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                         NUCLEAR POLICY
 
1 [DU-WATCH] Warning of uranium contamination risks in Iraq
2 Guardian Unlimited: Who was that at the shredder?
3 KR Washington Bureau: Doubts, dissent stripped from public version o
4 Washington Post: The Price Of Failure In Iraq 
5 UK Independent: Jones breaks cover again: Blair raised 'false expect
6 Korea Herald: [EDITORIAL]Kahn's nuclear confession   
7 Korea Herald: N.K. crisis should be solved through talks   
8 Hi Pakistan: N Korea signed N-deal with Pakistan 
9 Las Vegas SUN: Pakistan Denies Sending Nukes to N. Korea
10 US: NRC: Notice of Consideration of Amendment Request for the Dow
11 US: Salt Lake Tribune: Revived N-testing evokes dread 
12 US: Washington Post: President Bush, at Home With the Issues 
13 US: Public Citizen: Public Citizen to Senate: Stop This Energy Bill 
14 IPS-English PAKISTAN: Even with Pardon, Nuke Sale Saga Far
15 NYT: Libya's A-Bomb Blueprints Reveal New Tie to Pakistani
16 AU SMH: Sold nuclear plans less advanced than feared
17 NYT: Excerpts: For General, an ’Extremely Sensitive’ Case
18 IHT: Pakistan's nuclear inquiry is a sham
19 TIME Asia Magazine: Nuclear Reaction
20 BBC: India steers clear of nuclear row 
21 BBC: Pakistan warned on nuclear trade 
22 Haaretz: Administrative detention being considered for Vanunu       
23 Hi Pakistan: Pakistan, India not to sign NPT
24 Xinhuanet: Pakistan ready to cooperate with int'l nuclear watch dog 
25 Chicago Sun-Times Report: Al-Qaida has suitcase-size nuclear bombs 
26 Hi Pakistan: N-issue to dominate Senate session 
27 Hi Pakistan: N-probe contents should be shared with the opposition: 
28 Hi Pakistan: ‘Musharraf settled N-scientists’ issue wisely’ --
29 Tri-Valley Herald: Terrorists strive to make dirty bomb
30 Hi Pakistan: Musharraf vows no more leaks of nuclear secrets 
31 Hi Pakistan: Government stopped expert leaking nuclear secrets as ea
32 Paktribune: India says Pakistan not the only nuclear proliferator
33 BulletinWire News: India's new toys                                 
34 Moscow Times: Ukraine Denies Sale Of Nuclear Weapons
35 Las Vegas SUN: Powell Thanks Pakistan for Nuclear Probe
36 Las Vegas SUN: U.S. Urges Pakistan Against Nuke Network
 
                         NUCLEAR REACTORS
 
37 US: [NukeNet] Exelon brings in high powered lobbyists for Oyster
38 US: NRC: NRC Invites Public to Submit Nominations for the Advisory C
39 US: Brattleboro Reformer: Marlboro Selectboard holding evacuation pl
40 The Jakarta Post - Work on nuclear plant to begin
41 ITAR-TASS: Russia supplies first low-enriched uranium batch for Mexi
42 US: NRC: Teleconferences Available for February 12 Davis-Besse Meeti
 
                          NUCLEAR SAFETY
 
43 [du-list] Effects of wars and the use of DU on Iraq - Dr Jawd
44 Scotsman: Tablets Issued Near Nuclear Sub Berths
 
                         NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
 
45 NRC: NRC to Hold Public Meeting in Eunice, N.M., on Environmental Re
46 MercoPress: Radioactive cargo crosses Panama Canal 
 
                         NUCLEAR WEAPONS
 
47 [NukeNet] U.S.-Russian Plan to Destroy Atom-Arms Plutonium Is
48 The Sunflower - February 2004 - Issue 81
 
                        US DEPT. OF ENERGY
 
49 Tri-City Herald: DOE's river shore work should be open to all 
50 Tri-City Herald: Dirty job nears end 
51 U.S. Newswire: Energy Sec. Abraham Opens New Fuel Cell Testing Facil
 
                          OTHER NUCLEAR
 
52 Google News Alert - nuclear
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                         FULL NEWS STORIES
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 1 [DU-WATCH] Warning of uranium contamination risks in Iraq
 
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2004 12:31:05 -0600 (CST)

 
[I hope these UMRC heroes receive the best care Canada can provide,
immediately. Yes, they are heroes, because they, unlike most of other
potential victims, were fully aware of the risks involved in a field survey
in Iraq. -PB]

=========================
UMRC Information Bulletin
February 6, 2004

Warning of uranium contamination risks to NGO staff, Coalition forces,
foreign contract personnel and civilians in Iraq

      February 6, 2004  Recently completed laboratory analyses show two
members of Uranium Medical Research Centres (UMRC) field investigation team
are contaminated with Depleted Uranium (DU). The two field staff, one from
Canada and the other, Beirut, toured Iraq for thirteen days in October 2003;
five months after the cessation of Operation Iraqi Freedoms aerial bombing
and ground force campaign. Using mass spectrometry, UMRCs partner
laboratory in Germany measured DU in both team members urine samples.

      The UMRC team surveyed US and British controlled combat areas and
bomb-sites in southern Iraq, including Baghdad, An Nasiriyah, As Suweiriah
and Al Basra (details can be found at UMRC.net, Abu Khasib to Al Ahqaf:
Field Investigation Report). The conditions responsible for the teams DU
contamination are considered to be inhalation of resuspended ultra-fine soil
and dust particles saturated with uranium and airborne uranium oxides and
metallic particulate. Uranium was used in anti-tank penetrators, suppression
ordnance and bunker-defeat warheads deployed during the 26 days of Operation
Iraqi Freedom by both US and UK forces. The contamination of UMRCs team
members occurring over a two-week period, many months after the main
conflict, represents a risk to civilians, non-governmental organisations
staff, Coalition armed forces and foreign contractors and diplomatic staff.

      In 1997, UMRC was the first study group to detect DU in the urine of
Canadian, British and US troops who served in Gulf War I. The urinary
excretion of battlefield uranium was identified six years following
exposure. In January 2004, the US Department of Veterans Affairs admitted it
had detected DU in the urine of US forces who are not retaining DU shrapnel,
in 2000, eight years after Desert Storm. In 2001 and again in 2002, UMRC
measured high concentrations of artificial uranium containing the synthetic
isotope, 236U, in Afghan civilians exposed to the detonation plumes of bombs
deployed during Operation Enduring Freedom.

      In November 2003, the British Ministry of Defence (MOD) released a
formal statement to the Guardian disclaiming UMRCs Operation Telic findings
of high levels of radioactivity in British-led battlefields. The MOD stated
unequivocally that battlefield uranium residues remain stable inside
defeated Iraqi tanks and cannot be made biologically available to humans.
Since then, the MOD has found unusually high concentrations of uranium
excreted in the urine of its 1st Armoured Division troops who served in
Basra (September 2003, UK DU Oversight Board Meeting minutes, Gulf Veterans
Illnesses Unit, UK Ministry of Defence). The MODs recent findings in its
troops now deployed back to Germany, coupled with the contamination of UMRC
s staff demonstrate the need to initiate immediate solutions to protect
exposed civilians and foreign personnel in Iraq.

      Preliminary results of UMRCs laboratory analysis of field samples of
civilian urine, soils and water samples indicate uranium contamination in
several Iraqi cities and battlefields. Details of UMRCs findings from US
and British controlled battlefields and bombsites will be released later
this month (February 2004). UMRC has offered its assistance to the United
Nations Environment Program (UNEP) to guide UNEPs post-conflict study team
to radiologically contaminated bombsites and battlefields in Iraq and
Afghanistan. UMRC urges UNEP to undertake immediate studies and lead the
implementation of a radiation protection program for Iraqi and Afghan
civilians as well as a supervised environmental clean-up program, as early
as possible.

For information:
T Weyman
Iraq Field Team Lead
Info@UMRC.net

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 2 Guardian Unlimited: Who was that at the shredder?
		 	
The joint intelligence committee chairman, John
Scarlett, was well-placed to cherry-pick intelligence 		
		
Richard Tomlinson
Monday February 9, 2004
The Guardian 		
		
The Butler inquiry will irritate the secret intelligence service, 
the Foreign Office and the defence intelligence service, none of 
which will welcome such unprecedented delving into their 
procedures and integrity. But I am confident that Lord Butler's 
report will exonerate all three principal players in the 
intelligence bureaucracy. John Scarlett, the joint intelligence 
committee chairman, may, however, be sleeping less easily. 

I worked in SIS's operational counter-proliferation department 
from 1993 until 1995. My principal targets were Iran and Libya, 
and my objectives were to penetrate, disrupt and gather 
intelligence on the operations by those two countries to obtain 
chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. I did not work directly 
on operations against Iraq, but I shared an office with those who 
did and was privy to SIS operations against Iraq, and the 
intelligence we were gaining from them. 

I will not divulge details of the operations that we undertook. 
But I will make two observations. First, I was struck by how 
poorly sighted we were in the mid-90s on the countries in our 
sights. We had few well-placed and reliable sources in Iraq, 
Libya or Iran. Second, the balance of our intelligence suggested 
that Iraq was in disarray after the first Gulf war and the 
imposition of UN sanctions, and did not have active programmes to 
develop biological and nuclear weapons. 

Iraq could have changed course radically after I left SIS, but 
this is unlikely. In the mid-90s, there were not only no 
significant stocks of WMD, there was no volition to replace them. 
My conviction is that the balance of SIS's intelligence prior to 
the invasion last year indicated that Iraq did not have 
strategically significant WMD - just as Hans Blix argued before 
the invasion and David Kay has confirmed in the aftermath. 

So how can it be that the picture presented by the prime minister 
to parliament and to the British public was so radically 
different? The only plausible explanation is that intelligence 
was "cherry-picked" and that spin further exaggerated the threat. 

It would be illegal for Iraq to possess any form of nuclear, 
biological or chemical weapons, and the belated discovery of even 
a trace of activity would let the prime minister off the hook on 
a technicality. But the war could only be justified if we find 
evidence of strategically significant WMD. 

This would require that Iraq had developed a deployable nuclear 
warhead - but we know it did not have the technology to do this. 
Chemical weapons were within Iraq's capability, and we may yet 
find small stocks in Iraq. But chemical weapons are tactical 
battlefield weapons - and poor ones at that. Illegal, yes. Nasty, 
yes. But WMD? No. 

SIS intelligence never provides exact judgments. Rather, it 
passes its various reports, along with an assessment of the 
motivation, access and reliability of each source, to the 
analysts in the DIS and FCO, who would judge the overall picture. 

If intelligence reports from reliable, well-placed sources saying 
that Iraq had no strategically important biological or nuclear 
weapons were slipped into the shredder, while reports from 
unreliable, financially motivated sources saying that Iraq still 
had a few shells loaded with mustard gas were slipped into the 
dossier, then it would be possible on a technicality for the 
prime minister to stand up before parliament and honestly say 
that he had intelligence that Iraq possessed WMD. 

But who was busy with the shredder? It is inconceivable that SIS 
itself would have cherry-picked its intelligence. Supplying false 
intelligence is a "hanging crime" in the SIS, and there is a very 
strong corporate culture against it. Manipulating intelligence 
does occasionally happen in SIS, but it is impossible to imagine 
how it could be systematic enough to mislead government. 

For similar reasons, I am sure that the principal customers of 
intelligence - the DIS and the FCO - would never have distorted 
their analysis of the raw intelligence. Dr Brian Jones has 
convincingly defended the DIS and I think the Butler inquiry will 
concur. 

So who does that leave? The finger of suspicion points to the 
JIC, and in particular to one man, its chairman, John Scarlett. 
Scarlett was the first JIC chairman from the "production" side of 
the intelligence apparatus. This put the cart before the horse: 
the JIC chairman was too close to SIS, and this may have led to a 
bypassing of the tried-and-trusted methods by which intelligence 
is impartially analysed. Normally, the JIC chairman would never 
see dubious or minor intelligence reports. But given the close 
working relationship between Scarlett and the SIS chief, Sir 
Richard Dearlove, and Scarlett's knowledge of the workings of 
SIS, he could have had an unusually intimate knowledge of the raw 
intelligence. He certainly could have cherry-picked intelligence. 

But why would he have done so? Dearlove is due to retire in 
August, and Scarlett undoubtedly had his eye on the job. 
Scarlett's relationship with Alastair Campbell is "matey", and 
the influence that Campbell held with the prime minister is well 
documented. Here is a potential mechanism worthy of investigation 
by the Butler inquiry, by which the prime minister's desire to 
find intelligence to support a war has subverted the usual 
safeguards built into the Whitehall system. 

As a result, more than 50 British soldiers, 500 other coalition 
soldiers and 15,000 Iraqis are dead, and all three counts are 
still rising. We deserve some credible answers. 

· Richard Tomlinson worked for MI6 from 1991 to 1995. He was 
jailed under the Official Secrets Act for attempting to publish 
his memoirs 
	
politics.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk

Guardian Newspapers Limited

*****************************************************************
 3 KR Washington Bureau: Doubts, dissent stripped from public version of Iraq assessment

 | 02/09/2004 | 

  [krwashington.com - The krwashington home page]       

 By Jonathan S. Landay Knight Ridder Newspapers
 
WASHINGTON - The public version of the U.S. intelligence 
community's key prewar assessment of Iraq's illicit arms programs 
was stripped of dissenting opinions, warnings of insufficient 
information and doubts about deposed dictator Saddam Hussein's 
intentions, a review of the document and its once-classified 
version shows. 

As a result, the public was given a far more definitive 
assessment of Iraq's plans and capabilities than President Bush 
and other U.S. decision-makers received from their intelligence 
agencies. 

	The stark differences between the public version and the then 
top-secret version of the October 2002 National Intelligence 
Estimate raise new questions about the accuracy of the public 
case made for a war that's claimed the lives of more than 500 
U.S. service members and thousands of Iraqis. 

	The two documents are replete with differences. For example, the 
public version declared that "most analysts assess Iraq is 
reconstituting its nuclear weapons program" and says "if left 
unchecked, it probably will have a nuclear weapon within this 
decade." 

	But it fails to mention the dissenting view offered in the
top-secret version by the State Department's intelligence arm,
the Bureau of Intelligence and Research, known as the INR. 



	That view said, in part, "The activities we have detected do
not, however, add up to a compelling case that Iraq is currently
pursuing what INR would consider to be an integrated and
comprehensive approach to acquire nuclear weapons. Iraq may be
doing so, but INR considers the available evidence inadequate to
support such a judgment." 

	The alternative view further said "INR is unwilling to ...
project a timeline for the completion of activities it does not
now see happening." 

	Both versions were written by the National Intelligence
Council, a board of senior analysts who report to CIA Director
George Tenet and prepare reports on crucial national security
issues. Stuart Cohen, a 30-year CIA veteran, was the NIC's
acting chairman at the time. 

	The CIA didn't respond officially to requests to explain the
differences in the two versions. But a senior intelligence
official, speaking on condition of anonymity, explained them by
saying a more candid public version could have revealed U.S.
intelligence-gathering methods. 

	Last week, Tenet defended the intelligence community's
reporting on Iraq, telling an audience at Georgetown University
that differences over Iraq's capabilities "were spelled out" in
the October 2002 intelligence estimate. 

	But while top U.S. officials may have been told of differences
among analysts, those disputes were kept from the American
public in key areas, including whether Saddam was stockpiling
biological and chemical weapons and whether he might dispatch
poison-spraying robot aircraft to attack the United States. 

	Both documents have been available to the public for months.
The CIA released the public version, titled "Iraq's Weapons of
Mass Destruction Programs," in October 2002, when the Bush
administration was making its case for war. The White House
declassified and released portions of the NIE's key findings in
July 2003. 

	Knight Ridder compared the documents in light of Tenet's speech
and continuing controversy over the intelligence that President
Bush used to justify the invasion last April. There are
currently seven separate official inquiries into the issue. 

	What that comparison showed is that while the top-secret
version delivered to Bush, his top lieutenants and Congress was
heavily qualified with caveats about some of its most important
conclusions about Iraq's illicit weapons programs, those caveats
were omitted from the public version. 

	The caveats included the phases "we judge that," "we assess
that" and "we lack specific information on many key aspects of
Iraq's WMD (weapons of mass destruction) programs." 

	These phrases, according to current and former intelligence
officials, long have been used in intelligence reports to stress
an absence of hard information and underscore that judgments are
extrapolations or estimates. 

	Among the most striking differences between the versions were
those over Iraq's development of small, unmanned aircraft, also
known as unmanned aerial vehicles. 

	The public version said Iraq's UAVs "especially if used for
delivery of chemical and biological warfare (CBW) agents - could
threaten Iraq's neighbors, US forces in the Persian Gulf, and
the United States if brought close to, or into, the US
Homeland." 

	The classified version showed there was major disagreement on
the issue from the agency with the greatest expertise on such
aircraft, the Air Force. The Air Force "does not agree that Iraq
is developing UAVs primarily intended to be delivery platforms
for chemical and biological warfare (CBW) agents," it said. "The
small size of Iraq's new UAV strongly suggests a primary role of
reconnaissance, although CBW delivery is an inherent
capability." 

	There was substantial difference between the public version of
the estimate and the classified version on the issue of Iraq's
biological weapons program. 

	The public version contained the alarming warning that Iraq was
capable of quickly developing biological warfare agents that
could be delivered by "bombs, missiles, aerial sprayers, and
covert operatives, including potentially against the US
Homeland." 

	No such warning that Iraq's biological weapons could be
delivered to United States appeared in the classified version. 

	In a section on chemical weapons, the top-secret findings said
the intelligence community had "little specific information on
Iraq's CW (chemical weapons) stockpile." That caveat was deleted
from the public version. 

	The classified report went on to say that Iraq "probably has
stocked at least 100 metric tons (MT) and possibly as much as
500 MT of CW agents - much of it added last year." 

	"Saddam probably has stocked a few hundred metric tons of CW
agents," said the public report. 

	Deleted from the public version was a line in the classified
report that cast doubt on whether Saddam was prepared to support
terrorist attacks on the United States, a danger that Bush and
his top aides raised repeatedly in making their case for war. 

	"Baghdad for now appears to be drawing a line short of
conducting terrorist attacks with conventional or CBW against
the United States, fearing that exposure of Iraqi involvement
would provide Washington with a stronger case for making war,"
the top-secret report said. 

	Also missing from the public report were judgments that Iraq
would attempt "clandestine attacks" on the United States only if
an American invasion threatened the survival of Saddam's regime
or "possibly for revenge." 

	(John Walcott contributed to this article.) 


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Copyright 
*****************************************************************
 4 Washington Post: The Price Of Failure In Iraq 

(washingtonpost.com)

By Fred Hiatt
 Monday, February 9, 2004; Page A21 

The failure thus far to find chemical, biological or nuclear 
weapons in Iraq is at the center of Washington attention, and 
with good reason. The breakdown or misuse of prewar intelligence, 
or both, has large implications, political and strategic, for 
President Bush and the United States. 

But those consequences are dwarfed by the significance of success 
or failure in the rebuilding of Iraq. Senior administration 
officials are very much aware of what is at stake in the range of 
outcomes now possible. The worst-case scenarios on their minds 
are civil war or an attempt to impose a strict Islamist 
theocracy, which are connected, since the latter would probably 
lead to the former. 

Officials do not view these outcomes as foreordained or even 
likely. But they recognize that no matter what scheme is agreed 
upon for transition to Iraqi sovereignty, U.S. power to dictate, 
always limited, is diminishing rapidly. "We're going to be doing 
a lot of negotiating for a long time," one official said, "and if 
you don't like that, we went into the wrong place." 

The first risk comes in the vast rotation of troops now underway. 
Officers and soldiers of the 4th Infantry Division, the 101st 
Airborne Division and others have worked heroically for the past 
year, not only countering a vicious insurgency but also 
conducting civic affairs: negotiating among tribes and ethnic 
groups, helping schools, businesses and city councils get off the 
ground, mediating between Saddam Hussein's victims and his 
beneficiaries. Some civilians from the U.S. occupation are also 
working heroically, but far fewer than those in uniform. 

Now these experienced legions will flow out of the country, with 
a crop of rookies to take their place. The Army and Marines have 
planned the rotation with as much care as possible. But 
inevitably relationships will be ruptured -- and at a time of 
maximum sensitivity, as the United States seeks to transfer 
political sovereignty while maintaining a military presence. 

The questions surrounding that transfer are vexing and totally up 
for grabs: Can elections be held, and if not, how can a 
legitimate government be chosen? Will the June 30 deadline stick? 
What role will the United Nations play? Can the United States 
negotiate an agreement for the continued operation of its forces, 
and with whom? 

But all of those are in a sense proxies for one underlying 
question: Can Iraq's Shiite, Sunni, Kurds and smaller minorities 
live in one nation other than by brute compulsion? Or, as one 
officer wrote in an e-mail, "I am unsure if the Iraqis will be 
able to make the transition to sovereignty without starting a war 
against each other. . . . We can't make them love each other, but 
we are trying hard to teach them that it is possible to work with 
each other and to agree to disagree." 

Administration officials cite at least three factors working in 
favor of that effort. First, even after the transfer of 
sovereignty, U.S. leverage -- flowing from 110,000 troops and $18 
billion in nation-building cash -- will be considerable. 

Second, although Hussein's regime brutally repressed Kurds and 
Shiites, there is no tradition in Iraq of grass-roots ethnic 
violence. Intermarriages are common. All communities are 
represented in Baghdad today, and what violence there is in the 
capital is not communal. 

Most important, officials posit that most Iraqis and even most 
Iraqi leaders want to find a way to live together, to compromise, 
to make Iraq work. To the extent that they behave otherwise, it 
is out of fear and the one thing they all share, which is, 
paradoxically, a sense of relative weakness: The Sunni, now in 
the minority, believing that the Shiites will exact revenge for 
the way Hussein treated them; the Shiites, long oppressed and 
impoverished, fearing they will be cheated and betrayed again, as 
they were in 1991; the Kurds, history's losers, vowing that 
history will not repeat itself. 

When every side feels weak and wronged, the possibilities for 
strategic miscalculation are many. They are multiplied when al 
Qaeda terrorists and regime die-hards are determined to wreck the 
process and are skilled at finding targets to sow maximum 
distrust: Kurdish political parties, Shiite clergy, newly trained 
Iraqi police. 

In such a situation, continued U.S. commitment and U.S. military 
presence are essential, to reassure the weak -- who cannot 
publicly admit weakness or welcome the help -- and to discourage 
the wreckers. Though a U.N. mandate for the political transition 
could be crucial, replacing U.S. soldiers with foreign troops, as 
proposed by some Democrats, would therefore be counterproductive 
(even if it were feasible). 

But the transition in official status from occupier to friendly 
invited force will require a sensitivity, a combination of 
aggressiveness and delicacy, that would be a challenge even for a 
totally prepared and unified U.S. government. This administration 
has been neither in its approach to postwar Iraq. Hopefully what 
it does have is a president who understands that failure would 
simply be too costly. 

© 2004 The Washington Post Company
*****************************************************************
 5 UK Independent: Jones breaks cover again: Blair raised 'false expectations'
 
By Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor
 
10 February 2004

 	 

Tony Blair undermined the global fight against weapons
proliferation by raising "false expectations" about Iraq's
arsenal and by marginalising intelligence experts, Brian Jones,
the key witness of the Hutton inquiry, has warned. 

Dr Jones said there was a real danger that the failure to find
chemical and biological weapons would lead the public to
conclude that Mr Blair's justification for war was "a political
sleight of hand". 

In his first media interview, Dr Jones also told The Independent
that intelligence on the Government's 45-minutes claim was so
threadbare that it was impossible to know whether it referred to
battlefield or strategic weapons. 

There were calls for the Prime Minister to resign last week
after he admitted he had not been briefed that the 45-minutes
claim might refer only to battlefield munitions. Dr Jones's
revelation that the intelligence was vague about the precise
threat could ease the pressure on Mr Blair. But it also
undermines one of the key claims in the Iraq weapons dossier. 

Dr Jones, the former head of the nuclear, chemical and
biological branch of the MoD's Defence Intelligence Staff, made
headlines when he told the Hutton inquiry that he had formally
complained about the dossier. 

In today's interview, Dr Jones made it clear that his biggest
fear wasthat his life's work on the dangers of nuclear, chemical
and biological weapons proliferation risked being undermined by
the failure to find stockpiles in Iraq. 

He said: "There is a great danger that the whole Iraq issue is
now muddying that pond. People have been told to look in that
direction, 'here is something to worry about'. Suddenly it
appears that there was nothing. Personally, I don't think they
will find stockpiles in Iraq and have been given a false
expectation that they were there. So people will say WMD in
general was never a problem because the whole thing was a
political sleight of hand." 

Dr Jones, who saw the intelligence assessment that included the
45-minute claim, pointed out for the first time that it merely
outlined "possible scenarios" as opposed to any specific threat
posed by Iraq. 

"I think it was dealing with an attempt to think through
possible scenarios. It wasn't, I think, dealing with 'this is
the threat'. It was saying something more like 'if the threat we
are worried about is there, how would it work? How would it play
in a more practical sense?'." 

The controversy over which minister was told what about the
45-minute claim had missed the real point. "The fact was that it
was so nebulous that there was nothing you could really hang
your hat on," he said. 

Dr Jones queries briefings given to ministers including Geoff
Hoon, the Defence Secretary and Robin Cook, the former foreign
secretary, in which the 45-minute claim was linked with
battlefield weapons. "Who was giving the briefings? Where were
the experts? There were clearly no experts involved in those
briefings. And a great confusion reigns about WMD," he said. 

He criticised the practice of giving ministers raw, unanalysed
intelligence. But he revealed that he and other intelligence
analysts used to directly brief ministers in the last Tory
government and were invited to sit in on Joint Intelligence
Committee (JIC) meetings. Successive Governments had failed to
fund analysts to keep up with the increasing amount of material
on worldwide security threats. Reorganisations left experts with
less clout in Whitehall. Mr Blair has constantly warned about
the dangers of WMD proliferation but it appeared that he was
failing to fund the expert analysts needed to combat it. 

The growing threat of terrorism and proliferation meant that
other arms of intelligence seemed to get more funding for WMD
"but this was not matched in my part of the DIS", Dr Jones said.
"I suppose everyone says this about their own team, but mine
wasn't big enough." 

He added: Certainly I think there was an imbalance in the WMD
area, over the past five to 10 years. Latterly it did not match
increases elsewhere nor the increase in the volume of reporting
that there was to analyse." 

Dr Jones said analysts used to have much more influence and
access, both on the JIC and on ministers. Sir Percy Cradock, a
former JIC chairman, "would invite experts to come along and sit
in on a JIC meeting for the relevant paper. Latterly that hasn't
happened certainly not in my area of expertise". 

Another who allowed the experts more access was Air Marshal Sir
John Walker, who held the post of Chief of Defence Intelligence
and Deputy Chairman of the JIC. "Walker used to say you go
ahead, you brief the minister. I would say, are you coming in
too and he would say 'you don't need me, you're the expert'," he
said. 	           


UK Independent Ltd.
*****************************************************************
 6 Korea Herald: [EDITORIAL]Kahn's nuclear confession   

2004.02.10

The "confession" last week by Dr. Abdul Qadeer Kahn, the hero of 
Pakistan's nuclear program, on his proliferation activities to 
help Iran, Libya and North Korea, left many international 
observers clucking at an obvious stupidity that could 
significantly affect the multilateral talks scheduled to resume 
on Feb. 25 in Beijing to solve the North Korean nuclear problem. 

Kahn said he and his collaborators had transferred uranium 
enrichment technologies, including centrifuge blueprints, to the 
three countries just for money and behind the back of military 
controllers of past regimes in his country. President Pervez 
Musharraf accepted Kahn's apology, effectively granting him 
clemency and exonerating the country's political and military 
leadership.

 Washington, which badly needs Pakistani support for its 
anti-terror campaign and plans to launch a massive offensive 
against al-Qaida and Taliban elements, swallowed the explanation 
and did not exert pressure to uncover the whole truth in order 
not to embarrass Musharraf. 

But U.S. delegates to the Beijing talks later this month will now 
have new ammunition to confront the North Koreans about their 
highly enriched uranium project.

 The visit to North Korea last month by an unofficial team of 
U.S. experts that reportedly toured the North's nuclear 
facilities fueled the debate over the existence of such a project 
in the North. The United States had strongly suspected that North 
Korea had a uranium enrichment program since the late 1990s and 
U.S Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly, on his visit to 
Pyongyang in October 2002, reportedly obtained North Korea's 
admission that it existed.

 Confusion deepened when North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim 
Gye-gwan showed the visiting U.S. team in January a purported 
transcript of the 2002 conversation which contained no such 
admission.

 North Korea has an ample supply of natural uranium and it has 
every reason to seek to use the material to fulfill its nuclear 
ambitions since its original plutonium-based weapons project was 
halted under the 1994 Agreed Framework. Hwang Jang-yop, the 
top-ranked defector from North Korea, claimed Pyongyang's uranium 
program began in 1996 with the visit to Pakistan by a Workers' 
Party secretary in charge of military industry.

 Over the past few years there were persistent news reports, 
based on U.S. intelligence leaks, revealing the Pakistani 
connection with North Korea's nuclear program. Dr. Kahn is 
reported to have visited North Korea about a dozen times while 
Pyongyang and Islamabad were exchanging their respective missile 
and nuclear technologies. Now, Kahn says and many patriotic 
Pakistanis believe, that all these trips were just for private 
activities.

 The most dramatic part of the U.S. intelligence reports on the 
North Korean-Pakistani deal was the alleged shipment of sensitive 
materials to and from Pyongyang using U.S.-provided C-130 
transport aircraft, and Kelly is known to have pressed North 
Korean officials on this with satellite photographs of the scenes 
of delivery.

 Yet, these revelations are also feared to further complicate the 
discussion at this month's six-nation talks that are taking place 
after a six-month interval. Demands for North Korea to come clean 
on its uranium program will only meet with the frustrating result 
of repeated denials. No more time should be wasted in tiring 
debates over a "confession" that covered up more than it 
revealed, when Pyongyang may be on the brink of declaring at an 
opportune time that it possesses nuclear bombs.

 The goal of dismantling the North's nuclear program, either with 
plutonium or uranium, should be pushed directly and forthrightly 
in the talks with effective coordination among the five other 
participants.

 
*****************************************************************
 7 Korea Herald: N.K. crisis should be solved through talks   

2004.02.10
        
'I have always merged my politician identity with my business 
identity'

 Following are excerpts from an interview The Korea Herald had 
with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. - Ed.

 Question: Would you evaluate the bilateral relations between 
Turkey and Korea? In what areas do you think our two nations can 
expand exchanges and cooperation?

 Answer: Relations between Turkey and Korea are progressing 
perfectly and without problems. Our country was among the first 
to recognize the young Republic of Korea in 1949. The opening of 
embassies was delayed a little by the Korean War but Turkey was 
the 9th country to open an embassy in Seoul, as long ago as 1957.

 The existing friendly ties between our two countries were 
further strengthened by Turkey's participation in the Korean War, 
the support given to the Turkish people by Korea at the time of 
the devastating earthquakes of 1999 and most recently by the 
display of gentlemanly behavior at the time of the World Football 
Cup championship in 2002. All these elements constitute a solid 
basis for moving our relations further.

 

Q: Many people believe that our two nations should strengthen the 
strategic partnership to make the best use of the complementary 
nature of our industries. Do you have plans to push for it? If 
so, what can be specific measures to that effect?

 A: Because of its level of development in the economic and 
technological spheres, and the important role it has assumed in 
bringing stability and peace to its region, South Korea is a 
valuable partner in Northeast Asia. 

As a dynamic country moving towards full membership of the 
European Union, Turkey also promotes regional cooperation in a 
region which spreads from the Balkans and the Caucasus to the 
Middle East and Central Asia. 

Our respective geographical positions and the excellent political 
relations that exist between our two countries create a solid 
basis for cooperation. 

The main purpose of my visit is to try to jointly identify areas 
where such cooperation can most fruitfully be developed and share 
our experiences.

 Regrettably, the present level of economic relations between the 
two countries falls far below existing potential. We hope that 
the Korean business community will take more advantage of the 
opportunities that we offer. Moreover, we need to develop 
bilateral trade and try to reduce the chronic deficit, which it 
registers against Turkey.

 

Q: What changes-political, economic, social etc. do you expect 
your EU membership will bring to your country?

 A: Membership of the EU is in line with the philosophy and 
values on which the Republic of Turkey is based. Membership of 
the EU will help consolidate this basis. On the economic front, 
and as has happened with all other countries which have joined 
the Union, membership will increase inward investment and boost 
the dynamism of the Turkish economy. A richer Turkey will be a 
bigger market for the EU, and both sides will benefit from 
accession.

 

Q: Turkey established diplomatic ties with North Korea in 2001. 
What is your basic policy toward North Korea? Has your policy 
been affected by the North's escalation of nuclear tension?

 A: Turkey has welcomed the historical summit in June 2000 
between South and North Korea as well as the Joint Declaration 
adopted at the end of this summit and has established diplomatic 
relations with North Korea following these developments.

 Turkey supports steps aimed at continuing dialogue, 
reconciliation and cooperation between South and North Korea and 
attaches great importance to peace and prosperity on the Korean 
peninsula. For this reason, we believe North Korea's efforts to 
open up to the outside world should be encouraged. Nuclear 
tension has been an impediment on our path to develop our 
relations with North Korea. It is my desire that the nuclear 
crisis comes to an end and South and North Korea reunite in a 
peaceful way they deem best.

 

Q: How do you think North Korea's nuclear issue should be 
resolved? And what role can Turkey play in the process of easing 
the nuclear tension?

 A: The North Korean nuclear crises should be resolved through 
dialogue. We believe the 6-party talks can play a key role in 
this respect. In this context, the announcement that the 6-party 
talks will recommence on Feb. 25 2004, is a welcome development.

 Turkey views the situation within the scope of nuclear 
proliferation that it is very much against. If there is any role 
we can assume in this process, we would be willing to consider 
it.

 Q: Now the Korean society is undergoing a fierce debate of 
ideology between progressives and conservatives. Progressives 
want distribution, conservatives want growth. Now I'd like to 
know how Mr. Prime Minister can be so popular with both large 
businesses and also his traditional voter base, which is the 
urban poor? How does he manage that?

 A: There's a deficiency here. We just received the votes of all 
sectors of society in Turkey. We received the votes of people of 
lower income, the middle class and also the upper class. There 
might be some changes in terms of ratios. We have gathered 
together under our roof people who are on the right close to 
center but also people who are on the left close to center. And 
we brought a new definition to the terminology of politics, which 
is conservative democracy attached to its own tradition. But 
without getting stuck on the traditions and merging them with the 
international trend, and carrying it to the future to the next 
generation.

 Q: My personal interest of course is that of leadership. Do you 
see your primary role as that of politician or that of 
businessman or that of symbol?

 A: First of all, I am a man of politics. I am such a politician 
who has come from the grass roots, who has a goal to carry on 
this politics to the future generations. When you talk about 
statesmen, you only talk about bureaucrats. I have always merged 
my politician identity with my business identity. My partners are 
exercising politics and business together. I like 
businessman-like politicians. 

When I go outside I travel with 150 business people. I will meet 
my counterparts and always say, "Let's support these businessmen 
and let's increase business pace." This is to continue. 



Q: Was the war in Iraq a clash of civilizations?

 A: That's a different thing. There are many question marks to 
that. We are looking for answers for that. I think it's too early 
to answer those questions.

*****************************************************************
 8 Hi Pakistan: N Korea signed N-deal with Pakistan 
 
February 09 2004     
    
TOKYO: North Korea launched a uranium-based nuclear weapons 
programme in 1996 under a deal with Pakistan, a top defector said 
in an interview published on Sunday.

The deal was concluded in Pakistan during a month-long visit by a 
North Korean envoy, Hwang Jang-Yop, former secretary in charge of 
international affairs at Korea’s all-powerful Workers Party, told 
the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper.

Hwang told the newspaper that Jon Pyon-Ho, then the party’s 
secretary in charge of military industry, visited Pakistan in 
1996 and signed the contract. Jon had previously consulted Hwang 
on the possibility of buying plutonium from Russia and other 
countries to "produce more nuclear weapons", Hwang said.

He reportedly told Hwang after the trip to Pakistan: "We don’t 
need plutonium from now on. We are set to make them with 
uranium-235 under an agreement with Pakistan."

"The matter will become all clear if you check when he (Jon) 
travelled to Pakistan," said Hwang, who in 1997 became the 
highest-ranking member of the North Korean regime to defect to 
the South.

Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 9 Las Vegas SUN: Pakistan Denies Sending Nukes to N. Korea

Today: February 09, 2004 at 4:25:18 PST 

 By BURT HERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - 

Pakistan denied on Monday delivering nuclear technology to North
Korea in exchange for missiles, as it sought to deflect
accusations of state involvement in proliferation. 

Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan also said last week's
pardon by President Gen. Pervez Musharraf for the father of the
country's nuclear program was "conditional," applying to the
acts he's confessed to so far - but that the investigation
continues into Abdul Qadeer Khan and his associates. 

"The pardon is specific to the charges made so far, and about
which Dr. A.Q. Khan has made a confessional statement," Masood
Khan said. "But this is not a blanket pardon." 

Allegations of Pakistan having spread nuclear technology to
North Korea have long focused on a flight of a Pakistani C-130
military cargo aircraft there in July 2002. 

Masood Khan acknowledged that flight Monday, but said Pakistan
only picked up shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. 

"There was no nuclear technology on board, absolutely none," he
said. "This is utter nonsense." 

The United States put sanctions on a top Pakistani nuclear
facility - Khan Research Laboratories, named after Abdul Qadeer
Khan - and a North Korean company, Changg Wang Sinyong Corp., in
March 2003 for missile transactions. 

At the time, the U.S. Embassy in Pakistan said the lab made
"material contributions" to another unspecified country, person
or entity's efforts to "use, acquire, design, develop and/or
secure weapons of mass destruction, and/or missiles capable of
delivering weapons." 

The Federation of American Scientists has said Pakistan's Ghauri
missile series - capable of carrying a nuclear payload deep into
rival India - is a copy of North Korea's Nodong missile.
Pakistani has strongly denied that claim. 

Khan admitted last week in a televised confession to sharing
secrets, but didn't name any specific countries. 

Pakistani officials told journalists he admitted in a written
confession to selling nuclear technology to Iran and Libya for
supposed ideological reasons to help other Muslim states develop
nuclear weapons and draw attention away from Pakistan. The
reasons for his sales to North Korea weren't clear. 

Details of the confession haven't been publicly released, and
Masood Khan declined Monday to reveal the exact charges against
Abdul Qadeer Khan. 

Musharraf has insisted there was no official involvement in
proliferation, and said he won't allow an independent
investigation or any international probe into Pakistan's nuclear
program. 

-- 


 
*****************************************************************
 10 NRC: Notice of Consideration of Amendment Request for the Dow
 
                         FR Doc 04-2665 
[Federal Register: February 9, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 26)] 
[Notices] [Page 6006-6007] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr09fe04-84]                         
 
Chemical Company and Release of Its Facility in Midland, MI 
AGENCY: Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
ACTION: Notice of consideration of amendment request to Byproduct 
Material License No. 21-00265-06. 

 FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Peter J. Lee, Division of 
Nuclear Materials Safety, U.S. Nuclear
 
[[Page 6007]] Regulatory Commission, Region III, 801 Warrenville 
Road, Lisle, Illinois 60532-4351; telephone (630) 829-9870 or by 
email at pjl2@nrc.gov.
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Introduction The U.S. Nuclear 
Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering the issuance of an 
amendment to the Dow Chemical Company Byproduct Material License 
No. 21-00265-06, to remove the possession or use of thorium from 
its Midland, Michigan facility license and release that portion 
of the facility for unrestricted use.
 
The NRC staff has prepared an Environmental Assessment (EA) in 
support of this licensing action in accordance with the 
requirements of 10 CFR part 51. Based on the EA, the NRC has 
concluded that a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) is 
appropriate.
 
II. EA Summary The purpose of the proposed action is to remove 
the possession or use of thorium from its Midland, Michigan 
facility license and release that portion of the facility for 
unrestricted use. This license was approved for research and 
development of a thorium containing catalyst. On September 26, 
2003, Dow Chemical Company submitted a license amendment request 
to remove the possession or use of thorium from its license. The 
Dow Chemical Company has conducted surveys of the facility and 
provided information to the NRC to demonstrate that the site 
meets the license criteria in subpart E of 10 CFR part 20 for 
unrestricted release. The staff has examined the Dow Chemical 
Company's request and the information that the licensee has 
provided in support of its request, including the surveys 
performed by the Dow Chemical Company to demonstrate compliance 
with 10 CFR 20.1402, ``'Radiological Criteria for Unrestricted 
Use,''' to ensure that the NRC's decision is protective of the 
public health and safety and the environment.
 
Based on its review, the staff has determined that the affected 
environment and the environmental impacts associated with the 
removal of the possession or use of thorium from Byproduct 
Material License No.
 
21- 00265-06 are bounded by the impacts evaluated by the 
``Generic Environmental Impact Statement in Support of Rulemaking 
on Radiological Criteria for License Termination of NRC-Licensed 
Nuclear Facilities'' (NUREG-1496). Additionally, no 
non-radiological impacts were identified. The staff also finds 
that the proposed release for unrestricted use of the Dow 
Chemical Company facility is in compliance with the 10 CFR part 
20.1402 and no other activities in the area that could result in 
cumulative impacts.
 
III. Finding of No Significant Impact The staff has prepared the 
EA (summarized above) in support of Dow Chemical Company's 
proposed license amendment to remove the possession or use of 
thorium from its Midland, Michigan facility license and release 
that portion of the facility for unrestricted use. On the basis 
of the EA, the staff has concluded that the environmental impacts 
from the proposed action would not be significant. Accordingly, 
the staff has determined that a FONSI is appropriate, and has 
determined that the preparation of an environmental impact 
statement is not warranted.
 
IV. Further Information In accordance with 10 CFR 2.790 of the 
NRC's ``Rules of Practice,'' Dow Chemical Company's request, the 
EA summarized above, and the documents related to this proposed 
action are available electronically for public inspection and 
copying from the Publicly Available Records (PARS) component of 
NRC's document system (ADAMS). ADAMS is accessible from the NRC 
Web site at http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. These 
documents include Dow Chemical Company's letter dated September 
26, 2003, with enclosures (Accession No. ML033570177); and the EA 
summarized above (Accession No. ML040280082).These documents may 
also be viewed electronically on the public computers located at 
the NRC's Public Document Room (PDR), O 1 F21, One White Flint 
North, 11555 Rockville Pike, Rockville, MD 20852. The PDR 
reproduction contractor will copy documents for a fee.
 
Dated at Lisle, Illinois, this 27th day of January 2004.
 
Christopher G. Miller, Chief, Decommissioning Branch, Division of 
Nuclear Materials Safety, RIII.
 
[FR Doc. 04-2665 Filed 2-6-04; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 11 Salt Lake Tribune: Revived N-testing evokes dread 
 
February 09, 2004   
 
 By Mark Havnes 
The Salt Lake Tribune 
 
    KANAB -- It must never happen again, according to those who
spoke in Kanab on Saturday night in opposition to the resumption
of nuclear testing at the Nevada Test Site. 
 
    President Bush last summer introduced legislation approved
by Congress that authorizes $25 million for the study and
testing of a weapon known as the "robust nuclear earth
burrower." The weapon would use a five-kiloton nuclear warhead
to slam into an enemy's subterranean bunkers. 
 
    Just the thought of such a weapon evokes dread in many
residents of southern Utah, where testing at the Nevada Test
Site north of Las Vegas from 1951 to 1992 covered the region
with radioactive fallout thought to have caused a high number of
cancer-related deaths. 
 
    "There's no such thing as an underground nuclear test,"
Craig Axford, a co-chairman of the Progressive Caucus, told
about 50 people attending Saturday's forum. "A nuclear test is
always vented into the atmosphere and jet stream which takes the
fallout as far as Tennessee and Kentucky." 
 
    The forum at the Kanab City Library was organized by the
Utah Democratic Progressive Caucus. Speakers included caucus
representatives, an official from Rep. Jim Matheson's office,
former Utah Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Paul Van
Dam, and some downwinders, who recalled earlier testing. 
 
    Myrna Cox, who has lived most her life in the tiny community
of Glendale, about 30 miles north of Kanab, told the group that
her father and brother died two years ago from cancer she
attributes to exposure to nuclear fallout. 
 
  
 
 
 
  
 
    "My parents and eight siblings on many occasions would go on
a drive to watch the beautiful clouds from a test that would
rise green, orange and yellow," said Cox, who also suffers from
cancer. "Now we have to fight this. We don't need anymore of
this to taint southern Utah." 
 
    Among the literature distributed at the meeting was a
reprint of a small pamphlet originally published in 1957 by the
then-Atomic Energy Commission containing reassurances for the
public about the safety of nuclear testing. The book was being
passed out by Thalia Dondero, from Las Vegas where she lived
during the earlier testing. 
 
    Dondero, who from 1974 to 1994 was a commissioner for Clark
County where Las Vegas and the Test Site are located, said she
has also fought to keep Nevada from becoming a dumping ground
for nuclear waste from around the country. 
 
    "I like my state too well to see it destroyed," Dondero
said. "Let the states that produce [nuclear waste] keep it." 
 
    Matheson, who supports the objectives of the Progressive
Caucus, said he saw his father, former Utah Gov. Scott Matheson,
die from cancer that he suspects was the result from nuclear
testing while he lived in Cedar City. 
 
    From Washington on Friday, Matheson said he voted against
Bush's request for money to develop the bunker-buster bombs, and
even though he might not be able to stop testing of the weapon,
he said he will try and make the testing more difficult, partly
by requiring full health, safety and environmental reviews
before any tests resume. The legislation will also require
real-time monitoring of the tests with the information available
on the Internet. 
 
    mhavnes@sltrib.com
 
    
 
    
 
    
 
   
 
   
 
              
 
  
Copyright Salt Lake City Tribune
*****************************************************************
 12 Washington Post: President Bush, at Home With the Issues 

(washingtonpost.com)

By Tom Shales
 Monday, February 9, 2004; Page C01 

What did the president really know, and what made him think he 
really knew it? That was sort of the question put over and over 
to George W. Bush by Tim Russert of NBC News on a special edition 
of "Meet the Press" yesterday. Russert interrogated Bush on the 
matter of faulty intelligence and the role it played in Bush's 
decision to invade Iraq. 

The portly inquisitor concentrated so relentlessly on that 
subject, in fact, that there may have been insufficient time for 
other topics; buzz around town had it that Bush wanted to take a 
stand against same-sex marriage, but he didn't get the chance. 
And not a word about Janet Jackson's exposed breast at the Super 
Bowl, which actually might have come up if the interview had been 
in less sober and skillful hands than Russert's. 

Somewhat reminiscent of Raymond Burr as Perry Mason when he bore 
down on a victim in the witness chair, Russert proved a tough 
questioner without becoming a showoff during the interview, which 
was taped Saturday in the Oval Office. Bush wore his customary 
blue necktie and dark suit but looked unusually tired, his eyes 
puffy and bagging. 

Like every president, Bush must be aging in office; Dorian Gray 
would show wear and tear in this job. Americans see so little of 
the current president on television, however -- especially in 
uncontrolled situations where he is questioned at length -- that 
his somewhat crumpled visage was initially startling. Throughout 
the questioning, however, Bush gave an impression of firmness. A 
few times he bristled, if gently, at a Russert attempt to cut an 
answer short, but he didn't get snippy about it. He just 
continued on with whatever he'd been trying to say. 

Russert's first question was about intelligence -- about forming 
a commission to investigate the intelligence failures that 
allegedly led Bush and his troupe to believe absolutely that 
Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction in his possession. 
The interview produced a bit of news right away when Bush 
dismissed the notion that CIA Director George Tenet's job was in 
trouble: "Not at all, not at all." 

Otherwise, in terms of content, not a great deal new emerged from 
the interview. With television, though, style can easily be 
content, and Bush, from the outset of the session, came across as 
defensive and slightly, subtly agitated, with that "I'd rather be 
anywhere else right now" demeanor hiding behind his careful 
smile. It's widely known that Bush is uncomfortable in these 
ad-lib situations and so has held scandalously few televised 
press conferences during his term. Sitting down with Russert, who 
is known as tough but not bullying, was probably a wise political 
move. 

The only thing to fear was not fear itself but some sort of 
egregious gaffe or, perhaps, a display of foul temper. Those 
pitfalls were avoided, and thus it seems safe to predict an 
uptick in Bush's approval rating this morning just because he did 
the interview, not because of anything he said or the way he 
conducted himself. When the matter of the election came up, Bush 
exuded confidence: "I don't plan on losing." But if he and his 
inner circle were that confident, Bush wouldn't have been giving 
the interview in the first place. 

His merely doing it was perhaps as newsy as any specific comment 
he made or question he answered. 

Russert's hammering away on the intelligence issue was nothing if 
not persistent. Intelligence indicated there was "no doubt" that 
the weapons of mass destruction were there, Russert quoted Bush 
as saying when he declared war. Eventually Russert got carried 
away with his demands to know how Bush could take the country to 
war without "ironclad, absolute intelligence." What would that 
be? A photograph of Saddam himself heaving a missile into the 
air, or putting anthrax into an envelope and addressing it to the 
White House? 

On the other hand, Bush was hardly eloquent in restating and 
restating his case, of course, noting at one point that David Kay 
came up with the shocking revelation that Saddam was "a dangerous 
man in the dangerous part of the world." Later Bush said Kay 
reported of Iraq that "the place was a dangerous place." Does 
Bush know that he can walk to some neighborhoods not that far 
from the White House and find himself in "a dangerous place?" The 
characterization sounded ludicrous, especially in light of the 
feverishness of prewar rhetoric. 

Bush also gave ruthless opponents a potential quote to be yanked 
out of context in the attempt to defeat him when he said, "I 
don't think America can stand by and hope for the best from a 
madman." 

Inevitably, there were examples of Bushspeak, the president's own 
particular syntax, which sometimes has a Mobius-strip or Lewis 
Carroll quality to it -- as when Bush said, "In my judgment, when 
the United States says there will be serious consequences, and if 
there isn't serious consequence, it creates adverse 
consequences." But we knew what he meant. 

When Russert brought up the old charges about Bush's service in 
the National Guard during the Vietnam War not having been 
particularly valorous, Bush used the rhetorical trick of implying 
that such criticism somehow cast aspersions on the National 
Guard. "I wouldn't denigrate service to the Guard," he cautioned 
Russert. Other predictable subjects covered included the economy 
("The recession started upon my arrival" in the White House, Bush 
said) and the deficit, and partisan politics ("I don't attack" 
and, earlier, "I'm working hard to unite the country"). 

Apparently as a gesture of decorum and respect, NBC cut back on 
the number of commercial interruptions in "Meet the Press." But 
not entirely. There were two large commercial breaks, one of 
which included an ad for Cialis, a new drug in the Viagra vein 
and one that opens, said the announcer, a 36-hour window of 
opportunity. "When the moment is right," he asked, "will you be 
ready?" Jeez Louise, did they have to run that during an 
interview with the president of the United States? 

There were ads for big defense contractors like Boeing and 
General Electric, which owns NBC. The network also aired -- again 
in dubious tastefulness -- a promo for the next episode of its 
faux White House drama "The West Wing," a collection of quick 
shots that included the detonation of a nuclear bomb. Apparently 
President Jed Bartlet is having an even tougher time than 
President George W. Bush. 

Fairly early in the interview, Russert quoted a prominent 
Republican as predicting that Osama bin Laden, the most-wanted 
man in the world, would be captured prior to the November 
election. There was the hint of a suggestion of an implication 
that, say, if Osama bin Laden were captured tomorrow, or three 
months ago, the news might be somehow withheld until the most 
politically advantageous moment. 

Could such an outrageous scenario actually occur? That's more 
chilling than this horrible Washington winter. But it often seems 
that when the new century and new millennium began, the lines 
separating fact and fiction grew closer, and that if they haven't 
overlapped already, they could at any given moment. 

For now, Russert and NBC News can congratulate themselves on a 
job well done, and they will. 

And though there wasn't a lot of visual interest in this hour of 
two talking heads, a closing shot of Bush and Russert sitting in 
the center of the pattern on the Oval Office rug was strikingly 
beautiful. We're talking about rug here? Yes, we are. One must 
must look for little encouragements where one can find them. 


               © 2004 The Washington Post Company
         
*****************************************************************
 13 Public Citizen: Public Citizen to Senate: Stop This Energy Bill Train Wreck

Feb. 6, 2004 

Statement by Joan Claybrook, President of Public Citizen 

Not content to allow a successfully filibustered energy bill to 
die a well-deserved death, U.S. Senate leaders are now 
considering resurrecting this atrocity from its grave and gluing 
the pork-laden bill to a transportation bill that is destined to 
pass in an election year when senators dont want to be accused 
of failing to bring jobs and money to their states. 

What we are seeing is the failure of our democratic system, 
thanks to the relentless force and influence of special 
interests. The energy industry has contributed more than $70 
million to the campaigns of federal politicians since 2001, with 
nearly three-quarters of that amount going to Republicans, who 
control Congress. This process began when Vice President Dick 
Cheneys Energy Task Force met in secret with corporate 
lobbyists; next came an energy conference hijacked by Sen. Pete 
Domenici (R-N.M.) and Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), with virtually 
no input from the other members of the committee as the bill was 
rewritten and dollar giveaways enlarged. Worse still, members of 
Congress had little time to read all of the special interest 
provisions in the bill as it was rushed to votes in both 
chambers. 

As we have urged before, lawmakers must acknowledge defeat of 
this monstrous energy bill and begin again with a clean slate  
this time, without the input of an industry more interested in 
profits than in providing for our common future needs. Even this 
trimmed-down energy bill with no MTBE liability waiver is not 
worth passing. Instead, Congress should focus on creating an 
energy plan that reflects the needs of our country and our 
environment: clean, safe and affordable energy for every person. 

If the energy and transportation bills go hand-in-hand for a 
vote, the special interests win, as each senator will have an 
interest in supporting some piece of the bill. Such maneuvering 
is a reckless act that threatens to derail the trust the public 
has in the lawmaking process. Anyone who is paying attention 
should be outraged. ### 

*****************************************************************
 14 IPS-English PAKISTAN: Even with Pardon, Nuke Sale Saga Far
 
Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2004 15:10:37 -0800

 
<x-flowed>
ROMAIPS AP IP WD
PAKISTAN: Even with Pardon, Nuke Sale Saga Far from Over
    Commentary - By M B Naqvi

KARACHI, Pakistan, Feb 8 (IPS) - Many questions remain in the story of
Pakistan President Gen Pervez Musharraf's pardon of the criminal actions of
Abdul Qadeer Khan, the country's Father of the Bomb, this week.

    Dr Khan's transgressions are virtually the world's first major case of
the wanton spreading of the deadly knowledge and technology of weapons of
mass destruction (WMD). Before this, the technology had been restricted to
eight states: the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France, Israel,
India and Pakistan.

    Khan is said to have sold for money the knowledge and technology of
making nuclear weapons of mass destruction to Iran, Libya and North Korea.

    Khan, who confessed to leaking nuclear secrets Feb. 4 and was pardoned
the next day, admitted to having been linked with an international
underworld that buys and sells nuclear knowledge and technology for profit,
even if he was not its head.

    This case of proliferation of nuclear weapons is claimed to be no crime
according to Pakistan's statutes, except perhaps the violation of Official
Secrets Act of 1923.

    But his criminal actions include the theft of state and government
property, as all that was developed at Khan Research Laboratories at Kahuta
obviously belonged to Pakistan state. There is also a breach of implicit
trust in the actions, for which presidential pardon has been given.
Musharraf has allowed him to go scot-free.

    Few foreigners can find Khan's story credible: a few rogue scientists
and security personnel, on their own and for personal gain, stole the
nuclear know-how and technology and sold them to the underworld -- and no
government or official was involved at any stage.

    The United States and other powers, keen on stopping the proliferation
of atomic weapons of mass destruction, will not be amused. Here is a proven
case of a huge-scale pilferage and buying and selling of what was the most
sought-after knowledge and equipment by what Washington calls rogue states.

    Had Iran and Libya not succumbed to U.S. and U.N. pressures on nuclear
issues in recent months, Washington promised terrible consequences.

    One area of trouble remains unaccounted for: North Korea, which says it
has eight nuclear weapons, thanks mainly to A Q Khan's activities and whose
arsenal is a major security fear for Asia.

    Two parts of the story are however true: there was absolutely no
financial control over Khan's decisions because he could go anywhere he
liked, whenever he chose to and could spend virtually any amount, including
in precious hard currency. As Musharraf has emphasised, security at KRL was
under Khan and there was no command or control authority over him. The
auditor general was bypassed.

    Assuming that all of this is so, governments like the United States have
to cope with the closure of the case.

    But two other questions need to be asked. First, neither Khan nor
Musharraf has so much as mentioned North Korea. Was any nuclear equipment
sold to Pyongyang? If so, when? Second, how could the Pakistan Army not
have known what was going on right under its nose?

    It runs a tight ship -- its grip on all aspects of life in Pakistan is
uniformly firm. It does not rely on only one intelligence agency: it has
two of its own and controls and runs several of the normal governmental
apparatus.

    Nothing moves in Pakistan without the three major intelligence agencies
noticing it. So how could the army not know about the transfer of nuclear
technology?

    For Pakistanis, it is too serious a national lapse to worry about who
gets the ultimate blame. After all, the ultimate consequences will be
visited upon all the people.

    No one can buy the facile theory that a few individuals organised or
joined an underworld, spread over four continents, to make money out of
Pakistan's perceived great achievement.

    Foreigners and Pakistanis alike are sure to suspect that Khan had the
active support and assistance of successive army chiefs, especially Gen
Aslam Beg who led the army from 1988 to 1991 and during whose reign this
grand smuggling enterprise began.

    As it happens, Musharraf is too precious to the U.S. 'war on terror'.
Washington has accepted the story at face value for the time being. Other
major nuclear powers have reasons not to raise a rumpus. Musharraf is also
trying to make up with India and the Indians are reasonably pleased with him.

    But that does not mean that the Khan and company have got away with the
loot safely. For one thing, Musharraf is taking his time with the rest of
the scientists and security men now in the jug. For another, it is only the
beginning of a new and perhaps longer story.

    Most Pakistanis expect that once Musharraf's utility for stabilising the
Afghan situation in its low-intensity war is over, Pakistan may see a new
U.S. face on this issue.

    The kind of activity that has gone on Pakistan is sure to receive a
close hard look from the White House, no matter who its tenant is. Many
others too will then join the United States in reopening the case. Maybe
the army's overlordship of Pakistan's governance will be imperilled on pain
of the threat of U.N. sanctions.

    Immediate reaction to the disgrace of Khan was manifest the day after
his 'admission': there was a countrywide strike in Pakistan. Bigger
businesses remained shut and road transport in urban areas remained sparse.

    The reason for the success of the strike was the people's shock and not
so much because of the popularity of those who gave the call - the alliance
of religious parties.
Musharraf himself has called Khan his hero and praised his earlier
contribution to national security.

    In domestic politics, the whole affair is a setback to the big pro-Bomb
lobby. Some say they do not believe the charges against the 'national hero'
despite the reports of Khan's corruption in possessing huge real estate
assets and foreign accounts bulging with millions of dollars.

    But Khan's charisma and stature are sure to suffer as time passes and
the dimensions of what has happened and what might yet happen sink in.

    The small anti-Bomb lobby believes that so long as the nuclear weapons
stay in the armouries of India and Pakistan, the secondary threat of
proliferation and accident remain.

    They are not too hopeful about the current thaw between the
India-Pakistan because of the mischief the nuclear weapons play. Only a
nuclear-safe arrangement -- an oxymoron really in South Asia's current
state -- is on the agenda. Deeper thought on the subject is absent.
(END/IPS/AP/IP/WD/MBQ/JS/04)


= 02081600 ORP002
NNNN

</x-flowed>
*****************************************************************
 15 NYT: Libya's A-Bomb Blueprints Reveal New Tie to Pakistani
 
 By WILLIAM J. BROAD

Published: February 9, 2004

[I] nvestigators have determined that the nuclear weapon 
blueprints found in Libya from the Pakistani scientist Abdul 
Qadeer Khan were of his own relatively crude type of bomb — not 
the more advanced models that Pakistan developed and successfully 
tested, American and European arms experts have said in 
interviews.

 The analysis of the blueprints, which establish a new link 
between Dr. Khan and the underground nuclear black market now 
under global scrutiny, has heartened investigators in Europe and 
the United States because his design is seen as less threatening 
in terms of the spread of nuclear weapons.

 "If you had to have a design circulating around the world, we'd 
be worse off if it was a design other than Khan's," said an 
American weapons expert who is familiar with the Libyan case.

 However, European and American investigators said they feared 
that Dr. Khan and his network of shadowy middlemen might have 
peddled the weapon blueprints to other nations in deals that have 
not yet come to light. They also said the Libyan findings gave 
new credence to what was apparently an attempt by Dr. Khan more 
than a decade ago to sell a nuclear weapon design to Iraq.

 Pakistani officials have focused their recent disclosures on Dr. 
Khan's illicit spread of equipment to enrich uranium to produce 
nuclear fuel, and have said little or nothing of the blueprints 
for a nuclear warhead that went to Libya, which are considered 
more sensitive. To the amazement of inspectors, the blueprints 
discovered in Libya were wrapped in plastic bags from an 
Islamabad dry cleaner.

 "The Libyans said they got it as a bonus," an official said of 
the plans.

 The centrifuge equipment and warhead designs from Dr. Khan's 
laboratories in Pakistan were discovered in Libya after the 
country's leader, Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi, agreed to dismantle 
his secret nuclear program, opening it to United States and 
United Nations nuclear officials. 

Late last month, a 747 aircraft was chartered by the United 
States government for the sole purpose of carrying the small box 
with the warhead designs from Libya to Dulles airport near 
Washington. They are now undergoing analysis.

 The American weapons expert said Western analysts, while 
relieved to find that the blueprint was of Dr. Khan's design, 
were not overjoyed. "A bad bomb is still a nuke," he said. "It 
can still do pretty terrible things to your city."

 Dr. Khan is known in Pakistan as the father of the Pakistani 
bomb or the founder of its nuclear weapons program, but Western 
experts say the credit is not all his. A metallurgist, he is an 
expert at building centrifuges — hollow metal tubes that spin 
very fast to enrich natural uranium in its rare U-235 isotope, 
which is an excellent bomb fuel. His mastery of the difficult art 
proved vital to Pakistan's acquiring a nuclear arsenal.

 But other Pakistani scientists, Western experts said, had far 
greater success in turning the enriched uranium into nuclear 
warheads.

 To develop the armaments, the American expert said, Pakistan ran 
"two parallel weapons programs, one good and one bad; Khan ran 
the bad one." Dr. Khan's weapon was inferior in terms of such as 
things as size, power and efficiency. The Pakistan Atomic Energy 
Commission, the nation's official authority for nuclear 
development, ran the more successful program.

 All Pakistan's atom bombs resemble designs that China tested in 
the late 1960's and passed on to Pakistan decades ago, European 
and American experts said.

 So too, Pakistan's atom bombs all use a relatively advanced 
means to detonate bomb fuel known as implosion.

 The weapon that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945 used a simpler 
detonation method known as a "gun-type system," in which 
conventional explosives sped a uranium projectile through a 
cannon barrel into a uranium target, creating a critical mass and 
a gargantuan blast.

 By contrast, experts said, Pakistan's designs used the more 
advanced principle of implosion, as did the bomb dropped on 
Nagasaki. It works by having a sphere of conventional explosives 
squeeze inward to crush a ball of bomb fuel, creating the 
critical mass. Implosion uses much less fuel than detonations 
from the gun-type system, making the bombs far cheaper and 
lighter.

 Even so, Dr. Khan's design is "vanilla flavored and very old in 
concept," a European weapons expert said.

 Analysts said the Libyan episode gave new life to the case of a 
middleman claiming to represent Dr. Khan who in 1990, on the eve 
of the Persian Gulf war, offered to have the Pakistani help Iraq 
build its own nuclear weapon.

 The case came to light in the mid- 1990's when United Nations 
inspectors came across documents relating to the middleman's 
offer. "He is prepared to give us project designs for a nuclear 
bomb," an Iraqi memo said of Dr. Khan. "The motive behind this 
proposal is gaining profits for him and the intermediary." But 
the investigators made little headway, largely because Pakistan 
furiously denied there had been any aid to Iraq and refused to 
allow Dr. Khan to be questioned.

 Now, those denials have collapsed, bringing new interest. David 
Albright, president of the Institute for Science and 
International Security in Washington, said Iraqi documents, 
coupled with the Libyan developments, raised the possibility that 
Dr. Khan's network operated for more than a decade to offer 
atomic blueprints not only to Libya and Iraq but to countries 
like Iran, Syria and North Korea. Global investigators must now 
carefully examine that possibility, he said.


*****************************************************************
 16 AU SMH: Sold nuclear plans less advanced than feared
        
www.smh.com.au [Sydney Morning Herald Online] 

February 10, 2004
 		 	   	   		
Abdul Qadeer Khan ... led Pakistan's effort to build an atomic
bomb.   		 		 		 

The nuclear weapons blueprints sold to Libya by the Pakistani 
scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan were of his own relatively crude type 
of bomb - not the more advanced models that Pakistan developed 
and successfully tested, US and European arms experts have said. 

Investigators have determined that the blueprints, which were 
discovered in Libya, establish a new link between Dr Khan and the 
nuclear blackmarket now under global scrutiny. 

But their finding heartens investigators in Europe and the US 
because his design is seen as less threatening in terms of the 
spread of nuclear weapons. "If you had to have a design 
circulating around the world, we'd be worse off if it was a 
design other than Khan's," a US weapons expert said. 

But European and US investigators said they feared that Dr Khan 
and his shadowy network of middlemen might have sold the 
blueprints to other nations that have not yet come to light. 

They said the Libyan findings added credence to what was 
apparently an attempt by Dr Khan more than a decade ago to sell a 
nuclear weapon design to Iraq. 

The centrifuge equipment and warhead designs from Dr Khan's 
laboratories in Pakistan were found in Libya after the country's 
leader, Muammar Gaddafi, agreed to dismantle his secret nuclear 
program, opening it to US and United Nations nuclear officials. 
The warhead designs are being analysed in the US. 

The US weapons expert said Western analysts, while relieved to 
find that the blueprint was of Dr Khan's design, were not 
overjoyed. "A bad bomb is still a nuke." 

Pakistan's President, Pervez Musharraf, pledged that his country 
had put a stop to the covert export of nuclear weapons know-how. 
"Please let it not be thought that the same proliferation 
activity will start again," General Musharraf said in Islamabad 
during an interview with a US television network broadcast on 
Sunday. 

A Government official said the US Secretary of State, Colin 
Powell, spoke to General Musharraf on Saturday by telephone about 
the Khan revelations. "During the conversation President 
Musharraf asked Powell to visit Pakistan, and he said he would do 
so quite soon," the official said. 

Dr Khan is known in Pakistan as the father of the Pakistani bomb 
or the founder of its nuclear weapons program, but Western 
experts say the credit is not all his. 

A metallurgist, he is an expert at building centrifuges - hollow 
metal tubes that spin very fast to enrich natural uranium in its 
rare U-235 isotope, which is an excellent bomb fuel. His mastery 
of the difficult art proved vital to Pakistan's acquiring a 
nuclear arsenal. 

But other Pakistani scientists, Western experts said, had far 
greater success in turning the enriched uranium into warheads. 

A pan-Arab newspaper, al-Hayate, said on Sunday that al-Qaeda 
bought tactical nuclear weapons from Ukraine in 1998 and is 
storing them in safe places for possible use. There was no 
independent corroboration of the report, which cited sources 
close to al-Qaeda. The paper said al-Qaeda bought the weapons in 
suitcases in a deal arranged when Ukrainian scientists visited 
the Afghan city of Kandahar in 1998. 

The New York Times, Reuters 
Copyright  © 2004. The Sydney Morning Herald.
*****************************************************************
 17 NYT: Excerpts: For General, an ’Extremely Sensitive’ Case
 
Published: February 10, 2004

[R] AWALPINDI, Pakistan, Feb. 9 — Following are excerpts from an 
hourlong interview on Monday with President Pervez Musharraf in 
Rawalpindi, transcribed by The New York Times. 

Q. You said as far as back as 2000, or even earlier, there were 
some suspicions about Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan having possibly 
inappropriate contacts, separate from the corruption concerns. 
Can you tell us any more about what you were hearing then?

 GENERAL MUSHARRAF Well, I wouldn't be able to get into those 
details. Yes, as I said, there were some suspicious movements, 
some suspicions, because, as I said again, this is so sensitive. 

There were special handling of cargo, special handling of 
anything that had to do with K.R.L. [Khan Research Laboratories], 
the organization that he was running. And in that special 
handling we were getting suspicious — that in under the garb of 
the special handling, maybe there is some proliferation activity, 
some underhand proliferation activity going on. 

That is what we suspected because there was a scientist who was 
sidelined, and that is how we came to know. And therefore I 
thought — we thought — it's better to sideline him, remove him 
from the place, so that we nip all this. 

But as I said, we didn't know that this stretches back to 15 
years almost. . . .

 Q. If you, as you said, you had suspicions, why not launch a 
full investigation then?

 A. No, It was an extremely sensitive issue and you would have 
created an uproar again against the father of the nuclear — I 
mean, we know that he was a hero. And even removing him from 
there, we had to deliberate for hours how to handle the 
situation. 

We first removed him, appointed him as adviser, but gave him an 
office at K.R.L. O.K., you are not there, but you can sit and 
sort of carry on your lifelong — because he said that this is my, 
it's his baby, that K.R.L. 

So then gradually, after some time, we also closed that office 
and totally removed him. But we appointed him as an adviser to 
give him some comfort. I mean, this had to be done as a gradual 
process. As I said, it was extremely sensitive. One couldn't 
outright start investigating as if he's any common criminal. . . 

*****************************************************************
 18 IHT: Pakistan's nuclear inquiry is a sham
 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Brahma Chellaney IHT 
Monday, February 9, 2004 	   	
 	    
U.S. double standards   NEW DELHI Having invaded Iraq to 
eliminate weapons of mass destruction that were not there, the 
Bush administration is now pursuing an opposite and risky 
approach toward Pakistan: allowing that hotbed of Islamic 
fundamentalism to escape international censure despite its 
admitted sale of nuclear-weapons technology to three so-called 
rogue states.

Another justification proffered by the Bush team for the 
occupation of Iraq - the presence of terrorists with links with 
Al Qaeda - has been true about Pakistan. Yet Pakistan is a close 
ally in President George W. Bush's war on terror while continuing 
to harbor Al Qaeda and Taliban members and other transnational 
terrorists, some of them still enjoying its official patronage.

The U.S. double standards on display are one reason why 
nonproliferation and counterterrorism remain serious 
international challenges, with critics branding them as tools to 
promote American strategic interests.

By objective criteria, Pakistan long represented a far more 
compelling threat to international security than Iraq on 
terrorism and weapons of mass destruction - a fact borne out by 
its more recent admission of leaks of nuclear-weapons technology 
to Iran, Libya and North Korea. The Pakistani nuclear aid to 
Libya flowed as late as last autumn.

Yet Washington continues to mollycoddle the military regime in 
Islamabad and has backed the sham Pakistani inquiry that pinned 
all the blame for the illicit nuclear transfers on individual 
scientists, particularly one man - Abdul Qadeer Khan. Through the 
charade of making the putative father of the Pakistani nuclear 
program admit complete responsibility for the nuclear leaks and 
then granting him a full pardon, Pakistan's dictator, Pervez 
Musharraf, has shielded his military and its powerful 
Inter-Services Intelligence agency.

It is well documented how the military helped build Pakistan's 
nuclear program with materials and equipment illegally procured 
from overseas through intermediaries in Dubai and front companies 
set up in Europe by the ISI agency. What could not be procured 
from the West was imported covertly from China, which also 
supplied the design of the first Pakistani bomb. With the ISI as 
the spearhead of operations and the German-trained Khan as the 
brain, the military ran the world's most successful 
nuclear-smuggling ring. That success bred proliferation after 
1989 in the reverse direction - out of Pakistan.

Now, like mafia dons questioning their underlings for carrying 
out their orders, official investigators have sought to cloak the 
military's involvement and direction by putting the entire blame 
on some scientists for getting lured by the big money from 
proliferation.

Musharraf has once again demonstrated how he thrives in 
adversity. He has cut a deal that seeks to please all - the 
United States, which got the inquiry it wanted and the promise 
that there would be no further nuclear leaks; Khan, the national 
hero who keeps his cache of illicit money after the pardon; and 
the military and the ISI, which continue to rule the roost. All 
this has been achieved without Pakistan's facing any 
international penalty or scrutiny, or even agreeing to turn over 
documents from its inquiry to the International Atomic Energy 
Agency.

Since seizing power in a 1999 coup, Musharraf has ably exploited 
international concerns about the situation in Pakistan to 
strengthen his hold on power, pushing through a sham referendum 
in 2002 on his self-proclaimed presidency and reaching a pact 
with Islamist political groups to legitimize his continuance in 
office until 2007.

Over the past five decades, a succession of Pakistani military 
rulers - all of whom came to power by ousting democratically 
elected governments - have made themselves useful to the United 
States. And, repeatedly, administrations in Washington, 
Democratic and Republican, have helped perpetuate military rule 
in Pakistan, seeing it as the best bet to take that troubled 
nation forward. But the result has been only to make Pakistan a 
bigger problem for the world.

The Pakistani military has long-standing links with terrorism and 
nuclear proliferation. In fact, the radicalization of the 
Pakistani society began under the Islamization campaign of the 
previous military ruler, Mohammed Zia ul-Haq.

Nothing could be more dangerous than the mix of Islamic terrorism 
and nuclear weapons that now exists in Pakistan. Physical 
protection of nuclear assets can be ensured only when the 
government is in complete control. But when a dictatorship claims 
nuclear peddling occurred without its knowledge, the dangers of 
leakage and seizure of nuclear assets by Islamist elements become 
starkly real.

While the White House has again praised Musharraf, the risks of 
continued leakage cannot be contained without uncovering and 
disconnecting the various links in the elaborate Pakistani 
nuclear-supply chain. An inquiry that hushes up the role of key 
players can hardly be the answer to those risks.

The writer is a strategic studies professor at the Center for 
Policy Research in New Delhi.   

Copyright © 2004 the International Herald Tribune All
*****************************************************************
 19 TIME Asia Magazine: Nuclear Reaction

 -- Feb. 16, 2004
 		 		 						 		 						 		 		 		 
Nuclear Reaction

The proliferation scandal must not be allowed to derail 
Pakistan's progress                                                                                                                                                                                   
												
BY MOHSIN HAMID											 

SHAKIL ADIL/AP Is Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan a national hero 
or a disgrace? 
  	     
Monday, Feb. 09, 2004

Like many Pakistanis, I am unsure of how to react to the 
proliferation scandal surrounding Abdul Qadeer Khan, the "father 
of the Islamic Bomb." Khan admitted last week to providing 
nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea but was 
pardoned by Pakistan's President, General Pervez Musharraf. The 
case exposes deep conflicts in my feelings about my country, our 
policies and the direction we are taking. 

There is, first of all, the issue of our nuclear program, which 
is wildly popular in Pakistan. I would like to be able to say 
that I am opposed to the possession of nuclear weapons, by our 
state or any other. After all, I have seen photographs of the 
aftermath of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and read the 
terrifying stories told by survivors. I am aware of the horrors 
this technology can bring. And I am aware of the resources 
consumed in our pursuit of nuclear bombs and missiles, resources 
that could have gone into much needed schools and hospitals and 
roads. 

Yet I would be a hypocrite if I were to claim that I did not 
think that Pakistan's nuclear weapons are vital to our national 
security. I grew up in Lahore, a howitzer-shell's flight from the 
Indian border, and I have witnessed firsthand the tension that 
comes when a country masses its army against its smaller 
neighbor. I have seen our troops digging in and our choppers 
flying low overhead as I have dropped off my younger cousins at 
school. And I know that in those moments I have been grateful for 
our nuclear weapons, for the deterrent that has kept the 
unthinkable consequences of war unthinkable. 

Because it is widely believed that Khan could not have acted 
without the army's knowledge, the proliferation scandal also 
raises the issue of whether military rule is desirable in 
Pakistan. I have for most of my life despised the idea of 
dictatorship, of citizens being told what is right for them by an 
unelected, unaccountable body. I have vivid memories, even a 
decade and a half later, of the disastrous policies initiated by 
General Zia ul-Haq in the 1980s, policies of Islamization, of 
news broadcasts in Arabic, intimidation of journalists, 
oppression of women. 

But again, despite my principles and my awareness that the army 
could well have supported proliferation in the past, I must admit 
that I have come to support Pakistan's current strongman, General 
Musharraf. I can see the changes that his leadership has brought 
to the country, the growing, grudging sense of optimism, the 
rising hopes for peace with India. Many of my friends who lived 
abroad have returned home, attracted by the fresh economic 
opportunities. Many of our younger siblings are joining rock 
bands and theater companies, encouraged by a liberalizing media 
sector, by our three 24-hour music channels on television, by 
independent news networks, by an explosion of mass entertainment. 
These outlets for expression did not exist when I was in my teens 
and 20s. They are vital, because their call for a new, 
progressive and open Pakistan, delivered by attractive and 
confident youngsters, is far more appealing and gives far more 
hope than the rival appeals to medieval values made by intolerant 
men with beards. 

Finally, I recognize the value of truth and transparency, both of 
which appear to be lacking in the government's handling of the 
proliferation scandal. The cloak of secrecy is thrown over 
investigations too frequently in Pakistan. We are—because of our 
history, our often hostile neighbors and our own mistakes—an 
insecure nation that too often hides behind the justification of 
national security. But at this moment, a fragile government 
coalition exists to change decades of misguided policies—policies 
of hostility and interventionism toward India and Afghanistan, 
policies of Islamization and religious militancy, and policies 
that led to economic stagnation and corruption at the highest 
levels. 

We cannot risk the loss of our momentum for change, either by 
bringing to trial a man once considered a national hero and 
thereby alienating a large segment of our population, or by 
making public any role by elected politicians and army chiefs and 
thereby destabilizing our current leadership. We know that 
Pakistan has made grievous errors in the past. This is the moment 
to correct our errors quickly and to move on rather than to focus 
on assigning blame. 

In the end, I find myself feeling, perhaps shamefully, that I 
would like this scandal to pass quietly. Not because I am unaware 
of the horrors of nuclear war, the perils of dictatorship or the 
importance of truth. But because despite being aware of these 
things, I believe Pakistan needs its nuclear deterrent, I support 
Musharraf and I think a public inquiry is dangerous at this time 
in our history. We must cooperate with other countries and with 
the U.N. to shut down the proliferation network that has been 
allowed to develop in Pakistan. And we must stay the course in 
our pursuit of economic growth, peace and a more liberal 
Pakistan. 

                                                                  
y
*****************************************************************
 20 BBC: India steers clear of nuclear row 
 
  Last Updated: Monday, 9 February, 2004
 
By Sanjoy Majumder BBC News Online correspondent in Delhi   

India has been uncharacteristically reserved in its response to 
revelations that a top Pakistani scientist leaked nuclear secrets 
to several countries. 
	 		
[Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf (R) shakes hands with 
Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee ] Both sides are keen 
not to antagonise the other                                                                 

A year ago, Indian officials would have jumped to add their voice 
to the chorus of international condemnation. 

It would have afforded an easy opportunity to snipe at its 
long-term rival - bitter exchanges between the two are a 
recurring sideshow at many global forums. 

But clearly, this time, both countries have staked their fortune 
on a much larger gaming board. 

With their recent rapprochement over Kashmir and the first round 
of peace discussions scheduled for next week, neither side can 
afford to queer the pitch. 

It is not Pakistan alo which needs to be blamed Indian Foreign 
Minister Yashwant Sinha          

On Friday, 48 hours after Pakistani scientist AQ Khan publicly 
confessed to leaking nuclear secrets, Indian Foreign Minister 
Yashwant Sinha indicated that the matter would not end there. 

"There are issues which will have to be debated by the IAEA and 
elsewhere and resolved so that we have more responsible behaviour 
from countries which have nuclear capability," he said. 

Kashmir pressure 

But in a remarkable scaling down of even that level of criticism, 
Mr Sinha said on Monday that many other countries were involved 
in spreading nuclear technology. 

"I would like to say what it clearly demonstrates is that there 
is a flourishing black market in nuclear technology. 

"It is not Pakistan alone which needs to be blamed for this," he 
told Reuters Television. 

Many observers say that India clearly has the Kashmir peace talks 
in mind. 

[Indian Agni missile]                           
India wants to be seen as a responsible nuclear power                                                             

"Sinha's measured comments are a clear reflection of the Indian 
decision not to milk the recent revelations to score political 
points over Islamabad," writes The Times of India's Siddhartha 
Varadarajan. 

With India approaching general elections, the governing Bharatiya 
Janata Party is keen to highlight the India-Pakistan détente in 
its campaign for re-election. 

Delhi is also aware that any sharp comment from its side could 
invite a strong reaction from Islamabad - potentially damaging 
the peace process. 

Nuclear understanding 

There are some who believe Pakistan's crisis has in any case 
worked to India's advantage. 

It poses a direct securi threat in our region and we have to 
state our concerns upfront
		
The Hindu's Amit Baruah         

"It highlight's India's position as a responsible nuclear power," 
says Indian Express editor Shekhar Gupta. 

India and Pakistan have also often spoken with one voice during 
global nuclear policy discussions. 

On Sunday at an international security conference in Munich, both 
countries announced that they had no plans to sign the nuclear 
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). 

Speaking together at a press conference, Indian National Security 
Advisor Brajesh Mishra and Pakistan Foreign Minister Khurshid 
Mahmud Kasuri said they would do the utmost to prevent the spread 
of nuclear weapons. 

Despite the apparent goodwill between the two sides, there are 
some in India who want Delhi to take a stronger stance. 

Amit Baruah, diplomatic correspondent at The Hindu, says that the 
revelation that a Pakistani scientist was involved in nuclear 
proliferation is not one to be taken lightly. 

"It poses a direct security threat in our region and we have to 
state our concerns upfront." 

Acknowledging that India may not wish to upset its equation with 
Pakistan at the moment, he suggests another way out. 

"We could pursue this through multilateral talks, through the 
IAEA and ensure that there's full accountability for what 
Pakistan has been doing," he told the BBC. 



*****************************************************************
 21 BBC: Pakistan warned on nuclear trade 
 
  Last Updated: Monday, 9 February, 2004
 
[Protester in Pakistan with portrait of Abdul Qadeer Khan]                           

Khan is widely seen in Pakistan as a hero for his nuclear work                                                            

The US Secretary of State Colin Powell has demanded that Pakistan 
dismantle "by its roots" the secret network of nuclear technology 
deals. 

Mr Powell said that Pakistan had already done "quite a bit" to 
roll up the proliferation network. 

Islamabad has already announced that the disgraced nuclear 
scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan may face more questions. 

The government has also said it will share the findings of an 
inquiry into the leaks with the UN. 

'Shared objectives' 

Mr Powell said he had urged President Pervez Musharraf to make 
sure that no more of the secret nuclear exchange network of Dr 
Abdul Qadeer Khan remained. 

The US secretary of state said he had received assurances that 
the Pakistani government shared his objective, and that Islamabad 
would share all the information it came up with. 

The Pakistani government h done quite a bit now to roll up the 
network... which has to be pulled up by its roots and examined to 
make sure we have left nothing behind Colin Powell, US Secretary 
of State     

The Pakistan government has already announced that it is prepared 
to share the findings of an investigation into the secret 
transfers with the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency. 

Islamabad has repeatedly stressed that it wants to eliminate the 
world black market in nuclear-related material. 

Correspondents say that because General Musharraf is a close ally 
of the US, its response so far to the leaking of Pakistani 
nuclear secrets has been muted. 

But at the same time the US has made no secret of its 
determination to investigate and stop the spread of technology 
and weapons. 



Pakistan earlier said that Dr Khan had not been granted a 
"blanket pardon" and may face further questioning. 

The government said an investigation into his leaking of nuclear 
secrets to other states was continuing. 

But officials also stress that Pakistan's nuclear arsenal is not 
in danger of falling into the hands of extremists. 



Foreign ministry spokesman Masood Khan said that the pardon given 
to Dr Khan was "conditional" and applied only to his confession 
made so far. 

Investigation 

He refused to say whether the case against the scientist could 
re-open if more incriminating evidence was found against him. 

[Abdul Qadeer Khan (left) meeting President Musharraf] Khan's 
confession shocked the nation                                                            

Last week General Musharraf described Dr Khan as a "national 
hero" for his role in developing Pakistani nuclear weapons 
technology. 

The president granted a pardon after Dr Khan went on television 
and begged the nation's forgiveness for passing on information to 
Iran, Libya and North Korea. 

Masood Khan said the scientist had been co-operating with the 
authorities in the investigations and that his pardon was subject 
to his continued co-operation. 

He described allegations that there was nuclear technology on 
board a Pakistani C-130 cargo aircraft flight to North Korea in 
July 2002 as "utter nonsense". 

He said that while the flight had taken place it was only to 
allow Pakistan to pick up shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles. 

The spokesman described the revelations about the involvement of 
Pakistan's top scientist in proliferation as a traumatic 
experience for the country and its citizens. 

But he said it was a necessary exercise and the people had to go 
through this pain in order to convince the world that only a few 
individuals - and not the whole country - was involved in 
proliferation. 

Strict security restrictions have been imposed on Dr Khan and his 
associates. 

The government says they will not be allowed to resume their 
normal duties or activities. 

Relatives of six scientists detained in relation to the nuclear 
scandal have taken the government to court to challenge the 
legality of their continued imprisonment. 
*****************************************************************
 22 Haaretz: Administrative detention being considered for Vanunu       

  Last Update: 09/02/2004 19:43   
    	 
  By Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondent   	 
    
The defense establishment is considering ordering the 
administrative detention of Mordechai Vanunu, convicted of 
nuclear espionage, when he is released from prison in two months. 
Discussions on the matter were held Monday by the chairman of the 
Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee, MK Yuval Steinitz 
(Likud), MK Danny Yatom (Likud), Yehiel Haruv, head of security 
in the Defense Ministry, as well as representatives of the 
Mossad, the Shin Bet, and the attorney general's office.       

In the discussions, held behind closed doors, defense officials 
listed a number of measures they were considering against Vanunu 
to prevent him from leaking secrets on the nuclear reactor in 
Dimona when he is released from prison. Vanunu served 18 years in 
prison after releasing information on Israel's nuclear status in 
an interview with the Sunday Times.

Other steps under consideration include prohibiting Vanunu from 
leaving the country, confiscating his passport, cutting off his 
phone and internet access, and keeping him under surveillance. 
These steps are similar to those taken when Marcus Klingberg, 
also convicted of espionage, was released from prison.

Attorney General Meni Mazuz will be asked to examine the legal 
aspects of steps to be taken, in order not to contravene the 
Basic Law on Human Dignity and Freedom.

MKs Steinitz and Yatom expressed concern that Vanunu might expose 
significant secrets that might endanger the state, and supported 
the defense establishment's intention to limit his freedom.
   	 
  Mordechai Vanunu is due to be released in April. (Archive 
Photo)   

  © Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved   
*****************************************************************
 23 Hi Pakistan: Pakistan, India not to sign NPT

February 09 2004     
    
MUNICH: India and Pakistan have reiterated their long-standing 
refusal to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) but 
have pledged to stop the spread of nuclear weapons.

Pakistan ‘will not sign’ the NPT, Foreign Minister Khurshid 
Mahmud Kasuri said at the end of the 40th annual security 
conference here on Sunday, which debated transatlantic ties, NATO 
and the Middle East.

Kasuri said, "We will of course fulfil the obligations regarding 
non-proliferation," he said, adding, "It is in our own interest. 
We don’t want too many states with nuclear weapons technology."

Indian government’s national security adviser Brajesh Mishra also 
ruled out that his country would sign the 1968 treaty, designed 
to limit the nuclear weapons only to five nations - US, Russia, 
China, Britain and France.

"There is no hope that India will sign the NPT," he said. Mishra 
said India needed more nuclear power plants to produce extra 
electricity, as much as 200,000 megawatts, in the coming years.

Earlier, speaking to the delegates of the conference, Kasuri 
vehemently defended Pakistan on the issue of transfer of nuclear 
secrets. He said that lots of Europeans and states are involved 
in the scandals of the illicit transfer of secrets to countries 
seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

"Why is there this unhealthy focus on Pakistan? What about 
others? Where Iran had found its laser technology to enrich 
uranium, or how it knew to enrich plutonium?" Kasuri asked. "I 
know the names. I don’t want to spell them. The names Iran gave 
to the International Atomic Energy Agency have been given to us 
by the agency."

Kasuri said it was important to stress that the leaks had not 
been recent and were mainly during Pakistan’s early days of 
nuclear development when few people were aware of the project. 
"There was a danger of this sort of thing because our programme 
was covert," he said and added that the main scientist Dr Abdul 
Qadeer Khan had been removed when initial intelligence reports 
indicated smoke and ‘fire had not been discovered’.

Kasuri said Pakistan had not joined the NPT, but was committed to 
fulfilling the non-proliferation requirements. It was not in 
Pakistan’s interests to share its nuclear secrets with others, he 
said.

Kasuri said the uranium enrichment technology, which Khan 
appeared to have provided, was only part of the know-how required 
to make nuclear weapons. "Our nuclear experts tell me you need 
about 24 different technologies or processes to make nuclear 
weapons and then to deliver them. Only one of them is the 
uranium-enrichment process," he said.

Foreign intelligence agencies gave Pakistan evidence years ago 
that Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan had secretly passed technology to other 
countries, and he was removed as head of the country’s top 
nuclear facility in 2000, Kasuri said. The foreign minister also 
defended Pakistan’s decision to pardon Dr Khan and said he was 
only one of many in the world spreading atomic know-how, mainly 
to Iran.

Kasuri said, "Abdul Qadeer Khan had been punished in the past and 
had to be treated in a ‘balanced’ way. He is a national hero, 
because in the eyes of all Pakistanis he has brought about 
strategic balance in South Asia."

Referring to Pakistan’s role and its commitment to maintain the 
global peace and harmony, he said Pakistan is engaged in a 
comprehensive war against terrorism and will continue to make a 
positive contribution to peace, stability and prosperity in the 
Middle East.

Kasuri said the interlocking regions of the Middle East, South 
Asia and Central Asia would greatly benefit from a stable 
strategic and security environment.

Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 24 Xinhuanet: Pakistan ready to cooperate with int'l nuclear watch dog   
 
  www.xinhuanet.com

  www.chinaview.cn 2004-02-09 21:17:12   

    ISLAMABAD, Feb. 9 (Xinhuanet)-- Pakistan's Foreign spokesman 
Masood Khan said Monday that the country is ready to cooperate 
with international community to fight against nuclear 
proliferation. 

    The spokesman, at a weekly press conference here, said 
Pakistanis to share the information with the International Atomic 
Energy Agency (IAEA) about the recent investigations on Abdul 
Qadeer Khan,"Father of the Islamic atomic bomb," who has 
confessed having involved in illegal transfer of nuclear 
know-how. 

    Masood Khan, meanwhile, denied that the country is carrying 
outthe investigations under the supervision of the IAEA. 

    Pakistan, as a responsible nuclear nation, will carry on the 
proliferation probes in accordance with its own law, the 
spokesmannoted. 

    He reiterated that there is no governmental involvement in 
the proliferation scandal, adding that several world powers 
including the United States have lauded Pakistan's efforts to 
tackle the leakage of nuclear technology. 

    The spokesman said the pardon granted to Qadeer Khan is 
"conditional" and the founder of Pakistan's nuclear program, 
along with his involved associates, will not be allowed to resume 
his normal duty. 

    November last year, Pakistan started investigations on Qadeer 
Khan and a number of his associates after reports from the IAEA 
provided evidence of technology aid from Pakistan in Iran's 
nuclear development. 

    Earlier this Month, Qadeer Khan admitted the proliferation 
charge and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf granted him a 
"pardon" later on. Enditem   


  Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency. All rights reserved. 
*****************************************************************
 25 Chicago Sun-Times Report: Al-Qaida has suitcase-size nuclear bombs 

February 9, 2004

Ukraine sold al-Qaida an unknown number of tactical nuclear 
weapons in 1998, the London-based al-Hayat newspaper reported, 
and the terror organization is storing them for possible use. 

After the Soviet Union broke up, Ukraine agreed to send 1,900 
nuclear warheads back to Russia and sign on to the Nuclear 
Non-Proliferation Treaty, but up to 100 portable suitcase-size 
bombs were unaccounted for, former Russian national security 
adviser Alexander Lebed said.

 Each bomb was the equivalent of 1,000 tons of TNT, he said. 

Moscow has denied that such weapons existed. 

The Arabic-language newspaper's report has not been confirmed. 

In 1994, under U.S. and Russian pressure, Ukraine removed 1,900 
nuclear warheads to Moscow and signed the anti-nuclear 
proliferation agreement. However, three years earlier, Lebed 
already had warned of the missing suitcase bombs. 

According to al-Hayat, the weapons are not meant to be used 
except as a last resort, if the movement is in danger or attacked 
by weapons of mass destruction.

 Jerusalem Post

Copyright 2004, Digital Chicago Inc.   
*****************************************************************
 26 Hi Pakistan: N-issue to dominate Senate session 

February 09 2004     
    
ISLAMABAD: The government’s handling of nuclear proliferation 
case will dominate the forthcoming Senate session opening on Feb 
13.

The Alliance for the Restoration of Democracy and its allied 
parties, and the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal have separately filed 
adjournment motions on the subject, agitating interrogation of 
nuclear scientists and Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan’s televised apology.

The Jamali government that came to know about the nuclear 
proliferation issue quite belatedly, as not even Prime Minister 
Zafarullah Jamali was fully aware of it, is going to defend the 
official handling of scientists.

"Our effort is to avoid a debate on the sensitive issue," an 
official told The News, "because it would do no good to our 
nuclear and missile programmes." The ARD also plans to 
requisition the National Assembly to discuss the same issue.

Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 27 Hi Pakistan: N-probe contents should be shared with the opposition: Benazir 
 
February 09 2004     
    
WASHINGTON: Former prime minister Benazir Bhutto has called upon 
the government to share full contents of the nuclear probe with 
opposition parties. Addressing a press conference in Washington, 
the Pakistan People’s Party chairperson demanded that independent 
commission should be formed to probe into the nuclear 
proliferation. It should be consisting of two members each from 
the PPP, PML-N and the governmen. 

She said the government should take parliament and nation into 
confidence regarding "debriefing" of the scientists and 
"so-called" confessional statement by Dr Qadeer Khan.She asked if 
Dr Khan was guilty of proliferating sensitive nuclear technology 
to other countries then why he was not penalised? She charged 
that the nuclear scientists were being sacrificed to provide 
cover to other personalities who were allegedly involved in this 
"high profile crime". She termed the debriefing of scientists a 
drama and said it was aimed at recovering $40 million, which were 
not taken by Dr Khan, but someone else.                                                                                                                                                              
 				 				
Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 28 Hi Pakistan: ‘Musharraf settled N-scientists’ issue wisely’ --
 
February 09 2004     
    
ISLAMABAD: Senator Waqar Ahmad Khan has said President Pervez 
Musharraf has once again ensured absolute protection of the 
national strategic assets by acting wisely in the case of the 
nuclear scientists.

Talking to journalists here on Sunday, the independent Senator 
observed that the visionary steps taken by President Musharraf 
silenced all those who wanted to take undue advantage on the 
issue.

He said the president has not only settled the matter once for 
all but also maintained national prestige and respect. He said 
that out of the mud of controversy of nuclear technology transfer 
from Pakistan, the president’s far-sighted policy has even won 
laurels from the international community.

Senator Waqar said Pakistan has handled the issue itself and 
unlike the other countries, it has not allowed inspectors from 
outside to visit its nuclear installations. "This is itself a 
strong evidence that President Musharraf has ensured that 
Pakistan’s strategic assets are in safe hands and all threats 
will be thwarted," he added.

Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 29 Tri-Valley Herald: Terrorists strive to make dirty bomb

U.S. expert says black market operating in weapons field
By Steven Gutkin, Associated Press

 JAKARTA, Indonesia -- Terrorists have the will and some of the 
expertise to make a chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear 
weapon, and are "doing everything they can" to acquire the 
materials, the U.S. State Department's top anti-terror official 
said . 

Cofer Black, U.S. ambassador at large for anti-terrorism, told 
The Associated Press that al-Qaida is still dangerous even though 
more than two-thirds of its leaders from the time of the Sept. 
11, 2001 attacks have been killed or arrested. 

Black said he and other U.S. officials are "killing ourselves" to 
make sure terrorists don't get a so-called "dirty bomb" or other 
unconventional weapons, but the threat remains. 

"We know beyond a shadow of a doubt that a number of these 
groups, if they had it, would use it," said Black, who 
accompanied U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to an Asia 
Pacific anti-terror summit on Bali last week. 

"They've got the will. A lot of these guys seek the expertise, 
and there's a reasonable amount of that out there, but what 
you're really looking for is the coming together of all the 
factors: the will, the expertise and the materials," he said. 

Authorities fear terrorists could create a dirty bomb, which 
would use conventional explosives to disperse a plume of 
radioactive dust over a city. Unlike a nuclear weapon, a dirty 
bomb would not ignite an atomic chain reaction and would not 
require highly enriched uranium or plutonium, which are hard to 
obtain. The materials could be a lower-grade isotope, like those 
used in medicine or research. 

Black's comments follow recent revelations that the father of 
Pakistan's nuclear program, Abdul Qadeer Khan, sold equipment 
related to centrifuges, used to enrich uranium for nuclear 
weapons, to Iran, Libya and North Korea. Experts say the same 
black market that enabled those countries to obtain nuclear 
weapons technology might also have supplied bomb components or 
plans to terrorists. 

"If al-Qaida were to put together a radiological device, they're 
going to use it," Black said. "We know that they have the 
determination, they've killed large numbers before, their 
objective is to kill more, they're doing everything they can to 
acquire this type of weapon and we are working to try to prevent 
it." 

He said that anti-terror officials use the initials CBRN to rank 
the threats' order of probability: "chemical, bacteriological, 
radiological and nuclear -- chemical the most likely and nuclear 
the least." 

Al-Qaida's apparent interest in acquiring nuclear technology came 
to the fore in 2001 when two Pakistani nuclear scientists were 
arrested after meeting Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan on 
suspicion of giving away secrets. The scientists were later 
released without being charged. 

Al Qaida, said Black, has been badly damaged since Sept. 11 and 
now has "less leadership personnel with which to plan and 
validate operations" but "that still doesn't stop them from being 
very dangerous." 

"We are concerned about the next generation, guys seven to 12 
years younger, who are flush with disturbed radical emotion but 
less well-trained," he said. 

Government officials attending last week's anti-terror summit on 
Bali -- site of a devastating attack in 2002 by the al-Qaida 
linked Jemaah Islamiyah terror group -- called on Asia Pacific 
states to work to prevent the illegal movement of nuclear, 
chemical and biological materials. 

But delegates said the threat of unconventional weapons falling 
into the hands of terrorists was not discussed at any length 
during the two-day event. 

Black said he believed Jemaah Islamiyah remains the most 
dangerous terrorist threat in this region because of its 
"association with al-Qaida, the substantial training received in 
Afghanistan, their contact and connection to these radicalized 
groups in the Middle East." 

©1999-2003 by MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
*****************************************************************
 30 Hi Pakistan: Musharraf vows no more leaks of nuclear secrets 
 
February 09 2004     
    
WASHINGTON: President Pervez Musharraf, in an interview broadcast 
on Sunday, pledged that Pakistan had put a stop to the covert 
export of nuclear weapons know-how. 

"Please let it not be thought that the same proliferation 
activity will start again," Musharraf told the NBC network in an 
interview in Islamabad. "Never. That will never happen." 

He was responding to questions about his handling of the 
confession last week by Abdul Qadeer Khan, revered as the father 
of Pakistan's atomic bomb, that he had leaked secrets to Libya, 
North Korea and Iran as head of Pakistan's nuclear program from 
the 1970s.                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
      






Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 31 Hi Pakistan: Government stopped expert leaking nuclear secrets as early as 2000
: report 
 
February 09 2004     
    
BERLIN: Abdul Qadeer Khan who passed secrets to Iran, Libya and 
North Korea, was prevented from continuing his illicit trade as 
early as 2000, Pakistan's foreign minister said in an interview. 

"Pakistan put in place instruments of control in 2000. It is not 
true to say that something left Pakistani factories since that 
date," Mian Khurshid Mahmud Kasuri told Germany's Sueddeutsche 
Zeitung. 

Kasuri told the German daily that the Pakistani government knew 
about Khan's illegal activities three years ago and had 
subsequently removed him from his position as head of Khan 
Research Laboratories (KRL). 

President Pervez Musharraf, reportedly under US pressure, removed 
Khan from the chairmanship of KRL in March 2001 and made him 
special adviser on strategic and KRL affairs.                                           
							 				 				   				 				
Copyright 1996-2002 . Hi Pakistan. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 32 Paktribune: India says Pakistan not the only nuclear proliferator

Pakistan News PakTribune.Com
 
Monday February 09, 2004 (1634 PST)
 		 		 		
PHUKET, February 10 (Online): Pakistan is not the only country 
whose scientists have spread nuclear weapon knowledge and the 
international community must act to end the black market, Indian 
Foreign Minister Yashwant Sinha said. 

"There are so many other countries which are running this racket 
and they are from the Western world and there are others," Sinha 
told Reuters Television on the sidelines of a regional trade 
meeting on the southern Thai island of Phuket. “I would like to 
say what it clearly demonstrates is that there is a flourishing 
black market in nuclear technology. It is not Pakistan alone 
which needs to be blamed for this," he said without naming names. 
"The international community needs to look at this flourishing 
black market in nuclear technology and something will have to be 
done to stop this black market, especially now because the entire 
international community is threatened with a danger of nuclear 
weapons falling into the hands of terrorists." End.  
    
Pakistan News Service © PakTribune.com Pvt Ltd
2003-2004   
*****************************************************************
 33 BulletinWire News: India's new toys                                                
 		
February 6, 2004
 						
As part of an ongoing expansion of its military capabilities, 
India is looking to acquire a new air defense system and other 
advanced weapons systems.
 						
"Some of the top-priority acquisitions will be the medium 
multi-role combat aircraft, air defense systems, (nuclear) 
command and control, communications . . . advanced weapons for 
aircraft, advanced warning and control systems, and 
force-multipliers," Indian Defence Minister George Fernandes told 
reporters (Agence France Presse, February 5). 
						
To that end, the French firm Thales announced its plans to sell 
India 19 low-level defense radar systems in the next three years, 
according to the report.
 						
Recently, India has been bolstering its ability to provide an 
effective nuclear deterrent. On January 20, India inked a $1.5 
billion deal with Russia for the transfer of a refurbished 
Soviet-era aircraft carrier and 28 MiG-29 fighter jets. The 
aircraft carrier is expected to be delivered no sooner than 2008, 
when the life expectancy of India’s current carrier will end.
 						
India’s National Security Council spelled out its broad 
intentions in a 1999 draft nuclear doctrine, that "called for the 
creation of a ‘credible minimum deterrent' to be based 'on a 
triad of aircraft, mobile land-based missiles, and sea-based 
assets,' but the board’s recommendations had no official 
standing," reported Robert S. Norris, William Arkin, Hans 
Kristensen, and Joshua Handler in the Bulletin’s March/April 2002 
Nuclear Notebook.
 					   				     				   					
Administration (NNSA) announced January 28 that its final 
environmental impact statement for the planned $4 billion Modern 
Pit Facility (MPF) would be indefinitely delayed. The statement, 
originally due by April and expected to name a site for the 
facility, was postponed because of congressional concerns, 
according to the NNSA.  
                                                                  
                              As Chris Paine reported in the 
September/October 2003 Bulletin, the MPF would be able to make 
250–900 plutonium weapons cores per year. Yet “Energy could 
easily maintain a sufficient deterrent without the MPF,” Paine 
reported. He added, “Such bomb-making abilities don’t just knock 
the moral-political props out from under efforts to stem bomb 
programs in North Korea, Iran, India, and Pakistan. They’re a 
felonious frontal assault” on nonproliferation itself.
                                                                  
                              Despite criticism from Congress and 
elsewhere, Energy is unlikely to give up its drive for new 
weapons cores. “Restoring our capability to manufacture plutonium 
pits is an essential element of America’s nuclear defense 
policy,” said NNSA head Linton Brooks.
 											
*****************************************************************
 34 Moscow Times: Ukraine Denies Sale Of Nuclear Weapons
 
Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2004. Page 3 

By Simon Saradzhyan Staff Writer 
  
Ukrainian officials on Monday denied a report in an Arab
newspaper that al-Qaida purchased tactical nuclear weapons from
Ukrainian scientists and is storing them for possible use. 

"The allegations of Ukrainian scientists giving away tactical
weapons is another tall story," Alexander Kuzmyk, a former
Ukrainian defense minister and a member of the parliament's
security committee, told Interfax. 

The London-based al-Hayat newspaper said Sunday that Ukrainian
scientists traveled to the Afghan city of Kandahar in 1998 and
struck a deal with the international terrorist network for the
sale of an unspecified number of so-called nuclear "suitcase
bombs." 

The newspaper quoted sources close to al-Qaida as saying that
al-Qaida would detonate the devices only in the United States or
if it faced a "crushing blow" threatening its existence, such as
the use of nuclear or chemical weapons against its fighters,
according to Reuters. 

Kuzmyk, who headed Ukraine's Defense Ministry from 1996 to 2001,
said the newspaper's allegations "lie in the sphere of fiction"
and are "groundless." 

He noted that Ukraine had transferred its nuclear arsenal to
Russia by 1996 and, as such, had no tactical nuclear weapons to
sell in 1998. 

Kuzmyk's remarks were echoed by the deputy head of Ukraine's
arms export agency, Alexander Myakushko. He said Monday that
Ukraine has not supplied weapons to Afghanistan since 1993 and
none could have been smuggled there, Interfax reported. 

Reports of al-Qaida seeking nuclear materials and of nuclear
weapons going missing after the breakup of the Soviet Union are
nothing new. The CIA, for one, has repeatedly said it has
information indicating al-Qaida is trying to obtain nuclear
material to build a so-called "dirty bomb." Former Soviet
republics have frequently been named as likely sources for the
material. 

Questions about whether Ukraine might have lost warheads were
raised in September 2002, when Ukrainian lawmaker Pyotr
Simonenko said that the transfer of only 2,200 of the country's
2,400 warheads had been documented. "The fate of the other 200
warheads is unknown," Simonenko told reporters. 

Kiev denied Simonenko's allegations at the time. 

In May 1997, General Alexander Lebed, then the secretary of the
Security Council, stirred up a storm in both Russia and the
United States with an announcement that Moscow was unable to
account for 80 small atomic demolition munitions, or ADMs, made
in the Soviet Union. 

Officials at the Ukrainian Defense Ministry and the Security
Service of Ukraine could not be reached for comment Monday. A
search on the security service's web site found only one case in
which a foreigner had tried to acquire nuclear warheads in
Ukraine. In 1992, security officers arrested a 32-year-old
Swedish citizen on charges of trying to acquire warheads to
blackmail the Swedish government into giving a $2 billion loan
to Ukraine. 

Ivan Safranchuk, head of the Moscow office of the
Washington-based Center for Defense Information, said Monday
that al-Hayat's report probably reflected an attempt by al-Qaida
to use "nuclear bluffing" in its "information warfare" against
the United States. Such a bluff would indicate that al-Qaida is
indeed making a serious effort to acquire nuclear weapons, he
said. 

© Copyright 2002, The Moscow Times. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 35 Las Vegas SUN: Powell Thanks Pakistan for Nuclear Probe

Today: February 09, 2004 at 1:00:10 PST 

 By BURT HERMAN ASSOCIATED PRESS 

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - 

Pakistan has won praise from the United States government for
its investigation into a scientist's sale of nuclear technology
to Iran, Libya and North Korea. 

Secretary of State Colin Powell expressed his "appreciation" of
the investigation in a phone call Sunday to President Gen.
Pervez Musharraf, said Foreign Ministry spokesman Masood Khan. 

Powell has also said he plans to visit the country, an official
said. 

The United States has declined to publicly criticize Islamabad
over the transfer of secret technology by the founder of the
Pakistan's nuclear program, Abdul Qadeer Khan. 

Instead, Washington has praised the investigation and called
Musharraf's decision last week to pardon Khan after the
scientist's televised apology an internal matter. 

Musharraf, who seized power in 1999, is a key U.S. ally in the
war on terror, but his alliance with Washington has prompted
criticism at home, and Islamic extremists were blamed for two
assassination attempts against Musharraf in December. 

In a phone conversation Saturday, Powell "called to convey the
United States' appreciation over the results of the
investigations and the manner in which they were conducted," the
Foreign Ministry spokesman said. 

In response, Masood Khan said Musharraf "reiterated Pakistan's
resolve that no such activity will be allowed to take place in
the future." 

Powell plans to visit Pakistan "shortly," a top government
official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. 

Meanwhile, Pakistan's foreign minister said Sunday that foreign
intelligence had years ago passed on information about Abdul
Qadeer Khan giving nuclear technology to other countries -
prompting his removal in 2001 as head of the Khan Research
Laboratories, the main nuclear lab named after him. 

Musharraf took action "because some of our friends' intelligence
agencies shared some information with us," Khursheed Kasuri told
an international security conference in Munich, Germany. He did
not elaborate. 

After losing his job at the lab, Khan was appointed as a top
government adviser, a post he was fired from last week in the
wake of the proliferation scandal. 

Pakistan apparently made no moves to further investigate and
still publicly denied the allegations of proliferation that had
dogged Khan and the country for years. "There was smoke, fire
had not yet been discovered," Kasuri said. 

Musharraf has strongly denied any official involvement in
proliferation, but many are skeptical that the technology could
have been transferred without at least tacit official approval. 

The latest probe began in late November after the U.N. nuclear
watchdog also revealed evidence about the spread of Pakistani
nuclear technology. 

A local newspaper, The News, reported Sunday that Pakistan was
pressured to launch the investigation after top U.S. officials
confronted Musharraf in October with evidence detailing Khan's
black market contacts, warning that Islamabad's relations with
Washington and the world would suffer if no action was taken. 

U.S. intelligence had documented Khan's travels to the United
Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Libya, Iran and North Korea, and had
details of meetings with black market figures, documents and
bank account information, according to the report. 

U.S. officials also mentioned Khan's attempts to sell nuclear
secrets to Saddam Hussein and a meeting in Lebanon with a top
Syrian government official, the newspaper said. Both countries
turned down Khan's help. 

Officials declined to comment on the report. 

-- 


 
*****************************************************************
 36 Las Vegas SUN: U.S. Urges Pakistan Against Nuke Network

Today: February 09, 2004 at 11:20:22 PST 

 By BARRY SCHWEID ASSOCIATED PRESS 

WASHINGTON (AP) - 

Secretary of State Colin Powell insisted Monday that Pakistan,
an ally in the U.S. war against terrorism, dismantle "by its
roots" a secret network of nuclear technology sales run by the
nation's leading atomic scientist. 

While dismissing reports he planned a trip soon to Islamabad,
Powell said that President Pervez Musharraf had told him in a
telephone conversation during the weekend that the pardon he
granted Abdul Qadeer Khan, once the scientist revealed his
operation, was a conditional one. 

Powell did not provide any details about Musharraf's intentions
in dealing with the revered father of Pakistan's atomic bomb,
who was at the center of a widespread and sophisticated
operation that sent nuclear technology to North Korea, Libya and
Iran, all of which are designated as sponsors of terror by the
State Department. 

Since the Bush administration took office more than three years
ago, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage had made a point
of looking into a Pakistan role in proliferation and has raised
his concerns with Musharraf and other Pakistani officials, said
the department's spokesman, Richard Boucher. 

Explaining what Musharraf meant by conditioning his pardon for
Khan, the U.S. official said all activity by Khan and others who
may have been part of the operation must end. 

There has been speculation that the Bush administration had
avoided sharp criticism of the pardon because it considered
Musharraf a valued ally in the U.S. campaign against al-Qaida
terrorists. 

"The Pakistani government has done quite a bit now to roll up
the network," Powell said at an informal news conference at the
State Department. 

"I said to President Musharraf that we wanted to learn as much
as we could about what Mr. Khan and the network was up to. It
has to be pulled up by its roots and examined to make sure we
have left nothing behind," Powell said. 

"He assured me that was his objective as well, and he would
share with us all the information they came up with," Powell
said. 

As for a trip to Pakistan, which some reports quoting anonymous
U.S. officials said was imminent, Powell said he was sure he
would go there sometime in the spring or summer but said a visit
was not being planned now. 

Even while insisting on a complete uprooting of the technology
network, Powell said "it's a matter for the Pakistani government
to handle and make their own decisions." 

Khan has said he acted without the knowledge of Pakistani
authorities in leaking nuclear secrets to countries developing
nuclear weapons. 

Only a few weeks before the scandal surfaced, Pakistan's
ambassador to Washington dismissed allegations that Pakistani
scientists had provided Libya and possibly Iran and North Korea
with advanced nuclear technology. 

"As far as we know, none was shipped out - ever. Nobody has
presented us with evidence that this happened at such and such a
time," Ambassador Ashraf Qazi said at the time. 

Boucher said Monday Pakistan was cooperating with the United
States in trying to round up al-Qaida fighters on both sides of
the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

That cooperation does not require the use of U.S. troops on the
Pakistan side, Boucher said. 

-- 


 
*****************************************************************
 37 [NukeNet] Exelon brings in high powered lobbyists for Oyster
 
Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2004 18:16:56 -0800

 
<x-flowed>

EXELON HAS HIGH-POWER AID IN NEW LICENSE BID

Date: 8 Feb 2004
From: <mailto:sleta@njpirg.org>sleta@njpirg.org

By Nicholas Clunn, Asbury Park Press Manahawkin Bureau, 2/06/04

  Lacey - A lobbying firm that employs a close friend of Gov. McGreevey
now represents the owner of the Oyster Creek nuclear power plant as it
decides whether to seek permission to continue operating the 34-year-
old facility until 2029.

  Exelon lobby group State Street Partners, hired by plant owner
Exelon, employs James J. Kennedy, the best man at both McGreevey
weddings. The firm is among the state's most influential and connected
playmakers.

  Exelon's increased political presence comes as plant officials
consider applying to the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission for a
new 20-year license. The plant would need to apply by April or else
risk shutdown if the application is pending when the current 40-year
license expires in 2009.

  Lobbying groups opposed to continued generation at the plant said
Kennedy may help Exelon win support in Trenton, but are hopeful that
lawmakers will consider public safety, not political connections, when
taking a position.

  "It shows that Exelon is spending a lot of money and is trying to buy
their way in, as opposed to using the merits of the plant," said Jeff
Tittel, executive director of the New Jersey Sierra Club.

  Kennedy's involvement does not concern McGreevey. Relicensing is a
federal issue, not one for state officials, said Micah Rasmussen, a
spokesman for the governor. The administration also does not know, or
care to know, which clients hire which lobby groups, he said.

NJPIRG: SAFETY IS KEY

  Using the state's most politically connected lobbyists, Exelon has an
advantage, said Dena Mottola, executive director of the New Jersey
Public Interest and Research Group. She said she hopes lawmakers see
through Exelon's "excessive" strategy. "This issue should not be
decided with politics, but with the facts, the pros and cons of
whether this facility can operate safely," Mottola said.

  Plant spokeswoman Gina Scala said Exelon has often used lobby groups
to keep lawmakers posted on plant matters. The company, however, would
not elaborate on how it uses the public relations firms it hires.
Agreements between Exelon and these firms prohibit job details from
becoming public, she said.

  Exelon hired State Street not because of Kennedy, but because it
"could deliver the type of services that we're looking for to
represent our interests in New Jersey," she said. Plant officials will
have access to all lobbyests at State Street, including Kennedy and
staffers in Washington, D.C.

  Neither Kennedy nor an appropriate State Street representative could
be reached for comment.

  Although state support isn't legally required for Exelon to obtain a
new license, the company would like support from state and local
officials if it decides to pursue continued generation, said David
Pringle, campaign director of the New Jersey Environmental Federation.

  "The plant renewing its license could provide a nice profit for
Exelon in the short term, but increased concern about Oyster Creek
could get in the way of that," he said.

OPPONENTS IN TOWN HALLS

  Ten of 33 municipalities in Ocean County have passed resolutions
either opposing relicensure or making it conditional on an independent
safety evaluation. A resolution by the Brick Township Council is among
the most pointed. The declaration opposes a new license for the plant
and calls for an immediate reactor shutdown because the plant could
endanger the public.

  The South Toms River Borough Council, in a resolution similar to
those approved in other towns, called for McGreevey to authorize an
independent evaluation of a plan designed to evacuate towns around the
plant in case a radioactive release threatened the region. Other
dangers the plant could pose to public health should also be looked
into, the council decided.

  Stances taken by state lawmakers have also varied.

  Sen. Andrew R. Ciesla and Assemblymen James W. Holzapfel and David W.
Wolfe, all R-Ocean, oppose a new license. These lawmakers, who
represent northern Ocean County, also have asked towns in their
district to object to a new license because they believe Exelon will
seriously consider that opposition.

  Lawmakers representing legislative district where the plant is
located in southern Ocean County - Sen. Leonard T. Con-nors Jr. and
Assemblymen Christopher J. Connors and Brian E. Rumpf, all R-Ocean -
said they oppose relicensing unless an independent assessment ensures
that the plant is operating safely and does not increase the risk of
cancer.

  Elected officials in Lacey, meanwhile, have been outspoken supporters
of continued generation at the plant, which has provided considerable
tax revenue while boosting the local economy. They have said they
trust the federal government to ensure a safe environment in and
around the plant.

* * *

Nicholas Clunn: (609) 978-4597 or <mailto:nclunn@app.com>nclunn@app.com
Copyright (c) 1997-2002 IN Jersey.

<mailbox:///C%7C/WINDOWS/APPLICATION%20DATA/Mozilla/Profiles/norm%202/5idy9924.slt/Mail/mail.comcast.net/Inbox?number=328566331#top>Top

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

-- 
Coalition for Peace and Justice 
(<http://www.coalitionforpeaceandjustice.org>http://www.coalitionforpeaceandjustice.org); 
and the UNPLUG Salem Campaign 
(<http://www.unplugsalem.org>http://www.unplugsalem.org); 321 Barr Ave., 
Linwood, NJ 08221; 609-601-8583/37; 
<mailto:ncohen12@comcast.net>ncohen12@comcast.net. The Coalition for Peace 
and Justice is a chapter of Peace Action 
(<http://www.peace-action.org>http://www.peace-action.org). "You can say 
I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one" (Lennon). "Don't be late for your 
life" (Mary Chapin Carpenter).

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*****************************************************************
 38 NRC: NRC Invites Public to Submit Nominations for the Advisory Committee on Reactor Safeguards
 
News Release - 2004-01
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION   
  Office of Public Affairs     Telephone: 301/415-8200   
  Washington, DC 20555-0001     E-mail: opa@nrc.gov  
  No. 04-019     February 9, 2004   
  

candidates for appointment to its Advisory Committee on Reactor
Safeguards (ACRS). 

The ACRS was established by Congress to provide the NRC with
independent expert advice on matters related to the safety of
existing and proposed nuclear facilities and on the adequacy of
proposed reactor safety standards. The Committees work
currently emphasizes safety issues associated with the operation
of 103 commercial nuclear power plants in the U.S.; the pursuit
of a risk-informed and performance-based regulatory approach;
review of license renewal applications; risk-informed revisions
to reactor regulations; power uprates; transient and accident
analysis codes; materials degradation issues; use of mixed oxide
and high burn-up fuels; and technical issues related to advanced
reactor designs. 

The ACRS membership is drawn from a variety of engineering and
scientific disciplines needed to conduct broadly based reviews
for these facilities, as well as proposed standards and criteria
and related research activities. At this time, the Commission is
specifically seeking individuals who have at least 15 years of
experience in the areas of nuclear engineering, probabilistic
risk assessment, and/or plant operations. Candidates with
pertinent graduate-level education will be given additional
consideration. Individuals should have a demonstrated record of
accomplishments in the area of nuclear reactor safety.
Candidates are selected to provide a balanced technical base
consistent with the requirements of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act. 

Because conflict-of-interest regulations restrict the
participation of members actively involved in the regulated
aspects of the nuclear industry, the degree and nature of any
such involvement will be weighed. Each qualified candidates
financial interests must be reconciled with applicable federal
and NRC rules and regulations prior to final appointment. This
might require divestiture of securities issued by nuclear
industry entities or discontinuance of industry-funded research
contracts or grants. 

A résumé describing the educational and professional background
of the applicant, including any special accomplishments,
professional references, current address, and telephone number
should be provided. Candidates must be U.S. citizens. All
candidates will receive careful attention. An indication of the
candidates ability and willingness to devote the time required
(about 80 - 100 days per year) should also be provided.
Applications will be accepted until March 15. 

Résumés should be sent to the attention of Ms. Sherry Meador,
Administrative Assistant, Operations and Support Branch, Mail
Stop T2E-26, ACRS/ACNW, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission,
Washington, D.C., 20555-0001, or e-mail sam@nrc.gov.   



  


 	Last revised Monday, February 09, 2004 	   
*****************************************************************
 39 Brattleboro Reformer: Marlboro Selectboard holding evacuation plan meeting tonight
 
February 09, 2004 Brattleboro, VT                                                                                 
 			 								 					
MARLBORO -- The Marlboro Selectboard invites all Marlboro 
residents to an informational meeting to discuss emergency 
evacuation plans with the selectboard and emergency planning 
officials from the state. The informational meeting will be held 
on Monday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m., at Marlboro Elementary School. The 
snow date is February 16.

 Since a portion of Marlboro falls within a 10-mile radius of the 
Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant, the town has the right be a 
part of the evacuation planning and implementation process 
developed by the Vermont Department of Public Safety. However, in 
the event of an evacuation order, the current plan would require 
Marlboro residents to evacuate to an emergency operations center 
in Bellows Falls, bringing us closer to the nuclear plant and the 
probable chaos and confusion of Brattleboro. 

This didn't make any sense to town officials, and in response to 
our requests for the state to open a second processing center to 
our west, town officials were told by state planning officials 
that that would be too expensive to consider and was unlikely to 
happen.

 As a result Marlboro decided to not participate in the state's 
emergency planning process.

 Recently, the selectboard was told at a meeting in November with 
state officials that the state was in fact considering opening 
another evacuation center to the west. This has caused the 
Selectboard to reconsider its withdrawal from the emergency 
planning process and to ask the public for its views on this 
matter.

 Briefly, participation in the emergency plans would mean that 
Marlboro would have access to equipment, training and advice from 
the Department of Public Safety to help us develop and implement 
a plan to deal with emergencies -- whether the result of a 
problem at Vermont Yankee or weather related, etc. In return, the 
town would have to make a commitment to participate in training 
exercises and drills.

 It is estimated that Marlboro would need as many as 30 committed 
people to man our operations center, direct traffic and warn 
citizens of danger. These issues will be discussed in more detail 
at the meeting, and representatives from the State of Vermont 
Deptartment of Public Safety will be present to answer questions.                               
 		   			 		   	 	
*****************************************************************
 40 The Jakarta Post - Work on nuclear plant to begin

February 10, 2004   
    
 Suherdjoko, The Jakarta Post, Semarang

Work on the much-disputed Muria nuclear power plant (PLTN) in 
Jepara regency, Central Java, will start soon, a senior 
government official said in Semarang on Monday. 

Arnold Y. Soetrisnanto, head of the Nuclear Energy Development 
Center of the National Nuclear Power Agency (Batan), said that 
the agency would commence a feasibility study into the project 
sometime this year. 

"The power plant will consist of six generator units, each 
capable of generating 1,000 megawatts (MW)," he said. 

He explained that as projected, the scheme would cost US$12 
billion and, according to the schedule, would be completed in 
2016. 

Building construction on the project would take around six to 
seven years. 

"We are cooperating with people affected by the construction of 
the nuclear power plant. 

"We hope that they will agree with the project," he said. 

According to a preliminary study, people living near the site of 
the project agreed with it, but those living further away were 
against the idea. 

"I don't know the details as we are only dealing with the 
technology field," he said. 

The areas that have been surveyed in Jepara are Ujung Watu, Ujung 
Lemah Abang, Ujung Grenggongan and Balong. 

In the meantime, the head of the Social and Cultural Studies 
Center of Diponegoro University, Semarang, Mujahirin Thohir, who 
obtained first-hand information from the public said: "We 
arranged a series of group discussions in which there were three 
categories of people: the first said they were familiar with the 
purposes and safety precautions for nuclear technology, the 
second was uncertain and the third, mostly from non-governmental 
organizations, rejected the idea." 

The planned construction of the power plant was once strongly 
protested in 1997 to 1998 during the New Order regime, and was 
never heard of during the Abdurrahman Wahid government. 

According to Arnold, the government would involve private parties 
in the funding of the project, including Korea Hydro &Nuclear 
Power Company. 

The realization of Muria PLTN is hoped to increase electricity 
generation capacity. 

The Jakarta Post. webmaster@thejakartapost.com   

*****************************************************************
 41 ITAR-TASS: Russia supplies first low-enriched uranium batch for Mexican NPP
 	 	 	 
[ITAR-TASS News Agency of Russia]     

09.02.2004, 09.56

     [Nuclear power plant (TASS Photo)] 
 
MEXICO, February 9 (Itar-Tass) - Russia has supplied the first 
batch of low-enriched uranium for the Laguna Verde Mexican 
nuclear power plant, Director General of the Tekhsnabexport 
company Vladimir Smirnov told Itar-Tass. 

He pointed out the shipment was carried out under a joint 
contract of the Russian company with Germany’s RWE Nukem Group. 

“The contract was concluded by the results of Mexico’s first 
tender for the nuclear fuel supplies envisaging four reloads of 
Laguna Verde’s two reactors within three years,” the Russian 
official said. The total cost of the contract is about 60 million 
dollars, Smirnov said. Mexico used to purchase nuclear fuel 
invariably from the United States earlier, he added. 

The Russian side jointly with its traditional partner RWE Nukem 
intends to take part in new tenders for the supplies of fuel for 
Mexican nuclear power plants, the Tekhsnabexport chief said. 

© ITAR-TASS. All rights reserved. You undertake not to copy,
*****************************************************************
 42 NRC: Teleconferences Available for February 12 Davis-Besse Meetings
 
News Release - Region III - 2004-00
 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION 

Office of Public Affairs, Region III
  No. III-04-007           February 6, 2004   
  CONTACT:     Jan Strasma (630) 829-9663
 Viktoria Mitlyng (630) 829-9662     E-mail: opa3@nrc.gov  
  

Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant to be held on February 12 in Oak
Harbor, Ohio. 

The two public meetings will be: 	 
  + 

2 p.m. (EST) - Meeting to discuss the preliminary findings of
the followup Restart Readiness Inspection and the followup
Management and Human Performance Inspection, which has been
evaluating the actions taken by the utility to improve the
"safety culture" at Davis-Besse. 
  + 

6 p.m. (EST) - Meeting between the NRC Davis-Besse Oversight
Panel and FirstEnergy Nuclear Operating Company officials to
discuss the basis for the utilitys request for authorization to
restart reactor operations. 		 

Persons wishing to participate in the teleconferences should
call toll-free 888/642-8528 and give the pass code of
Davis-Besse. The same number will be used for both meetings. 

Both meetings will be at the Camp Perry Clubhouse, 1000 Lawrence
Road, Bldg. 600, on Highway 2 west of Port Clinton. A picture
identification is required to enter Camp Perry; the guards will
provide visitors with directions to the meeting site. 

The public is invited to observe the business portion of each
meeting and will have an opportunity to make comments and ask
questions of the NRC staff before the meetings are adjourned. 

The business portion of each meeting is expected to last about
two hours; about one hour will be available for questions and
comments from the public in the first meeting, and about two
hours will be available in the second meeting. 

There will be no decision on possible restart during the 6 p.m.
meeting. Following the meeting, the NRCs Davis-Besse Oversight
Panel will review the information presented by the company,
along with the results of NRC inspections over the past two
years. 

The panel will submit its recommendation to James Caldwell,
Regional Administrator for NRC Region III. Mr. Caldwell will
make a decision on the possible restart after conferring with
other senior NRC officials. The decision will be based on the
agencys assessment of the ability of FirstEnergy to start up
and operate the plant safely. 

Extensive information on the NRCs regulatory activities at
Davis-Besse is available on the agencys web site:
http://www.nrc.gov - select Davis-Besse from the key topics
menu.   



  


 	Last revised Friday, February 06, 2004 	   
*****************************************************************
 43 [du-list] Effects of wars and the use of DU on Iraq - Dr Jawd
 
Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2004 18:17:05 -0800

 
<x-flowed>
This was forwarded by Joseph Gerson from the American
Friends Service Committee
Dr Al-Ali description plus photographs by  the
Japanese photo journalist Takashi Morizumi can be
found at:

http://www.afsc.org/newengland/pesp/effects-of-wars.ppt

It is 42 Megabytes, so it will take a while to load
for most connections.





EFFECTS OF WARS AND THE USE OF DEPLETED URANIUM ON
IRAQ

By Dr. Jawad Al-Ali
Director of the Oncology Center
Basrah, Iraq

Japan Peace Conference

Naha, Okinawa ­ January 29 - February 1, 2004

During the last 50 years, Iraq passed through many
wars. The more destructive one is the 1991 war (gulf
war 2). In this war the infrastructure of Iraq has
been destroyed completely. The war targeted the
military as well as the civilian targets. The
factories, government buildings, bridges, and
hospitals were destroyed. During this war and for the
first time in the history the allied forces used
Depleted uranium containing weapons extensively at the
west parts of Basrah City (more than 300 tons were
delivered at that area). The estimated delivery of
depleted uranium all over Iraq was 800 tons. This
Depleted uranium led to the increased levels of
radiation in the battlefield and the nearby cities and
countries. The levels of radiation in the area,
measured by the department of environmental
engineering (college of engineering, university of
Baghdad ) reached hundreds to thousands times the
normal background levels in the Iraqi soil which is 70
Bq/kg of soil. This radiation and other factors like
chemicals and poor nutrition caused many diseases
(cancers, congenital malformation in children, kidney
diseases and infections…etc.), then the economic
sanction is added to increase the suffering of the
Iraqis.

We were lacking food and medicines. The death rate
among children is increased because of poor nutrition
and infections (more than 5 millions of children died
within the last 12 years). Although the Iraqi
government accepted the memorandum of understanding
(oil for food and medicines), the committee 661 of the
Security Council has crippled this memorandum in many
ways. The committee delayed contracts, partially
accepting contracts and sometimes delaying payments to
the companies with which the contracts are signed.

The Iraqi people were deprived from the recent
advances in different sciences and technology. The
newly issued journals and published books were not
allowed to enter and to reach the Iraqi universities.
We were pushed backward years behind the fast
development of technology and we are now suffering the
great lag of that period.

The damaged factories, hospitals and bridges were
reconstructed by the Iraqi people but still unable to
provide our requirements. The electricity, the water
supply, and the industries are not sufficient.

In addition, our own government (saddam regime)
assaulted our people by low payments at work, which
led to the low income of the families and poor
financial capabilities specially for those who have
simple jobs. This low financial income (2-5
dollars/month) led to the appearance and the increase
in the low social classes of population and low
educational levels. Children left their schools to
work in order to increase their families' income and
to maintain their lives. We could say all aspects of
life have been affected by that war and it could be
described as the most destructive war against Iraq. It
was dirty war because of the use of weapons containing
depleted uranium against military as well as civilian
targets.

The recent war (gulf war 3) in 2003 was a violation of
the international law and against the will of the
international community, which opposed this war. The
reasons were unbelievable (the Iraqi weapons of mass
destruction which till now have no evidence).

During this war, again the depleted uranium was used
extensively around the city of Baghdad, city of
Babylon, city of Karbala, city of Najef and in the
city of Basrah, which is still suffering the effects
of the depleted uranium of the gulf war 2 (1991).
According to a report from the Guardian newspaper
1000-2000 tons were delivered on 51 local areas in
different Iraqi cities. I witnessed the A-10 planes
for three days delivering the depleted uranium rounds
against the tanks and armor vehicles near Basrah
airport and at the southern parts of Basrah city. The
estimated amount of this weapon of mass destruction is
exceeding the amount used in gulf war 2 (1991).

Again the infrastructure of our country is destroyed
to greater extent. More buildings were destroyed,
libraries and other government buildings were burned,
the banks were robbed, and the occupation forces did
not take any action to protect these buildings, the
schools and hospitals from damage. Unknown people had
stolen the Iraqi museum. All the Iraqi army forces
were released and no more army to protect the Iraqi
cities. In my opinion the aim of this war is the
destruction of the Iraqi structure, its history and
its role in the civilization of the world. Also to
secure the oil of Iraq and Gulf States and to control
all the energy sources of the world and not merely the
weapons of mass destruction, which are not detected
till this moment.

The rate of crime is increased to a dangerous level.
Many people were killed in the streets, at their homes
and in their cars. Children and girls were kidnapped
from their schools. Doctors were killed at their
clinics. In spite of all these crimes the occupation
forces did nothing to stop it. Till now we have no
elected government, and we have weak police offices
and no army to protect the people and their
properties. The electricity is not available and no
healthy drinking water supply. No security but we hope
this situation will improve in the near future.

The resistance against the occupation forces is
increasing and stills active even after the capture of
Saddam Hussein. This is mainly at the middle and
northern parts of Iraq, while at the south the
resistance is slight and nearly negligible. This is
because the middle and northern parts are more loyal
to Saddam regime than the southern regions. The
aggressive behavior of the American soldiers worsens
the situation in their occupied areas. The more calm
British soldiers made the resistance less in the
south. As revenge the Americans destroyed the houses
and killed many Iraqi people blindly without
differentiation between innocent people, terrorists
and resistance militias. Thousands of people were
captured and put in prisons. In my opinion the Iraqi
people dislike occupation and will continue to fight
until they extract their sovereignty and to have their
own elected government, which represents all the
parties and the different slices of community.

The health consequences of these wars affected mainly
the people in the south of Iraq. The rate of cancers
is increased more than ten times (that is 12 years
after the gulf war 2) the rate in 1988. The death rate
from cancers increased 19 times the rate of death in
1988. The congenital malformations in newly had borne
babies increased 7 time the rate in 1990. New and
strange phenomenon of cancers appeared like clustering
of cancer in families, the double and triple cancers
in one person. The death rate among children is
increased as a result of malnutrition and infections.
Lack of medicines and medical equipment worsens the
health situation.

The causes of all these health problems are
multifactorial. The most important factors are the
radiation, the chemical, nutritional and infection.

The victims are mainly the children who were affected
by cancers, malnutrition and congenital malformations.


The following pictures are the evidences of the
effects of the wars and the use of depleted uranium in
the gulf war 2(1991).

We have many reasons to blame the radiation as a cause
for all the health problems in the south of Iraq:

•  Significant increase in cancer rates after 1991.

•  Significant increase in death rate from cancers
after 1991.

•  Increased rate of congenital malformations in
children borne after 1991.

•  Cancer clustering in families is noticed only after
1991.

•  Double and triple cancers are seen only after 1991.


•  The only cancer-producing factor that is added to
our environment after 1991 is the radiation factor.

We need to confirm the cause (the radiation) by
testing the soil for levels of radiation, confirming
the uranium particles in the tissues and urine of
patients, chromosomal analysis and cytogenetic studies
of the affected people and patients. In that case we
could confidently prove the causal relationship
between the cancers, congenital malformations, other
diseases and radiation due to depleted uranium. We are
lacking the equipment for investigations and no body
is allowed to find evidences and to prove that there
was great crime committed by those who are supposed to
protect the world.

At the end of my talk I hope that every nation will
fight for freedom and sovereignty, to strengthen the
solidarity with other nations for the sake of peace
and freedom. This conference is one of the means by
which we build the good and solid relations between
the different nations.

I hope that the Iraqi people and other people
elsewhere will live peacefully in a world free of
nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction. No
for occupation by strangers and yes for sovereignty
and self-ruling of nations.

Thank you

Dr. Jawad Kadhim Al-Ali
Basrah, Iraq







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*****************************************************************
 44 Scotsman: Tablets Issued Near Nuclear Sub Berths
 
10th February 2004      

By Vivienne Morgan, Political Staff, PA News 

Iodine tablets have been issued to people living near two nuclear 
submarine berths in Scotland under emergency planning measures, 
the Government said tonight.
 
A berth at Aultbea, Loch Ewe and a second at Broadford Bay are 
designated as suitable for visits by operational nuclear-powered 
warships, Defence Minister Adam Ingram said in a Commons written 
reply to Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy, MP for the 
areaâ€™s Ross, Skye and Inverness West constituency.
 
Councils had a responsibility for preparing an off-site emergency 
plan in the vicinity of such berths, he added in a Commons 
written answer.
 
Decisions on the distribution of potassium iodate tablets formed 
part of this process.
 
Wester Loch Ewe Community Council in consultation with NHS 
Highlands and Islands and the Northern Constabulary, with advice 
from the Defence Ministry, decided the most efficient means of 
ensuring the tablets were readily available, â€œin the unlikely 
eventâ€ of a nuclear incident at the berths, was to 
pre-distribute them, Mr Ingram added.
 
The tablets have been distributed by the MoD, on behalf of 
councils, to all properties, private and commercial, within a two 
kilometre radius of the berths in the last two weeks. [ border=]       

   &copy;2004 Scotsman.com | contact  
*****************************************************************
 45 NRC: NRC to Hold Public Meeting in Eunice, N.M., on Environmental Review Process for Proposed
                    Uranium Enrichment Plant
News Release - 2004-02
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION   
  Office of Public Affairs     Telephone: 301/415-8200   
  Washington, DC 20555-0001     E-mail: opa@nrc.gov  
  No. 04-020     February 9, 2004   
  

March 4 in Eunice, N.M., to seek information on environmental
issues to be included in the environmental review of a uranium
enrichment facility proposed for Lea County. 

The meeting will be held at the Eunice Community Center, 1115
Avenue I, from 7 - 10 p.m. It is part of the public scoping
process for preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
under the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA). The scoping process is designed to determine the range
of actions, alternatives, and potential impacts to be considered
in the EIS and to identify the significant issues related to the
proposed enrichment plant. 

Louisiana Energy Services (LES), an international consortium of
energy companies, submitted a license application and an
environmental report for the proposed gas centrifuge plant, to
be called the National Enrichment Facility, in December. The NRC
formally accepted and docketed the application on January 22. On
January 30, the Commission issued an order establishing a
30-month time frame for review of the application. 

The following issues have been tentatively identified for
analysis in the EIS, although the final list may omit some or
include others based on public input: land use, transportation,
geology and soils, water resources, ecology, air quality, noise,
historical and cultural resources, visual and scenic resources,
socioeconomics, environmental justice, public and occupational
health, and waste management. 

Members of the public are invited to submit written comments on
environmental issues relating to the proposed facility until
March 18 to the Chief, Rules and Directive Branch, Mail Stop
T6-D59, U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Washington, DC
20555-0001. Please note Docket Number 70-3103" on the comments.
Due to the current mail situation in Washington, commentors are
encouraged to send their comments via electronic mail to
LES_EIS@nrc.gov. 

Information about the LES project, including the license
application and environmental review, is available through the
NRCs Web site at
http://www.nrc.gov/materials/fuel-cycle-fac/lesfacility.html.   



  


 	Last revised Monday, February 09, 2004 	   
*****************************************************************
 46 MercoPress: Radioactive cargo crosses Panama Canal 

 MercoPress - Falklands-Malvinas & South Atlantic News
 
[MercoPress - www.mercopress.com]   
              
- Monday, 09 February
            
After crossing the three main locks extending from the Caribbean 
to the Pacific, a ten hours sailing, the “Pacific Sandpiper” with 
its deadly cargo is sailing for Japan its final destination. 

Raul Escofery from the Panamanian Human Rights chapter said the 
vessel was carrying 132 containers with approximately 7,4 tons of 
crystallized residue from nuclear fuel and highly radioactive. 

The “Pacific-Sandpiper” crossed with a heavy escort of air, sea 
and land security support and only faced a minor group of 
ecologists from Panama University who where protesting on the 
Pacific side of the canal. 

The British flagged vessel left the French port of Cherbourg with 
its radioactive cargo January 19 and there was speculation that 
sometime in mid Atlantic she would have to decide between Cape of 
Good Hope and Cape Horn in the South Atlantic. 

Argentine and Chilean ecologists together with Greenpeace 
branches were preparing for massive protests if the vessel had 
opted for the South Atlantic. 



Fin del Texto - Mercosur - Monday, 09 February 
        
        MERCOPRESS is a news agency concentrating in Mercosur
countries which operates from Montevideo, Uruguay, and includes
in its area of influence the South Atlantic and insular
territories. © 1997-2001 Mercopress - E-mail:
admin@mercopress.com- Web technical help:
webmaster@mercopress.com        

--> 
*****************************************************************
 47 [NukeNet] U.S.-Russian Plan to Destroy Atom-Arms Plutonium Is
 
Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2004 18:16:59 -0800

 
<x-flowed>

  CRAC-2 Report:
http://www.mothersalert.org/crac.html



    http://www.nytimes.com
    http://snipurl.com/4dxq


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/09/international/europe/09PLUT.html

U.S.-Russian Plan to Destroy Atom-Arms Plutonium
Is Delayed
By MATTHEW L. WALD

Published: February 9, 2004


ASHINGTON, Feb. 8 - A project to destroy the
plutonium from thousands of retired Russian and
American nuclear weapons has been delayed, and
some experts say they fear that the work may never
be done.

The plan was to have both countries build
factories that could mix uranium with plutonium,
the material at the heart of nuclear bombs, to be
burned as fuel for civilian reactors. It was
conceived in the mid-1990's at a time of intense
concern over the security of weapons materials in
the former Soviet Union; Russia agreed to it in
2000.

      Advertisement


The point was to ensure that weapons being
disassembled by mutual agreement would never be
rebuilt, and that the weapons plutonium, the
hardest part of a nuclear bomb to make, could not
be sold or stolen.

But the Bush administration's budget plan for the
Energy Department, released last week, said
groundbreaking for a conversion factory planned
for South Carolina had been delayed from July of
this year until May 2005.

The immediate reason is that the United States and
Russia are deadlocked on the liability rules for
American workers and contractors that would help
build the plant in Russia, and the United States
will not break ground first. Each plant is to
dispose of about 34 tons of weapons plutonium.

Administration officials want to use terms written
for early nuclear agreements that protect American
contractors from almost all liability in case of
accidents involving the release of radioactive
material; the Russians have refused those terms.

But another problem is that after years of effort,
Western nations have not raised the approximately
$2 billion that the Russians say they need to
build and operate their conversion plant. The
British said recently that they were withholding
any pledge until the liability issue was resolved.

In 1997, when President Bill Clinton's energy
secretary, Hazel R. O'Leary, announced that the
United States would rid itself of weapons
plutonium, she said burning it as fuel in civilian
reactors might begin by 2002. But even before the
delay made clear in the Bush budget, the American
plant, estimated to cost nearly $4 billion, was
expected to begin producing fuel only in 2008. The
Energy Department's eventual plan is to pay the
Duke Power company to use the plutonium in its
reactors.

The issue is particularly delicate in South
Carolina, because the Energy Department has
already been shipping plutonium from its other
weapons factories to its Savannah River Site, near
Aiken.

In 2002, South Carolina sued the Energy Department
in an unsuccessful effort to prevent shipments.
The governor at the time, Jim Hodges, said he
wanted a binding agreement that the weapons
plutonium would be disposed of elsewhere if the
plant was not built. The new delay, Mr. Hodges
said, "leads me to believe there's no serious
commitment from the Bush administration."

But administration officials say the plan is
alive. "I'm absolutely confident we're going to
resolve this," said Linton F. Brooks, the under
secretary of energy for nuclear security. But he
could not say when. "Nobody who tells you he can
predict how long it will take is worth listening
to," he said.

He described the impasse on liability as "a speed
bump as opposed to a death blow." The money, he
said, would follow quickly once an agreement on
that issue was reached.

But a State Department official acknowledged that
"between the liability and details of financing,
there's a lot of things to iron out."

Some environmentalists oppose turning weapons
plutonium into reactor fuel. Dr. Ed Lyman, a
senior nuclear physicist with the Union of
Concerned Scientists, has argued that a reactor
accident would be more serious if the fuel was a
plutonium mix rather than simply uranium, because
the fuel's constituents are more dangerous if
released.

A Greenpeace nuclear expert, Tom Clements, said
the plan would leave Russia with a factory that -
after the weapons plutonium is processed - could
turn additional plutonium into reactor fuel,
encouraging the creation and circulation of
material that could be diverted into weapons
production, or be stolen by a terrorist or
militant group.

In Europe, some plutonium is recovered from spent
fuel for reuse, and the Russians would like to do
the same. In contrast, the Energy Department plans
to bury American spent fuel, including the
plutonium.

The plan for the South Carolina factory also faces
its own hurdles.

The consortium of contractors the Energy
Department chose to build it - an affiliate of the
Duke Power company; the Stone and Webster
engineering firm; and Cogema, a French nuclear
company - proposed to meet the limits for
radiation releases at the plant by pushing the
measurement boundary about five miles from the
factory.

The Energy Department insisted that the boundary
be the factory site perimeter, requiring changes
to the safety analysis the consortium must submit
to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to win a
license.






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*****************************************************************
 48 The Sunflower - February 2004 - Issue 81
 
Date: Mon, 9 Feb 2004 15:15:58 -0600 (CST)

 
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

The Sunflower is a monthly e-newsletter providing educational
information on nuclear weapons abolition and other issues relating to
global security. 

To receive our free monthly e-newsletter subscribe at
http://www.wagingpeace.org/subscribe/
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/subscribe/> 

ANNOUNCEMENT: The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation will be hosting a
Sunflower Party to discuss the issues raised in the e-newsletter. This
will take place on Wednesday 11 February 2004, 5-6 pm at our offices on
1622 Anacapa St, Santa Barbara, CA 93101. Please RSVP Michael Coffey at
youth@napf.org <mailto:youth@napf.org> . For those who are interested in
hosting their own Sunflower Party, please contact Justine Wang at
advocacy@napf.org <mailto:advocacy@napf.org>  for discussion questions
and facilitation tips.	 

*	Perspectives 

*	Another World is Possible: Report from 2004 World Social Forum
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#1a> 
*	King's Message on Vietnam is Relevant to Iraq
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#1b> 

*	Take Action 

*	Presidential Candidates and the Future of US Nuclear Weapons Policy
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#2a> 

*	Attend "Missile Defense Conference-Threats, Responses and Projections"
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#2b>  
*	Apply for the Scoville Peace Fellowship
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#2c> 
*	Who is Your Peace Hero?
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#2d> 

*	Proliferation 

*	Iran Compliance in Question
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#3a> 

*	Pyongyang Adopts Softer Approach to Resolve Nuclear Standoff
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#3b> 
*	Pakistan's Ability to Safeguard Nuclear Secrets Falls Under Scrutiny
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#3c> 

*	Disarmament and Non-Proliferation 

*	Libya Engages in "Full Transparency and Cooperation"
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#4a>  
*	US Looks to Modify the NPT
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#4b> 

*	Weapons in Space 

*	Bush Unveils New Space Ambitions
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#5a> 

*	Missiles & Missile Defense

*	US Missile Defense Gains Momentum
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#6a> 
*	Contracts Awarded to Explore Aircraft Missile Defense
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#6b> 

*	Weapons of Mass Destruction

*	Next Stop Libya
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#7a> 
*	Bush Backtracks on Iraq Claims
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#7b> 

*	Nuclear Energy and Waste 

*	Argentina Prevents Nuclear Reactor Shipment
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#8a> 
*	US Federal Court Hears Arguments Over Yucca Mountain
Project
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#8b> 

*	Nuclear Insanity 

*	Smokescreen to Protect German Nuclear Plants
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#9a>  
*	DOE Employee Tapes Together Nuclear Weapon
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#9b> 
*	Russia to Flaunt Military Might
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#9c> 

*	Foundation News 

*	NAPF Third Annual Frank K. Kelly's Lecture on Humanity's Future
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#10a>  
*	New Development and Communications Officer Joins Foundation
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#10b> 

*	Resources 

*	Extending the Democratic Peace
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#11a> 

*	NATO and Nuclear Disarmament: An Analysis of the
Obligations of the NATO Allies of the United States under the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#11b> 

*	www.PeaceEd.org
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#11c> 

*	Star Wars: US Tools of Space Supremacy
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#11d> 

*	Unraveling the Known Unknowns: Why No Weapons of Mass
        Destruction Have Been Found in Iraq
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#11e> 

*	Quotable 

*	Cuban Leader Fidel Castro on nations with nuclear
weapons during his 45th anniversary speech on 3 January 2004
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#12a>

*	Coretta Scott King speaking in Atlanta on Martin Luther
King Jr. Day 2004.
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#12b> 
*	Arundhati Roy in The Nation, 9 February 2004
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#12c> 

*	Support 

*	Support The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#13a> 

Editorial Team 

Editors 
Justine Wang
David Krieger

Contributors
Michael Coffey 
Kristen Morrison
Luke Brothers

Perspectives

Another World is Possible: Report from the 2004 World Social Forum | Top
by Michael Coffey, 27January 2004

Introduction

The third annual World Social Forum was held in Mumbai, India between 16
and 21January 2004. Previous Forums were held in Porto Alegre, Brasil.
The move to Mumbai acknowledges the significant percentage of the
world's population that lives in Asia, seeking to increase their access
to the event. As a gathering to strategize effective means toward
transforming global society with an emphasis on human rights, the Forum
drew an estimated 75,000 world citizens. A series of over 1,200
workshops explored the numerous perspectives through which to view
globalization: war, imperialism, water, labor, discrimination, and many,
many more. The larger panels and events with 4,000 people and more were
organized by Forum coordinators while the remaining workshops were
self-directed and given space by Forum coordinators. English and Hindi
were the main languages spoken, while translation was available in
French and Spanish. A tremendous energy was palpable from the smallest
to the largest Forum event. Beyond the workshops, cultural performances,
street theater, and political protests merged into a loud and colorful
sea of humanity. 

Nuclear Weapons-Related Workshops

The disarmament community was well-represented at the Forum. Our input
was crucial given the recent developments in nuclear proliferation
issues and increased visibility among the general public. Many experts
view Asia as a "hot spot" with regard to nuclear weapons, given the
number of nuclear powers within close proximity and their historical
rivalries. Consequently, India proved an ideal location to strategize
steps toward a world free of nuclear weapons. 

For full text, go to
http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2004/01/27_coffey_another-world.htm

King's Message On Vietnam is Relevant to Iraq | Top
by David Krieger, 27January 2004

In a lecture in late 1967 over the Canadian Broadcasting Company, Martin
Luther King, Jr. addressed the subject of "Conscience and the Vietnam
War." His conscience was clearly telling him that this was a war that
made no sense and must be stopped. 

" Somehow this madness must cease," King said. "We must stop now. I
speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. I
speak for those whose land is being laid waste, whose homes are being
destroyed, whose culture is being subverted. I speak for the poor of
America who are paying the double price of smashed hopes at home and
death and corruption in Vietnam. I speak as a citizen of the world, for
the world as it stands aghast at the path we have taken. I speak as an
American to the leaders of my own nation. The great initiative of this
war is ours. The initiative to stop it must be ours." 

King went on to say in his speech, "The war is Vietnam is but a symptom
of a far deeper malady within the American spirit." Within a few months,
that malady would result in King's assassination, and over the years
since King's death that malady would lead America into other wars in
other places. 

Today, King's words could be transposed from Vietnam to Iraq: "I speak
as a child of God and a brother to the suffering poor of Iraq.." And it
is still the "poor of America" who are paying the greatest price, the
ultimate price on the battlefield and the loss of hope at home, while
corporations such as Halliburton reap obscene profits. 

For full text, go to
http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2004/01/27_krieger_king-message.htm

To view the entire Sunflower, visit:
http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resrources/sunflower
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.htm#1>
or  Download the complete PDF Version
<http://www.wagingpeace.org/menu/resources/sunflower/2004/02_sunflower.pdf> 

To receive our free monthly e-newsletter subscribe at
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To view our Message Archive please visit:
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*****************************************************************
 49 Tri-City Herald: DOE's river shore work should be open to all 

This story was published Sunday, February 8th, 2004 

The Department of Energy's commitment to virtues like saving 
money and helping small businesses sounds tasty enough. 

But it's easy to talk apple pie and harder to dish it up. That 
fact is apparent in DOE's bid process for cleaning up Hanford's 
river shore. 

The way things are unfolding, it looks like only a few corporate 
giants can have a shot at the $4 billion in cleanup work, and 
taxpayers aren't likely to get much of a bargain in the process. 

Under the best of circumstances, packaging work in 
mulitibillion-dollar chunks is anti-competitive. The companies 
able to play in that arena are part of an exclusive club. 

And Hanford's river corridor contract is developing in a way that 
is even more limiting. The contract was first awarded, then the 
decision challenged, finally, the whole process reopened. 

That's put the renewed competition on a timeline that only the 
original three bidders can even hope to achieve, according to a 
local business group that's protesting the process. 

If any of the original players decide to drop out or join forces, 
the result will look a lot like a sole-source award. Taxpayers 
hoping that competition will hold down costs ought to be 
concerned. 

The Tri-Cities Local Business Association is calling for DOE to 
break the cleanup contract into a handful of jobs in the $300 
million to $500 million range. 

The plan has merit. The smaller pieces would be within reach of 
local companies, but no qualified contractor would be excluded 
from bidding. The group, its members say, isn't looking for 
preferential treatment, just a chance to compete. 

Under the group's proposal, the national corporations vying for 
the $4 billion package still could compete for any or all of the 
pieces and presumably would win if no one else offers a better 
deal. 

It's hard to find a loser in the plan, unless it's the original 
bidders who'd otherwise have a lock on the process. 

The Energy Department has balked at making alterations that would 
further delay cleanup, but the mess was 50 years in the making, 
and the most dangerous wastes -- spent fuel and high-level tank 
wastes -- aren't part of the contract. 

Taking another month or two to ensure taxpayers get the most for 
their money seems reasonable, although the local business group 
says its members will meet existing deadlines if necessary. 

They've asked the Small Business Association to intervene, 
claiming that the Energy Department is working counter to the 
president's small-business initiative and in violation of federal 
regulations. 

The government's rules try to limit bid requests that place an 
assortment of work under a single contract. The practice, known 
as bundling, makes it harder for small businesses to compete. 

DOE has argued that the river corridor contract isn't technically 
bundling. Maybe not, but it has the same practical effect. 

Bundling or not, the department is packaging cleanup work in a 
way that locks out small businesses. 

The final version of the bid specifications hasn't been issued. 
The Energy Department could amend the request for proposals to 
address the concerns of local businesses. 

The SBA, the state's congressional delegation and especially 
Tri-Citians should be pushing the agency to make the changes. 

Funneling cleanup money into small, local firms -- provided that 
it's a good deal for taxpayers -- is the best chance to create 
jobs that will continue after Hanford. 

There are no guarantees, of course, but the model is there: 
Apollo Inc. and Lampson Crane are firms that parlayed beginnings 
dependent on federal contracts into a permanent economic 
presence. 

Sure, the giant national companies landing contracts at Hanford 
may find reasons to maintain some Tri-City jobs after cleanup. 

But more likely their loyalty to the community will last only as 
long as their contracts. That's the trend dating back to 
Hanford's start. 

Try finding Westinghouse, Rockwell, UNC, Atlantic Richfield, 
Douglas, DuPont, Kaiser Engineers or Boeing in the Tri-City phone 
book. 

© 2004 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services
*****************************************************************
 50 Tri-City Herald: Dirty job nears end 

This story was published Monday, February 9th, 2004 

By Annette Cary Herald staff writer 

Hanford workers are close to having the nuclear reservation's 
first piece of heavily contaminated land clean enough to be 
redeveloped for industrial use. 

Whether any business will be interested in building on the land 
is an unanswered question. 

The land on a scenic stretch of the Columbia River a mile north 
of Richland is still too contaminated to be used for homes or a 
park, and the 300 Area is still plagued with an underground plume 
of uranium that's not dissipating as expected. 

But completion of cleanup on the first section of the 300 Area 
still shows significant progress in the effort to halt continued 
contamination of groundwater near the Columbia River and to 
convert back to community use some of the land taken by the 
government during World War II. 

"This is the way the cleanup process is supposed to work," said 
Nick Ceto, Hanford program manager for the Environmental 
Protection Agency, in a prepared statement. 

Other Hanford land has been released or is close to being 
released for recreation or industrial use. 

But none of it had the heavy contamination of Hanford's 300 Area. 

From 1943 to 1994 waste generated at Hanford's 300 Area just 
north of Richland was dumped, untreated, at the northern end of 
the 1.5-square-mile area along the Columbia River. 

As Hanford developed the science and processes of making 
plutonium for weapons, starting during World War II, the 300 Area 
was used for research. 

The liquid waste produced was pumped untreated into nearby ponds 
and trenches along the banks of the Columbia. In later years, up 
to 1.5 million gallons a day of liquid contaminated with uranium, 
cobalt, arsenic and polychlorinated biphyenals, or PCBs, were 
sent to the trenches. 

Two percolation ponds dug along the river were intended to allow 
liquids to travel through the soil and into the river. 

"Then it would plug up and have to be scraped out," said Mike 
Goldstein of the EPA. "There were blowouts in the '40s to the 
river." 

In addition, solid waste generated in the 300 Area was buried in 
its northern sections over 27 years. 

Cleaning up the mess began a little more than six years ago. 

So much dirt has been hauled away from the 117-acre parcel that 
it now accounts for about 15 percent of the waste at the 
landfill. 

As the job progressed, workers had one particularly nasty 
surprise. 

In one waste burial site, workers turned up 786 barrels filled 
with uranium chips and depleted uranium oxide powder. The uranium 
chips had been packed in oil to keep them from spontaneously 
bursting into flames. 

The drums have all been removed and are being treated for 
disposal at central Hanford. 

The last few months of the project have been marked by a parade 
of trucks carrying clean soil from a borrow area across Stevens 
Boulevard from the 300 Area. 

On Friday, workers were fighting sleet and mud to regrade the 
largest of the former waste percolation ponds. Including its 
berms, it stretched about 30 acres and was up to 23 feet deep. 

The goal is to get the land and former ponds not only cleaned to 
EPA industrial standards, but also looking good enough to market, 
Goldstein said. 

Removing more contaminated dirt could bring the site up to 
standards required for residences along the river, but cleanup 
started with a plan that the area would be used for industrial 
use. That meant children would not play there, nor would people 
be digging in gardens. 

But other plans have changed since 1997. 

"When we characterized it as industrial, we thought a fair number 
of buildings would still be there" in the southern portion of the 
300 Area, said Pamela Brown Larsen, Richland's Hanford analyst. 

But city officials learned a year ago that DOE has an accelerated 
plan to dismantle most, if not all, of the developed portion of 
the 300 Area by 2012. Even though not all buildings are 
contaminated, much of the soil is. 

City officials are concerned now that the area could be a tough 
sell for industrial use. 

They've studied other areas in the nation that have converted 
formerly contaminated land to industrial use. Those had little 
industrial land available to develop, unlike the Tri-City area, 
Larsen said. 

Those areas also had millions in federal money available to 
develop infrastructure, which Richland does not expect to 
receive. 

The land does have one major asset -- access to a $17 million 
plant for treating water contaminated with liquid metal waste. 

"Maybe that will be the silver lining," she said. 

There may also be questions about groundwater issues in the 300 
Area. 

Removal of the contaminated dirt will reduce the risk of more 
contaminants reaching groundwater or the river. But a plume of 
uranium still remains beneath the 300 Area. 

Cleanup plans originally called for nature to break down and 
disperse the uranium. But that's not happening as quickly as 
expected. An upcoming evaluation at the problem could require 
more remediation work in the 300 Area. 

© 2004 Tri-City Herald, Associated Press &Other Wire Services
*****************************************************************
 51 U.S. Newswire: Energy Sec. Abraham Opens New Fuel Cell Testing Facility 
in Freeport, Delivers Address in Houston Feb. 10
 
 2/9/04 11:42:00 AM 

To: Assignment Desk, Energy Reporter, Daybook Editor 

Contact: Tom Welch of the U.S. Department of Energy, 202-586-5806 

News Advisory: 

Energy Sec. Spencer Abraham will open a new fuel cell testing 
facility in Freeport, Texas, and deliver the keynote address to 
Cambridge Energy Research Associates Annual Conference in Houston 
Feb. 10: 

11:30 a.m. CST -- Sec. Abraham joins Texas Gov. Rick Perry to 
open a fuel cell testing at Dow Chemical Co./General Motors Fuel 
Cell Testing Facility, 2301 Brazosport Blvd., Freeport, Texas. 
Dow Chemical and General Motors have begun a test of a GM 
hydrogen fuel cell to convert hydrogen into electricity at Dow's 
manufacturing site in Freeport. The initial test will convert 
hydrogen into enough electricity to power approximately 60 homes 
per year. 

6 p.m. CST -- Keynote Address to Annual Meeting of Cambridge 
Energy Research Associates Westin Galleria, 5060 W Alabama St., 
Houston. Sec. Abraham delivers remarks to the annual conference 
of the Cambridge Energy Research Associates (CERA). CERAWeek 2004 
will explore potential solutions to the key strategic dilemma 
facing today's global energy industry delivering sustainable 
growth,and assessing risks and opportunities while building 
value. Sec. Abraham will speak on the Department's progress in 
implementing the President's National Energy Plan; U.S. efforts 
to take a greater leadership role in the international energy 
arena; and the President's carbon sequestration, nuclear energy, 
science and hydrogen initiatives. 



http://www.usnewswire.com/

/© 2004 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/ 			 		   		   			 		   		   
*****************************************************************
 52 Google News Alert - nuclear
 
Date: Mon, 09 Feb 2004 14:27:02 -0800 (PST)

 
UKRAINE Denies Sale Of Nuclear Weapons
Moscow Times - Moscow,Russia
Ukrainian officials on Monday denied a report in an Arab newspaper that
al-Qaida purchased tactical nuclear weapons from Ukrainian scientists
and is storing ...
<http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/02/10/013.html>
See all stories on this topic:
<http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf8&client=google&num=30&newsclusterurl=http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/02/10/013.html>

NEWSPAPER says al Qaeda has nuclear weapons
New Zealand Herald - Auckland,New Zealand
A pan-Arab newspaper says al Qaeda bought tactical nuclear weapons from
Ukraine in 1998 and is storing them for possible use. There ...
<http://www.nzherald.co.nz/latestnewsstory.cfm?storyID=3548338&thesection=news&thesubsection=world>
See all stories on this topic:
<http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf8&client=google&num=30&newsclusterurl=http://www.nzherald.co.nz/latestnewsstory.cfm%3FstoryID%3D3548338%26thesection%3Dnews%26thesubsection%3Dworld>

TEHRAN Denies Link With Top Pakistani Nuclear Scientist
Radio Free Europe - Prague,Czech Republic
Iran is denying it received nuclear technology from top Pakistani nuclear
scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, who recently said he had passed secrets to
Tehran. ...
<http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2004/02/0adb396b-8b7f-4dd7-9aab-a9f0a9c9be11.html>
See all stories on this topic:
<http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf8&client=google&num=30&newsclusterurl=http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2004/02/0adb396b-8b7f-4dd7-9aab-a9f0a9c9be11.html>

NO more leaks of nuclear secrets
Straits Times - Singapore
WASHINGTON - President Pervez Musharraf has pledged that Pakistan has put
a stop to the covert export of nuclear weapons know-how. ...
<http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,4386,234397,00.html>
See all stories on this topic:
<http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf8&client=google&num=30&newsclusterurl=http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,4386,234397,00.html>

PAKISTAN'S nuclear inquiry is a sham
International Herald Tribune - Paris,France
... opposite and risky approach toward Pakistan: allowing that hotbed of
Islamic fundamentalism to escape international censure despite its admitted
sale of nuclear ...
<http://www.iht.com/articles/128702.htm>
See all stories on this topic:
<http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf8&client=google&num=30&newsclusterurl=http://www.iht.com/articles/128702.htm>

A nuclear threat, but different US rules for Pakistan
International Herald Tribune - Paris,France
... will say if the commission will examine the equally critical question
of whether the administration moved fast enough as the CIA slowly untangled
the nuclear ...
<http://www.iht.com/articles/128730.htm>
See all stories on this topic:
<http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf8&client=google&num=30&newsclusterurl=http://www.iht.com/articles/128730.htm>

INDIA steers clear of nuclear row
BBC News - London,England,UK
India has been uncharacteristically reserved in its response to revelations
that a top Pakistani scientist leaked nuclear secrets to several countries.
...
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3472061.stm>
See all stories on this topic:
<http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf8&client=google&num=30&newsclusterurl=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/3472061.stm>

PLAN to scrap Cold War nuclear arms falters
International Herald Tribune - Paris,France
WASHINGTON A project to destroy the plutonium from thousands of retired
Russian and American nuclear weapons has been delayed, and some experts
say they fear ...
<http://www.iht.com/articles/128598.htm>
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<http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf8&client=google&num=30&newsclusterurl=http://www.iht.com/articles/128598.htm>

SOLD nuclear plans less advanced than feared
Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney,New South Wales,Australia
The nuclear weapons blueprints sold to Libya by the Pakistani scientist
Abdul Qadeer Khan were of his own relatively crude type of bomb - not
the more advanced ...
<http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/09/1076175107209.html>
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<http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf8&client=google&num=30&newsclusterurl=http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2004/02/09/1076175107209.html>

PAK denies its plane delivered nuclear equipment
Rediff - Mumbai,India
... one of its defence aircraft flew to North Korea in 2002, but said it
only picked up a load of shoulder-fired SA-16 missiles and did not deliver
nuclear ...
<http://us.rediff.com/news/2004/feb/09pak3.htm>
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<http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=utf8&client=google&num=30&newsclusterurl=http://us.rediff.com/news/2004/feb/09pak3.htm>

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