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                         NUCLEAR POLICY
 
1 New York Times: Congress Tells Auditor in Iraq to Close Office - 
2 AFP: US posted Iraqi nuclear bomb documents on Internet 
3 [sm] Iraq: Who taught Iraq nuclear weapons?
4 [southnews] Six Arab states join rush to go nuclear
5 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: No sanctions could harm I.R.of Iran 
6 AFP: Russia demands revision of European proposals for UN sanctions 
7 AFP: Moscow still opposed to UN sanctions on Iran 
8 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Test Fires 3 New Missiles in Gulf
9 UPI: Iran fires missiles
10 UPI: U.S. policy on Iran seen as weak, impotent
11 UPI: Analysis: U.S. intelligence on Iran
12 Guardian Unlimited: Official: Moscow Open to Iran 'Measures' 
13 U.S. Speeds Attack Plans for North Korea
14 Reuters: Britons wary of Bush more than Kim Jong-il - poll
15 AFP:  Nuclear freeze pushed to check North Korean weapon advances -
16 Japan Times: Japan won't talk directly with North Korea - Aso
17 Guardian Unlimited: N. Korea Says Progress Depends on U.S.
18 US: washingtonpost.com: U.S. Shuts Web Site That Contained Nuclear D
19 US: AFP: Nuclear bomb row breaks ahead of US polls 
20 US: UPI: Bush said leakers should be 'strung up'
21 UPI: Report: U.S. posted nuke guide on Web
22 Guardian Unlimited: Poll: Bush Policy Threatens World Peace 
23 washingtonpost.com: Optimism Turns to Anxiety On Curbing Nuclear Arm
24 AFP: Blair to push climate change in talks with Merkel 
25 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: Russia won't back draft resolution 
26 UPI: Outside View: Russia's Mideast influence
27 Guardian Unlimited Books: A deadly blue light | Review | 
 
                         NUCLEAR REACTORS
 
28 Sydney Morning Herald: Lucas Heights reactor fires up 
29 Sydney Morning Herald: Debate to follow govt's nuclear policy - 
30 US: NRC: NRC to Hold Two Public Meetings on Proposed Changes to Nucl
31 RIA Novosti: Egyptian president in Moscow for three-day visit
32 RIA Novosti: Lawmakers could adopt law to form unified nuclear power
33 US: Platts: NRC commissioners reject staff recommendations
34 NZ: Stuff: Stigma hinders nuclear power - 
35 US: Business Gazette: Spinoff could revive energy merger
36 BAN: CLOSURE OF NPP REACTORS IN BULGARIA THREATENS ENERGY STABILITY 
37 US: NRC: Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 
38 NEWS.com.au: Nuclear power viable 'in 15 years' 
39 US: Morris Daily Herald: Memory triggers search for more tritium
40 Arms Control Association: The Growing Nuclear Fuel-Cycle Debate
41 edie news centre: Banks pull the plug on nuclear plants
42 AU ABC: Nuclear industry 'possible in 15 yrs'. 
43 US: UPI: Officials seek cause of reactor shutdown
44 SNA: Bulgaria: Bulgarian Citizens to have Thorough View over Belene 
 
                          NUCLEAR SECURITY
 
45 US: Guardian Unlimited: US takes down website over atomic bomb fears
46 US: BBC: US closes 'bomb secrets' website
47 US: lamonitor.com: County, NNSA to host security perimeter talks 
 
                          NUCLEAR SAFETY
 
48 US: Times Record: Army Plans To Move Gore Uranium
 
                         NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
 
49 Pahrump Valley Times: Lack of detail about Yucca is a concern       
50 reviewjournal.com: NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP: 46 attend meeting on Yucca Mo
51 US: Gallup Independent: Domenici promotes uranium
52 KOLO: Yucca Mountain - Waste Shipments
53 times and star: Nuclear waste dump - if we want it
 
                           PEACE
 
54 [NYTr] China says nuclear-free peninsula remains goal
55 Guardian Unlimited: Could scrapping Trident save the planet? 
 
                        US DEPT. OF ENERGY
 
56 AP Wire: Group: Lab breach bigger than thought
57 SF New Mexican: Lawyer says classified lab material included paper d
58 Hanford News: Battelle scientist dies on trip to Tennessee
59 Hanford News: Hanford Advisory Board chooses new leader
60 Hanford News: Vit plant quake measures approved
61 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Northern
62 POGO: From One Lab to Another: Los Alamos Info Breach and Meth Trail
63 lamonitor.com: Leak adds fuel to security breach fire 
64 UPI: Los Alamos nuclear documents found in home
*****************************************************************
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                         FULL NEWS STORIES
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 1 New York Times: Congress Tells Auditor in Iraq to Close Office - 

Christoph Bangert/Polaris, for The New York Times 
Stuart W. Bowen Jr., left, has received orders to shut down his
office, the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction,
by October 2007. 

By JAMES GLANZ Published: November 3, 2006 			 

Investigations led by a Republicanlawyer named Stuart W. Bowen
Jr. in Iraqhave sent American occupation officials to jail on
bribery and conspiracy charges, exposed disastrously poor
construction work by well-connected companies like Halliburton
and Parsons, and discovered that the military did not properly
track hundreds of thousands of weapons it shipped to Iraqi
security forces.

The Reach of War

Christoph Bangert/Polaris, for The New York Times 
Mr. Bowen’s office has inspected and audited taxpayer-financed
projects like this prison in Nasiriya, Iraq. 

And tucked away in a huge military authorization bill that
President Bush signed two weeks ago is what some of Mr. Bowen’s
supporters believe is his reward for repeatedly embarrassing the
administration: a pink slip.

The order comes in the form of an obscure provision that
terminates his federal oversight agency, the Office of the
Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, on Oct. 1,
2007. The clause was inserted by the Republican side of the
House Armed Services Committee over the objections of Democratic
counterparts during a closed-door conference, and it has
generated surprise and some outrage among lawmakers who say they
had no idea it was in the final legislation.

 Mr. Bowen’s office, which began operation in January 2004 to
examine reconstruction money spent in Iraq, was always
envisioned as a temporary organization, permitted to continue
its work only as long as Congress saw fit. Some advocates for
the office, in fact, have regarded its lack of a permanent
bureaucracy as the key to its aggressiveness and independence. 

But as the implications of the provision in the new bill have
become clear, opposition has been building on both sides of the
political aisle. One point of contention is exactly when the
office would have naturally run its course without a hard end
date. 

The bipartisan opposition may not be unexpected given Mr.
Bowen’s Republican credentials — he served under George W.
Bushboth in Texas and in the White House — and deep public
skepticism on the Bush administration’s conduct of the war.

 Susan Collins, a Maine Republican who followed the bill closely
as chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and
Government Affairs, says that she still does not know how the
provision made its way into what is called the conference
report, which reconciles differences between House and Senate
versions of a bill.

 Neither the House nor the Senate version contained such a
termination clause before the conference, all involved agree.

 “It’s truly a mystery to me,” Ms. Collins said. “I looked at
what I thought was the final version of the conference report
and that provision was not in at that time.”

 “The one thing I can confirm is that this was a last-minute
insertion,” she said.

 A Republican spokesman for the committee, Josh Holly, said
lawmakers should not have been surprised by the provision
closing the inspector general’s office because it “was discussed
very early in the conference process.”

 But like several other members of the House and Senate who were
contacted on the bill, Ms. Collins said that she feared the loss
of oversight that could occur if the inspector general’s office
went out of business, adding that she was already working on
legislation with several Democratic and Republican senators to
reverse the termination.

 One of those, John W. Warner, the Virginia Republican who is
chairman of the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, said
in a statement that Mr. Bowen was “making a valuable
contribution to the Congressional and public understanding of
this very complex and ever-changing situation in Iraq.”

 “Given that his office has performed important work and that
much remains to be done,” Mr. Warner added, “I intend to join
Senator Collins in consulting with our colleagues to extend his
charter.”

 While Senators Collins and Warner said they had nothing more
than hunches on where the impetus for setting a termination date
had originated, Congressional Democratswere less reserved.

 “It appears to me that the administration wants to silence the
messenger that is giving us information about waste and fraud in
Iraq,” said Representative Henry A. Waxman, a California
Democrat who is the ranking minority member of the House
Committee on Government Reform.

 “I just can’t see how one can look at this change without
believing it’s political,” he said.

 The termination language was inserted into the bill by
Congressional staff members working for Duncan Hunter, the
California Republican who is the chairman of the House Armed
Services Committee and who declared on Monday that he plans to
run for president in 2008.

 Mr. Holly, who is the House Armed Services spokesman as well as
a member of Mr. Hunter’s staff, said that politics played no
role and that there had been no direction from the
administration or lobbying from the companies whose work in Iraq
Mr. Bowen’s office has severely critiqued. Three of the
companies that have been a particular focus of Mr. Bowen’s
investigations, Halliburton, Parsons and Bechtel, said that they
had made no effort to lobby against his office.

 The idea, Mr. Holly said, was simply to return to a non-wartime 
footing in which inspectors general in the State Department, the 
Pentagon and elsewhere would investigate American programs 
overseas. The definite termination date was also seen as helpful 
for planning future oversight efforts from Bush administration 
agencies, he said.

But in Congress, particularly on the Democratic side of the 
aisle, there have long been accusations that agencies controlled 
by the Bush administration are not inclined to unearth their own 
shortcomings in the first place.

The criticism came to a head in a hearing a year ago, when 
Representative Dennis J. Kucinich, an Ohio Democrat, induced the 
Pentagon's acting inspector general, Thomas Gimble, to concede 
that he had no agents deployed in Iraq, more than two years after 
the invasion.

A spokesman for the Pentagon inspector general said Thursday that 
Mr. Gimble had worked to improve that situation, and currently 
had seven auditors in Baghdad and others working on Iraq-related 
issues in the United States and elsewhere. Mr. Gimble was in Iraq 
on Thursday, the spokesman said.

Mr. Bowen's office has 55 auditors and inspectors in Iraq and 
about 300 reports and investigations already to its credit, far 
outstripping any other oversight agency in the country.

But Howard Krongard, the State Department inspector general, said 
that the comparison was misleading, because many of those 
resources would probably flow to State and the Pentagon if 
Congress shuts Mr. Bowen's office down.

"I think we are competitive to do what they ask us to do," Mr. 
Krongard said, referring to Congress.

Mr. Kucinich and other lawmakers said that Iraq oversight could 
also be hurt by the loss of Mr. Bowen's mandate, which allows him 
to cross institutional boundaries, while the other inspectors 
general have jurisdictions only within their own agencies. Mr. 
Krongard said that issue could be handled by cooperation among 
the inspectors general.

Officials at the State Department and the Pentagon made it clear 
that in general terms they supported Mr. Bowen's work and would 
abide by the wishes of Congress.

While the quality of Mr. Bowen's work is seldom questioned, he is 
sometimes accused of being a grandstander who is too friendly 
with the news media. Mr. Bowen has responded that it is standard 
procedure to publicize successful investigations as a way of 
discouraging other potential wrongdoers.

Among the disagreements on the termination language in the 
defense authorization bill was exactly how much it would have 
shortened Mr. Bowen's tenure. An amendment in the Senate version 
of the bill actually expanded the pot of reconstruction money his 
agents could examine.

Because the tenure of his office is calculated through a formula 
involving the amount of reconstruction money in that pot, the 
crafters of that amendment figured that it would have extended 
Mr. Bowen's work until well into 2008 - or longer if Congress 
granted further extensions.

Mr. Holly agrees that the Senate language would have expanded 
that pot of money, but he says that in the Republican staff's 
interpretation of the formula, Mr. Bowen's tenure would have run 
out sometime in 2007 whether the money was added or not.

In any case, as the bill came out of conference, the termination 
date of Oct. 1, 2007, was inserted, effectively meaning that Mr. 
Bowen would have to start working on passing his responsibilities 
to other agencies by early next year.

Capitol Hill staff members said that after House Democratic 
objections were overridden, Senate conferees agreed to the 
provision in a bit of horse-trading: the amount of money Mr. 
Bowen could look at would be expanded, but only with the hard 
termination date.

Mr. Bowen himself declined to comment on the controversy 
surrounding his office, saying only that he was already working 
with the other inspectors general to develop a transition plan in 
accordance with the defense authorization act. "We will do what 
the Congress desires," Mr. Bowen said. 
*****************************************************************
 2 AFP: US posted Iraqi nuclear bomb documents on Internet 

 Fri Nov 3, 7:02 AM ET 
		 	 
WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US government posted on the Internet Iraqi 
documents that explain how to build a nuclear bomb. 

 A New York Times website report said that officials from the 
International Atomic Energy Agency " /> had complained to US 
officials last week about the postings of "roughly a dozen" 
documents from Iraq " /> 's pre-1991 nuclear research that 
contained diagrams, equations and other details for making a 
nuclear bomb.
 
The Times cited experts who said the documents "constitute a
basic guide to building an atom bomb."
 
One of the documents, running to 51 pages, covered the technical
advances of Iraqs early nuclear program, including 18 pages on
the development of its bomb design.
 
The US government posted the bomb-related documents on a website
set up last March to make available to the public a huge archive
of Iraqi government papers, hoping that the public would help
sift through the archive for useful information government
translators did not have time to search for.
 
The Times said that earlier in the year UN arms control
officials had complained about documents on the website that had
information on producing extremely dangerous nerve agents sarin
and tabun.
 
The Times added that the website, called the "Operation Iraqi
Freedom Document Portal", was shut down Thursday after the
newspaper made enquiries about the nuclear-related documents.
 
Chad Kolton, spokesman for US Director of National Intelligence
John Negroponte, told the newspaper in a statement that "while
strict criteria had already been established to govern posted
documents, the material currently on the website, as well as the
procedures used to post new documents, will be carefully
reviewed before the site becomes available again."
 
The Department of Defense " /> set up the "Operation Iraqi 
Freedom Document Portal" last March under pressure from 
legislators to find a way to sort quickly through some 48,000 
boxes of mostly Arabic documents seized in the 2003 invasion of 
Iraq.
 
The idea was to let the public help in reading and translating 
the documents, with hopes that they might shed light on matters 
such as deposed Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein " /> 's weapons 
programs.
 
While many of the documents have proven innocuous, the Times said 
the nuclear documents were identical to papers presented to the 
UN Security Council in 2002 in the leadup to the US invasion.
 
However, the documents the Security Council saw were heavily 
edited to mask "sensitive information on unconventional arms," 
the newspaper said.
 
It added that a senior diplomat in Europe called the documents a 
"cookbook" for making a bomb.
 
"If you had this, it would short-circuit a lot of things," the 
diplomat said.
 
Peter Zimmerman, a physicist and arms scientist at King's
College, London, said the documents were "very sensitive".
 
However, the United States appeared to have ignored warnings
about dangerous documents surfacing on the website.
 
In June, the Times said, Demetrius Perricos, the acting chief
weapons inspector of the Monitoring, Verification and Inspection
Commission, complained to the Security Council about the
appearance of risky arms information on a public website.
 
Nevertheless, the nuclear bomb papers were posted on the site in
September.
 	 		 			
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 3 [sm] Iraq: Who taught Iraq nuclear weapons?
 
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2006 21:01:01 -0600 (CST)

X-Sender-Host-Name: chumbly.math.missouri.edu
X-DSPAM-Result: mail; result="Innocent"; class="Innocent"; probability=0.0000; confidence=1.00; signature=N/A
X-Spam-Class: HAM

The lead story, included below, on the front page of today's New York
Times describes a federal government site intended to show how dangerous
Iraq's weapons were before the war.  From the article:

  ...the site has posted some documents that weapons experts say are a
  danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraqs secret nuclear research
  before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say,
  constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb.

The article then continues with a long discussion of the danger of
posting such documents.  It is a masterpiece of how propaganda works in
the 'free' world.  Iraq was indeed dangerous before the war: the first
Gulf war.  A suspicious reader might, perhaps, wonder how Iraq learnt
advanced techniques of bomb detonation.  The reader wouldn't find out
from the NY Times who tenaciously investigate the chain of
responsibility and the history behind their posting.  But never reveal
the essential information about who taught Iraq how to build an atom
bomb.

Whereas:

    In one of the more stunning incidents, in September 1989, just one year
    before the Iraqi military stormed over the Kuwaiti border, U.S. military
    officials invited several Iraqi technicians to attend a "detonation
    conference" at the Red Lion Inn in Portland, Ore.

    The conference -- the Ninth Symposium (International) on Detonation,
    was a crash course from the world's experts on how to detonate a
    nuclear weapon.  Among the named sponsors of the conference were the
    Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Armament Laboratory, the
    Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center, the Army
    Ballistic Research Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore National
    Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Naval Sea Systems
    Command, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Office of Naval Technology
    and Sandia National Laboratories, according to the conference
    proceedings.  
    ["Made in America", San Francisco Bay Guardian, 25 Feb 1998]

No doubt, the New York Times just did not know of the above highly
secret information, because it was first revealed only on the floor of
the House of Representatives.  See the Statement of Henry B. Gonzalez,
Chairman, House Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, "Bush
Administration had Acute Knowledge of Iraq's Military Inductrialization
Plans," July 27, 1992.

-Sanjoy

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/11/03/world/middleeast/03documents.html

U.S. Web Archive Is Said to Reveal a Nuclear Primer
New York Times                                       
November 3, 2006
By WILLIAM J. BROAD

Last March, the federal government set up a Web site to make public a vast
archive of Iraqi documents captured during the war. The Bush administration
did so under pressure from Congressional Republicans who had said they
hoped to leverage the Internet to find new evidence of the prewar dangers
posed by Saddam Hussein.

But in recent weeks, the site has posted some documents that weapons experts
say are a danger themselves: detailed accounts of Iraqs secret nuclear
research before the 1991 Persian Gulf war. The documents, the experts say,
constitute a basic guide to building an atom bomb.

Last night, the government shut down the Web site after The New York Times
asked about complaints from weapons experts and arms-control officials. A
spokesman for the director of national intelligence said access to the site
had been suspended pending a review to ensure its content is appropriate for
public viewing.

Officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency, fearing that the
information could help states like Iran develop nuclear arms, had privately
protested last week to the American ambassador to the agency, according to
European diplomats who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the issues
sensitivity. One diplomat said the agencys technical experts were shocked at
the public disclosures.

Early this morning, a spokesman for Gregory L. Schulte, the American
ambassador, denied that anyone from the agency had approached Mr. Schulte
about the Web site.

The documents, roughly a dozen in number, contain charts, diagrams,
equations and lengthy narratives about bomb building that nuclear experts
who have viewed them say go beyond what is available elsewhere on the
Internet and in other public forums. For instance, the papers give detailed
information on how to build nuclear firing circuits and triggering
explosives, as well as the radioactive cores of atom bombs.

For the U.S. to toss a match into this flammable area is very irresponsible,
said A. Bryan Siebert, a former director of classification at the federal
Department of Energy, which runs the nations nuclear arms program. Theres a
lot of things about nuclear weapons that are secret and should remain so.

The government had received earlier warnings about the contents of the Web
site. Last spring, after the site began posting old Iraqi documents about
chemical weapons, United Nations arms-control officials in New York won
the withdrawal of a report that gave information on how to make tabun and
sarin, nerve agents that kill by causing respiratory failure.

The campaign for the online archive was mounted by conservative publications
and politicians, who said that the nations spy agencies had failed
adequately to analyze the 48,000 boxes of documents seized since the March
2003 invasion. With the public increasingly skeptical about the rationale
and conduct of the war, the chairmen of the House and Senate intelligence
committees argued that wide analysis and translation of the documents most
of them in Arabic would reinvigorate the search for clues that Mr. Hussein
had resumed his unconventional arms programs in the years before the
invasion. American search teams never found such evidence.

The director of national intelligence, John D. Negroponte, had resisted
setting up the Web site, which some intelligence officials felt implicitly
raised questions about the competence and judgment of government analysts.
But President Bush approved the sites creation after Congressional
Republicans proposed legislation to force the documents release.

In his statement last night, Mr. Negropontes spokesman, Chad Kolton, said,
While strict criteria had already been established to govern posted
documents, the material currently on the Web site, as well as the procedures
used to post new documents, will be carefully reviewed before the site
becomes available again.

A spokesman for the National Security Council, Gordon D. Johndroe, said,
Were confident the D.N.I. is taking the appropriate steps to maintain the
balance between public information and national security.

The Web site, Operation Iraqi Freedom Document Portal, was a constantly
expanding portrait of prewar Iraq. Its many thousands of documents included
everything from a collection of religious and nationalistic poetry to
instructions for the repair of parachutes to handwritten notes from Mr.
Husseins intelligence service. It became a popular quarry for a legion of
bloggers, translators and amateur historians.

Among the dozens of documents in English were Iraqi reports written in the
1990s and in 2002 for United Nations inspectors in charge of making sure
Iraq had abandoned its unconventional arms programs after the Persian Gulf
war. Experts say that at the time, Mr. Husseins scientists were on the verge
of building an atom bomb, as little as a year away.

European diplomats said this week that some of those nuclear documents on
the Web site were identical to the ones presented to the United Nations
Security Council in late 2002, as America got ready to invade Iraq. But
unlike those on the Web site, the papers given to the Security Council had
been extensively edited, to remove sensitive information on unconventional
arms.

The deletions, the diplomats said, had been done in consultation with the
United States and other nuclear-weapons nations. Mohamed ElBaradei, the
director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which ran the nuclear
part of the inspections, told the Security Council in late 2002 that the
deletions were consistent with the principle that proliferation-sensitive
information should not be released.

In Europe, a senior diplomat said atomic experts there had studied the
nuclear documents on the Web site and judged their public release as
potentially dangerous. Its a cookbook, said the diplomat, who spoke on
condition of anonymity because of his agencys rules. If you had this, it
would short-circuit a lot of things.

The New York Times had examined dozens of the documents and asked a half
dozen nuclear experts to evaluate some of them.

Peter D. Zimmerman, a physicist and former United States government arms
scientist now at the war studies department of Kings College, London, called
the posted material very sensitive, much of it undoubtedly secret restricted
data.

Ray E. Kidder, a senior nuclear physicist at the Lawrence Livermore
National Laboratory in California, an arms design center, said some things
in these documents would be helpful to nations aspiring to develop nuclear
weapons and should have remained secret.

A senior American intelligence official who deals routinely with atomic
issues said the documents showed where the Iraqis failed and how to get
around the failures. The documents, he added, could perhaps help Iran or
other nations making a serious effort to develop nuclear arms, but probably
not terrorists or poorly equipped states. The official, who requested
anonymity because of his agencys rules against public comment, called the
papers a road map that helps you get from point A to point B, but only if
you already have a car.

Thomas S. Blanton, director of the National Security Archive, a private
group at George Washington University that tracks federal secrecy
decisions, said the impetus for the Web sites creation came from an array of
sources private conservative groups, Congressional Republicans and some
figures in the Bush administration who clung to the belief that close
examination of the captured documents would show that Mr. Husseins
government had clandestinely reconstituted an unconventional arms programs.

There were hundreds of people who said, Theres got to be gold in them thar
hills, Mr. Blanton said.

The campaign for the Web site was led by the chairman of the House
Intelligence Committee, Representative Peter Hoekstra of Michigan. Last
November, he and his Senate counterpart, Pat Roberts of Kansas, wrote to Mr.
Negroponte, asking him to post the Iraqi material. The sheer volume of the
documents, they argued, had overwhelmed the intelligence community.

Some intelligence officials feared that individual documents, translated and
interpreted by amateurs, would be used out of context to second-guess the
intelligence agencies view that Mr. Hussein did not have unconventional
weapons or substantive ties to Al Qaeda. Reviewing the documents for
release would add an unnecessary burden on busy intelligence analysts, they
argued.

On March 16, after the documents release was approved, Mr. Negropontes
office issued a terse public announcement including a disclaimer that
remained on the Web site: The U.S. government has made no determination
regarding the authenticity of the documents, validity or factual accuracy of
the information contained therein, or the quality of any translations, when
available.

On April 18, about a month after the first documents were made public, Mr.
Hoekstra issued a news release acknowledging minimal risks, but saying the
site will enable us to better understand information such as Saddams links
to terrorism, weapons of mass destruction and violence against the Iraqi
people. He added: It will allow us to leverage the Internet to enable a mass
examination as opposed to limiting it to a few exclusive elites.

Yesterday, before the site was shut down, Jamal Ware, a spokesman for Mr.
Hoekstra, said the government had developed a sound process to review the
documents to ensure sensitive or dangerous information is not posted. Later,
he said the complaints about the site didnt sound like a big deal, adding,
We were a little surprised when they pulled the plug.

The precise review process that led to the posting of the nuclear and
chemical-weapons documents is unclear. But in testimony before Congress last
spring, a senior official from Mr. Negropontes office, Daniel Butler,
described a triage system used to sort out material that should remain
classified. Even so, he said, the policy was to be biased towards release if
at all possible. Government officials say all the documents in Arabic have
received at least a quick review by Arabic linguists.

Some of the first posted documents dealt with Iraqs program to make germ
weapons, followed by a wave of papers on chemical arms.

At the United Nations in New York, the chemical papers raised alarms at the
Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, which had been in charge
of searching Iraq for all unconventional arms, save the nuclear ones.

In April, diplomats said, the commissions acting chief weapons inspector,
Demetrius Perricos, lodged an objection with the United States mission to
the United Nations over the document that dealt with the nerve agents tabun
and sarin.

Soon, the document vanished from the Web site. On June 8, diplomats said,
Mr. Perricos told the Security Council of how risky arms information had
shown up on a public Web site and how his agency appreciated the American
cooperation in resolving the matter.

In September, the Web site began posting the nuclear documents, and some
soon raised concerns. On Sept. 12, it posted a document it called Progress
of Iraqi nuclear program circa 1995. That description is potentially
misleading since the research occurred years earlier.

The Iraqi document is marked Draft FFCD Version 3 (20.12.95), meaning it was
preparatory for the Full, Final, Complete Disclosure that Iraq made to
United Nations inspectors in March 1996. The document carries three diagrams
showing cross sections of bomb cores, and their diameters.

On Sept. 20, the site posted a much larger document, Summary of technical
achievements of Iraqs former nuclear program. It runs to 51 pages, 18
focusing on the development of Iraqs bomb design. Topics included physical
theory, the atomic core and high-explosive experiments. By early October,
diplomats and officials said, United Nations arms inspectors in New York and
their counterparts in Vienna were alarmed and discussing what to do.

Last week in Vienna, Olli J. Heinonen, head of safeguards at the
international atomic agency, expressed concern about the documents to Mr.
Schulte, diplomats said.

Scott Shane contributed reporting.

======================================================================

SFBG News: February 25, 1998: Made in America

San Francisco Bay Guardian
February 25, 1998

Made in America

It's no accident that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction. U.S. corporations
                            helped supply them.
                                      
                            By Dennis Bernstein
                          Photos by Mark O'Neil
                                      
    IN JANUARY 1991 Iraqi president Saddam Hussein launched a barrage of
 long-range Scud missiles against Israel and Saudi Arabia. Dozens of people
   were wounded or killed -- including 28 U.S. soldiers who were asleep in
  their bunks when the Scuds hit. According to declassified secret nuclear,
     chemical, and biological logs kept by the Pentagon, Israeli police
 "confirmed nerve gas" at the site where the missile landed in downtown Tel
                                   Aviv.

While the incident was widely reported in the press, it was rarely mentioned
   that the technology used to increase the range of the missile that hit
 Israel, and to create the nerve gas that was apparently carried inside, was
 supplied to Iraq by U.S. and western corporations. Likewise, when U.S.-led
allied forces bombed more than 30 chemical and biological weapons facilities
 during the 1991 war with Iraq, much of the deadly toxins that were released
   into the upper atmosphere, only to fall back down on the heads of U.S.
 forces, were created with the generous support of U.S. firms and America's
                            leading politicians.

  At one point, just a year before Iraq invaded Kuwait, Pentagon officials
 invited key Iraqi military technicians to a special conference in Portland,
  Ore., that amounted to a crash course in how to detonate a nuclear bomb.

Even today, the chemical, biological, and possibly even nuclear weapons U.S.
troops could face in Gulf War II might as well be stamped "Made in the USA."

 As the United States threatens to bomb Iraq for the third time this decade,
 the irony is brutal: Many of the same politicians, news media outlets, and
 interest groups that are promoting Gulf War II either supported or ignored
   the policies of the Reagan and Bush administrations that gave Iraq its
                              deadly arsenal.

 In fact, the problem goes far beyond the Middle East: If Saddam Hussein is
  capable of launching chemical, biological, or nuclear attacks, it will be
  the result of a long-standing U.S. policy of allowing defense contractors
  and other powerful corporations to sell the technology of death to almost
             anyone in the world who is willing to pay for it.

 The Iraqi situation, former CIA military analyst Patrick Eddington told the
   Bay Guardian, "goes to the heart of the concept of nonproliferation and
   whether something like the international Chemical Weapons Convention is
                      going to have any credibility."

     "It has no chance of working if the countries who are the primary
     signatories, and for that matter the primary suppliers of dual-use
  technology," Eddington said, referring to technology that can be used for
 both civilian and military purposes, "are still cranking this stuff out and
  supplying it. It's a two-faced policy -- and that definitely includes the
                              United States."

                             Our friend Saddam
                                      
 Documents obtained by the Bay Guardian -- many of which have been available
 for years, released during Congressional investigations -- shed disturbing
 light on the U.S. policy of arming Saddam Hussein, a policy that may again
   result in the exposure of hundreds of thousands of U.S. soldiers -- and
   millions of civilians -- to dangerous chemical and biological weapons.

  "If tomorrow the Iraqis fired a missile with biological warheads on it,"
 Gary Milholland of the Wisconsin Project for Nuclear Arms Control told the
  Bay Guardian, "the missile itself would have been purchased from Russia,
upgraded with help from Germany, and the bacteria would be based on a strain
                      imported from the United States.

 "What we're looking at is a program made in the west," said Milholland, who
testified as an expert witness before Congress in 1992 on the arming of Iraq
   by the west. "The west supplied the materials, the knowledge, and the
                                  people."

  In fact, some critics say that Iraq's deadly arsenal is the best argument
       against the Clinton administration's planned bombing campaign.

 "A bombing campaign against suspected chemical and biological storage sites
   is literally a game of chemical and biological Russian roulette," said
  Eddington, who resigned last year to protest the agency's refusal to tell
 Gulf War vets the truth about their potential exposure to chemical weapons.

"We are looking at potential fallout that can kill a large number of people.
   You could be looking at anywhere from hundreds to tens of thousands of
                                  deaths."

In the early 1980s the Reagan administration chose to support Iraq over Iran
   in their bloody war. Neither country was exactly an ally, but the White
  House considered Iran the worse of the two nations, and cold war politics
 (along with a U.S. desire to maintain control of oil supplies in the Middle
                     East) put us on the side of Iraq.

  In accordance with a long and continuing tradition and policy, that meant
    the U.S. would arm Iraq to the teeth -- without much concern for the
                          long-term consequences.

   According to a 1990 report, "The Poison Gas Connection," issued by the
  L.A.-based Simon Wiesenthal Center (See sidebar), more than 207 companies
  from 21 western countries, including at least 18 from the United States,
     contributed to the buildup of Saddam Hussein's arsenal. Subsequent
 investigations turned up more than 100 more companies participating in the
                           Iraqi weapons buildup.

  The frontline cheerleader for America's corporate contributors to Saddam,
 the man who paved the way for Iraq to purchase millions of dollars worth of
 weapons and dangerous dual-use technology from U.S. corporations, was none
   other than the architect of Gulf War I, former president George Bush.

      In a stunning July 27, 1992, speech on the floor of the House of
Representatives, House Banking Committee chair Henry Gonzalez drove the Bush
                   connection home in no uncertain terms:

"The Bush administration deliberately, not inadvertently, helped to arm Iraq
  by allowing U.S. technology to be shipped to Iraqi military and to Iraqi
   defense factories," Gonzalez said. "Throughout the course of the Bush
 administration, U.S. and foreign firms were granted export licenses to ship
 U.S. technology directly to Iraqi weapons facilities despite ample evidence
    showing that these factories were producing weapons." (See sidebar)

   Gonzalez, who was accused by administration officials of jeopardizing
national security for going public with his gritty revelations, also stated:
   "The president misled Congress and the public about the role U.S. firms
                          played in arming Iraq."

Documents gathered by Gonzalez and other independent investigators show that
 despite U.S. intelligence reports dating back to 1983 documenting Saddam's
  mass gassing of the Kurds and Iranians in the ongoing Iran-Iraq war, Bush
  pressed for support of the Iraqis. In a damning Oct. 21, 1989, cable from
  Secretary of State James Baker to then Iraqi foreign minister Tariq Aziz,
  only a year after the mass gassing of the Kurds, Baker assured the Iraqis
 that the United States was very eager for a close working relationship with
 Saddam Hussein. "As I said in our meeting," Baker wrote, "the U.S. seeks a
    broadened and deepened relationship with Iraq on the basis of mutual
               respect. That is the policy of our president."

  According to Gonzalez, senior Bush aides successfully lobbied against the
    concerns of other government officials to allow Iraq to purchase the
    technology -- technology that could be adapted for both civilian and
 military purposes. These high-level Bush officials, including Baker, forced
 this policy through despite substantial available evidence that the Iraqis
  were furiously working on developing nuclear weapons and other devices of
                             mass destruction.

The CIA reported at a top-secret intelligence briefing in November 1989 that
Iraq "is interested in acquiring a nuclear explosive capability" and to this
      end "is ordering substantial quantities of dual-use equipment."
  Nevertheless, Bush and other top U.S. officials continually pressured the
  Agriculture Department's Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) and the U.S.
  Export-Import Bank to give Iraq credit for farm products and manufactured
  goods. From 1983 to 1990 the CCC provided Iraq with $5 billion in credits
   and loans to purchase U.S. exports. Between 1984 and 1990 the Eximbank
   insured $297 million of additional exports. As recently as seven months
 before the 1990 Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, Bush issued an order allowing the
                 bank to provide even more credit to Iraq.

                              Nuclear know-how
                                      
   State Department documents drafted after Bush became president in 1989
warned that Iraq would rise out of the ruins of its eight-year war with Iran
as a "great military and political power, and [Iraq] is aiming higher." They
 also indicated that Iraq was planning to use "a big-stick approach" to the
                        border conflict with Kuwait.

 According to Gonzalez's July 27, 1992, floor speech, as late as the fall of
   1989, only months before Iraq invaded Kuwait, George Bush signed a top
   secret National Security Decision directive, known as NSD 26, ordering
   closer ties with Saddam Hussein and Iraq: "Normal relations between the
   United States and Iraq would serve our long-term interests and support
   stability both in the Gulf and the Middle East," stated the top secret
  directive. "The United States remains committed to support the individual
      and collective self-defense of friendly countries in the area."

    The Bush directive also encouraged U.S. firms to participate in the
reconstruction of the Iraqi economy, "particularly in the energy area, where
    they do not conflict with our nonproliferation and other significant
                                objectives."

  And participate they did. According to House and Senate Banking Committee
     investigations, in the five years preceding the Gulf War, the U.S.
   Department of Commerce licensed more than $1.5 billion of strategically
 sensitive American exports to Iraq. Many were directly delivered to nuclear
 and chemical weapon plants as well as to Iraqi missile sites. More than 700
  licenses were issued to U.S. corporations doing business in Iraq; many of
  these licenses were for the shipment of this dual-use technology to Iraq.

  In April 1990, U.S. intelligence reported to the Bush administration that
Hussein "has strengthened his ties to terrorist groups and may use terrorism
   to intimidate his Arab and western opponents." But Bush administration
  back-channel and international diplomatic and financial support continued
                                 unabated.

 The cooperation between U.S. suppliers and Iraqi weapons planners continued
  up to the beginning of the war. U.S. technicians and officials moved back
                and forth easily between the two countries.

   In one of the more stunning incidents, in September 1989, just one year
  before the Iraqi military stormed over the Kuwaiti border, U.S. military
   officials invited several Iraqi technicians to attend a "detonation
             conference" at the Red Lion Inn in Portland, Ore.

 The conference -- the Ninth Symposium (International) on Detonation, was a
 crash course from the world's experts on how to detonate a nuclear weapon.
    Among the named sponsors of the conference were the Office of Naval
  Research, the Air Force Armament Laboratory, the Army Armament Research,
 Development and Engineering Center, the Army Ballistic Research Laboratory,
 Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, the
  Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Office of Naval
  Technology and Sandia National Laboratories, according to the conference
                                proceedings.

   The three Iraqis attending, M. Ahadd, S. Ibrhim, and H. Mahd, were all
representing Al Qaqaa State Establishment in Iraq. Al Qaqaa, according to an
Oct. 27, 1992, report by the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban
 Affairs, "was Iraq's major explosives and rocket fuel factory." It was also
   a "filling station for ballistic missiles" and home for Iraq's nuclear
                              weapons program.

  Joining the Iraqis in this quaint setting on the Columbia River, learning
 all about nuclear bomb detonation, were 445 participants from 20 countries,
            including Israelis and technicians from South Korea.

 The list of U.S. corporations that teamed up with Saddam reads like a who's
 who of America's favorite defense contractors. According to the Wiesenthal
   report and the Senate Banking Committee they include Hewlett-Packard,
                 Honeywell, and Sperry/Unisys among others.

                           Bush's secret weapons
                                      
   In a letter dated July 9, 1992, twenty Democratic members of the House
  Judiciary Committee petitioned the attorney general to appoint a special
  prosecutor to investigate "serious allegations of possible violations of
    federal criminal statutes by high-ranking officials of the Executive
                                  Branch."

  Among the potential criminal violations cited in the petition were making
  false statements, obstruction of justice, concealment or falsification of
   records, perjury, mail and wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United
   States or to commit an offense against the United States, and financial
          conflict of interest by high executive branch officials.

    The 1992 letter further cited the Bush administration's "willful and
 repeated failure" to comply with requests by the House Judiciary and other
                committees for both documents and witnesses.

  According to the 27-month Gonzalez Investigation, the Bush administration
  set up an "interagency" group after the Gulf War to prevent Congress from
       finding out about U.S. aid to Iraq before the Kuwait invasion.

  Gonzalez's concerns centered on the handling by the Justice Department of
 the investigation into Banka Nazionale del Lavoro (BNL) in Atlanta. Most of
 Iraq's purchases of sensitive technology were handled by BNL. According to
Gonzalez, Iraq had set up a secret network to buy equipment for missiles and
 for nuclear, chemical, and germ weapons. More than $5 billion in soft loans
were funneled through the bank to the Iraqis in the five years leading up to
  the war. According to Gonzalez's compelling investigation, almost half of
 the $5 billion was funneled directly into Iraq's ambitious weapons program.

    The Bush administration's task was to limit the investigation to one
  low-level bank official in Atlanta, resisting any attempt to connect the
   Iraqi loans to high administration officials or to BNL's mother bank in
 Italy and other shady institutions, such as the Bank of Credit and Commerce
              International (BCCI), the CIA's bank of choice.

 To this end, at least five federal agencies apparently misled, lied to, and
   blatantly stonewalled prosecutors in charge of the BNL investigation.
 According to a strongly worded October 1992 statement by the then chair of
     the Senate Intelligence Committee, David Boren, in support of the
 appointment of a special prosecutor, the CIA "with strong advice" from the
Justice Department "authored a misleading letter to the acting U.S. attorney
     in Atlanta" regarding the BNL investigation. "In light of this new
   information," Boren stated, "I call on the attorney general to meet his
             obligations ... and appoint a special prosecutor."

   To make his case, Boren cited the concerns of the federal judge in the
   stymied BNL case. In a sharp rebuke of the government's behavior, Judge
Marvin Shoob accused Bush officials of stonewalling and deception in the BNL
             case and joined the call for a special prosecutor.

"High-level officials in the Justice Department and the State Department met
   with the Italian ambassador," stated the frustrated federal judge, and
  "...decisions were made at the top levels of the United States government
 and within the intelligence community to shape this case." Shoob also noted
  that "the local prosecutor in this matter received ... highly unusual and
inappropriate telephone calls from the White House Office of Legal Counsel."

    Despite the strong words from Boren, Gonzalez, and Shoob, a special
  prosecutor was never appointed, and no administration officials were ever
indicted or even forced to testify. Low-level bank officials ultimately took
   the rap for a multibillion-dollar, illegal, secret government scheme,
      spearheaded by the president of the United States, to arm Iraq.

 And the coverup, thanks to Clinton officials, continues to this day. During
 the 1992 presidential campaign, Gore called the coverup of the secret Bush
policy to arm Iraq "bigger than Watergate ever was," but in a Jan. 16, 1995,
 report, the Clinton Justice Department absolved the Bush administration and
   stated that it had found no evidence "that U.S. agencies or officials
                           illegally armed Iraq."

                               War criminals
                                      
  London Independent reporter Robert Fisk has written movingly about riding
  back to Tehran in a train with young Iranian soldiers returning from the
front during the bloody war with Iraq -- a war fueled by western politicians
  and western arms dealers. "All of them were coughing up Saddam Hussein's
   poisons from their lungs into blood-red swabs and bandages," writes the
 veteran Middle East reporter. "And the mustard gas that was slowly killing
them permeated the whole great 20-carriage train as it thundered up from the
 desert battlefields of the first Gulf War." Fisk points out it was not only
 technology that the United States and the Europeans provided Saddam with to
     create nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, but the means to
                          efficiently deploy them.

 "The Americans had sold him helicopters to spray the crops with pesticide,"
     Fisk said, "the 'crops,' of course, being human beings." And in an
astounding revelation Fisk stated, "I later met the [German] arms dealer who
 flew from the Pentagon to Baghdad with U.S. satellite photos of the Iranian
              front lines to help Saddam kill more Iranians."

  Iranians weren't the only victims. Tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers and
 military personnel were doused with chemical and biological warfare agents
  in the first Gulf War. In fact, Gulf veterans have filed a billion-dollar
class action lawsuit in federal court in Galveston, Texas, against companies
  that supplied Iraq with the dual-use technology to create its weapons of
   mass destruction. Among the companies named are Bechtel, M.W. Kellog,
                   Dresser Industries, and Interchem Inc.

  Vic Silvester, a plaintiff in the lawsuit, told the National Law Journal,
    "The companies that made the chemicals and biologicals should pay."
   Silvester said his son, a Gulf vet, suffers from a variety of serious
  medical conditions from exposures, including nerve damage, rashes, severe
 headaches, and chronic fatigue. "He can't sleep," Silvester said, "and when
       he goes to the store, he can't remember what he went to get."

  Silvester makes a compelling point. After WWII, several German civilians
 were hanged for making chemical gas available to the Nazis. Employees of IG
   Farben were convicted in a British court in Hamburg of crimes against
 humanity because it was shown they had known that Hitler's regime was using
      Farben's gas to slaughter civilians in Nazi concentration camps.

"Two of the principals of that firm were hanged for aiding in crimes against
  humanity," wrote Rabbi Marvin Hier in the introduction to "The Poison Gas
  Connection," put out by the Simon Wiesenthal Center. "International legal
        scholars should look seriously at this relative precedent."
*****************************************************************
 4 [southnews] Six Arab states join rush to go nuclear
 
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 2006 01:53:53 -0600 (CST)

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THE SPECTRE of a nuclear race in the Middle East was raised yesterday 
when six Arab states announced that they were embarking on programmes to 
master atomic technology.

Six Arab states join rush to go nuclear

By Richard Beeston, Diplomatic Editor
Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, UAE and Saudi Arabia seek atom technology

The Times (UK) 	November 04, 2006

THE SPECTRE of a nuclear race in the Middle East was raised yesterday 
when six Arab states announced that they were embarking on programmes to 
master atomic technology.

The move, which follows the failure by the West to curb Irans 
controversial nuclear programme, could see a rapid spread of nuclear 
reactors in one of the worlds most unstable regions, stretching from 
the Gulf to the Levant and into North Africa.

The countries involved were named by the International Atomic Energy 
Agency (IAEA) as Algeria, Egypt, Morocco and Saudi Arabia. Tunisia and 
the UAE have also shown interest.

All want to build civilian nuclear energy programmes, as they are 
permitted to under international law. But the sudden rush to nuclear 
power has raised suspicions that the real intention is to acquire 
nuclear technology which could be used for the first Arab atomic bomb.

Some Middle East states, including Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Saudi 
Arabia, have shown initial interest [in using] nuclear power primarily 
for desalination purposes, Tomihiro Taniguch, the deputy 
director-general of the IAEA, told the business weekly Middle East 
Economic Digest. He said that they had held preliminary discussions with 
the governments and that the IAEAs technical advisory programme would 
be offered to them to help with studies into creating power plants.

Mark Fitzpatrick, an expert on nuclear proliferation at the 
International Institute for Strategic Studies, said that it was clear 
that the sudden drive for nuclear expertise was to provide the Arabs 
with a security hedge.

If Iran was not on the path to a nuclear weapons capability you would 
probably not see this sudden rush [in the Arab world], he said.

The announcement by the six nations is a stunning reversal of policy in 
the Arab world, which had until recently been pressing for a nuclear 
free Middle East, where only Israel has nuclear weapons.

Egypt and other North African states can argue with some justification 
that they need cheap, safe energy for their expanding economies and 
growing populations at a time of high oil prices.

The case will be much harder for Saudi Arabia, which sits on the worlds 
largest oil reserves. Earlier this year Prince Saud al-Faisal, the 
Foreign Minister, told The Times that his country opposed the spread of 
nuclear power and weapons in the Arab world.

Since then, however, the Iranians have accelerated their nuclear power 
and enrichment programmes.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2436948,00.html
____________________________________________________________

The Times  	November 04, 2006

Nuclear steps put region on brink of most fearful era yet
By Richard Beeston
The Middle East is poised for a headlong rush into a new age. The 
players, their motives and the risks are analysed by our correspondent

IT IS one of the worlds most unstable regions, where conflicts over 
land, ideology and religion have raged for centuries.

Yet the Middle East may now be entering the most precarious era of its 
history, with the sudden rush by Arabs, Iranians and Turks to master 
nuclear technology and one day unlock the secrets to the atomic bomb.

Yesterdays disclosure that Algeria, Egypt, Morocco, Saudi Arabia and 
smaller states such as Tunisia and the UAE want to acquire nuclear 
technology was suspected for some time, but the headlong race into the 
atomic age came as a shock.

For months Arab leaders have been speaking out against nuclear 
proliferation in the region. Most wanted a nuclear-free zone to force 
Israel to give up its nuclear arsenal and to discourage Iran, which is 
pursuing a controversial atomic programme many suspect will give the 
regime a nuclear weapons capability.

But the calculations in the region changed dramatically this year. A far 
more strident Iran, under the leadership of President Ahmadinejad, 
defied pressure from the international community and began uranium 
enrichment work, which could be used to produce the fissile material 
needed to make an atomic weapon.

Then last month North Korea detonated a nuclear device, proving that 
even a country with limited resources can build an atomic weapon and use 
its nuclear status to blackmail the international community. In the case 
of North Korea the world did unite to place sanctions on the regime in 
Pyongyang. But so far the United Nations Security Council has failed to 
find a common approach on Iran, which defied a UN ultimatum more than 
two months ago and has yet to suffer any consequences.

Last night Sergei Lavrov, the Russian Foreign Minister, said proposals 
by the European Union to impose very limited sanctions on Iran were too 
strong. Western diplomats fear the talks will drag on without any 
serious action being taken against the Iranian regime, which recently 
announced it had expanded its enrichment work.

The rest of the world has been watching these events with alarm, and 
nowhere more closely than in the Middle East. It is widely accepted that 
an Iran armed with nuclear weapons would fundamentally alter the balance 
of power in the region. Tehran has most vocally spoken out against 
Israel and Mr Ahmadinejad once remarked that the country should be 
wiped off the map.

But even greater concern exists in Arab states. They fear the rise of 
Irans brand of Islam and the impact it is having on Shia brethren in 
countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states.

An Iran that is a member of the nuclear club would have far more clout 
in the region.

There is no evidence that the sudden interest by Irans neighbours and 
across the Arab world in nuclear technology is directly connected to 
Tehrans own nuclear ambitions. But the coincidence is too great to 
ignore, particularly in a region blessed by huge oil reserves where 
costly nuclear energy has never been needed before.

A civilian nuclear programme would not give any of the countries 
automatic access to nuclear weapons but building up nuclear knowhow and 
training a core of nuclear physicists and technicians is a vital first 
step in that direction.

The first country to signal an interest in nuclear power was Turkey. In 
June Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister, announced the country 
planned to build three power stations by 2015, the first near the Black 
Sea coast town of Sinop by 2014.

Next came Egypt. President Mubarak told members of his ruling National 
Democratic Party (NDP) in late September that the time had come for a 
serious debate about a nuclear programme, which Egypt abandoned 20 
years ago.

This week it became clear that the debate was over. During a visit to 
Moscow his Russian hosts were delighted to learn that he had decided to 
build up to four nuclear power stations and would consider bids from Moscow.

The first Egyptian nuclear power plant is due to be completed at Dabaa 
by 2015.

Algeria is expected to be next in line. It already explored the 
possibility of nuclear power in the 1980s and is ready to pick up where 
it left off.

Most interest will be focused on Saudi Arabia, traditionally Irans main 
rival for control of the Gulf. The leadership has consistently cautioned 
about the dangers of nuclear expansion in the region. Now it has 
signalled that it too wants to join the club.

This year Prince Saud alFaisal, the Saudi Foreign Minister, said that he 
was opposed to all nuclear expansion in the Middle East, be it for power 
stations or for weapons. Prince Saud told The Times: We are urging Iran 
to accept the position that we have taken to make the Gulf, as part of 
the Middle East, nuclear-free and free of weapons of mass destruction. 
We hope they will join us in this policy and assure that no new threat 
or arms race happens in this region.

Those hopes now appear doomed. In their place is the first evidence of a 
nuclear race beginning in the region and with it fears that the Middle 
East is entering the most dangerous period of its history.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2436843,00.html
	

The archives of South News can be found at
http://southmovement.alphalink.com.au/southnews/ 
*****************************************************************
 5 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: No sanctions could harm I.R.of Iran 

  2006/11/03   
  
All the Iranian nation are unwaveringly supporting peaceful use
of nuclear energy, said Friday prayers leader of Tehran
Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati on Friday. 

"The 70 million population of Iran are firmly supporting
peaceful use of nuclear energy," said Ayatollah Jannati in his
second sermon delivered to large groups of worshipers in this
week's Friday prayers congregation at Tehran University. 

Ayatollah Jannati said the nation are serious and nothing could
deviate it them from the path. 

"With regards to nuclear energy, two points are inevitable: the
first (point) is that all the nation, our government and
institutions are determined to gain access to peaceful nuclear
energy; our nation will meet its nuclear right; no matter what a
decision they make and what they do, people will not give up
their demand.... the other point is that the Iranian nation is
not after the weapon- grade nuclear energy because it does not
go with our morals, culture and religion," announced the major
cleric. 

He ruled out effectiveness of any possible sanctions against
Iran and stated, "Iran has been in sanctions for a long time;
and we have been living in sanctions for years; have you gained
anything?" He cautioned westerners against any sanctions and
said so doing, they would put themselves in trouble. 

"With such moves you will put yourselves and others in trouble;
you will put us in trouble and you yourself too." Calling
Europe's anti-Iran draft resolution as highly atrocious,
Ayatollah Jannati said the Iranian youth should ponder on depth
of the wickedness and vileness.   

  Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran 
Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. 
E-Mail: Info@IRIBNEWS.ir     
*****************************************************************
 6 AFP: Russia demands revision of European proposals for UN sanctions on Iran

 by Gerard Aziakou Fri Nov 3, 3:03 PM ET 
		 	 
UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - Russia demanded a major revision of 
European proposals to punish Iran " /> for its refusal to halt 
sensitive nuclear fuel work as six major powers held another 
round of bargaining on the sanctions package. 

Envoys of Germany and the five veto-wielding members of the UN 
Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United 
States -- met privately for an hour at Britain's UN mission in 
New York to resume discussions on a UN draft resolution mandating 
nuclear- and ballistic-missile-related trade sanctions.
 
The draft, put forward by Britain, France and Germany also calls
for a freeze on assets related to Iran's nuclear and missile
programs and travel bans on scientists involved in those
programs.
 
But it would allow Russia to continue building a
one-billion-dollar nuclear power plant in the Iranian city of
Bushehr -- an exemption that diplomats say is crucial to efforts
to gain Moscow's approval.
 
Russia's UN envoy Vitaly Churkin, who returned here Thursday
from Moscow with instructions on how to amend the draft, told
reporters after the meeting: "I brought from Moscow some
amendments...and we agreed we'll continue our discussion."
 
"We do believe the Bushehr project does not have anything to do
with concerns about non-proliferation because it is clearly a
peaceful nuclear power plant we are helping the Iranians build,"
he added.
 
"The changes (proposed by the Russians) were extensive and
that's why we didn't get into a line in line out discussion
ourselves. So they circulated theirs (amendments), we'll
circulate ours a little bit later, and we'll meet next week is
my assumption," his US counterpart John Bolton said.
 
China's UN Ambassador Wang Guangya meanwhile said he shared
Churkin's views.
 
"I think it (the European draft) is a little too tough, it might
corner the Iranians," Wang said. "China always argues that
sanctions measures taken by the Security Council have to be in
stages and have to be in a way putting some political pressure
on the Iranians to come back to negotiations."
 
In Brussels meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov
criticized the European draft as he held talks with top EU
officials.
 
Although Lavrov voiced willingness to apply "reasonable" and
"proportional" measures against Iran, he warned that the
European draft went too far.
 
Lavrov said that "measures which we would introduce would have
to be reasonable, take account of the real situation, should be
proportional given the actual situation as regards the nuclear
program in Iran and should also be in stages."
 
"We were prepared and are still prepared to draw up measures of
that sort," he told journalists. "What the EU troika drew up
went way beyond what had been agreed," he added.
 
A diplomatic source here earlier said Russia wanted the sponsors
to drop any reference to Bushehr from the draft and to remove
the travel ban and assets freeze.
 
The Russians will support only a ban on "sensitive (nuclear)
technologies," he added.
 
"I believe the resolution which the Security Council will be
considering should facilitate the continuation of our talk with
the Iranians," Churkin said, referring to the inconclusive talks
between EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and Iranian top
nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani.
 
Russian deputy foreign minister Sergei Kisliak also made it
clear Friday that Russia remained firmly opposed to the European
draft as it currently stands.
 
"We can't support it in its current form," he told the Interfax
news agency. 

The informal discussions were suspended a week ago, with Russia
and China still reluctant to agree tough sanctions against a
country with which they have close energy and trade ties. 
Washington, meanwhile, views the European proposals as not going
far enough. 

Iran faces a package of gradual but reversible sanctions after
spurning an earlier Security Council resolution mandating a
freeze on its uranium enrichment program -- a process that can
eventually provide fissile material for nuclear weapons. 

Tehran insists the program is only geared toward generating
electricity. 

The six powers have offered Tehran a package of economic and
diplomatic incentives if it gives up the enrichment program. 
The European sponsors plan to circulate their draft to the
council's 10 non-permanent members next week.
 	 		 			
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved
*****************************************************************
 7 AFP: Moscow still opposed to UN sanctions on Iran 

 Friday November 3, 12:44 PM 

  [Sergei Kisliak (L) stands beside Manouchehr Mottaki]   
    
MOSCOW (AFP) - Russia has said it is still firmly opposed to
United Nations sanctions on Iran over its divisive nuclear
programme, as talks on a draft sanctions resolution were due to
resume at UN headquarters in New York.

"We can't support it in its current form," deputy foreign
minister Sergei Kisliak told the Interfax news agency on Friday.

Germany and the five veto-wielding members of the UN Security
Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States
-- were due on Friday to resume delicate negotiations on
possible economic and trade sanctions, in the form of a
resolution drafted by the three European states.

Talks were suspended a week ago, with Russia and China still
deeply reluctant to agree to tough sanctions and Washington
feeling the proposals from its European allies did not go far
enough.

The draft calls for a series of nuclear- and ballistic
missile-related trade sanctions, a freeze on assets related to
Iran's nuclear and missile programmes and travel bans on
scientists involved in those programmes.

But it would allow Russia to continue building a
one-billion-dollar nuclear power plant in the Iranian city of
Bushehr -- an exemption that diplomats say is crucial to efforts
to gaining Moscow's approval.

AFP
*****************************************************************
 8 Guardian Unlimited: Iran Test Fires 3 New Missiles in Gulf

From the Associated Press        
	 
[UP] 

Friday November 3, 2006 12:16 PM
 	
AP Photo VAH104 
By NASSER KARIMI Associated Press Writer 

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) - Iran has successfully test-fired three new
models of sea missiles in a show of force to assert its military
capacities in the Gulf, military officials said Friday. 

Television showed footage of the elite Revolutionary Guards
firing the missiles from warships and from mobile launching pads
on the shore. 

Iranian forces have previously test-fired missiles in the
crowded Gulf waters, but the new maneuvers, which began on
Thursday, appeared to be Iran's response to a U.S.-led military
exercise held earlier this week in the same zone. 

``The maneuvers are not a threat to any neighboring country,''
said Gen. Ali Fazli, the spokesman for the Iranian war games. 
Iran nonetheless insisted the new sea missiles enhanced its
military muscle in the Gulf, where most of the world's oil is
extracted. 

The weapons are ``suitable for covering all the Strait of
Hormuz, the Persian gulf and the sea of Oman,'' said Adm. Sardar
Fadavi, the deputy navy chief of the Revolutionary Guard. 

Some 20 percent of the world's oil supply passes every day
through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. 

The three new types of missiles, named Noor, Kowsar, and Nasr,
have a range of about 106 miles and were built for naval
warfare, TV reported. Iranian sea missiles previously had a
range of 75 miles, TV quoted Fadavi as saying. 

The new tests demonstrate Iran's military capacities at sea, the
admiral said. 

State TV said the new missiles were Iranian-made and could be
used in lant-to-sea or sea-to-sea warfare. It did not give more
details about the weapons. 

The Revolutionary Guards began the maneuvers, named ``Great
Prophet,'' on Thursday by firing dozens of long-range missiles
in a desert area of central Iran. 

Iran insisted the renewed saber-rattling was not intended at
intimidating countries in the region. ``We are in good
interaction with our neighbors,'' said Fazli, the military
spokesman. 

On Thursday, however, Iran said it hoped the war games would
send world powers a strong message. ``We want to show our
deterrent and defensive power to trans-regional enemies, and we
hope they will understand the message,'' the head of the
Revolutionary Guards, Gen. Yahya Rahim Safavi, said in a clear
reference to the United States, Britain and France, who were
among the six nations that took part in the Gulf maneuvers this
week. 

Iran called ``adventurist'' the U.S.-led naval exercise that
ended on Monday, criticizing Arab states that took part and
saying Gulf nations would be safer if they organized their own
security alliance -an implicit criticism of American military
presence in the region. 

The U.S. Fifth fleet is stationed in Bahrain, a tiny oil kingdom
located across the Gulf from Iran. 

Iran remains locked in dispute with the West over its nuclear
program, which Washington says is geared to producing atomic
weapons but Tehran says is only for generating electricity. 

Asked about Thursday's maneuvers, Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice said she thought the Iranians ``are trying to demonstrate
that they are tough.'' 

The Islamic Republic has already held three large-scale military
exercises this year. In its April exercises, Iran tested what it
called an ``ultra-horizon'' missile, which is fired from
helicopters and jet fighters, and the Fajr-3 missile, which can
reportedly evade radar and use multiple warheads to hit several
targets simultaneously. 

While U.S. officials have suggested that Iran is exaggerating
the capabilities of its newly developed weapons, Washington and
its allies have been watching the country's progress in missile
technology with concern. 

The U.S.-led maneuvers that finished Monday focused on
surveillance, with warships tracking a vessel suspected of
carrying nuclear components or illegal weapons. The nations that
took part were Australia, Bahrain, Britain, France, Italy and
the United States. 

The U.N. Security Council is considering imposing sanctions on
Iran, which has ignored demands that it cease uranium
enrichment, a process that can produce the fuel for nuclear
reactors or material for atomic bombs. 

Russia, a veto yielding power at the Security Council, said it
opposed the U.N. sanctions in their current form. 	 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 9 UPI: Iran fires missiles
     
United Press International - NewsTrack - 

11/3/2006 12:06:00 AM -0500

TEHRAN, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- Iran's state television reported
Thursday that the country has test-fired "dozens" of missiles,
including the Shahab-3, with a range of 1,000 miles. 

The missile firing appears to be a response to naval exercises
in the Persian Gulf earlier this week by the United States and
its allies, The New York Times said. Vessels from 20 countries,
including three Gulf States, practiced intercepting and
searching ships for nuclear weapons, doing this only 20 miles
outside Iran's territorial waters. 

The news agency ISNA said a senior official denied any link
between the missile tests and advances in Iran's nuclear
program. 

"The first and main goal of this exercise is to demonstrate
power and national determination to defend the country against
any possible threat, and show Iran's missile capability which
has increased the country's defense capability," the ISNA said. 

State Department spokesman Sean McCormack called Iran's actions
"saber-rattling" and said it shows Iran is a force for
instability.

© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved


*****************************************************************
 10 UPI: U.S. policy on Iran seen as weak, impotent
     
United Press International - NewsTrack - 

11/3/2006 12:57:00 PM -0500

TEHRAN, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- The United States is having a tough time
dealing with Iran and is facing limited choices, says the Libyan
daily Al-Arab. 

Iran's Islamic Republic News Agency, quoting Al-Arab, said the
United States is sending contradictory messages on how it will
deal with the latest developments in Iran and the problems it is
facing in Iraq and North Korea demonstrates the impotency and
weakness of the United States. 

The Al-Arab article was based on interviews with experts, none
of them identified by IRNA. 

An Algerian, identified only as a nuclear expert, told the
newspaper that Iran's nuclear program has reached a point where
the West has only two options -- impose sanctions on Iran or
recognize its right to use nuclear technology for peaceful
purposes. 

The expert "believes imposition of sanctions would not achieve
the desired result" because Iran has demonstrated its ability to
manipulate global politics, said IRNA. And, said the Algerian,
the U.S. efforts to impose harder sanctions against Iran are
facing opposition from Russia and China and some European
allies, who are leaning toward more negotiations to resolve the
crisis.


© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved
*****************************************************************
 11 UPI: Analysis: U.S. intelligence on Iran
     
  United Press International - Security &Terrorism - 

11/3/2006 11:31:00 AM -0500

 By SHAUN WATERMAN UPI Homeland and National Security Editor

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- The man who ran the CIA's covert
activities in Europe during the run-up to the invasion of Iraq
says U.S. intelligence needs to be better insulated from
political influence if the nation is to avoid another disaster
in Iran. 

"I can see the same thing happening with (intelligence on)
Iran," Tyler Drumheller told United Press International in an
interview about his just-published book, "On the Brink." 

He said there was "a core of intelligence professionals who can
do the job if they're allowed to." But there was a real risk of
repeating what he said was the two-pronged failure on Iraq:
policy-makers brought their preconceptions to the table and
senior intelligence officials failed to confront them with
uncomfortable truths. 

Policy-makers, he said, had to learn that, "When someone doesn't
agree with your preconceptions, you can't interpret that as
disloyalty or stupidity." But they must also be able to "rely on
intelligence officials to tell them things they don't want to
hear." 

He said that recent reforms of the structure of U.S.
intelligence, including the appointment of Director of National
Intelligence John Negroponte, were "an impediment, not an
improvement." 

"On the Brink," offers a few fresh details about several
episodes of the now familiar tale of how U.S. officials ended up
making a case for war based on inaccurate statements about
Iraq's weapons of mass destruction capabilities. 

"The White House took our work and twisted it for its own ends,"
he writes, accusing then-CIA Director George Tenet of having
"set a tone whereby people knew what he and the White House
wanted to hear ... The bureaucratic imperative was to prove
one's worth by supporting the president's case for war." 

CIA Spokesman Mark Mansfield declined to comment on the book
beyond saying that Drumheller no longer worked for the agency
and was "expressing his own opinion." 

One former U.S. intelligence official said many who had worked
the issue at the time felt Tenet "had fallen into the trap of
believing he was his own best analyst." CIA management was
sometimes "very dismissive of (the agency's) own products" when
they did not fit what seemed to be the emerging picture. 

Colleagues have defended Tenet from similar charges in the past,
pointing out that the published reports of two inquiries into
the matter have concluded that there was no politicization of
the CIA's analysis on his watch, but rather a failure of
analytic creativity, and the predominance of so-called
"groupthink." 

Drumheller's book also echoes the conclusions of the special
presidential commission that probed pre-war intelligence
failures on Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, in placing much
of the blame for the errors on the CIA's Weapons Intelligence,
Non-Proliferation and Arms Control center, known as WINPAC. 

"The truth is (Tenet) over-empowered WINPAC," he writes. 

The presidential commission last year recommended a fundamental
overhaul of the center. "We didn't quite say, 'Bulldoze it,' but
we came close," a commission official told UPI at the time. 

Mansfield praised the center's analysts as "smart,
extraordinarily dedicated officers" and said changes had been
made there. 

"We have improved our analytical tradecraft and our
intelligence-sharing (with people working the issue at different
agencies)," he said, adding that the center was doing more
analysis focused on the research U.S. adversaries are doing on
weapons development. 

He said a so-called Red Cell, or alternative analysis team, had
been put in place at the center. "We are including alternative
analysis in many more of our products, and are bolstering
(intelligence) efforts to improve interdiction capabilities." 

He said WINPAC analysts had predicted both North Korea's missile
test in July and its recent effort to detonate a nuclear bomb. 

"We have taken the lessons learned from the Iraq episode," he
said, "and are applying them every day." 

One congressional staffer with access to intelligence products
agreed. "I have seen no evidence that the intelligence community
is being pushed or is shaping their analysis" on Iran, the
staffer told UPI. 

"They have in fact learned fairly well the lessons of Iraq," the
staffer went on. "They are much clearer about the degree of
confidence they have in their judgments, much readier to
acknowledge uncertainty, much better at laying out what they
don't know." 

But Drumheller is not alone in his concerns. Many critics of the
administration have discerned a similar tunnel vision on the
part of senior officials as was evident in the run up to war
with Iraq. 

Negroponte has said it is the consensus assessment of U.S.
intelligence that Iran is seeking a nuclear weapon, and is five
to 10 years away from developing one. 

In August, the GOP Chairman of the House Permanent Select
Committee on Intelligence, Peter Hoekstra of Michigan, released
titled, " Recognizing Iran as a Strategic Threat: An
Intelligence Challenge for the United States." 

"We lack critical information needed for analysts to make many
of their judgments with confidence about Iran, and we don't know
nearly enough about Iran's nuclear weapons program," read the
report. 

"I would suspect we do know quite a bit about what's going on in
Iran, but it's not what they want to hear, so they say, 'We're
blind,'" Drumheller said. 

The report was slammed by critics, including the International
Atomic Energy Authority, as presenting an overblown and
exaggerated picture of the threat. 

The authority's former head, Hans Blix recently gave evidence to
a congressional panel, and told them that Iran was "not a threat
today. It could become (one) later on." 

He said U.S. intelligence analysts looking before the war at
Iraq's weapons programs had "chose(n) to replace question marks
by exclamation marks," and urged against repeating that error on
Iran. 

He said it was not certain that Iran was pursuing a nuclear
weapon. "I think there have been some indications pointing in
that direction, but I don't think it is conclusive. And I think
that after the experience we have had in Iraq, one should be a
little careful to jump to conclusions."

© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved
*****************************************************************
 12 Guardian Unlimited: Official: Moscow Open to Iran 'Measures' 

From the Associated Press        

[UP] 

Friday November 3, 2006 5:46 PM
 	
By PAUL AMES Associated Press Writer 

BRUSSELS, Belgium (AP) - Russia's foreign minister said Friday
that Moscow was still open to international ``measures'' against
Iran for its nuclear program, but that a European draft
resolution to impose U.N. sanctions goes too far. 

The proposal that has drawn opposition from Russia and China
calls for a U.N. ban on the supply of material and technology
that could contribute to Iran's nuclear and missile programs and
impose a travel ban and asset freeze on companies, individuals
and organizations involved in those programs. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov declined to say what
changes Russia would like to see to the draft resolution, drawn
up by Britain, France and Germany. 

``Measures which we would introduce would have to be reasonable,
take account of the real situation, should be proportional to
the actual situation with regards to the nuclear program in Iran
and should also be in stages,'' Lavrov told a news conference at
European Union headquarters. 

``What the EU troika drew up went way beyond what was agreed''
in talks between the Europeans, Russians, Chinese and Americans
on how to rein in Iran's uranium enrichment program, Lavrov
said. 

EU diplomats had hoped Lavrov would spell out what changes
Moscow wanted to the draft at a meeting Friday with the EU
foreign policy chief and the Finnish foreign minister, whose
country holds the EU's rotating presidency. But officials who
attended, and spoke on condition of anonymity due to the
sensitivity of the talks, said they had not heard Lavrov
offering any such clarification. 

Previously, Lavrov has cautioned that the proposed sanctions
would isolate Iran and hinder efforts to find a negotiated
solution to the nuclear standoff. 

China, which like Russia has strong commercial ties to Tehran,
has also signaled opposition to the draft. The United States has
complained the European plan is too weak. 

In his public comments, Lavrov made no mention of the nuclear
power plant being built with Russian help at Bushehr, Iran. Some
European diplomats have suggested Russia would be more open to
tough measures on Iran if the facility is exempted. 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 13 U.S. Speeds Attack Plans for North Korea
 
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2006 07:01:05 -0600 (CST)

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Washington Times
November 3, 2006

U.S. SPEEDS ATTACK PLANS FOR NORTH KOREA

By Bill Gertz

The Pentagon has stepped up planning for attacks against North Korea's
nuclear program and is bolstering nuclear forces in Asia, said defense
officials familiar with the highly secret process.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the accelerated
military planning includes detailed programs for striking a North Korean
plutonium-reprocessing facility at Yongbyon with special operations commando
raids or strikes with Tomahawk cruise missiles or other precision-guided
weapons.

The effort, which had been under way for several months, was given new
impetus by Pyongyang's underground nuclear test Oct. 9 and growing
opposition to the nuclear program of Kim Jong-il's communist regime,
especially by China and South Korea.

A Pentagon official said the Department of Defense is considering "various
military options" to remove the program.

"Other than nuclear strikes, which are considered excessive, there are
several options now in place. Planning has been accelerated," the official
said.

A second, senior defense official privy to the effort said the Bush
administration recently affirmed its commitment to both South Korea and
Japan that it would use U.S. nuclear weapons to deter North Korea, now
considered an unofficial nuclear weapon state.

"We will resort to whatever force levels we need to have, to defend the
Republic of Korea. That nuclear deterrence is in place," said the senior
official, who declined to reveal what nuclear forces are deployed in Asia.

Other officials said the forces include bombs and air-launched missiles
stored at Guam, a U.S. island in the western Pacific, that could be
delivered by B-52 or B-2 bombers. Nine U.S. nuclear-missile submarines
regularly deploy to Asian waters from Washington state.

The officials said one military option calls for teams of Navy SEALs or
other special operations commandos to conduct covert raids on Yongbyon's
plutonium-reprocessing facility.

The commandos would blow up the facility to prevent further reprocessing of
the spent fuel rods, which provides the material for developing nuclear
weapons.

A second option calls for strikes by precision-guided Tomahawk missiles on
the reprocessing plant from submarines or ships. The plan calls for
simultaneous strikes from various sides to minimize any radioactive
particles being carried away in the air.

Planners estimate that six Tomahawks could destroy the reprocessing plant
and that it would take five to 10 years to rebuild.

Asked about the strike planning, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the
U.S. government is seeking a "peaceful, diplomatic solution" to the threat
posed by North Korea.

Regarding any military options, Mr. Whitman said, "The U.S. military is
prepared and capable of carrying out all of its assigned missions."

The planning does not mean that the United States will attack, only that
military forces are ready to do so if President Bush orders strikes.
Concerned about threats from rogue states such as North Korea, Mr. Bush
called for a ballistic missile defense system, parts of which are
operational.

Defense officials said a key factor in the ramped-up planning effort is
China's new attitude toward North Korea. Beijing's leaders, upset that North
Korea conducted the test, supported a U.S.-led United Nations' resolution.

Chinese opposition to military action had limited defense planning, the
officials said. In the past, U.S. military plans required warning Beijing, a
move considered likely to compromise any planned action because of the close
military ties between China and North Korea.

The Bush administration regards the new level of Chinese support as a "green
light" for more aggressive military planning.

U.S. officials think North Korea will conduct another underground test soon
because Pyongyang is demanding to be recognized as a declared nuclear power.
Both China and the U.S. gauged the test as only partially successful.

The Yongbyon plant, 32 miles from the coast and a half-mile from a river, is
considered a key target because U.S. intelligence agencies suspect that it
is where the plutonium fuel used in the Oct. 9 test was produced.

Defense planners also said equipment destroyed at Yongbyon would be
difficult to replace once newly approved U.N. sanctions are in place.

Another set of targets could be the nuclear test site near Kilchu, in
northeastern North Korea. That site includes several research and
testing-control facilities in the mountains -- and possibly one more tunnel
where a nuclear device could be set off, the officials said.

Recent intelligence reports also provided new information about Pyongyang's
uranium-enrichment program, which remains hidden in underground facilities
in northern North Korea, the officials said.

The U.S. Special Operations Command has been planning raids against North
Korean nuclear facilities for some time. It has conducted training for joint
operations with South Korean special forces as well as unilateral U.S.
operations.

U.S. Pacific Command spokesman Capt. Jeff Alderson declined to comment on
military planning but said the command is continuing to shift forces to the
Pacific and has four missile-defense ships deployed in Japan.

Mr. Bush said recently that any transfer of nuclear weapons by North Korea
would be a "grave threat," phrasing viewed as diplomatic code for a military
response. Defense officials said the military option will be used if North
Korea is caught transferring nuclear arms to other states or terrorist
groups.
*****************************************************************
 14 Reuters: Britons wary of Bush more than Kim Jong-il - poll
                                
Fri 3 Nov 2006 12:11 AM ET                                      

LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The United States is seen
as a threat to world peace by its closest neighbours and allies,
with Britons saying President George W. Bush poses a greater
danger than North Korea's Kim Jong-il, a survey found on Friday.

 A majority of people quizzed in three out of four countries
polled also rejected the March 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.

 The findings came just days before the U.S. mid-term
congressional elections, with a growing number of U.S. voters
wanting their troops in Iraq to be brought home.

 Britain's Guardian newspaper said it carried out the survey
along with Israel's Haaretz, La Presse and Toronto Star in
Canada and Mexico's Reforma.

 In Britain, which alongside Israel is traditionally a close
Washington ally, 69 percent of those questioned said they felt
U.S. policy had made the world less safe since 2001. 

A majority of Canadians and Mexicans agreed, with 62 percent of
those polled in Canada and 57 percent in Mexico saying their
neighbour's policy had made the world more dangerous.

 As for Israel, just 25 percent of people asked said Bush had
made the world safer, while 36 percent felt he had upped the
risk of conflict and a further 30 percent said at best he had
made no difference.

 Israelis alone were in favour of Bush's decision to invade
Iraq, with 59 percent for the war and 34 percent against.

 The ratio was starkly different in the three other nations.

 Some 89 percent of Mexicans felt the invasion to topple Saddam
Hussein was unjustified, as did 73 percent of Canadians and 71
percent of Britons, the survey said.

 The perceived failings of U.S. foreign policy placed Bush
alongside al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, North Korean leader
Kim Jong-il and Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a cause
of global anxiety, it said.

 North Korea's nuclear test last month drew worldwide
condemnation, while Western powers are trying to force Iran to
scale back atomic work they fear may be used to make bombs. Iran
says its aims are purely peaceful.

 Asked whether they thought the U.S. leader was a great or
moderate danger to peace, 75 percent of British people said yes.
Some 87 percent felt the same about bin Laden, while Kim scored
69 percent and Ahmadinejad clocked 62 percent.

 Just 23 percent of Israelis said Bush he represented a serious
danger, with 61 percent disagreeing. 

ICM interviewed 1,010 adults from Oct. 27-30 in Britain.
Professional local opinion polling was used in the other three
countries, the Guardian said. In Israel, 1,078 people were
asked, 1,007 were quizzed in Canada and 1,010 in Mexico.

© Reuters 2006. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
 15 AFP:  Nuclear freeze pushed to check North Korean weapon advances -
    
 by P. Parameswaran Fri Nov 3, 4:32 AM ET 
		 	 
WASHINGTON (AFP) - North Korea " /> may not be capable yet of 
arming a missile with a nuclear warhead even though it would aim 
for such competence following its atomic weapons test, US experts 
say. 

 They propose that new talks aimed at ending North Korea's
nuclear weapons program give top priority to imposing a freeze
on activities at the country's central nuclear complex and a
moratorium on further tests.
 
This would prevent the hardline communist state from making the
leap into the next stage of miniaturizing warheads to fit them
on missiles, they said.
 
Following years of failed negotiations, both neighbour Japan and
faraway Washington are worried Pyongyang will attain the skill
of being able to fire a nuclear missile at them.
 
"But I don't see any evidence to suggest that North Korea has
successfully designed a basic nuclear warhead, let alone one
small enough and sturdy enough, to fit on a missle," said Joseph
Cirincione, senior vice president for National Security at the
Center for American Progress.
 
"This could take several more tests and flight testing of a
rentry vehicle which they haven't done," said Cirincione, who
once worked in the US House of Representatives on the
professional staff of the committee on armed services.
 
It would be "huge leap" to move from detonating a basic nuclear
device -- like what Pyongyang did on October 9 in defiance of
the global community -- to weaponizing it to the point where it
is small and sturdy enough to both fit on a missile and survive
the extreme stresses of launch and re-entry, he said.
 
The estimate for any first generation nuclear state is they can
make a bomb weighing 500 kilograms, said Jon Wolfsthal, a former
senior US Department of Energy
" /> official, who once visited North Korea's nuclear complex at
Yongbyon, where the reclusive country's atomic program is
centered.
 
"Beyond that, nothing is certain and there is no way to have
confidence such a thing (putting a nuclear warhead onto a
missile) would work without extensive testing," he said.
 
Based on some of the US government intelligence estimates, "the
assessment now is North Korea is not capable of arming a
ballistic missile with a working nuclear warhead," said Daryl
Kimball, the executive director of the Arms Control Association,
a US non-profit group.
 
"What is important for everyone to recognize is that if their
program advances and there is more nuclear testing, more missile
testing, it would become more likely that they will," he said.
 
Which is why, Kimball said, it was esential to make the
six-party negotiations among the two Koreas, the United States,
Japan, Russia and China designed to end Pyongyang's nuclear
weapons program actually work.
 
"We should not waste further time," he said.
 
North Korea agreed this week to return to the talks -- to be
reconvened before the end of the year -- after boycotting it for
nearly a year in protest over US financial sanctions against it
for alleged money laundering and US dollar counterfeiting
activities.
 
Michael Green, former Asian security advisor to President George
W. Bush
" /> , said the United States should push at the upcoming
nuclear talks for a North Korean declaration freezing activities
at the Yongbyon nuclear complex and a moratorium on further
testing.
 
"Those kind of concrete steps I think are what to look for," he
said.
 
"Just going back into the talks will be worse than nothing and
provides cover for North Korea to refine its technology and wait
for the next opportunity to test," Green said.
 
Getting from North Korea a "downpayment" on freezing the five
megawatt Yongbyon reactor would hold it "hostage" to future
negotiations, said Daniel Poneman, former senior director for
non-proliferation at the US National Security Council. 
"Our situation is getting worse every day because they (North
Korea) are getting more leverage with each new grain of
plutonium and they are getting military advantage out of it," he
said. 

Pyongyang is believed to have secured up to 50 kilograms of
plutonium from Yongbyon, enough to make up to seven nuclear
weapons. 

"The critical aspect of the (negotiation) process for us is to
regain the initiative and to retake control of the escalation
ladder ... so that the North Koreans are no longer calling the
shots in the pace of the negotiations," Poneman said.
 	 		 			
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 16 Japan Times: Japan won't talk directly with North Korea - Aso
 
japantimes.co.jp               

Friday, Nov. 3, 2006

 Japan won't talk directly with North Korea: Aso Kyodo News 
Japan has no plans now to hold direct talks with North Korea,
Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Thursday despite Pyongyang's
announcement the previous day that it will return to the
six-party talks on its nuclear threat.
 
"As the situation now stands, Japan and North Korea are unlikely
to hold direct talks," Aso told reporters, indicating no
bilateral talks will take place on the sidelines of the
multilateral talks.
 
Aso said Japan will "not immediately change or ease sanctions
imposed on North Korea simply because the six-party talks will
be resumed."
 
The government welcomes North Korea's return to the talks with
guarded optimism. Japanese officials say it is not enough for
North Korea to merely return to the talks and noted it should
take concrete action to scrap its nuclear arms program.
 
The talks have been stalled since the six parties -- North and
South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia -- met
last November.
 
While the talks were stalled, North Korea test-fired missiles
July 5 and conducted its first underground nuclear test Oct. 9.
This led Japan to impose its own sanctions on North Korea.
Cautious approach LONDON (Kyodo) Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's
special adviser on national security, Yuriko Koike, called
Wednesday for a cautious approach toward North Korea's nuclear
threat while welcoming Pyongyang's recent announcement that it
will return to the stalled six-nation talks on ending that
threat.
 
Koike shared the view with Nigel Sheinwald, a foreign policy
adviser for British Prime Minister Tony Blair, during their
meeting in London, she told reporters later.
 
Koike said Japan welcomes North Korea's return to the six-party
talks, but also added it is necessary to cautiously deal with
North Korea while looking at the contents of future negotiations.


 The Japan Times (C) All rights reserved 
*****************************************************************
 17 Guardian Unlimited: N. Korea Says Progress Depends on U.S.

From the Associated Press        
	 
[UP] 

Friday November 3, 2006 3:16 PM
 	
By BO-MI LIM Associated Press Writer 

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) - North Korea's No. 2 leader said Friday
that any progress at revived talks on the communist nation's
nuclear program will depend on the United States, according to a
news report, an indication that any breakthrough at the
negotiations could be difficult. 

The North agreed earlier this week to return to the arms talks
after Washington said it would address financial restrictions
that have limited the regime's access to outside banks. North
Korea has boycotted the talks since November 2005. 

``Results of the six-party talks depend on the U.S. attitude,''
Kim Yong Nam told a visiting South Korean delegation in
Pyongyang, Yonhap news agency reported. 

Kim also accused the U.S. of seeking the resumed nuclear talks
to bolster the Republicans' popularity ahead of U.S. midterm
elections next week, casting doubts on Washington's sincerity in
resolving ``fundamental problems between North Korea and the
U.S.'' 

Kim's comments, made in a meeting with members of South Korea's
minor opposition Democratic Labor Party, could not be
immediately confirmed by the party headquarters in Seoul. 

The North Korean official claimed Pyongyang proposed returning
to the negotiations to allow the U.S. to save face and not
appear to be caving in to the North's demand that the financial
issue be discussed. 

That account contradicts U.S. statements that diplomacy by
China, the North's last major ally, had been instrumental in
luring the North back to the nuclear talks. 

The U.S. financial restrictions - imposed for the North's
alleged illicit activities like counterfeiting and money
laundering - had been a major stumbling block to the nuclear
talks. 

Pyongyang has said it would seek to have the restrictions lifted
at the resumed talks, which also involve China, Japan, Russia,
South Korea and the U.S. 

South Korea's chief nuclear envoy, Chun Yung-woo, said ``there
is no way the U.S. can promise a solution'' to the financial
issue. 

``I think North Korea has become aware of the reality and had
decided to solve this issue at the six-party talks,'' he said in
an interview with KBS radio. 

The South Korean diplomat added that North Korea ``has no more
cards to play after the nuclear test'' and that the communist
nation had realized that time was not on their side in returning
to arms talks. 

No date has been set for the next round of talks, but officials
have said it would be held after the summit of the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation forum scheduled for Nov. 18-19 in Vietnam
and before the year's end. 

Chun said Friday the formal talks could open in December. 
Meanwhile, Washington was sending two senior State Department
officials to Japan, China and South Korea next week for talks on
enforcing the U.N. sanctions imposed against the North for its
Oct. 9 nuclear test. 

Undersecretaries of State Nicholas Burns and Robert Joseph will 
be in the region to discuss the sanctions, which forbid trade 
with North Korea in weapons and luxury goods. 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 18 washingtonpost.com: U.S. Shuts Web Site That Contained Nuclear Details -
                    
By Dafna LinzerWashington Post Staff Writer

Friday, November 3, 2006; Page A08
 
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said
yesterday that it shut down a public Web site after complaints
from U.N. weapons inspectors that the site included sensitive
details about constructing nuclear and chemical weapons. The
documents were collected in Iraqafter the March 2003 invasion
but predate the 1991 Persian Gulf War.

Intelligence officials said the documents do not indicate that
Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when President Bush ordered
U.S. troops to take over the country and depose Saddam Hussein.

Chad Kolton, spokesman for John D. Negroponte, the director of
national intelligence, said the office had "suspended access" to
the site pending a review of the documents. "The material
currently on the Web site as well as the procedures used to post
new documents will be carefully reviewed before the site becomes
available again," Kolton said.

The New York Times reported on its Web site last night, and in
today's print edition, that the site had been shut down in
response to concerns by the inspectors and other nuclear
experts. Many of the documents were copies of information Iraq
had repeatedly handed over to the United States and other U.N.
Security Council members over more than a decade between the two
wars.

Negroponte's office began posting thousands of captured Iraqi
documents earlier this year at the insistence of Republican
lawmakers, who hoped the documents could shed light on Iraq's
prewar arsenal.

The documents were posted on a Web site administered by the
Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency. Kolton said his office
will go over the documents with the DIA to determine what can be
reposted on the site. U.N. weapons inspectors in New York and
Vienna, Kolton said, had complained that some documents could
reveal weapons secrets.

"We are confident the DNI is taking the appropriate steps to
maintain the balance between public information and national
security," said Gordon Johndroe, spokesman for the National
Security Council.

Staff writer Peter Baker contributed to this report.

 © 2006 The Washington Post Company
*****************************************************************
 19 AFP: Nuclear bomb row breaks ahead of US polls 

 by Stephen Collinson Fri Nov 3, 6:05 PM ET 
		 	 
WASHINGTON (AFP) - A fierce new pre-election row over Iraq " /> 
raged, after the US government shut down a website on which 
intelligence officials reportedly posted a blueprint for a 
nuclear bomb. 

Democrats pounced on the disclosure and fears the Saddam Hussein 
" /> -era documents could have helped terrorists or Iran " /> 
ahead of Tuesday's mid-term polls expected to deal President 
George W. Bush " /> 's Republicans heavy losses.
 
Intelligence officials hurriedly pulled down the federal website
displaying reams of Iraqi government papers Thursday night,
following a report they included details of Baghdad's secret
nuclear research prior to 1991.
 
The New York Times quoted experts as saying the papers added up
to a basic guide on how to build a nuclear bomb, nuclear firing
circuits and the radioactive cores of atom bombs.
 
It quoted European diplomats as saying the International Atomic
Energy Agency
" /> (IAEA) had complained to the US government about the
documents last week, fearing they could help states like Iran
develop nuclear arms.
 
The Operation Iraqi Freedom Document Portal was created in March
to display a huge archive of Iraqi papers, many in Arabic, in
the hope private experts might be able to unearth useful
information.
 
But Democrats charged the site was merely an attempt by
Republicans to hype the threat from Saddam, after the failure to
find the weapons of mass destruction Bush used to justify the
2003 invasion of Iraq.
 
"Whoever authorized putting partisan political considerations
above national security in this instance must be held
accountable," said Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Party leader in the
House of Represenatives.
 
But White House counselor Dan Bartlett played down the
controversy, suggesting the documents proved Saddam was actively
seeking nuclear weapons, even though they dated from before 1991.
 
"They reveal what many people knew, that Saddam Hussein had the
capability and was working toward a nuclear weapon program ... I
think that's a stark reminder for people," he told MSNBC.
 
But Joseph Cirincione, a nuclear expert progressive think-tank
Center for American Progress, called the controversy "absolutely
outrageous."
 
"The political leadership of this country just glosses over this
grevious breach of national security and the damage that has
been done," he said.
 
Though he had not seen the documents, Cirincione said they
appeared to go beyond anything currently available on the web.
 
"There are no diagrams up there from actual national nuclear
bomb programs -- that is what we are talking about here," he
said.
 
But a US intelligence official cast doubt on suggestions the
documents were effectively a how-to guide for a homemade nuclear
bomb.
 
"I am not at all confident that that is the case," the official
said on condition of anonymity.
 
Bartlett also said that that it was open to dispute that such
information was available elsewhere on the web.
 
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence "suspended
access" to the website to ensure documents were suitable for the
public, spokesman Chad Kolton said. 

"The material curently on the website, as well as the procedures
used to post new documents, will be carefully reviewed before
the site becomes available again." 

The IAEA complained last week to the US ambassador to the
Vienna-based body about postings of "roughly a dozen" documents
that contained diagrams, equations and other details for making
a nuclear bomb, the Times said. 

But Peter Hoekstra, Republican chairman of the House of
Representatives Intelligence Committee, accused the IAEA of
going to the press before it brought up the issue with the US
government. 

A second New York Times disclosure, over an attempt by
Republicans to force the closure of the Office of the Special
Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, touched off another
political row. 

The paper reported that Republican aides in the House had
slipped a clause requiring the closure of the office by 01
October 2007 into a huge military spending bill signed by Bush
two weeks ago. 

The State Department denied the auditor was being shut down
ahead of schedule.
 	 		 			
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 20 UPI: Bush said leakers should be 'strung up'
     
United Press International - Security &Terrorism - 

11/3/2006 3:05:00 PM -0500

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush joked in
March 2002 that those who leaked government information should
be strung up by their thumbs, like prisoners in Guantanamo. 

At an Oval Office meeting with then-Canadian Prime Minister Jean
Chretien, who was in the midst of a public storm provoked by
whistleblower revelations, Bush said, "with a smirk on his
face," that "If I catch anyone who leaks in my government, I
would like to string them up by the thumbs ... The same way we
do with prisoners in Guantanamo." 

The account, in a book recently published by long-time Chretien
aide, Edward Goldenberg, was disputed by the White House. 

"Our notes from the meeting show no such thing being said,"
White House Spokeswoman Dana Perino told United Press
International. 

Goldenberg says that Bush, who he says had a "deserved ...
public reputation" as a West Texas cowboy, "laughed at his own
joke." 

He added that the dislike of leakers and others who reveal
government information is "shared by all heads of government,
regardless of party, ideology or country."

© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved
*****************************************************************
 21 UPI: Report: U.S. posted nuke guide on Web
     
United Press International - NewsTrack - 

11/3/2006 12:07:00 AM -0500

WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Washington has shut down a
government Web site after criticism from weapons and arms
control experts that the site offered a guide to building a
nuclear bomb. 

The Web site was set up in March to make public archived Iraqi
documents captured during the Iraq war, The New York Times
reported. The Bush administration set up the Web site under
pressure from Republican leaders in Congress, who said they
wanted to "leverage the Internet" to uncover evidence of prewar
threats posed by former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein, the
newspaper said. 

However, the site recently posted documents that weapons experts
say offer details about Iraq's secret nuclear research prior to
the 1991 Persian Gulf War -- and experts say the documents
provide a guide to building a nuclear weapon, the Times
reported. 

A spokesman for John Negroponte, director of national
intelligence, told the newspaper access to the site was
suspended "pending a review to ensure its content is appropriate
for public viewing." 

The questionable documents contain charts, diagrams, equations
and test about bomb making that apparently surpass what had
previously been available publicly, the Times said.

© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved
*****************************************************************
 22 Guardian Unlimited: Poll: Bush Policy Threatens World Peace 

From the Associated Press        
	 
[UP] 

Saturday November 4, 2006 12:01 AM
 	
By BETH DUFF-BROWN Associated Press Writer 

TORONTO (AP) - A majority of people in Canada, Britain and
Mexico think President Bush and his foreign policy pose a threat
to world peace and worry the U.S. will invade Iran or North
Korea within two years, according to polling released Friday. 

The polls by the Ottawa-based EKOS Research also found that the
respondents in Canada, Britain, Mexico and Israel believe Osama
bin Laden poses the gravest danger to the world of five national
or militant group leaders included in the poll, followed by
North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, then Bush, Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of
Hezbollah. 

Mexicans ranked Bush the second most dangerous of the five men,
behind the al-Qaida leader. 

Conversely, only 9 percent of the Israeli respondents found that
Bush represented a danger to the world, while Iran's leader drew
81 percent of those polled in Israel. 

The poll found 69 percent of Britons, 62 percent of Canadians,
57 percent of Mexicans and 36 percent of those polled in Israel
believe Bush's foreign policy has made the world less safe. 

Recent polls conducted in the United States indicate a majority
of Americans believe the war in Iraq is not going well. 

``As we approach next week's midterm elections in the United
States, the polls show pretty clearly that many Americans are
dissatisfied with the Bush foreign policy, particularly in
Iraq,'' said EKOS president Frank Graves. ``Now we have a clear
confirmation that Bush's policies are even more unpopular abroad
among the citizens of countries with very close ties to the
United States.'' 

The polling also found that 89 percent of those polled in
Mexico, 73 percent in Canada, 71 percent in Britain and 34
percent of respondents in Israel now believe the U.S. decision
to invade Iraq was not justified. 

The poll also found that 68 percent of Mexican respondents, 60
percent of Israelis and 57 percent of Canadians believe the
United States will ``intervene militarily'' in Iran or North
Korea in an effort to block the development of nuclear weapons.

British respondents were not asked the question. 

The polls were asked of 1,000 residents in each of the four
countries at the end of October. Results are considered accurate
within 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. 

----- 
EKOS Research: www.ekos.com 	 
		 	 	   
Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 23 washingtonpost.com: Optimism Turns to Anxiety On Curbing Nuclear Arms -
                    
By Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, November 3, 2006; Page A23
 
In the waning days of the 20th century, nearly a dozen countries 
abandoned nuclear weapons programs, betting on the promised 
security of a post-Cold War world.

But the trend toward disarmament seems to have tapered off almost 
as quickly as it began.

In the first six years of the 21st century, one country -- Libya
-- agreed to give up the possibility of making a weapon. But
accelerated its program, and many believe is doing the same.
More countries are exploring uranium enrichment and nuclear
power programs that could be diverted to produce weapons.

Officials and nuclear experts who felt nothing but optimism in
the early 1990s now see a world on the threshold of a dangerous
arms race. Some fault the Bush administration for policies that
rewarded nuclear-armed friends while denouncing foes accused of
building the same weapons. Others say the current situation is a
natural byproduct of a fragmented world in which countries no
longer have to choose between the United States and the Soviet
Union, but can go separate ways and build independent alliances.

"I think we are at a dangerous tipping point," said Sam Nunn,
the former Democratic senator from Georgia who has devoted years
of public service to stemming nuclear proliferation and is
co-chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative. "One of the
reasons we're in this predicament is that the United States
government, which had been the main proponent of
nonproliferation, appears not to have the clout to build the
kind of broad international coalition that dissuades countries
from going nuclear."

Since President Dwight D. Eisenhower began Atoms for Peace in
1953, the United States has been at the forefront of
nonproliferation strategies, talking friend and adversary alike
out of weapons that bring great power but carry the risk of deep
isolation. "In the last two decades, the U.S. has successfully
turned around a host of states -- Argentina, , Ukraine,
Kazakhstan, Belarus, , Taiwan and ," said Ashton B. Carter, who
was assistant secretary of defense for international security
policy from 1993 to 1996. "But in the last few years," Carter
said, Iran and North Korea "have been allowed to lurch forward."

President Bush in 2002 named Iran, North Korea and under Saddam
Hussein as members of an "axis of evil" pursuing weapons of mass
destruction that could be given to terrorists. The prospect of
the most dangerous weapons getting into the hands of the most
dangerous people led Bush to war in Iraq against a suspected
arsenal he did not find.

Meanwhile, Iran and North Korea expanded their nuclear
capabilities. Last month, North Korea officially became a
nuclear weapons state when it detonated a small plutonium bomb
during an underground test. It is Iran, however, that the Bush
administration named earlier this year as posing the greatest
challenge to the United States. It is a worry shared by many
policymakers and politicians outside the government, but it is
not the only nuclear concern.

In the 1960s, nonproliferation was one of the few areas on which
there was agreement between the United States and what was then
the Soviet Union. , , and, experts believe, had joined the
nuclear club, and while the Cold War rivals were in the midst of
their own arms race, they were also eager to prevent more states
from acquiring nuclear weapons.

President John F. Kennedy worried in 1963 that if U.S. efforts
were unsuccessful, there could be as many as 10 nuclear weapons
states within a decade and the number could double after that.
Today there are nine such states. But there would have been more
had South Africa, Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus not been among
the countries that gave up nuclear weapons after the breakup in
1991 of the Soviet Union.

Michael Levi, a nuclear scholar at the Council on Foreign
Relations, said that the collapse of the Soviet Union was a
unique moment for nonproliferation, but that "the Cold War isn't
going to end every 10 years."

"If you focus on nuclear testing as a benchmark, then you've got
three nuclear states in the last eight years -- , and North
Korea. But if you go by acquiring nuclear weapons, it would be
one a decade," Levi said, referring to North Korea.

North Korea's test has deepened worries of an Asian arms race, 
with Japan and South Korea among dozens of countries with the 
technical ability -- known as "breakout" capacity -- to quickly 
divert materials from their energy programs for bomb-making. 
Mohamed ElBaradei, the director of the International Atomic 
Energy Agency, calls those countries "virtual" weapons states and 
noted during a recent talk in Washington that those with the 
know-how, including Japan and South Korea, could make nuclear 
devices "overnight" if they wanted to.

"When the Japanese, South Koreans and Taiwanese see North Korea 
go nuclear and nothing done, they will reconsider their decisions 
not to go nuclear," said Carter, now a Harvard University 
professor. Noting that Egypt and Saudi Arabia may change their 
postures too, Carter said the recent turn toward nuclear weapons 
presented "the biggest setback to American security in a decade. 
It doesn't get any bigger than this."

Jon Wolfsthal, a fellow at the International Security Program of 
the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said that in 
the 1990s, "the pessimists used to be in the minority on nuclear 
issues, and now theirs is the dominant view."

"The long-term pessimists will tell you the good old days were 
never that good," he said. "North Korea's program was up and 
running in the '80s, Iran's program was up and running in the 
'80s, India's was up in the '60s and people didn't see it because 
the relative dangers had diminished. We went from a Cold War 
world where life could end in 30 minutes to one where we had 
serious but isolated challenges. But now that the dangers of the 
Cold War really are in the history books, isolated dangers seem 
much more acute."

Today, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada and South Africa have 
begun or have expressed interest in enriching uranium to sell on 
the world market as nuclear power becomes more attractive to 
Third World countries. Iran has said repeatedly that its 
large-scale enrichment plans are designed solely for power 
generation. Uranium enriched to low levels, as the Iranians have 
done so far, can be used for fueling nuclear power plants, not 
for weapons. But the same process, if done at higher speeds for 
longer periods, can produce bomb-grade uranium. Egypt, Turkey and 
Algeria are all exploring nuclear power capabilities.

"In a way, it's a very bad time," said David Albright, president 
of the Institute for Science and International Security.

"Egypt and Turkey are already pushing for nuclear power while 
thinking in the back of their minds they may want the option of a 
nuclear capability, and all the weapons states seem to be 
retrenching with their nuclear weapons. But I think it can be 
reversed. Nuclear weapons are a deterrence but also a bargaining 
chip."

George Perkovich, a vice president at the Carnegie Endowment for 
International Peace, said the rise in proliferation threats can 
only be turned back once the United States, Russia and China 
figure out a power balance that makes room for each country's 
interests.

"The one thing we agreed on once with the Russians was that we 
didn't want any other countries getting nuclear weapons," 
Perkovich said. "But once you have a unipolar system, does Russia 
really have the same incentive when countries that are interested 
in getting nuclear weapons are also interested in limiting U.S. 
power? Russia and China feel wary of U.S. intentions now, in 
China's neighborhood and Russia's, so they aren't going to help 
us on nonproliferation just because it's the right thing to do."

 
1996- The Washington Post Company | |  
*****************************************************************
 24 AFP: Blair to push climate change in talks with Merkel 

 Fri Nov 3, 8:13 AM ET 
		 	 
LONDON (AFP) - British Prime Minister Tony Blair " /> Tony 
Blairwill press German Chancellor Angela Merkel over climate 
change and energy security, his spokesman said ahead of talks 
between the two leaders. 

Blair wants to push the issues further up the agenda after his 
government published a major report this week which said that 
global warming could cost the world's economies up to 20 percent 
of their gross domestic product.
 
Merkel, whose government will take over the presidencies of the 
European Union " /> European Unionand the G8 group of 
industrialised nations in January, is also expected to discuss 
the Middle East, Iran " /> Iranand Darfur with Blair.
 
"The prime minister will want to talk about how to take forward 
the work on energy and climate change as priorities for the EU 
and G8," the spokesman told AFP.
 
Blair believes that energy security and climate change are "two 
sides of the same coin" and the Stern report on the economic 
impact of climate change has underlined the need for action, the 
spokesman said.
 
The prime minister believes there is a "real opportunity" for the 
EU to agree a new energy and climate change strategy, he added.
 
A climate change report, unveiled by former World Bank
" /> World Bankchief economist Sir Nicholas Stern on Monday,
said that combatting global warming would cost about one percent
of GDP
" /> GDP, 20 times less than the potential cost of doing nothing.
 
In particular the report recommends a huge expansion of
carbon-emissions trading networks, like that set up by the
25-nation bloc, which aim to limit pollution by by allowing
industries to buy and sell their emission rights.
 
Britain, which under Blair has become one of Europe's most
deregulated economies, is keen to see the EU's carbon-trading
market expanded to tie in with other similar ones around the
world.
 
Blair and Merkel were also expected to discuss key international
crises including the situation in Iran, where they are part of a
six-nation group mulling how to defuse the nuclear standoff with
Tehran.
 
Afghanistan
" /> Afghanistan, where Taliban fighters have mounted an
increasingly deadly campaign against British-led NATO
" /> NATOforces in the south of the country, will also be high
on the agenda. Germany also has a major presence there.
 
Closer to home, the pair may take the opportunity to discuss the
future of the near-dead EU constitution, which was dealt an
almost knock-out blow by referendums in France and the
Netherlands last year.
 
EU heavyweight Germany has pledged to come up with proposals to
revive the bloc's constitutional plans during its six months at
the EU's helm starting on January 1.
 
Merkel is widely seen as a key part of a new generation of
leaders in Europe, while Blair is set to stand down next year,
along with French President Jacques Chirac
" /> President Jacques Chirac.
 
The two leaders will hold a joint news conference after their
talks, at around 1830 GMT.
 
Copyright © 2006 Agence France Presse. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 25 IRIB PERSIAN NEWS: Russia won't back draft resolution 

  2006/11/03   

  
  12:34:31 Č.Ů 
A senior Russian diplomat said Friday that Moscow will not back
the European draft resolution on the Islamic Republic of Iran at
the U.N. Security Council, the Interfax news agency reported.
 
Russia "won't support it in the shape it is now," Deputy Foreign
Minister Sergei Kislyak said, according to Interfax.
 
mk   

  

  Copyright 2004, All Rights Reserved By Islamic Republic of Iran 
Broadcasting News Network Sponsored By IRIB News Computer Center. 
E-Mail: Info@IRIBNEWS.ir     
  



*****************************************************************
 26 UPI: Outside View: Russia's Mideast influence
     
 United Press International - Intl. Intelligence - 

        11/3/2006 5:43:00 PM -0500

 By MARIANNA BELENKAYA UPI Outside View Commentator

MOSCOW, Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has
flown to Moscow for a visit. The Russian-Egyptian high-level
dialogue being what it is, visits by the head of one of the
leading Middle Eastern and African countries to the Russian
capital no longer cause a sensation -- they have already become
routine. Yet only recently the arrival of high-ranking leaders
from the Eastern countries to Moscow was invariably commented on
as "the first for many years, historic and marking a turning
point." This stage is now over. The old contacts with the Middle
East, lost in the years following the collapse of the Soviet
Union, have been restored, and even new partners found. 

Russian-Egyptian cooperation is perhaps one of the most
remarkable examples of Russia's return to the Middle East, first
of all, economically. Russian statistics show that bilateral
trade in goods and services in 2006 totaled $1.6 billion. In the
first eight months of this year, it increased 52 percent
year-on-year and reached $953.3 million, up from $500 million in
2002. 

Nevertheless, against the background of Soviet-era projects,
such as the Aswan High Dam, today's Russian-Egyptian cooperation
seems modest. But it is based on profit and is in no way
ideologically motivated. Cairo and Moscow are considering joint
projects ranging from gas pipeline construction to nuclear
power. Time will show which of them will materialize. 

Unlike economic matters, political issues are not as clear.
Ahead of his Moscow visit, President Mubarak gave an interview
to the Russian Vremya Novostei newspaper. In it he remarked that
"Russia has restored its interests in the Middle East and
regained its influence in the region." But perhaps his words are
just lip service? 

No doubt Russia's interest in Middle Eastern issues is great
today. It is actively participating in the work of the Quartet
of Middle East intermediaries of Palestinian-Israeli settlement
together with the United States, the European Union and the
United Nations. Its position was largely determined when the
U.N. Security Council drafted its resolution on Iraq after the
United States and the United Kingdom decided to restore legality
in Iraq following the deposition of the Saddam Hussein regime.
Still, how far can we go in saying that Russia can exert a
considerable influence on the situation in the Middle East? 

The most salient example is Russian President Vladimir Putin's
invitation of Hamas, which won Palestinian parliamentary
elections, to Moscow in February 2006. Russia took this
extraordinary step despite the movement's boycott by Israel, the
United States and the EU in order to break the deadlock on
Middle East settlement. Did it succeed? No, it did not. 

There are other examples -- an attempt to ease the situation
around Syria following the assassination of Lebanese Prime
Minister Rafiq Hariri in the winter of 2005, proposals for an
Iraqi-to-Iraqi dialogue, and search for ways of financing the
Palestinian National Authority bypassing Hamas. Most
interestingly, many of Moscow's ideas were sooner or later taken
up by other parties to settlement -- in the Middle East or Iraq.
True, more often than not, they no longer looked like Russian
initiatives. But the Russian Foreign Ministry does not object as
long as they work. Which does not always happen, and not only
where Russia is concerned. 

Today no one can boast that they know the right way to resolve
deadlocks in the Arab-Israeli peace process, or to restore
political stability in Iraq. Even Hosni Mubarak, a veteran of
Middle Eastern politics who has been in office for exactly a
quarter of a century, when asked by Vremya Novostei how the
Iraqi problem can be solved, answered: "God knows." Perhaps the
same response applies to the Arab-Israeli conflict. Although all
intermediaries are proposing concrete solutions, no one knows
how to implement them in practice. Cairo, Moscow, Washington,
and Brussels are all trying to make their contribution but to no
avail --there are too many undercurrents. And all attempts end
in failure. 

So one can speak neither of Russia's real influence in the
Middle East, nor of its helplessness in the region.
Unquestionably, the United States, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia have
far greater influence on local events than Russia, but
ultimately all of them are equally helpless. Single-handed,
nobody is in a position to find the key to resolving deadlocked
regional issues. This is far too challenging a task even for
joint efforts. 

(Marianna Belenkaya is a politcal commentator at RIA Novosti.
This article was reprinted with permission from the news
agency.) 

© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved
*****************************************************************
 27 Guardian Unlimited Books: A deadly blue light | Review | 

[UP] 

Per Olov Enquist's tale of love, hysteria and the discovery of
radium, The Story of Blanche and Marie, appeals to Anne Enright 

Saturday November 4, 2006
The Guardian 		 

[The Story of Blanche and Marie by Per Olov Enquist] 
Buy The Story of Blanche and Marie at the Guardian bookshop
   
 The Story of Blanche and Marie
 by Per Olov Enquist, translated by Tiina Nunnally
 215pp, Harvill Secker, Ł16.99

Per Olov Enquist has been a great writer for so long in his
native Sweden that, at this stage, he can write what he likes.
He brings a sense of freedom, and intellectual relish, to The
Story of Blanche and Marie, which is not so much the story of
two famous women as an interrogation of their story. Enquist
likes asking questions of history: this is perhaps a more honest
way of proceeding than merely stating the facts.
 			 		 			 			Article continues
The facts are amazing - but in a funny sort of way. By
the time Marie Curie received her second Nobel prize, in 1911,
one of her lab assistants, Blanche Wittman, was a triple
amputee, having lost her left arm and both her legs as a result
of working with radioactive materials. Blanche had come to Curie
from the x-ray department of Salpętričre, the great female
lunatic asylum, where she had once been a star patient - quite
literally. Blanche was the "Queen of the Hysterics", one of the
women exhibited by Dr Charcot to the good people of Paris, every
Wednesday afternoon, for free. A convulsive attack would be
provoked by pressing very particular points on their bodies -
for which Charcot had the diagram, of course. The need to
squeeze, for example, their ovaries also explained the women's
state of undress. Everyone took these hysterical displays, which
were both violent and swooningly creative, very seriously,
including Charcot's one-time assistant, the young Sigmund Freud.

This is very rich stuff; you might think it would be enough for
one book at least - but Enquist keeps going. It is what Blanche,
as a sublime victim, takes to the story of Marie Curie that
interests him most.

Curie's astonishing achievement - she was the first person to be
awarded the Nobel twice - was not reported by the French press.
They were too busy publishing her love letters, hounding her as
a foreigner - possibly a Jewish foreigner - and the seductress
of a married man. Blanche was living in Curie's house at the
time, propelling herself about in a little wheeled wooden box.

She is, as Enquist tells it, a torso who can write, and it is to
her that Marie turns when she needs to talk about the baying
crowd, and about love.

This is a book of intersections. Enquist puts the facts down on
the page, then he questions, repeats and rearranges them. He
nudges and dunts the historical moment, in the hope that it will
yield its sweetness. Blanche sees her role as "explaining the
connection between radium, death, art and love". The essence the
writer extracts is a poetic truth about love, but it is also the
story - which is to say the fiction - of the novel itself. Some
things, finally, he can simply make up: Blanche, while
hypnotised, has a vision of kissing a boy by a river bank;

Charcot, her hypnotist, is not only in thrall to her, but
actually in love; she spends her last days in Curie's house not
bombed out on laudanum, but writing a "book of questions" in
three notebooks that have covers of yellow, black and red.

The beautiful, deadly blue light of radium illuminates the
novel. This was a time when science and mysticism were still
close. Charcot was a believer and Curie was a lover. Enquist
admires their wrongheadedness, somehow, as much as, or more
than, he admires their work.

The Story of Blanche and Marie is written with the same poetic
vigour and eye for the moment as Enquist's last, much acclaimed
novel, The Visit of the Royal Physician. It is dizzy with
associations and questions, full of interest and appetite and
the satisfactions of a good mind. It is a strongly feminist
piece of work, and often funny. The aftertaste it leaves,
however, is a little strange. Blanche's career as a beautiful
hysteric is, quite rightly, suffused with a sense of the
ecstatic, but it is odd to see a multiple amputee in the same
glowing light. Blanche Wittman was used and then destroyed -
what's so attractive about that? Is this what we have to endure,
in order finally to understand what love is? 

· Anne Enright's latest book is Making Babies (Vintage)
 
			 		 		 
[UP] 

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 28 Sydney Morning Herald: Lucas Heights reactor fires up 

www.smh.com.au
 
The distinctive blue glow of Cerenkov radiation emanating from
the Lucas Heights OPAL reactor.

Richard Macey
November 3, 2006 - 4:30PM
 	
An eerie blue radioactive glow has announced that Australia's
most expensive - and most controversial - science project, the
new $400 million nuclear research reactor at Lucas Heights, is
finally running.
 
At 11.45am OPAL, the Open Pool Australian Light-water reactor,
was throttled up to full power for the first time, producing the
targeted 20 megawatts of energy, twice that of the old reactor
built in the 1950s.
 
Radiation from the new reactor's core, powered by 16 enriched
uranium fuel elements that were loaded in August, filled the
surrounding tank of protective water with an eerie light.
 
"The water in OPAL's pool vessel is now emitting the distinctive
blue glow of Cerenkov radiation, characteristic of nuclear
fission," said the executive director of the Australian Nuclear
Science and Technology Organisation, Dr Ian Smith.
 
The new reactor, which will be used for science and manfacturing
nuclear medicines, will not be operational until next year.
 
Some residents and environmental groups argue the reactor is an
environmental danger and potential terrorist target.
 
But the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety
Agency says the reactor is based on a cutting-edge design with
plenty of safety features.
 
The chief executive, John Loy, said there could never be
guarantees, but the best possible arrangements had been made.
 
Under the terms of the licence, safety reviews will have to be
carried out every 10 years.
 
with AAP
 
Copyright © 2006. The Sydney Morning Herald.
*****************************************************************
 29 Sydney Morning Herald: Debate to follow govt's nuclear policy - 

www.smh.com.au
 
November 4, 2006 - 5:59AM
 	 	
A public debate on nuclear energy will follow the publication of
a taskforce report on the viability of the industry, Resources
Minister Ian Macfarlane says.

Mr Macfarlane said he had received a briefing from former
Telstra head Ziggy Switkowski, who heads the government's
nuclear energy task force examining the viability of a future
nuclear power industry.

"What we are seeing in the community is a willingness now to
consider nuclear energy," Mr Macfarlane told reporters.

"We are seeing reports like the Switkowski report which will
indicate that nuclear energy will be competitive with low
emission coal within 15 years."

Mr Macfarlane said the next step after receiving the report,
which is expected to be released in the next few weeks, would be
to have a public debate in Australia on nuclear energy, using
facts not fear.

"We want to see debate that is based in understanding and
knowledge not a debate based on scare tactics," he said.
 	
© 2006 	AAP

Brought to you by [aap]         
 
Copyright © 2006. The Sydney Morning Herald.
*****************************************************************
 30 NRC: NRC to Hold Two Public Meetings on Proposed Changes to Nuclear Power Plant Security Requirements
 
News Release - 2006-14 U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office 
of Public Affairs     Telephone: 301/415-8200 Washington, DC 
20555-0001     E-mail: opa@nrc.gov No. 06-140     November 3, 
2006   
  
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will hold public meetings in
Rockville, Md., and Las Vegas, Nev., to receive public comment
on a proposed rule on nuclear power reactor physical security
requirements. The meetings will consist of agency presentations
on various aspects of the proposed rule, including training and
qualification of security guards, access authorization and
safety/security interface, followed by public comment periods.
Classified and Safeguards Information will not be discussed. 

The proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on Oct.
26, 2006, and is available to review through the NRC Rulemaking
Web page: http://ruleforum.llnl.gov/. The Federal Register
notice also outlines how the public can comment in writing.
 
The meetings will be held on Nov. 15 in the Commissioners
Conference Room of the NRC headquarters building at 11555
Rockville Pike, Maryland, and on Nov. 29th at the High Level
Waste Management Office at 1551 Hillshire Drive, Suite A, Las
Vegas. Both meetings will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:50 p.m. 

Interested attendees are encouraged to pre-register by
contacting Kelly Grimes at 301-415-7561 or kig@nrc.gov.
Attendees with needs for special equipment or accommodations
must contact Ms. Grimes as soon as possible in order for
arrangements to be made. A detailed agenda is available at:
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/public-meetings/index.cfm.
   
  
-----------------------------------------------------------------

NRC news releases are available through a free list serve
subscription at the following Web address:
http://www.nrc.gov/public-involve/listserver.html. The NRC
homepage at www.nrc.gov also offers a SUBSCRIBE link. E-mail
notifications are sent to subscribers when news releases are
posted to NRC's Web site.
   



  


 	Last revised Friday, November 03, 2006 	
*****************************************************************
 31 RIA Novosti: Egyptian president in Moscow for three-day visit
 
01/ 11/ 2006                                  

MOSCOW, November 1 (RIA Novosti) - Egypt's president arrived in
Moscow Wednesday for a three-day official visit expected to
highlight bilateral trade and civilian nuclear cooperation, as
well as the situation in the Middle East.

 Hosni Mubarak will meet with top Russian officials to discuss
broader trade and economic cooperation, including in the energy
sector, Egyptian Ambassador in Moscow Ezzat Saad said.

 In February, Russia and Egypt opened a joint car-making plant
near Cairo, the Egyptian capital, to assemble 3,300 Russian Lada
cars a year. Boris Alyoshin, head of the Russian Federal
Industry Agency, said the two countries might also seek to
create free trade zones.

 Mubarak's visit to Russia is also expected to consider Russia's
proposal to construct a civilian nuclear infrastructure in
Egypt, following a resumption of talks on the issue in late
January.

 Russia's Saltanov said Mubarak will also discuss the current
critical situation in the Middle East, including in the
Palestinian territories, Iraq, Lebanon and Sudan.

 "Egypt is a key country in the region, and it is our major
partner in the Middle East," Saltanov said. "It is very
interesting for us to hear the opinion of such an authoritative
politician as Hosni Mubarak."

© 2005 RIA Novosti   
*****************************************************************
 32 RIA Novosti: Lawmakers could adopt law to form unified nuclear power company 

03/ 11/ 2006                                  

MOSCOW, November 3 (RIA Novosti) - A law allowing the creation
of a unified state company to control Russia's nuclear power
sector could be adopted by the lower house of parliament by the
end of the year, the head of the State Duma's subcommittee on
atomic energy said Friday. 

"If there are no discrepancies in terms of amendments to the
law, it could be adopted by the State Duma by the end of the
year," Viktor Opekunov said. 

He said the Duma's energy and transport committee had until
November 15 to propose amendments to the law. 

Opekunov said the new corporation, which will be named Atomprom,
will be 100% state-owned, and its nuclear power facilities will
be guarded by Interior Ministry troops. 

Russia's reserves of coal and natural gas could be depleted in
50 years. But with around 8% of the world's uranium output,
Russia is planning to mine 60-70% of its uranium needs by 2015,
with the remainder coming from joint ventures in former Soviet
republics, particularly Kazakhstan, which holds 25-30% of the
world's uranium reserves. 

In mid-September, Russia's nuclear chief Sergei Kiriyenko said
nuclear energy must replace the share of natural gas in Russia's
energy balance. 

"There is no alternative to the development of nuclear power in
Russia, which must replace power generated using natural gas,"
he said. 

On September 25, Kiriyenko said a vertically integrated company,
Atomprom, will be formed to comprise all of the country's
civilian nuclear industry enterprises as part of a move to
divide the industry into military and civilian branches. 

He said up to 90% of the profit in Russia's nuclear sector comes
from nuclear energy exports, which is why the company will be
set up to compete fully with the world leaders on the global
market. 

"Two-thirds of the companies in the nuclear energy industry are
joint stock companies, and therefore Atomprom will have to be
based on a joint stock scheme," Kiriyenko said. 

Earlier in September, he said the revival of the nuclear sector
in Russia was prompted by rising energy consumption, a lack of
new energy sources in the foreseeable future, and unjustified
hopes that energy-saving technologies can solve energy deficits. 

Russia currently has 10 operational nuclear power plants with 31
reactors, but Kiriyenko said Russia will need another 300
gigawatts from new plants to cover a projected energy deficit in
the next 30 years. 

Kiriyenko highlighted several key areas in the development of
the nuclear industry -- the division of the industry into
military and civilian branches, budget spending on the
construction of nuclear power plants to ensure a two gigawatt
annual increase, the adoption of a nuclear and radiation
security program, the establishment of a single mining company,
international centers for nuclear cycle services, the
development of fast-neutron reactors and serial construction of
new power units. 

In October, Russia and Kazakhstan established their first joint
venture to enrich uranium in Angarsk, near Irkutsk, about 5,000
kilometers (3,100 miles) east of Moscow. 

The city "has always been connected with the nuclear sector's
civilian side. The enterprise in Angarsk can be put under [the
UN's] IAEA control, and it has additional reserve capacities,"
Kiriyenko said then. 

© 2005 RIA Novosti   
*****************************************************************
 33 Platts: NRC commissioners reject staff recommendations
 
London (Platts)--3Nov2006
 
NRC commissioners rejected the staff's recommendation to 
streamline the oversight process for DOE laboratory agreements 
and commercial procurements valued at between $1 million and $3 
million. In a November 2 directive, the commissioners said they 
agreed the staff should make greater use of electronic 
transmittals to streamline its process for preparing 
documentation. 

But they said an accelerated process "should not come to the 
detriment of providing the [NRC] chairman with sufficient time 
and adequate information to carry out his responsibilities in 
reviewing these contracts." 

They also said the process should provide the commissioners with 
enough time to provide their advice on the contracts, and said 
the review process should be "relatively routine."

They want the staff to take another look at ways to improve the 
quality of the contract review packages sent to the commission.

Copyright © 2006 - Platts, All Rights Reserved
 [The McGraw-Hill Companies]       
*****************************************************************
 34 NZ: Stuff: Stigma hinders nuclear power - 

Stuff.co.nz
 
Saturday, 04 November 2006      
    
By PAUL GORMAN
 
The stigma of nuclear power remains the largest stumbling block 
to introducing it in New Zealand, the country's largest power 
company says. 

State-owned generator and retailer Meridian Energy believes
there are several reasons why there would be little sense in New
Zealand taking the nuclear path, despite the nation's growing
thirst for electricity and accelerating concerns about
greenhouse gas-induced climate change. 

However, chief executive Dr Keith Turner says it may only be 10
years until technology overcomes the economic disadvantages of
having nuclear power in New Zealand, although the social stigma
will probably remain. 

Using nuclear energy to generate power is currently prohibited
in nuclear-free New Zealand. Recent attempts to debate whether
some form of nuclear power may be appropriate have caused an
uproar, but the issue remains in the public consciousness as New
Zealanders continue their opposition to new hydro-electricity
projects and to burning coal to generate power. 

While the Government has made it clear the nuclear-free policy
is not up for review, across the Tasman uranium-rich Australia
has begun debating the pros and cons of nuclear power. 

In Meridian's Choices report, Turner said 442 nuclear plants in
30 countries generated 16 per cent of the world's power.
Projections were that at least another 60 plants would be built
in the next 15 years. 

Twenty-four of the last 34 nuclear power stations commissioned
were in Asia. 

"The main impediment to nuclear power in New Zealand is its
social acceptance. However, there are also significant economic
and technical issues that make nuclear power an unlikely option
for this country." 

These included: 

The cost – nuclear power stations were generally regarded as
twice as expensive as gas-fired stations. 

The scale – nuclear power plants were run at full capacity and
could not be altered to meet demand, which would have a
significant impact on the way other New Zealand power stations
were used. 

Fuel supply and waste – New Zealand would be at the mercy of
overseas suppliers for fuel and could not store waste for any
period of time because of the threat of earthquakes. 

Industry and infrastructure – significant infrastructure was
needed for the construction and operation of nuclear plant,
along with an associated industry providing training for
specialist engineers, management systems and expertise in
critical fields such as fuel transport and waste handling. 

*****************************************************************
 35 Business Gazette: Spinoff could revive energy merger

Shedding BGE would allow Constellation deal to proceed without
regulators approval
 				
Friday, Nov. 3, 2006
 				 				 					
by Kevin J. Shay Staff Writer                            

Constellation Energy Group might try to revive its aborted
merger with Florida energy giant FPL Group  or pursue one with
another company  by spinning off its regulated utility,
Baltimore Gas & Electric Co.

 That way, Constellation would be free to merge its wholesale
business without state regulators approval.

 Its a key question, says the companys CEO, chairman and
president, Mayo A. Shattuck III.

 Weve always been forthright about the way in which we look at
all of our assets in terms of our strategic options, and I
suspect we have some [options] with BGE, Shattuck said during a
conference call last week. There are a lot of things we have to
sort out with respect to [Senate Bill 1].

 That bill, which was passed by the General Assembly in June,
will help put in context how BGE fits into Constellation, he
said.

 In calling off their potential $12.4 billion merger with FPL of
Juno Beach, Fla., last week, Constellation officials said state
regulators were not clear enough on what would be needed to
complete the union.

 If Constellation does spin off BGE to get around regulators, it
will be doing ratepayers a great disservice, said Johanna
Neumann, a policy advocate for the Maryland Public Interest
Research Group in Baltimore.

 One reason they said they wanted to do the merger was to create
more value for ratepayers. But if they cut and run, it would be
clear they were doing this merger because there is a lot of
money to be made for top executives, Neumann said.

 Shattuck and other Constellation executives had stood to make
about $73 million in bonuses, stock options and other benefits
if the merger was completed, according to filings with the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this year.

 Looking forward, the states regulatory environment for
utilities would soon smooth out, Shattuck said in the conference
call.

 We will restore ourselves to a normal regulatory regime once
the politics subside, he said. But there are some aspects to the
legislation that give BGE more flexibility, particularly with
respect to procurement, and I think we want to put all these
things into perspective before we make any types of decisions.

 Shattuck added that BGE is a very solid franchise that has been
very important to Constellation. Im sure we will be very
thoughtful about how important it is as an integrated part of
this company as we look at all of our strategic options going
forward, he said.

 Constellation, which through BGE has a service territory that
extends beyond the Baltimore area to parts of Montgomery, Prince
Georges, Carroll and Calvert counties, gets the bulk of its
revenue from its energy trading business, selling energy
nationwide to users. Through the first nine months of 2006,
Constellations non-regulated revenues accounted for about 84
percent of the total, or $12.4 billion out of $14.7 billion in
total sales, according to its third-quarter report.

 By contrast, the non-regulated revenues of Allegheny Energy of
Greensburg, Pa., which serves Frederick County, parts of
Montgomery and Carroll counties and western Maryland, account
for about 48 percent of its business. But that doesnt mean that
all of that energy is unregulated, said David Neurohr, an
Allegheny spokesman.

 Those entities sell the electricity they generate into
regulated markets, he said. So to call about half of our
revenues unregulated is not a fair assessment.

 Constellation reported a 75 percent increase in third-quarter
net income to $324.4 million over a year ago.

 Constellation also reported spending $12.4 million in
merger-related costs during the first nine months of 2006. But
the company expects to recover $5 million by the end of the
year, primarily due to tax benefits on merger expenses that were
previously not tax-deductible.

 Other energy companies saw substantial increases in
third-quarter earnings. That included 209 percent to $110.2
million for Allegheny; and 55 percent to $524 million for FPL
Group.

 Going nuclear

 Constellation received a boost in its nuclear capacities  which
company officials hope to grow further  this week when the U.S.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission renewed operating licenses for two
units that a subsidiary mostly owns at the Nine Mile Point plant
in New York. The 20-year renewals will allow one reactor to run
until 2029 and the other until 2046.

 The NRC had been reviewing the renewal request for more than
two years. Constellation Generation Group owns all of one unit
and 82 percent of the other.

 Constellation hopes to be among the first companies to be
licensed to build a new nuclear plant in about three decades.
The company has a heavier emphasis on nuclear energy than most
in the industry, with about 50 percent of its electricity
generated through nuclear power. The national average is 20
percent, according to the Nuclear Energy Institute of
Washington, D.C.

 Last year, Constellation and Areva, a Bethesda nuclear energy
services subsidiary of French energy giant Areva Group, formed a
joint venture, UniStar Nuclear of Annapolis, to build new
facilities. Among the sites UniStar is considering for new
plants are Calvert Cliffs in southern Maryland, where
Constellation already owns two reactors, and Nine Mile Point.

 In August, Calvert County commissioners approved property tax
breaks worth about $300 million over 15 years to Constellation
if the company builds a new unit at the Lusby plant. The
expansion is expected to add about 400 new, permanent jobs and
more than 3,000 construction jobs during the five-year
construction phase, said Danita Boonchaisri, a spokeswoman for
the Calvert County Department of Economic Development.

 Constellation is the largest taxpayer in the county, she said.
Calvert Cliffs now contributes about $15.5 million in taxes
annually to the county, and this expansion would result in much
more new tax revenue.

 One unresolved issue in the industry is what to do with the
reactors highly radioactive waste. Plants such as Calvert Cliffs
now store the waste onsite in pools or in concrete and steel
casks.

 The U.S. Department of Energy has approved a plan to store the
nations spent fuel at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, but officials
estimate the earliest that site will receive waste is 2017. U.S.
Sen. Peter Domenici (R-N.M.) has filed legislation to open
interim storage sites much sooner than 2017 in the 34 states
with either operating or shutdown reactors, which includes
Maryland.

 That proposal alarms some. The opening of such dumps would not
improve public safety or security of the waste, said Kevin
Kamps, a radioactive waste specialist with the Nuclear
Information and Resource Service, a Takoma Park organization.

 That would initiate unprecedented numbers of waste shipments on
the roads, rails and waterways that would be vulnerable to
accidents or attacks, he said.

 One area that should be looked at in dealing with nuclear waste
is recycling, according to a recent study by the Boston
Consulting Group completed for Areva. Facilities owned by Areva
Group in France have recycled nuclear waste for decades.

 Officials with Constellation and Calvert County said the
Maryland nuclear facility has a strong safety record. The NRC
gave Calvert Cliffs high marks during its annual inspection
earlier this year. Inspectors cited a concern in early 2004 when
a relay in a steam valve failed in the second reactor, but
officials addressed that problem to the NRCs satisfaction by
last year.

 Its been a good neighbor to our residents, Boonchaisri said. Im
not aware of any problems that people around here have had.

 		-->	 			 			 
Copyright © 2006 The Gazette - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Privacy
 			 	
*****************************************************************
 36 BAN: CLOSURE OF NPP REACTORS IN BULGARIA THREATENS ENERGY STABILITY ON THE BALKANS - 

Bulgaria Abroad news
 
9:01 Fri 03 Nov 2006 

Bulgaria would decrease regional electricity exports in the 
beginning of 2007, after the country shuts down two Kozlodui 
nuclear power plant blocs, Economy and Energy Minister Roumen 
Ovcharov said.
 
Decreased exports threatened the energy stability of the entire 
Balkans region, Associated Press reported.
 
To meet domestic electricity needs, Bulgaria would be forced to 
decrease exports. “In certain periods there will be nothing left 
for export," National Electric Company (NEC) head Lyubomir Velkov 
said. 

Until present Bulgaria has provided its neighbouring countries 
with more than seven million megawatt-hours of electric energy 
each year, AP reported.
 
Bulgaria has to shut down Kozlodui reactors in order to meet EU 
accession requirements it previously accepted.
 
"European Commission experts repeatedly have said that the
decommissioning of units 3 and 4 of our nuclear plant would not
lead to any shortages and that alternatives exist," Ovcharov
said in a warning letter to the European commissioner for energy
Andris Piebalgs.
 
Though shutting down the reactors was going to affect the
Balkans' energy balance, Bulgaria was not going to step back
from its EU commitment, said Ovcharov. 

Bulgaria's problem was furthered by problems with the provision
of coal from Ukraine, needed for the proper functioning of
thermal power plants, AP reported.
  				 				 				 				 				 	 	 	 [Printer friendly version]     
www.sofiaecho.com   

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 37 NRC: Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Unit Nos. 1 and 2 
 
                        FR Doc E6-18594 
[Federal Register: November 3, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 213)] 
[Notices] [Page 64747-64748] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr03no06-116]                         
 
Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact The 
U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) is considering issuance 
of an exemption from Title 10 of the Code of Federal Regulations 
(10 CFR) Part 50.46 and Appendix K to Part 50 for Renewed 
Facility Operating License Nos. DPR-53 and DPR-69, issued to 
Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Inc. (the licensee), for 
operation of the Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant, Unit Nos. 1 
and 2 (Calvert Cliffs 1 and 2), located in Calvert County, 
Maryland. Therefore, as required by 10 CFR 51.21, the NRC is 
issuing this environmental assessment and finding of no 
significant impact.
 
Environmental Assessment Identification of the Proposed Action 
The proposed exemption would allow the licensee to use up to four 
lead fuel assemblies (LFAs) containing a limited number of fuel 
rods with cladding other than Zircaloy or ZIRLO in the core of 
either Calvert Cliffs 1 or 2. Two of the
 
[[Page 64748]] LFAs were manufactured by Westinghouse Electric 
Company and contain a limited number of fuel rods clad with 
advanced zirconium-based alloys. The other two LFAs were 
manufactured by Framatome ANP, Inc. with fuel rod cladding 
material as M5 alloy. These LFAs were originally inserted into 
the Calvert Cliffs 2 core in April of 2003 (operating cycles 15 
and 16).
 
The proposed action is in accordance with the licensee's 
application dated January 19, 2006.
 
The Need for the Proposed Action 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR part 50, 
Appendix K make no provisions for use of fuel rods clad in a 
material other than Zircaloy or ZIRLO. Since the material 
specifications of the advanced zirconium-based and M5 alloys 
differ from the specification for Zircaloy or ZIRLO, a plant- 
specific exemption is required to support the use of the four 
LFAs for either Calvert Cliffs 1 or 2. If the exemption were not 
approved, the licensee would not gain practical experience of 
these designs relative to grid-to-rod fretting.
 
Environmental Impacts of the Proposed Action The NRC has 
completed its safety evaluation of the proposed action and 
concludes that the exemption described above would continue to 
satisfy the underlying purpose of 10 CFR 50.46 and 10 CFR Part 
50, Appendix K and will not present an undue risk to the public 
health and safety. The safety evaluations performed by 
Westinghouse and Framatome ANP demonstrate that the predicted 
chemical, mechanical, and material performance of the advanced 
zirconium and M5 cladding are acceptable under all anticipated 
operational occurrences and postulated accidents. Furthermore, 
the LFAs will be placed in non-limiting core locations (low duty 
locations on the core periphery). In the event that the cladding 
failures occur in the LFAs, the environmental impact would be 
minimal and is bound by the previous environmental assessments.
 
The details of the staff's safety evaluation will be provided in 
the exemption that will be issued as part of the letter to the 
licensee approving the exemption to the regulation.
 
The proposed action will not significantly increase the 
probability or consequences of accidents. No changes are being 
made in the types of effluents that may be released off site, and 
there is no significant increase in occupational or public 
radiation exposure.
 
Therefore, there are no significant radiological environmental 
impacts associated with the proposed action.
 
With regard to potential nonradiological impacts, the proposed 
action does not have a potential to affect any historic sites.
 
It does not affect nonradiological plant effluents and has no 
other environmental impact. Therefore, there are no significant 
nonradiological environmental impacts associated with the 
proposed action.
 
Accordingly, the NRC concludes that there are no significant 
environmental impacts associated with the proposed action.
 
Environmental Impacts of the Alternatives to the Proposed Action 
As an alternative to the proposed action, the staff considered 
denial of the proposed action (i.e., the ``no-action'' 
alternative). Denial of the application would result in no change 
in current environmental impacts. The environmental impacts of 
the proposed action and the alternative action are similar.
 
Alternative Use of Resources The action does not involve the use 
of any different resources than those previously considered in 
the Final Environmental Statement for Calvert Cliffs 1 and 2, 
dated April 1973, and the Generic Environmental Impact Statement 
for License Renewal of Nuclear Plants, Calvert Cliffs Nuclear 
Power Plant (NUREG-1437, Supplement 1), dated October 1999.
 
Agencies and Persons Consulted In accordance with its stated 
policy, on October 27, 2006, the staff consulted with the 
Maryland State official, Mr. R. McLean of the Maryland Department 
of Natural Resources, regarding the environmental impact of the 
proposed action. The State official had no comments.
 
Finding of No Significant Impact On the basis of the 
environmental assessment, the NRC concludes that the proposed 
action will not have a significant effect on the quality of the 
human environment. Accordingly, the NRC has determined not to 
prepare an environmental impact statement for the proposed 
action.
 
For further details with respect to the proposed action, see the 
licensee's letter dated January 19, 2006. Documents may be 
examined, and/or copied for a fee, at the NRC's Public Document 
Room (PDR), located at One White Flint North, 11555 Rockville 
Pike (first floor), Rockville, Maryland. Publicly available 
records will be accessible electronically from the Agencywide 
Documents Access and Management System (ADAMS) Public Electronic 
Reading Room on the Internet at the NRC Web site, 
http://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/adams.html. Persons who do not have 
access to ADAMS or who encounter problems in accessing the 
documents located in ADAMS should contact the NRC PDR Reference 
staff by telephone at 1-800-397-4209 or 301-415-4737, or send an 
e-mail to pdr@nrc.gov. Dated at Rockville, Maryland, this 30th 
day of October 2006.
 
For the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
 
Patrick D. Milano, Senior Project Manager, Plant Licensing Branch 
I-1, Division of Operating Reactor Licensing, Office of Nuclear 
Reactor Regulation.
 
[FR Doc. E6-18594 Filed 11-2-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7590-01-P

 
*****************************************************************
 38 NEWS.com.au: Nuclear power viable 'in 15 years' 

By staff writers and wires
 				
November 04, 2006 01:37pm
 			 			 				Article from: <img
A PUBLIC debate on nuclear energy will follow the publication of
a taskforce report on the viability of the industry, Resources
Minister Ian Macfarlane has said.
 						 	
Prime Minister John Howard's hand-picked nuclear energy
taskforce will find that a nuclear industry could be
commercially viable within 15 years, giving the green light to
the Prime Minister to radically shake up Australia's energy
market.
 
Former Telstra boss Ziggy Switkowski's review will also find the
cost of nuclear power should come down dramatically as more
global powers invest in the technology and the cost of fossil
fuels go up. 

Last night, Mr Macfarlane said a 15-year timeframe was "very
realistic", offering an optimistic assessment from the Howard
Government on the way forward for nuclear power. 

Mr Macfarlane also said a high-level report, to be released next
week by the International Energy Agency, will give added weight
to those backing nuclear power. 

Today, Mr Macfarlane has said a full public debate will follow
the release of the report, expected in the next fortnight.
 
"What we are seeing in the community is a willingness now to
consider nuclear energy," Mr Macfarlane has said.
 
"We are seeing reports like the Switkowski report which will
indicate that nuclear energy will be competitive with low
emission coal within 15 years.
 
"We want to see debate that is based in understanding and
knowledge not a debate based on scare tactics," he has said. 

He has said a nuclear power option will not be pursued in the
face of widespread public opposition. 

The release of Dr Switkowski's draft in two weeks will bolster
Mr Howard's push to make nuclear power a central element of his
election campaign. 

The Government this week sharpened its policy differences with
Labor on energy following the release in London on Tuesday of a
report by former World Bank chief economist Nicholas Stern
calling for more urgent co-ordinated action to tackle climate
change. 

The Opposition wants to ratify the existing Kyoto agreement,
sign up to a global emissions trading system and give a stronger
focus on renewable energy. 

The Europe-based IEA, in its world energy outlook, will urge
governments to speed up construction of new nuclear power
plants, as part of the response to the climate change issue. 

"No doubt it will give impetus (to the nuclear debate)," Mr
Macfarlane said. 

Mr Howard yesterday ruled out any approach to fighting climate
change that strips Australia of its competitive advantage as a
heavy user of carbon-based fossil fuels with rich deposits of
coal and gas. 

But nuclear power may be a partial solution, with the Switkowski
review expected to find that the relative cost of nuclear power
will come down amid a renewed focus worldwide on the technology
driven by soaring energy needs and the fight against atmospheric
pollution caused by fossil fuels. 

While it will find nuclear power is not competitive on a cost
basis with coal-based power generation today, it anticipates the
costs of using carbon fuels will rise over the next decade as
some sort of carbon price signal is implemented to slow global
warming. 

It will say the Government could make a decision to move ahead
with nuclear power now, even given the cost differentials, and
"by the time the first reactor was (reliably) delivering
electricity the cost differential would have almost
disappeared", according to a source. 

Earlier this week, Mr Howard gave a strong signal he expected
nuclear to play a role in Australia's energy future, when
nuclear power on the one hand became competitive with clean coal
on the other. 

"The point at which those two cross each other is, at this
stage, impossible to precisely determine," he said. "When we
have Ziggy Switkowski's report, we may have a better idea of
where the two relate to each other." 

The report is expected to give hope to nuclear proponents, who
are already taking steps to bridge the skills gap Australia has
in key nuclear fields with new university courses. 

Mr Howard yesterday vowed to do all he could to fight climate
change, short of anything that cost Australia its comparative
economic advantages. 

"In order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions you have to adjust
the use of all of those things where we have a comparative
advantage, that is fossil fuels, because they're the basis of a
lot of our wealth," he said. 

"We've got to be very careful that the adjustment process
doesn't unfairly disadvantage Australia.  The cost to this
country of losing our comparative advantage in things like gas
and coal would be enormous, it would be jobs and investment
lost." 

Opposition resources spokesman Martin Ferguson said "nuclear
power is an important part of the energy security and climate
change debate for Europe, Asia and North America". 

"That is why Australia's uranium is now so sought after ...
Australia is energy rich. We are the envy of the world," he
said. 

"The only energy security issue Australia has is in transport
fuels and that's why this Government has got to get serious
about converting our vast reserves of gas and coal into clean
diesel." 

- The Australian and AAP
 	 
Copyright 2006 News Limited. All times AEDT (GMT + 11).
*****************************************************************
 39 Morris Daily Herald: Memory triggers search for more tritium

  11/3/2006 3:04:00 PM     Email this article • Print this

Exelon will dig more test wells near Braidwood

Herald Reporter
 
BRACEVILLE - An employee's hazy recollection is triggering a new
tritium hunt at Braidwood Generating Station, a company
spokesman noted today.

Communications Director Neal Miller said the check will be
conducted near Vacuum Breaker No. 9, located about three miles
east of the station, between the station and the Kankakee River.

"We don't expect to find any tritium in the area," he said.
"But, it's the right thing to do, and we're going to go ahead
and investigate a little further."

The information comes almost a year from the date of Braidwood
owner Exelon Nuclear's announcement of finding
higher-than-normal concentrations of tritium close to an
underground pipe inside the station's northern boundary.

That announcement, on Dec. 3, 2005, set off a flurry of activity
in the area and state, and resulted in passage of stiffer
federal legislation regarding notification of nearby
communities, and state, local and federal officials.

More than six million gallons of tritiated water seeped into the
groundwater beginning in 1996 from vacuum breakers in the
blowdown (discharge) pipe from the station to the Kankakee River.

Tritium is a naturally occurring isotope of hydrogen that emits
a very low level of radiation, and is found in more-concentrated
levels in water used in nuclear generating stations.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission has gone on record stating
public health and safety has not been jeopardized by the
releases.

Miller said today the employee's recollection stemmed from
interviews station personnel recently conducted with workers.
One employee said he somewhat recalled water on the ground near
the No. 9 breaker.

"He kind of remembered there was some water near one of these
vacuum breakers - No. 9 - around the 1990 time frame," said
Miller.

"We went back and looked in our records. While we had absolutely
no specific information or documentation as to whether this leak
actually occurred or not, we figured it is the right thing to do
to investigate."

Miller said the eight test wells already dug around this vacuum
breaker as a part of Exelon's normal program showed no evidence
of tritium above the lower level of detection.

Exelon, however, contacted the owner of the land near Vacuum
Breaker No. 9, and has been given permission to dig a couple
extra test wells once the crops in that area are out of the
fields.

Miller expected the wells to be dug in the next several weeks.
He also said the public will be informed if any discoveries are
made.

He said the mayors of Braidwood, Godley, Wilmington, and
Braceville were notified of the possible incident, along with
Will County officials, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, and
the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

"Everybody who would be interested, we tried to notify," he
said. "Our public affairs department contacted some of the Will
county executives, I contacted the Godley Park District, and all
sorts of things."

Miller said the station will be doing some extra testing as a
result of the incident.

"We don't expect to find anything, but we said all along we're
going to monitor - that's our commitment to the public," he
noted. "We don't expect to find any tritium in the groundwater
in this location. But because somebody seems to remember
something, we're going to go out and look at it."

Miller said in the unlikely event Exelon finds tritium levels
above the lower limit of detection, the utility will promptly
inform the appropriate agencies and the public, and determine
the next course of action.

"We figure we're pretty much complete with discovery of evidence
part of the investigation," he said. "But if additional things
come up, we're going to look at them.

"We feel we've been very thorough, but this (remembrance) has
not been documented. There's not specific information this
actually occurred, but just somebody's memory."

Miller did not know why the employee had the thought nearly a
year after the first tritium incidents came to light.

"I wouldn't want to speculate on why it came to mind," Miller
said. "If he seems to remember it, even if he didn't have
details, bringing it forward to us is actually what we want them
to do."

 			   			   		 		 		
   Morris Daily Herald • 1804 N. Division St. • Morris, Illinois
60450 
(815) 942-3221 • (800) 215-9778
*****************************************************************
 40 Arms Control Association: The Growing Nuclear Fuel-Cycle Debate

Arms Control Today: 

NEWS ANALYSIS: 

reporting from Vienna 

A series of nuclear-related crises and a growing interest by
several countries in nuclear energy production has revived
interest in ways to prevent the spread of nuclear technologies
that can be easily misused for the production of nuclear weapons
materials. 

Since the dawn of the nuclear age, governments have cast about
for ways to manage the dual-use nature of nuclear technology. In
the 1970s and 1980s, several proposals were discussed for
creating an international framework to govern uranium enrichment
and plutonium reprocessing, but none were implemented. 

However, these concerns have taken on a new life as fears have
grown that Iran may misuse its nuclear fuel-cycle facilities to
produce nuclear weapons materials and after Pakistani nuclear
scientist Abdul Qadeer Khans clandestine nuclear black market
network was unmasked. 

Against this background, countries such as Japan, Russia, the
United Kingdom, and the United States, as well as the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and nongovernmental
organizations such as the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and
the World Nuclear Association (WNA) are offering novel
suggestions on how to rein in this dual-use technology. Although
they have yet to agree on a plan, a late September IAEA General
Conference and Special Event on the subject indicated growing
convergence about the way forward. Most proposals take a cue
from IAEA Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei and offer various
means to establish multilateral control over the nuclear fuel
cycle. 

The Consensus 

First, the proposals generally agree that any fuel-supply
mechanism should not disturb the international market for
nuclear fuel services. Currently, four large commercial entities
provide low-enriched uranium (LEU) for nuclear power: Urenco,
managed jointly by Germany, the Netherlands, and the United
Kingdom; Eurodif, a multinational company headquartered in
France; the United States Enrichment Corporation; and Tenex,
based in Russia. Together, these providers currently produce
enough LEU to satisfy global demand. 

LEU can be manufactured into fuel for light-water reactors, by
far the most common type of reactor in use globally. 

Many of the proposals seek to ensure the market neutrality of a
future supply mechanism by designing it as a reserve that would
be tapped only if supply is interrupted. 

Second, advocates concur that the establishment of multilateral
fuel-cycle arrangements should be implemented step by step. The
front end of the nuclear fuel cycle, that is, the supply of
nuclear fuel and in particular LEU for power production, is seen
as the most urgent issue to be addressed. How to deal with the
back endnuclear waste and reprocessing of spent fuelshould be
addressed at a later stage. 

Third, there seems to be broad agreement that having a diverse
set of complementary fuel reserves may be better than relying on
a single source of supply. 

Fourth, setting up stockpiles of LEU is seen as more practical
than establishing stockpiles of fabricated nuclear fuel. Fuel
assemblies are manufactured to the specifications of every
reactor type and sometimes specifically for each reactor, making
a fuel bank containing nuclear fuel for all possible recipients
impractical. 

Beyond these shared characteristics, a variety of unique
proposals have been advanced. 

Global Visions: U.S. and Russian Proposals 

The United States and Russia have offered the most far-reaching
visions for a global supply mechanism. Both have offered to
provide a range of nuclear energy services ranging from fuel
supply to fuel take-back and reprocessing. 

Under the Global Nuclear Energy Partnership (GNEP), launched in
January by the United States, countries that renounce fuel-cycle
activities would become eligible to receive U.S. nuclear fuel.
Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dennis R. Spurgeon
explained Sept. 19 at the IAEA special event that the purpose of
GNEP is to facilitate the safe, secure, and economic expansion
of nuclear energy. It intends to accomplish this by developing
and providing novel, proliferation-resistant nuclear
technologies as well as fresh fuel and spent-fuel management,
with a particular focus on developing countries. 

Spurgeon also provided additional details about a separate U.S.
offer to down-blend 17.4 tons of highly enriched uranium (HEU)
removed from the U.S. defense program and set the resulting LEU
aside in a domestically held reserve, a proposal first announced
a year ago. Such a stock, equivalent to six to eight core
refuelings of an average light-water reactor, could complement
reserves established under control of the IAEA, Spurgeon said.
Gregory Schulte, the U.S. ambassador to the IAEA, said in a
Sept. 20 interview with Arms Control Today that the United
States is not willing to consider making this material part of
an international stockpile because U.S. law requires national
control over such material. Schulte conceded that, for some
countries, that will provide reassurance, but for others,
perhaps it wont. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Jan. 25 announced the Global
Nuclear Power Infrastructure (GNPI) to provide nuclear power
services through a network of international nuclear fuel-cycle
centers (INFCC). In an article in the September 2006 issue of
the IAEA Bulletin, S. V. Ruchkin and Vladimir Loginov of Tenex
said that GNPI-INFCC is aimed primarily at countries who are
developing nuclear power but not planning to establish
indigenous uranium-enrichment and [spent nuclear fuel]
reprocessing capabilities. Access would be restricted to
countries meeting established non-proliferation requirements. 

Russia, which apparently has huge surplus uranium-enrichment
capacities, boasts that its proposal can be implemented quickly.
In a presentation at the IAEA event, Ruchkin emphasized that key
preconditions for setting up an international enrichment
facility are supposed to be provided by the end of the year. An
international uranium-enrichment center will be established at
the Angarsk Electrolysis Chemical Complex, in the city of
Angarsk in east Siberia, and could start operating in 2007, he
said. 

As with GNEP, Russian officials also hope that the centers
eventually house reactors with a new proliferation-resistant
means of burning some of the elements in spent fuel for
additional energy, according to other Russian experts. 

Although no decision has been made on the exact legal basis for
such a center, membership in the consortium would clearly
guarantee access to its services and products but not the
technology itself. The center itself would be run by Russia. 

The Six-Parties Proposal 

In June, the six states that operate the largest, commercial
enrichment facilities presented a joint Concept for a
Multilateral Mechanism for Reliable Access to Nuclear Fuel
(RANF). France, Germany, the Netherlands, Russia, the United
Kingdom, and the United States proposed to establish a last
resort safety net to address potential supply problems. The
initiative is vague on specifics but offers a multi-tiered set
of measures to establish both basic assurances as well as a
reserve of enriched uranium that could serve as a backup
mechanism in case supplies were interrupted for nontechnical and
noncommercial reasons. The IAEA would play the role of an
arbiter and also be responsible for making technical judgments
about the eligibility of access to the mechanism. The proposal
has become a kind of umbrella under which more specific
fuel-bank ideas have been advanced. 

Limited Proposals 

In May 2006, the WNA, a private-sector alliance of major nuclear
power enterprises, issued an expert group report that
recommended a layered approach to enrichment fuel services. At
first, interruptions of supply would be addressed through normal
market procedures. If these mechanisms fail and if the IAEA
finds that an enrichment contract has been breached for
bilateral political reasons unrelated to nonproliferation, it
would intervene and invoke collective guarantees by enrichers
and thus assure the supply of nuclear fuel from other sources.
Should it still be impossible to solve the supply problem,
nationally held stocks of enriched uranium product, such as that
proposed by the United States, could be used to fill any
possible gap. In order to be market neutral, such material could
be produced by down-blending HEU stocks from former military
stocks. 

The most novel offer under discussion in Vienna was the
announcement by the privately funded NTI to donate $50 million,
provided by NTI adviser and U.S. billionaire Warren Buffet, to
create an LEU stockpile owned and managed by the IAEA. NTI would
donate the money under two conditions: that within two years,
one or several IAEA member states contribute an additional $100
million, and that the agency take the necessary actions to
approve establishment of this reserve, former Senator and NTI
Co-Chairman Sam Nunn said Sept. 19. Every other element of the
arrangement, Nunn emphasized, would be up to the IAEA and its
member states to decide. 

Still, Laura Holgate, vice president for the Russia/New
Independent States Programs at NTI, offered some ideas in order
to advance the discussion of an IAEA fuel reserve. According to
Holgate, NTI believes that such a reserve should be in the form
of uranium hexaflouride enriched to a level of 4.9 percent,
which is a typical enrichment level for reactor fuel. The
initial $150 million would be sufficient to purchase 50-60
metric tons of such materials, the equivalent of one loading of
a standard power reactor. 

In order to be seen as a true backup to an extant commercial
fuel service contract, the stockpile would have to be physically
placed outside the current six supplier states, Holgate argued. 

NTI President Charles Curtis, who chaired the IAEA special
event, emphasized in a Sept. 28 interview with Arms Control
Today that NTI wanted to shift the discussion from setting
conditions to providing assurances for states to dissuade
countries from investing in domestic fuel-cycle capabilities.
Youre not going to have states trading away their rights to
technology, Curtis stated. 

On Sept. 12, Japan proposed an IAEA Standby Arrangements System
for the Assurance of Nuclear Fuel Supply. The proposal is
supposed to complement the six-party proposal in two ways.
First, Japans proposal suggests addressing all front-end nuclear
fuel-cycle activities, from uranium mining to fuel fabrication.
Secondly, Japan suggests establishing an early warning mechanism
operated by the IAEA. The agency would collect and analyze
declarations of all participating supplier states and, based on
those reports, alert member states of imminent market failures. 

In a different take on the idea of fuel-supply assurances, the
United Kingdom suggested issuing enrichment bonds as a means of
guaranteeing enrichment services. These bonds would be legal
arrangements between the supplier state and company, the
recipient state and the IAEA that would guarantee that, subject
to compliance with international law and to meeting the
nonproliferation commitments to be assessed by the IAEA,
national enrichment providers will not be prevented from
supplying the recipient state with enrichment services in the
event the guarantee is invoked. 

The thrust of the proposal is to increase the confidence that
export approvals will be given by placing the final judgment on
the export of LEU in the hands of the IAEA and that other issues
or political considerations will not stand in the way of nuclear
trade. According to notes on its policy that British officials
distributed for the special IAEA meeting, such an approach would
significantly limit the criteria upon which export approvals are
normally based (to include only nonproliferation considerations)
but argues that governments must ultimately be prepared to
relinquish some rights in exchange for a broader
nonproliferation gain. 

Germany also joined the debate with a late and ambitious
proposal. In a Sept. 18 interview with the German daily
Handelsblatt, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, noting
that the IAEA statute provided for the agency to build and
operate its own nuclear facilities, proposed to place
multilateral uranium enrichment under the auspices of the IAEA
and its export controls. Steinmeier suggested that a third
country could provide an exterritorial area for a
uranium-enrichment plant. The facility would be financed by
recipient countries that would then have the right to acquire
nuclear fuel. 

In a Sept. 19 press conference in Vienna, German Secretary of
State of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology
Joachim Würmeling placed the German proposal in the context of a
midterm solution to the concerns about Irans and North Koreas
nuclear programs. Würmeling explained that companies from
established nuclear enrichment countries would construct the new
facility, which would operate as a black box. Fuel recipients
that currently do not enrich domestically would have no direct
access to the facility. The German proposal is not market
neutral because it would de facto establish a new competitor on
the world market for nuclear fuel services. 

Würmeling announced that Berlin would forward its initiative
during the first half of 2007, when Germany holds both the EU
Presidency and the Group of Eight chair. In a statement to the
German Parliament on Oct. 19, Steinmeier described international
reactions to his proposal as encouraging. 

Mixed Reactions 

Many speakers, including ElBaradei, emphasized that assurance of
supply mechanisms are not an attempt to divide the nuclear
community into suppliers and recipients. However, it was notable
that all proposals to establish fuel reserves or other supply
mechanisms emerged from current or potential nuclear fuel
suppliers. 

Many potential recipients, mostly from developing countries,
remained either indifferent or voiced fears that a new cartel
might be created. Many of them based their positions on the
inalienable right of nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty
states-parties to the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Iranian
Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh in his statement to the
general conference echoed these sentiments by warning that the
developed countries are seeing to create a monopoly on uranium
enrichment. 

Malaysia was less critical. In a Sept. 20 statement to the IAEA
general conference, Daud Mohamad, director-general of the
Malaysian Institute for Nuclear Technology Research, cautioned
that a multilateral approach to the nuclear fuel cycle should
not be discriminatory. Nonetheless, he said that that it should
provide a more economically attractive option for developing
countries embarking on a nuclear power generation program,
particularly those countries with a relatively small nuclear
program involving only a handful of nuclear power plants.
Malaysia currently does not operate nuclear power reactors but
is studying the possibility of doing so. 

All proponents of a fuel-bank mechanism emphasize that
participation in a multilateral mechanism should be voluntary
although eligibility of access might depend on various
conditions, such as first renouncing enrichment and reprocessing
ambitions. 

It is not clear how such voluntary mechanisms would jibe with
technology denial approaches, such as the one favored by the
United States. The most recent round of the fuel-cycle debate
was kicked off in February 2004, when President George W. Bush
proposed an international agreement among nuclear supplier
states to deny exports of enrichment and reprocessing
technologies to countries that do not currently operate such
facilities. Schulte confirmed this policy remains in place as
far as the United States is concerned. We still think that it is
very important to prevent the further spread of enrichment
technologies, he said. 

Some argued that attempts to restrict access to critical nuclear
technologies has had unintended side effects. The recent
interest of some states in expanding the scope of their nuclear
activities has been explained by a desire to join the club of
states operating a nuclear fuel cycle before membership is
closed. Schulte acknowledged the debate but denied a causal link
between U.S. export control policies and the recent expression
of interest by Argentina, Australia, South Africa, and South
Korea in establishing fuel-cycle facilities. I dont buy that
argument. Ive spoken to representatives of all those countries,
and these decisions have been in many cases in the works for a
number of years, he stated. 

The debate was further complicated by the unclear division
between suppliers and recipients. For example, Japan currently
enriches uranium only for domestic purposes but intends to
export nuclear fuel in the future. It said it rejects the
dichotomy inherent in the RANF proposal, which differentiates
between suppliers and customer of nuclear services. Tokyos
proposal for a standby arrangement is explicitly intended to
bridge that gap. 

Canada and Australia currently export uranium ore and provide
other fuel services but may not want to foreclose the
possibility of enriching uranium in the future. South Africa
said that some might choose to pursue sensitive fuel cycle
activities in a limited way or only for research activities.
Brazil presented itself in Vienna as a supplier rather than as a
recipient of nuclear fuel services. 

There was also a notion that the discussion about fuel-supply
arrangements is a solution looking for a problem. Historically,
the breakout option has not played a large role in
proliferation. States that developed nuclear weapons illegally
or in a clandestine manner have preferred to set up dedicated
military facilities to produce fissile material for the bomb
instead of misusing civil facilities for that purpose. 

Because the international market provides for reliable access to
nuclear fuel from a variety of sources, it is also not quite
clear what the added economic value of participating in a
fuel-bank proposal is. Existing arrangements already provide
certain assurances of supply because standard supply contracts
for reactor-grade fuel contain clauses that place the
responsibility for uninterrupted services on the supplier.
Historically, supplies have rarely been interrupted. 

In addition, any fuel-bank mechanism would have to overcome
legal obstacles, including the practice of supplier states to
maintain consent rights over any fissile material they deliver. 

The Way Forward 

Any multilateral fuel-supply assurance mechanism would have to
overcome a variety of political, legal, and technical obstacles,
but several speakers felt that discussions on such a model are
already more specific and advanced than ever before. Richard J.
K. Stratford, director of the Office of Nuclear Energy, Safety
and Security at the U.S. Department of State, pointed out that
today there are numerous suppliers who are willing to take
specific steps, and to spend their own money, to implement fuel
supply assurances, and for many of the same reasons as in the
1980s. ElBaradei in his statement to the IAEA special event said
that the urgent need for such a scheme today may help us to
succeed. He warned that [w]e will all share in the benefits if
we succeed, and we will share the risks if we fail. 

In the coming months, the IAEA secretariat will be preparing a
road map for consideration by the IAEA Board of Governors in
2007. ElBaradei in his opening statement and Curtis in his
chairmans report agreed that establishment of a mechanism to
ensure the supply of nuclear fuel should be considered first,
starting with those proposals that are easiest to implement.
Real internationalization of the fuel cycle, including the
possible multilateralization of fuel-cycle facilities, is
envisaged only in the long term, they said. 

IAEA spokesperson Peter Rickwood told Arms Control Today on Oct.
20 that no decisions had been made on when the secretariat would
deliver such a report or what its format might be. 

  		   		 	
The Arms Control Association is a non-profit, membership-based
organization.

© 1997-2006 Arms Control Association, 1150 Connecticut Avenue, 
NW, Suite 620 Washington, DC 20036 Tel: (202) 463-8270 | Fax: 
(202) 463-8273 
*****************************************************************
 41 edie news centre: Banks pull the plug on nuclear plants
 	
(3 November 2006) 			

Financial backers have withdrawn potential support for the 
development of a pair Bulgarian nuclear power stations, citing 
environmental - and economic - shortfalls in the plans.                         

Plans to build two nuclear power stations in Bulgaria seem to 
have come unstuck 

UniCredit Group, which runs a number of highstreet bank chains 
across the continent, and economic powerhouse Deutsche Bank had 
both expressed interest in investing in the development of two 
new stations near the town of Belene. 

The decision of the banks followed lobbying from Friends of the 
Earth, Greenpeace and CEE Bankwatch. 

Each of the banks was backing a different consortium bidding for
the contract to build the stations, both of which have now been
left in financial limbo by the withdrawal of support. 

Environmental pressure groups are now trying to persuade the
Government to pull the plug on the proposed project. 

Sofia-based Petko Kovachev of CEE Bankwatch Network commented:
"The Belene nuclear power project is a major financial and
environmental risk," said Petko Kovachev of CEE Bankwatch. 

"Everybody seems to be aware of this except for the Bulgarian
government." 

Friends of the Earth told reporters that during a joint meeting
with UniCredit subsidiary Bank Austria and Greenpeace, it had
seemed that the bank was aware that customers did not want their
money backing 'risky nuclear investments'. 

"It is clear that these banks are aware of the risks attached to
financing nuclear power," said FoE Europe's Patricia Lorenz. 

"Bank Austria was one of the driving forces to quit UniCredit's
engagement in the Belene projekt as they saw big risks." 

The timing of the banks' withdrawal looks set to play havoc with
the schedule, as the Bulgarian Economy and Energy Minister Rumen
Ovcharov was due to announce who had been awarded the contract
on Tuesday. 

Jan Haverkamp, Greenpeace's nuclear energy expert for Central
Europe, said: "I am curious whether that will happen now as we
can see the financial bottom of the project falling away. 

"It is time that Bulgaria shelves this ill-conceived nuclear
dream and looks to the future. Bulgaria has immense capacity to
cut down its energy wastage, which in a matter of years can free
up more capacity than Belene would ever generate. 

"On top of that it has huge untapped resources in renewable
energy like wind, biomass, hydro and solar." 

Sam Bond 			

 			 						 			 			 			 			 			[Email a friend]  			 Email to
© Faversham House Group Ltd 2006. edie news

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 42 AU ABC: Nuclear industry 'possible in 15 yrs'. 

04/11/2006. ABC News Online

The task force is due to hand the report to Government in two
weeks. (File photo) (ABC)   		  [ border=]    	 

A report by the Federal Government's nuclear energy task force
has found that within 15 years a nuclear power industry in
Australia could be commercially viable.

 The task force is headed by former Telstra boss Ziggy
Switkowski and it is due to hand the draft report to the
Government in a fortnight.

 The report also suggests that when more countries invest in
nuclear technology it will become cheaper. 

Federal Resources Minister Ian Macfarlane says the report shows
that nuclear power is viable and should be carefully considered
in Australia.

 Mr Macfarlane says he agrees with the 15-year time frame
suggested in the report. 

"Fifteen-year time frame is realistic, you could see the
beginning of construction of the first nuclear power station in
Australia within the next decade and coming on-line and
producing electricity on a constant basis within five years
after that," he said.

 "What we are seeing though is more and more evidence both here
in Australia and also internationally through the International
Energy Agency that nuclear power will be a price competitive
option for Australia to consider in the years ahead," he said.

 The review has also found that the cost of nuclear power will
drop dramatically when more countries invest in nuclear
technology and the price of fossil fuels goes up. 

The draft report is due to be handed to the Government in a
fortnight. 

*****************************************************************
 43 UPI: Officials seek cause of reactor shutdown
     
United Press International - NewsTrack - 

11/3/2006 9:13:00 AM -0500

HARRISBURG, Pa., Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Authorities are investigating
the cause of the nuclear reactor shutdown at Three Mile Island
near Harrisburg, Pa., although no radiation leaked in the
incident. 

Plant officials said the reactor automatically shut down after
an instrument monitoring plant conditions transmitted wrong
information to the reactor control room, The Patriot-News in
Harrisburg reported Friday. 

One worker was injured during shutdown when he was apparently
startled by the venting steam and fell, the newspaper said. 

A U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspector said the plant
was safe. Plant officials said they were concentrating their
investigation on the faulty transmission. 

Ralph DeSantis, spokesman for AmerGen Energy, which operates
TMI, told the Patriot-News the incident happened on the
non-nuclear side of the plant and did not endanger employees or
the public. 

Plant officials could not say how long the plant will remain
shut down, the Patriot-News said. Thursday's shutdown was the
first unscheduled shutdown at the facility since July 1997, when
the plant was down for eight days.

© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved
*****************************************************************
 44 SNA: Bulgaria: Bulgarian Citizens to have Thorough View over Belene 
Power Plant Construction
     
Sofia News Agency - www.novinite.com Sofia Morning News

Politics: 3 November 2006, Friday.

Bulgaria's people will have a thorough view on the construction 
of Belene Nuclear Power Plant and the government will not hide 
anything, said Energy Minister Rumen Ovcharov on the Bulgarian 
National Television channel.
 
Bulgaria will export less electrical power from 2007, Ovcharov 
announced. He said he does not want Bulgaria to be responsible 
that people in Kosovo may suffer electricity cut-offs. 

"We helped these people in summer of 2006, but the country can 
help no more and I feel obliged to inform Kosovo for that", said 
Ovcharov for the letter he sent to the EU Commissioner for Energy 
Andris Piebalgs.
 
The European Commission believes the shutting down the Kozloduy 
power plant's third and fourth reactor will not lead to crisis in 
the region.
 
Still, Ovcharov repeated Bulgaria will not bare responsibility
of what might happen. If there is a crisis, it is European
Comission's responsibility to take care of the whole region,
Ovcharov added.

 All Rights Reserved © Novinite Ltd., 2001-2006 - Copyright
&Disclaimer - Privacy Policy
ISO 9001:2000 Certified
 
Bulgaria news Novinite.com (Sofia News Agency -
www.sofianewsagency.com) is unique with being a real time news
provider in English that informs its readers about the latest
online newspaper "Sofia Morning News." Novinite.com (Sofia News
Agency - www.sofianewsagency.com) and Sofia Morning News
*****************************************************************
 45 Guardian Unlimited: US takes down website over atomic bomb fears

[UP] 

Associated Press Saturday November 4, 2006
 		 
America's top intelligence official took down a government
website with captured Saddam Hussein-era Iraqi documents after
questions were raised about whether it provided too much
information about making atomic bombs.

In a statement on Thursday night, a spokesman for national
intelligence director, John Negroponte, said his office had
suspended public access to the website "pending a review to
ensure its content is appropriate for public viewing".

The action came after the New York Times raised questions about
the contents of the government site, called the Operation Iraqi
Freedom Document Portal. According to the newspaper's website
weapons experts say documents posted on the government site
provide dangerous detail about Iraq's covert nuclear research
before the 1991 Gulf war.

"While strict criteria had already been established to govern
posted documents, the material currently on the website, as well
as the procedures used to post new documents, will be carefully
reviewed before the site becomes available again," said Mr
Negroponte's spokesman, Chad Kolton.

Former White House chief-of-staff Andrew Card said yesterday
that officials knew there were risks when they decided to post
the documents.

"John Negroponte warned us that we don't know what's in these
documents, so these are being put out at some risk, and that was
a warning that he put out when they first released the
documents," Mr Card told NBC's Today show.

Pressed by Republican members of Congress, Mr Negroponte's
office last March ordered the unprecedented release of millions
of pages of Iraqi documents, most of them in Arabic, collected
by the US government over more than 10 years.

Until this week the information had been posted gradually on
internet servers run by the military. Announcing the postings,
Mr Negroponte's office said US government had made no judgment
on the authenticity or accuracy of the documents or the quality
of any translations. The International Atomic Energy Agency
declined to comment on the report. 

	
[UP] 

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 46 BBC: US closes 'bomb secrets' website
 
Last Updated: Friday, 3 November 2006
 
[Iraqi unconventional weapons - decommissioned - 1998
file photo]                             

The US website contained details of Iraq's weapons programmes                                                              

The US government has closed one of its websites that contained 
documents found during the invasion of Iraq in 2003. 

Weapons experts had complained that the site contained details on 
making nuclear bombs, the New York Times said. 

The US had set up the site to post documents that it hoped might 
reveal information about Saddam Hussein's weapons programmes. 

A US national intelligence spokesman said there would be a 
careful review before the site went online again. 

The website, Iraqi Freedom Document Portal, was set up in March 
after pressure from Republican legislators that intelligence 
experts were taking too long to comb through thousands of 
documents from Saddam Hussein's Iraq. 

They wanted public help in sifting through the mass of material. 

'Nuclear cookbook' 

In the last few weeks, the website had posted accounts of Iraq's 
secret research into nuclear bomb-making before the 1991 Persian 
Gulf War, the New York Times said. 

The documents reportedly contained detailed information on the 
radioactive cores of atom bombs and how to build nuclear firing 
circuits and trigger explosives. 

One diplomat told the New York Times that the documents were "a 
cookbook". 

Weapons expert Peter Zimmerman told the newspaper that the 
website material was "very sensitive, much of it undoubtedly 
secret restricted data". 

Warning 

US Director of National Intelligence John Negroponte had 
cautioned against posting the documents before the website went 
public, a former official said. 

''John Negroponte warned us that we don't know what's in these 
documents, so these are being put out at some risk, and that was 
a warning that he put out right when they first released the 
documents,'' former White House chief of staff Andrew Card told 
NBC television. 

The website contained a warning that "the US government has made 
no determination regarding the authenticity of the documents... 
or factual accuracy of the information contained therein". 

Mr Negroponte's spokesman, Chad Kolton, said in a statement there 
were "strict criteria" governing what was posted on the website. 

"The material currently on the website, as well as the procedures 
used to post new documents, will be carefully reviewed before the 
site becomes available again," he said.                     
*****************************************************************
 47 lamonitor.com: County, NNSA to host security perimeter talks 

The Online News Source for Los Alamos
 
MONITOR STAFF REPORT

A special public meeting will be held Nov. 13 in which
representatives from Los Alamos National Laboratory and the DOE
will present information on the funding, background and need for
the security perimeter project meant to boost security at the
lab. 
The meeting will begin at 7:15 p.m. Monday, Nov. 13, at the
Community Room of the Los Alamos Golf Course.

The meeting is a stipulation of a settlement agreement between
the county and the DOE/NNSA stemming from a lawsuit in U.S.
District Court earlier this year. 

As part of the meeting, DOE/NNSA representatives will share the
current status of the project. LANL officials will comment on
the design and construction contract recently awarded to Wilson
Engineering/Marcon Construction to construct the Bypass Road,
which will stretch from West Road to Camp May Road. Los Alamos
County engineers will speak to the county's portion of the
project, which consists of constructing a connector bypass road
that runs from the Los Alamos Research Park to the Ski Hill Road
bypass.

The public will have opportunities for comment and ask questions
after each respective presentation. 
The county and the DOE/NNSA reached a settlement agreement on
April 11 regarding the project.

Construction of the bypass road will be executed in two
segments. The DOE/NNSA will fund and construct the first segment
of the road, which will extend from Camp May Road to West Road.
The DOE also has agreed to fund and build an access driveway
from Diamond Drive at the eastern end of the parking lot at the
Research Park. 

The county will construct the second segment from the Research
Park to the DOE constructed junction point at West Road, with a
commitment from Gov. Bill Richardson to back half of the
county's cost as part of a capital outlay bill during the 2007
legislative session.

Los Alamos County filed a lawsuit against the DOE/NNSA on Dec.
27, 2005 alleging violations of the National Environmental
Policy Act in approving the security perimeter project in place
at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

County leaders and the public claimed that restricted public
access to NM 501 would not allow for an adequate emergency route
out of the county.

The county also claimed that road restrictions would be
detrimental to the local economy, as recreation and tourism
areas such as the Pajarito Ski Hill, Bandelier National Monument
and the Valles Calder National Preserve would be inaccessible.   

  © 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved.   
*****************************************************************
 48 Times Record: Army Plans To Move Gore Uranium

Friday, November 3, 2006

By Aaron Sadler Stephens Washington Bureau 
asadler@stephensmedia.com

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army and a defunct Sequoyah County
industry are expected to iron out details as early as next week
on a plan to move more than 1 million pounds of depleted uranium
away from the site near Gore.

About 1,200 sealed drums of processed uranium have sat on
Sequoyah Fuels property since 1993, remnants of a project to
manufacture anti-tank ammunition for the Army. 					A provision
in the 2007 defense authorization bill that Congress passed on
Sept. 30 requires the Army to move the drums of toxic materials
away from the uranium conversion facility by March 31. President
Bush signed the bill into law two weeks ago.

An Army spokeswoman Thursday said initial plans for moving the
uranium will be made next week. The actual move should take
place in January or February, she said.

Sequoyah Fuels president John Ellis said his company just
Wednesday notified the Army it agreed to waive any liability
claims regarding transport of the materials, a requirement in
the bill.

He now awaits word from the military.

Im assuming they will contact us and we will proceed to make
arrangements to work with them or for them, but at this point in
time I dont know what that approach is going to be, he said.

Sequoyah Fuels at its peak had 325 employees on a 700-acre site
in western Sequoyah County. It has not been operational since
1993, after an incident a year earlier that contaminated parts
of the property and damaged soil and groundwater in the area.

Ellis said the company now has six employees as it works with
the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to clean up the plant.

He said relocating the uranium is a small part of
decommissioning the site. He expects federal approval within a
year to tear down possibly hazardous buildings, remove
potentially tainted soil and groundwater and place the materials
into an underground storage cell.

That process will take up to five years. At that point, the
company will transfer the site to the Department of Energy,
Ellis said. He estimated moving the uranium will require about
50 truckloads and that the only possible locations for the waste
are the Nevada Test Site and a location in Utah.

The test site, in rural Nevada, was the site of U.S. nuclear
tests until 1992. The Utah location is a commercial radioactive
waste disposal site near Salt Lake City.

The Army said the mode of transportation, whether rail or truck,
and the site for relocation have not been determined.

Sen. James Inhofe, R-Okla., and Rep. Dan Boren, D-Muskogee,
brokered an agreement to place a provision for moving the
uranium in the defense bill.

A Boren spokesman said Thursday that the onus is on the Army and
the industry to flesh out details of the transport.

Ellis said earlier this year he would recommend his company take
care of the loading and preparation of the waste. He speculated
that a private company would be hired to move the materials at
the Armys expense.

*****************************************************************
 49 Pahrump Valley Times: Lack of detail about Yucca is a concern         

Nov. 03, 2006 

STEVE TETREAULT Stephens Washington Bureau      
 
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Department of Energy Monday began
explaining proposed changes to the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste
site. But activists and representatives for Nevada grumbled that
few details were available at a public meeting. 

Energy Department organizers called the event a listening
session as they begin environmental impact studies of the
proposals. After an hour, 46 people had signed in, mostly
professionals representing interest groups, federal agencies,
members of Congress and potential contractors. 

The department is embarking on new designs for waste-handling
facilities at Yucca Mountain and on a study of a possible
railroad path that would carry radioactive waste through
counties in western Nevada. 

Information on new designs for waste canisters and blueprints of
the above-ground parts of the tunnel repository were on poster
boards, with presenters standing nearby to answer questions. 

The same format is to be used in public meetings scheduled in
Nevada over the next two weeks. More of them will focus on the
proposed Mina railroad corridor across Northern Nevada and
through Lyon, Mineral and Esmeralda counties.
 
Critics of the Yucca program said the agency's presentation was
unhelpful. 

"There was not enough detail to offer an intelligent comment,"
said Marty Malsch, an attorney for the state. "Nobody could have
a way to know whether they would be affected or not." 

The information "is all scattered," said Kevin Kamps, nuclear
waste specialist at the Nuclear Information and Resource
Service. "We can't talk to each other, we can't hear from each
other about concerns. I think it is by design." 

Michele Boyd, legislative director of the Public Citizen energy
program, said how the Energy Department proposed to load nuclear
waste at reactors using new multi-purpose canisters was unclear. 

"The pictures were completely useless," Boyd said. 

Others defended what some called the low-key format and said it
was designed to encourage citizens to ask questions and offer
suggestions out of the spotlight. Formal public hearings will be
held after the draft studies are completed, they said.
 
"This lets the department talk one-on-one with the public and
answer questions and learn better what the concerns are," said
Jane Summerson, DOE document manager for one of the impact
studies.
 	
For comment or questions, please e-mail 
Copyright © Pahrump Valley Times, 1997 - 2006 
*****************************************************************
 50 reviewjournal.com: NUCLEAR WASTE DUMP: 46 attend meeting on Yucca Mountain
 
  Nov. 03, 2006

Energy Department officials listen, explain plans        

By KEITH ROGERS <br/>REVIEW-JOURNAL
	
Jenna Morton, center, talks with others who attended Thursday 
night's Yucca Mountain scoping meeting at the Cashman Center. 
Morton is a board member of the environmental group, Citizen 
Alert. Photo by John Locher. 

When Jenna Morton moved to Las Vegas from Chicago four years ago, 
she "was blissfully unaware" of the government's plans to put the 
nation's nuclear waste in Yucca Mountain, even though much of 
what is destined to be entombed there will come from Illinois.
 
On Thursday, as a mother, resident, nightclub partner and board 
member of the environmental group, Citizen Alert, she went to the 
Cashman Center to see the Energy Department's exhibits on the 
nuclear disposal project and to express concerns about the 
dangers she sees in it.
 
"I feel like I have to listen to what they say and then ask more
questions," Morton said before reading a statement to a court
reporter at the department's second Nevada scoping meeting in as
many days.
 
What she learned is that Yucca Mountain Project officials are
relying in part on probabilities that an accident involving
deadly, radioactive spent fuel assemblies encased in metal
canisters won't happen along the transportation roads and
railways, some that come within a half-mile of where her
children go to school and her properties at the Palms.
 
"That probability is a science that deals with chance. There is
always a chance," she said. "And a chance is always too much for
me and my children."
 
In her written comment to Energy Department officials, she
concluded: "So, in your EIS (environmental impact statement) if
you find that my infant daughter Petra's health and well-being
is being placed in one iota of jeopardy, you must come to the
conclusion that this project is environmentally unsound and
unacceptable."
 
Midway through the three-hour scoping meeting, 46 people had
signed in to view posters and maps and hear 23 Energy Department
and contractor personnel explain what they mean.
 
By the end of the meeting, project spokesman Allen Benson said
eight had offered comments for the record, which is five less
than those who gave statements to stenographers Wednesday night
in Amargosa Valley, the community closest to Yucca Mountain, 100
miles northwest of Las Vegas.
 
The purpose of the scoping meetings was to get the public's
assessment of what issues need to be addressed in impact
statements that will be released next year for transport, aging
and disposal canisters and the so-called Mina rail corridor. The
corridor, being considered along with one from Caliente, would
involve constructing a 300-mile rail line on an old rail bed
approaching Yucca Mountain from the north.
 
Robert List, a Nuclear Energy Institute consultant and a former
Nevada governor, described the Las Vegas scoping meeting as "a
good healthy opportunity for people to come in and get a lot of
detail."
 
"The whole purpose of these scoping meetings is to get
suggestions and advice on what needs to be addressed in
environmental impact statements," List said Thursday.
 
Jacob Paz, an industrial hygienist, wondered why project
officials have not paid much attention to recent scientific
reports on adverse consequences from the combined effects of
nuclear waste and toxic metals that will be used as engineered
barriers to try to contain the radioactive remnants hundreds of
thousands of years in the future.
 
Paz said he also wonders what will happen to workers boring more
than 50 miles of tunnels to entomb the waste in volcanic rock
that has ingredients known to cause chronic and sometimes deadly
lung ailments.
 
Irene Navis, planning manager for Clark County's Nuclear Waste
Division, said the county could be saddled with a $3 billion
bill to cover expenses for having emergency personnel on hand
should an accident occur in one of the many thousands of
shipments that would come to Nevada by roads and rails.
 
"It will cost us $385 million to get ready for the first
shipment," Navis said.
 
Earlier, Sen. Harry Reid and Rep. Shelley Berkley, both D-Nev.,
criticized the Bush administration for allowing the Yucca
Mountain plans to proceed over the state's objections and
despite questionable science they said President Bush ignored
when he endorsed the project in 2002.
 
Berkley said the underlying purpose of the meetings is a
"backhanded way" to make the planned, above-ground storage pads
at Yucca Mountain an illegal interim storage site.
 
Reid said the "radioactive road show" was "an absolute waste of
time."
 
"Nuclear waste will never be transported to Yucca Mountain. ...
On-site storage is what will happen to all this nuclear waste
for a number of reasons, not the least of which it is so much
cheaper. Number two, it's so much safer."
 	   
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal, 1997 - 2006
 Stephens Media GroupPrivacy Statement
*****************************************************************
 51 Gallup Independent: Domenici promotes uranium

November 2, 2006: 

By Jim Maniaci Cibola County Bureau
 
GRANTS — Although he wants to go down in New Mexico history as
the senator who brought America energy independence, Republican
Pete Domenici's quick trip to Grants on Tuesday could be called
the uranium senator coming to the uranium capital of North
America. 

He told an audience of about 60 people, who were at La Ventana
Steak House for a joint Grants-Milan Rotary Club and
Grants-Cibola County Chamber of Commerce lunch, that a nuclear
energy renaissance is occurring across the U.S., and it brings
positive implications to New Mexico, America and the world. 

Domenici indicated, however, that America must regain its
previous global supremacy in science and technology. And it will
cost about $7 billion a year "to educate teachers to teach our
kids who are hungry for this kind of learning." The $350 million
in federal aid to the states each year would be from the lowest
grades of elementary school to the senior year of high school. 

He also said, "The last few years have marked a real turning
point for those of use who believe that nuclear energy should
play a larger role in our nation's energy future. The fact is
that nuclear energy is also clean energy, totally free of
emissions. That makes it not only essential to providing
affordable and reliable energy, but also critical in the fight
to reduce carbon emissions." 

Domenici chairs the Senate's Energy-Natural Resources Committee. 

With a streamlined licensing approval process, nuclear power
plants no longer take a generation before they can start
producing electricity. He said he expects about 25 new plants to
be licensed in the next 20 years in America. But that pales in
comparison to the exploding billion-plus populations of China
and India with their matching explosive demand for electricity,
oil and gasoline. China alone is building nuclear-powered
generating stations at almost double the expected U.S. rate, he
indicated. 

Not wanting to leave all his eggs in one basket, the senator
said he will continue to push for oil production in the Gulf of
Mexico with his plan to explore all of the continental shelf in
an environmentally safe way. His bill, adopted by the Senate
with strong support in both parties, would add 1.26 billion
barrels of oil and 5.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. This
would heat and cool nearly six million homes for 15 years. 

Domenici opposes America being dependent upon any one segment of
the power industry, especially if it is outside the country and
subject to influences which could be detrimental to U.S.
interests. In introducing him, Rotarian and chamber-Cibola
Communities Economic Development Foundation manager Star
Gonzales said atomic power plants produce one-fifth of the
country's electricity. 

In a brief interview later, he said, "It's way too early to
tell" if uranium mining on Mount Taylor would be what he would
consider desecration of what the Navajo people consider one of
their four traditional boundary mountains. 

The senator also said, after a staff member reminded him that it
still is in draft form, that the San Juan River Settlement Act
important to the Farmington area as well as the Navajo Nation
has had its costs refined by the Senate's lawyers. "Legislative
finance counsel is redrawing it to change it to save some money,
and we're seeing if those are acceptable," he explained. 

Domenici continued, "Nothing would please me more than to get it
done so we can have a water project to Gallup across the Indian
reservation. It's one of my dreams, but it may fall apart if we
can't find the money ... and I'm not sure we can." 

The senator said he didn't have knowledge about an expanded
western energy corridor forcing more Navajos to relocate as
happened with the Navajo-Hopi Relocation Act. 

He has served as one of the state's senators in Washington,
D.C., for 34 years and said he will run for re-election in
November 2008 for another six years. First elected in 1972, he
won a re-election for the fifth time in a row in November 2002.
He said only poor health would change his mind and right now
he's in good health. 

To contact reporter Jim Maniaci in Grants, telephone 285-6184 or
(505) 870-7775 (cellular).
     
the Gallup Independent. 
Send questions or comments to gallpind@cia-g.com  
*****************************************************************
 52 KOLO: Yucca Mountain - Waste Shipments

Northern Nevada Could See Nuke

Ed Pearce

Imagine high-level nuclear waste rolling along the train trench
in downtown. That could be a reality if a Northern Nevada Indian
Tribe okays the federal government's plan and we might not be
able to do much about it.
 																																			
The struggle over Yucca Mountain has always been about more than
the mountain and the proposal to store the nation's most toxic
waste there. It's also been about getting that waste to the
mountain. 
																						 																																				
The transport of spent fuel rods from the nation's nuclear power
plants potentially impacts thousands of communities, but none
more than those here in Nevada. If the repository is opened, all
of the nation's high-level nuclear waste will pass through some
communities in our state, but which. Initially the Department of
Energy looked at 10 potential routes through Nevada. 
																																			
Two appeared likely: the Caliente corridor, bringing waste into
the state from its southeastern border to the town of Caliente
on existing rail lines then on new track skirting the northern
border of the Nevada Test Site and south to Yucca Mountain. And
the Mina corridor using the Union Pacific line along the I-80
corridor through northern Nevada and an existing spur south to
Mina, laying 200 miles of new track to Yucca Mountain.
 																																			
But between the main line and Mina the track runs through the
Walker River Paiute Indian Reservation. In fact, beginning here
at Wabuska to just north of Walker Lake the tribe owns the line,
and with that ownership, effective veto power over the route.
 																																			
In 1991 the tribe told the DOE it would not allow nuclear waste
to be transported across the reservation effectively closing the
door on the Mina corridor. Lately, however, the tribe has opened
that door just slightly.
 																																			
In a letter to the DOE this past spring, tribal chairman Gena
Williams said the tribe would be willing to open talks under
certain conditions. With the Caliente corridor facing huge
engineering and budgeting problems, the DOE took the northern
route off the shelf. The transportation route is suddenly no
longer just a southern Nevada concern.
 																																			
That means the nation's nuclear waste would travel through
northern Nevada towns like Elko and Winnemucca, and yes, right
through downtown Reno's railroad trench.
 																																			
But for any of that to happen, the tribe has to agree and there
are reasons for them to at least consider that answer. No one
from the tribal government was available for an on-camera
interview, but Chairman Williams told us it's primarily a matter
of public safety that's prompted the tribe to take another look.
The existing rail line cuts right through the center of the
reservation's community of Schurz. Virtually the only traffic on
that line right now are shipments to and from the Army
Ammunition Depot at Hawthorne. Schurz also sits astride Highway
95, the main truck route between here and southern Nevada. It's
elementary school is sited near the intersection of 95 and 95A.
In return for agreeing to reopen talks with the DOE, the tribe
wants the rail track routed north of town and assurance no
nuclear waste would be transported by truck through their town.
 																																			
But that decision would mean thousands of shipments through
other northern Nevada towns including Reno. The state opposes
the dump itself and feels there's no safe route, but it may find
its argument undercut by the tribal government's own concerns.
 																																			
Bob Loux believes that's an intentional plan by the DOE. It's
put this idea on the fast track, scheduling just 45 days for
public comment. And until just a few days ago, the only
scheduled public hearings in northern Nevada were one in
Hawthorne on the 14th and one in Fallon, which isn't even on the
route on the 15th. The state asked for more hearings. The DOE
responded by adding one for Reno on the 27th.
 																																			
That still leaves a lot of people in northern Nevada with little
opportunity to weigh in on this idea before it moves into the
Environmental Impact Stage. That part of the story tomorrow. 

Gray Television Group, Inc.

Copyright © 2002-2006
*****************************************************************
 53 times and star: Nuclear waste dump - if we want it

workington lake district

Published on 03/11/2006

WEST Cumbria could become home to an underground nuclear waste 
store – if the community wants one.
 
The government has accepted recommendations that the long-term 
solution for dealing with the country’s “higher activity” 
radioactive waste should be burial.
 
Most of the UK’s high-level waste is currently stored at 
Sellafield, making West Cumbria a strong candidate for a waste 
repository.
 
Local authorities are being invited to take part in talks about 
the plans for a nuclear dump.
 
Those chosen will benefit from multi-million pound investment.
 
The announcement was made by Environment Secretary David 
Miliband, following recommendations from the Committee on 
Radioactive Waste Management.
 
Mr Miliband said the new disposal facilities would only be built 
in a “geologically suitable area” and the government was not 
trying to impose radioactive waste on any community. He said the 
responsibility for the process would be handed to the Nuclear 
Decommissioning Authority, which would be accountable to 
independent regulators and the government.
 
www.timesandstar.co.uk
*****************************************************************
 54 [NYTr] China says nuclear-free peninsula remains goal
 
Date: Fri, 3 Nov 2006 19:40:58 -0500 (EST)

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Via NY Transfer News Collective  *  All the News that Doesn't Fit
 
sent by Michael Givel (activ-l)

People's Daily Online - Nov 2, 2006
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/200611/02/eng20061102_317448.html


China says nuclear-free peninsula remains goal

China pledged yesterday to stick to the goal of a nuclear-free Korean
Peninsula and push for the resumption of the Six-Party Talks at an early
date.

Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing said all participants to the talks share
the objective of achieving denuclearization as well as permanent peace
and stability on the peninsula.

"China will work with other sides to move closer to that goal step by
step and finally realize it," he told reporters on the sidelines of a
meeting at the Great Hall of the People.

Li's remarks were China's first official comments following an
announcement late on Tuesday by the Foreign Ministry that Beijing,
Washington and Pyongyang agreed to resume the six-way talks in the near
future. But there are some worries whether the talks would lead to the
goal of denuclearizing the peninsula after the Democratic People's
Republic of Korea (DPRK) conducted a nuclear test on October 9.

Li, however, stressed that the three nations' agreement to restart the
talks was based on the progress made at the Six-Party Talks in September
last year. Pyongyang then committed to scrapping its nuclear programmes
in return for energy aid and other benefits.

The negotiations, which also involve Russia, the Republic of Korea (ROK)
and Japan, have been stalled since last November because of Pyongyang's
boycott in protest of sanctions by Washington for its alleged money
laundering and other illicit financial activities.

Confirming the planned renewal of the talks yesterday, the DPRK Foreign
Ministry said Pyongyang decided to return to the table "on the premise
that the issue of lifting financial sanctions will be discussed and
settled between the DPRK and the US within the framework of the
Six-Party Talks." But it did not say whether it remained committed to
its earlier agreement to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

Source: China Daily/agencies
       
                                *
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*****************************************************************
 55 Guardian Unlimited: Could scrapping Trident save the planet? 

For the same price, Britain could either renew its nuclear
arsenal or tackle climate change 

John Vidal, Tania Branigan and James Randerson

Saturday November 4, 2006
The Guardian 		 

After the apocalyptic vision of global catastrophe presented in
the Stern report on climate change, by midweek there was broad
political agreement that countries need to start committing to
dramatic cuts in greenhouse gases. But no one has yet tried to
estimate exactly how much it will cost or where the money will
come from to get emissions down by the 60% minimum scientists
say is needed by 2030.

Intriguingly, calculations by economic and environmental
researchers as well as the Guardian suggest a striking parallel
between the amount needed to cut emissions, and one of the most
controversial areas of government spending - the cost of
renewing and maintaining Britain's Trident nuclear deterrent.
 			 		 			 			Article continues
The latest Trident costs, calculated by the Liberal
Democrats based on information extracted in parliamentary
answers, suggest an overall figure of Ł76bn to buy missiles,
replace nuclear submarines, and maintain the system for 30 years.

At present, emissions are still rising and the government
allocates less than Ł1bn a year to directly tackle climate
change, despite saying it is the most pressing problem in the
world.

Yesterday, the environment secretary, David Miliband, played
down the need for greatly increased government spending to
achieve cuts, saying the market in emissions should contribute a
lot, but scientists, industry bodies and others suggested about
Ł76bn could almost guarantee emission reductions from 150m
tonnes of carbon a year today to the necessary level of around
60m tonnes by 2030.

According to government figures, the transport, industry and
domestic sectors each emit 43m tonnes of carbon a year. Analysts
were unanimous that it would make most sense to begin by
investing public money to conserve energy. The Energy Savings
Trust calculates that a one-off investment by government of
about Ł4bn could insulate nearly 6m cavity walls, saving almost
Ł2bn per year in reduced energy bills and nearly 12m tonnes of
carbon - almost 28 % of Britain's domestic emissions.

Oxford University's environmental change institute calculates
that to reduce emissions across the domestic sector by 60% could
require Ł420bn, but for about Ł5bn the government could
kickstart a low carbon UK economy by overhauling every British
home. Director Brenda Bordsman said government subsidy for home
improvements would then be enhanced by private borrowing.

As well as refurbishing housing stock, government money could
help promote the redesign of appliances, and the development of
solar and and other micro generation technologies. "It would, as
a bonus, create thousands of jobs and it reduce overall
emissions by around 60%."

The second great climate change challenge, say analysts, is to
reduce rapidly rising transport emissions by 60%. Emerging new
technologies, legislation and market pressure could mean that
government need barely spend anything. New EU laws and
objectives are forcing car-makers to reduce carbon dioxide
emissions by nearly 30% from an average of 170 gms of Co2/km
today to 120gms/km by 2012.

But researchers last week calculated that Britain could reduce
its transport emissions by a further 18% by cutting the maximum
speed limit to 60mph. In addition, aircraft emissions could be
reduced significantly, says the aviation industry, with better
management of aircraft and greener fuels.

Yesterday, Colin Challen, Labour chairman of the all-party
parliamentary group on climate change, said the choice between
Trident and emissions cuts was a "no-brainer. The cost of
Trident is too great since it doesn't seem to have a strategic
purpose any more. We can't fight climate change militarily and
it's the greatest threat we face. Logically, that means we don't
spend money on Trident but on mitigation and adaptation measures
for climate change."

Chris Huhne, the Lib Dem environment spokesman, added: "Much of
current government spending is a legacy of the response to past
threats rather than present ones, and it needs to reassess its
priorities faced with the new and urgent threat of climate
change."

Joan Ruddock, Labour MP for Lewisham Deptford and former chair
of CND, said: "The question is, how do we best achieve our own
security? It has to be through global cooperation over climate
change - which is a greater threat than any conflict. Acquiring
new nuclear weapons [serves] only to encourage others to do the
same."

A sum of around Ł10-20bn in large wind farms, many miles
offshore but connected to the grid, would reduce emissions by as
much as 50%, said the British Wind Energy Association. It added
that investment in harnessing wave and tidal renewables could
lead to the generation of as much as 19% of UK electricity
supplies.

The Scottish research group Wade estimated for Greenpeace that
Ł69bn invested over 20 years into "decentralised" energy - using
waste heat and encouraging individual home owners to generate
electricity with solar panels and new boilers - could provide
nearly 70% of all Britain's electricity, and reduce emissions by
as much as 60%. "It requires capital costs, but the pay off is
vast," said Greenpeace.

New carbon saving technologies can also be used to clean up coal
and develop hydrogen and electric cars.

"It's pretty clear that if we are going to tackle the climate
change problem we are going to need resources to do it," said
Peter Cox at Exeter University. "Many people would feel it is a
more urgent thing than the renewal of the nuclear deterrent."
 
Useful links
IPCC
UN framework convention on climate change

[UP] 

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2006
*****************************************************************
 56 AP Wire: Group: Lab breach bigger than thought

11/02/2006 | 

 DEBORAH BAKER Associated Press 

SANTA FE, N.M. - A former nuclear weapons lab contract worker
took home not only classified information on a portable computer
storage drive, but also about 200 pages of printed documents,
her lawyer said Thursday. 

The confirmation of the papers follows a watchdog group's report
that an internal memo from the Los Alamos National Laboratory
indicates the amount of classified information found at the
woman's home is substantially larger than first thought. 

Nuclear Watch New Mexico, an activist organization, reported
that the memo appeared to be a summary of a briefing on the
security breach, though the group said it could not verify the
memo's authenticity. 

Two officials with the federal agency that oversees the nation's
nuclear weapons program said there were "significant errors" in
the memo but did not reject it outright. The officials, who work
for the Energy Department's National Nuclear Security
Administration, spoke anonymously because of the ongoing
investigation into the breach. 

They said they could not confirm the briefing referred to by the
author of the memo, which Nuclear Watch said it obtained through
an intermediary. 

"If true, this summary indicates that a very serious and
compromising breach has occurred; perhaps the most serious" in
the troubled lab's history, Nuclear Watch said in a news
release. 

Police seized three portable computer storage drives - called
flash drives, among other names - and the papers Oct. 17 during
a drug raid at the home of Jessica Quintana, the contract
worker. 

Quintana has not been charged. A man who was renting a room at
her home was jailed on drug and probation charges. 

Her lawyer, Stephen Aarons, told The Associated Press that the
material included copies of front pages of various documents
from the lab. Quintana, an archivist, had planned to use them to
create an index of items she had converted to an electronic
format, he said. 

Aarons also said that one of the three portable computer storage
drives contained lab-related material, but that the information
wasn't transferred to another computer. 

"It was downloaded, but it was never uploaded," Aarons said,
adding that Quintana did not show the material to anyone. 

The 22-year-old archivist took the material home in August
because she faced a work deadline to create the index, then
forgot about the documents, he said. 

"Her intent was to destroy the hard copies, and she never did
it," Aarons said. 

Nuclear Watch said the memo on the security briefing at the lab
said Quintana had a level of security clearance that would have
given her access to documents that could have contained
information on how to bypass the authorization process for using
nuclear weapons. 

"She doesn't know anything about nuclear weapons," Aarons
responded. "She knows how to scan documents." 

The Energy Department and the Nuclear Security Administration
declined Thursday to discuss the scope of the security breach,
citing the investigation. 

But an official with knowledge of the government probe
acknowledged there were "several hundred" pages of classified
documents discovered during the drug raid in addition to the
classified material found in three computer "thumb" storage
devices. 

"It is a sizable amount," said the individual, who spoke on
condition of anonymity because the investigation is under way.
He declined to characterize the documents and said the exact
number had not been determined. 

Said Energy Department spokesman Craig Stevens: "We're taking it
(the security breach) very seriously." He added that Energy
Secretary Samuel Bodman "was personally disturbed" that
classified documents turned up during a drug raid. 

"We want to know how this could happen," Stevens said. 

Associated Press writer H. Josef Hebert in Washington
contributed to this report. 
*****************************************************************
 57 SF New Mexican: Lawyer says classified lab material included paper documents    

 Fri Nov 3, 2006 6:36 pm                                                                                                        

By DEBORAH BAKER | Associated Press             

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - A former nuclear weapons lab contract
worker took home not only classified information on a portable
computer storage drive but about 200 pages of paper documents as
well, her lawyer says.

Stephen Aarons told The Associated Press on Thursday that the
material found in Jessica Quintana's mobile home during a drug
bust last month included copies of front pages of various
documents from Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Quintana, an archivist, had planned to use them to create an
index of the items she had converted to an electronic format, he
said.

Aarons also said that while three portable computer storage
drives were found at Quintana's home, only one contained
lab-related material, and that it was "never put in any other
computer."

"It was downloaded, but it was never uploaded," Aarons contended.

The 22-year-old contract worker took the material home in August
because she faced a work deadline to create the index, he said.

Aarons said Quintana never actually did the work at home she 
intended to do, then forgot about the documents, he said.

"Her intent was to destroy the hard copies and she never did it," 
Aarons said.

He also said she hadn't shown the information to anyone else.

"There was no espionage, but a person trying to do her job who 
made a bad judgment on how to do her job," the lawyer said.

Quintana has not been charged. A man who was renting a room at 
her mobile home was jailed on drug and probation violation 
charges.

The existence of the paper documents was first reported in a memo 
obtained by a lab watchdog group, ostensibly a summary of a 
briefing given at the Los Alamos lab.

The group, , said while it couldn't verify the authenticity of 
the memo and didn't know who wrote it, it showed "precision of 
detail and obvious inside knowledge."

If the summary is true, it indicates "perhaps the most serious" 
in a long line of security breaches at the nuclear weapons lab, 
the group said.

According to the memo, the flash drives contained 408 separate
classified documents ranging from national security intelligence
information to secret data about nuclear weapons. The materials
came from the lab's HX _ or Hydrodynamics Experiments _
Division, it said.

There also were 228 separate pages, printed front and back, of
hard copies of classified documents, the memo said.

Aarons said he couldn't confirm the 408 figure, because only the
lab had that information, but that it "doesn't sound
unbelievable."

The lawyer said he believed the 200 or so paper copies of front
pages were duplicated on the USB flash drive, but that the flash
drive may have contained the entire documents.

The memo also said that Quintana had a Sigma 15 Q clearance, a
level that would have allowed her to read classified documents
that could contain information on how to bypass the so-called
permissive action links that ensure that there is only
authorized use of nuclear weapons.

"She doesn't know anything about nuclear weapons," Aarons
responded. "She knows how to scan documents."

The memo said Quintana had worked on and off at LANL since 2000.
Aarons said she started at the lab as a student intern while in
high school.

She was laid off by the contractor she worked for, Information
Assets Management, in September, according to Aarons. The lab
has been cutting back on contract work.

The Energy Department and the department's National Nuclear
Security Administration (NNSA), which oversees the nuclear
weapons program including work at Los Alamos, declined Thursday
to discuss the scope of the security breach, citing the ongoing
criminal investigation.

But an official with knowledge of the government probe
acknowledged there were "several hundred" pages of classified
documents discovered during the drug raid in addition to the
classified material found in three computer "thumb" storage
devices.

"It is a sizable amount," said the individual, who spoke on
condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the
issue while the investigation is under way. He declined to
characterize the documents and said the exact number had not
been determined.

Two NNSA officials, speaking anonymously because of the ongoing
investigation, did not reject the memo outright, but said there
were "significant errors" in the memo.

They said they could not confirm the briefing referred to by the
author of the memo, which Nuclear Watch New Mexico said it
obtained through an intermediary.

"We're taking it (the security breach) very seriously," said
Energy Department spokesman Craig Stevens, adding that Energy
Secretary Samuel Bodman "was personally disturbed" by classified
documents from the Los Alamos laboratory turning up during a
drug raid.

"We want to know how this could happen," said Stevens.		 	   	 	
	 		
 		   			 		   	 
 Terms of Use | ©2006, Santa Fe New Mexican
*****************************************************************
 58 Hanford News: Battelle scientist dies on trip to Tennessee
 
This story was published Friday, November 3rd, 2006 

By the Herald staff 


A longtime Battelle scientist who also owned Seth Ryan Winery
died this week while in Tennessee. 

Ronald L. Brodzinski, 65, of Richland, died Tuesday while he was
on a business conference. 

He and his family have run Seth Ryan Winery for 22 years on Red
Mountain outside of Benton City. 

Brodzinski worked for Battelle at Pacific Northwest National
Laboratory in Richland for about 40 years. 

As a member of PNNL's Radiation Detection and Nuclear Sciences
Group, he developed numerous radiation detection devices,
according to his online obituary with Einan's Funeral Home. 

He also was an investigator for NASA during the Apollo missions
to the moon, which included developing a technique to measure
the radiation doses of returning astronauts. 

He and his wife Jo have five children, Belinda, Kirk, Frank,
Eric and Brett. 

© 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 59 Hanford News: Hanford Advisory Board chooses new leader
 
This story was published Friday, November 3rd, 2006 

By the Herald staff 


HOOD RIVER, Ore. - The Hanford Advisory Board picked Susan
Leckband as its new chairwoman Thursday as it met in Oregon. 

She will replace Todd Martin, who will finish his third two-year
term as chairman in February. The board's charter prohibits more
than six years as chairman. 

The board chose Leckband after two votes and some discussion.
Also nominated were Rick Jansons, Richland School Board
chairman, and Jerry Peltier, the former mayor of West Richland. 

The board represents a broad range of interests in the Hanford
nuclear reservation, from organized labor to county government
to Heart of America Northwest, and works to reach agreement
among all members to offer advice on Hanford cleanup to the
Department of Energy and its regulators. 

Leckband said her years on the board had shown her the
importance of listening to diverse opinions. She is a senior
administrative specialist for Fluor Hanford, which has agreed to
allow her to devote half of her work time to board business.

© 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
 60 Hanford News: Vit plant quake measures approved
 
This story was published Friday, November 3rd, 2006 

By Annette Cary, Herald staff writer 

Bechtel National appears to be off to a good start in designing
new earthquake standards for Hanford's $12.2 billion
vitrification plant, according to an independent review by the
Army Corps of Engineers. 

The Corps did make some suggestions for improvements, but many
of those issues are expected to be resolved as the design of the
plant's High Level Waste Facility and Pretreatment Facility are
advanced. Those two buildings, the largest at the plant, will
handle high-level nuclear waste and are the portion of the plant
affected by the new design standards. 

The Department of Energy is building the plant to turn much of
Hanford's worst radioactive waste into a stable glass form for
permanent disposal. The 53 million gallons of waste, held in
underground tanks, is left from the past production of plutonium
for the nation's nuclear weapons program. 

In late 2004, a new earthquake study indicated that the design
standard in use - which was based on 1996 information - might be
inadequate to withstand a severe earthquake and needed to be
increased 38 percent. That and other difficulties at the plant
have led to layoffs and a temporary halt to construction on the
High Level Waste Facility and the Pretreatment Facility. 

DOE ordered a second study with boreholes drilled on the Waste
Treatment Plant, or vitrification plant, campus to further
refine the degree of robustness needed in the design to
withstand a severe earthquake. 

However, design is continuing with the 38 percent increase in
the design standard. 

The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board said in its most
recent letter to DOE on the subject that a finding of
substantial further increase in the ground motion at the plant
"would imply that ground motions for Hanford approach those
associated with higher seismic hazard environments, such as
California." 

"Given current probabilistic seismic hazard analysis information
and geology of the Hanford Site, such a conclusion should be
strongly challenged," the letter said. 

The Corps looked at whether the revised earthquake design
complies with building and structural codes and ensures the
safety of the plant buildings, systems and equipment. It also
looked at whether efficient design practices were being used to
hold down costs and keep work on schedule without undue
conservatism. 

It called the project "the largest, most complex radiochemical
plant design and construction project undertaken in the United
States." 

The report concluded that the revised design complied with codes
and standards ensuring safety. Bechtel National is using
efficient design practices, such as establishing design criteria
documents and guides, the report said. Its design process has a
strong reliance on the Integrated Safety Management program, a
program that works to identify safety problems early, it said. 

The report had more difficulty determining whether there was too
much conservatism in the design. The plant is so complex that
determining the appropriate margin in the design while work has
yet to be completed is difficult. 

For instance, in the 12-story Pretreatment Facility, exactly
what the loads will be on some support columns will not be known
until design work is completed on where equipment might be
placed in upper stories. 

While many of the recommendations were highly technical, others
were more basic, such as increasing oversight of the seismic
qualifications of suppliers to make sure they are closely
following Bechtel National procedures. 

John Eschenberg, DOE manager of the vitrification plant,
characterized the report as interim. DOE will continue to seek
independent reviews of earthquake criteria and other key
elements of the plant, he said. 

"We're committed to the successful completion of this project
and are actively incorporating initiatives to keep this project
on the path to successful completion," he said. 

The report is posted at www. hanford.gov under the section
titled Public Information/Public Involvement. 

© 2006 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved
*****************************************************************
 61 DOE: Environmental Management Site-Specific Advisory Board, Northern 
 
                        FR Doc E6-18558 
[Federal Register: November 3, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 213)] 
[Notices] [Page 64688-64689] From the Federal Register Online via 
GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr03no06-38]                         
 
New Mexico AGENCY: Department of Energy.
 
ACTION: Notice of open meeting.
 
SUMMARY: This notice announces a meeting of the Environmental 
Management Site-Specific Advisory Board (EM SSAB), Northern New 
Mexico. The Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. No. 92-463, 
86 Stat. 770) requires that public notice of this meeting be 
announced in the Federal Register.
 
 
DATES: Wednesday, November 29, 2006, 2 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
 
ADDRESSES: Jemez Complex, Santa Fe Community College, 6401 
Richards Avenue, Santa Fe, New Mexico.
 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Menice Santistevan, Northern New 
Mexico Citizens' Advisory Board, 1660 Old Pecos Trail, Suite B, 
Santa Fe, NM 87505. Phone (505) 995-0393; fax (505) 989-1752 or 
e-mail: msantistevan@doeal.gov.
 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Purpose of the Board: The purpose of 
the Board is to make recommendations to DOE in the areas of 
environmental restoration, waste management, and related 
activities.
 
Tentative Agenda 2 p.m. Call to Order by Deputy Designated 
Federal Officer (DDFO), Christina Houston Establishment of a 
Quorum Welcome and Introductions by Chair, J. D. Campbell 
Approval of Agenda Approval of Minutes of September 27, 2006, 
Board Meeting 2:15 p.m. Board Business/Reports Old Business, 
Chair, J. D. Campbell Report from Chair, J. D. Campbell Report 
from Department of Energy (DOE), Christina Houston Report from 
Executive Director, Menice Santistevan Other Matters New 
Business, Board Members 3 p.m. Break 3:15 p.m. Committee 
Business/Reports A. Environmental Monitoring, Surveillance and 
Remediation Committee, Committee Chair B. Waste Management 
Committee, Committee Chair C. Ad Hoc Committee on Bylaws and 
Administrative Procedures, Presentation of Proposed Amendments 
for First Reading, Donald Jordan 4:15 p.m. Reports from Liaison 
Members U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Rich Mayer 
DOE, George Rael Los Alamos National Security (LANS), Andy Phelps 
New Mexico Environment Department (NMED), James Bearzi 5 p.m. 
Dinner Break 6 p.m. Public Comment 6:15 p.m. Consideration and 
Action on Recommendations to DOE 6:45 p.m. Presentation on Status 
of Responses to NNCAB Recommendations, George Rael 7:45 p.m. 
Comments from Liaisons--DOE/LASO, LANL, EPA, NMED 8 p.m. Round 
Robin on Board Meeting and Presentations, Board Members 8:15 p.m. 
Recap of Meeting: Issuance of Press Releases, Editorials, etc., 
J. D. Campbell 8:30 p.m. Adjourn, Christina Houston
 
[[Page 64689]] This agenda is subject to change at least one day 
in advance of the meeting.
 
Public Participation: The meeting is open to the public.
 
Written statements may be filed with the Board either before or 
after the meeting. Individuals who wish to make oral statements 
pertaining to agenda items should contact Menice Santistevan at 
the address or telephone number listed above. Requests must be 
received five days prior to the meeting and reasonable provision 
will be made to include the presentation in the agenda. The 
Deputy Designated Federal Officer is empowered to conduct the 
meeting in a fashion that will facilitate the orderly conduct of 
business. Individuals wishing to make public comment will be 
provided a maximum of five minutes to present their comments.
 
Minutes: Minutes of this meeting will be available for public 
review and copying at the U.S. Department of Energy's Freedom of 
Information Public Reading Room, 1E-190, Forrestal Building, 1000 
Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20585 between 9 a.m. and 
4 p.m., Monday-Friday, except Federal holidays. Minutes will also 
be available at the Public Reading Room located at the Board's 
office at 1660 Old Pecos Trail, Suite B, Santa Fe, NM. Hours of 
operation for the Public Reading Room are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on Monday 
through Friday. Minutes will also be made available by writing or 
calling Menice Santistevan at the Board's office address or 
telephone number listed above.
 
Minutes and other Board documents are on the Internet at: 
http://www.nnmcab.org .
 
Issued at Washington, DC on October 31, 2006.
 
Rachel M. Samuel, Deputy Advisory Committee Management Officer.
 
[FR Doc. E6-18558 Filed 11-3-06; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4410-11-P

 
*****************************************************************
 62 POGO: From One Lab to Another: Los Alamos Info Breach and Meth Trailer 
Story Develops

The Project On Government Oversight (POGO) Blog: 

Story Develops
 		 		 		
WHAT we knew last week is worrisome enough: A contract employee
at Los Alamos National Laboratory was given access to highly
sensitive information and was able to get it past security. 

But, according to an insider's summary of a government briefing
(pdf)of the current investigation obtained by Nuclear Watch of
New Mexicoand independently confirmed by POGO, it’s even
worse.  New information received by POGO suggests that the
classified information breach exposed in a meth lab drug bust
last weekmay be the most serious breach for Los Alamos National
Laboratory since the Rosenbergs. 

The insider's briefing states that at least three USB thumb
drives were seized during the drug bust containing a total of
408 separate classified documents that ranged from
Secret-National Security Information (pertaining to
intelligence) to Secret-Restricted Data (pertaining to nuclear
weapons). All of the documents originated from the classified
document/classified video media vault located in the DX (now HX)
Division Headquarters building at TA-8-21-143. Hard copies of
classified documents totaling 228 separate pages printed front
and back were also found in the trailer, which was reported by
the <em>Los Angeles Times</em>yesterday. 

The woman involved, Jessica Quintana, turned out to have worked
in a total of three classified vaults or vault-type rooms across
Los Alamos National Laboratory: Safeguards and Security Division
(documents concerning the strategic nuclear material control and
accountability program) in X-Division, and in Physics (P)
division. According to the briefing obtained by Nuclear Watch,
she also had a Sigma 15 identifier to her Q-clearance. Sigma 14
and 15 informationis the most sensitive information in the
nuclear weapons complex because it describes how to bypass the
locks which prevent unauthorized individuals from detonating a
nuclear weapon – known as the permissive actions links. 

She was not on the periodic urinary drug-testing program or in
the Human Reliability Program because one of the primary
criteria for the program is that the individual work with
weapons-grade and weapons-quantity Special Nuclear Material, the
briefing states. 

The woman had worked off and on at Los Alamos since 2000 when
she was in college as an undergraduate. Her job as a
subcontractor was terminated because the Los Alamos contract to
archive information ended last month. 
		 		 		
IN regards to the latest Los Alamos information security flap,
POGO agrees with commentators like John Fleckthat speculation,
hype and the like should be minimized at all costs and everyone
should take a deep breath, evaluate the facts that we know and
have a measured sense of perspective.  However, that said, the
incident and its implications cannot be minimized.  And with the
newest information we’ve received, this story is worse than we
originally thought.
 
At this point, we do not know if there are any truly nefarious
reasons (e.g. espionage) the three USB flash drives had been
taken out of Los Alamos' control and had made their way into
Jessica Quintana's trailer and alleged meth dealer Justin
Stone's possession.  Besides the FBI, the CIA and Britain's MI6
(the UK's intelligence service that operates abroad) are
reportedly investigating. This indicates that our government and
Britain's are taking this incident very seriously and are
prudently exploring the possibility that foreign powers could be
involved.  

On Wednesday, we revealed an email (pdf)to officials DOE's
National Nuclear Security Administration indicating that they
had received phone calls from Robin Pitman of the British
Embassy about a news report indicating that British intelligence
was concerned that their nuclear secrets may have been on those
flash drives and were compromised. 

Even if the flash drives were taken off of the Los Alamos
National Laboratory's site for reasons other than espionage (or
for any reason at all), the incident is still highly troubling:
It suggests that, despite years of bungling and the critical
media and Congressional scrutiny generated as a result, Los
Alamos, the keeper of many of America's—and other
nations'—most sensitive nuclear and intelligence secrets still
has not resolved serious problems with its information security. 

Los Alamos and the National Nuclear Security Administration are
struggling with how to prevent a future scenario like this.  

As with anything, there can never be absolute 100% guaranteed
security.  But, in light of the ease that an insider with access
could download and slip past security with classified
information on flash drives or other kinds of transportable
media, POGO has argued since 2001 that Los Alamos and the rest
of the nuclear weapons complex go media-less immediately. This
would be accomplished by removing the capacity of classified
computers to copy data onto disks or flash drives of any kind. 
We hear that Los Alamos is very slowing making strides in this
direction, but apparently they haven’t been fast enough. 

-- Peter Stockton, Beth Daley, and Nick Schwellenbach
 		 		
November 3, 2006 in Nuclear Security
*****************************************************************
 63 lamonitor.com: Leak adds fuel to security breach fire 

The Online News Source for Los Alamos
 
ROGER SNODGRASS and CAROL A. CLARK , Monitor Assistant Editor

The plot thickens. If a newly leaked document concerning a
breach of security at Los Alamos National Laboratory turns out
to be authentic, the lab may have been more exposed than was
first thought. 
A document purporting to summarize an internal briefing in Los
Alamos said additional classified material was found at the
trailer home owned by Jessica Quintana, a clerk formerly
employed by a contractor at the nuclear weapons laboratory.

Quintana was said to have had extensive access to the video
media vault located in the weapons division building. 

Her security clearance was described in the memo as having a
Sigma 15 identifier, which the author said, "allowed her to read
documents that may have contained information about how to
bypass permissive action links (PALs) on nuclear weapons."

PALs are security systems designed to prevent unauthorized use
of weapons. 
Quintana has not been charged, but police arrested Justin Stone,
who was residing in the mobile home, on an outstanding warrant
for probation violation. During the arrest, police found
evidence of a possible meth lab and also charged him with
possession of drug paraphernalia.

The briefing document said investigators had found not only the
three portable computer storage devices that were reported by
the Los Alamos Police Department previously, but also 228 pages
of hard copies printed on two sides. 
Jay Coghlan of Nuclear Watch New Mexico, the Santa Fe-based
nuclear group that released the briefing summary, emphasized
that he could not vouch for the content, but was impressed by
"the precision and obvious inside knowledge."

Coghlan said his group wants the National Nuclear Security
Administration that manages the nuclear weapons complex "to hold
the reigns of the cyberhorse firmly in its grasp."

"We simply don't have confidence in the contractor, past or
present, in the management of cybersecurity," he said. "This is
a tooth that needs a root canal."

The Associated Press reported Thursday that Quintana's attorney,
Steven Aarons of Santa Fe confirmed that there were "about 200
pages of paper documents," supporting a key fact in the briefing
paper.

Aarons told AP reporter Deborah Baker that Quintana "intended to
use them to create an index of the items she had converted to an
electronic format." He added that she took the work home to meet
a deadline.

Peter Stockton of the Project on Government Oversight said this
morning that POGO located the author of the memo Thursday night
and further confirmed that it came from a "highly reliable"
source.

The briefing memo enumerates the number of separate classified
documents ("408 separate documents") that were on the jump
drives. The classification was said to range from
"Secret-National Security Information (pertaining to
intelligence) to Secret-Restricted Data (pertaining to nuclear
weapons.)

A spokesman for LANL reiterated the laboratory's inability to
comment on any details of the ongoing investigation.

Spokesman Kevin Roark did confirm reports that Ambassador Linton
Brooks, NNSA administrator was in Los Alamos earlier in the
week. Roark refused to speculate on why the nuclear chief was
here.

Stockton said POGO was following the case closely because the
organization has for years urged the weapons complex to convert
to a media-less system, that could not be carried outside the
security perimeter.

Los Alamos has suffered a series of security breaches since NNSA
was created in 1999, after the highly publicized Wen Ho Lee case.

A false positive security breach in 2004 led to a suspension of
operations at the laboratory for a number of months and a
complex-wide stand-down to tighten the system.

"The last stuff was bad - this is terrible," Stockton said.   

  © 2003 Los Alamos Monitor All Rights Reserved.   
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 64 UPI: Los Alamos nuclear documents found in home
     
United Press International - NewsTrack - 

11/3/2006 6:57:00 PM -0500

LOS ALAMOS, N.M., Nov. 3 (UPI) -- U.S. authorities are
investigating the discovery of nuclear weapons documents in the
home of an employee at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New
Mexico. 

Officials told CBS News Friday that more than 400 pages of
documents were found on three portable USB thumb drives,
including information on bypassing the security locks on U.S.
nuclear bombs. 

More than 200 pages of printed documents were also discovered at
the home of the woman, who worked at the lab and held security
clearances giving her access to data on the weapons locks and
underground tests. 

Police found the material while investigating a reported
domestic problem, and also noted the presence of drugs at the
residence, late last month. 

Investigators said there was no evidence so far that the
material had found its way to a third party, but the
investigation was continuing. 

The Project on Government Oversight issued a statement Friday
alleging that the woman had never been drug tested by her
employer -- and warning that the security breach could be the
worst at Los Alamos since the Rosenberg "Atomic Spy" case in the
1950s.

© Copyright 2006 United Press International, Inc. All Rights
Reserved
    
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