***************************************************************** 10/05/02 **** RADIATION BULLETIN(RADBULL) **** VOL 10.256 ***************************************************************** RADBULL IS PRODUCED BY THE ABALONE ALLIANCE CLEARINGHOUSE ***************************************************************** NUCLEAR POLICY 1 K2R4 Nuclear Plant Opposition Leader Murdered in Kiev 2 UK: Our men from the private sector Government increases 3 Japan-N. Korea talks seen on Oct. 28 4 North Korea's mixed messages 5 Japan: Overconfidence puts nuclear power at risk NUCLEAR REACTORS 6 Japan: TEPCO head apologizes 7 Japan: Hitachi admits role in fooling N-plant inspectors 8 US: Deputy who fired gun at Yankee taken off duty 9 UK OP: NUCLEAR REACTION* NUCLEAR SAFETY 10 Japan EDITORIAL:Toughen safety controls 11 US: Bunning enters Senate sick workers' bill - NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE 12 US: Family Spirit Walk Reaches Las Vegas 13 US: Nuclear plan may yield civic rewards - 14 US: Family Spirit Walk Reaches Las Vegas 15 US: State Scheme 16 US: Envirocare, Tooele County Deals Too Sweet? 17 US: Leucadia Tried to Buy Envirocare Last Year, Sources Say 18 US: Decision could have national implications NUCLEAR WEAPONS 19 US: Mational Lawyers Guild & civil didobedience agaimnt war 20 [southnews] Israel: US Iraq attack likely in November 21 Iraq oil - Russia, France, U$ horsetrade 22 Iraq hiding evidence, U.S. charges* 23 War against Iraq makes no sense* 24 Iraq Weapons Glance 25 US: Powell Scores Delay of Iraq Searches 26 US: 'The president is authorized to use Armed Forces' 27 US: CIA sees Iraq with nukes by decade's end -- 28 India, Pakistan Exchange of Ballistic Missile Launches Renews 29 US: Buffett Gives to Fight Terror 30 Lawmakers worried about (Brazil) candidate's nuclear policy 31 U.S. Envoy Completes N. Korea Trip 32 Editorial: UN must act to prevent nuclear war in South Asia* US DEPT. OF ENERGY 33 FFTF backers have questions to answer OTHER NUCLEAR 34 CIA Says Iraq Stockpiling Bioweapons ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** FULL NEWS STORIES ***************************************************************** ***************************************************************** 1 K2R4 Nuclear Plant Opposition Leader Murdered in Kiev Date: Sat, 05 Oct 2002 08:36:34 -0700 http://nonukes.narod.ru/Public_Control.htm K2R4 Nuclear Plant Opposition Leader Murdered in Kiev October 3, 2002 KIEV, Ukraine - A month ago a civic group filed a lawsuit against the Ukrainian government to stop construction of two nuclear power plants at Rivne and Khmelnytskyi, calling the projects illegal. On Tuesday its vice-Chairman was gunned down in Kiev. An unidentified man shot and killed Ruslan Syniavskyi, 44, late Monday at the entrance of his apartment building in downtown Kiev, the Interior Ministry's department in the capital said. Police didn't provide other details. The Interfax news agency said that the assailant shot several times in an attempt to rob Syniavsky. "It's very doubtful that an ordinary thief carries a gun," said Oleh Sadanets, a representative of Syniavskyi's Public Control organization. "We consider that this (killing) was linked to his activity in the organization... four shots cannot be a simple accident." Syniavksy was the vice-Chairman of Public Control, a non- governmental, environmental organization. The group is suing the Ukrainian government in a Kiev district court demanding a halt to the plants' construction. The group claims that the State Nuclear Regulatory Committee broke the law by not conducting adequate public hearings before providing a license to the state nuclear company Energoatom to construct the new power stations. A judge agreed in August to hear Public Control's case after the same court denied a lawsuit by six representatives of an environmental group against Energoatom, claiming completion of the nuclear plants posed an ecological threat to the country. Alexei Tolkachov, a law student who is the chairperson of the Kiev-based Public Committee for State Security - a take-off of the Soviet-era KGB, or Committee for State Security - led the unsuccessful lawsuit. Ukrainian law requires the court to order construction to stop pending review of the group's petition and a decision. Court officials would not confirm whether a stop order has been issued, and Energoatom has denied that it had received any court order to stop construction resulting from the lawsuit. Soviet-designed reactors are currently operating at Rivne and Khmelnytskyi and the disputed new reactors are about 85% complete. Ukraine negotiated to build the new reactors to compensate for the electricity lost when the Chernobyl nuclear power plant was closed in 2000. Currently, Ukraine operates four nuclear power plants with 13 reactors, nine of which are now working. The reactors are frequently shut down for malfunctions or scheduled repairs. K2R4 Loan Hurdles On 13 December 2000 the European Commission approved a Euratom loan of US$585 million for the Khmelnytskyi and Rivne plant expansions, subject to the confirmation by the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) of the effectiveness of their 7 December 2000 decision on a US$215 million loan for the same project. As all conditions were fulfilled, the EBRD and the Commission decision was ready to be confirmed and the loans were to be granted in early December 2001. But on 28 November 2001, some days before signing the contracts with the EBRD and European Commission, the Ukrainian Prime Minister Anatoly Kinakh requested additional discussions on certain loan conditions that Ukraine considered unachievable, and consequently refused to sign the EBRD loan contract. At the request of Ukraine, a joint Working Group (WG) was established to explore solutions that would address the issues of their concern and render the project acceptable. The WG met biweekly until early February 2002 to discuss project cost, the Project Financing Plan, electricity tariffs, the Decommissioning Fund and nuclear liabilities and insurance. Substantial work remains to be done before a solution is fully defined. One of the conditions which the EBRD required is an immediate hike in electricity rates, which would have meant a 30% rise in consumer rates. The issue of increasing electricity rates played an important role in the move on 28 November 2001 not to sign the contract. To agree to such an increase at that moment was impossible in the run-up to national elections scheduled for March 2002. According to Prime Minister Kinakh, the negotiations in the WG had led to agreement on reduction of the project costs and on mitigation of the bank's requirement for increasing electricity rates. The required hike in electricity rates could be smaller if the total project costs could be lowered. Assuming the project is satisfactorily adjusted at technical level by the WG, it will have to be re-approved by all parties, a process that will require full political support. In any case, a decision is not expected until after the Ukrainian parliamentary elections of March. Currently, due to parliamentary disagreements and presidential scandals it is expected that agreements will not be announced until much later this fall. Sources: Associated Press, and the online magazine Korrespondent, and CEE Bankwatch For more information, contact NIRS WISE Ukraine at akul@svitonline.com or see our website at http://nonukes.narod.ru ***************************************************************** 2 UK: Our men from the private sector Government increases secondments from energy, arms and construction industries, but tries to keep it dark Guardian Unlimited | Archive Search Rob Evans and Jeevan Vasagar Saturday October 5, 2002 An increasing number of diplomats in British embassies are employees of commercial companies, a Guardian investigation has discovered. They include staff from BP, Shell, BAE Systems, BG Group (formerly British Gas), and Anglian Water. One temporary diplomat was even an employee of a US-owned firm. The Foreign Office has for months battled to keep secret the postings of these private enterprise diplomats. Its lack of openness is now being investigated by parliament's ombudsman after a complaint from the Guardian. At least 63 of these secondees have been recruited since Labour came into power in 1997, roughly the same figure as in the previous 20 years - "a significant increase in a relatively short time" as one internal Foreign Office document puts it. Private firms loan staff usually for one or two years, but pay their wages. Maurice Frankel, director of the Campaign for Freedom of Information, said the Foreign Office was using "implausible excuses" to keep secondment details secret. Virtually all other Whitehall departments have identified commercial secondees under the "open government" code. Some secondees appear on the official list of British embassy staff without any hint that they are commercial employees. Many are working as diplomats in the same markets in which their firms operate, and some companies say they will use the information learned to win contracts and further their commercial interests. Vince Cable, the Liberal Democrat trade spokesman, said the government was being "very naive" about potential conflicts of interests. "There are serious dangers here. The line between private interests and public service is fuzzy. The more secondees there are, the more difficult it is to police." Companies might unknowingly share sensitive information with people from rival firms, he said. The Foreign Office accepted one secondee from Baker Hughes, a huge US gas and oil technology company with headquarters in Texas. Less than a 10th of its 28,000 worldwide staff work in Britain. A Foreign Office spokesman said: "The key question is whether they can do the job which needs to be done, which is to the benefit of British companies. These secondments are about individuals, not companies. We take people from Commonwealth countries and the European Union, provided they have a valid visa, no conflicts of interests and pass the security tests." The government and Baker Hughes refuse to disclose the nationality of the secondee or when and where the person worked as a diplomat. The oil firm BP has seconded three people: one worked in the Middle East department of the Foreign Office in London. A secondee from rivals Shell was sent for a year to the British embassy in Libya. Shell has set up a new company to expand its business in Libya, a major oil exporter. Contacts Matt Evans, the vice-president for corporate marketing of BAE Systems, Britain's biggest arms company, is in the consulate in Sao Paulo, Brazil, pinpointing export opportunities for British companies. His responsibilities at BAE cover South America. Nick Khosla, of consulting engineers Ove Arup, is the trade commissioner at the consulate in Hong Kong identifying major projects. His company has a 900-strong Hong Kong office with a string of large contracts. Nilton Chan of engineering consultancy Advantica is on a six month secondment in the commercial section of the consulate in Guangzhou, where his job is to promote British companies in the Chinese oil and gas market. An Advantica spokesman said: "He is working in the energy market, which we are targeting. He is creating a network of contacts. When he comes back, we will be able to use those contacts. It's like a six month head start." BG Group had a secondee for nine months last year in the embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, where the company has substantial gas projects. According to the company, he was compiling a report on how to strengthen institutions in the outer provinces. A spokesman said: "Government relations are important to us. It suits us to help both governments and keep on good terms with them." Mark Groundsell from consulting engineers Halcrow returned last year to his firm from the embassy in Thailand. He said: "I still get inquiries from British companies who think that I am still with the [government] and I try to help where I can." He worked on two secondments, for 18 months in Thailand, and for six months in the embassy in Lisbon in 1998. According to Halcrow, their purpose was "to give Halcrow an insight into the proposed development of the new Lisbon airport" and "to give Halcrow an insight into the proposed new Bangkok international airport". Halcrow has a large business advising on the construction of airports. A secondee from the international energy services company, Wood Group, is to become its general manager in Brazil after an eight month stint in the commercial section of the consulate in Rio de Janeiro, where he identified opportunities in the oil and gas markets. A spokesman said: "Brazil was a target mar ket for the Wood Group. His secondment allowed us to get a firsthand insight into the opportunities and the business practices." Two years ago, the environment minister, Michael Meacher, protested to the Foreign Office that an employee of British Nuclear Fuels had been the atomic counsellor at the embassy in Japan, a key market for BNFL. A former special adviser in the department of the environment under the Conservatives alleged that official cables written by the BNFL man back to London gave an exceptionally rosy view of BNFL's prospects and contracts. The company rejected the claim that the cables had been distorted. The Foreign Office said there was no evidence of abuses. "It is a condition that secondees ensure that in the course of their duties there was no conflict of interest which causes embarrassment to, or difficulties for, the secondee's parent company or the Foreign Office." Secondees were required to sign the Official Secrets Act. The Foreign Office believes secondments are a "valuable" way to "absorb and exploit working methods/ideas imported from the private sector", particularly since embassies seek to promote British exports. Companies emphasis that the secondments help them to understand how government operates, and develop the skills and careers of their employees. [UP] Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited 2002 ***************************************************************** 3 Japan-N. Korea talks seen on Oct. 28 Daily Yomiuri On-Line Yomiuri Shimbun Normalization talks between Japan and North Korea may resume on Oct. 28 in either Singapore or Malaysia, a government source said Friday. The two countries are in the final phase of coordinating the talks and, besides the venue, are trying to decide whether they should be held at the ambassadorial-level, the source said. In the talks, the government is expected to propose that separate panels be set up to clarify the cases of Japanese who were abducted to North Korea, while the issue of North Korean operatives abroad, including those linked to the abductions, would be discussed in parallel with talks on security issues, which would be held separately from the normalization talks, he said. The normalization talks will be the first to be held in two years since the 11th round of talks was held in Beijing in October 2000. Japanese and North Korean officials initially considered resuming the normalization talks in Tokyo as the Sept. 17 summit between Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il was held in Pyongyang. However, in light of the rising antagonism toward North Korea among Japanese over the issue of the abductees, the two sides reportedly have agreed to hold the talks in a third country. The source said the key issues in future negotiations could be divided into three areas. These are: -- Bilateral issues, such as the abduction of Japanese to North Korea, and the spy ship. -- Security issues, such as Pyongyang's suspected missile and nuclear development. -- Japanese economic cooperation to North Korea and the settlement of past issues, such as Japan's colonial rule on the Korean Peninsula before and during World War II. Besides these issues, the two sides are expected to discuss the status of pro-Pyongyang Korean residents in Japan and the return of Japanese leftist radicals who hijacked a Japan Airlines jet to Pyongyang in 1970. Of all the issues, the one the government places priority on concerns the abduction of Japanese to North Korea. Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi has called this an issue of the highest priority and Koizumi has emphasized that "there will be no diplomatic normalization between Japan and North Korea if the issue of the Japanese abductees has not been cleared up." bCopyright 2002 The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 4 North Korea's mixed messages BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | Friday, 4 October, 2002, 00:25 GMT 01:2 [North Korean soldiers are silhouetted as they participate in a massive military parade in Pyongyang ] Amid hints of change, the army still dominates By Damian Grammaticas BBC, Pyongyang North Korean television has a nightly ritual - broadcasting legions of stony-faced soldiers saluting the country's leader, Kim Jong-il. It is the martial imagery of a militarist state. Giant squads of troops parade, goose-stepping in perfect time through the centre of the capital, Pyongyang, bayonets fixed to their Kalashnikovs. We've never done anything wrong against any other country North Korean shopkeeper Television sets are tuned to a single channel. In the world's most secretive and isolated nation, propaganda is everywhere. It reinforces the personality cult of North Korea's ruling dynasty, Kim Il-sung - who founded the state in 1948 - and his son, Kim Jong-il. The US is depicted as the regime's bogeyman. In the gymnasium at the Pyongyang Number One Secondary School, boys are doing physical drills. On a wall is a painting from the Korean War. It shows children leading a captured American pilot, his hands bound with rope. Elsewhere, a mural shows two missiles shattering the dome of the US Capitol building, home of the US Congress. Above it is the slogan: "Smash the USA". Diplomatic moves A woman in Pyongyang tells me that Americans are hard-headed towards North Koreans. "That is why we're even harder dealing with them," she says. [North Korean poster depicting missile attack on the US Capitol] Posters show missile attacks on the US Capitol Washington has made it clear it considers North Korea a similar threat to Iraq. It too has a massive military machine, along with programmes allegedly developing nuclear energy and missiles. In the Great Study Hall of the People, a vast marble edifice that dominates one side of Pyongyang's Kim Il-sung Square, 30 students are being indoctrinated by rote. The two Kims watch from portraits on the wall. Their ideology of Juche, an extreme Communist system stressing self-reliance, has taught that North Korea can exist without the help of the outside world. But Kim Jong-il is worried he might be next after Iraq in Washington's sights. Under pressure, he is making concessions. He has said international inspectors can check he is not building nuclear weapons. He is mending ties with his neighbours, Japan and South Korea. He has also signed UN conventions against terrorism. Now the US Assistant Secretary of State, James Kelly, is visiting for talks. "North Korea should not be a part of the 'axis of evil'", one shopkeeper says, referring to a speech by US President George W Bush which condemned North Korea, along with Iran and Iraq. "We've never done anything wrong against any other country." Opportunity North Korea is being forced to change because its hard-line Communist system, in which the state has tried to provide everything for its people, has been a failure. [Children perform songs and dances in front of a poster of the late, Kim Il-Sung (AFP)] Kim Il-Sung is revered in North Korea In July it took its first steps towards a market economy, ending free state provision of food, housing and electricity. It is trying to encourage foreign investment and last week announced that one region would be run as a capitalist experiment. "I think it comes out of necessity - that they see they need to be part of the international community, that nobody can live so totally isolated," says Kathie Zellweger from the Catholic aid agency Caritas. "Engagement is the key to change. It is important that North Korea engages and we also engage North Korea because only together we can move forward." While US attention is focused on Iraq, North Korea has a window of opportunity. It must persuade Washington it is serious about changing its ways or risk being the next regime the US targets. It is trying. But then again, North Korean television is still putting out its nightly dose of parades and propaganda. © MMII | News Sources | Privacy ***************************************************************** 5 Japan: Overconfidence puts nuclear power at risk Asahi Shimbun www.asahi.com [http://www.asahi.com/] JAPANESE Seemingly endless revelations about cracks and other damage to reactors paint a grim picture of the safety of nuclear power plants in Japan. To say manshin soi (injured all over) about reactors would be an exaggeration, but it seems to be close to the mark. Power companies were found to have either neglected reporting damage to state authorities or covered it up. Apparently, overconfidence led these firms to decide there was no need to go public ``just with scratches.'' Five of the 29 cases of cover-up that came to light in late August involved the No. 1 reactor at the Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO). A month later, toward the end of September, the company was found to have covered up cracks in 12 sections of the same power reactor's recirculation system pipes. TEPCO flagrantly violated its reporting duty concerning the same reactor. In 2000, it replaced the reactor's shroud, a wall controlling the flow of coolant, without reporting cracks that had appeared there. Costing 10 billion yen, it is an expensive piece of equipment. Having been in operation since 1971, this is TEPCO's oldest nuclear reactor. Perhaps, fatigue over the years has made it trouble-prone. A technical term would seem to apply here: kokeinen-ka (becoming trouble-prone as a result of advanced age). The company's manual advises plant workers to conduct sophisticated regular checkups to cope with the problems. The continuing safety-breach revelations left me wondering if TEPCO used sophisticated techniques for cover-up, not for checkups. Why did TEPCO conceal cracks and other damage to power reactors? In an interim report, the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency advanced the following point of view. It said the problem basically stems from the fact that a nuclear power plant is an enormous, complex and delicate system. Entrenched experts make it their world. That makes it difficult for outsiders to step in, resulting in inadequate oversight from the outside. Evidently, there were other reasons, such as losses that would have resulted if a reactor's operations had to be suspended for repairs and enormous expenses needed to replace cracked parts. The Kemeny Commission, which looked into the cause of the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster of 1979, warned that the greatest danger arose from overconfidence in safety. That warning is still valid. Power company executives should read the commission's report again. --The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 4(IHT/Asahi: October 5,2002) (10/06) [Copyright Asahi Shimbun. All rights reserved. No reproduction ***************************************************************** 6 Japan: TEPCO head apologizes Daily Yomiuri On-Line Yomiuri Shimbun Tokyo Electric Power Co. President Nobuya Minami apologized Wednesday at the Fukushima Prefectural Assembly for falsifying inspection records at its nuclear power plants in the prefecture. "I apologize for having troubled the district around the power plants and residents in the prefecture," Minami said. Minami also said TEPCO was still investigating the alleged manipulation of air pressure controllers inside the containment vessels, done to mislead inspectors. "We'll report on the result of the investigation as soon as possible," he said. Earlier in the day, Minami told reporters TEPCO might sue the prefectural government over its new nuclear fuel tax, which would be doubled from the current rate. "The planned tax increase is too high. We consider it a separate issue from the current record falsifications. We'll discuss various options to deal with it," Minami said. On Sept. 27, the Public Management Ministry approved the prefectural government's proposal to raise the tax on the condition that the local government continue to negotiate with TEPCO, which is the only firm subject to the tax, and that the local government review the tax rate if circumstances change in the future. Copyright 2002 The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 7 Japan: Hitachi admits role in fooling N-plant inspectors Daily Yomiuri On-Line Yomiuri Shimbun Hitachi, Ltd. has admitted it helped Tokyo Electric Power Co. doctor the test of a containment vessel at a nuclear power plant in Fukushima Prefecture in 1992, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. According to a Hitachi investigation, inspectors from the company determined during a preinspection check of the No. 1 reactor of Fukushima No. 1 power plant that the amount of gas leaking from the containment vessel exceeded government safety standards. Informed of the leakage, TEPCO employees asked Hitachi inspectors to come up with a way to conceal the problem. The inspectors volunteered several ideas, one of which was to feed compressed air into the vessel. TEPCO is believed to have used this illegal technique to pass a state inspection conducted that year. During the inspection in the presence of government officials, Hitachi and TEPCO employees gathered in the central control room, where the leakage rate is displayed. A Hitachi employee reportedly heard a TEPCO employee saying that air had to be feed into the containment vessel. The Hitachi investigation team was also involved in a routine inspection at the plant the previous year. Another TEPCO employee was quoted in the investigation report as saying: "There was a plan to feed air into the vessel for the 1991 inspection. It's highly likely the plan was carried out." A member of the Hitachi investigation team said company employees probably aided and abetted the cover-up because TEPCO was an important client. "Our employees couldn't tell TEPCO the action was illegal, even though they knew it was," he said. Copyright 2002 The Yomiuri Shimbun ***************************************************************** 8 Deputy who fired gun at Yankee taken off duty Boston Globe Online: Print it! By Associated Press, 10/4/2002 13:21 VERNON, Vt. (AP) A Windham County sheriff's deputy will have to get more training before returning to duty because he fired his shotgun while working at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant. The 12-year veteran of the department inadvertently fired his 12-gauge shotgun Thursday while on duty because the safety had become disengaged, according to Sheriff Henry Farnum. The incident comes at a sensitive time when hundreds of people who don't normally work at Yankee will be going through the sheriff's department checkpoint at the entrance to the plant. Vermont Yankee is expected to shut down for its regular refueling outage in the next day or so. Traditionally, up to 800 contract workers come to the Vernon reactor to refuel the plant and conduct maintenance work. The part-time deputy will undergo additional, remedial training before returning to duty, Farnum said, declining to identify the deputy. He said the deputy would not be fired because of the incident, but the sheriff said any other comment concerned personnel issues and would be kept private. Farnum said the deputy was transferring the gun from his left hand to his right hand, when he touched the trigger, firing the shotgun. Otherwise, Farnum said, the deputy's handling of the weapon followed department procedures. The Windham County Sheriff's Department provides some of the security at the nuclear power plant, specifically the screening of all people entering the plant's grounds. Three deputies are on duty at any one time at the plant, around the clock. ''The deputy has not been returned to duty and will undergo remedial testing and training before contact with weapons can occur,'' Farnum said. Farnum said the deputy had the gun in a shoulder sling with the muzzle down when it went off. The incident, which took place at the guard house at the entrance to the nuclear power plant, was reported to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as a courtesy, but it was not required, according to Diane Screnci of the NRC. Screnci said that because the incident took place outside the plant's security fence it was not a matter for NRC review, even though it involved the security at the plant. Rob Williams, Yankee spokesman, said the incident took place about a quarter-mile from the plant itself, and he said the plant notified the NRC as a courtesy. ***************************************************************** 9 UK OP: NUCLEAR REACTION* *THE STRENGTH of feeling aroused over a second nuclear plant appears to have caught two of the three main political parties on the hop. * Only Hartlepool Labour Party have an established view on the controversial issue. But even Harry Clouth, deputy leader of the Labour group, says the matter is still open to debate. He said: "The Labour Party in Hartlepool are against another nuclear power station. "That has already been established. "Personally however, I have mixed views and it's going to be a big debate. "I am open to listening to the arguments." Leader of the Conservatives, Doug Ferriday said: "I was all for the original power station when that was first built. "If a new one was to replace the old one then yes I would be for it. "What's the alternative? Solar and wind power are fine but you would be relying on the weather for that so you could really only use it to top up nuclear power. "But the Conservatives in Hartlepool haven't formed a set view yet because it hasn't been on any agenda for us to discuss. "As soon as it is discussed, we will have an opinion but that's not really possible at the moment." Leader of the Lib Dems, Andrew Ward said: '"Nationally, the Liberal Democrats are against a renewing power stations but locally, we haven't yet established our policy. "Personally I'm quite open-minded and I'm willing to hear all sides of the argument. "But our party will making up its mind within the next few weeks." But the independent members of the council are more forthright. Independent Headland councillor Stephen Allison: "I am aware of the debates that are going on. "We need power whether nuclear is the best way to generate it or not and we have the network and the structure already in place here and the structure is there. "Hartlepool already has the appropriate skilled workforce and if the station was to move that would require more pylons which people don't want. "Our power station has been there for about 25 years now without any major problems. There have been incidents but not major ones. "As long as the safety concerns are addressed then I have to say yes." And Seaton Carew's Independent Cath Hill, said: "I do not like nuclear power but I am ambivalent because the station is good for Hartlepool's workforce. "It is something that I will have to make a decision on later but at the moment I'm not sure." Stan Kaiser added: "Wind, wave and sun power are the way forward but it will be 30 years before we can even supply 10 per cent of our needs in this way. Coal is an anti-environmental substance and we are therefore left with nuclear power until we can replace it. "It has its tremendous problems but until now it has been totally safe and this country cannot survive without it for the next 30 years." But the decision on whether or not a second site does come to our town also needs to be looked at by the main Party leaders. Independent, John Marshall, said: "I don't like nuclear power. "I think instead of using our monies into sending men to the moon, we should invest in finding new ways of creating power. "I think the sooner the world is rid of nuclear power and nuclear weapons, the better it will be for everyone. "I would put the safety of mankind before jobs and employment every time." Earlier this week the Hartlepool Mail revealed how anti-nuclear campaigners are planning to stand against councillors who are in favour of a second power station. The Nuclear Free Future pressure group could line up candidates against councillors who support the government's proposals to make Hartlepool one of the sites for further development. Group member and firmer councillor, Geoff Lilley, told the Mail : "One thing we are seriously considering is whether we should put a candidate up in wards where councillors are for another power station." 04/10/2002 [Disclaimer ] : All ***************************************************************** 10 Japan EDITORIAL:Toughen safety controls Asahi Shimbun [http://www.asahi.com/] JAPANESE Nuclear regulatory agencies must be integrated. It turns out that lying on safety inspections at the nation's nuclear power plants, first uncovered at Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), encompasses other electric utilities as well. To regain public trust in the safety of nuclear power generation, the government needs drastic reforms and more stringent administration of the industry. Following reports that utilities hid damage they considered not immediate safety risks, new disclosures showed TEPCO, Tohoku Electric Power Co. and Chubu Electric Power Co. failed to report to regulators damage in pipes in reactor cooling systems. TEPCO is also suspected of falsifying data on the pressure integrity of containment vessels, which are supposed to shield radiation. Many people must have been stunned by the degree of duplicity in the nation's nuclear power industry and disappointed at the government's slack administration of safety standards. One problem is the weakness of the regulatory agencies, as seen in their inability to detect the subterfuge. Another is the prospect of collusion among regulators and utilities, as suggested by the fact government officials told TEPCO who blew the whistle on their falsehoods. The Advisory Committee for Natural Resources and Energy, which reports to the minister of economy, trade and industry, formed a subcommittee to address this problem. It urged legal standards for self-imposed safety inspections to require the utilities to keep records on inspections and creation of standards to assess the extent of damage at nuclear power plants. But these small changes are inadequate to restore trust in regulation of the nuclear power industry. Overall regulation of nuclear power generation is the responsibility of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The Nuclear Safety Commission in the Cabinet Office oversees the steps taken by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency. Thus, nuclear power generation is regulated in two tiers, a practice unparalleled anywhere else. We propose changing this structure to separate the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in line with a suggestion from the liaison organization of municipal governments in communities near nuclear power plants. After the agency is spun off from the ministry, it should come under direct control of the Nuclear Safety Commission. The Nuclear Safety Commission has five members, each one a specialist in nuclear power generation or the effects of radioactivity. The commission has several specialized subcommittees and screening panels. Although it is an advisory body on control at the highest level of government, the commission's primary role is to review the documentation of measures taken by government agencies. The commission finds it difficult to make up for regulatory weaknesses, and much of its effort is often wasted. The Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency showed it is not capable when it failed to discover who did what in the TEPCO coverups. An overlapping inspection system may be fine if government agencies have plenty of people. But the nuclear energy division of the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency has about 260 people, including inspectors assigned to nuclear power plants, and the Nuclear Safety Commission has only about 100. In comparison with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in the United States, which has a staff of about 3,000 members, Japan's regulatory agencies are undeniably short-staffed. Regulatory agencies must be integrated for more stringent government regulation. This integration should be considered not only for the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency and the Nuclear Safety Commission but also for part of the Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute, which studies safety of nuclear energy, and the National Institute of Radiological Sciences, which studies uses and effects of radioactivity. More nuclear power generation specialists must be recruited. In short, Japan needs something like the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, supported by capable specialists and researchers. Government agencies to promote nuclear energy and regulate the suppliers should be distinct, to prevent collusion. Such drastic measures are inevitable considering the trust destroyed by the instances of false reporting. --The Asahi Shimbun, Oct. 4(IHT/Asahi: October 5,2002) (10/06) [Copyright Asahi Shimbun. All rights reserved. No reproduction or ***************************************************************** 11 Bunning enters Senate sick workers' bill - The Paducah Sun Paducah, Kentucky Saturday, October 05, 2002 The measure would close a loophole that currently would not require payment even in cases deemed eligible. By Joe Walker jwalker@paducahsun.com--270.575.8650 Sen. Jim Bunning has introduced legislation to have the Department of Labor compensate nuclear workers sickened from exposure to toxic substances. Bunning, R-Southgate, said the bill would correct a flaw in 2000 legislation that could prevent half the legitimate claims from receiving state workers’ compensation. That's because the Department of Energy has no authority to make a privately insured former contractor or firm — such as Paducah uranium enrichment plant operator USEC Inc. — pay a claim even after a worker is deemed eligible for benefits, he said. On Friday, Bunning joined Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., in filing the Energy Workers Compensation Act of 2002. Rep. Ed Whitfield, R-Hopkinsville, introduced similar legislation a week ago. “Any time you are dealing with a program of this magnitude, there are going to be minor glitches,” Bunning said. “Our legislation attempts to correct a serious problem that currently delays funds from getting to these sick workers." He said the loophole "really hits home" for former government contract workers now employed by USEC, a private firm. Even if an independent physicians' panel determines that a worker should be compensated, "USEC has no obligation to follow that panel's decision and will be able to contest the claim," Bunning said. "I am going to work hard here in Congress to see that this problem is fixed." He said the bill fulfills intent of 2000 legislation to compensate nuclear workers sickened by exposure to toxic substances. The program, now run by the Department of Energy, relies on each state's worker compensation system to determine lost wages and health-care costs. DOE tells its contractors not to contest payouts and reimburses them. The 2000 law created separate programs — one for workers exposed to radiation and beryllium, administered by the Labor Department, and a second for workers exposed to toxic substances and other hazardous materials, partly administered by the Energy Department. But DOE has sent only four claims to the doctors’ panel for review in the 23 months since enactment, and because funding is discretionary, some workers may not get paid if the annually appropriated fund has been drained, according to the new legislation. Leon Owens, president of the Paducah nuclear workers’ union known as PACE, said lawmakers want to start dialogue before Congress ends this year and bring the legislation to a vote next year. The new legislation would retain an independent physicians’ panel to determine eligibility for benefits, but remove state workers’ compensation from the equation. It would authorize the Labor Department to determine the level of disability and benefits, to be paid from the same permanent federal fund set up for workers who get $150,000 lump-sum payments for specific cancers and other diseases related to radiation and beryllium exposure. ***************************************************************** 12 Family Spirit Walk Reaches Las Vegas AmeriScan: October 4, 2002 LAS VEGAS, Nevada, October 4, 2002 (ENS) - The Family Spirit Walk to protest the dangers of radioactive waste arrived in a flourish of banners, songs and solidarity at the National Nuclear Security Administration building in Las Vegas today after 800 miles and two months of walking. The 25 walkers ranging in age from 15 months to 70 years old, are from all over the United States, Belgium and Austria. Their walk began August 9, at Tsangawi, a site sacred to the Tewa people indigenous to New Mexico and has taken them down roads in Arizona, Utah and Nevada. They walked through the town of Los Alamos, and through dozens of indigenous communities affected by the nuclear chain - uranium mining, weapons production and testing, military and civilian waste, routine radioactive releases from nuclear power plants, according to Kalynda Tilges, executive director of the Shundahai Network, who is organizing the Nevada anti-nuclear Family Spirit Walk Reaches Las Vegas AmeriScan: October 4, 2002 LAS VEGAS, Nevada, October 4, 2002 (ENS) - The Family Spirit Walk to protest the dangers of radioactive waste arrived in a flourish of banners, songs and solidarity at the National Nuclear Security Administration building in Las Vegas today after 800 miles and two months of walking. The 25 walkers ranging in age from 15 months to 70 years old, are from all over the United States, Belgium and Austria. Their walk began August 9, at Tsangawi, a site sacred to the Tewa people indigenous to New Mexico and has taken them down roads in Arizona, Utah and Nevada. They walked through the town of Los Alamos, and through dozens of indigenous communities affected by the nuclear chain - uranium mining, weapons production and testing, military and civilian waste, routine radioactive releases from nuclear power plants, according to Kalynda Tilges, executive director of the Shundahai Network, who is organizing the Nevada anti-nuclear events. This afternoon, walkers gathered in a circle in the parking lot of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) building, after being refused access to the main entrance. They were greeted by Western Shoshone elders Corbin Harney and Katherine Blossom who blessed the walkers as they entered traditional Western Shoshone lands. Walkers asked to meet with a representative of the NNSA, and attempted to phone public relations head Darwin Morgan. When he was told that people had walked 800 miles to voice their concerns about nuclear issues, he said, "I see no reason to come talk to you." Marieke Van Coppelle, who left her two sons in Belgium in order to participate in the walk, says, "Nuclear proliferation is a global problem. U.S. weapons of mass destruction are stored in my home country." Steve Lamar, a farmer from New Mexico who has been on the walk since it began, says "Humans are the custodians of planet Earth. We want to protect it for our children, and children's children." On Saturday, the walkers will participate in the People's Nuclear Abolition Summit in Las Vegas. Then they will head for the Nevada Nuclear Test Site and Yucca Mountain, approved by the Bush administration as the nation's first permanent high-level nuclear waste repository. Walkers are expected to arrive at the Action for Nuclear Abolition events at the Nevada Test Site the morning of October 11. African American, Asian American, Latino and Native American representatives from other communities across the country affected by nuclear and chemical contamination are joining the Family Spirit Walkers for the Nevada events. The multiracial delegation consists of members of the Building Action for Sustainable Environments Initiative of the Peace Development Fund, a peace and social justice foundation based in Amherst, Massachusetts. "Environmental activists representing the 'four colors' and traveling from the 'four directions' of the continent are coming to stand together against the U.S. nuclear policies that have terrorized our communities and threatened the lives of our children and families," said Doris Bradshaw of the Defense Depot of Memphis Tennessee - Concerned Citizen's Committee. "We are proud and excited to join in solidarity with our Western Shoshone neighbors to defend and protect our children's future," she said. Almost $7 Million Funds Radiation Research WASHINGTON, DC, October 4, 2002 (ENS) - The Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have funded six basic research projects on the health effects of low doses of ionizing radiation. The six three year projects will be funded for a total of $6.69 million. The research teams will apply similar experimental techniques and research designs to study problems that are relevant to both the DOE Low Dose Radiation Research Program and the NASA Space Radiation Health Program. The goal of DOE's program is to help determine human health risks from exposures to low levels of radiation encountered in work and cleanup environments. The goal of NASA's program is to pinpoint health risks from radiation exposure to astronauts working in the space environment. DOE's research focuses on very low doses of x-rays and gamma rays, whereas NASA studies low levels of particulate ionizing radiation - alpha particles, protons and high energy heavy ions - that comprise the solar wind and cosmic rays. In both cases, this information is needed to determine adequate and appropriate protective measures for personnel. Brookhaven National Laboratory will use its grant to study how low level radiation damages clusters of DNA in human cells. The Pacific Northwest National Laboratory will explore the effects of low doses of radiation on DNA repair. The University of Texas will look at chromosome responses to low doses of ionizing radiation, while the Texas Engineering Experiment Station at Texas A &M will research the responses of respiratory cells. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will investigate how a genetic defect may account for some people's higher susceptibility to low dose radiation. Loma Linda University will look at whether low doses of gamma radiation to thyroid tissue increases risks from additional exposure to gamma rays or other radiation. The projects will be funded by the DOE Office of Science's Office of Biological and Environmental Research and by NASA's Space Radiation Health Program, Office of Biological and Physical Research. More information on the funded projects is available at: http://lowdose.tricity.wsu.edu [http://lowdose.tricity.wsu.edu] ***************************************************************** 13 Nuclear plan may yield civic rewards - Friday, October 04, 2002 - Las Vegas View Neighborhood Newspapers Jobs could range from technical to construction By MARK WAITE VIEW STAFF WRITER Pahrump community leaders eager for a payoff from the Yucca Mountain project heard Ken Hess, general manager of Bechtel/SAIC Corporation, say he could place some off-site projects in Pahrump, but the final say would be with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Hess spoke at a meeting arranged by the Pahrump Valley Community Action Team Yucca Mountain Committee at the Community College of Southern Nevada Pahrump campus Monday. It was intended to be non-political, with ground rules from committee chairman Zolin Burson that political aspects of the project weren't open for discussion. Hess said his focus is currently on the preliminary design for Yucca Mountain, which is scheduled to be presented to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission by December 2004. "The Nuclear Regulatory Commission then has three years to review the license application before they issue a license authorization," he said. If the NRC issues a license for the project, it would take two more years to complete construction, Hess said. Bechtel/SAIC would then have to receive a permit for completion of the project before Yucca Mountain could begin receiving waste, which he estimated would occur in October 2010. It would take $12 billion to $16 billion to complete the project, he estimated. Besides a lot of underground work built to entomb the nuclear waste, there would be off-site facilities constructed as well, Hess said. He outlined his vision of a simulation facility, where workers would practice handling nuclear material using robotics, similar to what is used currently at nuclear facilities in France. He envisioned a learning center attached to it, where people could look through the glass at the techniques used in offloading the nuclear waste, welding the casks shut and burying it in the mountain. Hess said it would be a state-of-the-art facility. Pahrump would be more suitable for the location, as it would be closer to an airport than Lathrop Wells. But he said, "We need fiber optics. We have to have top notch telecommunications facilities." The studies to this point on the characterization of the site focused on transportation only enough to support the designation of Yucca Mountain in the environmental impact statement, Hess said. But while only $3 million was spent to study transportation issues last year, that amount will be increased to $20 million in 2004, he said. Hess said the environmental impact statement established rail as the preferred method of transportation. The project would require 3,215 train shipments, with three casks of nuclear waste per train and 1,079 truck shipments. Hess said some nuclear power plants don't have access to rail. That breaks down to 130 train and 43 truck shipments per year over the 24-year shipping campaign. The U.S. Department of Energy will have contracts with different companies on the transportation of nuclear waste, Hess said. Hess gave some idea as to the type of operation that will be conducted when the nuclear waste arrives at Yucca Mountain. "All of this is done with robotics. Essentially, this is one large hot cell. The walls of this building would be about 3-feet thick," Hess said. "No people can enter this area." The simulation facility to practice working with the robotics could require a staff of 30 to 50 people, along with 10 to 20 instructors, Hess said. When asked by Pahrump resident Dale Schutte how many contracts Bechtel/SAIC had with Pahrump businesses, Hess said there were very few, perhaps 10. "Do we have a policy to increase that? Yes," Hess said. Hess said he would work with the Community College of Southern Nevada on training programs, adding that one of his first meetings, after his company was awarded the contract, was with representatives of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Bechtel/SAIC already spends considerable sums on contracted labor and equipment for Yucca Mountain, though the project isn't operating at full steam, Hess said. "My payroll is approximately $90 million here in Las Vegas, but we subcontract and buy materials for approximately another $80 to $100 million per year. So there's a lot of procurement activity on Yucca Mountain, even now," Hess said. When the discussion came to possibly acquiring a site in Pahrump, Hess was asked about what property the company is currently leasing in Las Vegas. "Right now I currently lease about 250,000 square feet of office space. I have a four-year lease I'm committed to with the Howard Hughes Corporation," Hess said. "On Yucca Mountain, I pay about $7 1/2 million per year in rent. When I signed those leases I had to set aside $7 1/2 million." Hess said he could vacate 20,000 square feet of office space in one year. He suggested Pahrump could be the home of a data center, noting his company will need 1,800 square feet of office space alone just for computer servers. Then there was a key question for those hoping to cash in on the project: Just how many jobs would be created by Yucca Mountain? "Once the license is granted by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, we would then ramp up to about 2,800 people. We would be at 2,800 people until about the beginning of 2009. We would come down to 1,500 through 2010. We would then come down to about 500 people probably after the operation begins," Hess said. Those 500 construction workers doesn't include 300 people working in operations, he said. Bechtel/SAIC built a camp to house workers building the Palo Verde nuclear plant, he said, conceding the company may have to build similar facilities here. Hess said Bechtel/SAIC would work with surrounding communities on emergency response capability rather than build an emergency response center at Yucca Mountain. "The county commission position is not to go to Bechtel, DOE (Department of Energy) or other contractors and ask for these things," Nye County Commissioner Henry Neth said. Instead, Neth said the question is, "What things do we need to benefit from these projects?" "Right now, I don't need anything from Pahrump," Hess replied. "I need Congress to pass our budgets." Neth then said he was taking off his commissioner hat and asking a question as a real estate person: If someone built a facility in Pahrump to the company's specifications, would that be of interest to Bechtel/SAIC? "For me to relocate the entire project, DOE also needs to relocate. One of the reasons I am where I am is because that's where my customer is," Hess said. Hess said the NRC would have to approve the location of any facilities. For those seeking a future in the industry, Hess said a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering or electrical engineering would be most useful for the permanent Yucca Mountain jobs. When Nye County School Superintendent William "Rob" Roberts asked if the company would be willing to fund 10 engineering scholarships for Pahrump Valley High School students, he was directed to a company procurement specialist. "It'd make a lot of sense since Yucca Mountain is in Nye County for future development to be in Nye County," Burson said, who is also a retired radiological specialist. Hess said Yucca Mountain is only permitted by law to accept up to 77,000 tons of nuclear waste. When asked about recent news reports that plans are already under way for expanding Yucca Mountain to keep accepting nuclear waste after it's full in 2035, he said, "We have characterized enough of Yucca Mountain we could handle 120,000 to 130,000 tons." "The law also states there has to be a second repository," Hess said, referring to the Nuclear Waste Policy Act of 1987. ***************************************************************** 14 Family Spirit Walk Reaches Las Vegas AmeriScan: October 4, 2002 LAS VEGAS, Nevada, October 4, 2002 (ENS) - The Family Spirit Walk to protest the dangers of radioactive waste arrived in a flourish of banners, songs and solidarity at the National Nuclear Security Administration building in Las Vegas today after 800 miles and two months of walking. The 25 walkers ranging in age from 15 months to 70 years old, are from all over the United States, Belgium and Austria. Their walk began August 9, at Tsangawi, a site sacred to the Tewa people indigenous to New Mexico and has taken them down roads in Arizona, Utah and Nevada. They walked through the town of Los Alamos, and through dozens of indigenous communities affected by the nuclear chain - uranium mining, weapons production and testing, military and civilian waste, routine radioactive releases from nuclear power plants, according to Kalynda Tilges, executive director of the Shundahai Network, who is organizing the Nevada anti-nuclear events. This afternoon, walkers gathered in a circle in the parking lot of the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) building, after being refused access to the main entrance. They were greeted by Western Shoshone elders Corbin Harney and Katherine Blossom who blessed the walkers as they entered traditional Western Shoshone lands. Walkers asked to meet with a representative of the NNSA, and attempted to phone public relations head Darwin Morgan. When he was told that people had walked 800 miles to voice their concerns about nuclear issues, he said, "I see no reason to come talk to you." Marieke Van Coppelle, who left her two sons in Belgium in order to participate in the walk, says, "Nuclear proliferation is a global problem. U.S. weapons of mass destruction are stored in my home country." Steve Lamar, a farmer from New Mexico who has been on the walk since it began, says "Humans are the custodians of planet Earth. We want to protect it for our children, and children's children." On Saturday, the walkers will participate in the People's Nuclear Abolition Summit in Las Vegas. Then they will head for the Nevada Nuclear Test Site and Yucca Mountain, approved by the Bush administration as the nation's first permanent high-level nuclear waste repository. Walkers are expected to arrive at the Action for Nuclear Abolition events at the Nevada Test Site the morning of October 11. African American, Asian American, Latino and Native American representatives from other communities across the country affected by nuclear and chemical contamination are joining the Family Spirit Walkers for the Nevada events. The multiracial delegation consists of members of the Building Action for Sustainable Environments Initiative of the Peace Development Fund, a peace and social justice foundation based in Amherst, Massachusetts. "Environmental activists representing the 'four colors' and traveling from the 'four directions' of the continent are coming to stand together against the U.S. nuclear policies that have terrorized our communities and threatened the lives of our children and families," said Doris Bradshaw of the Defense Depot of Memphis Tennessee - Concerned Citizen's Committee. "We are proud and excited to join in solidarity with our Western Shoshone neighbors to defend and protect our children's future," she said. Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All Rights ***************************************************************** 15 State Scheme Utah Goshute" State Scheme The Salt Lake Tribune -- Saturday, October 5, 2002 In the Ten Commandments, the 10th reads, "thou shalt not covet they neighbors' goods," which in this case is the Skull Valley Goshute and Private Fuel Storage proposal to store spent nuclear fuel. According to The Salt Lake Tribune (Sept. 22), the State of Utah has schemed a "Plan B." It seems to me the State of Utah is looking at all those greenbacks in exchange for providing their own location and proposal to store spent nuclear fuel. Utah! Where have you been? The process is almost over. For the past decade, we Goshutes have been working on obtaining this storage facility. We're not about to let the state take it away from us. If we are fortunate enough to obtain the license from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), we look forward to the construction phase next year. In the same edition of the Tribune there was an editorial titled "Inform all Goshutes." Inform us of what? We Goshutes are informed of what's happening on our reservation. That article gives your readers bogus information. Stating the Band is split in the middle is false. The majority of the Band want this facility. It is only a few members who are in opposition and always bringing suit on something. Their last two cases were thrown out of court. Within this opposition is a member who claims to be the leader of the Band when in reality he is not. The only true tribal chairman is Leon D. Bear. I am a Goshute member and I can tell you that I know all their allegations are in fact fabrications and falsehoods. LAWRENCE BEAR Grantsville © Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune All material found on ***************************************************************** 16 Envirocare, Tooele County Deals Too Sweet? The Salt Lake Tribune -- Saturday, October 5, 2002 BY LINDA FANTIN and BRENT ISRAELSEN Tooele County commissioners negotiated cut-rate deals with radioactive-waste giant Envirocare of Utah, bypassing the county attorney and possibly skirting open-meetings law. The arrangements, negotiated in July 1995 and February 1996, slash by 60 percent the county-mandated fees Envirocare pays on several contracts, including all low-level waste it receives from nuclear power plants, according to Envirocare documents obtained by The Salt Lake Tribune. The agreements also are alluded to in a lawsuit filed by former Envirocare President Charles Judd, who alleges the company bribed public officials and sabotaged rival projects to create a monopoly in the once-competitive industry of radioactive waste storage -- charges Envirocare adamantly denies. In documents filed in open court but later sealed at the request of his lawyers, Judd claims Envirocare and owner Khosrow Semnani: * Negotiated secret business deals with Tooele County commissioners in exchange for favorable treatment; * Offered a county commissioner the chance to do business with Envirocare in Texas; * Funded the pet project of another commissioner and then had the money discounted from Envirocare's county-mandated fees; * Quietly paid environmentalists to oppose the licensing of facilities that would compete with Envirocare, and induced Utah regulators to do the same; * Arranged for someone to salt a competitor's land with purported artifacts to make it look like an Indian burial site. * Doctored Envirocare's books to make the company seem less profitable than it is, thereby reducing Judd's bonus money. Envirocare attorney Max Wheeler called the allegations "absurd" and "absolutely false." He pointed out that when Judd was in charge, he denied, and defended Envirocare against, similar allegations. "Now he's done a 180-degree turn. That says a lot about the credibility of those allegations," Wheeler said. "Besides, most of these alleged improprieties occurred when he was in charge." Wheeler also questioned why Judd did not report any of the alleged crimes, like the planting of artifacts, to law enforcement. Judd took the helm of Envirocare in May 1997 and was fired in January 2002. Four months later, he filed a civil suit in state court saying Semnani cheated him out of bonus money, slandered him, and thwarted efforts to start his own radioactive waste business -- allegations Semnani refutes in court documents. On May 28, Judd filed a follow-up document in which he accused Semnani of engaging in a pattern of illegal activity designed to stymie competition, including bribery and fraud. The now-sealed complaint, a copy of which was obtained by The Tribune, was replaced three days later with a less-detailed version. For example, the allegations involving Indian artifacts were changed to "tampering with competitors' proposed sites to disqualify their suitability." Judd's attorneys told the court they had made a mistake and filed a version not approved by their client. On June 17, District Judge Roger Livingston sealed it at their request. Neither Judd nor his attorney, Jim Lowrie, would comment on the switch or on any information contained in the once-public papers. Judd said only that his attorneys will file a more detailed complaint this week. Competitors have long accused Envirocare of employing corporate dirty tricks. But this is the first time a high-ranking Envirocare insider has echoed their complaints. Envirocare's 640-acre landfill has been highly profitable, both to Semnani and to Tooele County, which is supposed to reap 5 percent of Envirocare's gross revenues. The deals commissioners cut with Envirocare, however, allow the company to remit only 2 percent of gross revenues instead of the full 5 percent. Tooele County Attorney Doug Ahlstrom learned about the special arrangements earlier this summer, he said. County auditor Michael Jensen and newly elected Commissioner Gene White also were unaware of the deals until recently. Envirocare can request a discount when it determines the full amount would undermine the company's ability to bid on a particular project. But commission approval must be in writing and copies must be provided to the county attorney and county assessor. That never happened, said Ahlstrom. "They bypassed me," he said. The Envirocare memos, provided by auditor Jensen, indicate all three commissioners approved the deals, but there is some question as to whether it was done in open meetings. Former County Commissioner Gary Griffith said Friday it is his understanding that Envirocare only had to notify at least one commissioner, who would then inform the others. "Those of us who live in the bid world realize you have to get bids in on a timely manner and waiting for a vote by the commission might make that difficult," Griffith said. "Our thinking was it was better to get 2 percent of something than 5 percent of nothing. It was just a partnershipping idea that seemed to work very well for the county." Ahlstrom said that he was not too disturbed at being left out of the loop. "It didn't give me any great heartburn because I knew it could happen at any time," he said, referring to the possibility Envirocare might request a discount. Griffith also acknowledged Thursday that he once discussed with Semnani and Judd a potential business deal in Texas. But Griffith, an industrial contractor, said he only asked for the chance to bid on the Texas project, which ultimately fell through. "I was never promised anything," Griffith said, adding that, because the job was in Texas, he had no duty to disclose his deal-making to the other commissioners or the county attorney. Indeed, Ahlstrom said this was the first he had heard of it. "None of this was ever discussed with me. I don't know anything about it," Ahlstrom said. "I do know that Gary's company never bid on any projects in Tooele County, in order to avoid conflicts of interest." The "pet project" Judd referred to was the state firefighters' museum, spearheaded by Commissioner Teryl Hunsaker. When the museum opened in Tooele County in October 2000, Envirocare was publicly praised for bankrolling the project. But Ahlstrom confirmed that, at the last minute, the county agreed to subtract the $1.5 million "donation" for the museum from contractual fees Envirocare owed the county -- $500,000 a year for three years. Hunsaker did not return calls seeking comment. Museum officials said they were aware of the pass-through. Ahlstrom, too, said there was nothing secret about the arrangement. Commissioner White, who was a candidate for office at the time, said he attended the commission meeting where Semnani received the abatement. White said he was concerned at the time that the project was not going through the proper budgetary channels. He was told Envirocare's mitigation fees are not taxpayer funds so they can be doled out separately. Ahlstrom agreed. Wheeler said Envirocare did nothing wrong in requesting and receiving various discounts. As to Judd's other allegations, Wheeler said Envirocare, on occasion, has donated money to environmental groups but never hired anyone to sabotage a competitor's project. "I'd like to know what evidence Mr. Judd had. Was he standing around watching Khos Semnani dig holes and plant arrowheads?" Wheeler mused. "Ultimately when somebody makes a claim in a complaint, they have to prove it and we don't think they are going to be able to do that." © Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune All material found on ***************************************************************** 17 Leucadia Tried to Buy Envirocare Last Year, Sources Say The Salt Lake Tribune -- Saturday, October 5, 2002 BY BRENT ISRAELSEN and LINDA FANTIN Leucadia National Corp., a venture-capital firm chaired by former Utahn Ian Cumming, reportedly tried last year to purchase Envirocare of Utah, a radioactive-waste disposal firm 50 miles west of Salt Lake City. References of a sale first surfaced in a lawsuit filed in May against Envirocare and its owner, Khosrow Semnani, by the company's former president, Charles Judd. Judd's lawsuit does not name the buyer, but Envirocare attorney Max Wheeler confirmed that Leucadia -- which owns financial, real-estate, manufacturing and mineral ventures around the world -- made "several offers" to buy the company beginning in the spring of 2001. All offers were rejected, and the talks ended in December, Wheeler said. "[Envirocare] was never on the market. Leucadia -- and I don't know who initiated the conversation -- said, 'We'd like to buy Envirocare.' It was not like we put out feelers and said Envirocare was for sale, make an offer." The company is not currently for sale, "nor is any sale contemplated in the foreseeable future," Wheeler said. Officials from Leucadia, a major contributor to Democratic campaigns nationwide, were not available for comment on Friday. Were Envirocare to change hands, it would bring an end to a tumultuous era in the history of one of the state's most successful private enterprises. Semnani opened the Envirocare landfill in 1991, taking advantage of the remoteness of Utah's western desert. Within a few years, he had carved out a huge slice of the market for the nation's low-level radioactive waste, such as uranium mill tailings, and "mixed wastes," which contain radioactivity and hazardous elements such as lead or PCBs. Simultaneously seeking to expand his business and fend off competitors, Semnani became a force on Utah's Capitol Hill, donating generously to political campaigns and hiring high profile lobbyists and attorneys. His clout, however, began to weaken in 1996, when he became embroiled in a financial scandal with Larry Anderson, the former head of Utah's radiation control bureau. Semnani acknowledged giving Anderson $600,000 in cash, gold coins and real estate but claimed he had been extorted. He later pleaded guilty to a federal tax misdemeanor for not reporting those gifts to the Internal Revenue Service. He paid a $100,000 fine but was spared jail time in exchange for his testimony against Anderson, who was found guilty on several tax charges and sentenced to 30 months in prison. As the Anderson case progressed, Leucadia and Semnani allegedly were negotiating a sale of the company, which grossed at least $120 million last year and whose profits, according to Judd, were up by 50 percent over the previous year. In his lawsuit, Judd, an Envirocare engineer who became president shortly after the Semnani-Anderson affair came to light, alleges the sale talks were cut off when Semnani realized he would have to pay Judd 10 percent of the net gain from the sale. The sale "would have resulted in a substantial payment to Judd," states the lawsuit, filed in Utah's 3rd District Court. Judd was terminated in January, but Envirocare has denied his leaving the company is related to any potential sale. Judd is asking the court to award him hundreds of millions of dollars in compensatory and punitive damages arising from Semnani's alleged breaches of Judd's compensation contracts. Not long after Judd was terminated, Leucadia executive H.E. Bud Scruggs met with Douglas Foxley, a well-known lobbyist and a principal in Utah's largest municipal waste landfill. During that meeting, Foxley said, Scruggs expressed an interest in taking the helm of Envirocare. Scruggs, a chief of staff to former Utah Gov. Norm Bangerter and a political confidant to Gov. Mike Leavitt, did not respond to Tribune phone calls. Wheeler, however, suggested Scruggs' interest in the job does not mean that talks between Envirocare and Leucadia had resumed. After Judd left Envirocare, Wheeler said, "Khosrow [Semnani] immediately sent out feelers for a new CEO. There were a number of people who submitted applications. . . . My assumption is Bud Scruggs was one of those they considered." Any potential sale of Envirocare now probably would be affected by the outcome of a November ballot initiative aimed at imposing heavy taxes and restrictions on the radioactive-waste business. The initiative, announced in early April by a citizens' group headed by Salt Lake advertising executive Michael D. "Mickey" Gallivan, would increase state taxes on radioactive waste and prohibit "hotter" types of waste for which Envirocare was seeking state approval. An opposition group called Utahns Opposed to Unfair Taxes, financed almost entirely by Envirocare, has spent nearly $900,000 fighting the tax. It plans to spend at least that much more before the Nov. 5 election, said Hugh Matheson, director of the opposition group. © Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune ***************************************************************** 18 Decision could have national implications BY NANCY HICKS / Lincoln Journal Star The recent court decision on low-level radioactive waste will affect Nebraska in two important ways. It means the state likely won't be the site of the nation's next low-level dump. And it could cost taxpayers $151.4 million plus interest in damages if higher courts uphold the decision. However Nebraska's low-level waste lawsuit could have broader, national implications if the U.S. Supreme Court uses it to more clearly define state responsibilities on this issue. Across the country, people involved in the low-level radioactive waste issue are very interested in what the courts say during Nebraska's appeal process. "People are definitely watching it, because it's going to have some kind of effect on everyone," if the U.S. Supreme Court agrees to take the case, said Susan Jablonski, director of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. Experts agree Nebraska's case could set precedent, but they don't agree on the number of new dumps the nation needs. The number ranges from none to five or six, depending on whether you want to consider science only or add politics and competition to the mix. People who want additional low-level nuclear waste disposal sites are pleased by Judge Richard Kopf's decision this week that punishes Nebraska for mixing politics with the siting decision and orders $151.4 million in damages. Nebraska was selected to host the disposal site for the fivestates in the Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact Commission. "To me this is a positive step. A judge has upheld the power of an interstate compact," said Kathryn Haynes, executive director of Southeast Compact Commission for Low-Level Radioactive Waste Management. That compact is also involved in a lawsuit seeking damages from a host state that did not license a disposal site. "The judge (in the Nebraska case) has said that if the state does not meet its obligations to other states (in a compact), that failure has serious consequences," Haynes said. "That is the main message to other compacts and other states in compact," she said. "This is not something to be done lightly. It is not like promising to go to lunch and then breaking the lunch date. This is more serious," Haynes said. The Nebraska lawsuit could become important because there has been very little litigation about multi-state compacts, said Holmes Brown, director of state and federal relations for Afton Associations, a Washington, D.C.,-based consulting firm dealing with environmental and energy issues. People are looking for answers to questions about the responsibility of host states and what compensation or penalties may be required by the courts, he said. Plus, the dollars are huge in these cases, so the issue of damages becomes more important, said Jablonski. Nebraska's case is part of the larger national issue: a search for new dump sites for the low-level waste from gloves, clothing, class, water purification filters, medical syringes and other material that has come in contact with radioactive materials. But Judge Kopf's decision does not settle that issue. He did not require any second look at licensing the Nebraska site. The compact system was created 22 years ago by Congress so that additional disposal sites would be developed. But it "has not produced another fully licensed site because states have been unwilling to implement it," said Al Pasternak, technical director for the California Radioactive Materials Management Forum, a group representing industries that produce low-level waste. The Nebraska ruling shows "there is an accountability and a price to pay (for not licensing a site). The question then is will that produce any new sites?" he said. And just how many new low-level radioactive waste disposal sites does the nation need? The answer depends on perspective. All low-level waste produced by private companies now goes to three sites: in South Carolina (which will close its doors to all states but three in 2008); in Washington state (which serves only 11 western states); and in Utah (currently limited to only the least hazardous low-level radioactive waste). No new sites are needed for at least the next five to 15 years, according to Ed Helminski, publisher of the Radioactive Exchange, an independent newsletter. Until nuclear reactors begin dismantling or renovating, there is plenty of space at the three current sites, he said. Haynes said only one site is really needed.** "If this were a perfect world without politics and you were looking at the amount of space required, we would need one safe facility that would take waste for a very long time," said Haynes. But Terese Ghio, chair of the Cal Rad Forum, believes the country needs at least half a dozen sites, "because we need competition." If you had only one sanitary landfill in the country, that group would have a monopoly, affecting the fees charged companies to dispose of the waste, she said. The compact system was created because the few states with low- level disposal sites did not want to take all the nation's waste, Pasternak said. So this decision (of new sites) "is not a matter of space availability. It is a matter of regional equity and politics," he said. And Pasternak points out that 36 states, including Nebraska, will have no place to dispose of waste in 2008 when South Carolina closes its site to states that aren't members of its compact. There will be no options unless the Utah site begins taking the higher level of low-level waste. And Utah voters are being asked to prohibit the site from taking the more dangerous waste on a November ballot issue. "How many sites do we need? I can't give you a number," said Pasternak. "But there are 36 states that will have no place to dispose of waste in less than six years from now." Reach Nancy Hicks at 473-7250 or <@Tagline & Letters credit (quad right)>nhicks@journalstar.com. Copyright © 2002, Lincoln Journal Star. All rights reserved. ***************************************************************** 19 Mational Lawyers Guild & civil didobedience agaimnt war Date: Sun, 6 Oct 2002 00:05:52 -0500 (CDT) FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 3, 2002. NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD SUPPORTS ACTS OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE IN PROTESTING PREEMPTIVE STRIKE AGAINST IRAQ Will Provide Legal Support and Materials Regarding Necessity Defense The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) condemns George Bush's proposed preemptive strike and escalation of the ongoing war against Iraq as violating the Constitution of the United States and the United Nations Charter. The Guild will seek to provide legal support for individuals and groups practicing non-violent civil disobedience regarding the "necessity" defense, which is conduct that an actor believes to be necessary to avoid harm to himself or to another. Such behavior may be justifiable, provided that the harm sought to be avoided by such conduct is greater than the harm which the law defining the offense seeks to prevent. "The Guild commits its legal resources to support those who engage in acts of civil disobedience against such unauthorized military action," says Guild President Bruce Nestor. The Guild is preparing a legal brief and supporting materials related to the necessity defense and military action against Iraq, and will distribute those materials nationally. Immediately after the attacks of September 11, 2001, a relatively small group of individuals in the United States government--primarily President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his Deputy Paul Wolfowitz--began to develop pretexts for intensified military attacks against Iraq. No credible evidence connects Iraq to the crimes of September 11. One year later, these officials formally promulgated a doctrine under which the United States will "act preemptively," without the legally required authorization of the United Nations and the international community, or any legitimate claim of self-defense or defense of others, to bomb and invade Iraq. (National Security Strategy, Section V). Ongoing unilateral military attacks by the US against Iraq, consisting of bombing raids in the "no fly zones," are not authorized by any resolution of the UN Security Council. These bombing raids, as well as any escalated attacks, violate Article 1, Section 4 and Articles 41 and 42 of the UN Charter and other provisions of international law, which as ratified treaties are also part of the "supreme Law of the Land." (Constitution of the United States, Article VI Section 2). The forthcoming air attacks and invasion of Iraq will kill innocent civilians, threaten international peace and security, undermine the rule of law, and create a backlash against the people of the United States. Under well-accepted general principles of criminal law applicable in every US jurisdiction, otherwise technically illegal acts may be justified by the necessity of preventing a greater wrong or danger--a form of self-defense or defense of others. In this case there is ample legal necessity and justification for non-violent resistance to these illegal and immensely destructive, murderous actions by the top officials of the US government. NLG President Bruce Nestor says that "The basic question raised by continuing and intensifying US aggression against Iraq is moral: whether US government officials are authorized to decide that the 'price is worth it,' for millions of people whose lives will be shaped--and in many cases destroyed--by the criminal actions of a handful of US leaders who hold themselves above the law." The fundamental principles of international law and democracy empower individuals to make this moral decision for themselves, regardless of the contrary actions of their leaders. US government officials forfeit legitimacy and the power to enforce laws against non-violent trespass and "disorder" when they pursue policies that result in war crimes. Non-violent civil disobedience in opposition to the US government's illegal preemptive wars is justified by the necessity of self-defense and defense of others. The National Lawyers Guild was founded in 1937 as an alternative to the then-racially segregated American Bar Association. Currently, the NLG has nearly 5,000 members nationally--lawyers, legal workers, law students and jailhouse lawyers--committed to using the law as a vehicle for positive social change. CONTACT: Bruce D. Nestor, phone 612.659.9019, bdnestor@visi.com Heidi Boghosian, phone 212.679.5100, ext. 11, director@nlg.org *************************************************************************** Susan Gordon, Director Alliance for Nuclear Accountability www.ananuclear.org 1914 N 34th, Suite #407, Seattle, WA 98103 ph 206-547-3175 fax 206-547-7158 ANA is a national alliance of organizations working to address issues of nuclear weapons production and waste clean-up. ============== ALSO ================= Subj: [snow] The UN Charter and the Use of Force Against Iraq Date: 10/4/02 9:22:42 AM Pacific Daylight Time From: susangordon@earthlink.net FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: OCTOBER 3, 2002 CONTACT: John Burroughs, Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy (212 )818-1861 Jacqueline Cabasso, Western States Legal Foundation (510) 839-5877 LAWYERS TELL SENATE: USE OF FORCE AGAINST IRAQ WITHOUT NEW SECURITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION IS UNLAWFUL; URGE CONGRESS TO UPHOLD U.N. CHARTER In a 4-page memo sent to key Senators and Representatives, international law specialists have told Congress that under the United Nations Charter the use of force by the United States against Iraq would be unlawful under present circumstances. The legal memo begins: "The United Nations Charter is a treaty of the United States, and as such forms part of the 'supreme law of the land' under the Constitution, Article VI, Clause 2. The UN Charter is the highest treaty in the world, superseding states' conflicting obligations under any other international agreement. (Art. 103, UN Charter)." The memo concludes: "Under the UN Charter, there are only two circumstances in which the use of force is permissible: in collective or individual self-defense against an actual or imminent armed attack; and when the Security Council has directed or authorized use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security. Neither of those circumstances now exist. Absent one of them, U.S. use of force against Iraq is unlawful." According to John Burroughs, Executive Director of the Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy in New York City, "The implication for resolutions now being considered by Congress is that, as a matter of law, no resolution should be adopted which authorizes the United States to use force against Iraq in the absence of a new Security Council resolution clearly and specifically authorizing such use. Of course, even if there is a Security Council resolution at some point which authorizes use of force, it still remains a question for Congress to decide whether the use of force against Iraq is wise, moral, or otherwise advisable." Jacqueline Cabasso, Executive Director of the Western States Legal Foundation in Oakland, California added, "Adherence to the UN Charter is not optional. It's the law. The Bush Administration's unilateral headlong rush to war threatens not only unprecedented regional instability and potentially catastrophic loss of life, it threatens to do away with the existing international order." The United Nations Charter and the Use of Force Against Iraq, was issued by the Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy, Western States Legal Foundation, Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Professor Jules Lobel of the University of Pittsburgh Law School. The Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy and Western States Legal Foundation are the U.S. affiliates of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms. Copies of the memo are available upon request or on-line at www.lcnp.org/global/iraqstatement3.htm or www.wslfweb.org/docs/Iraqstatemt.htm. # # # A formatted version of this press release is available on-line at www.wslfweb.org/docs/iraqpr.pdf -- ************************************** Susan Gordon, Director Alliance for Nuclear Accountability www.ananuclear.org 1914 N 34th, Suite #407, Seattle, WA 98103 ph 206-547-3175 fax 206-547-7158 ANA is a national alliance of organizations working to address issues of nuclear weapons production and waste clean-up. ====================== *** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Feel free to distribute widely but PLEASE acknowledge the original source. *** ***************************************************************** 20 [southnews] Israel: US Iraq attack likely in November Date: Sat, 5 Oct 2002 01:48:01 -0500 (CDT) Home Selling? Try Us! http://us.click.yahoo.com/QrPZMC/iTmEAA/MVfIAA/7gSolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ---------- Ben-Eliezer: U.S. attack on Iraq to begin by end of November By Aluf Benn, Ha'aretz Saturday, October 05, 2002 http://www.haaretzdaily.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=215910&contrassID=1&subContrassID=0&sbSubContrassID=0 Speaking at a meeting of Labor Party ministers on Thursday, Defense Minister and Party Chairman Benjamin Ben-Eliezer estimated that a U.S. military attack against Iraq would begin at the end of November. Sources close to Ben-Eliezer said that the defense ministry's initial assessment was that an assault on Iraq would commence in the middle of December. They said that the defense minister's remarks Thursday were based on new information received by the intelligence establishment. An Israeli security delegation arrived in Washington Thursday to consult with U.S. officials ahead of a possible war in Iraq. The Israeli team - comprised of Defense Ministry Director General Amos Yaron, his deputy Kuti Mor, and IDF Plans and Policy Directorate head Major General Giora Eiland - will meet with Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage, and other top U.S. officials. The delegation's invitation to Washington is a sign that the Bush administration has decided to move to a new stage in its contacts with Israel, following the end of the siege on the Muqata compound in Ramallah at the start of the week. Quiet discussions on the preparations for a war with Iraq have been conducted for a few months, but the Bush administration has decided to "raise their profile." PM meets with U.S. ambassador Prime Minister Ariel Sharon met early Thursday morning with U.S. Ambassador Dan Kurtzer. It was Sharon's first such meeting since the army's withdrawal from the Yasser Arafat's Muqata in Ramallah. The discussion focused on the water dispute with Lebanon prompted by the construction of the pumping station at the Wazzani river, a tributary to Israel's Hatzbani river. Israel wants the Bush administration to step up pressure on Syria and Lebanon, to avoid them diverting water from a mojor source of Israel's water supply. Sharon updated Kurtzer on the construction progress at the pumping station. Bouyed, Bush seeks to push reforms The Bush administration - buoyed by its success in persuading Israel to call off the siege on Palestinian Authority Yasser Arafat's compound - is now calling on Arab states to play a role in the resuscitation of PA reforms. Officials in Washington believe that the strengthening of Arafat's status as a result of the Muqata siege is a transient phenomenon. The IDF withdrawal from the Ramallah compound created a three week "window of opportunity" for the resumption of PA reforms, prior to the presentation of a new cabinet to the Palestinian legislative council. The U.S. wants Egypt, Syria and Jordan to lobby for the appointment of a Palestinian Prime Minister. In addition, the U.S. administration has asked Israel to accelerate the transfer of tax revenues to PA Finance Minister Salam Fayyad. The Bush administration wants to set a clear timetable for the transfer of monies owed to the PA and is prepared to send auditors to Israel to monitor the PA's use of the money. Fayyad will arrive in Washington next week, and receive VIP treatment. He will meet with National Security Adviser Condoleeza Rice and Secretary of State Colin Powell. Alongside preparations for an attack on Iraq and efforts to encourage internal PA reform, State Department and White House officials are also pondering ways to resume negotiations between the PA and Israel. In mid-October State Department envoy William Burns will arrive in the region to discuss possibilities to restart talks. The U.S. and its partners in the international "quartet" (Russia, the European Union and the United Nations) envision a three step process leading to resumed negotiations. In the first stage, lasting to mid 2003, the Palestinians are to implement security reforms, while the IDF is to roll back to positions it held before the intifada erupted two years ago. Secondly in 2003, a Palestinian state is to be established with temporary borders. The U.S. has promised Israel that it will not commit to positions on borders or the status of Jewish settlements during this provisional state stage. And thirdly, final status accord talks are to resume in 2004 between Israel and the Palestinians. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: southnews-unsubscribe@egroups.com Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ***************************************************************** 21 Iraq oil - Russia, France, U$ horsetrade Date: Sun, 6 Oct 2002 00:40:15 -0500 (CDT) http://www.observer.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,805530,00.html The Observer (London) Sunday October 6, 2002 Ed Vulliamy in New York, Paul Webster in Paris, and Nick Paton Walsh in Moscow Scramble to carve up Iraqi oil reserves lies behind US diplomacy Manoeuvres shaped by horsetrading between America, Russia and France over control of untapped oilfields Oil is emerging as the key factor in US attempts to secure the support of Russia and France for military action against Iraq, according to an Observer investigation. The Bush administration, intimately entwined with the global oil industry, is keen to pounce on Iraq's massive untapped reserves, the second biggest in the world after Saudi Arabia's. But France and Russia, who hold a power of veto on the UN Security Council, have billion-dollar contracts with Baghdad, which they fear will disappear in 'an oil grab by Washington', if America installs a successor to Saddam. A Russian official at the United Nations in New York told the Observer last week that the $7 billion in Soviet-era debt was not the main 'economic interest' in Iraq about which the Kremlin is voicing its concerns. The main fear was a post-Saddam government would not honour extraction contracts Moscow has signed with Iraq. Russian business has long-standing interests in Iraq. Lukoil, the biggest oil company in Russia, signed a $20bn contract in 1997 to drill the West Qurna oilfield. Such a deal could evaporate along with the Saddam regime, together with a more recent contract with Russian giant Zarubezhneft, which was granted a potential $90bn concession to develop the bin Umar oilfield. The total value of Saddam's foreign contract awards could reach $1.1 trillion, according to the International Energy Agency's World Energy Outlook 2001. The Russian official said his government believed the US had brokered a deal with the coalition of Iraqi opposition forces it backs whereby support against Saddam is conditional on their declaring - on taking power - all oil contracts conceded under his rule to be null and void. 'The concern of my government,' said the official, 'is that the concessions agreed between Baghdad and numerous enterprises will be reneged upon, and that US companies will enter to take the greatest share of those existing contracts... Yes, if you could say it that way - an oil grab by Washington'. A government insider in Paris told The Observer that France also feared suffering economically from US oil ambitions at the end of a war. But the dilemma for Paris is more complex. Despite President Jacques Chirac and Chancellor Gerhard Schroder of Germany agreeing last week to oppose changing the rules governing weapons inspectors, France may back military action. Government sources say they fear - existing concessions aside - France could be cut out of the spoils if it did not support the war and show a significant military presence. If it comes to war, France is determined to be allotted a more prestigious role in the fighting than in the 1991 Gulf war, when its main role was to occupy lightly defended ground. Negotiations have been going on between the state-owned TotalFinaElf company and the US about redistribution of oil regions between the world's major companies. Washington's predatory interest in Iraqi oil is clear, whatever its political protestations about its motives for war. The US National Energy Policy Report of 2001 - known as the 'Cheney Report' after its author Vice President Dick Cheney, formerly one of America's richest and most powerful oil industry magnates - demanded a priority on easing US access to Persian Gulf supplies. Doubts about Saudi Arabia - even before 11 September, and even more so in its wake - led US strategists to seek a backup supply in the region. America needs 20 million barrels of crude a day, and analysts have singled out the country that could meet up to half that requirement: Iraq. The current high price of oil is dragging the US economy further into recession. US control of the Iraqi reserves, perhaps the biggest unmapped reservoir in the world, would break Saudi Arabia's hold on the oil-pricing cartel Opec, and dictate prices for the next century. This could spell disaster for Russian oil giants, keen to expand their sales to the West. Russia has sought to prolong negotiations, official statements going between opposition to any new UN resolution and possible support for military action against an Iraqi regime proven to be developing weapons of mass destruction. While France is thought likely to support US military action, and China will probably fall in line because of its admission to the World Trade Organisation, Putin is left holding the wild cards. Russia recognises potential benefits of reaching a deal with the US: Saddam's regime is difficult to work with. Lukoil's billion-dollar concessions are frozen and profitless to Moscow and Baghdad under UN sanctions, leading to fears that Saddam might have declared the agreement null and void out of spite. Iraqi diplomats say Zarubezhneft won its $90bn contract only after Baghdad took it away from TotalFinaElf because of French support for sanctions. Russia stands to profit if intervention in the Gulf triggers a hike in Middle East oil prices, as its firms are lobbying to sell millions of barrels a day to the US, at two-thirds of the current market price. Moscow's trust of Washington may be slipping after what a Russian UN official calls 'broken promises' that followed negotiations over Moscow's support for the Afghan campaign. Russia turned a blind eye to US troops in central Asia, on the tacit condition that US-Russian trade restrictions would be lifted. But they are still there, and other benefits expected after 11 September have also not materialised. 'They've been making this point very strongly,' a senior Bush administration official conceded to the Washington Post , 'that this can't be an all-give-and-no-get relationship... They do have a point that the growing relationship has got to be reciprocal.' ====================== *** NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Feel free to distribute widely but PLEASE acknowledge the original source. *** ***************************************************************** 22 Iraq hiding evidence, U.S. charges* deseretnews.com Saturday, October 5, 2002 Pentagon aims to boost support for an attack *By Ron Hutcheson and Mark McDonald* Knight Ridder Newspapers WASHINGTON ? The United States accused Iraq Friday of already trying to hide evidence that it has weapons of mass destruction, even before international weapons inspectors return to Iraq later this month. Image Secretary of State Colin Powell and chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix meet in Washington, where they discussed weapons inspections. /Heesoon Yim, Associated Press / Pentagon spokesman Victoria Clarke made the accusation but provided no supporting evidence, as the Bush administration launched a new public-relations offensive against Iraq that will include a prime-time speech by President Bush on Monday. The administration's stepped-up effort to discredit Iraq is intended to boost public support for military action before Congress votes on a war resolution late next week. Both the Senate and House of Representatives are expected to vote overwhelmingly for a resolution authorizing the president to take military action against Iraq. # The Senate launched its historic debate on Iraq, with Sen. Bob Graham, the chairman of the Intelligence Committee, arguing that the United States should pursue terrorist groups such as al-Qaida rather than adopting an "Iraq first" policy. "Our first priority should be the successful completion of the war on terrorism," Graham, D-Fla., said in a speech on the Senate floor. "Today, we Americans are more vulnerable to international terrorist organizations than we are to Saddam Hussein." # The CIA issued a report alleging that Iraq has held onto significant caches of dangerous weapons despite numerous international searches. The report from U.S. intelligence agencies said Iraq has biological and chemical weapons and some long-range missiles but probably no nuclear weapons. "If left unchecked, it probably will have a nuclear weapon during this decade," the unclassified report concludes. # Secretary of State Colin Powell and the United Nations' chief arms inspector, Hans Blix, agreed that any further searches for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq should await new instructions from the U.N. Security Council. The talks between Powell and Blix came as the United States pushed other Security Council members to adopt a tough resolution that would expand the inspection team's authority and back it up with the threat of military force. "I'm confident we'll find a way to resolve the differences that exist," Powell said, acknowledging that reaching a deal with other council members, particularly France and Russia, could take time. Blix and Iraqi officials reached agreement this week on a speedy resumption of searches, but Blix said Friday that there was little point in his team going back to Iraq until the Security Council gives clearance. "It would be awkward for us to go in and then find there was a new resolution," he said, indicating support for American efforts to force the Iraqis to give a detailed inventory of their weapons programs. A new Gallup Poll released Friday showed public support for military action is already high ? 57 percent favor invading Iraq to remove Saddam Hussein, with 38 percent opposed. But only 37 percent favor going to war if the United Nations opposes it. Graham and Sen. John Rockefeller, D-W.Va., plan next week to offer an amendment to the Iraq resolution before Congress that would broaden Bush's authority to pursue international terrorist groups. This approach may offer an alternative to Democrats who are wary of Bush's emphasis on striking Iraq but worried about political retribution if they oppose an Iraq resolution. "War with Iraq increases the chances that (terrorist groups) will strike within our homeland," said Graham. "Elevating Saddam Hussein to number one enemy poses risks we have not fully considered." White House spokesman Ari Fleischer said Bush would not use Monday's speech to announce any planned military action. Instead, Bush will try to frame the debate in Congress by giving his views on the threat from Iraq and the need to confront it quickly. The president will deliver the speech at 6 p.m. MDT before an audience in Cincinnati, Ohio, but White House officials have not asked television networks to carry it live. Bush offered a preview in Boston Friday, telling a Republican audience that Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein is "a cold-blooded killer" and "a true threat" to the United States. "This is a man who said he wouldn't have weapons of mass destruction. Yet he does," Bush said. "He has lied and deceived and denied for 11 long years." Although Congress is prepared to approve a war authorization, at the U.N. opponents of Bush's hard-line approach appear to have the upper hand. Foreign diplomats and U.N. officials said the United States may have to abandon its push for a single U.N. resolution that would authorize the use of force if Iraq fails to comply with tough new disarmament terms. Casting doubt on the weapons inspection process, as Pentagon spokeswoman Clarke did Friday, could help U.S. diplomats make the case that the U.N. should focus on forcing Iraq's disarmament, not on a new round of weapons inspections. A growing number of countries, led by France, want to postpone any talk of war until inspectors have a chance to test Iraq's willingness to cooperate. "They have their point of view, we have our point of view, and we'll try to find a way to resolve these different points of view," Powell said Friday evening. "If inspectors are going back in, they have to go back in without any restrictions on what they are able to do. There has to be pressure maintained on the Iraqi regime." In Moscow, the leader of a high-level Iraqi trade delegation angrily attacked the United States and Britain, saying the two countries had drafted a U.N. resolution so stringent that Iraq could not possibly comply with it. "They drafted it NOT to be implemented," said Abdel Razzak al-Hashemi, who heads an Iraqi-Russian cultural organization. "It's written in such a way that Iraq could never implement it, so then the Americans and British can say, 'Ah-ha, you're not in compliance,' and then the bombs and rockets will start to come." Razzak reiterated Baghdad's position that it has no weapons of mass destruction. "None whatsoever ? no biological, chemical or nuclear," he said. "We're saying we don't have them. This is the problem: I cannot prove a negative. We can't show you what we don't have." U.S. officials contend that a new round of weapons inspections would be a waste of time unless it is backed up by the threat of military strikes against Iraq. Clarke said Pentagon officials will talk next week about Iraq's "denial and deception operations" designed to hide evidence of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons. "It is a very organized, very comprehensive effort that involves a lot of people in the Iraqi regime," Clarke said. "Lies and deception and deceit on the part of this regime are a very active and effective part of their offensive." The Pentagon spokeswoman declined to reveal any of the Pentagon's evidence, saying that much of it was classified and that decisions about releasing the classified information were for "people at a far higher pay grade than mine." As part of the administration's public relations campaign, the Central Intelligence Agency on Friday released a report predicting that Iraq "probably will have a nuclear weapon during this decade" if its weapons program is not disrupted. But the CIA report, entitled, "Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs," also raises questions about Bush's assertion that Iraq tried to buy specially-designed aluminum tubes for use in a nuclear weapons program. Although Bush told the United Nations that Iraq wanted to use the tubes to produce enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon, the CIA report acknowledges that some intelligence analysts believe the tubes were intended for conventional weapons, not nuclear devices. On Capitol Hill, critics of Bush's hard-line approach tried to scale back the congressional resolution on war with Iraq. The passions surrounding the issue prompted freewheeling discussion, with senators abandoning prepared speeches and engaging in real debate ? a rarity. Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, urged his colleagues to require U.N. support for any military action. "Our focus should be on uniting the world and not dividing it," Levin said. "A go-it-alone approach where we attack Iraq without the support and participation of the world community entails serious risks and could have serious consequences for us in the Middle East and around the world." But Sen. John Warner, R-Va., the ranking Republican on Armed Services, agreed with Bush that the United States should be prepared to act alone if necessary. "We cannot leave in the minds of the American people that this nation, in any way, should relinquish our authority or predicate it on action of the United Nations," Warner said. /Contributing: Bob Kemper, Chicago Tribune; and Knight Ridder Newspapers correspondents Frank Davies, Mark McDonald, Diego Ibarguen, Jonathan S. Landay and James Kuhnhenn © 2002 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 23 War against Iraq makes no sense* deseretnews.com Opinion Saturday, October 5, 2002 E-mail story *By G. Donald Gale * There is no good national security reason to go to war against Iraq. If that is true ? and it is ? then the president, the Cabinet, and most members of Congress are either irrational . . . or their reasons for attacking Iraq have nothing to do with national security. What could those reasons be? Well, the economy struggles. Voters lost billions in savings when the stock market collapsed. An election looms next month. Social Security needs attention. The health-care system confuses and penalizes most Americans. Economic woes force cities and states to cut back on necessary services. Education reverts to de facto segregation. A dilapidated infrastructure costs billions in lost efficiency. The wishes of monied contributors receive more attention than the needs of the people. The list goes on. Perhaps our "leaders" prefer the win-lose paradigm of war over the politically difficult compromises required by complex long-term problems. Besides, an easily winnable war will distract public attention from more serious problems. But even an easy war will take the lives of young Americans, kill innocent citizens of Iraq, cost billions of tax dollars, and create added turmoil in the Middle East. A war will cost as much as one hundred billion dollars. Imagine what that money would do for education! We are told Iraq is an evil nation. The people of Iraq don't deserve that label ? or its consequences. Certainly, Saddam Hussein is a reprehensible human being. But he is not the only reprehensible human being on earth. Other regimes are equally reprehensible and much more dangerous. According to informed observers, Iraq is weaker today than when we humiliated it during the Gulf War. Its military is smaller, less well trained and hampered by outdated, unworkable equipment. Saddam may, indeed, have limited chemical and biological weapons, but his delivery systems are less threatening than they were 12 years ago. He has neither nuclear weapons nor the means to deliver them. He may be working on such weapons, but chances of secretly developing them are extremely small, even without U.N. inspectors. Saddam and al-Qaida are not allies; they are enemies. The only thing they have in common is hatred of America. That hatred will be strengthened and expanded by an unprovoked attack. No one knows what will happen after America crushes Iraq for the second time. Iraq is a make-believe nation created by Great Britain and held together by Saddam's megalomania. After our "victory," we must decide whether to hold Iraq together or split it apart. Either action will cost more billions, and we will be outsiders in a region populated by millions who already consider America the enemy. One Arab leader asked me a few years ago: "What will you do when the oil runs out and you are confronted by three hundred million hungry, angry Arabs?" Our leaders should be thinking and planning 10, 20, 50 years ahead . . . not merely to the next victory or the next election. These are a few of the realities that make military action irrational. We were told two-thirds of the American people favor the invasion of Iraq, but recent surveys show a shift in public opinion. The more Americans think about the consequences of war, the less they approve of it. Much depends on how the question is asked. Few want to risk the lives of their own children or grandchildren; some apparently don't mind risking the lives of children and grandchildren from families in New York or South Carolina. Even our strongest allies are reluctant to support us in this foolish endeavor. Some do so only because they are pressured into it. If reason were on our side, pressure would not be necessary. The president warns that the United Nations is little more than a "debating society." Exactly! That's the idea behind the world body: more debate and less destruction, more talk and less killing, more words and fewer bombs. No doubt, the president, the Cabinet and Congress have reasons for going to war against a largely defenseless nation. But when an act appears so irrational as this one, the real reasons behind it may be hidden ? even to the actors. In trying to stop a madman, we ourselves must not stumble into madness. /G. Donald Gale is president of Words, Words, Words Inc. He was formerly editorial director at KSL. He earned a doctorate at the University of Utah and was awarded an honorary doctorate by Southern Utah University. E-mail: dongale@words3.com / © 2002 Deseret News Publishing Company ***************************************************************** 24 Iraq Weapons Glance Las Vegas SUN: October 05, 2002 By The Associated Press ASSOCIATED PRESS An unclassified intelligence report released Friday by CIA officials describes specific evidence that Iraq is producing chemical and biological weapons and means to deliver them, as well as seeking nuclear weapons. In particular, the report alleges that Iraq: Nuclear program -Tried to covertly obtain tens of thousands of high-strength aluminum tubes that could be used in centrifuges used to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. Some shipments were stopped, but some may have gotten through. -Retains a cadre of nuclear scientists. Biological program -Announced it would upgrade its al-Dawrah Foot-and-Mouth Disease Vaccine Facility in 2001 without U.N. approval. Iraq acknowledged in 1996 it had produced biological weapons at the site, but claims it now only intends to produce vaccine. However, the report says Iraq can import all the vaccine it needs. -Expanded its storage capacity at the Amiriyah Serum and Vaccine Institute, "which greatly exceeds Iraq's needs for legitimate medical storage." -Rebuilt major structures at the Fallujah III Castor Oil Production Plant, which were bombed by U.S. and British warplanes in 1998. Iraq claims it is making castor oil for brake fluid, but the report says it could used to produce ricin, a toxin that is used in weapons. -Can make biological weapons at mobile production facilities that are difficult to detect. Chemical program -Probably has between 110 and 550 tons of chemical weapon agents, including VX, sarin, cyclosarin and mustard. -Has not used one-third of 33 million pounds of chlorine imported under the oil-for-food program, suggesting some has been diverted to weapons' programs -Upgraded the Fallujah II chemical plant west of Baghdad since 2000, expanding chlorine output. Iraq is also trying to hide its activities there. Missile and weapons delivery program -Has "up to a few dozen" Scud-type short-range ballistic missiles with ranges between 400 and 560 miles. -Is deploying new al-Samoud and Ababil-100 short-range ballistic missiles, which can fly beyond the U.N. limit of 93 miles. -Is developing medium-range ballistic missiles with ranges up to 1,850 miles. -Is building a large test stand for long-range missiles at the Al-Rafah-North Liquid Propellant Engine Research, Developing, Testing and Evaluation Facility west of Baghdad. -Rebuilt the Al-Mutasim Solid Rocket Motor and Test Facility south of Baghdad. The scale of some of the work suggests Iraq will work on prohibited weapons. -Rebuilt bombed structures at the Al-Mamoun Solid Rocket Motor Production Plant south of Baghdad. They were previously used to work on a ballistic missile that is now prohibited. -Completed an ammonium perchlorate production plant at Al-Mamoun. The chemical is used in solid propellant motors. The report says the plant could have only been finished with prohibited foreign assistance. -Experimented with unmanned aircraft to deliver chemical and biological weapons. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 25 Powell Scores Delay of Iraq Searches Las Vegas SUN: October 05, 2002 By BARRY SCHWEID ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON- Secretary of State Colin Powell forged an agreement Friday with the chief U.N. weapons inspector to defer searching for illicit arms in Iraq until tough new rules are imposed. Powell acknowledged it might take a long time to persuade the Security Council to adopt a resolution proposed by the United States. But, he said, "I'm confident we'll find a way to resolve the differences that exist." Chief among them is refusal of France and Russia to threaten Iraq with war if it refuses to disarm. Powell said the warning was essential and must be adopted. The chief U.N. Inspector, Hans Blix, registered his support. "We are agreed," Blix said. "There has to be constant pressure for Iraq to comply." President Bush reached for new levels of rhetoric to denounce Saddam, paralleling the furious words his father used before going to war with Iraq in 1991. At a fund-raiser in Boston, Bush called Saddam a "cold-blooded" killer, a phrase he repeatedly has used to denounce the terrorists linked to the 9-11 attacks on the United States. In a statement that seemed designed to rally the American people to support war, Bush said "for the sake of our freedom, for the sake of peace, if the United Nations won't make the decision, if Saddam Hussein continues to lie and deceive, the United States will lead a coalition to disarm this man before he harms America." Bush will make a nationwide speech on Iraq from Cincinnati on Monday, the White House said. The CIA, in a report from U.S. intelligence agencies, backed the Bush administration's contention that Iraq had significant caches of dangerous weapons despite numerous international searches. In a new report, the agencies said Iraq has biological and chemical weapons and some long-range missiles, but probably no nuclear weapons. "If left unchecked, it probably will have a nuclear weapon during this decade," the unclassified report concluded. Blix has already arranged with Iraq to resume inspections in about two weeks. But after meeting with Powell and other senior Bush administration officials, he said: "It would be awkward for us to go in and then find there was a new resolution." Powell, who had been trying to put the brakes on the return of the inspection teams until they were promised unfettered access to all sites, welcomed Blix's comments. "If the inspectors are going to go back in, they have to go back in without any restrictions on what they can do," Powell said. Mohamed ElBaradei, whose International Atomic Energy Agency is in charge of nuclear inspections, said after the hour-long meeting at the State Department that he hoped the Security Council would move promptly. "We have to go back and go back quickly to make sure Iraq has not renewed its nuclear weapons program," he told reporters. "We all agree that the endgame should be a complete disarmament of Iraq. That's what we are all working for." The United States has been pressing other Security Council members for a new resolution that would require Iraq to come up with a full inventory of its weapons program, with a provision for the inspections to be enforced with military force if necessary. But so far, that view has met resistance from Russia and France. Blix said, however, that over the past few days he had begun to see what he called "convergence." "We hope ... it's not very long to a new resolution," Blix said. National security adviser Condoleezza Rice and Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz also attended the meeting. Blix's comments appeared to support Powell's hopes of delaying the start of searches until the United States is able to persuade the Security Council to adopt new rules that would open Saddam's palaces to the inspectors - and threaten Iraq with war if it does not disarm. U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan talked twice to Powell on the telephone Friday and backed Powell in his plea to delay the searches that Blix agreed this week with Iraq would begin later in the month. "He has got his men ready, but as the council is discussing further guidance," Annan said, "it would be appropriate for him to know that further guidance before he resumes, and I hope that will be forthcoming shortly." As Powell engaged in a flurry of telephone calls with Annan and foreign ministers, and U.S. diplomats worked the corridors of the United Nations, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher expressed optimism about the outcome of the U.S. drive for a new resolution. "We've tried not to handicap this every day, but we are certainly optimistic," Boucher said. France says the Security Council should call for new inspections in one resolution, but defer consideration of using force to a second resolution, if Iraq does not comply. But Boucher said that while consultations continue "at this point we remain firmly committed to seeking one resolution." While dissenters appear to be losing ground in Washington, Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-W.Va., who is known to carry a well-thumbed copy of the Constitution with him, said only Congress could declare war. "This Congress ought not turn this fateful determination, this decision, over to any president, over to any one man," he said. Sen. John Warner, R-Va., a senior member of the Armed Services Committee and former Navy secretary, defended the need to move quickly in support of the president. Why give the president authority to use force against Iraq at this time? Warner asked. "The answer is simple: Enough is enough." Saying that the fight against terrorism was more important than fighting Saddam, Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., said Friday he will submit a proposal to broaden the Iraq resolution to give Bush more power to attack terrorist groups. The Senate debated the Iraq war resolution through the day, but took no votes. Both the Senate and House were expected to vote on the resolution - which would give Bush wide latitude in confronting Iraq - next week. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 26 'The president is authorized to use Armed Forces' -- The Washington Times October 3, 2002     ASSOCIATED PRESS      Text of a resolution agreed upon yesterday by President Bush and House leaders:      Joint Resolution to Authorize the use of United States Armed Forces Against Iraq.      Whereas in 1990 in response to Iraq's war of aggression against and illegal occupation of Kuwait, the United States forged a coalition of nations to liberate Kuwait and its people in order to defend the national security of the United States and enforce United Nations Security Council resolutions relating to Iraq;      Whereas after the liberation of Kuwait in 1991, Iraq entered into a United Nations sponsored cease-fire agreement pursuant to which Iraq unequivocally agreed, among other things, to eliminate its nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons programs and the means to deliver and develop them, and to end its support for international terrorism;      Whereas the efforts of international weapons inspectors, United States intelligence agencies, and Iraqi defectors led to the discovery that Iraq had large stockpiles of chemical weapons and a large scale biological weapons program, and that Iraq had an advanced nuclear weapons development program that was much closer to producing a nuclear weapon than intelligence reporting had previously indicated;      Whereas Iraq, in direct and flagrant violation of the cease-fire, attempted to thwart the efforts of weapons inspectors to identify and destroy Iraq's weapons of mass destruction stockpiles and development capabilities, which finally resulted in the withdrawal of inspectors from Iraq on October 31, 1998;      Whereas in 1998 Congress concluded that Iraq's continuing weapons of mass destruction programs threatened vital United States interests and international peace and security, declared Iraq to be in "material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations" and urged the president "to take appropriate action, in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws of the United States, to bring Iraq into compliance with its international obligations" (Public Law 105-235);      Whereas Iraq both poses a continuing threat to the national security of the United States and international peace and security in the Persian Gulf region and remains in material and unacceptable breach of its international obligations by, among other things, continuing to possess and develop a significant chemical and biological weapons capability, actively seeking a nuclear weapons capability, and supporting and harboring terrorist organizations;      Whereas Iraq persists in violating resolutions of the United Nations Security Council by continuing to engage in brutal repression of its civilian population thereby threatening international peace and security in the region, by refusing to release, repatriate, or account for non-Iraqi citizens wrongfully detained by Iraq, including an American serviceman, and by failing to return property wrongfully seized by Iraq from Kuwait;      Whereas the current Iraqi regime has demonstrated its capability and willingness to use weapons of mass destruction against other nations and its own people;      Whereas the current Iraqi regime has demonstrated its continuing hostility toward, and willingness to attack, the United States, including by attempting in 1993 to assassinate former President Bush and by firing on many thousands of occasions on United States and Coalition Armed Forces engaged in enforcing the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council;      Whereas members of al Qaeda, an organization bearing responsibility for attacks on the United States, its citizens, and interests, including the attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, are known to be in Iraq;      Whereas Iraq continues to aid and harbor other international terrorist organizations, including organizations that threaten the lives and safety of American citizens;      Whereas the attacks on the United States of September 11, 2001 underscored the gravity of the threat posed by the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction by international terrorist organizations;      Whereas Iraq's demonstrated capability and willingness to use weapons of mass destruction, the risk that the current Iraqi regime will either employ those weapons to launch a surprise attack against the United States or its Armed Forces or provide them to international terrorists who would do so, and the extreme magnitude of harm that would result to the United States and its citizens from such an attack, combine to justify action by the United States to defend itself;      Whereas United Nations Security Council Resolution 678 authorizes the use of all necessary means to enforce United Nations Security Council Resolution 660 and subsequent relevant resolutions and to compel Iraq to cease certain activities that threaten international peace and security, including the development of weapons of mass destruction and refusal or obstruction of United Nations weapons inspections in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 687, repression of its civilian population in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 688, and threatening its neighbors or United Nations operations in Iraq in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 949;      Whereas Congress in the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102-1) has authorized the president "to use United States Armed Forces pursuant to United Nations Security Council Resolution 678 (1990) in order to achieve implementation of Security Council Resolutions 660, 661, 662, 664, 665, 666, 667, 669, 670, 674, and 677";      Whereas in December 1991, Congress expressed its sense that it "supports the use of all necessary means to achieve the goals of United Nations Security Council Resolution 687 as being consistent with the Authorization of Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution (Public Law 102-1)," that Iraq's repression of its civilian population violates United Nations Security Council Resolution 688 and "constitutes a continuing threat to the peace, security, and stability of the Persian Gulf region," and that Congress, "supports the use of all necessary means to achieve the goals of United Nations Security Council Resolution."      Whereas the Iraq Liberation Act (Public Law 105-338) expressed the sense of Congress that it should be the policy of the United States to support efforts to remove from power the current Iraqi regime and promote the emergence of a democratic government to replace that regime;      Whereas on September 12, 2002, President Bush committed the United States to "work with the United Nations Security Council to meet our common challenge" posed by Iraq and to "work for the necessary resolutions," while also making clear that "the Security Council resolutions will be enforced, and the just demands of peace and security will be met, or action will be unavoidable";      Whereas the United States is determined to prosecute the war on terrorism and Iraq's ongoing support for international terrorist groups combined with its development of weapons of mass destruction in direct violation of its obligations under the 1991 cease-fire and other United Nations Security Council resolutions make clear that it is in the national security interests of the United States and in furtherance of the war on terrorism that all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions be enforced, including through the use of force if necessary;      Whereas Congress has taken steps to pursue vigorously the war on terrorism through the provision of authorities and funding requested by the president to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001 or harbored such persons or organizations;      Whereas the president and Congress are determined to continue to take all appropriate actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, or harbored such persons or organizations;      Whereas the president has authority under the Constitution to take action in order to deter and prevent acts of international terrorism against the United States, as Congress recognized in the joint resolution on Authorization for Use of Military Force (Public Law 107-40); and      Whereas it is in the national security of the United States to restore international peace and security to the Persian Gulf region;      Now, therefore, be it      Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,      SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE.      This joint resolution may be cited as the "Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq".      SEC. 2. SUPPORT FOR UNITED STATES DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS      The Congress of the United States supports the efforts by the president to      (a) strictly enforce through the United Nations Security Council all relevant Security Council resolutions applicable to Iraq and encourages him in those efforts; and      (b) obtain prompt and decisive action by the Security Council to ensure that Iraq abandons its strategy of delay, evasion and noncompliance and promptly and strictly complies with all relevant Security Council resolutions.      SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION FOR USE OF UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES.      (a) AUTHORIZATION. The president is authorized to use the Armed Forces of the United States as he determines to be necessary and appropriate in order to      (1) defend the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq; and      (2) enforce all relevant United Nations Security Council Resolutions regarding Iraq.      (b) PRESIDENTIAL DETERMINATION.      In connection with the exercise of the authority granted in subsection (a) to use force the president shall, prior to such exercise or as soon there after as may be feasible, but no later than 48 hours after exercising such authority, make available to the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the president pro tempore of the Senate his determination that      (1) reliance by the United States on further diplomatic or other peaceful means alone either (A) will not adequately protect the national security of the United States against the continuing threat posed by Iraq or (B) is not likely to lead to enforcement of all relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions regarding Iraq, and      (2) acting pursuant to this resolution is consistent with the United States and other countries continuing to take the necessary actions against international terrorists and terrorist organizations, including those nations, organizations or persons who planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorists attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001.      (c) WAR POWERS RESOLUTION REQUIREMENTS.      (1) SPECIFIC STATUTORY AUTHORIZATION. Consistent with section 8(a)(1) of the War Powers Resolution, the Congress declares that this section is intended to constitute specific statutory authorization within the meaning of section 5(b) of the War Powers Resolution.      (2) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER REQUIREMENTS. Nothing in this resolution supersedes any requirement of the War Powers Resolution.      SEC. 4. REPORTS TO CONGRESS      (a) The president shall, at least once every 60 days, submit to the Congress a report on matters relevant to this joint resolution, including actions taken pursuant to the exercise of authority granted in section 2 and the status of planning for efforts that are expected to be required after such actions are completed, including those actions described in section 7 of Public Law 105-338 (the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998).      (b) To the extent that the submission of any report described in subsection (a) coincides with the submission of any other report on matters relevant to this joint resolution otherwise required to be submitted to Congress pursuant to the reporting requirements of Public Law 93-148 (the War Powers Resolution), all such reports may be submitted as a single consolidated report to the Congress.      (c) To the extent that the information required by section 3 of Public Law 102-1 is included in the report required by this section, such report shall be considered as meeting the requirements of section 3 of Public Law 102-1. ***************************************************************** 27 CIA sees Iraq with nukes by decade's end -- The Washington Times October 5, 2002 By Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES      Iraq has stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons in violation of U.N. resolutions and could deploy a nuclear bomb by the end of this decade, the CIA said in a report made public yesterday.      "If left unchecked, [Iraq] probably will have a nuclear weapon during this decade," the report said.      After U.N. weapons inspections ended in 1998, Iraq restarted its nuclear arms program, "maintained its chemical weapons effort, energized its missile program and invested more heavily in biological weapons," said the 25-page report titled "Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs."      The CIA report was released yesterday as Congress debates a resolution to authorize President Bush to use force against Iraq and as the United Nations develops a new resolution that could lead to military action against Iraq.      Regarding missile developments, the report said Baghdad has violated the 93-mile range limit on missiles that was imposed by the United Nations. Iraq also is building unmanned aerial vehicles that will "allow for a more lethal means to deliver biological and, less likely, chemical warfare agents," the report said.      The report contains a photo of a Czech training jet that was converted into a pilotless drone. The drones could be outfitted to deliver chemical or biological weapons that "could threaten Iraq's neighbors, U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf, and the United States if brought close to, or into, the U.S. homeland," the report said.      Pentagon spokeswoman Victoria Clarke yesterday said Iraq has an active program of "denial and deception" aimed at hiding its weapons of mass destruction programs.      The report also revealed for the first time that Iraq is building specialized facilities that are part of a medium-range ballistic missile program.      It has deployed new al-Samoud and Ababil-100 short-range missiles that have ranges beyond the 93-mile limit imposed by the United Nations after the Gulf war.      The report said Saddam Hussein lacks the material to make nuclear weapons and probably does not have any nuclear arms but that "he remains intent on acquiring them."      If Baghdad succeeds in acquiring nuclear material that could be used as fuel for a weapon, "it could make a nuclear weapon within a year," the report said.      Iraq recently tried to buy special, high-strength metal tubes that are used to make fuel for nuclear weapons, the report said.      "All intelligence experts agree that Iraq is seeking nuclear weapons and that these tubes could be used in a centrifuge enrichment program," the report said.      Iraq has begun making chemical warfare agents again and probably has the blistering agent mustard gas and nerve agents sarin, cyclosarin and VX, the report said.      In addition to aerial bombs, artillery rockets and projectiles, the Iraqi military also has a limited number of chemical warheads for short-range missiles, including some extended-range Scud missiles, the report said.      As for biological arms, the report said Iraq has some lethal and incapacitating biological-weapons agents and could produce a variety of germ weapons, including anthrax, that could be dropped by bombs, missiles, aerial sprayers and covert operatives.      "All key aspects — R, production, and weaponization — of Iraq's offensive biological weapons program are active and most elements are larger and more advanced than they were before the Gulf war," the report said.      Iraq also has a large hidden biological-agent-production capability in mobile facilities that can "evade detection, are highly survivable, and can exceed the production rates Iraq had prior to the Gulf war," the report said.      The report said Baghdad has refused to permit U.N. weapons inspections since 1998 and that electronic monitoring of suspected weapons sites is no longer operating.      Baghdad also has banned U.N. Security Council-mandated overflights by surveillance aircraft and limited inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency, it said.      The report said the Iraqi government has diverted goods that were purchased legally under the U.N. oil-for-food program for military purposes. Some of the goods probably are being used for banned weapons programs, it said.      The report listed Iraq's use of chemical weapons against Iranians and Kurds in 1983 through 1987, causing thousands of casualties. The weapons included the blistering agent mustard gas and the nerve agent tabun.      Expanded chemical-weapons facilities include the Fallujah II facility that produces chlorine and phenol. The plants can be used for both water treatment and for making weapons, the report said.      The report also listed several "open-air" testing of biological weapons agents in 1988, 1989, 1990 and 1991. The agents tested included Bacillus subtilis, botulinum toxin and aflatoxin.      Iraq also has rebuilt and expanded a rocket-motor production and test facility. ***************************************************************** 28 India, Pakistan Exchange of Ballistic Missile Launches Renews Concerns The Salt Lake Tribune -- Saturday, October 5, 2002 THE WASHINGTON POST ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Against a backdrop of renewed tension between India and Pakistan over the disputed Himalayan region of Kashmir, Pakistan Friday test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead. Hours later, India test-fired a missile of its own. Both countries described the tests as routine and unrelated. But the back-to-back launches added to fears that the two nuclear-armed neighbors could be edging toward confrontation barely three months after a U.S. and British diplomatic blitz that pushed them back from the brink of war. Pakistan's firing of a medium-range Shaheen-1 missile was the first such test since tensions between the two countries peaked in May over a series of attacks on Indian targets by Islamic militants based in Pakistan. Hundreds of thousands of troops from both countries remain massed along their common border, poised for attack. Pakistani officials said that India -- as well as "friendly countries," including the United States -- were notified of the test-firing several days in advance. India's Foreign Ministry dismissed the test as a political gesture timed to influence Oct. 10 parliamentary elections that the military government of President Pervez Musharraf describes as a major step toward restoring democracy in Pakistan. A few hours after the Pakistani test, India announced that it had tested a surface-to-air Akash missile as part of a series of launches conducted over several weeks. Analysts and diplomats saw another purpose behind the tests. "They wanted to send a message to India," Talat Masood, a retired general and columnist here, said of the Pakistani launch. India, he added, "has been rather belligerent in the last two weeks, so it's a counterweight. This was a signal to India not to be very aggressive or belligerent and that we are fully prepared to take you on." In Washington, the State Department was critical of both countries and called on them to "take steps to restrain their nuclear weapons and missile programs . . . and to begin dialogue on confidence-building measures which would reduce the likelihood that such weapons would ever be used." "We are disappointed that ballistic missile tests occurred in the region," said State Department spokesman Richard Boucher. "There is a charged atmosphere in the region. Tests can contribute to that atmosphere and make it harder to prevent a destabilizing nuclear and missile arms race." The military standoff dates to last December, when India rushed its forces to the border after an attack on its Parliament complex by Islamic militants that it says were trained and armed by Pakistan. Pakistan then deployed its troops to the border. Tensions escalated further in May when a guerrilla attack claimed the lives of 31 people, many of them women and children, in an Indian army housing complex in Kashmir. Indian threats to attack Pakistan prompted fears of the world's first nuclear exchange. In late May, when tensions were at their highest, Pakistan initiated what it described as routine missile tests. India dismissed the tests as "missile antics" intended for domestic consumption, although foreign diplomats said later that New Delhi had been deeply concerned about the launches. © Copyright 2002, The Salt Lake Tribune All material found on ***************************************************************** 29 Buffett Gives to Fight Terror Las Vegas SUN: October 04, 2002 By BARRY BEDLAN ASSOCIATED PRESS OMAHA, Neb.- Billionaire investor Warren Buffett, the country's second wealthiest man, is pledging $2.5 million to help reduce the risk of nuclear terror on U.S. soil. Buffet said Friday that he was making the contribution to the Nuclear Threat Initiative, founded by Ted Turner and former Sen. Sam Nunn, because he believes terrorists want to attack America with weapons of mass destruction. "We must be realistic. You know there are people who wish us ill in the world. The question is whether they have the ability to carry it out," he said. Buffett, chairman of the Omaha-based investment firm Berkshire Hathaway and No. 2 behind Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates on Forbes magazine's list of wealthiest Americans, said that while terrorism cannot be eradicated completely, its risk can be significantly reduced. "We have got to move that risk to as close to zero as possible," he said. The Nuclear Threat Initiative has been left strapped for cash by a dramatic decline in the stock market. It was founded two years ago with a pledge of stock - worth $250 million at the time - that Turner held in AOL Time Warner. The shares have since declined by nearly 80 percent. "Up until now, we have basically been using Ted's money," Nunn said. "Having Mr. Buffett sign on is a signal that a lot of people will respect and will pave the way for us to have more meaningful support." The group has spent about $37 million since January 2001 on projects including securing nuclear materials stored in Russia and removing uranium from a poorly secured reactor in Belgrade. On The Net: Nuclear Threat Initiative: http://www.nti.org/ [http://www.nti.org/] Berkshire Hathaway Inc.: http://www.berkshirehathaway.com [http://www.berkshirehathaway.com] All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 30 Lawmakers worried about (Brazil) candidate's nuclear policy Fri Oct 4, 9:20 PM ET WASHINGTON - Twelve U.S. lawmakers expressed grave concern over statements by Brazil's leading presidential candidate suggesting that he is opposed to an international treaty designed to curb the spread of nuclear weapons. The House Republicans outlined their views in a letter to President George W. Bush on Thursday. It was made public on Friday. They quoted Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, presidential candidate of the Worker's Party, as saying that compliance with the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty "would make sense only if all countries that already have nuclear weapons also gave them up." He continued, "If someone asks me to disarm and keep a slingshot and he comes at me with a cannon, what good does that do?" He added that "all of us developing countries are left holding a slingshot while they have atomic bombs." Lula is running far ahead of his nearest competitor in the elections, which will be held on Sunday. The House members said Lula's comments are a matter of grave concern to Congress. They said preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons "has been one of the highest priorities for the United States, Latin America, and the entire United Nations." Among those signing the letter were Rep. Dan Burton, R-Ind., chairman of the House Government Reform Committee and Rep. Benjamin Gilman, R-N.Y., former chairman of the House International Relations Committee. The others, all Republicans, were Cass Ballenger of North Carolina, Jim Gibbons of Nevada, Wally Herger of California, Darrell Issa of California, Walter Jones of North Carolina, Brian Kerns of Indiana, Dana Rohrabacher of California, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, Ed Royce of California and Christopher Smith of New Jersey. Copyright © 2002 The Associated Press. ***************************************************************** 31 U.S. Envoy Completes N. Korea Trip Las Vegas SUN October 04, 2002 ASSOCIATED PRESS SEOUL, South Korea- A U.S. envoy returned from North Korea Saturday after holding security talks with a nation President Bush labeled part of an "axis of evil" with Iran and Iraq. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly arrived back in South Korea after holding Washington's first high-level talks with North Korean officials in two years. Kelly went to the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, on Thursday to determine whether North Korea was willing to address American concern over the communist state's weapons programs, conventional force deployment and human rights issues. Kelly planned to meet South Korea's foreign minister, Choi Sung-hong, later Saturday to brief him on the Pyongyang trip. He was expected to hold a press conference after that. On Friday, Kelly met Kim Yong Nam, head of North Korea's parliament, the Supreme People's Assembly. Kim is the North's ceremonial head of state and is second in the government hierarchy after leader Kim Jong Il. In Pyongyang, Kelly also met First Vice Foreign Minister Kang Sok Ju, who negotiated a U.S.-North Korean nuclear agreement eight years ago. No information was available on Friday's talks. President Bush has described North Korea as part of an "axis of evil" intent on stockpiling weapons of mass destruction. But the North is pursuing dialogue with South Korea and Japan, and Kelly's visit suggests it plans to do the same with the United States. In talks with the Clinton administration, North Korea demanded economic compensation in exchange for curbing its long-range missile program. The last high-level U.S. official to visit Pyongyang was then-Secretary of State Madeleine Albright in October 2000. All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc. ***************************************************************** 32 Editorial: UN must act to prevent nuclear war in South Asia* zawya* The Daily Star /05 October 2002/ // It would be too pat to state that India and Pakistan are ?at it again;? after all, since gaining independence in 1947, they have never really stopped. Even the periods of time between their multiple wars have been filled with persistent bloodshed by lower-level hostilities on a variety of fronts. The sophomoric muscle-flexing conducted by both sides on Friday cannot be dismissed as routine, however, so long as it and other events continue to bring the two nuclear-armed rivals ­ and their neighbors ­ inexorably closer to disaster. Their insistence on carrying out a never-ending exercise in one-upmanship poses a severe threat to the region in particular and to the conduct of international diplomacy in general. The absurdity of the conflict between these two countries very nearly defies description. Pakistan and India are both among the most impoverished nation-states on the planet, making the costs (both human and material) associated with the fighting all the more difficult to bear. Many newspaper and wire-service reporters have covered what they love to call ?the world?s highest battlefield,? but rarely do they explain what that really involves. What it means is that the desperately poor taxpayers of these two developing nations have to foot exorbitant bills for the transport of everything from artillery shells to toilet paper into the Himalayan Mountains. The two governments have yet to provide such things as education, healthcare, clean drinking water, proper sewage and food for broad swathes of their respective long-suffering populations, but they seem to have plenty of cash on hand for the capital-intensive business of slaughtering one another?s young men on the brink of the heavens. But Pakistan and India are not alone in deserving blame for their shared tragedy. The international community has also failed spectacularly to intervene in a feud that has been alternately exploding and festering for more than five decades. The core argument is over Kashmir, and the UN Security Council?s official position is that there should be a referendum in which the disputed territory?s inhabitants are asked to choose. But how much pressure has been applied to make it happen? Virtually none. The days when the industrialized world could have imposed a peaceful resolution are long gone, used up by their own internecine squabbling. Now that India and Pakistan have acquired the damnable ability to immolate each other, they are less amenable to outside influence than ever before. This is a tribal struggle writ large, and unlike a small-scale test of wills between neighboring villages, this one threatens to kill tens of millions of people. No hunk of frozen rock is worth so terrible a sacrifice of human life. The United Nations and its members have been derelict in their duties for far too long. It is one thing for two countries to argue and skirmish, another for them to engage in a ceaseless game of nuclear ?chicken? that awaits only a mistake made in haste to become a full-fledged catastrophe. Before the unthinkable degenerates into the irretrievable, the UN must step in and save these two countries from each other. © The Daily Star 2002 ***************************************************************** 33 FFTF backers have questions to answer Published Oct. 4, 2002 The Fast Flux Test Facility is a national treasure, one that could do yeoman service in the fight against cancer by supplying isotopes for treatments that are showing remarkable results. However, with the federal government intending to dismantle the reactor, saving it is not an easy equation. Before local governments invest any more money in that effort, they should get answers to two key questions: How will liability be covered, and how will the facility obtain an operating license? Citizens for Medical Isotopes plans to approach three entities - Richland, Benton County and the Port of Benton - in the coming days to ask them to sign on to a lawsuit challenging the Department of Energy's plans to irreversibly shut down FFTF. The group hopes to buy itself time by contesting not the government's decision to decommission the reactor but rather the process by which the government arrived at that conclusion. Claude Oliver, chairman of the citizens group and a Benton County commissioner, admits the group could win its lawsuit and still be faced with the same shutdown decision from the Department of Energy. That's why it is especially important that the citizens group be ready to take the next step. If the lawsuit is successful, a business plan to address issues of liability and licensing must be in place to continue the momentum. Who carries the liability on a nuclear reactor and how it gets licensed to operate are no small hurdles. The local government entities, which already have committed $40,000 on the effort to save FFTF, should have assurances those hurdles can be cleared before committing additional money that a lawsuit inevitably will cost. In these tough economic times, it behooves every government agency to be asking tough questions. The community's reading of the federal government's plan to dismantle FFTF ranges from disappointing to irresponsible. But with two White House administrations of different political parties having given the nod to decommissioning, saving the reactor is more than an uphill fight. The citizens effort to save it has done an impressive job of keeping the issue alive and of generating the interest of cancer survivors and others across the nation. Copyright 2002 Tri-City Herald. All rights reserved. This ***************************************************************** 34 CIA Says Iraq Stockpiling Bioweapons Las Vegas SUN: October 05, 2002 By JOHN J. LUMPKIN ASSOCIATED PRESS WASHINGTON- Iraq could have a nuclear weapon by 2010 and meanwhile is bolstering its stockpile of chemical and biological weapons, U.S. intelligence agencies report. The report, issued Friday by CIA officials, said the most pressing threat appears to be from Iraq's expanding biological weapons program, which relies on hard-to-find mobile production facilities. Iraq's arsenal includes anthrax, it said. In addition, "if left unchecked, it probably will have a nuclear weapon during this decade," said the report, "Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction Programs." The United States groups nuclear, chemical, biological and radiological weapons under the heading "weapons of mass destruction." The unclassified report contains some of the U.S. government's most specific claims about Iraq's weapons programs since 1998, when U.N. inspectors were forced out of Iraq. Those programs are Bush administration's chief complaint as it threatens war against Iraq. The report comes at the height of an international debate on the danger posed by the regime of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, and what should be done about it. Iraq maintains it destroyed all of its weapons, saying it has complied with all U.N. resolutions since the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War. In particular, the report says Saddam's nuclear program remains stymied by his inability to obtain enriched uranium or plutonium that could be used in weapons. If Baghdad is able to covertly acquire pre-made weapons material from overseas, Iraq could have a nuclear weapon within a year, the report said. Otherwise, Iraq will have to make its own. The report cites Saddam's efforts to secretly acquire high-strength aluminum tubes that could be used in centrifuges for a uranium-enrichment program. Intelligence officials have said several shipments of tubes have been stopped before reaching Iraq. The report does note a minority of intelligence analysts believes the tubes are for conventional weapons, not a nuclear program. However, it said, Iraq "may have acquired enrichment capabilities that could shorten substantially the amount of time necessary to make a nuclear weapon," suggesting that some shipments of tubes may have reached Iraq. The report, which officials described as an amalgam of information and analysis from various U.S. intelligence agencies, contains many of the same conclusions as a classified National Intelligence Estimate provided to lawmakers earlier this week. On Friday, CIA Director George J. Tenet and other agency officials held closed-door discussions with members of the Senate Intelligence Committee on Iraqi weapons programs. Earlier in the week, some Democratic senators had criticized the agency for holding back information on Iraq. Intelligence officials said the report was released to inform the public and give government officials guidelines on what U.S. intelligence on Iraq is safe to discuss in open forums. But after meeting with Tenet, one senator said the report doesn't tell the whole story. Sen. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said some information that could weaken the administration's case against Iraq remains classified. "It is troubling to have classified information which contradicts statements made by the administration," he said. "It is maddening to have classified information which contradicts classified information leaked by the administration." But Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind., said he believed intelligence officials were "giving us the vast majority of what they know." "They're giving us their best judgment, the facts that they have," he said. "But one of the difficulties in addressing this whole issue is that there is just a lot that is unknown and unknowable." Some senators said they would push for the release of more information. CIA spokesman Mark Mansfield said, "We are going to do our very best to accommodate their request." The report's authors addressed Saddam's capabilities but made no allegations that he intends to use these weapons against U.S. interests. As an intelligence document, it did not recommend any particular U.S. course of action. The greatest current threat appears to be from Saddam's biological weapons programs, including anthrax and ricin toxin, the report suggested. Iraq's ability to produce the agents has grown in the last decade, despite sanctions, U.S. bombing and U.N. inspections. These weapons can be delivered by bombs, missiles, aerial sprayers and covert operatives, "potentially against the U.S. homeland," the report said. Saddam's missiles can reach his neighbors, but not the United States or Western Europe, it said. Baghdad has also renewed production of several chemical agents, probably including mustard, sarin, cyclosarin and VX, the report said. While mustard is a World War I-era blister agent, sarin, cyclosarin and VX are extremely deadly nerve agents. Saddam probably has stockpiled between 110 and 550 tons of chemical weapons, the report says. However, Iraq's ability to produce and store chemical weapons is probably less than it was before the Gulf War, thanks to inspections, the report said. Iraq has been able to pay for these programs with money diverted from humanitarian aid programs and from oil smuggling, it said. Associated Press Writer Ken Guggenheim contributed to this report. 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