U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton (shown in a February photo) said yesterday that the United States wants to diplomatically resolve the crisis surrounding Iran’s nuclear efforts (AFP photo/Toshifumi Kitamura). Bolton Says U.S. Wants Diplomatic Solution to Iran Nuclear Crisis U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said yesterday that the United States prefers a diplomatic solution to Iran’s suspected pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability, Reuters reported (see GSN, Aug. 23). “There’s no question that U.S. President (George W.) Bush wants to resolve the Iranian issue diplomatically,” Bolton told Reuters. ..Full Story

Senate Intelligence Chairman’s Reform Proposal Finds Little Outright Support But Vocal Opposition By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — A far-reaching intelligence reform proposal unveiled Sunday by Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) has been met this week with reactions ranging from cool to hostile from the White House, current and former administration officials and lawmakers (see GSN, Aug. 23)...Full Story

U.S. Says North Korea Nuclear Talks to Proceed; Pyongyang Again Denounces Bush Discussions to resume six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear programs are continuing, despite Pyongyang’s rejection of a new round of working-level negotiations, a U.S. State Department spokesman said yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 23)...Full Story

	Tuesday, August 24, 2004

Senate Intelligence Chairman’s Reform Proposal Finds Little Outright Support But Vocal Opposition By Mike Nartker Global Security Newswire WASHINGTON — A far-reaching intelligence reform proposal unveiled Sunday by Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) has been met this week with reactions ranging from cool to hostile from the White House, current and former administration officials and lawmakers (see GSN, Aug. 23). The most radical aspect of Roberts’ proposal, which is supported by other Republican members of the Senate intelligence panel, would convert the three main directorates of the CIA into separate agencies and place them under the control of a national intelligence director.  The new director would also be given control over some intelligence agencies and operations currently controlled by the Defense Department — the National Security Agency, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and the human intelligence service of the Defense Intelligence Agency. In addition, the national intelligence director would have full budgetary and personnel authority over the intelligence units of other Cabinet-level departments and the remaining DIA analytical elements. Roberts’ proposal is the latest move in a debate on intelligence reform set off by the release last month of the recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission, one of which was the creation of a national intelligence director to oversee the entire U.S. intelligence community. Most of the discussion on the proposed position has focused on what level of budgetary and personnel authority the new director should have. U.S. President George W. Bush yesterday did not comment directly on the merits of Roberts’ proposal, saying instead that the White House is “looking at all options.” “Senator Roberts is a good, thoughtful guy who came up with an idea, and … we’ll look at it. … We’ll take a look at it, determine, you know, whether or not it works or not. But there's going to be a lot of other ideas, too, as this debate goes forward,” Bush said following a meeting with defense officials at his ranch in Crawford, Texas. While supportive of the creation of a national intelligence director, Bush said that he did not want the new director to stand between “me and my line operators, like the secretary of defense.” “In other words, once intelligence is in place and once we’ve … come up with a decision as to how to act, I want to make sure the person responsible for the action has a direct report to me,” he said. The White House may now attempt to “recapture the initiative” in the intelligence reform debate, possibly by releasing a set of executive orders implementing reform measures, said Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy. The White House wants to show that “it’s leading the debate, not following others,” he said today. The most hostile and vocal criticism of Roberts’ proposal has come from current and former intelligence officials.  Former CIA Director George Tenet was quoted today by the Washington Post as saying that the proposal would “gut the CIA.” “Senator Roberts’ proposal is yet another episode in the mad rush to rearrange wiring diagrams in an attempt to be seen as doing something,” Tenet said. “It is time for someone to slam the brakes on before the politics of the moment drives the security of the American people off a cliff.” Agence France-Presse today quoted Tenet’s acting replacement, John McLaughlin, as calling Roberts’ proposal “a step backward.” The U.S. Defense Department, which has urged caution throughout the intelligence reform debate, plans to examine Roberts’ proposal, a Pentagon official said today. The official added that it was “too premature” to comment on the plan’s merits. “They key thing … is to entertain any and all proposals at this point,” especially those coming from “an experienced hand like the senator,” the Pentagon official said. Lawmakers’ Reactions In Congress, Roberts’ proposal was met with criticism by Senator Jay Rockefeller (W.Va.), the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee. While saying Sunday that he had not seen the details of the proposal, Rockefeller said that any action to disband the CIA while the United States was engaged in the war on terrorism would be a “severe mistake.” Rockefeller and other Democratic members of the Senate intelligence panel have also criticized the proposal for being developed by Republican senators without their input. A spokesman for Senate Armed Services Committee John Warner (R-Va.) said yesterday that while the senator has not been briefed on Roberts’ proposal, he has “concerns” about any move to transfer Pentagon intelligence assets and to limit the defense secretary’s budgetary and personnel authority “during wartime.” “There are legislative steps that can be taken now to strengthen our intelligence community without causing disruption during wartime, and Chairman Warner intends to work with other senators over the next few weeks to craft them,” Warner spokesman John Ullyot said in a statement. Warner previously suggested enhancing the stature and authority of the director of central intelligence as a reform measure (see GSN, Aug. 18). Roberts yesterday sought to respond to critics of his proposal, citing as an example of successful change the 1947 National Security Act, which converted the U.S. Army Air Corps into the U.S. Air Force. “Did the change of uniform, leadership and name ‘gut’ our air power capabilities? Absolutely not.  In less than three years from its creation, the Air Force transitioned from the propeller age to the jet age and successfully engaged the North Koreans in both air interdiction and air superiority campaigns during the Korean War,” he said in a statement. The leaders of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee, Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-Maine) and top Democrat Senator Joseph Lieberman (Conn.), yesterday “thanked” Roberts for his proposal, but also did not comment on its specifics. The committee is responsible for submitting intelligence reform legislation to the full Senate by Oct. 1. “We thank Senator Roberts for his response to our request for input on these issues and value the recommendations as we draft legislation to reorganize our country’s intelligence agencies, with the ultimate goal of strengthening the intelligence system to make our country safer,” Collins and Lieberman said in a joint statement. “We also welcome the opinions and proposals of others who have expertise in this area, as we proceed with this important undertaking,” they added. Representative Jane Harman (Calif.), the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said that she welcomed news that Republicans on the Senate intelligence panel “favor major structural reform.” The office of Representative Porter Goss (R-Fla.), who Bush has named as his choice for CIA director, did not return calls for comment. Goss has served for the past eight years as chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence (see GSN, Aug. 10). Back to top

NYC Hospitals Called Unprepared for WMD Attack New York City hospitals are not fully prepared to deal with the aftermath of a chemical, biological or nuclear attack due to insufficient federal funding, the New York Times reported today (see GSN, July 14). The Republican National Convention, scheduled from Aug. 30 to Sept. 2, is expected to be the city’s largest security challenge in recent memory, and resources provided to hospitals to meet that demand are insufficient, said Kenneth Raske, president of the Greater New York Hospital Association. “What the convention does is create a singular moment in time when all the planning and all the resources have to be at an optimal level,” Raske told the Times. “The problem is that the federal government has not provided the resources or done their fair share of what they needed to do.” Officials said hospitals are lacking decontamination facilities for biological and chemical attacks; burn beds for a nuclear attack; and isolation facilities for patients infected with deadly diseases resulting from a biological attack. It would take hundreds of millions of dollars for hospitals and medical facilities in the New York area to make further serious progress in readiness for a WMD attack, the Times reported (Marc Santora, New York Times, Aug. 24). Back to top

Bolton Says U.S. Wants Diplomatic Solution to Iran Nuclear Crisis U.S. Undersecretary of State John Bolton said yesterday that the United States prefers a diplomatic solution to Iran’s suspected pursuit of a nuclear weapons capability, Reuters reported (see GSN, Aug. 23). “There’s no question that U.S. President (George W.) Bush wants to resolve the Iranian issue diplomatically,” Bolton told Reuters. “The evidence ... points to an Iranian nuclear weapons program,” Bolton added. Bolton was responding to comments from analysts who said the administration seeks regime change in Iran rather than a diplomatic resolution. “They are not interested in resolving the crisis or changing regime behavior, they want to change the regime,” said Joseph Cirincione, head of nonproliferation at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington. “Evidence that highlights the Iranian threat is promoted, evidence that explains Iranian behavior is belittled,” he said. Bolton said the United States has since June 2003 consistently pushed the International Atomic Energy Agency to report Iran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions. “If that’s not a diplomatic initiative, I don’t know what is,” he said, denying speculation that the United States plans to overthrow the Iranian regime.  Iran probably wants the option to develop nuclear weapons, according to former U.N. weapons inspector David Albright. He added, however, that there is little evidence to support the U.S. contention that Tehran is hurriedly pursuing a nuclear weapons capability. “They have weak evidence. I think even (the U.S. hard-liners) are worried they don’t have a case,” Albright said. “The hard-liners in the U.S. could really trigger Iran to race to get a nuclear weapon,” he added (Louis Charbonneau, Reuters/Yahoo!News, Aug. 23). Meanwhile, Iranian Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani (see GSN, Aug. 19) was quoted in today’s issue of his country’s state newspaper as saying that the Islamic republic would not launch a pre-emptive attack on another country, Agence France-Presse reported. “Our defense doctrine is that we will not initiate any attack, and that is a written one,” Shamkhani said. “In the past 25 years we never initiated any attack. Every time it was the other side who launched an offensive.” (Agence France-Presse/Turkish Press, Aug. 24). Elsewhere, Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi again said Iran would retaliate if Israel attacked Iranian nuclear installations, the Associated Press reported. “If they would do that, we would react,” said Kharazi, who was meeting with officials in New Zealand. “We have our defense capability and that certainly keeps others from exercising such a threat. They know what is our capability and how … we react” (Ray Lilley, Associated Press/Ha'aretz, Aug. 23). Back to top       U.S. Says North Korea Nuclear Talks to Proceed; Pyongyang Again Denounces Bush Discussions to resume six-party talks on North Korea’s nuclear programs are continuing, despite Pyongyang’s rejection of a new round of working-level negotiations, a U.S. State Department spokesman said yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 23). “North Korea, as well as the other parties to the six-party talks, agreed at the last round to meet again in a plenary … before the end of September,” said State Department spokesman Adam Ereli. “That agreement is still operative. We are still working with China and the other parties to schedule something, including a working group to precede the plenary. Those discussions are ongoing.” Ereli also dismissed North Korea’s statement yesterday denouncing U.S. President George W. Bush. “I don’t think it really merits a comment,” said Ereli. “Personal attacks on the president are — obviously we reject them and they’re obviously inappropriate, but there’s really not much more to say” (U.S. State Department release, Aug. 23). Meanwhile, North Korea in a statement today called Bush “a thrice-cursed fascist tyrant” who has ignited a new Cold War by invading Afghanistan and Iraq and seeks to overthrow the communist leadership in Pyongyang. “Now that that U.S. has clearly revealed its true intention, the D.P.R.K. (North Korea) can no longer pin any hope on the six-party talks and there is a question as to whether there is any need for it to negotiate with the U.S. any more,” the statement read, according to Agence France-Presse (Agence France-Presse/Yahoo!News, Aug. 24). South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck departed Seoul today for visits to China and Japan to discuss reviving the stalled talks, the Korea Times reported. “Chief delegate Lee will visit Beijing on Aug. 24-25 and Tokyo on Aug. 26-27 to discuss the nuclear issue,” said Cho Tae-yong, Seoul’s deputy chief negotiator. “We’re also setting up a schedule for visits to the United States and Russia.” Despite “the reluctant attitude of North Korea,” Cho said officials in Seoul believe the fourth round of talks would be held in Beijing by the end of next month as agreed upon by the parties in June. Lee’s visits this week indicate South Korea’s anxiety about the stalled talks, according to the Times. “We’ve been waiting for positive results as other nations, including the host China, have tried to decide on the schedule,” said one diplomatic source. “But now we have become unable to wait and see any longer.” (Ryu Jin, Korea Times, Aug. 24). Back to top

Researchers Find Compounds That Block Anthrax Toxins Researchers at the University of Chicago have discovered three compounds that help block the toxins produced by the anthrax bacterium, the U.S. State Department announced yesterday (see GSN, Aug. 20). Using new screening methods, researchers have discovered unrelated compounds that block two of the toxins produced by the anthrax bacterium — edema factor and lethal factor. The compounds are undergoing cell culture and animal testing, the department said (U.S. State Department release, Aug. 23). Back to top       Sentencing Delayed in Anthrax Hoax Case A hearing set to take place today to sentence Clayton Lee Waagner, who was convicted last year of sending fake anthrax to women’s health clinics, has been indefinitely suspended while the U.S. Supreme Court considers the legality of federal sentencing rules, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Dec. 4, 2003). U.S. District Judge Anita Brody signed an order Friday to delay Waagner’s sentencing hearing until the Supreme Court decides two unrelated cases on federal sentencing guidelines, AP reported. The court is set to consider the cases in October, according to AP.  Once sentenced, Waagner could face decades in prison (David Caruso, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Aug. 24). Back to top

Safety Concerns Delay Newport VX Neutralization The U.S. Army has delayed VX nerve agent destruction at the Newport Chemical Depot in Indiana after nearly 200 operational and safety concerns were uncovered during a test run, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, July 16). The neutralization project, which had been scheduled to begin by September, has been delayed until sometime between October and December, said Army site project manager Jeff Brubaker. Among the changes recommended by two teams of government monitors following last month’s tests are: installing more air-monitoring equipment, increasing backup power in the laboratory and eliminating condensation dripping from air ducts. “Some of these were safety-related, but none of them were show-stoppers,” said Army spokeswoman Terry Arthur. The first monitoring team consisted of top Army officials, while the second included representatives from the Army, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Health and Human Services Department, according to AP. The CDC is examining the Army’s chemical agent destruction method, plans to ship neutralization waste to New Jersey, and whether a DuPont Inc. plant there can safely treat and dispose of the waste. The Army’s plan cannot go forward until the agency completes its review, the AP reported. There is no timeline for the review and submission of the findings to Congress, CDC spokeswoman Stephanie Creel said yesterday. “We don’t want to rush this. We want to do the best science we can, but we understand the need to do it well and do it quickly,” Creel said (Rick Callahan, Associated Press/Indianapolis Star, Aug. 24). Back to top       Army to Develop New Leak Detection, Notification Methods at Chemical Weapons Storage Facilities The U.S. Army is developing new capabilities to detect leaks at eight chemical weapons storage sites and to inform local communities more quickly in case of contamination, the Arkansas News Bureau reported today (see GSN, Aug. 19). State environmental officials, community activists and disposal site officials from around the country made 13 recommendations yesterday at an Army Chemical Materials Agency workshop, including improving the community notification process, adding supplemental monitoring, lowering false alarms and improving measurement equipment. “The meeting today was to better understand the concerns of the community,” said agency Director Michael Parker. The agency hopes to develop a new detection requirement by the end of the year to be implemented by next spring, said Parker, who added that existing Army regulations exceed all of the current federal requirements for such monitoring. The Army has equipment that can detect chemical agents and trigger an alarm within 15 minutes of agent release, added agency spokesman Greg Mahall (Alison Vekshin, Arkansas News Bureau, Aug. 24). Back to top

Russia to Dismantle Akula-Class Nuclear Submarine Russia plans to dismantle a second Akula-class attack submarine at the Sevmash defense shipyard in the northern city of Severodvinsk, ITAR-Tass reported today (see GSN, Aug. 20). The United States is expected to help fund the effort through the Cooperative Threat Reduction program (ITAR-Tass/BBC Worldwide Monitoring, Aug. 24). Meanwhile, Japanese Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs Kazunori Tanaka is expected to view facilities dismantling submarines from Russia’s Pacific Fleet during a five-day visit that began yesterday, Agence France-Presse reported. The work is being funded by Japan’s Star of Hope program to dismantle 40 Russian nuclear submarines (Agence France-Presse, Aug. 23). Back to top

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