commands. Unless that interaction is better clarified, he said, the proposal could lose the support of the Defense Department, which currently oversees several intelligence agencies. Odom also said that a director should be required to conduct a structural review of the intelligence community every five years to help incorporate technological changes. In his prepared testimony, however, former Deputy Defense Secretary Hamre said that a national director would not reduce “group-think” within the intelligence community. “I fear bringing it all under one chief would seriously threaten what little competition for ideas we have,” Hamre said in his prepared testimony. Instead, more needs to be done to improve the “demand” for intelligence, such as through improved congressional oversight of the intelligence community, according to Hamre. In addition, both he and Odom said that policy-makers need to do more to question and fully understand various intelligence assessments. During a separate press conference yesterday, Representative Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) defended Congress’ oversight of the intelligence community since the Sept. 11 attacks. “Clearly, everything can always be better, but we need to view this … in the context of the world that we live in, and the two sides of that world as it relates to terrorism are before 9/11 and after 9/11, and we all look at things in a much different way now,” Blunt said. Blunt made his remarks following a briefing of the Republican leadership of House of Representatives by the chairman and vice chairman of the Sept. 11 commission. Back to top       U.N. Improving Antiterror Cooperation, Official Says By Jim Wurst Global Security Newswire UNITED NATIONS — The chairman of the U.N. Security Council’s Counterterrorism Committee (CTC) said Monday that the committee is improving cooperation with other international counterterrorism organizations. However, several speakers at the council briefing, including the United States, complained that many governments are not doing enough to maintain a united international front against terrorism (see GSN, March 29). Alexander Konuzin, the Russian charge d’affaires who is serving as CTC chairman, said cooperation between the committee and other Security Council sanctions committees is improving and that the committee is also developing greater coordination with the Counterterrorism Action Group of the G-8 industrial countries. “That would open the way for the most effective use of the resources of the donor community,” he said. Resolution 1373, adopted less than three weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks on the United States, requires states to deny terror suspects safe haven for themselves or their finances, cooperate in investigations of terrorism and incorporate antiterrorism provisions in their national laws. The Counterterrorism Committee was established to monitor compliance with that mandate. The resolution also calls on states to submit reports to the committee on their compliance with the resolution. According to the latest CTC report, 71 countries have not submitted reports to the committee on their national activities relevant to Resolution 1373. Countries that have not submitted reports are generally developing countries that say they lack the resources needed to do the report. Konuzin urged countries that have not yet done so to ratify 12 terrorism conventions. “Encouraging states to become parties to the relevant conventions and protocols relating to terrorism … has remained one of the priorities in the work of the committee,” he said. The increasing number is “an important contribution to the strengthening of the international legal basis for the fight against terrorism,” Konuzin added. U.S. Ambassador John Danforth said while there has been a “significant increase” in the number of parties to the terrorism conventions, “there are still too many who have failed to take action in this area.” He added, “This suggests a lack of urgency in fighting terrorism and weakens international solidarity.” Compliance with Resolution 1373 “requires much more than the submission of reports,” Danforth said. It includes action on “the legislative, the regulatory and the operational” fronts. The U.N. committee needs to “reinforce this point,” he added. “It must never forget that so long as a few states are not acting quickly enough to raise their capacity to fight terrorism or are not meeting their international counterterrorism obligations, all of us remain vulnerable,” Danforth said. Konuzin said the Counterterrorism Committee and the committee set up under Resolution 1267 to monitor sanctions against al-Qaeda and the Taliban are exploring ways to improve their work. Chilean Ambassador Heraldo Munoz, who chairs the al-Qaeda and Taliban sanctions committee, said the two committees are “resolved to improve the cooperation,” especially in information sharing.  The United Nations needs “perseverance … and coordination of action,” he said, but “this can only be achieved through the necessary and fundamental cooperation of states and the competent organizations.” Konuzin also said the committee is ready for its first visit to a state “in order to engage in direct dialogue with its authorities as part of monitoring effective implementation of Resolution 1373.” He did not say whether the committee had decided which country to visit first. “Such a mission would be essential for the purposes of creating a climate of cooperation and providing technical assistance,” he said. “The CTC should not be viewed as some kind of inquisition, quite the contrary,” Konuzin said. “We deem it necessary to develop the most friendly relationships with states,” he added. 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Iraq Survey Group Report to Have New Information on Prewar Iraq’s WMD Intent, U.S. Senator Says By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The next report of the Iraq Survey Group, the military unit searching for evidence of Iraq’s alleged prewar WMD efforts, will contain “a good deal of new information” on former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein’s intentions to produce weapons of mass destruction, U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) said yesterday (see GSN, July 1). “I’m not suggesting dramatic discoveries, but incrementally, steady bits and pieces that show that Saddam Hussein was clearly defying the United Nations security regulations, mandates, and that he and his government had a continuing interest in maintaining the potential to shift to the production of various types of weapons of mass destruction in a short period of time,” Warner said. Both the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency yesterday refused to comment on what new information may be included in the next ISG report. While the Iraq Survey Group was previously expected to release its next report in August, that report is now set to come out in September, according to Warner. He made his brief remarks following a closed committee hearing that heard from former ISG head Army Maj. Gen. Keith Dayton on the unit’s activities. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. Joseph McMenamin, in what was described as a routine rotation, has since replaced Dayton as ISG director. McMenamin oversees the daily activities of the unit and reports to chief U.S. weapons inspector in Iraq Charles Duelfer. Warner said that Dayton’s briefing indicated that there was still “concern” in Iraq that lingering aspects of Hussein’s past WMD efforts remain to be found. Such remnants include both pre-1991 Gulf War weapons and the “remnants of what he was doing himself here in the last several years,” Warner said.  Last month, Duelfer said that more than 10 pre-1991 chemical munitions have been found so far in Iraq. The survey group, however, has found no evidence of large stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. Warner also said that former senior Iraqi officials now facing trials on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including Hussein himself, may provide useful information to aid the WMD search. In addition to the former Iraqi president, the 11 other senior officials indicted for war crimes include Ali Hassan al-Majid, also known as “Chemical Ali” for his use of chemical weapons against Iraq’s Kurdish population; former Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan; and former Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz. Dayton also told the committee that he has worked closely with the new Iraqi government, which has “expressed interest” in the ISG’s activities, Warner said. “Clearly, it’s to the benefit of the new government to work with this group because it would be a frightful situation if remnants of the WMD program fell into the hands of terrorists and were utilized in the insurgency movement,” Warner added. Back to top       Straw Knew of Discredited Iraq Intelligence in 2003 British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said he knew in September 2003 that British intelligence agencies had withdrawn their support for a now-discredited source on Iraq’s chemical and biological weapons capability, the Scotsman reported (see GSN, July 20). Prime Minister Tony Blair’s office said he only learned of the withdrawal of the source’s information this year during an inquiry into British intelligence of prewar Iraq’s alleged WMD program. “I became aware of the withdrawal of this reporting when I agreed, in response to a request from SIS on 8 September 2003, that the reports in question should be disclosed to the Intelligence and Security Committee,” Straw told Parliament in a written statement released today (Joe Churcher, Scotsman, July 20). Back to top

Changes Anticipated at Test Ban Treaty Organization By David Ruppe Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The international organization responsible for promoting a global nuclear test ban treaty and preparing to monitor compliance with the pact could face significant changes over the coming year, according to officials and documents (see GSN, July 25, 2003). A large number of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization’s roughly 178 internationally recruited professional staff expect to leave the nearly 8-year-old organization by 2006 in accordance with a seven-year service limit and a temporary policy allowing for a two-year extension (see GSN, Feb. 21, 2003). A comprehensive organizational review is planned for this year and next that could precipitate a restructuring of the organization. An external team will conduct the review to examine how its functional structure, methods of operation, and staffing profile might be changed as the organization shifts from a buildup phase to one of testing and evaluation and operation and maintenance. In addition, the Vienna-based organization’s founding executive secretary, German Ambassador Wolfgang Hoffmann, is scheduled to leave the position next July and be replaced by a successor to be chosen in November. Future executive secretaries will serve a maximum of two four-year terms. The organization’s International Data Center, which receives and processes global monitoring data, and its on-site inspection office, also will get new directors this year. These bureaucratic changes are not as significant as fundamental challenges the organization faces, said Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association. “These are ordinary and useful steps in the development of the CTBTO. However, the real problems the CTBTO faces have to do with obtaining the full contributions of all the member states and obtaining the additional signatures and ratifications to put the international monitoring system in full effect along with the on-site inspection capabilities of the system,” he said. A former CTBTO official who asked not to be identified, though, said he believes the changes could have a significant impact, with the review potentially producing a more flexible organization that is better able to shift resources, rather than hiring new personnel, to meet changing challenges. The loss of skilled professionals because of the tenure policy, meanwhile, could be harmful, the former official said. “They’ll reach a bow wave where a number of very crucial people, the bones of the organization in a way because they have so much requisite experience, could be lost unless the organization smartly manages the turnover and willfully makes exceptions to the seven-year policy,” the former official said. The organization’s decision last month to accept national dues payments in two currencies, the U.S. dollar and the Euro, instead of just the dollar, could also affect the organization. As the dollar has weakened against the Euro, the organization has effectively lost money. Working with two currencies, however, could complicate the CTBTO finances, the former official said. Difficulties in collecting full dues from members have also troubled the organization, which is operating under a $95 million budget this year. Details of the plans were described in the final report of the 22nd session of the organization’s preparatory commission last month. The organization was created in November 1996, two months after the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly and opened for signature. Most countries in the world have signed, 172 of 194, and 115 have ratified, with new nations added nearly every month (see GSN, July 6). International monitoring stations continue to be constructed worldwide, with more than 100 transmitting data that would indicate any nuclear testing. The treaty has not entered into force, as 12 of 44 required states, including the United States, have not ratified. Concerns persist in the international community that the ban and the organization are in danger, because of the prospect that a member or nonmember will resume testing. North Korea has been cited as a concern, having suggested it may test a nuclear weapon, according to U.S. officials (see GSN, June 25).  Analysts also have questioned whether the United States might decide to resume testing in the future, either to help maintain its current nuclear weapons stockpile or develop new capabilities (see GSN, Sept. 3, 2003). The Bush administration has opposed ratifying the treaty to preserve the option of future testing, but has adhered to a unilateral testing moratorium adopted following the last U.S. nuclear test in 1992. Secretary of State Colin Powell said at a congressional hearing this year the United States “will maintain our test prohibition. There’ll be no testing on our side.” Back to top       United States to Aid Transfer of Russian-Origin Spent Fuel From Romanian Reactor By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — The United States and Romania signed an agreement Monday for U.S. help to repatriate Russian-origin spent nuclear fuel from a Romanian research reactor (see GSN, May 27). Under the agreement, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration would aid with the removal of spent fuel from a 2-megawatt research reactor at the Institute of Nuclear Physics and Engineering in the village of Magurele near Bucharest. The material would then be returned to Russia for storage. As host country, Romania would assist in the operation by providing security and other measures, NNSA spokesman Bryan Wilkes said today.  In September 2003, a joint U.S.-Russian operation removed about 15 kilograms of Russian-origin fresh nuclear fuel originally slated to be used in the reactor from the Pitesti Institute for Nuclear Research, west of Bucharest (see GSN, Sept. 22, 2003). Nuclear nonproliferation experts have warned of the proliferation risks posed by unsecured fresh and spent nuclear fuel at research reactors around the world, which could be attractive to terrorists seeking to develop crude nuclear or radiological weapons. In late May, U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham announced the launch of the U.S. Global Threat Reduction Initiative, which seeks to work with Russia to repatriate all Russian-origin fresh highly enriched uranium fuel by the end of 2005 and accelerate and complete the return of all Russian-origin spent fuel by 2010 (see GSN, May 26). According to the NNSA, there are about 4 metric tons of Russian-origin nuclear material at 20 reactor sites in 17 countries (see GSN, June 7). While refusing to provide specific details as to when spent fuel would be returned from the Magurele reactor, Wilkes said that all Russian-origin spent fuel in Romania is set to be repatriated by the end of 2006.  Many details of the U.S. plan to support the effort remain undisclosed, such as, the cost of the operation, the current security situation at the Romanian site, and how much material is set to be returned to Russia from the reactor. A 2000 study prepared by the European Commission says there are 226 spent fuel assemblies in storage at the reactor site. Romania decided in 2002 to permanently shut down the Magurele reactor, which had been inactive since 1997, to prepare it for decommissioning, according to the U.S. Energy Department.  The U.S.-Romanian agreement on implementing nuclear nonproliferation projects was signed Monday in Washington at the Romanian Consulate by Abraham and Romanian Minister Delegate of the Commission for Nuclear Energy Serban Valeca. “This agreement provides yet another excellent opportunity for the United States and Romania to work together to reduce the threat of terrorism through the removal of proliferation-attractive material under the Global Threat Reduction Initiative,” Abraham said Monday in a press statement. Back to top       Abraham Bars Classified Work at Los Alamos U.S. Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham yesterday blocked the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico from conducting classified research until recently discovered security concerns are corrected, according to Agence France-Presse (see GSN, July 20). The Energy Department on Monday began reviewing security procedures at the nuclear weapons research facility following the reported disappearance earlier this month of computer storage disks. Classified research would not resume at Los Alamos until it is determined “that the newly implemented corrective actions provide for complete and verifiable custodial control of such media,” Abraham said in a statement (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 21). Abraham also said that he envisioned classified research resuming at Los Alamos in stages, according to the Washington Post. “Given the very broad nature of the classified activities under way at the lab and likely differences in the ability of some divisions to implement security modifications more quickly than others,” he said, “I expect the restart of the various operations to take place in stages rather than all at once.” During the halt, “supervisors are going to have one-on-one meetings with every single employee to explain the rules and expectations at Los Alamos,” laboratory spokesman Kevin Roark said. “If we get the sense that someone here isn’t willing to buy into that, then they should consider other places of work,” he said. In addition to firings, the revocation of security clearances held by some Los Alamos scientists is also being considered, a senior Energy Department official said (Dafna Linzer, Washington Post, July 21). Meanwhile, a delegation of Energy Department officials and lawmakers that visited Los Alamos earlier this week found that in addition to poor attitudes about security among personnel, the laboratory might also suffer from poor security procedures, according to the Los Angeles Times. The delegation found that the missing computer storage disks were kept in a small safe in hallway next to a vending machine, the Times reported. Access to the safe was governed through an honor system because the safe’s custodian was nowhere in sight, according to the Times. “It was just put down at the end of a hallway, and it looks to me like it was put there because there was space,” said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Joe Barton (R-Texas), who was a member of the delegation. “I don’t think there was any strategic reason it was put there. There weren’t any barriers, and there weren’t surveillance cameras,” he said Eleven Los Alamos employees had the combination to the safe, and all have denied taking the missing disks, the Times reported (Vartabedian/Hanley, Los Angeles Times, July 21). Barton said yesterday that it appears that the two missing computer disks were lost and not stolen. He also said, though, that the disks contained important information related to experiments conducted by Los Alamos’s weapons physics division. “If they were to fall into the wrong hands, it would not be a positive thing for the national security of the United States,” Barton said (Blumenthal/Chang, New York Times, July 21). Back to top       Bolton Says U.S. Won’t be “Fooled Again” by N. Korea U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said today that North Korea should follow the Libyan model of fully eliminating its nuclear programs and that the United States would not be “fooled again” by the offer of a nuclear freeze (see GSN, July 20). The Bush administration would not negotiate a “band-aid solution” that would allow North Korea to someday “flip a switch and unfreeze its programs,” Bolton said. “We are interested in a lasting and meaningful solution to the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons program,” he said. “This was the fundamental failing of the 1994 Agreed Framework and it will not be replicated by the Bush administration,” he added. “We will not be fooled again,” he said. Bolton also ruled out rewarding North Korea for a freeze of its nuclear programs and said instead that Pyongyang should look to Libya’s disarmament as a model. Libya has begun to re-enter the international community after leader Col. Muammar Qadhafi pledged to end all WMD efforts (see GSN, June 29). “Our experience with Libya shows that a freeze is unnecessary, and moreover, would simply delay the time when the people of North Korea could reap the benefits of rejoining the international community,” said Bolton. “The United States and the United Kingdom did not offer specific promises or rewards to the Libyans,” he went on. “Rather, we held out the most attractive incentive available: the ability to naturally reap the benefits that comes from participating fully in the community of nations. … Economic and security benefits have been the natural and inevitable result,” he added. The United States appeared to soften its stance toward North Korea during six-party negotiations in Beijing last month, presenting a plan in which North Korea would be compensated by other negotiating partners for a freeze of its nuclear programs (see GSN, July 13). However, Bolton said the United States would offer no specific rewards to North Korea for complete dismantlement of all nuclear programs, as the U.S. continues to demand. “The principle of not rewarding outlaw regimes merely for coming back into compliance with their past obligations is an important one for the United States to uphold,” he said. “It is not only anathema to our values — it is a bad policy. It will encourage further violations not only with the state in question, but other rogue states as well,” he added (Marina Malenic, Global Security Newswire, July 21). Meanwhile, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Nations Gil Yon Park said yesterday at a one-day visit to the U.S. Senate that his country is prepared to freeze its nuclear development in exchange for “reward,” Asia Africa Intelligence Wire reported. “A freeze is a first step in the dismantlement of the nuclear weapons program and it should come together with rewards,” said Park. Those rewards must include lifting of U.S. economic sanctions and energy aid of 2 million kilowatts of power, he added. Park said there are positive aspects to the U.S. offer presented at the last round of six-party talks, but that it also contains “regrettable elements.” “That is a road map for disarming the D.P.R.K. in stages,” he said. “In other words, it calls for the D.P.R.K. to scrap all its nuclear programs first before our demands can be considered,” he added. Park said the U.S. demand that Pyongyang provide a comprehensive list of its nuclear facilities and disable them within three months was “unscientific” and unrealistic.” “The Korean Peninsula is technically in a state of war and therefore, it is an unreasonable argument to demand the D.P.R.K. disarm first,” Park said (Asia Africa Intelligence Wire/BBC Monitoring, July 21). During Park’s visit, some U.S. lawmakers urged greater efforts in finding a solution to the standoff, Agence France-Presse reported. Senator Joseph Biden of Delaware, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, told Park that his country’s pursuit of nuclear weapons capability destabilizes the region and is politically and economically self-defeating. “The North’s nuclear program is a giant albatross around your neck, in my view,” Biden told Park.  “It’s a waste of resources (and) strains relations with your neighbors,” he went on, adding that nuclear weapons lulled North Korea into a “false sense of security.” “We seek permanent verifiable elimination of all of North Korea’s weapons,” Biden said, adding that both Washington and Pyongyang would reap benefits from such a move. “This is not a zero-sum game,” he said. Representative Curt Weldon (R-Pa.) added that “there’s no more important issue that confronts the world” than convincing North Korea to dismantle its nuclear programs (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 20). Back to top       U.S., U.K. Discuss Referring Iranian Nuclear Situation to United Nations Security Council U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton last week talked with British officials about when to refer Iran to the U.N. Security Council over Tehran’s alleged nuclear weapons program, said a U.S. official (see GSN, July 20). The official would not comment on when the United States would seek a referral, but noted that the International Atomic Energy Agency board of governors is set to meet in September and in November. “Bolton consulted with the British about what might be the appropriate time to move it to the U.N. ... unless they (the Iranians) change their record of noncompliance,” the officials said.  “We are talking to the Brits about precisely that. ... It’s all in the conditional,” said another official (Arshad Mohammed, Reuters, July 20). Meanwhile, Israel’s intelligence chiefs warned today in an annual report to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s security cabinet that Iran would have a nuclear weapons capability by 2007, Agence France-Presse reported. Israeli military intelligence chief Gen. Aharon Zeevi Farkash said earlier this month he believed Iran would be able to build a nuclear weapon by 2007. Today’s report is further endorsed by all of the country’s main intelligence agencies (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 21). Back to top       No Evidence of Syrian Attempts to Develop Nuclear Weapons, IAEA Head ElBaradei Says There is no evidence that Syria is attempting to develop nuclear weapons, International Atomic Energy Agency Director Mohamed ElBaradei said in remarks televised today in Egypt (see GSN, June 28). “We have no proof that Syria is trying to engage in nuclear activities in violation of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty,” ElBaradei said. “We have no information that Syria is involved in any prohibited nuclear activity,” he added (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, July 21). Back to top       U.N. Investigators Warn of Terrorism Risk Posed by Uranium Mining in Democratic Republic of the Congo Illicit mining at a closed uranium mine in the Democratic Republic of the Congo poses a terrorism risk, U.N. investigators warned yesterday (see GSN, June 1). The U.N. mission in the African nation yesterday called on the Congolese government to exercise tighter control over the Shinkolobwe mine. Roughly 15,000 miners have ignored Congolese President Joseph Kabila’s order earlier this year to end activity at the mine, according to the Associated Press. U.N. investigators have “recommended that this mine be secured and put in the charge of a private operation for much more disciplined operations, with the aim of avoiding risks including the high rate of radioactivity ... and uranium trafficking with those who shouldn’t get it in their hands,” U.N. mission spokesman Alexandre Essome said (Associated Press/News24.com, July 20). Back to top       U.S. Test-Launches MX Missile An unarmed Peacekeeper MX ICBM was test-launched early this morning to a target in the Kwajalein Missile Range in the Pacific Ocean, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, May 10). The 1:01 a.m. launch from the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California was a routine test of the weapon’s accuracy and reliability, according to the U.S. Air Force (see GSN, June 24; Associated Press/Monterey County Herald, July 21). Back to top

Bush Signs Bioshield Bill U.S. President George W. Bush today signed into law Project Bioshield, legislation that pledges government incentives to the drug industry for research and development of antidotes to various chemical and biological weapons, the Associated Press reported (see GSN, July 15). The Bioshield bill also speeds up the approval process for new antidotes and allows the government during a crisis to distribute some treatments before seeking Food and Drug Administration approval. U.S. officials hope that research supported by the $5.6 billion program would yield enough new-generation anthrax vaccine for 25 million people, antidotes for botulism and anthrax, a safer smallpox vaccine and a children’s version of an antiradiation pill. The legislation passed the House on a 414-2 vote on Thursday and the Senate by 99-0 in May. “Modern terrorist threats come not just from explosions, but also from silent killers such has deadly germs and chemical agents,” Senator Ted Kennedy, (D-Mass.), an author of the bill, said in a statement released last night. “Project Bioshield creates a lifesaving partnership between our government and the private sector to develop the vaccines needed to project our citizens from this bioterrorism. This bill could save millions of lives,” he added (Associated Press/CNN, July 21). Back to top       FBI Anthrax Investigation Shuts Fort Detrick Labs Some U.S. Army high-security laboratories at Fort Detrick in Maryland were closed Friday as part of the nearly 3-year-old investigation into the 2001 anthrax mailing attacks, the Baltimore Sun reported (see GSN, July 19). Investigators temporarily shut down bacteriology laboratories where anthrax research is conducted at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases in Maryland, according to a source in contact with the institute’s scientists. FBI agents in recent months seized medical records and computer hard drives from the institute, the source said. Numerous employees at the facility were questioned by the FBI early in the investigation of the attacks that killed five people. Agents are expected to be at the labs “for a few more days,” according to Debra Weierman, a spokeswoman for the FBI’s Washington field office.  The bureau released no details of the laboratory investigations, but investigators could be searching for stray anthrax spores that match the genetic and chemical signature of the toxin used in the attack, according to outside scientists. Anthrax spores can survive for centuries in soil and can linger for years in a laboratory where research was performed, said Henry Niman, a Pittsburgh molecular biologist who has followed the anthrax case. “My guess is they’d be vacuuming in all the corners, hoping to find spores that match,” Niman said. “If they can show it came from a certain lab, then they can see who had access to that lab,” he added (Scott Shane, Baltimore Sun, July 21). Back to top

Chemical Weapons Incineration Halted at Tooele Officials halted chemical weapons incineration at the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Utah on Saturday when a substance resembling VX nerve agent was detected in a furnace exhaust stack, the Tooele Transcript Bulletin reported (see GSN, May 4). A chemical agent monitor on the incinerator identified a substance early Saturday morning as having the characteristics of VX agent. The solution being processed at the time was “agent free,” according to Tim Thomas, acting site project manager for the disposal facility. Officials determined that the mortar between some new bricks installed about a week before Saturday’s alarm — a mortar type that had not been used in the past — may have caused the alarm to sound because the “monitors are extremely sensitive,” Thomas said. Incinerator officials suspended destruction operations because the detected material could not be identified, according to the Transcript Bulletin. Incineration is expected to begin again when the source for the alarm is known. “Our commitment is to ensure that this facility is operated safely,” said Gary McCloskey, general manager for EG&G, the private contractor that manages incinerator operations. “If any of our systems fail to provide clear and distinct indication of any type of safety issue, we will immediately suspend operations and correct or repair that system,” he added (Karen Lee Scott, Tooele Transcript Bulletin, July 20). Back to top

Russia to Finish Dismantling 17 Submarines This Year Russia expects this year to complete the elimination of 17 of 24 nuclear submarines slated for dismantlement, Interfax reported yesterday (see GSN, June 25). It takes about 2 1/2 years to dismantle a submarine, according to a Russian Federal Atomic Energy Agency source.  Nuclear fuel has been removed from 12 of the 17 submarines to be scrapped this year, the source said. Russia plans to allocate more than $65 million this year for nuclear submarine dismantlement, according to Interfax. In addition, foreign aid for dismantlement efforts is expected to total more than $70 million in 2004 (Interfax/BBC Monitoring, July 20).     Back to top

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