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NUCLEAR POLICY
1 US: Sacrificing nuclear policy for trade doesn't make sense
2 Opposition to nuclear energy shortsighted*
3 Revelation May End Nuclear Agreement
4 North Korea Told to Renounce Nukes
5 Japan to urge Pyongyang to stop nuclear program
6 Defusing nuclear threat tops agenda of three-way summit
7 Concern over North Korea admission
NUCLEAR REACTORS
8 US: NRC Staff to Hold Public Meeting with FP&L on October 25 to
9 US: Ohio Nuke Plant Rapped on Radiation
10 India: RAPS-I RAPSI-I will be operational soon: NPCIL Chairman
11 Kakodkar rejects reports on nuclear plant safety in India
12 US: Environment Central to New York Congressional Race
13 US: NRC praises Davis-Besse for handling of new issue
NUCLEAR SAFETY
14 US: Tree rings studied in cancer investigation
15 US: KI pills in mail near Millstone -
16 US: Wife of NTS worker to be compensated
17 US: Workers unlikely to suffer from radiation, study says
18 US: Norwich will have KI pills ready for evacuees
19 US: Mock Radioactive Accident Staged in Longview*
NUCLEAR FUEL CYCLE
20 UK: BNFL SLAMMED OVER SECOND-RATE SECURITY
21 UK: RARE TOADS COME BEFORE BOREHOLES
22 US: State rejects Cotter soil plan
NUCLEAR WEAPONS
23 France Makes Strongest Statement Yet Against War
24 UN's Largest Group of States Rejects War on Iraq
25 [southnews] Turkey and Saudis say no to US attack
26 Le Monde | France Stands in Firm Opposition to Bush War Plans
27 Many Nations Oppose Iraq Resolution
28 US: Nevada protests result in charges
29 North Korea admits nuclear weapons plan*
30 U.S. vows peaceful solution to N.Korea nuclear disclosure
31 Opportunity, Peril Seen in N.Korea Nuclear Admission
32 N. Korea Acknowledges Nukes Program
33 AU: Deadlock stalls Iraq inspections -
34 US: Test Site could house bomb 'pit' plant
35 U.S., French battle over Iraq
36 THE AMERICAN EMPIRE Part 3: The fear within
37 Kazakh 'Nuclear Soldier' Paints Warning for Future
38 US: Two retired generals voice doubts over Bush's plan to attack Ira
39 N Korea: secret nuke arms / Covert weapons program violates '94
40 RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY URGES UN, IAEA INSPECTION EFFORTS IN IRAQ
41 [Nuclear Crisis in Korea] Undeclared Nuclear Sites Worry US
42 Nuclear Crisis in Korea] NK Turns to Uranium-enriching Nuclear
43 Bush, Sharon Keep World Guessing over War on Iraq
44 [Nuclear Crisis in Korea] Parties Call on NK to Explain Nuclear
45 [Nuclear Crisis in Korea] Firms Concerned After NK Admission
46 US: I'll act alone, Bush warns, Iraq, UN
47 IRAQ-LD UN Wide opposition to US in UN debate on Iraq
US DEPT. OF ENERGY
48 SSABs to discuss DOE cleanup program
49 Y-12: Stalag 13 facilities edging into 21st century
50 Energy inks e-signature plan
OTHER NUCLEAR
51 'Earth's Nuclear Core' focus of lecture
52 Nuclear Reactors Existed on Earth Two Billion Years Ago
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FULL NEWS STORIES
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1 Sacrificing nuclear policy for trade doesn't make sense
17.10.2002 By GEHAN GUNASEKARA*
The haste with which politicians and others have taken to arguing
that we should abandon our long-cherished nuclear-free status to
ingratiate ourselves with the United States (with a view to a
trade deal) defies belief.
The argument lacks common sense as well as principle.
Fortunately, the leaders of both major parties have exhibited a
semblance of sanity, and the obvious point has been made that
pressure by the US would be unlikely to end even if we did amend
our anti-nuclear legislation.
There would be inevitable pressure to conform with other foreign
policy goals of the US - the grand coalition against terrorism or
against Iraq, for instance. We would quickly find ourselves bound
to follow Australia in every major decision and might as well
join that federation across the Tasman.
It is disingenuous to suggest that since the policy of the US is
for its ships not to carry nuclear weapons the law is no longer
needed. What if the policy were to change?
And is not the real reason nuclear-powered ships are excluded
that such large ships represent an obvious military target in
peacetime and in war? This is particularly evident now with the
threat posed by terrorists.
In fact, it would not be an exaggeration to say that because of
the advantage the US enjoys in military technology such large
warships are vulnerable only when they are in port. In a nation
such as New Zealand, where small boats are abundant, the presence
of such a warship would represent a clear and present danger.
The real danger to American values of pluralism is posed not by
the likes of Osama bin Laden. The danger is that by encouraging
sycophantic conduct, such as dismantling our anti-nuclear
legislation, the US would end up with a world full of crony
states, such as its corrupt and dependent Central American
neighbours.
Ultimately, such tendencies would suppress dissenting views,
especially of those too weak to stand up for themselves. Only
nations with economic muscle, such as Germany, could dare to
express an independent voice.
Likewise, the linking of economic favours to non-trade policies
must not be encouraged. This might have been a prevalent practice
in the past; it may not be the norm in the rules-based global
economy of the future.
Instead, we ought to be advocating that the regulation of
commerce between nations be on a par with the manner in which
competition is regulated within successful capitalist economies.
Just as Microsoft was prevented by competition rules from
imposing its will over weaker entities and was forced to play
fair, so large economies such as the US ought to be prevented
from using economic power to extract concessions from weaker
competitors.
The US has already delinked trade from issues such as human
rights in relation to trade with countries such as China. It is
pernicious that trade can be used as a weapon against countries
such as New Zealand or Cuba.
Increasingly, though, the signs are that, however slowly, the
world is moving towards a rules-based approach where in theory,
if not yet in practice, all nations are subject to the same law.
China's admission to the World Trade Organisation and its signing
of the Kyoto Protocol are evidence of this.
On today's trends, China will overtake the US as the world's
largest economy some time this century. On the logic of those
advocating change to our foreign policy to appease the US, we
would sometime this century need to shift that policy to appease
yet another superpower. This would not be in our best interests.
On the other hand, such policy shifts would be unnecessary if by
then the world had an enforceable system of rules regulating
trade between nations.
Favouritism, as well as discriminatory conduct, would then be
measured against a set of agreed principles - just as in New
Zealand exclusionary or monopolistic conduct is prohibited in
business.
Just as the resilience of American democracy has been the result
of its tradition of pluralism, the incredible success of its
economic system in the past century was largely attributable to a
rigorous legal system containing strict rules against abuse of
economic power. If a truly global economy is to eventuate, a
similar set of rules will be needed.
At present, the US is disinclined to support a rules-based system
because it still retains a dominant position. As that position
inevitably erodes, it is likely to see the attraction of such an
idea.
It can only be hoped that that will, in the end, be the United
States' lasting legacy, rather than one of failed imperial
bullying.
* Gehan Gunasekara is a lecturer in commercial law at the
University of Auckland.
©Copyright 2002, New Zealand Herald
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2 Opposition to nuclear energy shortsighted*
www.yourguide.com.au
Bruno Comby
Thursday, 17 October 2002
AS A DEDICATED environmentalist, I consider it a paradox to see
today some environmental groups such as Greenpeace opposed to
nuclear energy.
Nuclear energy can be a very clean energy if it is well-designed,
well-constructed, and well-operated:
It produces almost no carbon dioxide and other pollutants,
ejected in huge quantities into the atmosphere by the use of
fossil fuels (millions of tons of sulphur and nitrogen oxides and
about 30 billion tons of CO are dumped every year into the
atmosphere).
It is very compact (little space is required, unlike generators
of solar, wind and biomass energy).
It produces a very small volume of waste, which decays
spontaneously.
It does not contribute to the greenhouse effect.
In 1996, shortly after the 10th anniversary of the Chernobyl
accident, the non-profit Association of Environmentalists For
Nuclear Energy was created to inform the public in a complete and
objective way about energy sources and their environmental
impacts.
EFN is an international network of 5000 members and supporters in
43 countries. It is based on solid scientific facts, not
ideological considerations.
Among its members is Professor James Lovelock, one of the
founders of the development of environmental awareness since the
1960s. Other members are distinguished scientists and
environmentalists, and some are survivors of the Hiroshima atomic
explosion.
EFN is in favour of clean civilian applications of nuclear
energy, such as electricity production and some medical uses, but
is strictly opposed to military applications of nuclear science.
EFN bases its position on the fact that nuclear fission is a
clean, safe, reliable and competitive energy source, that the
volume of nuclear waste produced is very small, that the waste is
confined safely and can be stored safely, and that spent fuel is
or can be reprocessed, as is the case in France at the La Hague
reprocessing plant, where 97 per cent of the used nuclear fuel is
recovered to be recycled and the remaining 3 per cent vitrified
for safe storage until it decays spontaneously.
Spent nuclear fuel can and should be reprocessed, for
environmental reasons if not for economic ones.
To combat the greenhouse effect and the consequent global-warming
trend, nuclear fission is the only source of energy that can
replace a significant part of the fossil fuels coal, oil and gas
without polluting the atmosphere.
Clearly, renewable energies and energy conservation should be
encouraged, but will not suffice to ensure the development of
developing countries or drive our industrial societies; neither
will they save the world from the dramatic energy crisis and
transition that humanity will have to face soon, because of the
risks and consequences of climate change on one hand and the
progressive extinction of oil and gas reserves in the coming
decades on the other.
Wind and solar energy produce, inconsistently, kilowatts (or at
best a few megawatts here and there), but today's populations
consume gigawatts and terawatts (that is to say, thousands or
millions of times as much).
Whatever contribution these renewable energies may bring will be
useful, but they should not be expected to contribute otherwise
than in a marginal way to facing the world's growing energy
demand.
Nuclear energy is the only source of energy that can and should
replace fossil fuels whenever possible in the coming years. At
the same time, more efficient use of energy and self-sustainable
life styles should be promoted.
Renewable energies should not be excluded and it should be
recognised that the latter have important niche roles to play,
although their industrial potential is almost negligible.
The opposition of the environmental movement to civilian
applications of nuclear energy will in time be revealed as among
the greatest mistakes of our times.
Today, electricity can be produced cleanly with almost no CO
emissions (electricity, for example, is 80 per cent nuclear and
15 per cent hydraulic in France, the cleanest and cheapest
electricity produced in Europe). Tomorrow, nuclear energy will be
the key also to desalination of sea water and hydrogen
production.
One gram of uranium or thorium yields as much energy as one tonne
of coal. It's the "factor one million" effect.
Nuclear energy's potential is indeed a million times as great as
that of fossil fuels, which produce 90 per cent of the world's
energy today.
These precious and polluting fossil energies should be saved for
the specific needs for which they cannot be replaced, such as
fuelling aircraft or providing energy for developing countries.
They should be replaced urgently wherever possible by less
polluting sources of energy such as nuclear and, with a much
smaller potential, renewable energy.
The opposition of the environmental movement to civilian
applications of nuclear energy will in time be revealed as among
the greatest mistakes of our times.
An intelligent combination of energy conservation, to whatever
extent is possible, nuclear energy for base-load electricity
production and renewable energies for local low-intensity
applications, is the way for the future.
EFN's membership is growing rapidly, as an increasing number of
people realise the environmental benefits of an intelligent use
of nuclear energy.
Local groups and associations of EFN are active and becoming
increasingly popular in many countries.
I invite the readers of The Canberra Times to organise some local
activities.
Why not form a local chapter of EFN in Australia?
Those who share our views may sign the petition, on the Internet,
in favour of clean nuclear energy, and contact EFN to become
local correspondents.
Bruno Comby, EFN founder and president, is a graduate of the
Ecole Polytechnique in Paris and holds a postgraduate
qualification as nuclear physicist from the National University
of Advanced Technology of Paris.
www.ecolo.org
www.comby.org
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3 Revelation May End Nuclear Agreement
Las Vegas SUN
Today: October 17, 2002 at 0:25:09 PDT By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEOUL, South Korea- The U.S. announcement that North Korea has a
secret nuclear weapons program could signal the end of an
oft-criticized anchor of engagement between the two foes: the
Agreed Framework.
Under that deal, signed in Geneva on Oct. 21, 1994,
energy-starved North Korea agreed to freeze a suspected nuclear
weapons program in return for two modern, light-water reactors
built by a U.S.-led consortium.
But the White House said Wednesday night that North Korea
admitted it was developing nuclear weapons in violation of that
agreement, which was widely credited at its signing with averting
war.
Critics of the agreement, however, said it was a case of
communist blackmail and that the North had deliberately ratcheted
up tension over its shadowy nuclear program in order to win a
concession, a tactic known as brinkmanship. The Agreed Framework
did not require North Korea to immediately open up all its
nuclear facilities to international inspections. That led to
eight years of ambiguity over whether it had a nuclear bomb, or
at least the means and material to produce one.
If North Korea is indeed developing nuclear weapons, it would be
"legally impossible for the U.S. to continue with the project,"
said Daniel Pinkston, an analyst at the Monterey Institute of
International Studies in California. The withdrawal of U.S.
backing would halt the nearly $5 billion project on North Korea's
east coast, possibly triggering an escalation of political
tension on the divided peninsula.
"That would put us back to the summer of 1994, but potentially
worse," Pinkston said.
On the other hand, he said, there is a small possibility that
North Korea is "coming clean" about its nuclear program in the
same way that it recently admitted the abductions of Japanese
citizens in the 1970s and 1980s.
The revelation was perplexing to some analysts, who said they
were waiting to hear whether North Korea made the admission to
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly in a defiant, or
confessional, tone. Kelly visited Pyongyang, North Korea's
capital, Oct. 3-5 to raise concerns about the North's weapons
programs.
Lee Jong-suk, a senior analyst at the Sejong Institute, an
independent research center in Seoul, said he would have expected
the North to preserve the secrecy of a nuclear program "as a real
bargaining card in future heavyweight negotiations."
"It's not in line with their usual strategy and tactics. It's a
clumsy, suicidal method that does not befit North Korean
diplomacy," Lee said. Supporters of the Agreed Framework have
said the commitment of all sides to its survival has served as a
model of engagement with the reclusive North. Charles Kartman,
head of KEDO, the international consortium that is building the
reactors, said the agreement has even helped stabilize periodic
confrontations on the Korean peninsula.
However, there have been repeated calls for an overhaul of the
deal, and both sides have accused each other of violating its
terms.
The U.S.-backed reactors were supposed to be finished in 2003,
but they are years behind schedule. North Korea has demanded
economic compensation, and has sometimes threatened to pull out
of the agreement.
Part of the problem is that the four-page Agreed Framework left
out details about contracts and financing, and much of that work
was done later. South Korea is footing at least 70 percent of the
bill.
The document also deferred full nuclear inspections in the North
by the U.N. International Atomic Energy Agency, a prerequisite
for the delivery of key nuclear components under the Agreed
Framework.
This year, North Korea rebuffed U.S. demands for immediate
inspections. The IAEA says it would take three to four years to
complete them.
"Either side could create a crisis (over the Agreed Framework)
anytime it wants," Bradley Babson, a consultant on Asian issues
for the World Bank and the United Nations, said in an interview
earlier this week.
He also said the nuclear project was so economically unsound that
the United States may never have intended to build the reactors,
assuming that destitute North Korea would crumble before their
completion.
Experts agree the North Korean power grid is too small and
unstable to support the nuclear plant, which would provide 2
million kilowatts of electricity. Some have said the plant needs
to be linked to the South Korean power grid.
In recent months, North Korea had appeared to be pursuing a
campaign to improve ties with Washington and its chief partners
in the KEDO project, South Korea and Japan. The North desperately
needs aid from its traditional adversaries.
Kartman said at a forum in Seoul earlier this week that
Washington has become "progressively less interested" in the
project, a Clinton-era compromise that seems at odds with Bush's
tougher foreign policy.
All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
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4 North Korea Told to Renounce Nukes
Las Vegas SUN
Today: October 17, 2002 at 5:35:28 PDT By GEORGE GEDDA ASSOCIATED
PRESS
WASHINGTON- The United States and South Korea, stung by North
Korea's admission that it has a secret nuclear weapons program,
are calling on Pyongyang to reverse course and abide by promises
to renounce development of these armaments.
The startling disclosure, announced Wednesday night by the White
House, changed the political landscape in East Asia, setting back
hopes that North Korea was on the road to becoming a more benign
presence in the region.
Japan expressed "grave concern" about the North Korea's nuclear
revelation. The disclosure adds to the administration's list of
foreign policy headaches, coming on top of a possible U.S. attack
on Iraq and the overall U.S. war on terrorism.
Any administration inclination to try to confront North Korea,
which President Bush has labeled as part of an "axis of evil"
with Iraq and Iran, could be tempered by a desire not to become
overextended internationally.
Presidential spokesman Sean McCormack said North Korea was guilty
of a serious infringement of a 1994 agreement with the United
States under which Pyongyang promised to be nuclear-free in
return for economic assistance.
"The United States and our allies call on North Korea to comply
with its commitments under the nonproliferation treaty and to
eliminate its nuclear weapons program in a verifiable manner,"
McCormack said.
U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said
North Korea told U.S. diplomats that it was no longer bound by
the anti-nuclear agreement.
In Seoul, South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Tae-sik, said
South Korea has consistently pursued the de-nuclearization of the
Korean peninsula in line with international agreements. Japan and
South Korea are treaty allies of the United States.
"We urge North Korea to abide by its obligations," he said.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said late Wednesday
the United States had been ready to offer North Korea economic
and other benefits if Pyongyang agreed to curb missile programs,
end threats and change its behavior in other ways.
"In light of our concerns about the North's nuclear weapons
program, however, we are unable to pursue this approach," Boucher
said.
For a time, North Korea had seemed ready to shed Bush's "axis of
evil" designation. Pyongyang was carrying out capitalist reforms
and reaching out to both Japan and South Korea. It also resumed
talks with the United States earlier this month.
It is not clear what steps the Bush administration may have in
mind now for North Korea.
Also unclear is just how far along the North Korean nuclear
program is. Both U.S. and South Korean officials, however, have
said that North Korea also maintains vigorous programs to build
large stockpiles of chemical and biological weapons. Last
November, South Korea's defense minister said that North Korea
kept between 2,500 tons and 5,000 tons of biochemical weapons in
six different facilities and had the capability to wage germ
warfare.
As McCormack made the announcement, Undersecretary of State John
Bolton was flying to East Asia to consult with allies on the
changed situation. William Triplett, a defense writer and East
Asia expert, said the North Korean admission means Pyongyang now
has or will soon have the ability to export nuclear warheads
along with the long-range missiles it is already exporting to the
Middle East and South Asia.
The new development is certain to have an impact in Japan, which
may now feel vulnerable to potential nuclear blackmail by North
Korea. There may also be increased challenges in Japan to the
country's postwar commitment to pacifism.
Political tremors also are likely in South Korea, where President
Kim Dae-jung's rule is best known for his incessant search for a
more amicable relationship with his neighbor.
North Korea is certain to be a major element in political
campaigning in South Korea for December presidential elections.
Under the 1994 agreement, in return for renouncing nuclear
weapons, Pyongyang was to receive two light water nuclear
reactors to replace the country's plutonium-producing reactors.
Groundbreaking for the new reactors, which were supposed to have
been completed by 2003, just took place in August, with a State
Department official on hand.
The two countries had just resumed high-level security talks less
than two weeks ago for the first time since October 2000. It was
during those discussions that North Korea informed the United
States of its nuclear activities.
The United States has been suspicious about North Korea's nuclear
intentions for some time despite the 1994 agreement. A CIA report
in January said that during the second half of last year, North
Korea "continued its attempts to procure technology worldwide
that could have applications in its nuclear program."
"We assess that North Korea has produced enough plutonium for at
least one, and possibly two, nuclear weapons."
That has been a U.S. concern dating from before the 1994
agreement. International inspections were supposed to clear up
that mystery but the North never permitted them despite a
commitment to do so.
The North Korean revelations apparently refer to more recent
nuclear development activities, possibly encompassing the period
when former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited
Pyongyang in October 2000. President Clinton thought seriously
about making a visit as well before leaving office.
North Korea may have foreshadowed the sudden souring of relations
10 days ago when, after Kelly's departure, it called the U.S.
diplomat "high-handed and arrogant."
It also vowed to maintain a high military vigilance unless
Washington changes its policy.
On the Web: State Department's North Korea site:
http://www.state.gov/p/eap/ci/kn/
[http://www.state.gov/p/eap/ci/kn/]
All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
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5 Japan to urge Pyongyang to stop nuclear program
Mainichi Interactive - Top News
Japan will urge North Korea to give up its nuclear development
program during diplomatic normalization talks, officials said
Thursday.
Soon after the U.S. State Department announced Wednesday that
North Korea has told a U.S. envoy that it has a secret nuclear
weapons program, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi responded.
"I hope North Korea will take a sincere stance to dispel
suspicions over its nuclear project," Koizumi said Thursday. "We
need careful consultation with the U.S. because Japan alone
cannot handle these serious issues such as the development of
nuclear weapons."
Echoing Koizumi's comments, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda
said that Japan would press Pyongyang to stop developing nuclear
weapons during normalization talks set to begin on Oct. 29.
North Korean officials reportedly told James Kelly, assistant
secretary of state for East Asia and Pacific Affairs, that
Pyongyang had a program to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons
when he visited the reclusive country in early October. The
officials went so far as to say that they were no longer bound by
a 1994 agreement with the U.S. under which North Korea was to
cease any nuclear weapons development programs, U.S. officials
said in Washington.
Taking seriously Pyongyang's declaration that it considered the
non-nuclear accord nullified, Fukuda suggested that the
normalization talks between Tokyo and Pyongyang might face an
obstacle.
"If North Korea clearly violates the agreement with the U.S.,
apparently no progress will be made toward a normalization of
diplomatic ties (between Tokyo and Pyongyang)," he said.
The U.S. officials added that Kelly and Undersecretary of State
John Bolton have been dispatched to Beijing, Seoul and Tokyo for
talks with high officials in the three countries.
The North's admission of the uranium enrichment program was made
just weeks after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il told visiting
Prime Minister Koizumi on Sept. 17 that his country abducted
Japanese people to train their spies in Japanese.
In Seoul, diplomatic sources said that Pyongyang had to admit to
the abductions and the nuclear weapons program in an apparent
attempt to appease both Japan and the United States.
This is because the North Korean leadership believes the
country's disastrous economy would improve only if it normalizes
relationships with Tokyo and Washington.
But Pyongyang apparently miscalculated because the revelation of
the abduction issue only raised the ire of the Japanese public
and the U.S. is taking a tough stance against the North's nuclear
program, the sources said. (Mainichi Shimbun, Oct. 17, 2002)
© 2002 The Mainichi Newspapers Co. Under
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6 Defusing nuclear threat tops agenda of three-way summit
Korea Herald!!_National
http://www.koreaherald.com
South Korea, the United States and Japan will discuss North
Korea's nuclear weapons development program during their
three-way summit in Mexico next week, a top government official
said yesterday.
"The issue of the North's nuclear development will be a major
topic of discussion during the coming summit talks," said Yim
Sung-joon, senior presidential secretary for foreign affairs and
national security. President Kim, U.S. President George W. Bush
and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi are due to meet
Oct. 26 on the sidelines of the annual conference of the
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).
The North's confession that it has been secretly conducting a
nuclear weapons program is a body blow to Kim, who has promoted
his "sunshine policy" of engaging the communist country with
diplomatic and economic incentives.
North Korea has sought to improve relations with the South and
Japan, and was recently seen to initiate bold economic reforms to
reach out to the international community and pull its economy out
of dire straits.
But Yim said eyebrows have been raised in the South Korean
government after the North admitted it has hidden a nuclear
weapons development program. "This may indicate that the North
wants to resolve the nuclear issue through dialogue," the senior
presidential official told Cheong Wa Dae press correspondents.
He also said the government will discuss with the United States
ways to resolve the nuclear problem peacefully when James Kelly,
U.S. assistant secretary of state, makes a second trip to South
Korea this weekend.
Yim said the North admitted that its nuclear program involves the
development of nuclear weapons with enriched uranium, which can
be used to produce weapons of mass destruction.
Washington expressed grave concern that the North's nuclear
program violates a 1994 agreement signed with the administration
of President Bill Clinton. Under the Geneva Agreed Framework, two
light-water nuclear reactor power plants will be constructed in
North Korea in return for the North's promise to freeze its
nuclear program. Light-water reactors are said to be less likely
to be used for making nuclear weapons.
Washington officials said there will be no negotiations with the
North. But Seoul officials downplayed the statement, saying it
means that the United States would not use a give-and-take policy
in dealing with the communist regime.
The Seoul officials also predicted dialogue between the North and
the United States being locked in a stalemate until Pyongyang
permits inspection of its suspected nuclear facilities, or
abrogates or suspends its nuclear development program.
(shinyb@koreaherald.co.kr) By Shin Yong-bae Staff reporter
(C) Copyright 2000 Digital Korea Herald. All rights reserved.
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7 Concern over North Korea admission
BBC NEWS | UK | Politics |
Thursday, 17 October, 2002, 14:09
Kim Il Jong II]
North Korea has taken the US and its allies by surprise Foreign
Secretary Jack Straw has said North Korea's admission that it
possesses nuclear bomb making material is a "very serious
development indeed".
This has come about as a result of talks which the Americans were
having with the North Koreans
Tony Blair's spokesman
He said world opinion was "united" in calling on the country to
abandon its nuclear weapons programme.
Mr Straw's words follow an admission by North Korea to US
officials that it possesses enriched uranium - a key ingredient
of nuclear weapons. North Korea is regarded by Western
intelligence as a potential source of such material for rogue
states such as Iraq.
Violation
But previous accusations against the country have been met by
flat denials and anger and it is not clear why North Korea chose
to respond to the US allegations at this time.
Speaking earlier to reporters, Mr Straw said the admission was a
"very serious development indeed".
He would be looking for "co-operation" by North Korea to "reduce
and eliminate" its weapons of mass destruction, he said.
In a written Commons statement, Mr Straw said the admission meant
a " serious violation" of North Korea's commitments on the spread
of nuclear weapons and its atomic energy safeguards.
"We are in contact with our international partners about the
implications, and it is an issue that I discussed with (US
Secretary of State) Colin Powell on Tuesday."
'Quick response'
Mr Straw added: "World opinion is united in calling for North
Korea to comply with its international obligations and to
eliminate its nuclear weapons programme.
"We made clear to the North Korean foreign minister last week our
longstanding concerns about nuclear and missile proliferation and
the need for the North Koreans to respond quickly and
convincingly to these concerns."
The foreign secretary briefed cabinet colleagues on the situation
earlier on Thursday.
'Key ingredient'
Prime Minister Tony Blair's official spokesman said: "It is worth
underlining, as Jack Straw did in the cabinet today (Thursday),
that we do regard this as serious and as the Americans have said,
they too regard this as serious.
"Obviously the possession of highly-enriched uranium is one of
the key ingredients of developing nuclear weapons.
"This has come about as a result of talks which the Americans
were having with the North Koreans."
Peaceful resolution
The spokesman said the admission indicated that the "framework
agreement" brokered between North Korea and the United States had
"broken down", which was "obviously a cause for concern".
"What the United States administration has said is that they will
discuss the implications of this with their international
partners and that includes ourselves.
"They have also said they want to resolve this peacefully," the
spokesman added.
'Not like Iraq'
But he stressed the difference between North Korea's admission
and the position of Iraq.
He said: "There is a difference in as much as there has been
dialogue and there was the framework agreement.
"The fact this declaration happened is as a result of the
dialogue that exists between the two countries.
"North Korea admitted to its possession of this highly-enriched
uranium and that could have come about as a result of the
pressure that's being put on Iraq."
'Not negotiable'
He went on: "In Iraq the situation there is very clear.
"Saddam Hussein is in breach of countless United Nation's
resolutions, he's flouting the will of the international
community.
"We know he has chemical and biological weapons and is seeking to
acquire nuclear weapons.
"The disarming of Saddam Hussein is not negotiable."
Mr Blair told cabinet colleagues on Thursday morning he was still
confident of securing a fresh United Nations resolution giving
weapons inspectors a new mandate to go back into Iraq.
© MMII | News Sources | Privacy
*****************************************************************
8 NRC Staff to Hold Public Meeting with FP&L on October 25 to
Discuss Initial St. Lucie Plant License Renewal Inspection
NRC: News Release - Region II - 2002-047 -
U.S. NUCLEAR REGULATORY COMMISSION Office of Public Affairs,
Region II 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303 www.nrc.gov
No. II-02-047 October 16, 2002
CONTACT: Ken Clark (404) 562-4416
Roger D. Hannah (404) 562-4417 E-mail: opa2@nrc.gov [opa2@nrc.gov]
Nuclear Regulatory Commission officials will meet with Florida
Power & Light Company management at 9:00 a.m.(est) on Friday,
October 25 at the St. Lucie nuclear power plant near Ft. Pierce
to discuss the results of the agencys initial inspection of the
plants license renewal program. The meeting will be held at the
Energy Encounter facility, located adjacent to the plant and will
be open to public observation. NRC officials will be available
prior to the close of the meeting to answer questions from
interested observers.
NRC officials say the inspection is the first of three planned
license renewal reviews at St. Lucie and was conducted to verify
that the companys license renewal program is being implemented
consistent with its license renewal application and pertinent
regulations. Subsequent NRC inspections will verify that programs
are in place to manage the material condition of the plants
systems, structures and components.
NRC officials will discuss the license renewal process and the
schedule for St. Lucie.
Wednesday, October 16, 2002
*****************************************************************
9 Ohio Nuke Plant Rapped on Radiation
Las Vegas SUN
October 16, 2002 By JOHN SEEWER ASSOCIATED PRESS
OAK HARBOR, Ohio- Operators of a nuclear power plant didn't
adequately check five workers who left the facility with specks
of radioactive material on their clothing, federal inspectors
said Wednesday.
The radioactive particles were later found in hotel rooms and
homes in Ohio, Texas, South Carolina and Virginia, according to
FirstEnergy Corp., which operates the Davis-Besse power plant.
There was no threat to the public, said Tom Kozak, a federal
Nuclear Regulatory Commission inspector. The five workers are
being retested for any possible health effects, officials said.
The plant staff did not properly assess how much radiation the
workers were exposed to inside the plant's steam generator, Kozak
said.
The five workers and two others were performing maintenance in
February during a routine shutdown at the plant near Toledo in
northern Ohio. One of the other workers was not contaminated; the
second had to be decontaminated.
Akron-based FirstEnergy did not dispute the NRC findings.
"We did not handle the issue as good as we could," said Lew
Myers, head of the company's nuclear division.
The company said it has made changes to how it judges radiation
levels inside the plant and now requires all workers who go
inside the steam generator to wear respirators.
Regulators have yet to determine the significance of the problem
and decide whether FirstEnergy should be penalized.
In an unrelated issue, the NRC is investigating leaks that
allowed boric acid to eat a 7-inch-wide hole almost through the
6-inch thick steel cap that covers the Davis-Besse reactor
vessel. The leak was discovered in March.
On the Net: NRC: www.nrc.gov FirstEnergy:
[http://www.firstenergycorp.com]
All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
10 India: RAPS-I RAPSI-I will be operational soon: NPCIL Chairman
RAWATBHATE, OCT 17 (PTI)
The Unit-I of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station will be made
operational once the inspection of channels are over, Chairman
and Managing Director of Nuclear Power Corporation of India V K
Chaturvedi said today.
The RAPS-I plant was taken up for inspection by the Atomic Energy
Regulating Board in last April and "inspection of fuel channels
are going on," he told reporters here.
"It will be operational once the safety upgradation is
completed," Chaturvedi said.
Similar exercise was done for RAPS-II in 1996 and "today it is
operating with 92 per cent capacity factor," he said.
Chaturvedi also informed that work is progressing well for the
two units with 1000 MW each of Kudankulam project in Tamil Nadu.
"The Work is much ahead of schedule," he said.
Referring to 'nuclear islands' in the country for their ambitious
plans, Chaturvedi said NPCIL has recommended several sites for
their Northern and Western zones and "cabinet approval is
awaited." Asked about the 5th and 6th units of Kaiga Atomic Powr
plant in Karnataka, he siad they would be completed in the 12th
five year plan.
COPYRIGHT & DISCLAIMER
*****************************************************************
11 Kakodkar rejects reports on nuclear plant safety in India
REACTOR-KAKODKAR
RAWATBHATA (RAJASTHAN), OCT 17 (PTI)
Atomic Energy Commission Chariman Dr Anil Kakodkar today rejected
as "baseless and wrong" report in a western newspaper on lack of
nuclear plant safety in India.
The report that the radiation in Kakrapar Atomic Power Generation
Plant was three times higher than international norms was
baseless and wrong, he said at the foundation stone laying
function of the 5th and 6th units of the Rajasthan Atomic Power
Project here.
The radiation is much below the prescribed level not only at
Kakrapar but also at all the nuclear power generation plants in
the country, Kakodkar added.
'Christian Science Monitor' had on last Sunday quoted Atomic
Energy Regulatory Board Chairman S P Sukhatme as saying that
Kakrapara Atomic Power Plant was the best station in India when
it comes to controlling radiation but still it emits radiation
three times as much as international norms.
"There is a clear need for reducing the exposure to workers," he
was quoted as saying.
COPYRIGHT & DISCLAIMER
*****************************************************************
12 Environment Central to New York Congressional Race
NORTH SALEM, New York, October 16, 2002 (ENS) - Janine Selendy is
campaigning to represent New York's 19th District in the House of
Representatives - the district within which the Indian Point
Nuclear Power Plant stands on the east bank of the Hudson River.
A Democrat making her first foray onto the campaign trail,
Selendy heads Horizon International, an award winning website and
TV series based at Yale University that showcases sustainable
solutions to environmental problems worldwide. She has pledged to
strive for the prompt decommissioning of Indian Point nuclear
power plant.
Currently, Republican Sue Kelly represents District 19, which
takes in all of Putnam County, Northern Westchester, most of
Dutchess and a portion of Orange County. An educator, small
business owner, patient advocate, and Harvard University
researcher in botany and bacteriology, Kelly has a strong
environmental record, but she is silent on the issue of Indian
Point.
[Indian Point] Indian Point Reactor 3
(Photo courtesy New York Power Authority) Towns and villages in
the district, as well as local and national environmental groups,
are worried that the two reactors that power Indian Point are
vulnerable to terrorist attack. Another reactor on the site is
inactive.
They have petitioned the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to close
Indian Point, which they say endangers the 20 million people who
live within a 50 mile radius of the plant, located just 24 miles
north of the New York City boundary.
They also fear that the Entergy operated plant is unsafe because
of repeated accidents, most recently in February 2000 when faulty
tubes sent 20,000 gallons of radioactive water into the
containment building releasing radioactive steam into the air
over Indian Point 2.
[Selendy] Janine Selendy (Photo courtesy
[http://www.selendy.com] ) Selendy says Indian Point presented a
threat even when it was first built in 1976 "on an earthquake
fault line and in a highly populated location," and should never
have been built where it is.
"Now the CIA is warning that because of the Bush administration's
treatment of Iraq and threats of pre-emptive strikes, the threat
of attacks against the U.S. is heightened. Among the major
targets is Indian Point."
In case of accident or attack, "Any reasonable assurance of
evacuation is not possible even according to the Nuclear
Regulatory Commission which granted the permission for the
building and licensing of the facilities," she says.
"We need to develop alternative, affordable energy to replace the
power currently produced at Indian Point," Selendy says, and job
training should "commence at once" so that no employee will be
without work during any phase of the transition.
Selendy is strong on the environment, but the New York League of
Conservation Voters handed its endorsement to Kelly.
[Kelly] Congresswoman Sue Kelly (Photo courtesy
[http://idsi.net/~flholt/students/pataki.html] ) In recognition
of her "dedication to preserving and protecting the environment,"
incumbent Kelly has been endorsed by the New York League of
Conservation Voters (NYLCV).
The NYLCV cited Kelly's support for new fuel economy standards,
support for a strong federal commitment to cleaning up toxic
waste sites with polluter pays policies and Kelly's sponsorship
of legislation to help local communities control water pollution
and upgrade local sewer systems. But there is no mention of
Indian Point.
"One of my very first accomplishments in Congress was the passage
of my legislation known as the Hudson River Habitat Restoration
Act, providing millions of dollars to clean and protect the
Hudson River," said Kelly. "Since then, I have made protecting
the local and national environment one of my top priorities. The
Hudson Valley is one of the most beautiful places in the nation.
I want to keep it that way."
Selendy has her endorsements too. Richard Ottinger, Dean Emeritus
of Pace Law School, has known Selendy since the 1970s when she
helped to keep PCB effluents out of the Hudson River. "Janine
Selendy is one of the ablest and most creative people I have
met," said Ottinger. "Her Horizon International organization at
Yale has served important needs for sustainable development that
translate well into what we need to do in our own back yards."
Learn more about Selendy at: [http://www.selendy.com] and see
the Horizon Solutions website at:
[http://www.solutions-site.org]
Learn more about Kelly at: [http://www.suekellyforcongress.com/]
and visit her congressional website at:
[http://www.house.gov/suekelly/index.htm] For more on the Indian
Point situation, see the ENS report "Coalition Demands Shutdown
of Indian Point Reactors" at:
[http://ens-news.com/ens/nov2001/2001-11-09-06.asp]
[editor@ens-news.com] for details.
Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2002. All Rights
Reserved.
*****************************************************************
13 NRC praises Davis-Besse for handling of new issue
The Plain Dealer
10/17/02 John Funk Plain Dealer Reporter
Oak Harbor - The head of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission
committee overseeing the Davis-Besse nuclear plant yesterday
complimented the plant on its handling of a new challenge.
The company discovered possible leaks on the bottom of
the reactor - an entirely new area of possible damage to the
reactor. And it could have assumed that the boric acid and rust
stains discovered on the reactor's base had merely run down the
sides from the rusting lid.
That would have been the "easy answer," said Jack Grobe,
head of the committee in charge of deciding when the plant is
safe to restart and when FirstEnergy has made sufficient changes
to the plant's management so it can be trusted to operate safely.
Instead, the company decided to alert the NRC, have the
material chemically analyzed in an effort to determine its
origin, begin thinking about further tests and, if necessary,
repairs.
"I think your approach is very conservative, a very
healthy approach," Grobe said at a meeting with Davis-Besse
officials yesterday. If the bottom is leaking, the reactor's
downtime will be extended beyond the current projection of early
next year, and repair costs would grow beyond the nearly $400
million the company already estimates it will have spent. Lab
analysis is expected within a week.
News of the development has hurt the company's stock.
After an earnings downgrade by a leading New York investment
analyst because of the development, investors drove down the
price of FirstEnergy's stock $3.18 a share the last two days. The
stock closed yesterday at $26.30.
Robert Schrauder, director of Davis-Besse's support
services, said nuclear service company Framatome ANP is
developing further testing to check for cracks in the tubes,
called nozzles, that carry instrument wiring through the bottom.
Cracks in similar nozzles in the lid led to boric acid leaks and
a footprint-size rust hole in the reactor's lid. The reactor has
been shut down since February.
If the bottom nozzles are cracked, similar reactors
across the country could be affected in the same way. Grobe said
no reactors have ever reported bottom cracks.
While complimenting the company for its actions on the
issue, Grobe said the committee was still concerned about
FirstEnergy's progress at management reform and the creation of a
"safety conscious" work ethic at the plant.
Grobe said his committee is concerned that the company
has not completed its in-depth analysis of what went wrong, let
alone develop strategies to deal with it. He asked the company to
develop a program by the committee's November monthly meeting.
William Pearce, a vice president for management oversight
at Davis-Besse, said the tone of employee meetings has changed,
and there is a new spirit of cooperation alignment between
workers and managers. He said he plans another employee survey
similar to one last summer that revealed deep pessimism among
workers. The evidence the company has presented so far to show
management has been reformed and employees have a new mindset is
subjective, said committee member William Dean.
A number of Davis-Besse's critics, including Amy Ryder of
the Cleveland office of Ohio Citizen Action, asked the panel
whether it could revoke the plant's operating license if the
management issue was not resolved. Grobe said the committee
simply would not allow the reactor to be restarted.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter: jfunk@plaind.com,
216-999-4138
© 2002 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission. © 2002
cleveland.com. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
14 Tree rings studied in cancer investigation
October 17, 2002
[fmullen@rgj.com]
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
[mnewton@rgj.com] /RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL Paul Sheppard, a
dendrochronologist (tree-ring scientist) at the University of
Arizona, takes a tree ring sample from a tree at Fort Churchill
State Park on Wednesday.
FALLON — Two University of Arizona professors investigating
leukemia clusters in their home state and in Fallon took tree
ring samples on Wednesday in northern Nevada to determine whether
high tungsten levels in the environment around Fallon are normal
or unusual.
The samples may help solve the mystery of the high levels of
tungsten previously found in Fallon trees, wells, and in urine
samples taken from 205 residents. The biological tests are part
of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
investigation into a leukemia cluster of 16 children, three of
whom have died.
“We took samples at a site upslope from the Carson City area
where tungsten ore isn’t found and at two sites in Churchill
County near tungsten deposits,” said Paul Sheppard, a tree ring
expert and associate professor at the University of Arizona.
“We wanted a pristine site and a heavy-tungsten site. That way
we’ll be able to see if the levels in Fallon are expected or
unusual.”
Previous tree ring tests show levels of the metal tungsten appear
to have increased in Fallon and Sierra Vista, Ariz., where nine
cases of childhood leukemia have been confirmed. The analysis
showed traces of the metal increased during the last 20 years.
Tungsten is found all over northern Nevada, according to the
University of Nevada School of Mines. It is used to make jet
engine turbine blades and to strengthen steel for other uses.
Churchill County is host to 17 closed tungsten mines and an
industrial plant in Fallon also uses it to make tool bits.
The recent tests in Nevada and Arizona are the first time tree
rings have been used to assist a cancer cluster investigation,
scientists said.
Mark Witten, a toxicologist at the University of Arizona who is
using his own funds to study both areas, is helping Sheppard take
the core samples. He also is exposing leukemia cells to tungsten
in a Tucson lab to see whether the metal affects the cells.
“The levels of tungsten we’ll use are calibrated to the amounts
found in the tree rings in Fallon and in Sierra Vista,” he said.
Witten and members of the Arizona Congressional delegation have
asked the CDC to do blood and urine tests in Sierra Vista so the
results can be compared to the Fallon biological studies. But the
agency has said it doesn’t have the money to begin another
extensive disease probe like the one underway in Fallon.
“Tungsten may not be the answer to the cause of the leukemia
clusters, but it could be part of the answer,” Witten said. “It
could be a co-factor. We need to investigate further.”
He said he is writing grant requests to continue his studies into
the cancer clusters and the environmental factors that may be
causing them.
© Copyright Reno Gazette-Journal, a [http://www.gannett.com] Newspaper.
*****************************************************************
15 KI pills in mail near Millstone -
Local News - norwichbulletin.com
Thursday, October 17, 2002
By RAY HACKETT Norwich Bulletin
WATERFORD -- Potassium iodide pills will begin arriving in
mailboxes of residences within a 10-mile radius of the Millstone
Nuclear Power plants today.
The pills along with instructions, information and the emergency
evacuation plan in the event of a nuclear accident are being sent
to 67,000 households in nine towns, enough for 125,000 residents.
"When residents get the mailing, they should read it, share it
with family members and, of course, retain the pills," John
Wiltse, director of the state Office of Emergency Management,
said at a news conference Wednesday in Waterford.
The communities within the 10-mile radius include Waterford, New
London, Groton city and town, Old Lyme, East Lyme, Lyme and
portions of Ledyard and Montville.
Connecticut is the first state to conduct a mass distribution of
the pills. Potassium iodide, which also is known by its chemical
name, KI, is an over-the-counter medication that protects the
thyroid from absorbing radioactive iodine, one of the possible
radioactive isotopes that may be released in a nuclear incident.
The pills are a preventive measure in the event radioactive
iodines are released as a result of a nuclear incident. They are
ineffective against exposure to other kinds of radioactive
releases.
"KI is not a magic pill," Wiltse said, "and not all nuclear
accidents or releases will require the use of KI. KI is simply a
supplement, not a substitute to the primary action, and that's
evacuation and sheltering."
The state ordered 450,000 KI pills a year ago, with state and
local officials spending much of the last year developing a
distribution plan, including a continuing education and awareness
program for summer residents and visitors to the region,
according to Waterford First Selectman Paul Eccard.
The pills are most effective when taken within four hours of
exposure, with one pill providing 24 hours of protection. The
pills have few side effects but should not be taken by those who
may be allergic to iodine.
"Only take the pills when instructed to do so by the governor,"
said Public Health Commissioner Joxel Garcia, stressing the
primary course of action is still evacuation and sheltering.
"Once someone is no longer exposed to the radioactive iodines,
there is no longer a need for the KI."
Additional supplies of the pills will be available at town halls
or designated distribution points in each of the nine communities
as of Friday. Families larger than four members who need
additional pills can obtain them through the local distribution
point.
Businesses with employees who may live outside the 10-mile radius
also can obtain pills from the towns in which they are located.
Additional supplies will be distributed to schools within the
designated area, however, officials stressed Wednesday it was
"highly unlikely" that school officials would need to administer
the pills, because school children would be evacuated immediately
in an emergency.
There are 27 pharmacies throughout the state that carry potassium
iodide. rhackett@norwich.gannett. [rhackett@norwich.gannett] com
The state Department of Public Health has developed a guide
relating to potassium iodide on its Web page, with links to other
sites with additional information such as a list of pharmacies
where the pills can be purchased.
That information is available at
http://www.dph.state.ct.us/BCH/eeoh/ki/ki_home.htm
Copyright © 2002 Norwich Bulletin. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
16 Wife of NTS worker to be compensated
Las Vegas SUN
Today: October 17, 2002 at 11:30:09 PDT
Widow of Nevada Test Site worker finally to receive money from a
federal program
By Mary Manning
After two years of waiting and wading through red tape, Dorothy
Clayton, widow of a Nevada Test Site worker, is finally about to
receive her due under a federal benefits program designed to
compensate Cold War workers who got sick or died assembling
nuclear weapons.
"It's been more than two years, but I received the letter
today," Clayton said on Wednesday from her Tennessee home.
After a long fight to have her husband's death acknowledged by
the government as linked to his work at the Test Site, Clayton
will receive $150,000 from the Energy Department.
The claim is among the first of former Test Site workers to be
settled by the Energy Department.
Congress approved a nuclear workers compensation program in July
2001, after the Energy Department officially admitted -- after
decades of denials -- that weapons workers in sites all over the
nation may have become sick or died as a result of their labor.
The program provides $150,000, plus payment of medical expenses,
to employees who worked for the Energy Department and its
contractors in the development, testing and production of nuclear
weapons. The Labor Department is leading the effort to process
claims and administer the complex program with the help of the
Energy, Health and Human Services and Justice departments.
The department has received 34,971 claims filed by nuclear
workers from across the country.
As of last week the Labor Department has paid national benefits
totaling nearly $363 million, much of it to workers exposed to
toxins such as dust and beryllium at Energy Department facilities
in Oak Ridge, Tenn., and Paducah, Ky. Another $3.9 million has
been paid for workers' medical bills.
Clayton is one of 59 Test Site workers or family members to
receive compensation so far, a Labor Department spokeswoman said
today.
Clayton's husband, Glenn Clayton, died in June 1999 after
suffering from five forms of cancer. The government had
acknowledged to Dorothy Clayton that his lung and bladder cancers
could have been caused by radiation exposure, based on records
found among 1,370 pages of former secret documents kept by the
Energy Department.
While conducting nuclear weapons experiments at the site 65
miles northwest of Las Vegas, the employees claimed they became
ill after being exposed to radiation, dust or beryllium, a metal
used in nuclear weapons.
Dorothy Clayton said her husband, a 30-year veteran of the Test
Site, led crews into the underground tunnels after nuclear tests
to retrieve monitors and equipment.
More than 1,000 former Test Site workers or their families have
now applied for benefits, said Bob Agonia, director of the Las
Vegas Resource Center, set up to help smooth the local
application process. As many as 10,000 men and women worked on
weapons testing at the site from 1951 until experiments ended in
1992.
Many workers have been frustrated with what they consider an
inefficient process.
Senate Majority Whip Harry Reid, D-Nev., helped Clayton find the
records. Reid visited Clayton's home and heard Dorothy's story in
person during May 2000.
Reid has tried to speed up the bureaucratic process. He inserted
legislation into a bill for the next fiscal year that boosts from
three to 75 the number of Labor Department workers processing
claims.
"Despite the often frustrating path, Dorothy Clayton has worked
tirelessly to see justice served," Reid said.
"While no amount of money can compensate for a lost one, I am
pleased that workers and their families are finally starting to
receive the medical care and the compensation they are due."
After successfully navigating a series frustrating bureaucratic
snares, Clayton urged other widows and family members to keep
pushing for benefits.
"Never give up," she said.
For more information or to schedule an appointment to file a
claim, call the center at (702) 697-0841 or toll-free at (866)
697-0841.
Sun reporter Benjamin Grove contributed to this story.
All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
17 Workers unlikely to suffer from radiation, study says
The Plain Dealer
10/17/02 John Funk Plain Dealer Reporter
Oak Harbor - Workers who were sent into highly radioactive steam
generators at the Davis-Besse nuclear power plant last spring
without respirators probably won't suffer any long-term health
consequences from radioactive particles they ingested, a federal
review has concluded.
The radioactive isotopes also dropped from the shoes and
clothing of the workers in four states as they traveled from job
to job.
But that is unlikely to cause any adverse health effects.
But plant owner FirstEnergy Corp. could face fines for
sloppy operation that violated at least three NRC rules.
A special inspection team from the Nuclear Regulatory
Commission detailed its preliminary findings yesterday to
Davis-Besse officials in a public meeting at the troubled
Toledo-area plant. Shut down with a large rust hole in the
reactor lid because of years of poor maintenance and management,
Davis-Besse will not be permitted to restart until the NRC is
convinced it is safe.
The facts of the incident and the agency's preliminary
findings are:
In March, seven employees of an outside contractor were
told by the company it was safe to do maintenance on the huge
steam generators, which sit next to the reactor in the
containment building. Superheated coolant that has touched the
radioactive core of the reactor flows through the generators when
the reactor is operating.
The Davis-Besse technicians responsible for the safety of
the men sampled the inside surfaces of the steam generators for
radiation but failed to sample the air inside the steam
generators, as required by regulation. Had they done that, they
would have found that the airborne radiation was a thousand times
higher than normal. Only one of the seven workers escaped
contamination.
Radioactive particles - from leaks in the reactor's fuel
rods during the previous two years of operation - had
contaminated the reactor coolant and everything it touched,
including the insides of the generators.
The company knew this because it has to regularly analyze
the coolant and report levels of "transuranics" to the NRC, an
NRC official said.
Transuranics are isotopes such as plutonium created by
the nuclear reaction inside the fuel rods. If they show up in the
coolant, it is evidence of cracked fuel rods. The levels at
Davis-Besse, though still within NRC regulations, were much
higher than in previous years. But the technicians ignored those
facts.
Levels of deeply penetrating radiation had spiked in the
plant about nine hours before the men entered the generators. The
spike had been created by the way the plant had been shut down.
Standard practice in such cases is to stop work and reassess
safety conditions. The health technicians in charge of the
workers at the steam generators did not.
The company sent the men into the generators wearing
protective clothing but not respirators. Special team leader
Thomas Kozak of the NRC said the company's thinking was that the
bulky respirators would have slowed down the work in the cramped
steam generator, exposing the men to additional deeply
penetrating radiation and increasing their immediate radiation
dose.
But that thinking ignored the threat from the
transuranics, which got through the special suits on six of the
men.
After completing the work, their bodies set off radiation
monitors even after seven showers, said Kozak. But they were
allowed to leave the plant because the Davis-Besse technicians
concluded they had inhaled or ingested the particles. The heavy
isotopes, however, were on their shoes and in their underclothes.
Two of the six had in fact swallowed - or more likely
inhaled - the material. Just how much is the question. Because
the particles emit relatively weak radiation, their rays do not
escape the body but instead damage internal organs.
The NRC has ordered laboratory analysis of the two
workers' urine and feces three times so far and could require
additional tests, said Kozak, if the third test is inconclusive.
Results could be available in two to three weeks, he said.
Neither of the affected men, employees of nuclear service
company Framatome ANP, are ill, said Kozak, but neither is
permitted to work until the issue is resolved.
As for the particles that the workers carried out of the
plant on their clothing, there is little danger to the public,
Kozak said because the particles emit a kind of radiation that is
stopped by clothing or skin. FirstEnergy inspection teams that
retraced the workers' steps recovered 16 of the tiny particles in
motel rooms, homes and cars.
"We did not handle the issue as well as we could have,"
acknowledged Lew Myers, chief operating officer of FirstEnergy
Nuclear Operating Company.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
jfunk@plaind.com, 216-999-4138
© 2002 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission.
© 2002 cleveland.com. All Rights Reserved.
*****************************************************************
18 Norwich will have KI pills ready for evacuees
Published on 10/17/2002
*Norwich* ? The city will be stockpiling 33,000 doses of
potassium iodide tablets as part of the state's new nuclear
disaster planning policy.
The anti-radiation drug is not being set aside for city
residents, but instead for the tens of thousands of people that
would flee here during a Millstone Power Plant meltdown.
Under the state's Radiological Emergency Preparedness plan,
Norwich is one of six communities that would host evacuees during
a radiological disaster. It is the only host town in New London
County and the closest to Millstone. Groton residents are
supposed to come to Norwich if ordered to evacuate.
Gene Arters, director of Norwich Emergency Management, said the
city will stockpile enough potassium iodide, or KI, to provide
thyroid protection to all residents arriving from Groton. The
city is setting aside the pills even though KI will be
distributed directly to Groton residents. The reason, said
Arters, is that at the time of an evacuation, people might be at
work and not have their KI, or have forgotten where they put the
KI.
If they have not taken any KI it would be provided to the
evacuees as they arrive at the evacuation center, which in
Norwich is the Kelly Middle School. The pills are most effective
if taken within four hours of exposure. Though probably a good
idea, it adds to the degree of difficulty in emergency planning,
Arters said.
?I'm not overly excited about dispensing meds,? said the
emergency planning director. He said individuals will have to be
questioned about their medical history, and any potential
allergies, before they are given the drug.
?This is another child of the 9-11 review,? he said. ?Now we
realize the need and necessity of these things. It certainly does
not hurt to have it available.?
Other host communities will be receiving KI pills as well.
Evacuation centers would also be set up in New Haven,
Wethersfield, Windham, Mansfield and East Hartford in the event
of a catastrophe at Millstone.
Norwich residents themselves will not be getting the drug, even
though a recent act of Congress suggests many should. According
to the Public Health Security and Bioterrorism Act of 1992,
signed into law by President Bush in June, the federal government
is now required to make KI available for distribution to the
population within 20 miles of a nuclear plant, well beyond the
current 10-mile Emergency Planning Zone. Much of Norwich falls
within the 20-mile range.
John T. Wiltse, state director of the Office of Emergency
Management, said the act was passed without an implementation
policy. Until the state receives some direction from the federal
government it will continue to focus on providing KI in the
10-mile zone and at the evacuation centers, he said.
?Although there is little to no scientific data to support the
need for expanding the distribution of KI beyond the 10-mile
zone, the State KI Work Group will evaluate the federal
government's guidance ... when it becomes available,? wrote
Wiltse in a recent letter to local emergency preparedness
officials.
Norwich is also scheduled to get a drive-through radioactivity
detector, compliments of Dominion, owner of Millstone station.
Those arriving to the evacuation center would drive through the
portal to determine if the vehicle or occupants were
contaminated. If so they would be sent to a decontamination
station, Arters said.
The new detector will supplement walk-through and hand-held
detectors already set aside and ready if needed, he said.
/p.choiniere@theday.com/ * * Anti-nuclear pills sent to local
households
© <../campus/copyright.asp> 1998-2002 The Day Publishing Co.
*****************************************************************
19 Mock Radioactive Accident Staged in Longview*
October 18, 2002
10/16/02-Longview
How well and how quickly can your town's emergency teams
handle a chemical disaster? That was the question Longview hoped
to answer with a mock accident Wednesday.
The drill used this hypothetical situation: A waste transport
truck on I-20 crashes into a van which crashes into a tour bus
carrying 60 people with several injuries and a possible
radio-active leak.
Interstate 20 through East Texas is a corridor for radio
active waste shipments by the waste isolation pilot plant, or
W.I.P.P, out of New Mexico. In the drill, an army of emergency
crews flooded to the scene, keeping their distance and stop any
victims from leaving. Organizers say the scenario is key for
teams to recognize the real danger of a situation. 18 different
agencies from all over East Texas took part in the exercise.
*East Texas Headlines*
All content © Copyright 2001 - 2002,
WorldNow and KLTV.
*****************************************************************
20 UK: BNFL SLAMMED OVER SECOND-RATE SECURITY
[The Whitehaven News]
CUMBRIAN anti-nuclear campaigners have accused BNFL of using a
second-hand ship and second-rate MOX Security for Workington and
Europe. BNFL is planning to ship MOX plutonium fuel to Europe.
In a press statement on Monday, BNFL announced that the Port of
Workington will be used over the coming weeks for trial runs with
their ship Atlantic Osprey prior to shipping the Sellafield MOX
Plant's first small order to Swiss customer NOK for use in the
Beznau power station.
A CORE spokesman said "The protection given to the recent
Japanese shipment is being abandoned by BNFL for Workington and
Europe - despite the similarity of cargo and the increasing
terrorist tension worldwide - in the hope that they can sneak the
shipments out of the port with minimal security costs. This is
dangerously inconsistent and exactly what we expect from a
bankrupt company pursuing its loss-making MOX venture ".
"The Atlantic Osprey, bought second-hand by BNFL in 2001 from the
German shipping firm Adler &Sohne, has few of the safety/security
features attributed to BNFL's MOX carriers Pacific Pintail and
Pacific Teal. She has no double hull and must rely on a single
engine. No naval canon or other armament has been added and
unlike the Pacific ships the Atlantic Osprey will travel
unescorted around the British coast to Europe with the plutonium
fuel encased in a relatively lightweight transport package. The
onward journey to Switzerland by road will be subjected to all
the normal road transport hazards.
"Since her purchase by BNFL, the Atlantic Osprey has been fitted
with additional crew accommodation. Leaving the Manchester ship
canal for sea trials in March this year, she suffered a disabling
engine room fire which required Fire Brigade assistance. In 2001
and still under her original name mv Arneb, a number of
deficiencies which included fire safety measures came to light in
a Port State Control inspection at Hull. Following a further as
yet unconfirmed incident in May this year, Atlantic Osprey has
been berthed in Birkenhead Docks.''
However Sellafield spokesman Ali McGibbin said: "The CORE claims
are unfounded. There are agreed security measures on the shipment
and we never compromise on safety. Independent experts and
regulators have set all the standards relating to the
shipments.'' BNFL conceded that the ship was not double hulled as
was the case with the Japanese MOX shipments
*****************************************************************
21 UK: RARE TOADS COME BEFORE BOREHOLES
[The Whitehaven News]
BNFL can go ahead and drill a series of new boreholes near the
Sellafield nuclear site but they must tread carefully so as not
to disturb a colony of protected natterjack toads.
The boreholes aimed at building up a wider picture of underground
conditions will be drilled at 13 different places but two of the
locations impinge on a natterjack reserve.
Copeland Council's Planning Panel has given permission for the
exploration subject to no adverse comments being received from
English Nature. This is in line with the council's policy "not to
permit development which would have an adverse effect upon the
conservation interest of any site supporting species protected by
law".
BNFL has promised to take measures to ensure minimum disturbance
to the toads during the investigations. Two of the off-site
boreholes fall within the boundary of the natterjack reserve.
Copeland's chief planning officer Tony Pomfret said: "English
Nature's comments are still awaited but we are asking for
delegated authority on the application subject to nothing adverse
being received from them.
"If there is an adverse response we will bring the matter back to
the next meeting of the panel."
Ponsonby parish council raised no objections to the boreholes but
St Bridget's parish at Beckermet wrote asking why, if all the
relevant information from the Nirex boreholes in connection with
the aborted underground waste respository was available, "is
there a need to do it again?".
BNFL explained that it was nothing to do with either nuclear
waste disposal issues or an increase in the licensed site
boundary but was part of a six-year project to develop a
technical understanding of underground conditions at Sellafield,
with the vast majority of the work taking place on the site.
*****************************************************************
22 State rejects Cotter soil plan
10-16-02
[Canon City Daily Record - Canon City and the Royal Gorge Region,
Colorado]
[http://www.canoncitydailyrecord.com]
Uranium mill may refile for approval of New Jersey soil
Daily Record News Group
Colorado health officials announced Tuesday they have rejected
the Cotter Corporation’s plan to bring 470,000 tons of
radioactive waste from Maywood, N.J., to its Cañon City mill,
citing an inadequate environmental assessment.
Gov. Bill Owens this morning said he has directed the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment to "follow the law
and follow the science." He added, "I just want to emphasize that
what we’re doing is what the law requires us to do and what the
science tells us to do. We’re not interceding politically."
Regarding state involvement in potential clean up of the plant
site, Owens said, "Good question. I don’t know what our legal
liability is, but I certainly would expect that we would try to
be as helpful as we could. Typically, these sites are more
federally designated. You don’t typically have state clean up.
You have the state helping the federal government. It’s hard to
speculate what might happen. I think that’s probably getting way
ahead of things."
The health department did not take issue with the safety of
handling the Maywood soil at the Cotter facility.
Health department spokeswoman Cindy Parmenter said the decision
ends the department’s consideration of the Maywood soil issue,
but said Cotter can file a new application in the future if it so
desires.
Cotter officials indicated they would reapply with additional
information to satisfy the health department’s concerns.
"We are disappointed in the state’s rejection but find that it is
positive in what they wrote to us," Rich Ziegler, Cotter’s
executive vice president and general manager, said today.
Ziegler said the department found the Maywood soil to be
acceptable and that Cotter’s health and safety procedures are
also acceptable. He said Cotter will redo the environmental
assessment and reapply.
"The environmental assessment submitted to the department’s
Laboratory and Radiation Services program did not fully address
key issues related to the transport of the material," said Doug
Benevento, the acting executive director of the Colorado
Department of Public Health and Environment.
Benevento also said Cotter’s environmental assessment provided
insufficient information on the socio-economic impacts of the
shipment on the Cañon City community.
Jody Enderle, the secretary of the Cañon City-based Colorado
Citizens Against ToxicWaste group, said the organization was
"elated" by the news.
"I think this is a very wise decision for our community," she
said. "We will continue to educate and watch to make sure that
things are done within the law."
Cotter earlier this year announced plans to bring 40,000 tons of
what health officials called "mildly contaminated waste" to the
Cañon City mill from the Maywood Chemical Co. Superfund site in
New Jersey as part of the eventual shipment of 470,000 tons of
the material.
The shipments were put on hold, however, when the Colorado
Legislature — reacting to community opposition to the shipments —
passed House Bill 1408, which requires a public comment period
and an environmental impact study before radioactive waste can be
brought to the state.
In a letter sent to Cotter on Monday, CDPHE radiation and
laboratory director David Butcher said, "The environmental
assessment done pursuant to House Bill 1408 is not adequate."
Butcher’s letter said Cotter’s environmental assessment "fails to
mention previously identified potential accident types,
consequences and safety requirements" for the transportation of
the Maywood soil.
The letter said the assessment lacked "more current accident type
and rate data for the segment between Chicago and Cañon City, in
particular for the segments of the transport route through
Colorado" and failed to evaluate "alternatives to rail transit
through Colorado."
The assessment, Butcher’s letter said, also failed to evaluate
the impact of what it called "potential releases" from the
material and "near-site rail car handling."
Benevento said the assessment also suffered from "the lack of
social sciences data assessing the significance or influence —
whether favorable, neutral or negative — on the residents of the
community and on the perceptions of the many tourists who visit
the area."
Benevento added that the portion of Cotter’s application dealing
with analyses of public and occupational health risk and safety
information was "found to be acceptable."
The health department is also considering Cotter’s application
for renewal of its radiation license and is monitoring the
current suspension of that license that resulted from a series of
safety violations. The CDPHE recently allowed Cotter to begin
partial operations to see if it can abide by safety measures
imposed by the state.
Copyright Ó 2000 Royal Gorge Publishing Corporation. All
*****************************************************************
23 France Makes Strongest Statement Yet Against War
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 09:38:36 -0500 (CDT)
Published on Thursday, October 17, 2002 by the Toronto Globe & Mail
France Makes Strongest Statement Yet Against War
by Paul Adams
BEIRUT -- French President Jacques Chirac made his strongest statement yet
against a military strike on Iraq, saying yesterday that "war is the worst
solution" and that "everything must be done to avoid it."
Mr. Chirac spoke in Alexandria, Egypt, as he made his way to a summit of
francophone countries in Beirut.
The francophone summit is usually a mainly cultural event, but it has taken on
a political coloration this year because of its Middle Eastern venue and the
presence of Mr. Chirac.
France has been resisting U.S. efforts to have the United Nations Security
Council permit an attack on Iraq if Baghdad does not comply fully with UN
weapons inspections.
"Our American friends would like this same resolution to authorize the
international community, if one believes the Iraqi authorities are not doing
what is necessary, to intervene militarily," Mr. Chirac said after a meeting
with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
"I have always thought that war is the worst solution. Everything must be done
to avoid it," he added.
France is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and can therefore
exercise a veto on any proposed resolution, and U.S. officials have been
growing increasingly frustrated with French unwillingness to authorize force.
Yesterday, Mr. Chirac hinted strongly that France would veto any resolution
that seemed likely to lead to war.
"The region does not need another war if we can avoid it," he said.
Although cultural issues still dominate the official agenda of the francophone
summit, bilateral discussions among the more than 50 leaders attending the
summit will be dominated by the situation in the Middle East.
Earlier this week, Mr. Chirac also disputed the American position that there
is a link between the al-Qaeda terrorist network and the Iraqi regime.
In an interview with a Beirut newspaper in advance of the summit, the French
leader said "no proof had been found" of a connection.
Officials from Canada, the Francophonie's second major sponsor, said Prime
Minister Jean Chretien agrees with that view.
In the past, Mr. Chretien's position on a military strike against Iraq has
been more ambivalent than that of Mr. Chirac. But at this week's summit, he
may be inclined to distance himself from the United States. Canada's
ambassador to Lebanon, Michel Duval, told the English-language Daily Star
newspaper that Ottawa "believes force can achieve very little," and that it
does not regard a military strike as a "solution to the current crisis."
The push to disarm Iraq, using military force if necessary, has been described
by some of its critics as a coalition of English-speaking countries, since the
most enthusiastic supporters of the action have been the United States,
Britain and Australia.
The Francophonie is probably too diverse a group to develop a common policy on
the crisis. The organization includes members from Europe, the Middle East,
Asia and North and South America, including more than 50 former colonies.
In Lebanon, which bid to host the summit three years ago in order to showcase
the country's emergence from decades of civil war and foreign occupation, a
number of political factions have welcomed it as a counterweight to U.S.
regional policy.
That even includes the militant Islamist group Hezbollah, which Washington has
branded a terrorist organization.
(c) 2002 Bell Globemedia Interactive Inc
*****************************************************************
24 UN's Largest Group of States Rejects War on Iraq
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 09:34:24 -0500 (CDT)
Published on Thursday, October 17, 2002 by the Inter Press Service
UN's Largest Group of States Rejects War on Iraq
by Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS - The largest political grouping at the United Nations rejected
Wednesday ''any type of unilateral action against any member state of the
United Nations''.
The 114-member Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), which represents the overwhelming
majority of the 191 U.N. member states, said it just does not want a war with
Iraq.
Speaking on behalf of NAM, South African Ambassador Dumisani Shadrack Kumalo
said: ''We would rather this be resolved in a peaceful manner.''
Contrary to the stand taken by the United States, NAM wants the Security
Council to allow U.N. arms inspectors to return to Iraq without further
delay.
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has already invited inspectors into the
country, but the United States is seeking a new Council resolution that would
toughen the inspectors' mandate before they could leave for Baghdad in search
of Iraq's nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
Addressing an ''open meeting'' of the Security Council, Kumalo said that 11
years of U.N. sanctions have brought ''endless suffering to the ordinary
people'' in Iraq.
''We hope that the Security Council would despatch the inspectors to Iraq as
soon as possible, and allow the people of Iraq to focus their attention on
rebuilding their country.''
The Council meeting, which is customarily confined to its five permanent and
10 non-permanent members, was opened to all 191 member states, specifically to
debate Iraq. The proposal for an open meeting was initiated by South Africa,
on behalf of NAM.
''My dream would be for all 191 of them to speak,'' Kumalo told reporters
Tuesday. ''It is essential that the views of all member states be heard on
such a critical subject.''
A Third World diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity, told IPS that one
of the biggest political myths is that the Security Council represents the
will of the international community.
''This is a longstanding fairy tale,'' he said. ''The international community
is really represented by the 191-member U.N. General Assembly, 114 of whose
members belong to NAM,'' he added.
U.S. President George W. Bush, who has received authorization from the U.S.
House of Representatives and the Senate to launch a military attack on Iraq,
is seeking a similar endorsement from the Security Council to prove he has the
blessings of the ''international community'' for a U.S. war against Iraq.
But for the last three weeks, the Council has remained deadlocked, with sharp
divisions even among the five veto-wielding permanent members - the United
States, Britain, France, China, and Russia.
The negotiations have bogged down primarily because France is insisting on two
resolutions: the first one laying down stringent conditions for arms
inspections inside Iraq, and a second one authorizing the use of military
force if and when Iraq refuses to cooperate with U.N. arms inspectors.
The United States is insisting that there should be only one resolution, which
will permit Washington to automatically invade Baghdad if Saddam reneges on
his pledge to cooperate with inspectors.
Kumalo told delegates that the Security Council was being asked to consider a
matter that has important repercussions for the entire United Nations.
''We are here to voice our concerns regarding the possibility that the United
Nations is now being asked to consider proposals that open up the possibility
of a war against a member state,'' he added.
While calling upon Iraq to comply with all relevant Security Council
resolutions, Kumalo said that no member state should be exempted from carrying
out obligations as determined by the Council.
Iraqi Ambassador Mohammed Aldouri said the U.S. administration is seeking a
"blank check" from the Security Council to invade and occupy Iraq. He said
Iraq does not possess weapons of mass destruction.
U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, whose statement was read out by his deputy
Louise Frechette, said the situation created by Iraq's failure to comply fully
with Security Council resolutions since 1991 ''is indeed one of the gravest
and most serious facing the international community''.
''I appeal to all who might have influence with Iraq's leaders to impress on
them the vital importance of accepting the weapons' inspections. And I myself
urge Iraq to comply with its obligations - for the sake of its own people, and
for the sake of world order,'' he said.
Annan also said that Iraq's decision to re-admit inspectors without conditions
is an important first step ''but only a first step''.
''Full compliance remains indispensable, and it has not yet happened.'' He
also warned Iraq that inspectors must have ''unfettered access and this
Council will expect nothing less''.
''It may well choose to pass a new resolution strengthening the inspectors'
hands, so that there are no weaknesses or ambiguities,'' he added.
Ambassador Arthur Mbanefo of Nigeria told delegates that ''in view of the fact
that the debate we are having today is in the context of compliance with U.N.
resolutions and international law, we cannot fail to note that there are many
other Security Council resolutions, which some member states have, so far,
failed to honor or comply with.''
''The selective enforcement of resolutions is just as unhelpful as
non-compliance,'' he added.
Countries other than Iraq are currently violating more than 90 Security
Council resolutions, says Stephen Zunes, associate professor of politics at
the University of San Francisco.
Thirty-one of those resolutions deal with Israel, according to his figures.
Ambassador Arnoldo M. Listre of Argentina told the Security Council that the
use of force should be a last resort, and to be legitimate, it must be
exercised in accordance with international law, the U.N. charter, and with the
authorization of the Security Council.
Kuwaiti Ambassador Mohammad Abulhasan, whose country was invaded by Iraq in
August 1990, called upon the Iraqi government to comply fully with Security
Council resolutions and establish its credibility by permitting U.N. arms
inspectors into the country.
''But any use of force must be a last resort, and within the U.N. framework,
and only after all other available means have been exhausted,'' he added.
Copyright 2002 IPS
*****************************************************************
25 [southnews] Turkey and Saudis say no to US attack
Date: Thu, 17 Oct 2002 10:10:09 -0500 (CDT)
Home Selling? Try Us!
http://us.click.yahoo.com/QrPZMC/iTmEAA/jd3IAA/7gSolB/TM
---------------------------------------------------------------------~->
----------
Turkey urges US to abandon Iraq action
http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/17/int2.htm
ANKARA, Oct 16: Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit was quoted on Wednesday as
saying the United States would be unable to carry out an attack on Iraq
without Turkish support and that he was urging Washington to abandon the
idea.
Analysts said however Turkey would be almost certain to back its NATO ally
ultimately with airbases and special forces facilities Washington may
request. Ecevit was pushing hard however for allied assurances the chaos of
war would not throw up a hostile independent Kurdish state across the
border.
"We are telling them (the United States) we cannot agree to all that they
want," Ecevit said in comments published on the NTV television website.
Ecevit, almost certain to be voted from office at polls in less than three
weeks, has said repeatedly he opposes a US attack on southern neighbour
Iraq that many fear could shake the country's frail economy and spread
turmoil into Turkey.
"We know the USA can't carry out this operation without us," he said.
"That's why we're advising that it abandon the idea. We're telling
(Washington) we're worried about this matter."
Diplomats and analysts said Turkey, which has lost billions in the 1991
Gulf War, wants assurances for its crisis-wracked economy. An attack
without Turkey could take place but would be more complex.
"Ecevit is right of course. Turkey is important but I can't see Ankara
refusing outright to co-operate... They're driving for the best bargain
they can get," said Kenneth Payne of the Royal United Services Institute in
London.
The main thrust in any land attack, if it is ordered, would come from
flatter lands to the south of Iraq. The mountainous north would be the
terrain for US special forces and for operations by Iraqi Kurds Turkey
views with such suspicion.
FEAR OF KURDISH POWER: Ecevit has hinted at taking military action in
northern Iraq, a territory beyond Baghdad's reach since 1991, if Iraqi
Kurds moved to set up an independent state - the nightmare of conservatives
who fear the revival of Kurdish separatism here.
Washington's daunting task is to keep both Turks and Kurds on its side and
at peace with each other. It needs both to topple Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein, whom it accuses of developing mass destruction weapons.
Iraqi Kurds recently reopened a local parliament, agreeing a draft
constitution with a flag and oil-rich Kirkuk as regional capital. But they
insist they want only autonomy within a new federal Iraq and not full
independence.
Ankara fears that in the event of a US action Iraqi Kurds would thrust
south and take the rich-oil fields of Kirkuk as the economic pillar of a
Kurdish state.
"Turkish troops are in and out all the time, of course. But my view is that
Turkey might have to get heavily involved before an American operation
starts," Hasan Unal of Ankara's Bilkent University said.
"Turkey would have to make sure the Iraqi Kurds don't arm themselves
and...they don't move south (to Kirkuk)." Better by far if the fields came
under Turkish supervision, he said.
Turkish troops have been deployed in northern Iraq since 1991, operating
against Turkish Kurdish rebels and helping set up refugee camps inside the
Iraqi border to house refugees.
Any final decision on action would be taken largely by the powerful Turkish
General Staff together with civilian leaders.
Ecevit made clear his suspicions of his own allies. Attitudes in the United
States and Britain, he said, were encouraging Kurdish nationalism.
After the November 3 polls, Ecevit is very unlikely to be prime minister.
His Democratic Left Party trailing well short of the 10 percent hurdle to
enter parliament.
FRANCE STANDS FIRM: France on Wednesday stood firm against US attempts to
win UN backing for the use of military action against Iraq, with President
Jacques Chirac saying he was "hostile" to giving Washington an automatic
authorization for force.
The entrenched position of both Paris and Washington set the scene for an
acrimonious UN Security Council debate on Iraq, which got under way on
Wednesday.
The United States and France each have competing draft resolutions that
have split the council.
Paris wants a two-step approach to the problem - one imposing tougher
weapon inspections followed, if necessary, by another spelling out the
consequences for non-compliance.-Reuters/AFP
----------
No Saudi help for war on Iraq, says minister
By Our Correspondent
http://www.dawn.com/2002/10/17/int2.htm
RIYADH, Oct 16: Saudi Arabia will not provide any assistance to a possible
US military offensive against Iraq, Saudi Defence Minister Prince Sultan
said on Tuesday in comments published in Al-Hayat daily.
He also added that he did not believe that a US-led offensive against Iraq
was "inevitable".
Prince Sultan said "the Kingdom (of Saudi Arabia) has a special status in
the Arab and the Muslim worlds, as it is home to the two holy mosques. It
will not sacrifice this status for the sake of anyone."
Prince Sultan, however, urged Baghdad "not to provide the opportunity to
anyone to find the justification for launching a military offensive against
Iraq".
Iraq should leave its doors wide open for all international inspectors in
order to foil any pretext for launching military strikes, the minister
said. "Iraqi leaders should comply with and implement all the UN Security
Council resolutions, including what might be issued in the future. Iraq
should act in a responsible manner," Prince Sultan emphasized.
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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26 Le Monde | France Stands in Firm Opposition to Bush War Plans
(*Editors Note | This article from the French language
publication Le Monde was translated using electronic translation
tools. As a result, it may contain grammatical irregularities.
However we believe that the substance of the article is clearly
evident. -- ma)
Go To Original
[http://www.lemonde.fr/article/0,5987,3218--294506-,00.html] The
Iraqi File Worsens the Divergences Between France and the United
States
Wednesday, 16 October, 2002
UPDATED 16.10.02|21h01 -- GEORGE W BUSH reaffirmed, Wednesday
October 16, at the White House, its determination to settle the
Iraqi question. "I hope that the use of the force will not be
necessary but we must face the threat posed by Iraq by all the
possible means" , declared the president American with the
elected officials democratic and republican come to attend the
ceremony of signature of the resolution of the Congress
authorizing president Bush "to have recourse to the forces armed
with the United States like it considers it necessary and
suitable" in order to defend the national safety of the United
States against the continual threat posed by Iraq. "the Iraqi
mode will have to give up its weapons of massive destruction, or,
for the good of peace, the United States will lead an
international coalition to disarm this mode" , insisted the
president.
Mr. Bush also launched a new call to the United Nations so that
they vote for a firm resolution to oblige Iraq to disarm itself.
"the United Nations must be shown with the height of this why
they were created to know to defend our safety" , the president
estimated American. "If Iraq acquires a destroying capacity even
larger, the countries of the Middle East would be confronted with
the blackmail, the intimidation or attacks. Chaos in the area
would be felt in Europe and beyond ", it still launched, in an
apparent will to convince the international community to follow
it in its initiative.
JACQUES CHIRAC , at the time of an intervention in Alexandria, in
Egypt, on the contrary, wanted to mark his independence on the
Iraqi question, reaffirming that "France as a permanent member of
the Security Council would take his responsabilities" , and
affirming that the "area does not require for an additional war
if one can avoid it" . He said himself "opened" so that the
Security Council votes for a resolution improving "the working
conditions of the inspectors in disarmament of UNO, in accordance
with the requests of the head of the inspectors, Hans Blix, in
which it France has confidence" . "Our American friends would
like that this same resolution gives the authorization to the
international community, if it is estimated that the Iraqi
authorities do not do what it is necessary, to intervene
militarily" , explained the French president. "I always thought
that the war is worst of the solutions. All must be done to avoid
it ", has it says.
France is partisane of a process in two times, with a new meeting
of the Security Council on the assumption that "the Iraqi
authorities would make obstruction" with the work of the
inspectors. On a similar assumption, the Council Decision of
safety "does not exclude any option but the Council must be free
to deliberate" . The position of Jacques Chirac was considered to
be "acceptable and logical" by the head of Egyptian State, Hosni
Moubarak.
AMERICAN IRRITATION increased following this new standpoint of
France. The United States wants from now on "to show great
firmness" with France indicated American reponsables Wednesday.
Secretary of State Powell the Hake, had Wednesday a telephone
conversation with his French counterpart, Domenica de Villepin,
according to these sources, and should still tackle the subject
with the minister Frenchwoman of defense, Michele Alliot-Marie,
visits some in the American capital. Mr. Powell would have said
to Mr. de Villepin "who it is now time that France acts" ,
indicated a person in charge for the State Department, under
cover of anonymity.
Mr. Powell had indicated Tuesday to have received new "ideas
French" on this file, and promised to answer it, but without
giving indication on their content. A high American person in
charge indicated that Washington considered that it always
returned to Paris to make proposals "to fill the gap" between the
visions Frenchwoman and American. "France must find the
formulation to overcome the problem between our desire of
automation and their request so that there are two resolutions" ,
one on the inspections in Iraq, another later on on the recourse
to the force, he declared.
To the SECURITY COUNCIL , a public discussion on Iraq opened
Wednesday. The Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi
Annan, asked that a "last chance" be granted to the Iraqi mode.
"Nothing must block the inspectors (in disarmament) , the Council
does not await anything less and can decide to adopt a new
resolution reinforcing the margin of manSuvre inspectors so that
there is no ambiguity nor no weak point" , Mr. Annan declared,
currently in Asia, and whose short speech was read by the general
vice-secretary, Louise Fréchette. "new measurements must be firm,
effective, credible and reasonable" , the secretary-general
continued. "If Iraq does not make use of this last chance and
persists in its challenge, the Council will have to then face its
responsibilities" , concluded Mr. Annan.
In LONDON , during the first meeting of questions and answers of
the new parliamentary session to the Communes, British the Prime
Minister, Tony Blair, declared themselves optimistic on the
prospect for an international "consensus " for a new resolution
of the United Nations on the inspections in Iraq. "the majority
of people understand that the world is not sure if one allows
Saddam Hussein to have chemical, biological weapons and,
potentially, nuclear" , it added. "That the United Nations
clearly indicate to Saddam Hussein that it gets rid itself of its
weapons of massive destruction, and cooperates completely with
the inspectors in disarmament. If it does that and that
disarmament takes place peaceful of way, then a conflict will be
avoided , underlined the Labour leader. But if it refuses to
cooperate or make it possible to the inspectors to work, then the
international community will be confronted with a choice ". The
United Nations, still observed Mr. Blair, "must make it possible
to answer a question, not to be unaware of it" .
RUSSIA reiterated Wednesday its opposition to an armed
intervention against Baghdad, but president Vladimir Poutine
confirmed that Moscow would support a resolution of UNO
supporting the work of the inspectors in disarmament. Russia "is
ready to study and if necessary to vote, with its partners of the
Security Council of UNO, an additional resolution which would
guarantee the work of the international inspectors in Iraq" ,
declared Mr. Poutine at the end of a meeting in the Kremlin with
Italian the Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi. Italy supports a
military intervention against Baghdad, but only under the aegis
of UNO.
ARIEL SHARON , in visit in Washington, should as for him be seen
requiring by George W Bush more flexibility with regard to the
Palestinians. Subjected to criticisms in the Arab countries for
their support for Mr. Sharon, the United States already addressed
several calls to order following Israeli military operations, of
which some cost the life with civil Palestinian. N the other hand
Israeli gestures, the United States should warn the Hebrew State
soixante-douze hours in advance of an American attack against
Baghdad. Washington would have also promised to give to the
Israelis an access to a satellite alarm system, which would make
it possible at the Hebrew State to know if Scud missiles are
drawn in its direction, as it was the case in 1991, during the
war of the Gulf: Iraq had then fired 39 Scud missiles towards the
Israeli territory. If Ariel Sharon proclaims the right of Israel
to the "self-defence" in the event of attack of Scud, one of
his/her collaborators affirmed that there would be no "automatic
Israeli counterparts" , except, according to Israeli media's, if
Scud are armed with chemical or bacteriological heads.
*****************************************************************
27 Many Nations Oppose Iraq Resolution
[http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-UN-Iraq.htm]
By The Associated Press New York Times | International Tuesday,
15 October, 2002
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- France, Russia, China and several other
members of the U.N. Security Council remain opposed to a
resolution backed by the United States and Britain that would
authorize military action against Iraq if it fails to cooperate
with U.N. weapons inspectors.
Intense negotiations have been going on among the five
veto-holding nations, and U.S. deputy ambassador Richard
Williamson said Tuesday that ``the dance continues.''
``No breakthroughs have taken place to date, but the
conversations continue,'' White House spokesman Ari Fleischer
said in Washington. President Bush has said ``he was content to
wait for days and weeks, not months. It still is within that days
and weeks timeframe. ... We'll see if it goes beyond that.''
France has led the opposition -- instead favoring two U.N.
resolutions -- a first toughening U.N. inspections and a second
authorizing action against Iraq if it fails to comply.
French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin reaffirmed on Monday
that Paris is opposed to unilateral U.S. military action and
urged the Bush administration to ``remain faithful to the vision
of collective security that rests on the law.''
``America seems tempted by the solitude of power,'' he told the
Institute for National Defense Studies, a think tank in Paris.
``We cannot accept an intervention that is not a last resort, the
final resort.''
China's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said Tuesday
that inspectors should return to Iraq before the Security Council
decides on any action.
``We believe that the imperative is to readmit U.N. weapons
inspectors to Iraq as soon as possible to have outside inspection
and then submit a report to the U.N. Security Council. After
reviewing such an objective report, then the U.N. Security
Council should take some actions,'' she said.
Affirming China's opposition to military action, Zhang said, ``A
political and diplomatic way should be sought within the U.N.
framework.''
Chief weapons inspector Hans Blix was asked to brief the council
Tuesday at Russia's request on two letters from Iraq on the
return of inspectors after nearly four years, diplomats said.
Blix, who is in charge of searching for biological and chemical
weapons, and Mohamed ElBaradei, director-general of the
International Atomic Energy Agency, which is in charge of nuclear
inspections, asked Iraq to confirm agreements reached in Vienna
earlier this month on resuming inspections.
The two Iraqi letters did not explicitly confirm the agreements,
but Iraq said it saw no obstacles to a resumption of the hunt for
weapons of mass destruction and promised to behave
``professionally'' if U.N. weapons inspectors return.
Meanwhile, negotiations on a new U.N. resolution continued.
In a move to placate France, U.S. diplomats last week offered to
remove a threat to use ``all necessary means'' if Saddam Hussein
doesn't cooperate. France objected because the new U.S. draft
resolution would still threaten ``serious consequences'' if Iraq
remained defiant, which U.S. officials said was enough for
Washington to attack if necessary.
On Monday, U.S. Ambassador John Negroponte met France's U.N.
Ambassador John David Levitte. Council diplomats said France
still insists on a two-stage resolution but offered more precise
language in its draft to address U.S. concerns.
Secretary of State Colin Powell scheduled talks with British
Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, the administration's closest ally,
in Washington on Tuesday.
Council diplomats said Monday they did not believe the United
States and Britain have enough support in the 15-member Security
Council for a resolution that would give a green light for the
use of force in Iraq. To win approval, a resolution must get nine
``yes'' votes and must not be vetoed by a permanent member.
Diplomats said they believe a U.S. resolution with any language
that could authorize force would likely be opposed by France,
Russia, China, Syria, Ireland, Mexico, Cameroon, Guinea and
probably Mauritius -- which means it would get a maximum of only
six or seven ``yes'' votes.
Britain's U.N. Ambassador Jeremy Greenstock told the General
Assembly on Monday that U.N. inspectors should be given ``the
strongest powers possible to ensure successful disarmament and to
make it crystal clear to Iraq that this time, it is complete
disarmament or serious consequences.''
But last week, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said ``the
member states want a two-stage approach'' and on Tuesday,
Colombia's U.N. Ambassador Alfonso Valdivieso, a council member,
echoed this assessment.
The council is expected to hold a two-day open debate on Iraq
starting Wednesday to hear a wide range of views.
``I think most of the countries are going to call for a very
strong position on Iraq, but at the same time I would say they
are going to make reservations about the authorization of the use
of force,'' Valdivieso said.
*****************************************************************
28 Nevada protests result in charges
Berkeley Daily Planet
*Edition Date: Thursday, October 17, 2002*
/The Associated Press/ (10-16-02)
LAS VEGAS ? Protesters capped a weekend of demonstrations and
arrests at the Nevada Test Site and the planned Yucca Mountain
radioactive waste dump with a rally in Las Vegas claiming
minority communities are disproportionately contaminated by
federal nuclear facilities.
Officials said 66 people were arrested or issued summonses
Saturday, Sunday and Monday, including some who refused to
identify themselves and remained jailed in Beatty until the
American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada intervened.
?We are coming together from across the world to say no to
nuclear energy and nuclear weapons,? Mildred McClain of Citizens
for Environmental Justice of Savannah, Ga., said during the
Monday rally outside the Grant Sawyer federal building in Las
Vegas.
About 24 black, Hispanic and American Indian demonstrators
claimed increased rates of cancer, birth defects and skin
disorders in minority communities near nuclear facilities in
South Carolina, Washington, New Mexico and Nevada and a chemical
plant in Mississippi.
In Beatty, eight anti-nuclear demonstrators were released by the
Nye County Sheriff?s Department after the ACLU intervened about
noon Monday.
Nye County Sheriff Wade Lieseke said law enforcers at the federal
test site have long detained protesters who refuse to give their
names.
Protests and rallies are common at the gate to the test site,
about 65 miles northwest of Las Vegas.
ACLU lawyer Allen Lichtenstein said the arresting officers
mistakenly cited a state law requiring suspects to provide their
names upon arrest. He said the law has been invalidated by
federal courts.
Most of the 66 men and women were issued trespassing summonses at
gates to the test site, said Darwin Morgan, spokesman for the
National Nuclear Security Administration in North Las Vegas. He
said five were issued summonses for trespassing at the Yucca
Mountain Project field office at the test site.
The administration, a branch of the Energy Department, operates
the test site, where 928 full-scale nuclear weapons tests were
conducted from 1951 to 1992.
*****************************************************************
29 North Korea admits nuclear weapons plan*
NewScientist.com
14:09 17 October 02
North Korea has admitted to a secret programme to develop nuclear
weapons using uranium, according to the US government. But
experts doubt whether the country has the technology to make the
heavy metal into a bomb.
The admission was made two weeks ago at a meeting in the North
Korean capital, Pyongyang, between US assistant secretary of
state for Asian affairs, James Kelly, and a senior North Korean
government official, Kang Suk Ju. But it was only revealed by the
Bush administration late on Wednesday.
According to Richard Boucher, a spokesman for the US State
Department, Kelly said at the meeting that the US "had recently
acquired information that indicates that North Korea has a
programme to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons."
In response, said Boucher: "North Korean officials acknowledged
that they have such a programme." He accused the North Korean
government of violating a 1994 agreement with the US not to
develop nuclear weapons, as well as a series of other
international agreements.
*Highly corrosive*
North Korea has long been suspected of harbouring nuclear
ambitions, and, like Iraq, has refused to allow inspectors from
the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency full access to its
nuclear plants.
But until now its ambitions were thought to be limited to the
plutonium route to bombs. The CIA has estimated that the country
has enough plutonium from its reactors and reprocessing
facilities at Yongbyon to make one or two weapons.
Making weapons from uranium, however, requires different
technology to separate out uranium 235, the fissile isotope
necessary to create an explosive chain reaction. This is usually
done by converting uranium into uranium hexafluoride gas, which
is then passed through cascades of centrifuges.
But because the gas is highly corrosive, the centrifuges have to
be made with specially hardened steel and resistant joints, which
are hard to obtain. And a full-scale centrifuge plant demands a
huge amount of energy.
*Power hungry*
Frank Barnaby, a nuclear physicist who used to work at the UK's
Aldermaston nuclear weapons establishment, says that North Korea would
need 200 kilograms of highly enriched uranium to make six bombs. This
would require thousands of gas centrifuges consuming as much power as a
large town.
"There is a huge difference between having a nuclear weapons programme
and actually producing fissile material for nuclear weapons," he says.
"A programme could just be a few people thinking about it."
US officials provided no details of the alleged North Korean programme,
and refused to say whether they believed that the country had actually
made a bomb. "We're not certain that it's been weaponised yet," one
official was quoted as saying.
Rob Edwards
*****************************************************************
30 U.S. vows peaceful solution to N.Korea nuclear disclosure
17 October, 2002 14:58 GMT+08:00
By Carol Giacomo, Diplomatic Correspondent
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States insisted it was seeking
to peacefully resolve differences with North Korea even as it
condemned Pyongyang for maintaining a secret nuclear weapons
programme in violation of a 1994 agreement.
Years of cautious diplomacy aimed at drawing reclusive North
Korea into the international sphere were thrown a stunning curve
amid disclosures on Wednesday that Washington confronted
Pyongyang earlier this month with evidence about a secret
programme to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons.
The U.S. administration said Pyongyang's continuing effort
clearly violated a number of international agreements, and
suspended talks.
The development conceivably could create a new crisis in Asia if
it sparks new tensions between North and South Korea, disrupts
warming ties between Pyongyang and Tokyo and results in the North
aggressively producing nuclear weapons, which U.S. President
George W. Bush has vowed to curb.
Washington is also forced to confront the revelation as it is
seeking to build international support for confronting Iraqi
President Saddam Hussein and threatening to launch a military
strike against Iraq if he refuses to disarm. Officials claim
Saddam already possesses chemical and biological weapons and is
trying to develop a nuclear arms capability.
Bush in January said North Korea was a member of an "axis of
evil", along with Iraq and Iran.
But with senior officials now in the region consulting friends
and allies, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said: "We
seek a peaceful resolution of this situation.
"Everyone in the region has a stake in this issue and no peaceful
nation wants to see a nuclear-armed North Korea. This is an
opportunity for peace-loving nations in the region to deal,
effectively, with this challenge," he said.
Besides putting discussions with the North on hold, Washington
said it had made no judgments about next steps. Japan said it
would proceed with normalisation talks with Pyongyang later this
month.
The United States, South Korea and Japan had established the
Agreed Framework to get the North to eliminate its nuclear
weapons in a "verifiable manner."
But in Pyongyang October 3-5, Assistant Secretary of State James
Kelly confronted the North Koreans with information indicating
they had a programme to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons in
violation of the 1994 framework and its International Atomic
Energy Agency safeguards agreement.
"North Korean officials acknowledged that they have such a
programme," Boucher said.
The State Department called the programme a "serious violation"
of North Korea's commitments and the White House termed it a
"material breach".
But officials gave no details about the alleged violation,
prompting criticism from Darryl Kimball of the Arms Control
Association, a think-tank.
"The administration has a responsibility to explain what the
nature of the concern actually is," he told Reuters.
"This administration is very quick to draw judgments based on
worst case assessments rather than firm data," he said.
The Agreed Framework was negotiated between the United States and
North Korea when the Korean peninsula, divided since the 1950-53
war ended in a truce, faced a crisis in the early 1990s after
Pyongyang produced one or two nuclear weapons.
Under the accord, Pyongyang vowed to freeze its nuclear programme
while Washington provided two light-water nuclear reactors for
power generation that are harder to misuse to produce weapons
material than the North's Soviet-era models.
Before those came on line, heavy oil was to be provided for
heating in a deal, which also involved South Korea and Japan,
expected to cost around $5 billion.
The Clinton administration insisted Pyongyang was abiding by the
agreement but Bush this year said he could not certify the
North's compliance. The United States has 37,000 troops in the
South.
Kimball said the 1994 accord applies to plutonium-related weapons
activities, not to uranium enrichment activities.
"If the intelligence assessment that is the basis of this relates
to uranium enrichment, it is not clear to me why the
administration believes North Korea is in material breach," he
said.
*****************************************************************
31 Opportunity, Peril Seen in N.Korea Nuclear Admission
October 17, 2002 10:22 AM ET
By Carol Giacomo and Paul Eckert
WASHINGTON/SEOUL (Reuters) - The United States said North Korea
had admitted running a secretive nuclear-weapons program, a
disclosure that surprised Asian neighbors but which experts said
showed Pyongyang's desire for talks with Washington.
The United States said on Wednesday North Korea, confronted with
U.S. evidence, had acknowledged it was operating a
uranium-enrichment program in violation of a 1994
non-proliferation pact that brought the peninsula back from the
brink of crisis.
The assertion from Washington drew demands from Seoul and Tokyo
that the reclusive communist state abide by all nuclear pledges
and open its facilities to inspections.
Diplomats and academic analysts said an impasse could scupper
inter-Korean rapprochement and kill embryonic economic reforms in
North Korea, while poisoning an already bitter election-year
debate in South Korea over policy toward the North.
But others, including a top aide to South Korean President Kim
Dae-jung, said the admission by North Korea two weeks after it
reversed decades of denial and owned up to abducting Japanese
nationals was another sign Pyongyang wanted serious talks.
U.S. officials said special envoy James Kelly had presented the
North Koreans with documentation about the nuclear activities
during an October 3-5 visit to Pyongyang and the North Koreans
had finally acknowledged conducting a secret weapons program.
Kelly's visit was the first since President Bush took office and
dubbed North Korea part of an "axis of evil" with Iraq and Iran.
North Korean media later accused Kelly of making "very arrogant
and threatening remarks" in Pyongyang.
Yim Sung-joon, top South Korean presidential adviser on national
security and foreign policy, told reporters Kim would take up the
issue with Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi at
a three-way summit next week in Mexico.
"The president views this as a grave matter and it is his
position that it is unacceptable under any circumstances for
North Korea to develop nuclear weapons," Yim told reporters.
South Korea's Unification Ministry said in a statement it would
raise the nuclear issue in ministerial talks between the two
Koreas set to start in Pyongyang on October 19.
QUEST FOR DIALOGUE
But he added that South Korea saw North Korea's surprising
confession as part of a quest for dialogue, the latest of several
dramatic steps Pyongyang has taken this year to improve ties with
the outside world and overhaul its sickly, aid-dependent economy.
"The government is paying close attention to this frank
confirmation of nuclear suspicions during special envoy Kelly's
visit to North Korea and we regard it as a sign North Korea is
willing to resolve this problem through dialogue," Yim said.
One Pyongyang-based diplomat agreed, telling Reuters the nuclear
disclosure "could reflect a need to bring these discussions from
political rhetoric to a technical level so perhaps both sides can
make progress on specific issues."
Japan received a shock admission and an apology from North Korea
last month for the abductions of more than a dozen Japanese in
the 1970s and 1980s to teach Japanese to North Korean spies. The
confession opened the way for normalization talks this month.
A second diplomat in the North Korean capital said he thought
Washington's nuclear revelation was a U.S. tactic to pressure
Pyongyang after Kelly's trip failed to make headway.
"The North Koreans are de facto ready to make some concessions,
even substantial concessions, but they want some reward," he said
by telephone.
A senior U.S. official told Reuters in Washington that the Bush
administration believed the North's activities had "effectively
nullified the 1994 Agreed Framework," a deal under which North
Korea promised to freeze its nuclear arms program.
NO U.S. DECISION
But U.S. officials said the administration was consulting
Congress and U.S. allies and had made no decision on the next
steps in its relations with North Korea.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said: "We seek a
peaceful resolution of this situation.
"Everyone in the region has a stake in this issue and no peaceful
nation wants to see a nuclear-armed North Korea. This is an
opportunity for peace-loving nations in the region to deal,
effectively, with this challenge," he said.
Kelly and Undersecretary of State John Bolton arrived in Beijing
on Thursday, their first stop on a whirlwind trip which will also
take them to Seoul and Tokyo for talks on the issue.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said Beijing
learned of the U.S. allegations from news reports. "We have
always supported denuclearization of the Korean peninsula to
protect the peninsula's peace and stability," she told reporters.
"We think the nuclear issue in Korea should be resolved
peacefully through dialogue and consultation."
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said the North Korean
weapons program was a serious violation of its commitments.
"World opinion is united in calling for North Korea to comply
with its international obligations and to eliminate its nuclear
weapons program," Straw said in a statement.
Russia, which has broadened its ties with North Korea in recent
years, said on Thursday it would consult Pyongyang.
"We will hold relevant consultations, including with our
colleagues in North Korea, and after that we will have the
information...to comment on this," Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov
told reporters in Moscow.
Japan said it would go ahead with talks with North Korea due to
start on October 29. "We want to ask North Korea to deal with
this sincerely and get rid of the nuclear suspicions," Prime
Minister Koizumi told reporters.
In Seoul, where policy toward Pyongyang has become a bone of
contention in the run-up to a December presidential poll, the
main opposition party said the disclosure showed the government
must "reconsider its policy toward the North from the beginning."
The Dong-a Ilbo, a conservative daily long critical of
unconditional aid for North Korea, called the nuclear revelation
tantamount to "another stab in the back from North Korea."
(Additional reporting by Kim Myong-hwan, Linda Sieg in Tokyo, and
Jeremy Page and John Ruwitch in Beijing)
*****************************************************************
32 N. Korea Acknowledges Nukes Program
Las Vegas SUN October 16, 2002 By GEORGE GEDDA ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON- In a startling revelation, North Korea has told the
United States it has a secret nuclear weapons program in
violation of an 1994 agreement with the United States, the White
House said Wednesday night.
Spokesman Sean McCormack called the North Korean disclosure a
serious infringement of the agreement, under which Pyongyang
promised not to develop nuclear weapons.
U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said
North Korea told U.S. officials that it was no longer bound by
the anti-nuclear agreement. State Department spokesman Richard
Boucher said late Wednesday the United States had been ready to
offer North Korea economic and other benefits if Pyongyang agreed
to curb missile programs, end threats and change its behavior in
other ways.
"In light of our concerns about the North's nuclear weapons
program, however, we are unable to pursue this approach," Boucher
said.
He said Undersecretary of State John Bolton and other officials
are traveling to the region to exchange views with allies.
The 1994 commitment had raised hopes for a nuclear-free Korean
peninsula, but that hope is dashed for the time being, and
relations with the United States are back to square one.
It was not clear from the remarks by McCormack and other
officials whether the United States believes the North actually
has the bomb or whether it is still being developed.
There was no immediate reaction from North Korea to the White
House announcement.
The two countries had just resumed high-level security talks less
than two weeks ago for the first time in two years. It was during
those discussions that North Korea informed the United States of
its nuclear activities. McCormack said the United States is
consulting with it allies, South Korea and Japan, and with
members of Congress on next steps.
"We seek a peaceful resolution of this situation," McCormack
said. "Everyone in the region has a stake in this issue and no
peaceful nation wants to see a nuclear-armed North Korea."
"The United States and our allies call on North Korea to comply
with its commitments under the nonproliferation treaty and to
eliminate its nuclear weapons program in a verifiable manner."
The dramatic disclosure complicates President Bush's campaign to
disarm Iraq under threat of military force, coming almost nine
months after Bush said North Korea was part of an "axis of evil"
along with Iran and Iraq.
It seems unlikely, however, that North Korea will become a target
country for the United States much as Iraq is nowadays. With war
plans for Iraq already on the drawing board and a broader war on
terrorism still under way, threats against North Korea could
leave the United States overextended.
Until now, the United States' main concern with North Korea has
been its sale of ballistic missiles to Syria, Iran and other
countries. Now North Korea's nuclear program is added to the mix.
The United States has been suspicious about North Korea's nuclear
intentions for some time despite the agreement.
A CIA report in January said that during the second half of last
year, North Korea "continued its attempts to procure technology
worldwide that could have applications in its nuclear program.F
"We assess that North Korea has produced enough plutonium for at
least one, and possibly two, nuclear weapons."
South Korean Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Tae-sik said South Korea
has consistently pursued the de-nuclearization of the Korean
peninsula in line with international agreements.
"We urge North Korea to abide by its obligations," he said.
Yim Sung-joon, a national security adviser, said President Kim
Dae-jung called the North Korean disclosure a "very serious
matter which cannot be accepted under any circumstances." In
Japan, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's spokeswoman, Misako
Kaji, said, "Japan is gravely concerned about the U.S.
announcement North Korea is developing nuclear weapons."
She said Koizumi "will continue to press the North Korea strongly
on this matter."
Later Koizumi said, "We hope North Korea will take a sincere
stance toward dispelling suspicions over its nuclear program."
North Korea's stunning disclosure about its weapons program came
after its remarkable admission just weeks ago that its agents had
kidnapped at least 13 Japanese in the late 1970s and early 1980s
as part of a program to train communist spies in Japanese
language and culture.
Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly visited North Korea on
Oct. 3-5 and demanded that the communist state address global
concerns about its nuclear and other weapons programs.
In response, the Pyongyang government accused Bush's special
envoy of making "threatening remarks." The United States refused
all comment on the discussions.
Under the 1994 agreement, North Korea promised to give up its
nuclear weapons program and to allow inspections to verify that
it did not have the material needed to construct such weapons.
But it has yet to allow the inspections, drawing criticism from
the Bush administration.
The agreement also called for the construction of two light water
nuclear reactors to replace the plutonium-producing reactors
Pyongyang had been using. The reactors were being financed mostly
by South Korea and Japan. Construction of the reactors began just
two months ago.
An administration source said Kelly also raised with North Korea
evidence that Pyongyang may have a uranium-enrichment program.
The program, which the United States believes would only be used
to develop a nuclear bomb, began under the Clinton
administration, according to the official.
Surprisingly, North Korea confirmed the allegation.
The Bush administration has not decided how to respond. "We're
going to keep talking," an official said.
After months of tension with South Korea, the North resumed
high-level talks in August that restarted stalled reconciliation
efforts on the Korean peninsula - divided by the most heavily
armed border in the world.
The Koreas were divided after World War II and remained that way
at the end of the inconclusive Korean War from 1950-53. About
37,000 U.S. troops are stationed in South Korea as a deterrent
against the North.
All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
33 AU: Deadlock stalls Iraq inspections -
theage.com.au
October 17 2002
By Ewen MacAskill
London Julian Borger Washington
UN weapons inspectors are unlikely to return to Iraq until next
month at the earliest because of a deadlock in the Security
Council.
The inspectors had been scheduled to return to Iraq on Saturday
after reaching agreement with Iraqi officials in Vienna earlier
this month, but the timetable is slipping badly.
The delay is mainly because of US-British insistence on a new and
tougher UN resolution, which the other permanent members of the
Security Council, France, Russia and China, are blocking.
Hans Blix, the chief UN inspector, acknowledged that Iraq had not
agreed to all ground rules for arms inspections and said again he
would not go to Baghdad before a new UN resolution was adopted.
"We've waited now for almost four years (to return) so we'll have
a little patience with the Security Council," he said.
A Security Council source said the US is expected to table a
draft of its proposed resolution this week, even though the
impasse with France remains unresolved.
A spokeswoman for the UN's Vienna-based International Atomic
Energy Agency, which is responsible for monitoring nuclear
weapons, said there was no chance the inspectors would be in
Baghdad on Saturday.
"It was decided that there would be no sense in going to Iraq
before the Security Council has decided on a new resolution," she
said.
Even after the US tables its draft, it could take weeks before a
new resolution is endorsed. France could reject the US draft and
present its own. If a common draft was found, the debate on a
final resolution could take another fortnight.
The US and Britain favour delay, claiming it would be
counter-productive for the inspectors to go back to Iraq without
a proper remit. But Russia, France and China want the inspectors
back in as soon as possible, seeing this as the best way to
prevent war.
The inspectors have to establish whether Iraq is hiding banned
chemical, biological and potential nuclear weapons.
Iraq has helped strengthen the case of the US-British alliance in
recent days by sending two letters to the head of the weapons
inspectors, Hans Blix.
In the first, the Iraqis questioned whether it was possible for
the inspectors to carry out their work while the flight exclusion
zone remained in place. The second, possibly realising the first
letter had been a diplomatic miscalculation, adopted a more
conciliatory tone but still failed to accept totally Dr Blix's
version of the agreement.
- agencies
Copyright © 2002 The Age Company Ltd advertise
*****************************************************************
34 Test Site could house bomb 'pit' plant
Las Vegas SUN:
October 16, 2002
By Benjamin Grove
WASHINGTON -- The Nevada Test Site likely ranks at No. 2 or No.
3 on a list of five sites proposed for the nation's new nuclear
bomb "pit" plant, several watchdog activists said Tuesday.
The Energy Department's Savannah River site in South Carolina is
probably the department's top choice, said Tom Clements, a
Greenpeace spokesman and director of the Nuclear Control
Institute. The Test Site, however is a strong No. 2 candidate, he
said.
"It certainly meets the remoteness criteria," Clements said,
speaking after a Tuesday hearing at Energy Department
headquarters in Washington.
Don Hancock, director of the Southwest Research and Information
Center, agreed that the Savannah River site and the Test Site
were likely the No. 1 and No. 2 choices respectively for the
department.
The Energy Department is in the middle of public hearings on
whether -- and where -- to construct the new plant; a Las Vegas
hearing is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday at the Energy Department
office at 232 Energy Way.
Energy Department officials last month announced they had chosen
five sites as candidates for the new pit factory: the Test Site;
Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico; the Pantex Plant in
Amarillo, Texas; the Savannah River Site in Aiken, S.C.; and the
Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in Carlsbad, N.M.
The department plans to choose one site by April 2004.
Department officials insist there is no front-runner. "All the
sites are equal," Michael Mitchell, Energy Department director of
the new plant proposal, said.
But Hancock said flatly, "That's not true. The Department of
Energy just doesn't want to have this discussion yet."
Hancock, who did not attend the Washington meeting but closely
monitors the pit plant proposal, is among the activists clamoring
for the department to release the "screening analysis" it used to
develop the list of five sites.
Pits are softball-sized spheres that act as a trigger in a
nuclear weapon. Pits were produced at the Energy Department's
Rocky Flats plant in Colorado from 1952 to 1989, when the badly
contaminated facility was closed for cleanup. That left the
United States as the only nuclear nation without a full-time pit
plant.
The Los Alamos site can produce about 20 pits a year, officials
at Tuesday's briefing said. But the new plant could produce 125
pits per year.
The new plant is needed because plutonium pits decay over time,
although it's not clear when the pits would be critically
decayed. The new plant could open by 2018 and be in full
production by 2020, at a cost of $2 billion to $4 billion.
Department officials say the new pit plant is vital to the
integrity of the nation's nuclear weapons stockpile. President
Bush supports a new plant. There has been a clear "recognition of
need" for a new plant, the Energy Department's Mitchell said.
But activists say the department has not made a case for
constructing a costly new plant.
Three activists on Tuesday estimated the department has at least
25,000 pits -- including roughly 10,000 mounted on warheads --
with the balance in reserve at the Pantex site. The actual
numbers are classified, department officials say.
"That's a lot of pits," said Jim Bridgman, program director for
the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability.
The department has not proved it needs new pits to replace
decaying old ones, activists said. The issue of aging pits is a
"boogeyman," Bridgman said. He said it was ironic that so many
U.S. workers and the environment suffered so much at Rocky Flats
in the name of protecting the nation.
"Now as we consider a new facility, we have to ask ourselves,
does the threat warrant subjecting our people and environment
with additional suffering and damage?" Bridgman said.
Energy Department officials say they have learned many lessons
from Rocky Flats and have new plans to avoid contaminating a new
facility. The new plant will be designed based on a "gets it
right" approach that balances production, safety, security and
protecting the environment, department officials said.
Most Nevada officials have not taken a clear stance on the
prospect of locating the new plant in the state; only Rep.
Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., has opposed it. Nevada lawmakers
generally support the Test Site's historic role in protecting
national security, but fear the environmental disasters that
unfolded at Rocky Flats.
Political pressure is likely to be a factor in the final
decision. At a hearing last week in Carlsbad it became clear that
many locals there want the plant and the roughly 1,500 jobs in
New Mexico. Of 46 speakers, only two argued against the plant,
Mitchell said. A crowd of roughly 85 people in Texas seemed more
split about the plant being built at Pantex, he said.
All contents copyright 2002 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
*****************************************************************
35 U.S., French battle over Iraq
[MSNBC.com]
The U.N. Security Council is sharply divided on a U.S. call for
an automatic trigger for military action if Iraq impedes weapons
inspectors.
"Those who chose to live in denial may eventually be forced to
live in fear," President Bush said Wednesday. NBC's David Gregory
reports.
By Linda Fasulo and Sean Federico-O'Murchu MSNBC AND NBC NEWS
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 16 — The battle over a new U.N. resolution
on Iraq has turned into a heavyweight wrestling bout between the
United States and France, according to diplomats at the United
Nations. Neither side is willing to budge from its strongly held
position on how the international community should put the
squeeze on President Saddam Hussein.
THE STALEMATE has stymied, for now, President Bush’s hopes of
pressuring Iraq with two resolutions, one from the U.S. Congress,
which he signed Wednesday, and one from the United Nations that
would authorize force if Baghdad failed to comply with U.N.
demands.
On Wednesday, Bush said he was a “patient man.” But he
warned that unless the United Nations acts, the United States
will lead its own coalition to force Saddam to disarm.
Underscoring Washington’s resolve, U.S. officials told
NBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Wednesday night that the administration
must get a U.N. vote by the end of the month — or decide to go it
alone.
Three key members of the Security Council — Russia, China
and France — oppose the Bush administration’s strategy and all
have veto power in a council vote.
U.S. FOCUSES ON FRANCE
But, according to one diplomat who spoke on condition of
anonymity, the French are the biggest obstacle for the United
States and Washington is aiming its diplomatic offensive at them.
For now, U.S. and French diplomats are exchanging tweaks
in proposed language for a new U.N. resolution. But at the heart
of the dispute is the question of whether the United Nations
should approve one or two resolutions on Iraq.
The Russians and Chinese have sided with France and
its two-resolution formula.
The Americans are insisting on the need for one strongly
worded resolution that would trigger military action if Iraq
fails to comply with demands for full disclosure of its alleged
chemical, biological and nuclear weapons programs and for
unfettered access for U.N. weapons inspectors.
Washington believes Iraq will continue to defy the United
Nations unless it is given an incentive to cooperate.
France, for its part, wants the Security Council to pass
a first resolution demanding full access for the inspectors. The
second resolution would “decide on appropriate measures, without
excluding any of them in advance, if Iraq does not cooperate
fully with the inspectors,” French Foreign Ministry spokesman
Francois Rivasseau said Wednesday.
INSPECTORS ON HOLD
Under an agreement reached between the U.N.’s chief
weapons inspector, Hans Blix, and Iraqi officials earlier this
month, inspectors were scheduled to return to Iraq this week.
France wanted inspectors to return “as soon as possible,”
Rivasseau told journalists, adding that Paris had not changed its
demand for two U.N. resolutions.
“The discussion is continuing in a spirit of wanting to
succeed, in a way that we preserve and strengthen the unity of
the Security Council, which is essential,” he said.
Blix has declined to order his inspectors back to Iraq
until they are empowered by a new resolution, a decision backed
Wednesday by Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
Warning that the world body’s “authority and credibility”
will suffer if the council is divided on Iraq, Annan appealed for
members to unite not only on a resolution but in achieving a
comprehensive solution “that includes the suspension and eventual
ending of the sanctions that are causing such hardship for the
Iraqi people.”
This is a key demand of the Iraqi government.
Under sanctions imposed after Iraq’s 1990 invasion of
Kuwait, U.N. weapons inspectors must certify that Iraq’s weapons
of mass destruction have been dismantled.
But inspectors left in December 1998, ahead of U.S. and
British airstrikes to punish Iraq for not complying with
inspectors, and Saddam’s government barred them from returning —
until last month.
‘IRAQ HAS TO COMPLY’
Annan said Iraq’s announcement that inspectors can return
without conditions “is a first step, but only a first step.”
“Full compliance remains indispensable, and it has not
yet happened,” he said. “Iraq has to comply. ... The inspectors
must have unfettered access. This council will expect nothing
less. It may well choose to pass a new resolution strengthening
the inspectors’ hand, so that there are no weaknesses or
ambiguities.”
“I consider that such a step would be appropriate. The
new measures must be firm, effective, credible and reasonable. If
Iraq fails to make use of this last chance, and defiance
continues, the council will have to face its responsibilities,”
Annan said.
Linda Fasulo is NBC’s U.N. correspondent. Sean
Federico-O’Murchu is an international news producer/editor for
MSNBC.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
©2002 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of
*****************************************************************
36 THE AMERICAN EMPIRE Part 3: The fear within
Asia Times
+ Part 1: Reluctant hegemon
+ Part 2: Righteous king
By Francesco Sisci
BEIJING - The Gulf War of 1992, by which time the Soviets were no
longer a danger, should have brought the Organization of
Petroleum Exporting Countries to an end. But the fact that Iraqi
leader Saddam Hussein miraculously managed to survive despite his
military defeat dragged out for years a situation in which OPEC,
while not as powerful as in its heyday, was still controlling the
throttle of oil prices.
Against this backdrop cynical observers could read al-Qaeda's
terrorism as an effort by certain Saudis to regain full control
of their land (and their oil, which had been under loose US
tutelage since the Gulf War) by trying to kindle the implosion of
the United States through terrorist actions.
The implosion or fall of the US would have been bad news not only
for Europe, but for the rest of the world. A cowering, wounded
United States would have precipitated a global economic downturn,
dragging down all emerging markets, China's included, and would
have created a huge vacuum of power that no one could fill. This
in turn could have brought about chaos for developed and
developing nations, with the only benefit going to the ultimate
producers of energy and fundamentalist faiths such as Wahhabi
Islam. Incidentally, both happen to reside in the same place -
Saudi Arabia.
It is thus important while cracking down on actual or future
terrorism to regain control of oil at the same time, in order to
keep energy at a reasonable price for all those who want to carry
on with economic development. In this case the interests of
India, Japan, the United States, Europe, Southeast Asia, South
Korea, China, the developing countries and to a degree Russia are
consistent: all want low oil prices to finance their growth. The
control of oil resources, then, can be at an optimal crossroads
of idealism (the fight against terrorism) and imperial motivation
(a check on the price of energy). This could be the card for the
establishment of a new world order in which the United States
after years of wobbling in a vacuum without big fights against
big faiths (fascism, communism, fundamentalist Islam) could spin
off a new perspective of rapid economic development for
everybody.
The idea is that if you strive for development you will be
rewarded, while if you squander your inheritance or resources
you'll suffer. Many OPEC countries appear to be in the latter
category. Many of them have used oil riches to let Bedouins live
into their old age with modern comforts. They often did not
invest in modern industry, they did not use their God-sent
resources to build modern states that could survive with or
without oil. They look like those people of the old European
rentier aristocracy who complained about their dwindling income
but did nothing to replenish it, while the new aggressive
bourgeoisie was working hard on building its fortunes.
The war against Iraq, then, could be an opportunity for new
economic development. This could be the base for the new American
wangquan zhuyi, true rulership. The American Empire could then
try to reconcile with itself. The United States is the strongest,
everybody knows it, and no nation in its right mind can challenge
it. Not only that, but in the present shaky world balance, the US
has to be this way for decades before new balances can emerge. A
political vacuum without the United States would now be dangerous
for developed and developing countries alike.
But the fear is, can a country with such overwhelming military
power restrain itself? Might not a mad general seize power and
launch a nuclear holocaust? Might not a president go mad and
singlehandedly drive the world to the end? The US for the first
time in the history of the planet can in fact do just that, and
the world could not assemble a coalition capable of resisting it
- its military capabilities, both conventional and nuclear, are
arguably superior to those of all other countries put together.
The world therefore must ultimately rely on American goodwill
that Washington won't go nuts. Objectively, this is a condition
of hegemonism: to change it into true rulership the US must make
an extra effort to soothe friends and foes. This will reinforce
its rule and extend it into the future. This was ultimately the
trick played by Chinese imperial dynasties, which tried to affirm
their right to rule the world (tianxia, all that is under
heaven). Cynically, one could say that they launched a soft war
on their subjects and enemies alike to buttress their rule.
Although they also used force, this, at least ideally, came many
steps after the use of peaceful persuasion.
The United States currently wields immense cultural muscle by its
domination of the movie, television, music and software
industries, the so-called soft power, yet the administration of
President George W Bush doesn't convincingly explain (or think
through) its political moves, to win the political war before the
military war. The rift with Europe is due to this deficiency in
the political war. Hegelians and Confucians alike would tell the
Bush administration it needs to keep the upper ideological hand;
without this, all the soft power could crumble and all the world
would be in danger.
In China, for instance, allegedly home of many opponents of US
hegemonism, pundits are against the unilateral use of US force,
and see it as a danger for the US and the world order. They could
be appeased by better-founded, better-argued rulership, because
China can't hope to replace the United States for many decades,
and an old known master is better than a new unknown master or
total confusion.
If this is the case in China, arguably it is so in every corner
of the world. Therefore the US has nothing to be afraid of but
itself ... and this, both for the United States and the rest of
the world, might be the real concern.
(©2002 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. Please
Oct 18, 2002
*****************************************************************
37 Kazakh 'Nuclear Soldier' Paints Warning for Future
Thu, Oct 17, 2002
By Dmitry Solovyov
SEMIPALATINSK, Kazakhstan (Reuters) - "I saw birds turning into
ashes in the sky," said the stooping old man, tears in his eyes.
"Believe me, that is still painful to recall."
Alexander Shevchenko, a frail 75-year-old, is one of the few
surviving "nuclear soldiers" who lived through the horrors of the
first Soviet nuclear blasts tested on live humans at the
Semipalatinsk test site.
"We were treated like human waste. We were all nameless, just
known as guinea pigs," he said.
In his palsied hands he holds an allegorical painting, in which a
white dove -- the fragile symbol of peace -- is dying, tangled on
a strand of barbed wire as the ominous giant mushroom of a
nuclear explosion rises against the skyline.
He says his pictures, stored in a squat house in this bleak town
in northeastern Kazakhstan, are a message to posterity.
One features stone-faced Soviet dictator Josef Stalin,
dispassionately looking past a heap of human skulls while a
nuclear mushroom looms nearby.
Another depicts a mother in Kazakh national dress, sitting in the
middle of a vast steppe overcast by a huge nuclear cloud. She is
breast-feeding an emaciated child with protruding ribs, a
disproportionately large head, and horror in his wide eyes.
"The child is the spitting image of a sick boy abandoned by his
parents whom I once saw in an orphanage here," Shevchenko said
softly. "He later died."
"I am pressed for time to accomplish all my plans," said the
painter, who has not yet fully recovered from his fifth heart
attack. "The truth must be told."
CRIPPLED LIFE
The story of Shevchenko, an ethnic Ukrainian from southern
Russia, resembles that of many who, against their will, found
themselves on the Semipalatinsk test site at the wrong time.
In October 1947, he was brought to this god-forsaken spot in the
endless Kazakh steppe as a private in the Red Army to take part
in secret work ahead of the first blast on August 29, 1949.
The young man had no choice: before his mission he had been
sentenced to eight years hard labor. His crime -- living on
territory which was occupied by the Nazis during World War II.
Shevchenko, labeled "an enemy of the people," was just one of
thousands to be crippled during Stalinism's uncompromising
nuclear race with the United States.
"We had no safety gear and were completely exposed to this deadly
radiation. The trenches we dug were our only protection," said
the old soldier who served at the test site until 1951.
"When a nuclear bomb explodes, you can see through the body in
front of you. All his guts and bones are visible, like in an
X-ray," said Shevchenko, who after one such test in 1950 lost
consciousness and was treated for leukemia .
By the time of its 1989 closure, following growing popular
protests which even the Soviet leadership could no longer ignore,
Semipalatinsk had held 30 surface, 88 atmospheric and 340
underground tests.
The 1949 explosion, which established nuclear parity with the
United States, was given ecstatic coverage by the Soviet
propaganda machine.
Subsequent nuclear tests were routinely kept secret or, later on,
tersely reported on by compliant media as a "forced measure to
strengthen the nuclear shield of the Motherland."
There is no precise information on how many people died as a
result of these experiments on live people, but some
blood-curdling details are becoming available.
HUMANS OR CATTLE?
Boris Gusev, now 64, knows more than most.
In 1961, as a newly qualified doctor, he signed strictly
confidential papers with the feared KGB secret police, vowing to
keep silent on his future work at the top-secret Dispensary
Number Four, set up in Semipalatinsk in 1957.
The nondescript building officially housed a team of doctors
dealing with brucellosis, a widespread contagious disease usually
affecting sheep and cattle.
In fact, this was a myth invented by the KGB to conceal the real
task of the secret laboratory -- studying the impact of radiation
on human health. "That was yet another cynical legend by the KGB.
If they could call plants producing nuclear missiles 'chocolate
factories,' then why not call this place a brucellosis
dispensary?" Gusev said.
Few in Semipalatinsk knew of the real dangers of the tests
conducted near this industrial town. All reports were sent
straight to Communist Party and KGB elites in Moscow.
Gusev is visibly upset even now when he recalls how the Soviet
Union treated people who underwent tests near Semipalatinsk.
"After the 1945 tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, all possible
effects of nuclear tests on humans were already well-known to the
world. What was done here was beyond reason, could have been
avoided and was an outrage," he said. He said soldiers wearing
only gas masks were sent on military exercises just minutes after
nuclear tests, and tanks and aircraft had to go through
radioactive dust and clouds.
"A lot of people routinely fell ill with acute leukemia after
such tests, and many died," Gusev said.
"But everyone was confident that one day there would be an
all-out nuclear war with America. So military chiefs just said
'that's the way it is' and sent the soldiers to die," he added.
"I myself feel bitter now. As a doctor, I helped many who fell
ill. As an enthusiastic youngster, I was proud (of our nuclear
achievements), although I realized I would get 15 years in prison
if I started talking about what I knew."
Atmospheric and surface tests were conducted until 1962 before
being replaced with much safer underground explosions.
DISASTROUS LEGACY
Gusev said that even the top-secret dispensary, now Kazakhstan's
Research Institute for Radiation Medicine and Ecology, did not
know how many nuclear tests had been conducted until information
started seeping out in the early 1980s.
He estimated that 800,000 of the 15 million inhabitants of the
vast Central Asian state of Kazakhstan now lived in contaminated
areas around the test site. He said around 370,000 people had
suffered directly from nuclear tests.
Both brothers and the father of the artist Shevchenko died of
cancer. Cases of cancer, alongside birth defects and
cardiovascular diseases, are several times more frequent than the
national average in areas near Semipalatinsk.
Shevchenko says proudly that last year Ukrainian President Leonid
Kuchma -- himself dealing with the legacy of the 1986 Chernobyl
nuclear disaster -- named him a Merited Artist of Ukraine and
helped stage an exhibition of his work in Kiev.
He said he had received offers for some of his pictures but had
declined to sell any of them. "When I die, all of them must be
shown as one big warning for the future," he said.
Copyright © 2002 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
*****************************************************************
38 Two retired generals voice doubts over Bush's plan to attack Iraq
(Pilot Online/HamptonRoads.com)
By DALE EISMAN, The Virginian-Pilot © October 17, 2002
``We are about to do something that will ignite a fuse in this
region that we will rue the day we ever started,'' retired Marine
Gen. Anthony C. Zinni told the annual Fletcher Conference on
National Security Strategy shortly after Wolfowitz's
presentation.
Zinni's blunt critique -- bolstered by a similar assessment from
retired four-star Marine Gen. John J. Sheehan -- drew a
smattering of applause. While insisting that Bush has made no
decision to fight, Wolfowitz laid out a series of questions
raised by critics of a war and attacked the reasoning behind
each.
``The risks are very real, and no sensible person would lightly
undertake an operation that risks the lives of our marvelous men
and women in uniform,'' he said. But the longer the United States
waits, the greater the chance that Iraq will have acquired
chemical, biological or nuclear weapons and the means to use
them, he argued.
... Read more in The Virginian-Pilot or at PilotOnline.com
ThinkIn--> WASHINGTON -- Amid reports of unease among senior
uniformed leaders about a possible war with Iraq, one of the Bush
administration's top policy makers faced a roomful of generals,
admirals, diplomats and military planners Wednesday to argue that
the ouster of Saddam Hussein ``will be a defeat for terrorists
globally.'' But while Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz
spent nearly an hour laying out the administration's case, there
were signs aplenty that a corps of experienced military leaders
remains skeptical about President Bush's plans to attack Iraq.
``We are about to do something that will ignite a fuse in this
region that we will rue the day we ever started,'' retired Marine
Gen. Anthony C. Zinni told the annual Fletcher Conference on
National Security Strategy shortly after Wolfowitz's
presentation.
Zinni's blunt critique -- bolstered by a similar assessment from
retired four-star Marine Gen. John J. Sheehan -- drew a
smattering of applause.
While insisting that Bush has made no decision to fight,
Wolfowitz laid out a series of questions raised by critics of a
war and attacked the reasoning behind each.
``The risks are very real, and no sensible person would lightly
undertake an operation that risks the lives of our marvelous men
and women in uniform,'' he said. But the longer the United States
waits, the greater the chance that Iraq will have acquired
chemical, biological or nuclear weapons and the means to use
them, he argued.
Wolfowitz brushed aside suggestions that forcibly removing Saddam
will trigger instability throughout the Middle East. Just as the
experience of Soviet domination in eastern Europe has created
deep resistance there against a return to communism, the
experience of life under Saddam ``will encourage powerful
resistance to the emergence of another harsh dictatorship'' after
his fall, Wolfowitz said.
Zinni and Sheehan countered that Saddam can easily be contained.
Zinni said a lack of knowledge over what weapons Iraq has isn't a
sufficient reason to attack.
``In other words, we are going to go to war over another
intelligence failure,'' Zinni said.
Zinni compared the challenge facing the United States in the
Middle East and central Asia to the one it successfully met in
rebuilding Europe after World War II.
Then, the United States focused not only on containing the
Soviets but also on confronting their ideology and by
demonstrating the superiority of free markets and free elections,
he said. In contrast, the Bush administration is focused on
terrorist acts and Iraq's drive to acquire weapons of mass
destruction but is not dealing with the causes of unrest.
``If we deal with terrorism, we deal with the tactical part. . .
. But you have not hit at the center of gravity,'' he said. ``The
center of gravity is a bunch of disenfranchised young men. And
they are flocking to a cause that has nothing to do with religion
or ideology. They are flocking to a cause because of their
political, social, and economic condition, their sense of being
wronged.'' Sheehan, meanwhile, was scornful of the
administration's stated willingness -- downplayed by Wolfowitz on
Wednesday -- to take on Saddam without international support and
without fully developed battle plans.
``At some point, you can't just . . . jump out of an airplane and
figure out what you're going to do when you get on the ground,''
he said. ``It doesn't work that way. Warfare is a deliberate
activity that requires deliberate planning.''
Reach Dale Eisman at icemandc@msn.com or (703) 913-9872.
*****************************************************************
39 N Korea: secret nuke arms / Covert weapons program violates '94
pact with U.S., White House says
Peter Slevin, Karen DeYoung, Washington Post
[chronfeedback@sfchronicle.com] Thursday, October 17, 2002 -->
Washington -- The North Korean government has acknowledged for
the first time that it has been secretly developing nuclear
weapons for years in violation of international agreements -- and
that it possesses "more powerful" weapons, as well, Bush
administration officials said Wednesday night.
The North Koreans, who confirmed the project when challenged by
visiting U. S. diplomats earlier this month, said the existence
of the program nullifies a 1994 deal with the United States to
halt the nuclear weapons effort in return for foreign help. One
senior U.S. official said the new weapons project is a "very
serious material breach" of the accord.
The Bush administration, stunned by the admission, dispatched
envoys to the region Wednesday to consult with allies and called
on North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to halt the weapons project.
The administration also has begun consultations with Congress
about what to do next.
"The United States is calling on North Korea to comply with all
of its commitments under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and to
eliminate its nuclear weapons program in a verifiable manner," a
U.S. official said. "What we seek is a peaceful resolution of
this situation."
The revelation from the isolated Stalinist country presents the
Bush administration with a serious, unanticipated foreign policy
challenge as officials prepare to confront Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein over his refusal to surrender weapons of mass
destruction. Meanwhile, thousands of U.S. troops remain deployed
in an unstable Afghanistan and terrorist attacks have spiked in
recent weeks from Yemen to Indonesia.
U.S. officials and commentators offered differing assessments
Wednesday night of the implications of North Korea's
announcement, with some considering it a belligerent act
deserving of a strong response, and others saying it could be a
bid by North Korea to create an opening to the United States.
"This is going to require a reassessment of our commitments to
North Korea, " said Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla., chairman of the
Senate intelligence committee. "It's a very serious development
if a country we had thought had entered into a serious and
credible negotiation to retreat from a nuclear program in
exchange for generous assistance" has violated that agreement.
In January, President Bush named North Korea a member of an "axis
of evil," along with Iraq and Iran. Yet the revelation of the
nuclear program comes comes amid a string of surprisingly
conciliatory moves by Kim, long criticized for peddling dangerous
weapons and oppressing an impoverished population. In recent
weeks, the Pyongyang government apologized for a naval battle
with South Korea in the Yellow Sea and for the abduction of
Japanese citizens in the 1970s.
A U.S. delegation headed by Assistant Secretary of State James
Kelly presented detailed evidence of a covert nuclear weapons
program during an Oct. 3-5 trip, U.S. officials said. The North
Koreans called the allegations "fabrications," but then a day
later, a more senior official, Deputy Foreign Minister Kang Sok
Joo, confirmed Kelly's charges. He said the North Koreans met
through the night before deciding to reveal that the project had
been under way for several years. He also said his government had
developed other, more powerful weapons.
Kang offered no apologies. He was "assertive, aggressive about
it," a U.S. official said.
The administration says it does not know the full extent of North
Korea's nuclear capabilities, and experts are uncertain what Kang
meant when he referred to more powerful weapons. Wednesday night,
they said they assume he meant weapons of mass destruction, which
typically include biological and chemical weapons.
North Korea's new nuclear project relies on highly enriched
uranium, a switch from an earlier plutonium-based program that
Pyongyang agreed to halt in the groundbreaking 1994 Agreed
Framework. U.S. officials would not answer when asked whether the
highly enriched uranium had yet been turned into a weapon.
The CIA's National Intelligence Estimate, released in December,
reported that North Korea had probably produced one or two
plutonium-based nuclear weapons by the mid-1990s.
Administration officials have struggled with the North Korean
policy since Bush took office, with some officials advocating a
much more demanding approach than the engagement policy of the
Clinton administration and others urging continued diplomatic
flexibility.
The disclosure has not ended that debate, said one high-ranking
official, who reported that some administration leaders believe
"we should go to war tomorrow." He added, however, that Bush has
been "very calm, cool and collected. He doesn't need another
crisis."
The North Korean disclosure was "a jaw dropper," said the
official. It revealed a worrisome determination to build a
nuclear device, but it also left open the possibility that Kim,
who has been repairing relations with foreign rivals, unveiled
the project as a way of coming clean.
The admission "represented a candor on the part of North Korean
officials that we are unaccustomed to," the official said. "It
has promise. It has opportunity. It has dangers."
For now, the administration is suspending its offer to engage
North Korea -- a pledge of an economic and political opening in
return for reductions in North Korea's military posture and
policies of weapons proliferation, along with an improvement in
humanitarian conditions.
"In light of our concerns about the nuclear weapons program, we
could not pursue that approach," a U.S. official said during the
conference call. "Everyone in the region has a stake in this
issue, and no peaceful nation wants to see a nuclear-armed North
Korea."
©2002 San Francisco Chronicle. Page A - 1
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40 RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY URGES UN, IAEA INSPECTION EFFORTS IN IRAQ
Bush added to the confusion by appearing to back Israel's
right to self-defense in any scenario. A White House official
later scrambled to define his comments as not applicable to an
Iraq war situation in which more consultations would be needed.
"If Iraq attacks Israel tomorrow, I would assume the prime
minister would respond because he's got a desire to defend
himself," Bush told reporters.
Last month Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld told lawmakers it
would be "overwhelmingly in Israel's interest to stay out" of any
U.S. campaign against Iraq, as it did when Baghdad fired Scud
missiles at Israeli targets in the 1991 Gulf War.
Israeli military action against Iraq would almost certainly
undermine Arab support for a U.S. war to oust Saddam over his
suspected weapons of mass destruction.
One message was unwavering: a senior Israeli official told
reporters who accompanied Sharon on his three-day visit to
Washington that Israel would not scale back its military actions
against Palestinian militants and had not been asked to do so.
Washington had slammed Israel over civilian casualties in recent
raids in the Gaza Strip, voicing criticism that added rare
disharmony to Bush's relations with Sharon.
Both men share a goal of replacing Palestinian President Yasser
Arafat with new leaders who Bush said should not be "compromised
by terror."
"There will be no retreat from our struggle against terror, not
now, not in the future nor during any campaign that might or
might not take place," the senior Israeli official said.
Sharon came to Washington armed with intelligence information
showing what Israeli security sources said were plans by
militants to carry out at least 20 attacks in Israel soon. He
flies home on Thursday after seeing Secretary of State Colin
Powell.
NO DECISION ON WAR YET
Bush said he had not decided to attack Iraq and hoped the United
Nations could persuade Saddam to end his suspected chemical,
biological and nuclear programs.
"Our hope is that the Iraqi regime will disarm peacefully," Bush
said, hours after signing a congressional resolution giving him
authority to wage war against Iraq if needed.
In his talks with Bush, Sharon came away better informed about
action the United States might take to neutralize an Iraqi
missile threat against Israel in case of war, the senior Israeli
official said.
"I believe the United States will make every effort to prevent
any harm coming to Israel," the official said, expressing
confidence Washington would give Sharon sufficient prior notice
before the start of hostilities against Iraq.
But Sharon would likely face heavy public pressure at home to
strike back in the event of a biological or chemical attack.
It is conventional wisdom in Israel that by not responding to 39
Scud missile attacks in 1991, Israeli deterrence in the Arab
world was undermined. Those missile strikes caused heavy damage
but few casualties.
Bush pressed Sharon during the meeting to take steps to relieve
the dire humanitarian conditions of the Palestinians amid the
Israeli crackdown.
Bush and Sharon agreed Israel would "consider favorably the
gradual return and scheduled transfer" of all Palestinian
Authority tax funds collected by Israel as long as the money was
not used for violent activities.
Earlier, a State Department official said the chief U.S. mediator
in the Middle East, Assistant Secretary of State William Burns,
would start a two-week trip to the region on Friday after a stop
in Paris to consult with fellow mediators.
*****************************************************************
44 [Nuclear Crisis in Korea] Parties Call on NK to Explain Nuclear
Weapons Program
KoreaTimes :
By Kim Kwang-tae Staff Reporter
Rival parties unanimously called on North Korea to account for
its development of nuclear weapons programs yesterday, but their
responses differed along partisan lines.
The conservative Grand National Party (GNP), which has been
critical of President Kim Dae-jung¡¯s ``Sunshine Policy¡¯¡¯ of
engaging North Korea, urged the communist country to reveal the
true nature of its nuclear program, while calling on the
government to make a bottom-up review on its policy toward the
North.
``The North has to account for its development of nuclear weapons
to the international community and seek ways to peacefully to
resolve the issue,¡¯¡¯ Nam Kyung-pil, GNP spokesman, said in a
statement.
Nam said that the North¡¯s development of nuclear weapons was
unacceptable for the sake of peace not only on the Korean
peninsula but the world as well.
Suh Chung-won, GNP chairman, also said that the situation
required the government to fundamentally change its policy toward
the North, asserting that its policy had gone wrong and its aid
to the cash-strapped country helped it develop nuclear weapons.
The GNP also called on the government to stop all assistance to
the North, including cash payments for the Mt. Kumgang tourism
project, until the truth about its development of nuclear weapons
is established.
The pro-government Millennium Democratic Party also urged the
North to dispel suspicions about its nuclear weapons program,
while calling on the government to resolve the issue through
close consultations with such neighboring countries as the United
States and Japan.
``North Korea has to take every step necessary to thoroughly
dispel the suspicions about its development of nuclear weapons,¡±
Lee Nak-yon, MDP spokesman, said in a press release. He added
that the government should persuade the North to peacefully
address the issue.
Roh Moo-hyun, MDP presidential candidate, also stressed the
importance of a peaceful resolution of the North¡¯s nuclear issue
through policy coordination among South Korea, the U.S., and
Japan.
Roh, who has strongly supported inter-Korean reconciliation and
cooperation, took a cautious attitude on the issue, adding that
agreements, including one calling for the peninsula to be free
from nuclear weapons, should be honored under any circumstances.
He also warned rival parties and their presidential candidates
not to politicize the issue to rally the support of conservative
voters in the December presidential election.
Chung Mong-joon, presidential candidate of the new party National
Unity 21, also called on the government to demand the North to
explain its development of nuclear weapons
ktkim@koreatimes.co.kr ÀԷ½ð£ 2002/10/17 17:38
*****************************************************************
45 [Nuclear Crisis in Korea] Firms Concerned After NK Admission
KoreaTimes :
By Kim Deok-hyun Staff Reporter
Chaebol have raised their own concerns in the wake of a senior
U.S official announcing that North Korea had admitted to the
existence of a nuclear weapons program in 1994, and are preparing
for a possible disruption of burgeoning inter-Korean trade and a
drop in investment sentiment.
The Federation of Korean Industries (FKI), a right-wing lobby
group for the nation¡¯s big business conglomerates, said the
possible Northern acknowledgement of the existence of a nuclear
weapon program could increase tension between the U.S. and North
Korea.
The reaction came after a senior U.S. official made the claim on
Wednesday that the Stalinist state had acknowledged having a
nuclear weapons program, in direct violation of an 1994 agreement
with the United States.
``The U.S.-North relationship is expected to deteriorate in the
wake of the North¡¯s nuke program, but we can¡¯t analyze exactly
what¡¯s going on because we can¡¯t figure out the North¡¯s
intention,¡¯¡¯ said one FKI official.
``Most businesses will review the possible various impacts
arising from the issue, but the impact could be dependent upon
the level of relationship between the U.S. and North Korea,¡¯¡¯
the officials said.
Regardless of the North¡¯s intentions, the claim is expected to
add strain to the national economy, which is already likely to be
affected by U.S. threats of making war on Iraq and the general
slump in the global economy, the official said.
Big business conglomerates such as Samsung, LG and SK have also
expressed concerns about the North possibly having a nuclear
weapons development plan. While worrying over their investment
plans to the North, the major businesses are closely monitoring
key economic variables including stock, foreign exchange rates
and oil prices, to cope with possible damages from the issue.
Other than U.S. hearsay, there are as yet no details about a
North Korean nuclear weapons program, and chaebol are saying the
issue could prove an additional hurdle for inter-Korean economic
cooperation, which is already consistently being pummeled by
political shenanigans and the economic downturn.
``The issue could be an obstacle for the North's newly
established Shinuiju economic zone and the planned Kaesong
industrial complex,¡¯¡¯ the official said.
The bill for inter-Korean economic cooperation is still pending
at the parliament.
Yim Sung-joon, a senior presidential secretary for foreign
affairs and security, said on Thursday the government would hold
an emergency meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) to
discuss the North Korea¡¯s nuclear program in the day.
The revelation on North¡¯s nuclear program is highly unlikely to
dash the stock market in the short term, many analysts said.
With the opening on Thursday after the news was released, the
composite index edged down 4.1 points at 632.15 and further fell
to 625.9. But, the index gained its growth momentum at 10:40 a.m.
``Investors think there is a higher likelihood for negotiations
between the U.S. and the North,¡¯¡¯ said Kim Kyung-shin, a senior
managing executive of Bridge Securities.
The stock market, which plunged last week, would likely sustain
the current recovery and the North¡¯s issue would not chill the
recent bouncing moods, he added.
``From Washington¡¯s point of view, the disclosure of the
existence of a North¡¯s nuclear weapons program is likely aimed
at preventing reconciliation on the peninsular and between the
North and Japan,¡¯¡¯ said Lee Hyo-keun, a senior researcher at
Daewoo Securities.
He added there had been no significant changes in the U.S. stance
on the North after President George W. Bush labeled North Korea
part of an ``axis of evil'' together with Iran and Iraq.
kdh@koreatimes.co.kr [%5Ekdh@koreatimes.co.kr] ÀԷ½ð£
2002/10/17 17:46
*****************************************************************
46 I'll act alone, Bush warns, Iraq, UN
Thursday » October 17 » 2002
'Those who choose to live in denial may eventually be forced to
live in fear'
Hilary Mackenzie The Ottawa Citizen
George W. Bush cleared another hurdle on the road to war with
Iraq yesterday and put the UN and Iraq on notice that he is
prepared to take unilateral action.
"Our goal is to fully and finally eliminate a real threat to
world peace and to America," Mr. Bush said in a White House
ceremony during which he signed a congressional resolution
authorizing him to wage war against Iraq.
Mr. Bush said the only way Iraq could avoid war was to allow
international weapons inspectors access to all sensitive sites
and disarm. "Hopefully, we can do this without military action.
Yet if Iraq is to avoid military action by the international
community, it has the obligation to prove compliance with all the
world's demands."
Mr. Bush called scores of lawmakers and top cabinet officers to
the East Room ceremony to underscore his determination to oust
Mr. Saddam and eliminate his weapons program.
The joint resolution was approved overwhelmingly in the House and
Senate last week after a short debate on the threat posed by
Iraq.
Mr. Bush spoke as the UN began its first day of an open debate on
Iraq undertaken at the request of the non-aligned countries who
oppose an attack on Baghdad. But Mr. Bush was not deterred,
warning war-wary leaders to "face up to our global
responsibility" and confront Mr. Saddam.
"Those who choose to live in denial may eventually be forced to
live in fear. Every nation that shares the benefits of peace also
shares the duty of defending peace."
In a later meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, Mr.
Bush said he was certain Israel would retaliate if Iraq fired
missiles at the Jewish state.
"If Iraq attacks Israel tomorrow, I would assume the prime
minister would respond. He's got a desire to defend himself."
Mr. Bush gave no sign in the Oval Office news conference that he
had tried to restrain Mr. Sharon, who has vowed to retaliate
against any Iraqi attack. In the 1991 Gulf War, Mr. Bush's father
convinced Israel to stay out of the war even after Iraq lobbed 39
Scuds at Israel.
Mr. Sharon said Israel had never had such a good friend in the
White House as Mr. Bush. "We never had such co-operation in
everything as we have with the current administration," he said.
Warning that Iraq's failure to comply with UN demands to disarm
was a grave challenge to the world, Secretary General Kofi Annan
called yesterday for a tough new resolution and told Iraq it
would be a "last chance."
In Washington, Mr. Bush laid down the conditions for Iraq to
avoid a pre-emptive strike.
"Compliance will begin with an accurate and full and complete
accounting for all chemical, biological and nuclear weapons
materials, as well as missiles and other means of delivery
anywhere in Iraq.
"Failure to make such an accounting would be further indication
of the regime's bad faith and aggressive intent.
"Inspectors must have access to any site in Iraq at any time
without pre-clearance, without delay, without exceptions.
Inspectors must be permitted to operate under new, effective
rules. And the Iraqi regime must accept those rules without
qualification or negotiation."
© Copyright 2002 The Ottawa Citizen
*****************************************************************
47 IRAQ-LD UN Wide opposition to US in UN debate on Iraq
JOHN PILGER
October 17, 2002
NORMAN -- "Earth's Nuclear Core" is the topic of a free, public
lecture to be held on Oct. 24 on the University of Oklahoma
campus. The School of Geology and Geophysics is serving as host
for the lecture by geophysicist J. Marvin Herndon.
The lecture will begin at 3:30 p.m. in A235 Sarkeys Energy
Center, 100 E Boyd St. The public is invited to meet the speaker
for coffee from 3 to 3:30 p.m.
Herndon proposes that part of the Earth's internal heat may be
generated by a natural nuclear reactor in the Earth's core.
According to his hypothesis, Earth may be a gigantic power plant
fueled by uranium incorporated into the planet at the time of its
formation.
The thermal energy released by nuclear reactions eventually
manifests itself in the form of earthquakes, volcanoes and
mountain building. The existence of a nuclear core also could
provide an energy source for Earth's magnetic field.
Herndon notes that evidence has been found that natural nuclear
reactors have existed on the Earth's surface in the past and, in
1972, French scientists concluded that self-sustaining nuclear
chain reactions occurred in Africa nearly 2000 million years ago.
Herndon postulates that nuclear cores may exist on other planets
as well. In the late 1960s, scientists discovered that the planet
Jupiter radiates away twice as much heat as it receives from the
sun.
Herndon's theory of a nuclear core has been published in numerous
scientific journals, including the Proceedings of the National
Academy of Science. His work also was featured as the cover story
for the August 2002 issue of Discover magazine. More information
on Herndon's hypothesis can be found at www.nuclearplanet.com.
*****************************************************************
52 Nuclear Reactors Existed on Earth Two Billion Years Ago
Natural nuclear reactors found in Africa’s Gabon
Oct, 17 2002
[http://english.pravda.ru]
Nuclear physics is a relatively young science. Humans created the
first man-made nuclear reactor only about 60 years ago, in 1942.
However, nuclear reactors existed on the planet two billion years
ago. So far, science knows of 17 nuclear reactors located in
Gabon, an African country.
All of these natural reactors were found around uranium deposits
in Oklo and Bangomba, in the southeast of Gabon. Nine of 17
reactors were found on completely depleted uranium deposits.
These ancient reactors were found in 1972.
The French chemist Bugzig, who worked at one of nuclear fuel
factories, paid attention to an unusual correlation of uranium
isotopes in the ore, uranium 235 and uranium 238. This basically
makes up 0.007202, whereas Bugzig discovered 0.00717. There were
several variants to explain the strange correlation of uranium
isotope in the ore. It was originally believed that the ore was
poisoned with spent nuclear fuel. However, when they measured the
radiation level, it turned out that this theory was wrong.
Then it became known that the uranium ore with an extremely high
uranium 235 constituent was mined in Gabon. At first, it was a
mystery why the ore was enriched with the given isotope. Some
believed that the uranium deposit was contaminated with spent UFO
fuel. Others said that the ore was mined from the place where an
ancient civilization stored its radioactive wastes. However,
further research showed that the unusual ore appeared in a
natural way. The products of deep radioactive decay found in the
ore proved that nuclear reactions happened on the site of the
uranium deposit two billion years ago.
Natural nuclear reactors were possible because of the fact that
there used to be more uranium 235 on Earth there is currently.
A nuclear reaction requires not less than three percent of 235
isotopes in uranium. In addition to that, there should be good
space and no neutron-absorbing materials. The reactors in Gabon
worked for about one million years.
It is impossible for such natural nuclear reactors to appear
nowadays. The uranium 235 concentration in nature is very low
now. Natural reactors are of huge interest to scientists. The
reactors are unique objects that cannot be found anywhere else in
the world. They allow us learn a lot about our planet's history.
They also give us an opportunity to explore the consequences of
such long operation of nuclear reactors. Furthermore, the study
of the ancient reactors will be helpful in terms of developing
radioactive waste disposal technologies.
Translated by Dmitry Sudakov
Related links: PRAVDA.Ru Russian Tries to Sell Tons of Uranium
Abroad PRAVDA.Ru Uranium sold in Turkey PRAVDA.Ru Depleted
uranium : New discoveries PRAVDA.Ru Iran, uranium , and Uncle Sam
UN Assesses Depleted Uranium in Bosnia-Herzegovina Turkey Says
Seized Substance Not Uranium Haaretz Daily : Refined uranium
found in Turkey weighs grams, not kilograms Washington Post :
Skepticism Greets Seizure of Suspected Uranium U.S. Reacts
Cautiously to Uranium Seizure in Turkey
Read the original in Russian:
[http://science.pravda.ru/science/2002/6/18/50/1405_reactor.html]
Copyright ©1999 by " [http://www.pravda.ru/] ". When reproducing our
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NOTE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 this
material is distributed without profit or payment to those who
have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for
non-profit research and educational purposes only. For more
information go to:
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