Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot told the U.N General Assembly this week that additional measures beyond nonproliferation treaties were needed to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction (AFP photo/Tim Sloan). Current Controls Not Enough to Keep WMD Out of Terrorists’ Hands, Leaders Say By Jim Wurst Global Security Newswire UNITED NATIONS — While they issued the familiar refrain that weapons of mass destruction must be kept out of terrorists’ hands, members of the U.N. General Assembly this week offered few ideas about how to make sure that happens beyond a call for greater multilateral cooperation (see GSN, Aug. 27)...Full Story

Iran Yet to Make Uranium-Enrichment Gas, IAEA Says Iran has not yet produced a new batch of uranium hexafluoride gas, a material that can be used to enrich uranium, a senior International Atomic Energy Agency official said yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 27)...Full Story

Low Participation in U.N. Resolution Threatens Antiterrorism Credibility, Diplomat Says By Jim Wurst Global Security Newswire UNITED NATIONS — The chairman of the U.N. Security Council committee monitoring the ways countries are working to deny terrorists access to weapons of mass destruction said yesterday that fulfilling the council mandate should be “an invitation to rally support” for nonproliferation rather than simply “an exchange of information and questions and answers” (see GSN, April 29)...Full Story

	Tuesday, September 28, 2004

Intelligence Bill Authors Expect Opposition The authors of an intelligence reform bill now before the full U.S. Senate that would create a national director of intelligence said they expect opposition from several sources, including lawmakers who feel the bill would take away authority from the Defense Department, the Los Angeles Times reported today (see GSN, Sept. 27). Senate Governmental Affairs Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-Maine) and top panel Democrat Joseph Lieberman (Conn.) said they expect their bill to remain mostly intact as it moves through the amendment process. Opposition to the bill could come, though, from members of the Armed Services and Appropriations committees, who have argued that restructured intelligence community as envisioned in the bill would shift too much authority away from the Pentagon, Collins and Lieberman said. “There is natural resistance to change in this city,” Collins said. Collins and Lieberman also said they were concerned that reform legislation introduced Friday in the House of Representatives would create a national intelligence director with insufficient authority. A spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) said, though, that the House bill had more support than its Senate counterpart because it was crafted with the input of various committee chairmen. Describing the House bill as “more realistic,” Hastert spokesman John Feehrey said, “You don’t reform the intelligence community without negotiating with the Defense and Intelligence committees.” Further dissent could come from senators who believe any reform legislation should be delayed until after the Nov. 2 election, according to the Times (Mary Curtius, Los Angeles Times, Sept. 28). Members of the Sept. 11 commission, which initially proposed the creation of a national intelligence director, said that they are considering whether to begin this week an effort to maintain the Senate bill as written and to persuade the House leadership to rewrite its legislation, according to the New York Times. “We wouldn’t rule anything out,” said former commission Chairman Thomas Kean. “My strong feeling is that we have a moment in time, and if we lose that moment, we may not be able to get the reform that we’re seeking” (Shenon/Hulse, New York Times, Sept. 28). Back to top

Current Controls Not Enough to Keep WMD Out of Terrorists’ Hands, Leaders Say By Jim Wurst Global Security Newswire UNITED NATIONS — While they issued the familiar refrain that weapons of mass destruction must be kept out of terrorists’ hands, members of the U.N. General Assembly this week offered few ideas about how to make sure that happens beyond a call for greater multilateral cooperation (see GSN, Aug. 27). Multilateral nonproliferation treaties help slow the spread of weapons technology, said Dutch Foreign Minister Bernard Bot, speaking on behalf of the European Union. Those efforts, however, “have not succeeded in putting a complete stop to proliferation. Additional measures are necessary, in particular to combat the risk of terrorist organizations gaining access to those weapons and delivery systems,” Bot said. “Strict verification is the key” to safeguarding dangerous materials, said Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin. “The U.N. should establish a permanent inspection and verification mechanism that can reinforce and supplement existing verification systems,” he said. In addition, the United Nations should help the International Atomic Energy Agency to develop “more rigorous controls on sensitive nuclear technology.”  Martin called this “the responsibility to deny,” meaning “the need to ensure that weapons of mass destruction do not spread to states or terrorists prepared to use them under any circumstances. … Nonproliferation and disarmament remain fundamental pillars of the U.N.’s commitment to international peace and security.” Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said the Chemical Weapons Convention “is a good model to follow in respect of other weapons of mass destruction including nuclear weapons.” That treaty applies universally to parties and the verification system is nondiscriminatory, he said.  “There is an increasing reliance on restrictive regimes and the use of punitive action to confront this threat to international peace and security,” Singh said. “We believe that it is only a global consensus of willing nations that would ultimately prove to be more effective in this regard.”  In a quiet critique of U.S. policy, Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing also criticized the drift away from universal nonproliferation standards. It is “important to discard unilateralism and double standards and give full credit and play to [the] role of the U.N.,” he said. “China holds that multilateral arms control, disarmament and nonproliferation processes be steadily promoted so as to further improve the international nonproliferation regime.” Both North and South Korea endorsed a multilateral approach on their nuclear issues, but with considerably different emphases. South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said, “South Korea will faithfully abide by the norms set out in agreements on nuclear nonproliferation” (see GSN, Sept. 27), and called on North Korea to participate in the six-party talks to settle the communist nation’s nuclear issue.  Once settled, “North Korea would indeed be able to become a full-fledged member of the international community, enabling it to gain all the accompanying benefits,” Ban said. “It is our fervent wish that North Korea will make a strategic decision to forgo all its nuclear weapons programs … in a thorough and transparent manner.” North Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon said the deep-rooted “hostile policy” of the United States left his country “with no other option but to possess a nuclear deterrent” since Washington “has been attempting to eliminate [North Korea] by force” (see related GSN story, today).   He said his government proposed a step-by-step plan in the negotiations that would “solve the nuclear issue fundamentally through addressing each other’s concerns,” starting with Pyongyang freezing its nuclear program and the United States lifting economic sanctions and “delisting” North Korea as a sponsor of terrorism. Choe said the United States disregarded this “common understanding” and “has been further intensifying its hostile acts against [North Korea] in a more undisguised way.” The general debate began last week and concludes on Friday. On Monday, the assembly’s disarmament committee begins its annual session. Middle East Egypt and Iran were among the Middle East countries renewing the call for a regional zone free of all weapons of mass destruction, while Iran and Israel both framed the issue of the proliferation in the region by attacking the other and ignoring their own controversies.  “The international community continues to be selective in addressing the question of weapons of mass destruction,” said Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit. “The international community seeks to impose a firm regime to monitor the imports of all the member states of the nonproliferation regime. … The same international community, however, turns a blind eye at the continued stockpiling of nuclear capabilities by” Israel. Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said, “Today we are also more united than ever in opposition to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The international community now realizes that Iran … does not only pose a threat to the security of Israel, but to the security and stability of the whole world. Indeed, Iran has replaced Saddam Hussein as the world’s No. 1 exporter of terror, hate and instability.” Foreign Minister Kamal Kharazi of Iran countered that Israel’s arsenal, “including its weapons of mass destruction [is] the single greatest threat to regional and global peace and security. Israel cannot hide these facts behind smoke screens.” He referred only obliquely to the controversy over Iran’s own nuclear program. “While we insist on our right to technology for peaceful purposes, we have and will leave no stone unturned in order to provide assurances of our peaceful intentions,” said Kharazi. Russia’s Terrorism Draft Resolution Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, citing recent terrorist attacks including the school massacre in Beslan, said the U.N. Security Council needed a new resolution to identify “weak links in the antiterrorism network and increase practical cooperation.” Countries need to do more to ensure asylum rights are not abused as a cover for terrorism, he said. Russia distributed its new draft resolution to council members yesterday. The draft lists a series of actions that “constitute terrorist acts” and says such acts “are under no circumstances justifiable by consideration of a political, philosophical, ideological, racial, ethnic, religious or other similar nature.” The activities include “acts against civilians with the intent to cause death or serious bodily injury or the taking of hostages with the purpose to provoke a state of terror in the general public” or to “intimidate” people or governments to take or refrain from “doing any act.” If the draft were accepted as written, it would be the closest thing the United Nations has as a definition of terrorism. Therefore, the Russian draft moves the U.N. terrorism debate to a new level. The two previous Security Council resolutions most directly dealing with terrorism are 1267 of December 1999 that condemns the Taliban for allowing Afghanistan to be used to support international terrorism, and Resolution 1373, which was passed two weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States and demanded U.N. nations enact antiterrorism legislation. Neither resolution defined terrorism. The General Assembly has been debating for several years a draft antiterrorism treaty, which is being held up over disagreements over the definition of terrorism and how far the use of force by the armed forces of states can be excluded from that definition. The committee negotiating this treaty is scheduled to meet next month. The Russian draft calls on countries to “cooperate fully in resolving all outstanding issues” in these negotiations. India was the original sponsor of the draft terrorism treaty. Said Indian Prime Minister Singh, speaking the same day as Lavrov, “It is a sad reality that international networks of terror appear to cooperate more effectively among themselves than the democratic nations that they target. We speak about cooperation, but seem hesitant to commit ourselves to a global offensive to root out terrorism. … This must change. We do have a global coalition against terrorism. We must now give it substance and credibility, avoiding selective approaches and political expediency.” Back to top       Low Participation in U.N. Resolution Threatens Antiterrorism Credibility, Diplomat Says By Jim Wurst Global Security Newswire UNITED NATIONS — The chairman of the U.N. Security Council committee monitoring the ways countries are working to deny terrorists access to weapons of mass destruction said yesterday that fulfilling the council mandate should be “an invitation to rally support” for nonproliferation rather than simply “an exchange of information and questions and answers” (see GSN, April 29). Romanian Ambassador Mihnea Ioan Motoc said at a news conference that Resolution 1540 of April 2004 requires states to submit reports by Oct. 28 on their national nonproliferation efforts, but only two countries have sent the documents to date. “We cannot have this regime working meaningfully if we don’t have a good response from member states,” Motoc said. “What is at stake is the credibility of the regime put in place by Resolution 1540 … and ultimately the credibility of the Security Council.” Resolution 1540 requires states to “adopt and enforce appropriate effective laws” to deny weapons of mass destruction, their components and means of delivery to any “nonstate actors.” It says governments should “take and enforce effective measures” to protect stocks of WMD-related materials, control cross-border shipments, and prosecute those who violate these measures. The resolution is designed to close a loophole in international law by requiring states to ensure terrorists are denied access to unconventional weapons. Motoc’s committee was set up under the resolution to ensure that states implement national legislation called for in the resolution. This mandate is similar to committees set up under two other resolutions: 1267 of 1999, which imposes sanctions on al-Qaeda and the Taliban; and 1373, a more wide-ranging antiterrorism resolution adopted in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks on the United States. “These are not new threats, they are in fact old threats that have acquired larger dimensions,” Motoc said. While only two countries — Malta and Turkmenistan — have submitted the required reports, Motoc said this was not unusual; in the other committees, the majority of reports come in just before the deadline. What happens after Oct. 28 was not specified in the U.N. resolution. At the time of the unanimous vote in April, it was clear council members agreed with the premise of the draft that more needs to be done to ensure terrorists and other nonstate actors do not acquire nuclear, chemical or biological weapons, since it is an obvious security concern and existing treaties deal only with relationship among states. There were concerns, however, over whether this resolution was the best way to accomplish that goal. In particular, critics worried the resolution would be applied unevenly among states and that the council was creating arms-control law that should be properly done through treaty negotiations. Back to top       Blair Acknowledges Bad Prewar Iraq Intelligence British Prime Minister Tony Blair today acknowledged that prewar intelligence on Iraq’s alleged biological and chemical stockpiles was incorrect, but continued to defend the overthrow of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, according to BBC News (see GSN, Sept. 27). “The evidence about Saddam having actual biological and chemical weapons, as opposed to the capability to develop them, has turned out to be wrong. I acknowledge that and accept it,” Blair said in a keynote address to the ruling Labor Party’s annual conference. While noting the large-scale public opposition to the Iraq war, Blair also said that he “can’t, sincerely at least, apologize for removing Saddam.” “The world is a better place with Saddam in prison, not in power,” Blair said (BBC News, Sept. 28). Back to top

Iran Yet to Make Uranium-Enrichment Gas, IAEA Says Iran has not yet produced a new batch of uranium hexafluoride gas, a material that can be used to enrich uranium, a senior International Atomic Energy Agency official said yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 27). “We are not aware they have produced UF6,” the official told Agence France-Presse in Vienna. Diplomats said successful gas production by Tehran would be a strong sign to take action against the Islamic republic over its nuclear program, according to AFP (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Sept. 27). Meanwhile, analysts said Israel would not be able to eliminate Iran’s nuclear installations with a single air strike, as it did Iraq’s Osirak nuclear plant near Baghdad in 1981. “You have to have solid intelligence, you have to know what to hit. ... The intelligence on Iran is very weak,” said Alex Vatanka, an expert on Iranian security issues at Jane’s Sentinel Security Assessments in London. Last year, Iranian opposition leaders claimed that foreign intelligence services had not yet discovered the existence of two particular Iranian nuclear installations, Israeli strategic analyst Reuven Pedatzur said. “There is no good intelligence on Iran, and this is the proof,” he said. “Any Israeli attack on Iran would cause huge political damage, and in the end, the program would proceed.” In addition, Iran’s nuclear facilities are dispersed throughout the country and have sophisticated defense systems, said Cliff Kupchan, vice president of the Nixon Center in Washington and a former Clinton administration Iran expert. Kupchan added that International Atomic Energy Agency threats to impose sanctions on Iran are unrealistic because U.N. members, particularly those like Brazil that have nuclear programs themselves, would be reluctant to support such a move. Sanctions against Iranian oil production are also unlikely, according to Kupchan, due to high world demand for Iranian crude. “If the U.S. moves aggressively, it won’t be sanctions, it will be a coalition of the willing,” he said (Associated Press/USA Today, Sept. 28). Back to top       Kyrgyzstan Blocks Attempted Plutonium Sale Authorities in Kyrgyzstan blocked an attempt to sell 60 containers carrying plutonium 239, a Kyrgyz national security committee spokeswoman said today (see GSN, July 22). It is unknown how much material was in the containers, according to Agence France-Presse. One man was captured during the seizure of the containers last week, while another escaped, the spokeswoman said. She also said that authorities are investigating how the detained man obtained the plutonium since it is not used in Kyrgyzstan (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Sept. 28). The grade of the plutonium was high enough to make a radiological “dirty bomb,” an official said. The Kyrgyz National Security Service is concerned by the increase in the smuggling of radioactive materials, agency spokeswoman Chinara Asanova said. Earlier this year, Kyrgyz authorities arrested two men in connection with an attempted sale of 110 grams of cesium 137, she said (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Sept. 28). Back to top       North Korea Claims to Have “Nuclear Deterrent”; South Korea Dismisses Statement as Propaganda North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Su Hon yesterday told the U.N. General Assembly that Pyongyang was forced to develop a nuclear deterrent because the United States was planning to “eliminate” the communist country by making it “a target of pre-emptive nuclear strikes” (see GSN, Sept. 24). “Our deterrent is, in all its intents and purposes, the self-defensive means to cope with the ever increasing U.S. nuclear threats and further, prevent a nuclear war in northeast Asia,” he said in a news conference after the speech Choe declined to discuss details of the deterrent, but said, “We have already made clear that we have already reprocessed 8,000 wasted fuel rods and transformed them into arms.” When asked if the fuel had been turned into weapons, not just weapon-grade material, Choe said, “We declared that we weaponized this.” South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Soo-hyuck in April said it was believed that the 8,000 fuel rods could yield enough plutonium for up to eight nuclear bombs, according to AP. A State Department official in Washington responded to Choe’s statements by noting that Secretary of State Colin Powell has said repeatedly that the United States has no intention to attack North Korea. The Bush administration has long believed that North Korea has at least one or two nuclear weapons, he added While North Korea would still consider dismantling its nuclear program, according to Choe, the “ever-intensifying U.S. hostile policy and the clandestine nuclear-related experiments recently revealed in South Korea are constituting big stumbling blocks” for North Korea’s participation in multilateral talks (Edith Lederer, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Sept. 28). South Korean officials today dismissed as propaganda Choe’s claims regarding the spent fuel rods, Agence France-Presse reported. “The chances are high for his remarks to be part of a highly calculated propaganda offensive,” a South Korean official was quoted by YTN cable news television as saying. “But we are trying to verify what he really meant.” “North Korea has been insisting on a nuclear deterrent against what it claims to be a hostile US policy toward its regime. The comment this time is nothing new from its previous stance that it will possess a nuclear deterrent,” another official told the Yonhap News Agency. “It is hard to believe the North has finished reprocessing all the fuel rods,” under its technological and time constraints, he added (Agence France-Presse/SpaceWar.com, Sept. 28). Back to top       South African Court Denies Bail to Two Men Arrested on Nuclear Technology Smuggling Charges Two German men arrested earlier this month in South Africa on charges of smuggling nuclear weapons-related technology were denied bail today, according to BusinessDay (see GSN, Sept. 9). The men, Gerhard Wisser, managing director of the Randburg engineering firm, and Daniel Geiges, a company director, were arrested on suspicion of importing and exporting uranium enrichment-related equipment (South Africa Press Association/BusinessDay, Sept. 28). Back to top

Newport Chemical Weapons Facility Ready to Begin Destroying VX Nerve Agent, Awaits Permission The U.S. Army’s Newport Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Indiana is ready to begin chemically neutralizing its stockpile of VX nerve agent, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Sept. 24). John Stewart, project site manager for contractor Parsons Technology, Inc. sent a letter to the Army last week indicating that the facility proved during tests to be safe and effective and that qualified personnel have been trained to operate it “in an environmentally compliant manner.” The letter verifies that 190 recommendations made after tests in August have been followed, said Army project site manager Jeff Brubaker. The Army is reviewing the letter and supporting documents to decide whether to approve the start of disposal at the facility, Brubaker said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is still reviewing the Army’s plan to transport the hazardous waste byproduct from Indiana to New Jersey for final treatment and disposal, according to AP (Associated Press/Indianapolis Star, Sept. 28). Back to top       Experts Find More Chemical Weapons in China Chinese and Japanese experts recovered at least 67 World War II-era Japanese chemical weapons from a site in northeastern China after a three-week search that ended yesterday, according to the Kyodo News Agency (see GSN, Sept. 24). The search found about 2,000 weapons, mostly conventional munitions such as grenades and land mines (Kyodo News Agency/Japan Today, Sept. 28). Back to top       U.S. to Dispose of Mustard Shell Found in Delaware Dover Air Force Base officials are asking the U.S. Army’s Nonstockpile Chemical Materiel Program to help dispose of a World War I-era chemical munition discovered by a state trooper in a Delaware driveway in July, the Army said in a press release Friday (see GSN, July 26). The Army is expected to use the Explosive Destruction System, which it has used to successfully treat more than 200 chemical warfare items, according to the statement. Officials have scheduled an open house so the public can view the equipment on Oct. 6 at the Delaware Agricultural Museum and Village in Dover. The projectile contains mustard agent, according to the Army. It remains stored at the Air Force base. Disposal is scheduled for mid-October (U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency release, Sept. 24). Back to top       Solomon Islands Joins Chemical Weapons Convention The Solomon Islands last week formally joined the Chemical Weapons Convention, according to the Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corp. (see GSN, May 26). Foreign Minister Laurie Chan deposited the nation’s instrument of accession Thursday. To date, 165 countries have joined the treaty (Solomon Islands Broadcasting Corporation/BBC Worldwide Monitoring, Sept. 27). Back to top

U.S. Threatens Security by Deploying Missile Defense Destroyers, North Korea Says Deploying Aegis destroyers in the Sea of Japan as part of the U.S. missile defense system is a threat to North Korean national security, the communist country announced yesterday (see GSN, Sept. 27). “These facts again show clearly that there is absolutely no change to the ambitions of the American war enthusiasts to isolate and crush the republic,” said a broadcast of the state-run Korean Central Radio monitored by Japan’s Radio Press (Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Sept. 27). Back to top       Canadian Lawmakers Might Not Vote on U.S. Missile Defense Participation, Defense Minister Says Canadian lawmakers may not have the chance to vote on Canada’s potential participation in U.S. missile defense efforts because such cooperation would be conducted under a treaty provision that does not need ratification, Defense Minister Bill Graham said Sunday (see GSN, Sept. 23). “The government has to be able to enter into international affairs and be able to conduct the affairs of Canada without always having to go to the House [of Commons] for permission,” he said (CTV.ca, Sept. 27).       Back to top

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