------- Index of Articles
NUCLEAR
Towards a Middle East policy
Navy blames sub's crew for fatal collision
Iraq raid, stalled peace cloud Powell's agenda
Rumsfeld issues military machine ban
New Clues From the Greeneville
Sub Accident Shakes Japan's Security Ties With U.S.
Navy Postpones Inquiry in Sinking Until March 5
Japan wants sub inquiry held soon
Sub Captain said aware of ship
Navy court sub inquiry to be public
Bush Faults China on Aid to Iraq for Radar System
The Missing Concentration Mechanism
Annan Cautious Toward Iraq
Iraqi airstrikes said mediocre
UN-BACKED COVER UP
Pakistan may arm subs with missiles
North Korea Warns It May Test Missiles
N. Korea denounces U.S., threatens to drop accords
N. Korea may abandon moratorium on long-range missile tests
North Korea reveals terms for ending missile launch program
N. Korea hints at resuming nuclear program
Missile Pact With North Korea Faltering
Transcript of President Bush's news conference:
Bush, Blair affirm special ties
Europe Comes Calling
Bush Meets With British Prime Minister (nyt)
Bush Meets With British Prime Minister (ap)
Russia calls for dialogue on missile defense plan
Northrop sues Lockheed over deal
Pakistan May Put Nuclear Arms on Subs
Kursk had known faults
Russia Is Said to Have Known of Sub Flaw
Controversial Nuke-Import Plan To Become Law
Russia opens nuclear power plant
SECC PRESS RELEASE
Sandia Labs Welcome Expanding Role
Leak Is Plugged at Power Plant in Buchanan
Team players
MILITARY
China-Iraq military axis is 'troubling,' Bush says
Colombia Massacre's Strange Fallout
Military intervention at the hands of the FTAA
Desperate Farmers Imperil Peru's Fight on Coca
UN unable to get aid to refugees
UN troops at Ethiopia-Eritrea border
UN, Congo agree on new timetable
A defense budget battle
OTHER
Britain Bans Shipping of Livestock
FOOT-AND-MOUTH PLEA
GASOLINE STUDY SOUGHT
UK bans shipping of livestock
Whitman weighs pesticides guidelines
N.Y. Town Agrees to Restrain Police Force
CIVIL RIGHTS CHARGES
Hanssen's letters could lead to more spies
The Moles Will Always Be With Us
Spy Drama Survivor Watches as Story Unfolds
One Case May Hold Clues to Another
U.S. Had Evidence of Espionage
Ex-terrorist group had money woes
Spain captures Basque terrorist
Effort to Cut Expenditures Costly for bin Laden
ACTIVISTS
GLOBALIZATION, HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH!
Invitation to Global Greens Conference
homeless people are dangerous
BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE
Beijing Tries to Woo Olympics and Keep Dissidents in Check
Fighting in Gaza Strip;
Ecuador protesters seize oil wells
Monk deaths arouse suspicion
Zapatistas outline march plans
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-------- NUCLEAR
Towards a Middle East policy
February 23, 2001
Washington Times
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/ed-house-2001223181935.htm
Some call the Bush administration's foreign policy diplomacy low-key. Potent is more like it. Secretary of State Colin Powell will embark for the Middle East today, one week after the United States bombed just south of Baghdad.
Rather than trembling at diplomatic fallout from an unpopular defensive exercise, the Bush administration made clear that the Middle East is not only on its radar screen, but that the countries in the region will be held accountable for honoring their international commitments, including the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) which Iraq signed in 1968. Mr. Powell will participate in ceremonies commemorating Kuwait's tenth anniversary of liberation from Iraq. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia can be assured that their interests will be defended as the United States continues to patrol the no-fly zones in the north and south of Iraq.
Iraq's neighbors should not expect the Bush administration to look the other way regarding their commitments to peace either. The Syrians may expect Mr. Powell to be blunt about how the United States views their support for the militant Hezbollah guerillas in southern Lebanon. They should also expect him to address charges that Syria has been violating U.N. sanctions by pumping Iraqi oil through a pipeline across its territory. Egypt, too, will also be an important stop as it can place positive pressure on the Palestinians as they seek the next step toward peace with Israel's new leader, Ariel Sharon.
Most intriguing will be Mr. Powell's meetings on the West Bank and in Israel. The administration has been clear about its commitment to Israel. The Palestinians, for their part, did a little prep-work of their own. The U.N. Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Secretary General Kofi Annan's personal representative to the Palestinian Authority, Terje Roed-Larsen, was in town this week to plead for funds for the Palestinian Authority. In a matter of weeks, Palestinian officials might not be able to pay their own salaries, he said. At this juncture, Mr. Powell might remind the PA that anarchy is ruling in Mr. Arafat's back yard, less because of the lack of funds flowing freely from the United States and Europe, than because of the PA's choice not to move toward peace. Mr. Powell is likely to frame any support for the Palestinians in the peace process not as an incentive to their cooperation, but as a reward once they have finally proven their seriousness about final status issues.
The Middle East need not worry that it will be left unattended during President Bush's tenure. Mr. Clinton was busy sweet-talking or shunning the Palestinians, often depending on the state the first lady's Senate campaign in New York. He was bombing or negotiating with Iraq, depending on whether he was about to get impeached or not. The Bush administration has the opportunity to give consistency and accountability to U.S.-Middle East policy. This tour is just the beginning.
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Navy blames sub's crew for fatal collision
February 23, 2001
Washington Times
By Rowan Scarborough
http://www.washtimes.com/national/default-2001223221416.htm
A confidential Navy report documents a series of errors by the USS Greeneville's crew shortly before the submarine rammed a Japanese fishing boat, stating that a critical periscope scan was too brief and not high enough to detect the oncoming ship.
The report also directly blames the presence of a large number of VIP civilians inside the Greeneville's control room for disrupting vital communications between the captain and a technician tracking the Ehime Maru vessel. A less-crowded area around the periscope "could have dramatically improved this situation," the report said.
Report excerpts were read yesterday by a Navy source to The Washington Times.
The Pentagon announced yesterday that civilians would be temporarily barred from the controls of U.S. warships, aircraft and combat vehicles.
The sub collided with the Ehime Maru while conducting an emergency surfacing drill nine miles off the Hawaiian coast on Feb. 9.
The report of a preliminary investigation, conducted by Rear Adm. Charles Griffiths Jr., says his findings "suggest a significant departure from the expected level of professionalism and performance of the ship's key watchstanders and senior leadership."
The Greeneville's captain, Cmdr. Scott Waddle, never learned from the fire-control technician that the fishing vessel was likely less than 4,000 yards away. Moreover, the submarine's executive officer, Lt. Cmdr. Gerald K. Pfeifer, believed Cmdr. Waddle was preparing for the surfacing "blow" too quickly. But he stayed silent because he did not want to challenge his boss in front of the civilian guests.
Nine Japanese students and crew members from the Ehime Maru's 35 passengers are missing and presumed dead. The incident has led to a public uproar in Japan, straining Japanese-American relations.
The Navy report states the crew failed to use all available detection equipment. They also did not properly execute a maneuver to acquire a new sonar reading that could have disclosed the Ehime Maru's distance from the sub.
The report states there were a "significant number" of crew and civilian guests nudged together on the periscope stand when Lt. j.g. Michael J. Coen, the officer of the deck, and Cmdr. Waddle were trying to locate the ship associated with the sonar signature. They failed to see the Ehime Maru, which at the time was likely about 2,000 yards away. The sub then submerged to 400 feet and executed the blow, which led to the tragic accident.
The report states: "The location and number of civilian visitors did interfere with the ability of the OOD (officer of the deck) and commanding officer to use the fire-control system and converse with the [technician] in ascertaining the contact picture from the time the ship was preparing for periscope depth until the emergency blow was conducted. Better distribution of the civilian visitors could have dramatically improved this situation."
Adm. Griffiths' findings conflict with statements from Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and Navy spokesmen, who said the civilians' presence did not contribute to the calamity.
"First of all, on the civilians, as Secretary Rumsfeld said, there is no indication at this point in the investigation that the civilians had any impact on the outcome. We'll continue to look at that," a Navy spokesman told reporters last week.
Asked last week on PBS if there was any evidence the civilians' presence contributed to the accident, Mr. Rumsfeld said, "None whatsoever."
Two of the 16 VIP guests were at control stations during the blow, including one at the helm. But Adm. Griffiths said in his report this played no role in the accident. The Navy has a long-standing policy of taking business and civic leaders out to sea to witness the fleet in operation. The Navy has suspended the policy of allowing civilians on board during emergency blows.
The Pentagon announced yesterday that Mr. Rumsfeld has decided to bar civilians temporarily from the controls of U.S. warships, aircraft and combat vehicles.
Navy Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters Mr. Rumsfeld would order a moratorium within days even as individual military services studied their policies on visits - and participation - by civilian guests in exercises.
Based on Adm. Griffiths' report, Adm. Thomas Fargo, Pacific Fleet commander, last week named three admirals to convene a Court of Inquiry to more fully investigate the accident. Scheduled to have convened Monday in Pearl Harbor, it was postponed yesterday until March 5 at the request of attorneys for Cmdr. Waddle, who was relieved of his command. Also named as subjects of the probe were Cmdr. Pfeifer and Lt. Coen.
Cmdr. Waddle this week retained Charles Gittins, a prominent defense attorney. Mr. Gittins represented Tailhook figure Cmdr. Robert Stumpf and Gene McKinney, the Army's former top enlisted man who was charged with sexual harassment. Cmdr. Stumpf was cleared by a board of inquiry. He retired after the Senate Armed Services Committee blocked his promotion to captain. A military jury acquitted Mr. McKinney of all but one charge and he retired.
Adm. Griffiths, a submarine group commander, submitted these findings:
• The crew committed "fundamental errors" in not properly executing a maneuver known as Target Motion Analysis (TMA). This procedure could have allowed the fire-control technician to plot the distance of the Ehime Maru's sonar contact, labeled S-13 by the crew.
After the ship had finished a quick maneuver drill during which sonar is ineffective, the crew should have conducted a longer TMA "to adequately ascertain the current contact situation before proceeding to periscope depth."
Without TMA, passive sonar gives a ship's bearing based on engine or propeller noise, but not distance.
"As a consequence, S-13 was never recognized as a contact whose range was close enough to be of concern."
• The periscope search by Lt. Coen and Cmdr. Waddle was insufficient.
"The ship was only at periscope depth for an estimated two minutes, which significantly limited opportunities for visual and electronic emitter search and detection. . . . Height of eye of the periscope was not high enough in the [four- to six-foot] seas to provide an assured adequate distance to the horizon."
The sub first did the scan at 60 feet, then moved up to 58-foot depth.
"A shallower depth for a better 'high look' was warranted in light of the condition of the seas and the importance of the search."
• The sonar room was "improperly manned." One sonar operator was "unqualified" and was not continually supervised.
• The crew "unnecessarily" classified a sonar analyzer, known as the BQR 22, as nonfunctioning. In fact, one of two displays in the control room could have worked and provided Cmdr. Waddle with a sonar signal of the Ehime Maru that he could evaluate firsthand.
The BQR 22 is used to evaluate what kind of contact is being tracked and can give some indication of speed by analyzing propeller RPMs. If the crew knows the contact's speed and its bearing from passive sonar it can estimate the range.
• A lack of communication.
"There appears to have been a general breakdown in communications between the OOD, CO [commanding officer] and [fire-control technician]." The technician, just prior to the sub going to periscope depth, plotted the Ehime Maru at 4,000 yards from the Greeneville and moving to 2,000 yards.
But the technician did not tell Cmdr. Waddle or Lt. Coen. "As a result of the number of people on the periscope stand between the OOD/CO and the [fire-control technician], and the apparent intention of the commanding officer to rely solely on sonar information, the [technician] did not actively participate in tactical discussion with the commanding officer or officer of the deck."
A Navy source says this violated Cmdr. Waddle's standing order to report any contact within 10,000 yards. The source said that if the range had been conveyed, the commander likely would have conducted the search differently.
At some points, the clutter of people in the control room blocked the officers' line of sight of a TV screen showing the periscope view.
The Washington Times reported on Wednesday that some crew members believed the Ehime Maru's sonar signature was that of a small coastal boat sailing at a safe distance. This was due to the contact's poor "signal-to-noise ratio," which is a measurement of how much signal is discernible against background ocean noises.
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Iraq raid, stalled peace cloud Powell's agenda
February 23, 2001
Washington Times
By Ben Barber
http://www.washtimes.com/world/default-2001223212613.htm
CAIRO - Colin Powell will get an earful from Arab leaders angered over the breakdown of the Middle East peace process and air strikes against Iraq when he arrives in the region tomorrow on his first solo trip as secretary of state.
But the biggest problem for the secretary may be getting his interlocutors to agree on the agenda.
"Mr. Powell wants to talk about [sanctions on] Iraq and the Arabs want to talk about the Arab-Israel peace process," said Egyptian analyst Mohammed Ahmad, a columnist with the authoritative al-Ahram newspaper, in an interview.
Following his talks here with President Hosni Mubarak, Mr. Powell flies to Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip to discuss the violence in Israel and the territories that has killed about 400 people since September.
Analysts said Mr. Powell's trip is either extremely ill-timed or comes just in time to test the diplomatic and negotiating skills of the former Persian Gulf war hero.
Mr. Mubarak is hard pressed to explain to Egyptians why, 10 years after the nation took part in the Gulf war, the United States still is pounding Iraq with bombs and maintaining sanctions that are blamed for shortages of food and medicine.
Like the leaders of Jordan, Syria, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, whom Mr. Powell will also see over the next five days, the Egyptian president cannot afford to ignore the bitterness in the "Arab street," where public opinion is inflamed against Israel and strongly supportive of Iraq.
"I hate Israel," said the manager of a restaurant in the trendy Zamalek neighborhood of Cairo. "Where they are killing Palestinians, there is no peace."
Mr. Powell will have to find a way to restart the Middle East peace process that has been left in tatters by the failure of the past year's negotiations, said Tasheen Basheer, a former diplomat and adviser to the Egyptian government.
But little can be accomplished as long as Israel's government remains in disarray, the analyst acknowledged.
Likud leader Ariel Sharon won elections for prime minister Feb. 6, but his efforts to form a unity government were thwarted when outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Barak declined this week to personally participate in a coalition.
Mr. Powell will have plenty of other issues to deal with while the Israelis sort out their problems:
• In Syria, he will meet with President Bashar Assad, son of the late Hafez Assad, and call him to account for reportedly allowing Iraq to ship oil via a pipeline to a Syrian port in violation of the U.N. sanctions.
• In Saudi Arabia, he will urge the rulers to increase oil production so as to hold down prices and reduce the chance of a global recession. He also must assure the Saudis the United States will not pull out of the region and leave the Gulf states to deal with Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein alone.
• In Kuwait, Mr. Powell must assure the leaders that the United States will continue to defend the oil-rich mini-state against Iraqi threats to invade it again.
• In Jordan, Mr. Powell will tell new King Abdullah that he must resist Iraqi pressure and continue to support international sanctions, even as Jordan receives smuggled Iraqi oil due to its need for affordable energy.
• Throughout the Arab world, Mr. Powell must persuade leaders and the public that sanctions can be used to get Iraq to allow monitoring of its suspected weapons programs without hurting ordinary citizens.
Mr. Powell said yesterday in Washington that the sanctions had reduced Iraq's ability to threaten its neighbors.
"Containment has been a successful policy, and I think we should make sure that we continue it until such time as Saddam Hussein comes into compliance with the agreements he made at the end of the war," Mr. Powell said. "But we have to find ways to do it, to not hurt the Iraqi people."
Mr. Powell, who will discuss the sanctions during meetings with NATO leaders in Brussels on his way home from the Middle East next week, said the no-flight zones enforced by U.S. and British planes "keep Iraq from being the aggressor against its own citizens," a reference to the Kurds in the north and Shi'ites in the south.
"As long as we believe that mission is necessary, then we're going to protect our pilots," he said.
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Rumsfeld issues military machine ban
01/02/23
Infobeat
AP
By ROBERT BURNS
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406233147
WASHINGTON (AP) - Defense Secretary onald H. Rumsfeld will order a moratorium on allowing civilians at the controls of any military ship, aircraft or vehicle, officials said Thursday. The move responds to questions about the role of civilians aboard the U.S. submarine that collided last week with a Japanese fishing trawler.
Rumsfeld's spokesman, Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, said the order is a ``work in progress'' and may be issued by the end of the week.
``All the services know this is coming,'' Quigley said.
The Washington Post, meanwhile, reported that the submarine's captain, Cmdr. Scott Waddle, told Navy investigators that he was aware of sonar soundings indicating that a ship was in the vicinity before the sub made a rapid ascent and slammed in the fishing vessel. But Waddle maintained that when he looked for a ship through a periscope, he didn't see anything and was not warned of any danger by a sailor whose job it was to plot positions of nearby ships, the newspaper said.
Quoting an unidentified person close to the investigation, the Post said Waddle told investigators he checked the compass bearings of the nearby ship indicated by sonar readings. He then increased the periscope's magnification and ordered the submarine to ascend two feet closer to the surface so he could peer over the weaves but still didn't see anything.
A sailor in the sub's control room had calculated that the Greenville and the Japanese ship were only 2,000 yards apart, but concluded that he must have been mistaken because the captain had just pronounced the area clear, the Post said. The sailor then arbitarily plotted the the position of the Japanese vessel as 9,000 yards away from the Greenville, according to the report.
The Greeneville, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, had 16 civilians aboard when it collided with the fishing vessel Ehime Maru on Feb. 9 off the coast of Honolulu. The Japanese boat, on a cruise to teach commercial fishing to high school students, sank, and nine people were lost at sea. Two civilians were at control positions aboard the Greeneville at the time of the accident, although the Navy says they did not cause it.
Rumsfeld wants the military services to review their safety guidelines on civilian participation in military activities. He supports involving civilians in military exercises and maneuvers, Quigley said, but wants to ensure that relevant policies are reviewed considering what happened aboard the USS Greeneville.
Shortly after the accident, the Navy stopped allowing civilians in the control rooms of submarines.
The possibility that the presence of civilians aboard the sub could have contributed to the accident is one of the subjects to be examined in a formal Navy court of inquiry scheduled to convene in Hawaii next month.
A panel of three Navy admirals will conduct the inquiry, with a Japanese officer designated as an adviser. Tokyo announced the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force is sending Adm. Isamu Ozawa, who will be included in deliberations with the three American admirals and may submit questions. He will not have a vote in the proceeding's outcome.
The inquiry also will seek to determine whether the Greeneville undertook an emergency surfacing drill, which led to the collision, only as a demonstration for the civilians aboard, officials said.
One member of the Greeneville crew told National Transportation Safety Board investigators in Hawaii that the presence of civilians in the control room distracted him from completing his normal work.
It is not clear, however, whether distraction of the fire control technician played any role in the accident. He was not operating the sonar but was responsible for feeding sonar contact data into an electronic digital display that is available to the sub's captain and control room officers. He also plots sonar contacts on paper as a backup to the electronic system, and it was this backup activity which he told NTSB investigators he did not complete because of congestion in the control room.
On Feb. 14, five days after the accident, Rumsfeld was asked whether there was evidence that the civilians played a role in the accident. ``None whatsoever,'' he replied.
The Navy court of inquiry to investigate the Greeneville accident was to have convened Monday in Pearl Harbor and will be a public forum. At the request of attorneys for Waddle, the Greeneville's captain, it was postponed Thursday until March 5. In the meantime Waddle has been relieved of command.
Parties to the court proceeding in Pearl Harbor are Waddle plus the sub's executive officer and the officer of the deck at the time of the accident. Once the three-admiral panel completes its inquiry, Adm. Thomas Fargo, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, will decide what, if any, additional steps to take. He could choose to convene one or more courts-martial, and criminal charges are possible.
Tensions with Japan over the accident have increased with revelations about civilians in the submarine. Many in Japan were outraged that civilians were even allowed in the sub's control room at a time when it was supposed to ensure the surface area was clear of vessels before performing an emergency surfacing drill.
The services routinely and frequently arrange for civilians to operate vehicles, ships and weapons as part of a public outreach effort designed to win support and demonstrate the military's capabilities.
Anticipating Rumsfeld's moratorium, the Army last week temporarily stopped allowing civilians aboard its aircraft and tactical vehicles such as tanks. The Air Force and Marine Corps said they had taken no action in response to the sub collision.
CincPac page on Greeneville incident:
http://www.cpf.navy.mil/greeneville.html
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force:
http://www.jda.go.jp/JMSDF/basic/index_e.htm
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New Clues From the Greeneville
February 23, 2001
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/opinion/23FRI3.html
It has not yet been clearly established whether the distracting presence of civilians in the control room of the U.S.S. Greeneville was responsible for the submarine's deadly collision with a Japanese fishing trawler earlier this month. But NBC News reported last night that investigators had now determined that the Greeneville's sonar detected the Japanese vessel just moments before the collision and that the crewman plotting the location of the fishing vessel failed to alert the captain. That may have been because of the crowding caused by civilian visitors in the control room.
These troubling disclosures underscore the danger of performing risky submarine maneuvers for the entertainment of civilian guests. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld is wisely preparing to order all services to keep civilian visitors away from the controls of military equipment.
Belatedly, the Navy now seems to recognize its duty to provide a full public accounting. Early next month it hopes to open a court of inquiry, a public proceeding that could lead to criminal charges against the Greeneville's top officers. A separate inquiry is being conducted by the National Transportation Safety Board. Beyond issues of punishment, the American and Japanese publics need to know just what went wrong and what must be done to prevent a repetition.
The presumed drowning of nine Japanese civilians on the fishing ship has provoked understandable anger in Japan. Wisely, the Navy has decided to allow a Japanese naval officer to serve as an adviser to the inquiry. The Navy must also make every effort to recover the sunken trawler, which may contain remains of some of those lost.
The Navy invites business groups, politicians and journalists onto its ships to encourage support for its programs. Most of the civilians on the Greeneville had donated to a group that pays for maintenance of the battleship Missouri, the site of Japan's World War II surrender. Like other civilian visitors, they were taken into the control room and allowed to operate crucial controls. In this case, that included the rudder and the levers that initiated the Greeneville's fatal ascent. Mr. Rumsfeld's order would suspend such practices indefinitely.
Navy personnel are said to have been monitoring the civilians at all times. But that proved an insufficient safeguard. During challenging exercises like this, crew members ought to be looking out for danger, not shepherding visitors. It should not have taken a deadly accident to establish this simple rule.
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Sub Accident Shakes Japan's Security Ties With U.S.
February 23, 2001
New York Times
By HOWARD W. FRENCH
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/world/23JAPA.html?pagewanted=all
TOKYO, Feb. 22 - When George W. Bush won the White House, people on both sides of the Pacific predicted that the new administration's plans to give greater emphasis to relations with Japan would usher in an era of closer security ties.
But before the Bush administration's plans could take shape, the accidental sinking this month of a Japanese fishing vessel by an American submarine off Hawaii has decisively shifted the landscape in one of the United States' most important military alliances.
Not only has the incident provided new ammunition to those who resent the American troop presence here, but it has also reinforced the perception in some quarters that the United States is a less than reliable guarantor of Japan's security interests. This sentiment could accelerate the trend of recent years toward a more independent defense posture, with Japan less willing to follow Washington's lead in the region and rethinking its longstanding restrictions on the use of military force.
The latest revelations about the circumstances surrounding the sinking of the Ehime Maru on Feb. 9, in which nine people are still missing and presumed dead, unleashed new anger today in Japan.
Reports that the ship had been detected an hour before the submarine Greeneville surfaced and struck it indicate "grave negligence" by the American crew, said the chief cabinet secretary, Yasuo Fukuda, adding that the Japanese government could press for "strict disciplinary steps on the U.S. side."
His comments came against the backdrop of demands by many politicians for a new, much stricter Status of Forces Agreement, which governs the legal rights of the 47,000 American soldiers in Japan.
Those in Okinawa, the southern island province where most American troops are based, have stepped up their longstanding demands for a reduction in American forces. Today, for the first time, Okinawa's governor, Keiichi Inamine, joined those calls.
And Kantoku Teruyu, a member of Parliament from Okinawa, said: "The reduction of the marines' presence is the general desire of the Okinawan people. The marines can go somewhere else, and conduct their drills in Guam and Hawaii. We cannot accept the presence of the Americans here as inevitable."
Beyond angry words like those, primarily inspired by a spate of crimes committed over the years by American soldiers in Okinawa, many here feel that the Ehime Maru sinking will make it far more difficult for Tokyo and Washington to pursue the enhanced security collaboration envisioned by some Bush advisers.
Instead, some say, the fallout from the accident could encourage Japan to push for more autonomy in security matters and bolster its military.
"The public increasingly feels that Japan cannot fulfill its defense obligations anymore," said Masashi Nishihara, president of Japan's National Defense Academy. But then he listed some of the steps Tokyo has taken lately to strenghten its armed forces.
"A couple of years ago we decided to launch our own intelligence-gathering satellite," he said. "We have launched a large transport ship, which some people have claimed is a kind of aircraft carrier. And we have just approved purchase of in-flight refueling tankers, which expand Japan's defense perimeter."
"Of course," he added, "the government doesn't talk about a defense perimeter, but says that it is meant to increase our ability to support peacekeeping operations."
Under its post-World War II Constitution, written in large part by the United States, Japan is prohibited from any military activity except self-defense. Despite this, Japan has long boasted one of the world's largest military budgets, and its 237,000- member Self-Defense Forces easily rank among the world's most capable military establishments.
Significantly, many of Japan's major new weapons systems, which include a fleet of antisubmarine aircraft, increase the country's ability to project force.
Late last year, in a widely circulated report, a bipartisan group of American scholars and defense experts headed by Richard L. Armitage, now Mr. Bush's deputy secretary of state, called Japan's military restrictions "a constraint on alliance cooperation," and urged Tokyo "to become a more equal alliance partner."
But Washington jealously guards its leadership role in the alliance, as seen by its unease when Tokyo decided to develop its own intellience- gathering satellite rather than buy one from the United States or rely entirely on American intelligence.
"Some of the displeasure about the satellite intelligence one also picks up about the antisubmarine aircraft," said Benjamin Self, senior associate at Henry L. Stimson Center, a research group in Washington. "You hear questions like, `Why aren't they investing more in the alliance?' "
"But as long as Japan is operating in the model of very light Gaullism," he added, referring to France's more independent status in NATO, "I think the Armitage team is willing to swallow that and say: `Oh well, O.K., we trust you. You recognize that the alliance is the best guarantee of your security.' "
Shingo Shuto, director general of defense policy in Japan's Defense Agency, would not comment on the Armitage report, except to say, "During the Clinton administration we were already enjoying very close cooperation over security guidelines, and we expect a continuing strengthening of the relationship."
The last decade has been a very trying time for Japan's national image and sense of security, however, and not just because of the country's shrinking population and economic doldrums.
Throughout this period, China has loomed ever larger as a military and economic rival and potential superpower, while even tiny North Korea, with its medium-range missiles and possible nuclear arms ability, has emerged as a threat.
While no mainstream Japanese politician openly opposes the alliance with the United States, some are beginning to suggest that, in a world that looks increasingly insecure, it is not enough.
"Let me ask you a question: What would the United States do if China were to attack Japan?" said Tsuyoshi Yamaguchi, a member of Parliament. "We cannot totally depend on Washington. That era is coming to an end, and Japan must do more to ensure its own survival."
Others, however, played down the need for greater autonomy, and praised the Armitage report as a reasonable road map for increased cooperation.
"I would say that U.S. bases in Japan will never leave - unless Americans go back to the isolationist principles of the Monroe era, said Kazuhisa Ogawa, an independent Japanese defense analyst, "because, of the 50-plus countries that are the United States' allies, only Japan is a power-projection platform."
"Japan is supporting the activities of the United States military from Hawaii to Cape Town," he said. "And if Japan nullified the alliance, the U.S. would never have that kind of platform again."
He added: "But America is also the most valuable country to Japan. For Japan's national interest, it should learn to make use of America more. Not in the conventional way of America proposing and Japan always responding, but by Japan coming up with ideas and proposals sometimes and letting the United States consider whether or not it likes them, too."
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Navy Postpones Inquiry in Sinking Until March 5
February 23, 2001
New York Times
By ELAINE SCIOLINO
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/national/23HAWA.html
HONOLULU, Hawaii, Feb. 22 - The Navy has delayed until March 5 a public court of inquiry to investigate the sinking of a Japanese fishing trawler by the nuclear submarine Greeneville, Navy officials said today.
The inquiry, the Navy's highest administrative hearing, was to begin on Monday, but that was before Cmdr. Scott D. Waddle, 41, the captain of the submarine, hired a civilian lawyer, Charles Gittins.
Mr. Gittins said in a telephone interview that he needed time to prepare his case.
The other two people who will appear before the court, the submarine's executive officers, Lt. Cmdr. Gerald K. Pfeifer, 38, and an officer of the deck at the time of the accident, Lt. j.g. Michael J. Coen, 26, will be represented by Navy lawyers, although they are permitted to hire civilian counsel at any time, Navy officials said.
The court of inquiry can determine whether Commander Waddle and the other two officers should be disciplined for the accident on Feb. 9, in which the submarine, surfacing rapidly in an emergency training maneuver, sank the Ehime Maru, a 190- foot trawler that was training students from a Japanese technical high school to fish.
Twenty-six people aboard the trawler were rescued, but nine are missing and presumed dead.
[The Washington Post reported in its Friday editions that Commander Waddle had told Navy investigators that he looked for the fishing vessel through the Greeneville's periscope and that he had not been warned of any danger by the crew member who is responsible for plotting the position of other vessels in the area.
[Commander Waddle has not spoken in public about the incident, but The Post quoted someone close to him about an account he had given investigators on the day of the accident. He said that after the officer of the deck had made a periscope check, he made a second one himself because of earlier sonar contacts.]
At the Pentagon, officials said Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was poised to announce a moratorium on allowing civilians to operate the controls of any military ship, aircraft or vehicle. The order may be issued this week, said Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, the Pentagon spokesman. The purpose, he added, is to "put some sort of a governing mechanism in place" over civilian activities on military vehicles.
The possibility that the presence of 16 civilians in the control room could have contributed to the sinking will be among the issues examined in the inquiry.
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Japan wants sub inquiry held soon
01/02/23
InfoBeat
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406236519
TOKYO (AP) - Japan hopes that a U.S. Navy court of inquiry will be held soon to examine the cause of the accident in which a Japanese fishing vessel was sunk by a U.S. submarine off Hawaii, a spokesman for the prime minister said Friday.
Nine people aboard the boat are missing and presumed dead.
``Taking into account the feelings of the families, we are hoping that the court of inquiry will find out the facts, the cause of the accident and who is responsible as soon as possible,'' said Kazuhiko Koshikawa, deputy press secretary to Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori.
Originally, the court of inquiry was to be held Thursday, but was postponed until Feb. 26 to allow all parties time to prepare.
Then it was again put off, this time until March 6, at the request of lawyers for Cmdr. Scott Waddle, the USS Greenville's captain.
The Greeneville had 16 civilians aboard when it surfaced below the Japanese boat on Feb. 9. Two civilians were at control positions, but whether their presence played any role in the accident is unclear.
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Sub Captain said aware of ship
01/02/23
InfoBeat
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406237679
WASHINGTON (AP) - The captain of a U.S. submarine that collided with and sank a Japanese fishing trawler two weeks ago told Navy investigators he was aware of sonar soundings indicating that a ship was in the vicinity before the accident, a newspaper reported.
But the sub's skipper, Cmdr. Scott Waddle, maintained that when he looked for a ship through his periscope before ordering a rapid ascent to the surface, he didn't see anything and was not warned of any danger by a sailor whose job it was to plot positions of nearby ships, The Washington Post said in Friday's editions.
The Washington Times, meanwhile, said a confidential Navy report outlines a series of errors made by the crew of the USS Greeneville, stating that the periscope sweep was too brief and not high enough to detect the Japanese vessel. The report also blamed the presence of civilians inside the sub's control room for disrupting communications between Waddle and a technician tracking the fishing vessel in busy waters near Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
A less crowded area around the periscope ``could have dramatically improved this situation,'' the Times quoted the report as saying. The newspaper said excerpts of the report were read to it Thursday by a Navy source.
The Greeneville, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, had 16 civilians aboard when it collided with the fishing vessel Ehime Maru on Feb. 9. The Japanese boat, on a cruise to teach commercial fishing to high school students, sank, and nine people were lost at sea. Two civilians were at control positions aboard the Greeneville at the time as the sub made an emergency-surfacing training maneuver from 400 feet depth, although the Navy says the civilians did not cause the accident.
Nonetheless, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld is going to order a moratorium on allowing civilians at the controls of any military ship, aircraft or vehicle, officials said Thursday. Rumsfeld's spokesman, Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, said the order is a ``work in progress.''
``All the services know this is coming,'' Quigley said.
On Feb. 14, Rumsfeld was asked whether there was evidence that the civilians played a role in the Greeneville accident. ``None whatsoever,'' he replied.
The Times said the report of a preliminary investigation conducted by Rear Adm. Charles Griffiths Jr. said his findings ``suggest a significant departure from the expected level of professionalism and performance of the ship's key watchstanders and senior leadership'' just before the accident.
The report said there were a ``significant number'' of crew and guests pushed together on the periscope stand when Waddle and the officer of the deck, Lt. j.g. Michael J. Coen, were trying to locate the ship associated with the sonar readings.
``The location and number of civilian visitors did interfere with the ability of the OOD (officer of the deck) and commanding officer to use the fire-control system and converse with the (technician) in ascertaining the contact picture from the time the ship was preparing for periscope depth until the (rapid ascent) was conducted,'' the Times quoted the report as saying.
The Post, quoting an unidentified person close to the investigation, said Waddle told investigators he checked the compass bearings of the nearby ship indicated by sonar readings. He then increased the periscope's magnification and ordered his sub to ascend 2 feet closer to the surface so he could peer over the waves, but he still didn't see anything.
A sailor in the sub's control room had calculated that the Greenville and the Japanese ship were only 2,000 yards apart, but concluded that he must have been mistaken because the captain had just pronounced the area clear, the Post said. The sailor then arbitrarily plotted the position of the Japanese vessel as 9,000 yards away from the Greenville, the Post said.
Shortly after the accident, the Navy stopped allowing civilians in the control rooms of submarines.
Rumsfeld wants the military services to review their safety guidelines on civilian participation in military activities. He supports involving civilians in military exercises and maneuvers, Quigley said, but wants to ensure that relevant policies are reviewed considering what happened aboard the Greeneville.
The possibility that the presence of civilians aboard the sub could have contributed to the accident is one of the subjects to be examined in a formal Navy court of inquiry scheduled to convene in Hawaii next month.
The inquiry also will seek to determine whether the Greeneville undertook the emergency-surfacing drill only as a demonstration for the civilians aboard, officials said.
One member of the Greeneville crew told National Transportation Safety Board investigators in Hawaii that the presence of civilians in the control room distracted him from completing his normal work.
The fire control technician was not operating the sonar but was responsible for feeding sonar contact data into an electronic digital display that is available to the sub's captain and control room officers. He also plots sonar contacts on paper as a backup to the electronic system, and it was this backup activity which he told NTSB investigators he did not complete because of congestion in the control room.
The Navy court of inquiry was to have convened Monday in Pearl Harbor. At the request of attorneys for Waddle, it was postponed Thursday until March 5. In the meantime Waddle has been relieved of command.
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Navy court sub inquiry to be public
01/02/23
InfoBeat
Associated Press
By SUSANNE M. SCHAFER
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406237603
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Navy's court of inquiry into the collision between the USS Greeneville and the Japanese fishing trawler Ehime Maru is designed to cast a public spotlight on American military decision-making.
``The court of inquiry is the Navy's highest form of administrative investigation,'' said Adm. Thomas Fargo, Hawaii-based commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet.
Fargo told reporters he established the court because ``it provides the necessary legal safeguards for the affected parties, complete subpoena power and a forum for public disclosure.''
Given rising tension with Japan over the Feb. 9 incident, in which the Japanese boat sank and nine aboard were lost at sea, Fargo has invited a Japanese flag officer to participate in the proceeding as an adviser. The Ehime Maru, with 35 people aboard, was on a Pacific cruise to teach commercial fishing techniques to high school students. Four of the youths are among those missing and presumed dead.
Fargo said the court will inquire into all facets of the accident, including whether the emergency surfacing drill that led to the collision would have been performed if civilians had not been aboard. Also to be considered is the possibility that the 16 civilians distracted the crew from its normal duties or procedures, and if they did, whether it contributed to the accident.
In light of questions about civilians aboard the sub, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld plans to order a moratorium on civilians being allowed at the controls of any military ships, aircraft and vehicles, Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley said Thursday.
The halt will be in effect until the services have reviewed their policies on civilian participation to ensure that appropriate safety precautions are taken.
Quigley said Rumsfeld favors allowing civilian participation in military maneuvers but wants to ensure it is done safely.
After hearing recommendations made by the three admirals who will comprise the court, Fargo will decide the fate of the Greeneville's captain, his executive officer and the officer of the deck at the time of the accident.
Adm. Isamu Ozawa of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force will be included in deliberations with the three American admirals on the court and may submit questions but will have no say in the court of inquiry's findings.
The session was to have begun Monday, but the court granted a postponement Thursday until March 5 at the request of lawyers representing Cmdr. Scott Waddle, the Greeneville's commanding officer.
A major problem may be to decide who will be able to cram into the tiny courtroom in the Trial Services Offices at Pearl Harbor to view the event.
Besides court officials, the room must accommodate the three Navy officers involved, their attorneys and dozens of others who already have asked to attend. These include members of the news media, representatives of the missing and their families and Japanese officials, Navy officials said.
That may mean many observers will have to view the proceedings via some type of closed-circuit television.
The court's members will pass opinions about the incident to Fargo, along with recommendations for administrative or disciplinary actions.
One possibility is moving directly to courts-martial and skipping the military-style grand jury procedure known as an Article 32 hearing, senior Navy officials have said.
Fargo said he chose a court of inquiry, the highest level of three available options, because he expected it would ``provide a full and open accounting to both the American and Japanese people.''
A court of inquiry is based on the 1786 Articles of War.
During the procedure:
-Testimony is given under oath.
-All open proceedings, except the arguments of counsel, are recorded verbatim.
-The board is empowered to order military witnesses and subpoena civilian witnesses to testify.
-A party may have a civilian attorney, at his or her own expense. Military counsel is provided free of charge to each party.
-A party may testify but is not required to because of the right against self-incrimination that the U.S. Constitution provides.
-After all evidence, statements and arguments have been received, the court will declare the inquiry closed. Court members will deliberate privately and produce a report to Fargo who, as the ``convening authority,'' will decide what, if any, further action is appropriate.
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Bush Faults China on Aid to Iraq for Radar System
February 23, 2001
New York Times
By DAVID E. SANGER and STEVEN LEE MYERS
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/world/23PREX.html?pagewanted=all
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 - President Bush said today that evidence of China's aid to Iraq in building radar systems to use against American and British warplanes had "risen to the level where we are going to send a message to the Chinese," a statement that put Mr. Bush at odds with Beijing only four weeks into his presidency.
Mr. Bush made the comments during his first solo news conference at the White House, called somewhat hastily today so Mr. Bush could sum up his first month in office before an address to Congress next week.
While he repeated his call for tax cuts and his education program, he also used the moment to declare that last Friday's bombing of the radar sites - which the Pentagon said was timed to avoid killing Chinese workers there - was intended to send a "clear signal" to Saddam Hussein and to reduce the capacity of Iraqi radar.
"I believe we succeeded in both those missions," Mr. Bush said, although new indications from the Pentagon suggest that the bombing was not as effective as American officials had initially stated.
While Mr. Bush's harshest words were reserved for Iraq, he struck a tough tone with China saying, "It's troubling that they'd be involved in helping Iraq develop a system that will endanger our pilots."
Two hours later, Mr. Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, softened the president's statement a bit. She said the White House and Secretary of State Colin L. Powell had sent inquiries to Beijing through the new Chinese ambassador here, Yang Jiechi. "I want to make clear that we are not accusing, at this point, the Chinese of anything," she said. "But we are telling them that we have tremendous concerns about what's going on."
Ms. Rice said that China had not yet responded to the inquiries. But in Beijing a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhu Bangzao, said, "China, as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, has always strictly and seriously implemented all the resolutions of the Security Council concerning Iraq."
American military and intelligence officials say that Chinese workers are helping Iraq build a fiber optic communications network that links the radar stations and other targets attacked by American and British warplanes last Friday.
The Chinese actions could violate United Nations sanctions imposed on Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990, administration officials said.
The confrontation with Beijing puts a chill on Mr. Bush's first high-level exchanges with the Chinese leadership. Only a week ago he exchanged polite introductory letters with President Jiang Zemin in which both leaders described in the most general terms their goals for their relationship.
The Chinese know the Bush family well: Mr. Bush's father was the American representative in Beijing before the two countries opened diplomatic relations, and Mr. Bush spent six weeks there in the 1970's, his longest stay abroad.
Now Mr. Bush's stance suggests that the United States and China may be headed to tougher exchanges, after the Clinton administration had finally succeeded in repairing most of the diplomatic damage done by the accidental American bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade during NATO's air war against Serbia in 1999.
In its first weeks, the new administration has signaled that it will sponsor a resolution condemning China's human rights violations at an annual conference in Geneva. And it has promised to go ahead with a national missile defense plan despite China's vehement opposition and its promises to build up its own nuclear forces todefeat the system.
In his appearance today, Mr. Bush seemed by turns relaxed and somewhat uneasy, especially when the subject turned to problems in foreign policy. He also used the event to argue anew for his tax cut proposal, which will be the subject of an address to Congress on Tuesday.
While Mr. Bush claimed that the raids on Friday against Iraqi air defenses served as a warning on Mr. Hussein, Iraqi forces appear undaunted. They continued to fire at American and British jets patrolling the no-flight zones over southern and northern Iraq, including those that flew today.
In fact, an American fighter jet attacked a missile defense battery today near Mosul, in northern Iraq. The strike was carried out against a French-made mobile antiaircraft battery purchased before the gulf war. It was not specifically authorized by President Bush but was carried out under standing orders that the pilots can defend themselves when they feel threatened by Iraqi forces in the no-flight zones.
Pentagon officials have said last week's attacks - against 20 to 24 radar sites and five to seven command or communication centers at five sites -- disrupted Iraq's air defenses, but they acknowledge that the damage was moderate.
The mixed success was attributed to problems with the Joint Standoff Weapon, or J-SOW. Navy F/A-18's fired more than two dozen of the relatively new J-SOW's at radar stations but "the vast majority" missed their precise targets, a military official said.
That was in sharp contrast to the early reports from Lt. Gen. Gregory S. Newbold, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who said on Friday after the raid, "We have no indications that there were any of the strikes that might have gone amiss."
Pentagon officials said the strikes had weakened Iraq's air defenses, and a spokesman said today that only two of the radars attacked had resumed tracking allied patrols.
He said the Pentagon had still not completed an assessment of the damage, but other officials said the raids had severely damaged five command or communications sites. In the case of the radar sites, which included some mobile systems, the success was less clear. One official said only that more than half showed damage visible from aerial or satellite photographs.
General Powell leaves for the Middle East on Friday, and the president said today that piecing together a consensus on how to rebuild a coalition to isolate Iraq is high on the agenda.
"The secretary of state is going to go listen to our allies as to how best to effect a policy, the primary goal of which will be to say to Saddam Hussein, `We won't tolerate you developing weapons of mass destruction and we expect you to leave your neighbors alone.'"
But he conceded, as he did in an interview last month, that "the sanction regime is like Swiss cheese."
---
UHP--Unified Health Physics---
The Missing Concentration Mechanism--- C 1986-2001
Fri, 23 Feb 2001
Hello Folks,
This is the most important chapter of the UHP series, because it ties together all the other chapters into one contiguous understanding contributing to a principle vector for disease and aging. The discussion will reveal a simple overlooked mechanism common to many toxins, even snake bites. The discussion will present the simple deductive reasoning that lead to the discovery of this simple mechanism that health physics and industrial hygiene overlooked until 1986.
In earlier chapters, we reviewed that external gamma radiation lethal cell effects are dominated by three dose level phases, 1. Intestinal [300-800R], 2. Bone marrow [400-500R], 3. Central nervous system [+3000R]. We found that in doses just short of intestinal death [300-400R] there are effects involving infections for which antibiotics are often given to compensate for infections and aid recovery and survival.
What was discussed was a mechanism were the cells collect free radicals from over a collection volume, producing higher free radical doses for a lower body rad. Dose for cell failure. The radiated food in the gut exposed the cells in the walls of the intestines via volume collection effects. Similarly the bone marrow collects more free radical damage, part because of marrow volume collection and other part due to bone density and higher energy loss rates. The CNS collects from the cerebral spinal fluid volume and the higher energy losses in bone. Overlooked until around 1986, until discovered at ORNL, was a fourth effect of the immune system from a cell bioconcentration effect to lymph nodes from large volume zones of the body, which explained the antibiotic need in the 300-400R dose range.
The immune system bioconcentration effect explained why there were problems with infections just short of the intestinal cell death dose. The external gamma radiation effect involved radiation damage to cells from free radicals and setting off the immune system actions, which in turn pulled high concentrations of free radicals and their reactive products into the lymph nodes and damaged the mitochondria of the immune cells. This bioconcentration effect caused the macrophages of the lymph nodes to become the most highly toxic exposed cells in the entire body leading to their lower dose failing in the 300R range.
Cell mitochondria process and function were not well known until around 1986 and this played a central role in finding processes linked to NO and superoxides effects on cells induced by toxic materials. This toxic damage effect harmed the damage cell DNA denature process in this part of the immune system due to the inaction of stationary macrophages in the lymph nodes. T-cells and macrophages use peroxide like chemical processes or enzymes to burn holes in cells and denature the contents into harmless wastes. These processes do not work well with insoluble oxides carried into the lymph nodes, as this also triggers superoxides damage. In the case of external radiation, when the radiation is removed, the macrophage cells rebound from radiation dose damage in a few weeks and return to near normal after the dose free radical toxic effects are gone. The true role of this effect and the monumental damage from its oversight, as it related to disease, was not considered by health physics until 1986.
This basic mechanism is illustrated with what is seen with Pu alpha radiation effects in lung. Here the short range alpha emissions damage cells with free radical chemical toxicity triggering cytokiens, then immune mechanism of T-cells, and macrophage clean up that pulls very high concentrations of Pu particulate into the lung's lymph nodes. Here the second effect needed to sustain cancer is fulfilled via damage to the lymph node macrophage cells due to mitochondria damage, which impair the clean up of cancer cells and their viral DNA destruction ability. This is why cancers quickly spread to the lymph system and metastasize and the effect also spreads the cancer all around the body. Cancer cells form in a local area via direct radiation damage to cell DNA, activation of endogenous retroviruses and formation of transcription factors to replicate it, together with factors that increase circulation, but lacking effective macrophages. So, the cancer viral spreads and turn into a black gooey mass and a tumor forms. This fully explained cancer cell existence as a two part process connected with immune system degradation.
The next bit to recognize is that it does not take radiation to cause this same process to happen, as even beryllium dusts produce the same immune system effect. Beryllium is well known to set off lymphocyte proliferation and there is a test that finds this called the LPT test. Early effects of the disease look like asthma effects. As the disease progresses the Be is bioconcentrated to lung lymph nodes and the macrophage process shuts down and lungs begin to be damaged from immune activation and cytokine production. Similar effects happen with sand, or silicosis effect, just takes much more substance. Here the X-rays show up the nodules in the lungs, which appear to be lymph nodes.
Symptoms of asthma and rashes are indicators for the activation of the cytokine response from toxic cell damage. Toxins set off TNFa and Th1 type cytokine inflammatory responses as the T-cells and macrophages are activated. The cytokine response with Th1 and Th2 form the proof of cell damage and immune mechanism that poison the macrophage response. With time the Th1 process pulls the actual toxins into the lymph nodes when they bioconcentrate to the damaged these node cells. The bioconcentration only works well with internal alpha radiation isotopes and does not work well with internal gamma and beta radiation isotopes because the lower energy looses do not connect the isotope to the cell for selective macrophage pick up.
Many toxic metals set off the cell toxic response and metals like mercury, nickel, and uranium all cause a cytokine response via toxic metal damage to the cell. Many chemicals and pesticides also cause the effect, making the lymph node cells poisoned from many toxins simultaneously. Most important are metals and chemicals with long term internal retention in the body as these build up with time and cause long term effects in the lymph nodes, setting off continual NO and superoxides and activating the cytokine inflammatory responses. Thus, causing long term problems like insoluble oxides in the lung's lymph nodes.
This basic pathway modeling technique can be applied to the issue of DU penetrator dusts. Contrary to DOE claims, the urine analysis technique does not protect the lymph nodes from being poisoned by DU insoluble oxides particulate. Urine testing works well for soluble forms of uranium only. What happens for DU penetrators dusts is the respirable dusts stick in lung, set off toxic cell damage, setting off immune process, and the macrophages pull the material into the lymph nodes making these the most highly toxically exposed cells in the body to the DU. This dose dependent effect can damage the macrophages, sets off some level of cytokine response, and shuts down the ability of the nodes to denature cell DNA and that of pathogens. With this comes viral, bacterial, fungal, mycoplasma, and, etc., deregulation in the lungs and these pathogens set off even further cytokine response in the lung tissues that cause scarring, etc. The continual activation of the cytokines in the body cause cells damage effects in all tissues. he Th1 activation often begin with asthma, rashes, and allergy symptoms as indicators.
A halogen chemical called dioxin also can cause this effect and can be used to illustrate a retention effect. Here it becomes important that dioxin has very long retention in fatty tissues, which allows its concentration to build in the body and thus in the lymph nodes. Dioxin has recently been ruled a carcinogen because of this dual effect on cells and lymph system. This causes the problems of the rashes seen in Vietnam era Vets exposed to agent orange [aka dioxin] from the activation of the cytokine inflammatory responses. Other metal and chemical retention mechanisms involve the storage in bone and examples are lead and fluoride respectively. Fluorides and chlorides can be particularly damaging because they simultaneously damage the lymph nodes and the thyroid, because there is a bioconcentration effect there due to iodine chemical resemblance.
Fluorides have the place of most prominence in the concentration mechanism. Fluorides have a strong connection to the uranium industry and is part of the carrier gas, UF-6, for uranium enrichment. It just happens to make HF poison gas that gets into lungs and damage cells. Here again the immune cells fire and the lymph nodes receive a large dose of the fluoride toxic oxidation chemical effect. A second problem is the fluorides also have strong affinity with bone and the concentrations can actually rise in the body and form metastatic concentrations that cause long term damage to the lymph nodes and thyroid. The fluorides effects move from lungs to affect the entire lymph system and cause immune system failing over the entire body. Long term dose effects or high dose effects can also permanently destroy these cells, making the effect worse at earlier ages.
Fluorides, HF, exposure in the aluminum industry are well known to cause asthma and arthritic like complaint. Fluorides are also well known to damage lung, seek the joints, and tendon sheath. Fluoride calcium seeks the bone, the calcium rich myelin, and the thyroid gland. Here again we see symptoms from HF like those of beryllium disease and silicosis with the asthma signs and the indication of activation of the cytokine processes. Today, we also see that joint pains are also tied to cytokine inflammation and viral activation in these cells which connect to the chemical toxic effects and impaired immune cells. The viral process cause extremes of stimulation of bone cartilage cell growth, joint deformation, and inflammation pain.
High natural fluoride levels occur in some parts of the world as endemic fluoride in well water and in these areas folks only live to perhaps 30 without becoming disabled with the effects of fluorosis and often only live to age 40. These very high and long term exposures to fluorides cause high dose permanent failure of the lymph node macrophages cells that may only be restored perhaps with lowering fluoride exposures, time, cytokine therapy, and stem cell seeding. These parts of the world are also the same areas where the transmission rates for HIV are extremely high. HIV was early on labeled an exogenous lymphotropic virus, and there is reason for this because it is pulled into the lymph nodes, where it highly infects and damages T-cells. The other piece of the pie is the lymph nodes ability to kill the HIV is destroyed by fluorides toxic effects and the macrophages can't do their job. With increasing viral infection rates the cytokine Th1 response goes crazy and the immune system melts down the helper T-cells and their counts fall to very low numbers. Then the viral damaged cells in all parts of the body are not killed, this a direct result of the loss of T-cell from sustained Th1 effects. Mediation of these effects involve the use of cytokine factors like IL-2 and others to mediate the inflammatory response, allowing the T-cell to not be attacked by the TNFa/Th1 trigger effects on HIV infected T-cells. The Th2 effect can also lowers the damage to the macrophages and lets them police the viral DNA presence with complete destruction that removes the HIV cell infections and presence in the lymph nodes. Cytokine immune therapy allows many HIV infected persons to live almost full lives, but at huge expense.
What you just read on the missing bioconcentration mechanism was found in 1986 and kept unpublished and often classified by ORNL and the Govt. using national security as an excuse because of its relationship to gas diffusion processes and economy growth and profits for toxic industry, agriculture [insecticides and fertilizer], public water supplies [F and Cl], and medicine. This lymph node effect is where the unified health physics, UHP, draws its name because it merged the effects of radiation and its chemical radiolysis effects with those of industrial hygene's chemical and toxic metal effects and associated them to one dominate health mechanism. It effectively married radiation health physics and industrial hygiene, as isotopes like DU exhibited toxic metal and radiation chemical effects on cells and to the lymph nodes, with one common mechanism for disease.
This discovery was viewed by the Govt. as a virtual Armageddon of liabilities for industry and medicine and by environmental concerned as an explanation for extended life free of disease, providing a virtual eternal life effect. For some select few privileged to this bit of select knowledge in 1986, it was a surreal flash into the meaning of the biblical revelations and the predictions of Nostradamus. It was a discovery that was revered, yet hated by all operations that could be viewed as having caused harm by the discovery. To the Pentagon, it was proof that wars have collateral damage and impaired their DU weapons acceptability, yet set off the need for precision bombing and special infrastructure weapons. It became a time that wars had to have environmental impact statements and use cytokine modifying medicines to control the toxic health effects of long retention toxins.
The National labs response to this discovery was to try to conceal the discovery from the public and avoid the embarrassment for such a simple oversight neglecting that caused extensive public health harm that dwarfs the Holocaust. National labs embarked on a pathway from savior of the country with the bomb to the deceivers sending the country down the pathway to national health destruction. To enable the concealment, they set up elaborate networks to avoid exposing the huge amounts of HF losses from the gas diffusion plants that linked to fabricated mysterious diseases traceable to fluorides toxic effects, and claimed urine testing was sufficient to protect from DU exposures. The concealment process used DOE publicly supportive persons planted to herd and sape the news so as to avoid news that might reveal huge liabilities. These techniques are most abundant in Oak Ridge. Other supporters of the diversion just follow the money trial, connected especially to the profits of toxic industries and the doctors that profit from the illnesses induced, all support the mysterious illness concept over telling the citizens the simple truth on the cytokine proof with the toxic bioconcentration effect on the macrophages.
Today, this simple effect explains things like mad cow disease and most all the immune system related diseases and even aging. The lymph node cells are the most toxically exposed and suffer the highest dose effects leading to eventual cell failures in this area with age using the dose and time dependent expose, the same as for rad. damage. For cows fed bone meals and sprayed with pesticides, a brain encephalitis with a special protein called a prion that does much the same as TNFa and brain cytokine responses in causing encephalitis. The effect is why with toxic exposures to things like brain seeking mercury or fluorides there is a brain fog connected. It basically sets off the brains toxic cell damage defense mechanism.
In related effects in the peripheral nervous system the accumulation of fluorides in the calcium rich myelin set off TNFa responses and the inflammatory immune factors that eat holes in the myelin nerve case and induce diseases like MS or Lupus. This mechanism also explains why bee sting venom therapies work, as the venom is quickly concentrated into the lymph system where it can alter Th1 cytokine generation to Th2 and stop the inflammatory processes that damage nerve myelin connected with MS and Lupus.
In the case of the Gulf War there is more of the acid proof from folks exposed to DU and many other halogen based toxic materials, all loading up the lymph system with enough toxic material to cause failure of the macrophages and all kinds of low grade inflammation inducing joint/bone pain, extreme fatigue, tissue degeneration, rapid aging, brain fog, all pure signs of the cytokine response damaging the body. Same effect decades earlier for the cold war workers ills, who in places like Oak Ridge were exposed to massive amounts of HF gas, which damaged the thyroid and the immune protection. For some that suffered high dose skin absorption of HF, sudden heart attacks resulted in a few days from cumulative toxic damage to the heart muscle mitochondria via the NO and superoxide processes. Even high exposures to mercury can cause the same effect. Very high does of gamma radiation cause the same effect.
This mechanism also explained why alternative cancer therapies like cyanide based laetrile may work against cancers. CN-radicals also damage cells and can be pulled into the lymph nodes and become involved in the enzyme activities and complex with toxic metals to make them soluble and be excreted from the body. Cyanide radicals also complex with calcium to increase blood calcium and protect against fluorides depositing in bone and excrete calcium thiocynate fluoride from the body. This effect is used with the Oak Ridge K-25 TSCA incinerator by burning methyl cyanide which causes air inhalation effects that increase blood calcium.
Although all these factors are well known, not much will change unless all the sick and impacted individuals, cold war nuke workers, Vietnam Vets, Gulf War Vets, Atomic Vets, downwinders, etc., stand up together against the Govt and economic factors and demand change for good. The science is all there with all the proof needed and the only discovery now is left for the public to discover the Govt is concealing the truth of health impacts from toxic releases that are driving all the immune disease and cancer today.
-------- depleted uranium
Annan Cautious Toward Iraq
01/02/23
InfoBeat
Associated Press
By EDITH M. LEDERER
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406231849
UNITED NATIONS (AP) _ Secretary-General Kofi Annan refused to condemn the recent allied airstrikes as Iraq's foreign minister had demanded _ apparently seeking to take a nonconfrontational position ahead of next week's U.N.-Iraq talks.
In a letter released Thursday, Annan sidestepped the minister's demand that he condemn the U.S. and British attacks and addressed two other issues he raised _ the legality of the ``no-fly zones'' enforced by U.S. and British aircraft in northern and southern Iraq and the failure of U.N. observers on the Iraq-Kuwait border to report the latest airstrikes.
Iraqi Foreign Minister Mohammed Saeed al-Sahhaf had written to Annan Feb. 17 saying that because of the upcoming talks, the secretary-general and the United Nations had an additional responsibility to condemn the attacks and ``take urgent and concrete steps'' to prevent a repetition.
Annan and al-Sahhaf are to hold two days of talks starting Monday in an attempt to break a stalemate over U.N. sanctions and getting weapons inspectors back into the country.
Iraq wants the Security Council to lift crippling economic sanctions imposed after it invaded Kuwait in 1990. The council says Iraq must first let inspectors back in to make sure President Saddam Hussein is not developing weapons of mass destruction. Inspectors pulled out in December 1998 ahead of U.S. and British airstrikes _ and Baghdad has barred them from returning.
Al-Sahhaf said Wednesday as he left for New York that Iraq will insist the United Nations lift sanctions and will not accept the return of weapons inspectors as a condition. He is expected to tell the United Nations that if the sanctions are lifted, Iraq will accept the presence of less intrusive U.N. monitors surveying its arsenal, rather than inspectors.
Iraq claims the no-fly zones are illegal and says U.S. and British flights are a violation of its sovereignty. The U.S. and British attacks on Iraqi radar and air defense sites south of Baghdad on Aug. 16 were aimed at damaging Iraq's ability to target U.S. and British planes patrolling the southern no-fly zone.
Al-Sahhaf's letter asked the United Nations and the international community to condemn ``this act of aggression and hold the aggressors responsible for all consequences'' of the attacks.
The secretary-general declared that it was the Security Council's responsibility to determine the legality of the no-fly zones _ not his.
Russia and China insist there is no Security Council authorization for them _ but Britain and the United States say the patrols were authorized under resolutions calling for the protection of Iraqi minorities _ Shiites in the south and Kurds in the north.
Al-Sahhaf also complained to Annan that U.N. observers charged with monitoring ``acts of military aggression'' in the demilitarized zone on the Iraq-Kuwait border had failed to report the Feb. 16 attacks which were carried out from the zone.
Annan replied that since 1991, the U.N. mission, known as UNIKOM, has recorded over 200 aerial violations of the zone. ``In the majority of cases, however, it has not been possible for UNIKOM to identify the aircraft involved or to determine their nationality,'' he said.
The secretary-general emphasized that this should in no way be understood ``to constitute condonation of them,'' and he noted that the United Nations has urged U.S. and British representatives to respect the demilitarized zone.
---
Iraqi airstrikes said mediocre
01/02/23
Infobeat
AP Military Writer
By ROBERT BURNS
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406231779
WASHINGTON (AP) - Iraqi forces fired anti-aircraft artillery at allied aircraft in norther Iraq Thursday while a senior Pentagon official said results of last weekend's airstrikes on Iraqi air defense sites were mediocre at best.
The official said that far fewer than half the targeted radars were damaged. Early assessments indicate a new satellite-guided missile fired by Navy planes was mainly to blame.
``We have detectable damage on 38 to 40 percent of the radars, and we still have some (data) coming in,'' said the official, discussing the Pentagon's preliminary bomb damage assessment on condition of anonymity.
Most of the misses were by a margin of 100 to 150 feet (30 to 45 meters), he said.
On Wednesday, another senior defense official graded the bombing raids' accuracy at a B-minus or a C-plus.
In northern Iraq on Thursday, Iraqi forces fired anti-aircraft artillery at allied aircraft and targeted them with radar, according to U.S. European Command, which manages U.S. air operations over northern Iraq. The allies fired back at ``elements of the Iraqi integrated air defense system,'' according to a brief announcement by European Command.
``We were doing our job, the Iraqis fired on us and we acted in self defense,'' said Maj. Ed Loomis, a European Command spokesman. The announcement said the Iraqi fire came from air defense sites north of the city of Mosul while allied planes were conducting ``routine enforcement'' of the northern ``no-fly'' zone north of the 36th Parallel. It did not disclose any result of the allied response.
Loomis said he could not discuss details such as the specific target of the allied retaliation.
In Baghdad, the official Iraqi News Agency quoted an unidentified Iraqi military spokesman saying, ``American and British warplanes flew over the (northern) provinces of Duhok, Irbil and Mosul on Thursday. They were confronted by our anti-aircraft weaponry, which forced them to leave our skies and return to their bases in Turkey.'' It made no mention of the allied planes firing in retaliation.
U.S. and British air patrols over northern Iraq originate from Incirlik Air Base in Turkey.
Thursday's incident in the north was the first involving allied retaliation since Feb. 12, according to European Command. Since Jan. 1, the Iraqis have fired on allied planes over northern Iraq 15 times, and in three cases _ including Thursday's _ the allies fired back, Loomis said.
Last week's U.S.-British attacks were related to enforcement of a ``no-fly'' zone over southern Iraq. Four of the five sites attacked were near Baghdad, between the two ``no fly'' zones.
The Pentagon has yet to pinpoint the reason for the mediocre accuracy rate, but officials said Thursday that it may be related to computer software used in the missiles' guidance system. The weapon used against the Iraqi radars was the AGM-154, also known as a Joint Standoff Weapon, or JSOW, launched from Navy F/A-18 fighters that flew from the USS Harry S. Truman carrier in the Gulf.
---
UN-BACKED COVER UP
February 2001
by ROBERT JAMES PARSONS
Deafening silence on depleted uranium In spite of the growing number of unexplained deaths and illnesses among servicemen returning from the Gulf, Bosnia and Kosovo, UN agencies have, to different degrees, cast a veil of silence over the chemical and radiological hazards of depleted uranium. It was not until this January that the World Health Organisation proposed a study of DU's effects on the peoples of the Gulf region.
The World Health Organisation's report on depleted uranium (DU) has still not materialised; since being announced, it was postponed several times and only put back on the agenda because of pressure from international aid agencies working in Kosovo. When news of "Balkan syndrome" first broke, the WHO published in January this year a four-page "fact sheet" that claimed to deal with the subject (1). Designed to calm the storm and reassure the public, the information it contains is vague and often at odds with current scientific knowledge. If there is any radiation, the fact sheet claims, it is within acceptable levels: "From the science it appears unlikely that an increased leukaemia risk related to DU exposure would be detectable among military personnel in the Balkans."
How could the WHO, the world's highest authority in health matters, have produced such a document? It recommends as "reasonable", for example, such unlikely "clean-up operations" as collecting the thousands of billions of invisible radioactive particles scattered over hundreds of square kilometres and mixed with hundreds of thousands of tons of earth.
In fact, an agreement entered into with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 1959 prevents the WHO from dealing with radiation and public health matters without the former's approval. Approval that is hardly ever given.
In the 1950s in the United States the Eisenhower administration made much of the civilian spin-offs from military research in order to justify the enormous sums being spent on the nuclear arsenal. In 1954 it started the Atoms for Peace programme, promising the public electricity that was not only "clean" but so abundant as to be "unmeterable".
At the time many members of the scientific community, with little or no involvement in military research, recalled the work that had earned Herman Joseph Muller a Nobel prize in 1946. He had discovered the terrifying mutagenic effects of ionising radiation. It was this very radiation that the power plants envisaged by Atoms for Peace were to introduce into the heart of the civilian population. Yet Dr John W Gofman, who led the team that isolated the first milligram of plutonium in 1942, continued to hammer home his point that "by any reasonable standard of biomedical proof, there is no safe dose" (2). In spite of such warnings the US pressed for the formation in 1956 of the IAEA - a UN organisation whose remit is quite simply to promote the nuclear industry.
In 1957 the WHO organised an international conference on the effects of radiation on genetic mutation; its basic premises, derived from Muller's experiments, are found in the papers presented to the conference and subsequently published (3). But in 1959 the debate was closed. The WHO accepted the agreement with the IAEA according to which "whenever either organisation proposes to initiate a programme or activity on a subject in which the other organisation has or may have a substantial interest, the first party shall consult the other with a view to adjusting the matter by mutual agreement" (4). That "mutual agreement" stipulation was to allow the IAEA to block almost every WHO initiative concerning the relationship between radiation and public health.
That is why, when the WHO proposed publishing a fact sheet on depleted uranium, nothing came of it. The generic study, still awaited, was to be confined to chemical contamination from DU as a heavy metal. Only when DU hit the international headlines did the WHO announce that the study would be extended to radiation. The additional work would be done by experts from such bodies as the United Kingdom's National Radiological Protection Board (much criticised by British veterans suffering from Gulf War syndrome) and, of course, the IAEA. The humanitarian aid organisations working in Kosovo, such as the High Commission for Refugees (HCR), the World Food Programme, the United Nations Department of Humanitarian Affairs and the International Organisation for Migration, have to refer to the WHO for all public health matters since they belong to the UN system. So they are still waiting.
The current standards for the "tolerable" radiation dose presenting no danger to the human organism were set on the basis of studies by the Pentagon's Atomic Bomb Casualty Commission on survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima; one of the major objectives of those studies, if not the main one, was to determine the bomb's effectiveness as a weapon of war. The studies (details of which were not published until 1965) began in 1950, when many victims who had initially survived had already died from the consequences of the bombings. The group studied consisted mainly of young sportsmen in relatively good shape. Those particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of radiation - children, women and the elderly - did not appear at all.
These studies of survivors were soon brought to an end: there was no waiting for the cancers that would take decades to appear. They were also carried out by physicists with no training in biology. At the time they knew nothing of the existence of DNA, let alone how it works, and they made no distinction between the effects of a single, sudden, intense explosion and those of radiation from an internal, slow, constant source - like that given off by particles of depleted uranium which enter the body by inhalation, ingestion or through open wounds.
The nuclear lobby has always claimed that the effects of low-level radiation are too small to be studied. They therefore extrapolated from the observed effects of high dose irradiation (Hiroshima and Nagasaki), on the basis that if 1,000 survivors became ill after exposure to a dose of 100 (an arbitrary figure), 500 would be ill when exposed to 50 and only one from a dose of 0.5. Thus, below that exposure no-one is affected (5).
'Safe' doses
But the British researcher Alice Stewart showed the danger of low-level radiation to the human organism in a study of children whose mothers were x-rayed during pregnancy. In the 1970s she reached the same findings for employees of the nuclear weapons plant in Hanford, US. In 1998, still going strong despite her 91 years, she published with George W Kneale an in-depth reappraisal of the studies made of the 1945 survivors, showing irrefutably the errors present in the work on which the present standards are based 6). But it is these standards that allow the WHO fact sheet to speak of a "tolerable daily intake" for persons exposed to depleted uranium. Likewise, Dr Chris Busby, a British researcher who has written a number of works on the effects of low-level radiation (7) (disputed by the nuclear establishment), has explained how chronic internal low-level radiation systematically destroys the DNA of cells to produce the mutations that lead to cancer.
The international standards have been revised downwards several times, most recently in 1965, 1986 and 1990, by the International Commission for Radiation Protection - which draws up the standards that are then applied by the IAEA. The 1990 revision cut the permitted dose by a factor of five. The US has still not accepted that revision. It is therefore on the basis of doses five times higher than accepted by the rest of the world that they claim their soldiers received "safe" doses during the Gulf war.
The highest authority in the matter in the US is the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC), a civilian agency but in fact headed up by the military high command, which in that way controls the development of all nuclear technology. All the main sources of ionising radiation are therefore controlled by persons and institutions with no interest in exploring their dangers. The four most eminent scientific authorities to have worked for the AEC were John Gofman, Karl Z Morgan, Thomas Mancuse and Alice Stewart. Each in turn was sacked for presenting findings showing that exposure to low-level radiation causes cancer (8). The WHO fact sheet therefore comes in the context of a history of general denial of which the affair of depleted uranium in Yugoslavia is only the latest episode.
In May 1999, during the Kosovo war, the UN arranged for representatives of all the agencies involved in the conflict to go and make an initial assessment of the situation. Each wrote a report that was then shared with the other agencies. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) took part, but its report was suppressed. After it was leaked, the document, penned by Bakary Kante, advisor to UNEP director general Klaus Toepfer, was made public on 18 June 1999 in two Swiss French-language newspapers, Courrier and Liberté. The report sounded the alarm on the pollution caused by the bombings, specifically mentioning depleted uranium (9).
Another report on pollution, funded by the European Commission and published that same June shortly after the end of the war, takes the trouble to identify its sources (experts in the field, literature, specialist monographs, etc.) but makes virtually no mention of depleted uranium (10). The only reference appears in a brief list of the types of pollution: "DU" followed by "in Yugoslavia - claimed". One might have thought that the working party had been unaware of the Kante report. But several paragraphs of its report reproduce it word for word, and the list of 80 or so shelled sites is identical to that compiled by Kante.
Not long after that, the UNEP set up a working party, the Balkans Task Force (BTF), to make a full report. Toepfer appointed Finland's former environment minister Pekka Haavisto to lead it. He was adamant that depleted uranium was part of the overall pollution picture and could not be left out of the enquiry. If he was barred from studying it as radioactive pollution, he would study it as chemical pollution (see box).
Where are the contaminated sites?
On completion, it was announced that the BTF report (11) would be released in Geneva on 8 October 1999. A journalist who went to the UNEP's Geneva office, where the BTF is based, expecting to obtain a copy, was received by Toepfer's spokesman and right hand man Robert Bisset, who refused him any contact with Haavisto's team.
Eventually, he was told there had been a change of plan and that Haavisto would be giving a press conference on 11 October in New York. Since the journalists who were closely following the issue of depleted uranium in Kosovo were all based in Geneva, they were thus denied any possibility of interviewing the man who had written the report.
Reworked by Bisset, the final part of the report was cut from 72 pages to two (later, the missing parts were posted on the UNEP's internet site) (12). Its findings and recommendations spoke of cordoning off contaminated sites - while saying simultaneously that they could not be identified. The Canadian expert Rosalie Bertell had advised the BTF to take samples from the air filters of vehicles in Kosovo, from armoured tanks that had been struck and from sites likely to have been affected by DU weapons; but no such samples were taken while the teams were in the field.
Throughout this time a whole procession of people directly involved in the question came to Geneva. The HCR's special envoy to the Balkans, Dennis McNamara, spoke of refugees returning to a "secure environment". But by "secure" he meant "militarily secure", stressing at a press conference at the Palais des Nations on 12 July last year Nato's assurances that depleted uranium posed no problems. US under-secretary of state for population, refugees and migration Julia Taft came to Geneva to boast to the UN Economic and Social Council of the success of this "humanitarian war"; she admitted during another press conference (Palais des Nations, 14 July 1999) that she did not know what depleted uranium was.
IAEA spokesman David Kyd claimed in an interview that his agency's mandate did not allow it to investigate DU, saying that it was, in any case, perfectly harmless. Dr Keith Baverstock of the WHO regional office for Europe came out with the same weasel words about there being absolutely no danger, though he added that depleted uranium could cause problems in a battle situation. Finally, former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt, now the UN Secretary General's special envoy to the Balkans, abruptly stated that depleted uranium was a "non-issue".
Last March the Military Toxics Project, an American anti-nuclear NGO, announced that Nato had, that January, sent the UNEP a map of targets affected by depleted uranium in Kosovo; and this was confirmed by a source at the Netherlands foreign ministry (13). Fearing a general outcry, Toepfer convened a crisis meeting in Geneva on 20 March to decide on a strategy. But he was too late. Switzerland's last independent French language newspaper, Courrier, published the map that same morning.
The next day Haavisto held a press conference. Although he tried to be reassuring, he referred to the recommendations of the October report - that contaminated sites should be cordoned off - while adding that the map available was not accurate enough to identify them. A press release referred to the WHO study that was still being prepared and another commissioned by the BTF from the UK's Royal Society (that has not been heard of since).
The map, purportedly showing the 28 sites affected by 30 mm anti-tank Penetrator missiles launched from A-10 aircraft, raised a number of questions. The targets were concentrated close to the Albanian border (areas occupied by Italian and German forces) where former Yugoslav leader Tito, fearing the irredentism of the then Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha, had built substantial concrete military installations underground. According to Swiss military analyst Jacques Langendorf, who visited the area in Tito's days, 30 mm Penetrators would have little impact on the concrete, but DU-reinforced Cruise missiles might be effective. And according to British analyst Dennis Flaherty, one of the aims of the war was to test such missiles equipped with a new technology (known as Broach) allowing as many as ten Penetrators to be fired at a time in order to penetrate underground bunkers more effectively.
Following insistent demands from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Nato gave Toepfer a new map in July last year. It showed 112 targets and had a list of the munitions supposedly released there. For about 20 sites, the type of munitions was given as "unknown", which seems unlikely given the computer tracking systems available to Nato and the Pentagon. Apparently the map was kept from Haavisto until September. When he discovered it, he wanted to send a team of investigators to Kosovo straight away. Toepfer apparently vetoed such a move before the 24 October elections, fearing a massive exodus like the one during the war if worrying findings were made.
Whatever the case may be, tired of waiting for the WHO, the High Commission for Refugees has drawn up its own instructions for its staff (14): no pregnant woman will be sent to Kosovo, anyone approached about going there must have the option of being posted elsewhere, and any official sent to Kosovo must have his file marked "service in the field" to facilitate any claim for compensation in the event of illness resulting from contamination. According to Frederick Barton, deputy high commissioner for refugees, the HCR's efforts to draw the civilian population's attention to the risks of contamination met with tremendous resistance both from Albanian politicians and from Nato and Unmik (UN Mission in Kosovo) administrators.
For Rosalie Bertell, the "non-issue" of depleted uranium is just the latest episode in a long story that is far from over. Watch this space.
(1) "Fact sheet No. 257, Depleted Uranium", 12 January 2001, World Health Organisation (WHO), Geneva.
(2) Taken from his monograph "Radiation Induced Cancer from Low-Dose Exposure" and quoted in an open letter dated 11 May 1999 signed John W Gofman, MD, PhD.
(3) "Effects of Radiation on Human Heredity: Report of a Study Group convened by WHO together with Papers Presented by Various Members of the Group", WHO, Geneva, 1957.
(4) Agreement between the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Health Organisation, approved by the 12th World Health Assembly on 28 May 1959 in resolution WHA12.40. World Health Organisation, Basic Documents, 42nd edition, World Health Organisation, Geneva, 1999.
(5) Rosalie Bertell, "The Hazards of Low Level Radiation", http://ccnr.org/bertell_book.html.
(6) "A-bomb survivors: factors that may lead to a re-assessment of the radiation hazard", International Journal of Epidemiology, Volume XXIX, No. 4, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2000, pp 708-714.
(7) Including Wings of Death : Nuclear Pollution and Human Health, Aberystwyth, Green Audit 1995.
(8) Jay M Gould, director, and Benjamin A Goldman, assistant director, Overview: Deadly Deceit, Low-Level Radiation, High-Level Coverup, Radiation and Public Health Report, New York, December 1989.
(9) Bakary Kante, Senior Policy Advisor to the Executive Director of ENUP, "United Nations Inter-Agency Needs Assessment Mission to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia: Environment and Human Settlements Aspects", United Nations, May 1999.
(10) "Assessment of the Environmental Impact of Military Activities During the Yugoslavia Conflict: Preliminary Findings", June 1999, prepared by the Regional Environmental Centre for Central and Eastern Europe, Szentendre, Hungary, for the European Commission DG-XI - Environment, Nuclear Safety and Civil Protection (Contract No B7-8110/99/61783/MAR/XI.1).
(11) "The Kosovo Conflict: Consequences for the Environment & Human Settlement", United Nations Environment Programme and United Nations Centre for Human Settlements, Geneva, 1999.
(12) http://www.grid.unep.ch/btf/pressreleases/unep21032000.html and http://balkans.unep.ch/du/du.html
13) See maps on Le Monde diplomatique's site.
(14) File of instructions of the HCR personnel department.
Translated by Malcolm Greenwood
<http://www.monde-diplomatique.fr/en/2001/02/03uranium>
-------- india / pakistan
Pakistan may arm subs with missiles
Friday, February 23, 2001
Seattle Times
By Zahid Hussain The Associated Press
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis/web/vortex/display?slug=pakistan23&date=20010223
KARACHI, Pakistan - In what appeared to be the first indication that Pakistan was ready to deploy nuclear weapons, its navy said yesterday it may put nuclear missiles on its submarines "to defend its key naval installations."
Such a move would aggravate tension with neighboring India, which also announced plans to deploy nuclear-armed submarines.
"We are also fully prepared for the deployment of nuclear missiles by them. We are equal to it," said P.K. Bandopadhyay, a spokesman for India's defense ministry.
Both countries exploded nuclear devices in 1998 and declared themselves nuclear powers.
It's not known how many or which nuclear weapons Pakistan possesses, but it recently added three French submarines to its fleet - all capable of carrying nuclear warheads, navy spokesman Roshan Khayal said.
Most analysts don't think either country has yet deployed nuclear weapons or developed nuclear warheads for their missile systems. However, both have tested medium- and long-range missiles capable of hitting deep within each other's territory.
"There is already a nuclear-arms race in the region, and this will only further fuel that race," analyst Ayesha Siddiqa said.
Pakistan did not offer a time frame for putting nuclear missiles on submarines.
On Wednesday, Rear Admiral Afzal Tahir, deputy chief of naval staff, said India wants to put nuclear weapons on its fleet and Pakistan has to keep pace.
"Nuclear weapons have fundamentally changed the dynamics of the military equation in the region, and Pakistan has to prepare itself to meet any aggression," Tahir said.
"The threat primarily emanates from Indian submarines which are capable of striking shore targets with missiles," he said.
Pakistan and India have gone to war three times since British rule of the Asian subcontinent ended in 1947. The development of nuclear weapons on the subcontinent raised fears among the international community that another war in the region could result in the use of nuclear weapons.
Both countries have been pressed to halt its nuclear program and not to develop nuclear weapons. The two say they want a minimum nuclear deterrent, but neither country has spelled out what that would mean and how many weapons that would involve.
-------- korea
North Korea Warns It May Test Missiles
Friday, February 23, 2001
Washington Post
By Doug Struck
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44156-2001Feb22?language=printer
TOKYO, Feb. 22 -- In its first reaction to what it called a "hard-line stance" by the Bush administration, North Korea warned today that it might resume testing long-range missiles. That would end a moratorium that was a key achievement of the Clinton administration.
"We promised not to test-fire long-range missiles during the duration of talks" with the United States, North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "But we cannot do so indefinitely."
Threats are a standard negotiating tactic for the Stalinist country. But this is the first response by North Korea to the new administration and it carries an ominous warning.
North Korea's August 1998 test launch of a long-range rocket that passed over Japan had wide repercussions. It alarmed Japan, accelerated U.S. consideration of a missile defense system and prompted an overhaul of U.S. policy toward Pyongyang.
The Clinton administration stepped up negotiations with North Korea, winning a promise in September 1999 that it would suspend its missile testing. That added to a pledge it made in 1994 to halt its nuclear program in return for aid.
But Pyongyang said today that the agreements could be jeopardized by the new Republican administration. It blasted Bush's decision to push ahead with developing a missile shield to protect the United States and possibly Japan and other Asian allies.
The statement noted delays in the construction of power plants offered in return for the end of its nuclear program. "If the United States continues to fail to honor the agreement, we don't feel we should cling to it," it said.
The new warning comes as North Korea is emerging from decades of isolation. In June, its leader, Kim Jong Il, hosted a historic summit with rival South Korean President Kim Dae Jung and in October negotiated in Pyongyang with then-Secretary of State K. Madeleine Albright.
Albright and Clinton had sought a more permanent deal in which North Korea would give up its missile program and export of missiles in return for some form of compensation, but they ran out of time. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell has said the Bush administration would continue their policies, but so far has given no public sign of picking up the negotiation effort.
While campaigning for the presidency, Bush indicated he would take a tougher negotiating stand toward North Korea, demanding more in return from its government.
---
N. Korea denounces U.S., threatens to drop accords
Friday, February 23, 2001
Bergen Record
Associated Press
By CHRISTOPHER TORCHIA
http://www.bergen.com/morenews/korea23200102236.htm
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/korea23.html
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis/web/vortex/display?slug=nkorea23&date=20010223
SEOUL, South Korea -- In a sharp outburst Thursday, North Korea threatened to scrap missile and nuclear accords with Washington and railed against the Bush administration's plans for a missile defense system.
The new U.S. administration's foreign and national security teams are increasingly adopting a "hard-line stance" toward Pyongyang, North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried in English on KCNA, the country's foreign news outlet.
Washington wants Pyongyang "to totally disarm itself first. The U.S. is seriously mistaken if it thinks that Pyongyang will accept its demand," it said.
The statement is a clear warning to President Bush, four months after Madeleine K. Albright, the secretary of state at the time, and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il toasted each other at state banquets in Pyongyang, capital of the communist nation.
Although the fundamentals of U.S. policy toward North Korea remain unaltered, there was a marked shift in tone after Bush took office. His senior aides seemed more wary about the prospect of progress and more assertive about the need for concrete gestures of reconciliation from Pyongyang.
And shortly before taking over Albright's job in January, Colin Powell referred to Kim as a "dictator" during a U.S. Senate confirmation hearing.
On Thursday, Pyongyang said it might abandon a moratorium on long-range missile tests, as well as a 1994 accord under which it froze its suspected nuclear weapons program in exchange for the construction by a U.S.-led consortium of two nuclear reactors. Delays have plagued the project.
Thursday's statement could heighten scrutiny of the alliance between Washington and Seoul, which closely coordinate North Korea policy. Some South Korean officials worry privately that a sterner stance from Washington could jeopardize engagement with the North.
There is even a perception among some security analysts that Washington is playing a "bad cop" role, intentionally goading North Korea. In this scenario, Seoul -- now engaged in a wide range of contacts and exchanges with Pyongyang -- is the "good cop."
Paik Sung-ki, a political science professor at Kyongwon University in Seoul, speculated that the North Korean statement was a diplomatic maneuver ahead of South Korean President Kim Dae-jung's planned meeting with Bush in Washington on March 7.
"It sends a strong signal that President Kim should persuade President Bush regarding North Korea," he said.
However, the U.S.-South Korean alliance is so strong that prospects of a serious rift over how to deal with the North are dim. Washington has voiced support for Seoul's policy of engaging its northern neighbor, which has yielded the best hope for peace in half a century.
---
N. Korea may abandon moratorium on long-range missile tests
Friday, February 23, 2001
Pioneer Planet
ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.pioneerplanet.com/seven-days/fri/news/docs/034770.htm
SEOUL, South Korea North Korea threatened Thursday to scrap missile and nuclear accords with Washington and railed against the Bush administration's plans for a missile defense system.
The new U.S. administration is increasingly adopting a ``hard-line stance'' toward Pyongyang, North Korea's Foreign Ministry said.
Washington wants Pyongyang ``to totally disarm itself first. The U.S. is seriously mistaken if it thinks that Pyongyang will accept its demand,'' it said.
The statement is a clear warning to President Bush.
While the fundamentals of U.S. policy toward North Korea remain unaltered, there was a marked shift in tone after Bush took office. His aides seemed wary about the prospect of progress and more assertive about the need for concrete gestures of reconciliation from Pyongyang.
And before taking over as secretary of state in January, Colin Powell called North Korean leader Kim Jong Il a ``dictator'' during a Senate confirmation hearing.
On Thursday, Pyongyang said it might abandon a moratorium on long-range missile tests, as well as a 1994 accord under which it froze its suspected nuclear weapons program in exchange for help in building two nuclear reactors.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said the United States expects North Korea to abide by its commitments and will adhere to agreements made by the Clinton administration ``as long as North Korea does the same.''
---
North Korea reveals terms for ending missile launch program
February 23, 2001
Washington Times
By David R. Sands
http://www.washtimes.com/world/default-2001223212755.htm
North Korea, in its first public remarks to the new Bush administration, yesterday mixed harsh words with hints it is ready to continue dealing with Washington.
A North Korean Foreign Ministry statement, released by the official KNCA news agency, adopted the harsh tone often used in its propaganda broadsides, accusing the Bush administration of "boisterously blathering" about a new "hard-line stance."
It continued: "This again reveals the aggressive and brigandish nature of the United States to overturn the past trend in [U.S.-North Korean] relations," singling out President Bush's pledge to build a missile defense system to protect against "rogue nations" such as North Korea.
But while questioning U.S. good faith, Pyongyang for the first time spelled out the concessions it is prepared to make in exchange for continued aid and energy supplies from the United States and South Korea.
The statement confirmed that North Korea is prepared to accept a deal that would end its missile launch program in exchange for foreign help in getting its satellites aloft. It also said the North would stop selling its missiles abroad in exchange for foreign currency revenue guarantees.
In the next paragraph, Pyongyang said it would not observe a moratorium on missile launches "indefinitely" if there was no progress in talks on aid and assistance.
U.S. officials rejected North Korean assertions that the new administration is seeking to backtrack on the basic approach of the Clinton administration, which moved to contain Pyongyang's missile program while offering to ease a half-century of confrontation.
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice told reporters the administration still considers North Korea "a regime to be carefully watched."
"It's not helpful for the North Koreans to threaten to have missile tests in order to get us to give up missile defense," Miss Rice said. "That's actually counterproductive."
But some officials said the hostile rhetoric masked signs there may be room to cut a deal.
A senior State Department official, said, "If you read the whole [statement], it's not just a reminder that they want our attention.
"It's also a reiteration of the foundations of what we have already agreed upon," the official said. "It's the first time they've said in public what they're prepared to do."
The North Korean statement comes as President Bush prepares to host South Korean President Kim Dae-jung here March 7.
Wracked by famine and the danger of economic collapse, the regime of North Korean strongman Kim Jong-il has overseen a remarkable turnaround in the country's isolationist stance in the past few years.
Mr. Kim hosted South Korea's President Kim for a precedent-shattering summit in June, and Pyongyang now has diplomatic relations with more than 120 countries and the United Nations.
But despite a 1994 accord to shut down its nuclear plant in exchange for U.S., South Korean and Japanese aid, North Korea's active missile development and export program, highlighted by the stunning test launch of a rocket over Japan in August 1998, have made for continuing tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
Pyongyang in October pledged not to launch any new long-range missiles while talks on the issue continue.
Former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Stephen Bosworth, now dean of Tufts University's Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in Medford, Mass., said he believed the belligerent tone of the North Korean message "was basically designed to make sure they have the attention of the new administration.
"These guys are nothing if not realists," Mr. Bosworth said. "They understand they have to pick up the pieces with a new administration, and they've signaled quite strongly that they want to do that. But neither do they want to be seen negotiating from a position of total weakness."
Added Joel Wit, a former State Department official who dealt with North Korea policy and is now a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution, "You can always expect from the North Koreans a combination of bluster with an offer of working together."
"I think the real message here is that North Korea's saying there's still a deal to be had on missiles if the administration is willing," Mr. Wit said.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said yesterday a regular system of contacts between U.S. and North Korean diplomats in New York continues to function normally, despite yesterday's statement from Pyongyang.
"We remain in touch with the North Koreans through the New York channels," Mr. Boucher said. "I don't think they have asserted that there was any change in this overall situation at this point."
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N. Korea hints at resuming nuclear program
Published Friday, Feb. 23, 2001
San Jose Mercury News
New York Times
BY DON KIRK
http://www0.mercurycenter.com/premium/world/docs/nkorea23.htm
SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea said Thursday that it did not feel bound by agreements with the United States on missile testing and on halting work on nuclear warheads.
Impatient with Washington's review of U.S. policy toward the country, North Korea cast doubt on an accord reached in 1994 under which it suspended its nuclear program in return for the promise of twin nuclear reactors to fulfill energy needs.
North Korea issued its statement, its toughest since the inauguration of President Bush last month, just as U.S. and South Korean analysts were suggesting that the Bush administration would probably pursue much the same policy on the peninsula as the Clinton administration.
The United States has been seeking further accords with North Korea to reduce missile proliferation but, the North said on Thursday, the government in Pyongyang could not ``indefinitely'' abide by its promise ``not to test fire long-range missiles during the duration of talks on the missile issue.''
That observation raised the possibility that North Korea might consider testing a long-range Taepodong missile like the one it fired over Japan on Aug. 31, 1998. North Korea threatened to fire another Taepodong, with a much longer range, in 1999 but agreed not to do so when Washington said it would lift economic sanctions.
The North Korean statement came during a discussion in South Korea on the extent to which Washington is likely to support the policy of rapprochement espoused by the South Korean president, Kim Daejung.
Kim is to visit Washington early next month in an effort to ensure that Bush does not shift course on plans to gradually open the North to normal relations with the South and with other countries. North Korea seems to have been particularly aggrieved by suggestions made by Secretary of State Colin Powell and other officials that the North should respond to gestures by the United States and South Korea with gestures of its own, including a reduction of its armed forces.
Maintaining that Washington wants North Korea ``to totally disarm itself first,'' a government spokesman quoted on Thursday by the North Korean news service said the United States was ``seriously mistaken if it thinks Pyongyang will accept its demand.''
---
Missile Pact With North Korea Faltering
Friday, February 23, 2001
San Francisco Chronicle
Washington Post
Doug Struck,
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2001/02/23/MN173898.DTL
Tokyo -- In its first reaction to what it called a "hard-line stance" by the Bush administration, North Korea warned yesterday it may resume testing long- range missiles. That would end a moratorium that was a key achievement of the Clinton administration.
"We promised not to test-fire long-range missiles during the duration of talks" with the United States, said a statement from North Korea's Foreign Ministry. "But we cannot do so indefinitely."
Threats are a standard negotiating tactic for North Korea. But this is the first response by the country to the new U.S. administration, and it carries an ominous warning.
Its August 1998 test launch of a long-range rocket that passed over Japan and came down in the Pacific Ocean had wide repercussions. It alarmed Japan, accelerated U.S. consideration of a missile defense system and prompted an overhaul of the U.S. policy toward Pyongyang.
As a result, the Clinton administration stepped up negotiations. That led to a promise in September 1999 by North Korea to suspend its missile testing, adding to a pledge it made in 1994 to stop its nuclear program.
But North Korea warned yesterday the agreements could be jeopardized by the new Republican administration. It blasted Bush's decision to push ahead with development of a missile shield to protect the United States and possibly Japan and other Asian allies.
"The new U.S. foreign and security team is making a fuss by saying that it will take a hard-line stance on us," the North Korean Foreign Ministry said, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. "But this is an attempt to reverse the past course."
The statement noted delays in the construction of power plants being built by an international consortium in return for the 1994 agreement to end its nuclear program. It warned, "If the United States continues to fail to honor the agreement, we don't feel we should cling to it."
The new warning came as North Korea has begun to emerge from decades of diplomatic isolation. In June, its leader Kim Jong Il hosted a historic summit with South Korean President Kim Dae Jung and in October negotiated in Pyongyang with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.
Albright and Clinton had sought a more permanent deal in which North Korea would give up its missile program and export of missiles in return for some form of compensation, but ran out of time at the end of their administration. As he left office, Clinton said a deal was close and predicted the Bush administration could conclude it quickly, as "one of their first achievements."
Secretary of State Colin Powell has said the Bush administration will continue the policies of the previous administration, but so far there has been no public sign it is picking up the negotiation effort of its predecessors.
While campaigning for the presidency, Bush had indicated he would take a tougher negotiating stand toward North Korea, demanding more in return from the government there. That, and the new president's rush to resume work on a missile defense system, apparently led to the North Korean statement.
The United States wants North Korea "to totally disarm itself first," said the North Korean statement. "The U.S. is seriously mistaken if it thinks that Pyongyang will accept its demand."
The Clinton administration had been persuaded to follow the lead of Kim Dae Jung in "engaging" North Korea rather than confronting it. The United States has gradually reduced most of its economic sanctions against Pyongyang.
The South Korean leader and Clinton administration strategists believed that North Korea's economic problems would provide an opportunity to negotiate the dissolution of the missile threat.
-------- missile defense
Transcript of President Bush's news conference:
Friday, February 23, 2001
Federal News Service Inc
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44168-2001Feb22?language=printer
... Do you think that U.S.-Russian relations have been damaged by the new spy case? And separately, are the Russians showing any flexibility on a missile defense system?
I intend to deal with Mr. [Vladimir] Putin in a very straightforward way, to be up front with him on all matters. I am, of course, disturbed about the espionage, the alleged espionage, that took place. I am mindful that there are people who don't particularly care what America stands for and people who are interested in our secrets.
Secondly, I was pleased to see comments from Russian leadership that talked about missile defense. It is -- their words indicate that they recognize that there are new threats in the post-Cold War era, threats that require theater-based anti-ballistic missile systems. I felt those words were encouraging. When I meet with Mr. Putin, I'm going to talk to him about exactly what he meant by those words. We have no meeting set up yet, I might add, but I took that to be encouraging.
It reminded me of what happened after I met with [Russian Foreign Minister] Mr. [Igor] Ivanov. Shortly thereafter, Mr. Putin also talked about theater-based systems and the ability to intercept missiles on launch. And to me, it's indicative of his recognition that -- of the realities of the true threats in the post-Cold War era, threats from an accidental launch or threats as a result of a leader in what they call a rogue nation trying to hold ourselves or our allies or Russia, for that matter, hostage. So I was pleased with what I saw.
... (and much more about other issues)
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Bush, Blair affirm special ties
Friday, February 23
Globe & Mail
Reuters News Agency
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/RTGAMArticleHTMLTemplate/C/20010223/wbushblair?tf=RT/fullstory.html&cf=RT/config-neutral&slug=wbushblair&date=20010223&archive=RTGAM&site=Front
Camp David, Maryland - President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair succumbed to each other's "charm offensive" on Friday, agreeing on the need for missile defence, the rationale behind a European rapid-reaction force and a tough line against Iraq.
The two leaders, who met for the first time in the rustic serenity of the presidential mountain retreat, recommitted to the longstanding "special relationship" between the United States and Britain.
"He put the charm offensive on me and it worked," Mr. Bush told a joint news conference. "When either of us gets in a bind there'll be a friend on the other end of the phone."
Mr. Bush called Britain "our strongest friend and closest ally" and Mr. Blair responded in kind, describing the meeting as "absolutely excellent and very productive."
"Our countries have stood together in very hard times...the reason we came through those times stronger is that we share the same values, we share the same interests and we share the same perception of the world," he said.
Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair were joined by Secretary of State Colin Powell as well as Mr. Bush's national security adviser Condoleezza Rice for a working lunch at which they discussed possible refinements to the policy on Iraqi sanctions.
"Our beef is not with the people of Iraq, but with Saddam Hussein," Mr. Bush said. "A change in a sanctions regime that is not working should not be any kind of signal whatsoever to him that he should cross any kind of line," he added.
Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair, who authorized joint air strikes against Iraqi military installations a week ago, agreed to take "appropriate action" if Saddam were found to be building weapons of mass destruction.
Mr. Blair even had warm words for Mr. Bush's idea of building a controversial U.S. missile defense system, saying: "I understand and share the concern about weapons of mass destruction and nuclear proliferation ... I think it is a debate that it is right to have." Mr. Blair assured Mr. Bush that European plans for a Rapid Reaction Force would not weaken NATO and that the force would be used only when the Atlantic alliance chose not to be engaged.
"We would never do anything to undermine NATO," Mr. Blair said.
"I support his point of view," Mr. Bush told reporters. "He assured me that NATO was going to be the primary way to keep the peace in Europe and I assured him the United States would remain actively engaged in NATO," he added.
Mr. Bush praised former President Bill Clinton's efforts to bring peace to Northern Ireland but suggested that unlike his predecessor's activist role, he would wait to be asked before stepping in.
"I will be standing by, anxious to help, if I am needed," Mr. Bush told the news conference.
Mr. Blair said he was very grateful for Mr. Bush's offer. Although he said it was hard to foresee the circumstances in which he might ask Mr. Bush to help, he said: "The fact that I know he is there and willing to do that is very important."
Mr. Bush's meeting with Mr. Blair was his first with a European leader since his inauguration as the 43rd U.S. president on Jan. 20. After the news conference, the Blairs and the Bushes were to have an informal dinner and spend the night at Camp David in the Catoctin Mountains.
Mr. Blair had warm ties with Mr. Clinton, and notably stood by him in the Monica Lewinsky scandal. But he refused to comment on the latest allegations of impropriety against Mr. Clinton involving presidential pardons.
"Bill Clinton is a friend of mine and will remain a friend of mine," he said.
---
Europe Comes Calling
February 23, 2001
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/opinion/23FRI2.html
President Bush's expected meeting today with Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain will be his first with a European leader since taking office. Though Mr. Bush has placed a healthy new emphasis on Western Hemisphere issues during his initial days as president, American military and economic security still depend heavily on the nation's enduring ties to Europe. Mr. Bush's presidency will be measured in part by whether he is able to maintain harmonious relations with Europe as America's allies seek a more independent role on security issues and try to encourage the consolidation of democracy and free markets in Russia. Mr. Blair, as the leader of Washington's most dependable ally, can play a critical role in resolving differences that may develop. He is currently favored to win re-election in a vote expected to take place in May.
One of the most delicate trans-Atlantic issues today is the Bush administration's determination to build an elaborate missile defense system. Many European leaders are wary of the plan, fearing that a new arms race could develop if Washington breaks out of the 1972 Antiballistic Missile Treaty, which limits missile defenses. The European concerns are warranted, and it is essential that Mr. Bush work with Russia to amend the treaty, if antimissile technologies can be perfected.
Moscow adopted a more conciliatory tone on the issue this week. It now acknowledges the potential danger of missile attack from the Middle East or South Asia and proposes making Russian missile technology available to help Europe meet this threat. That still leaves threats to the United States from countries like North Korea, but Moscow now concedes that these, too, may have to be addressed. Mr. Bush said at his first news conference yesterday that he was pleased by the Russian move. The next step is to explore Moscow's apparent willingness to negotiate on missile defense.
Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair will also discuss NATO's future. The alliance's first round of eastward expansion, in 1999, provoked a nationalist backlash in Russia. The Bush administration has shown no inclination to rush ahead with the admission of additional members, which is wise. There is no security need that requires further expansion, and any move to enlarge the alliance, especially by adding the Baltic nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, could lead to the estrangement of Russia from Europe.
A more immediate NATO issue is the plan by some of its European members to create a new all- European rapid reaction force whose 60,000 troops could be sent to maintain peace in trouble spots where the United States chooses not to participate. The idea is a good one and was welcomed by the Clinton administration. But some of Mr. Bush's advisers worry that a European force would duplicate existing efforts and drain resources from NATO. Mr. Blair has been closely involved in designing the new force and is determined that it strengthen Europe's military role in NATO.
Mr. Blair enjoyed a particularly close relationship with Bill Clinton, with whom he shared a center-left political agenda. But Britain and the United States have so many foreign policy goals in common that Mr. Blair and Mr. Bush are likely to be close partners as well.
---
Bush Meets With British Prime Minister (nyt)
February 23, 2001
New York Times
By DAVID STOUT
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/world/23CND-PREX.html
WASHINGTON, Feb. 23 - President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair of Britain discussed a wide range of world issues today and vowed that their countries would continue to have, as Mr. Bush put it, "an alliance that has made a huge difference in the world."
Mr. Bush and Mr. Blair got acquainted in talks at Camp David, where they talked about trade, NATO, the Middle East and American plans to build a missile defense against weapons of mass destruction.
Mr. Blair, the first foreign leader to visit the United States in the Bush presidency, said he and Mr. Bush had had talks that were "absolutely excellent, very productive."
The two men said they were united in their intention to keep up the pressure on the Iraqi president, Saddam Hussein. Iraq, which has been under United Nations sanctions since shortly after the Persian Gulf war, was the target of air raids by the United States and Britain not many days ago.
Mr. Bush said it was important to make the sanctions more effective and to "build a consensus" toward that end in the Middle East. Not coincidentally, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell was on a plane over the Atlantic headed to the region even as the president and prime Minister met reporters.
As expected, the two officials discussed United States plans to build a missile-defense system, which Mr. Bush has said is necessary to guard against terrorists or rogue nations. Mr. Bush said he had told Mr. Blair, "we need to think differently about the post cold war era."
European nations have been generally hostile to the American idea, but Britain has been cautiously supportive without making a commitment. "We welcome the dialogue," Mr. Blair said, saying a case can be made for such a defense.
When Mr. Bush was asked whether the United States would go it alone if it failed to win backing for a missile defense, he quickly replied, "I don't accept your hypothesis." He went on to say he was confident that he would win backing for a missile defense.
Mr. Blair was considerably less definite. But the prime minister said he was sure the two countries could "take this forward in a constructive way and find our way through this."
The two men stood side by side in a cabin, the president in a leather jacket and open-collar shirt and the prime minister in a sweater. They gave all indications of having hit it off personally in their first meeting. "As they told me," Mr. Bush said, "he's a pretty charming fellow."
Implicit in their remarks was the notion that the ties between the United States and Britain are enduring because of what the countries share - not just a language but, in Mr. Blair's words, "freedom and standing up for what is right and just."
---
Bush Meets With British Prime Minister (ap)
February 23, 2001
Associated Press
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Bush-Blair.html?pagewanted=all
THURMONT, Md. (AP) -- President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair, pledging to preserve the special relationship between the United States and Britain, said Friday they would explore ways to make sanctions against Iraq ``more realistic'' and seek common ground among skeptical European allies about a U.S. missile defense system.
In his first meeting with a European leader, Bush brought Blair to Camp David, the secluded presidential retreat in Maryland's Catoctin Mountains. Bush said Saddam should not see any changes of the decade-old sanctions regime as a sign of weakness, warning Saddam not to ``cross any line and test our will.'' A week ago, American and British warplanes carried out airstrikes against Iraqi air defense sites.
Blair said the two counties share values, interests and a historical relationship that will ``strengthen in the years to come.''
``I can assure you that when either of us gets in a bind,'' Bush said, ``there will be a friend on the other end of the phone.''
The leaders broke little ground at their joint news conference, though Bush signed onto a European defense force independent of NATO. The president announced that China had agreed to ``remedy'' the situation if Beijing had -- as the United States suspects -- helped Iraq build better defense systems. And he signaled a less involved role for the United States in the Northern Ireland peace process.
``I'm going to wait to be asked by the prime minister,'' Bush said.
Blair, who had turned repeatedly to Clinton for help in Northern Ireland, said in Bush's case that ``it's difficult to foresee the exact circumstances in which I might pick up the phone and ask the president to help.''
From the smallest detail, the two leaders sought to strike a casual, friendly tone. They addressed reporters while standing in front of a glowing fire at a quaint lodge, their respective flags at either side. Bush wore a leather bomber jacket -- ``George W. Bush. President'' was stenciled on one pocket -- atop a blue V-neck sweater.
Blair, too, wore a sweater -- but seemed flummoxed by Bush's playful nature. When a reporter asked the leaders to name some things they have in common, Bush replied sarcastically, ``We both use Colgate toothpaste.''
Blair responded: ``They're going to wonder how you knew that, George,'' then apologized for the question coming from a member of his press corps.
Their meetings are taking place amid the snowy splendor of the presidential retreat that dates to Franklin Roosevelt, who had British Prime Minister Winston Churchill as his first guest at Camp David. The hub of the Marine camp is a half dozen modest, low-slung lodges -- all painted pea green -- nestled in the Maryland woods.
The leaders lunched in Laurel lodge, the largest of the group with a floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the wintry landscape, before walking to the Holly lodge used by Churchill more than 50 years ago.
Blair arrived aboard a U.S. Marine helicopter, kicking up sheets of snow as a color guard formed on either side of a long pathway. Bush and his wife, Laura, greeted Blair and his wife, Cherie, and the foursome then walked to a golf cart equipped with a zippered plastic cover.
Taking charge, Bush got behind the wheel and drove the group off to their meetings.
Afterward, the leaders made a show of standing strong against Iraq, while agreeing that the sanctions regime might need to be tweaked to keep the pressure on Saddam and limit the impact on Iraqi civilians.
``A change in a sanction regime that is not working should not be any kind of signal whatsoever to him that he should cross any line and test our will, because we're absolutely determined to make that part of the world a more peaceful place by keeping this guy in check,'' Bush said.
Blair said he shared Bush's concern about missiles being launched against allies by rogue states but stopped short of endorsing the president's push for a missile defense system. He noted that Bush has not put a specific proposal on the table, allowing that ``it's important that we look at every single way we possibly can of dealing with this threat.''
Coming into the meeting, a potential sticking point in U.S.-British relations was the discussion among European countries of creating their own military forces, less dependent on the United States. Though the idea has already run into budgetary and other squabbles, some in the United States fear it could undermine NATO.
In a joint statement released after the news conference, the leaders agreed that such a force would deal with ``crisis management'' when NATO as a whole does not want to get involved.
Bush said Blair assured him that ``NATO is going to be the primary way to keep the peace in Europe.''
On China, Bush said he accepted Beijing's response to accusations that it has aided Iraq.
``I think you always got to begin with trust until proven otherwise,'' Bush said. Afterward, Condoleezza Rice, Bush's national security adviser, declined to elaborate on the president's statement.
At the State Department, an official said China's response came during a meeting Friday between Ambassador Joseph Prueher and senior Chinese officials. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Prueher expressed concern about Chinese activities in Iraq that might violate U.N. sanctions. The Chinese responded as Bush indicated in his comments at Camp David, the official said.
Also in the news conference, Blair called Clinton a friend, but would not comment on the pardon controversy surrounding the former president.
And the leaders downplayed their ideological differences, with Bush jumping to Blair's defense when a reporter called the British prime minister a tax-raiser. ``Quit slandering the man.''
In matter of style and politics, Blair had more in common with Clinton; they are Oxford graduates who married high-powered lawyers and hewed to the political center to create a ``third way'' of governing in their respective countries. Blair became Clinton's best friend among foreign leaders.
Now Blair seeks to rebuild close personal links to Washington under far different circumstances. In Bush, he will find a partner whose domestic views are more conservative and a president who is viewed by European leaders as less engaged in world affairs.
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Russia calls for dialogue on missile defense plan
Friday, February 23, 2001
Bergen Record
Associated Press
By DEBORAH SEWARD
http://www.bergen.com/morenews/russ23200102236.htm
http://seattlep-i.nwsource.com/national/russia23.shtml
MOSCOW -- Setting the tone for Russia's first direct contact with the Bush administration, Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov said Thursday that the time has come for serious dialogue with the United States on missile defense and other nuclear issues.
At a news conference two days before he meets Secretary of State Colin Powell for the first time, Ivanov said the world political climate depends on relations between the United States and Russia -- a view contested by the Bush administration, which does not consider Russia its equal.
"We are in the mood for the most active dialogue at all levels, starting with the highest level . . . on the entire range of issues in Russian-American relations," Ivanov said.
Ivanov refused to comment on the arrest this week of Robert Philip Hanssen, a career FBI agent who was charged with spying for Russia, saying he thought the U.S.-Russia agenda was significantly broader than that issue.
Powell and Ivanov will meet Feb. 24 in Cairo. Ivanov said the meeting place was chosen because both diplomats planned to be in the Middle East at the same time.
In Washington on Thursday, Bush said he was encouraged by recent comments from Russian leaders on missile defense, and he hoped to discuss the matter further with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"Their words indicate that they recognize that there are new threats in the post-Cold War era, threats that require theater-based, antiballistic missile systems," Bush said.
A chill has been blowing between Washington and Moscow since Bush took office last month, with U.S. officials accusing Russia of trying to revive its Soviet ambitions and selling missile technology to countries such as North Korea and Iran.
Ivanov's measured, almost bland assessment of U.S.-Russian relations contrasts with the tough talk from Defense Ministry and Kremlin officials who in recent weeks have accused officials in Washington of maligning Russia's reputation.
Saying U.S.-Russian relations had "significant potential in guaranteeing international security, Ivanov added: "We realize perfectly well that to a great extent the world climate depends on just how relations with Russia and the United States take shape."
Missile defense is likely to be the hottest topic on Saturday's agenda. Others include NATO expansion, the Middle East, Iraq, and the Balkans, Ivanov said.
Russia opposes U.S. plans to develop a national missile defense system, and this week presented NATO Secretary General Lord Robertson with an outline for a non-strategic missile defense proposal for Europe to counter the American initiative.
Ivanov repeated the standing Russian argument that a U.S. missile defense program would violate the 1972 ABM treaty and destroy global strategic stability.
"If we pull out one of the links of such a security structure, then it could fall apart," Ivanov said.
Ivanov proposed holding multilateral talks to assess the threats that prompted the United States to consider developing a missile shield. The dialogue should include all states concerned, including European nations and China, he said.
He also proposed holding talks on developing a global system to control rockets and rocket technology.
---
Northrop sues Lockheed over deal
01/02/23
InfoBeat
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406237649
NEW YORK (AP) - Northrop Grumman Corp. is suing Lockheed Martin Corp. for allegedly cutting it out of a $4 billion Army contract, escalating a fight among various companies over the shrinking number of military contracts, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
The suit was filed in San Jose, Calif. in December but not previously publicly reported. It alleges that after Northrop helped Lockheed secure a contract to manufacture a new missile defense system, Lockheed assigned Northrop's share of the job to one of its own production units.
The dispute stems from the contract for the Army's Theater High Altitude Area Defense program, known as THAAD. The system provides soldiers on the battlefield protection from missile assaults.
Northrop, which is based in Los Angeles, argues in the suit that its defense-electronics unit was initially contracted to provide the canisters that launch the THAAD missile interceptors. The suit alleges that Lockheed ultimately turned the job over to its own unit in Middle River, Md.
Pete Harrigan, a spokesman for Lockheed, told the Journal that the lawsuit was ``without merit.'' He said the company chose to switch from Northrop because Northrop ``chose to ignore repeated suggestions and advice on techniques to lower its costs.''
The suit is seeking limited damages, but it underscores the tremendous latitude large contractors have over the distribution of subcontracts in the post-Cold War era defense industry. Prior to the downsizing of military budgets in recent years, defense officials played a larger role in the structuring of contracts.
-------- pakistan
Pakistan May Put Nuclear Arms on Subs
Friday, February 23, 2001
Washington Post
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A44158-2001Feb22?language=printer
KARACHI, Pakistan -- In what appears to be the first indication that Pakistan is ready to deploy nuclear weapons, its navy said that it might put nuclear missiles on its submarines. Such a move would aggravate tension with neighboring India, which also announced its intention to deploy submarines carrying nuclear weapons.
"Pakistan may equip its submarines with nuclear missiles to defend its key naval installations," said navy spokesman Roshan Khayal. It's not known how many or which nuclear weapons Pakistan possesses, but Pakistan recently added three French submarines to its fleet. They are all capable of carrying nuclear warheads, Khayal said.
Many analysts say they do not believe either country has yet deployed nuclear weapons or developed nuclear warheads for their missile systems. Both countries exploded nuclear devices in 1998 and declared themselves nuclear powers. Both have tested medium- and long-range missiles capable of landing deep within each other's territory.
-------- russia
Kursk had known faults
01/02/23
Infobeat
Associated Press
By VLADIMIR ISACHENKOV
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406231934
MOSCOW (AP) - The mother of a sailor who died aboard the nuclear submarine Kursk said Thursday her son told her the vessel had serious problems shortly before he set sail, and that Northern Fleet commanders were warned.
'``We have death aboard,''' Nadezhda Tylik recalled her son, Lt. Sergei Tylik, as saying. ``He just smiled at me when I told him that everything will be fine.''
Her statement at a news conference could bolster speculation that the Aug. 12 disaster that killed all 118 aboard was caused by an internal malfunction in one of the Kursk's torpedoes. Russian officials have said a collision with a Western submarine appeared to be the most likely cause.
Tylik said that submariners at Vidyayevo, where the Kursk was based, have said that one of the submarine's torpedoes had developed a hydrogen leak, and that Kursk skipper Gennady Lyachin warned his superiors about the problem.
``But the Northern Fleet commanders let the submarine out to sea anyway,'' Tylik said.
Fleet officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Two explosions rocked the Kursk. Many Russian and foreign experts have said that a misfiring torpedo most likely caused the first blast that sent the vessel crashing to the seabed where its ammunition apparently detonated, cracking the submarine's hull.
Officials have acknowledged that a civilian engineer and a military expert from a torpedo-manufacturing plant were among the Kursk crew, but denied that the ship was testing a new torpedo with unstable fuel.
Nadezhda Tylik, who was shown this summer getting an injection while shouting at officials after the catastrophe, reversed her story Thursday that the medicine was for a heart condition and that her husband requested the shot.
``I don't know what medicine they injected me with, but it instantly made me unable to speak,'' Tylik said.
Tylik's outburst this summer ended when a woman with a large hypodermic came up behind her, television footage showed. The incident raised allegations that Russia was reverting to Soviet-era techniques in which dissent sometimes was stifled by medical means.
Following the criticisms, Tylik denied that she was forcibly injected _ a version she denied Thursday.
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Russia Is Said to Have Known of Sub Flaw
February 23, 2001
New York Times
ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/world/23KURS.html
MOSCOW, Feb. 22 - The mother of a sailor who died aboard the nuclear submarine Kursk said today that shortly before her son set off on his fatal voyage in August, he told her the vessel had serious problems that Northern Fleet commanders had been warned about.
"`We have death aboard,' " the woman, Nadezhda Tylik, quoted her son, Lt. Sergei Tylik, as saying. "He just smiled at me when I told him that everything would be fine."
Her statement at a news conference could bolster theories that the Aug. 12 disaster that killed all 118 aboard was caused by a malfunction in a torpedo. Russian officials have said a collision with a Western submarine was the most likely cause.
According to Mrs. Tylik, submariners at Vidyayevo, the Kursk's base, have said that a torpedo developed a hydrogen leak, and that the Kursk's captain, Gennadi Lyachin, warned his superiors about the problem.
"But the Northern Fleet commanders let the submarine out to sea anyway," Mrs. Tylik said.
Fleet officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
Two explosions rocked the Kursk. Many Russian and foreign experts have said that a misfiring torpedo most likely caused the first blast, which sent the vessel crashing to the seabed. There, its ammunition apparently detonated, cracking its hull.
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Controversial Nuke-Import Plan To Become Law
23 February 2001
Radio Free Europe
By Sophie Lambroschini
http://www.rferl.org/nca/features/2001/02/23022001115838.asp
Russia's controversial plan to lift its ban on importing spent nuclear fuel hit a minor stumbling block this week when legislators postponed the proposal's second reading in the Duma -- the country's lower house of parliament -- until next month. Still, as RFE/RL correspondent Sophie Lambroschini reports, many of the plan's opponents say it is only a matter of time before the Kremlin-sponsored proposal becomes law.
Moscow, 23 February 2001 (RFE/RL) -- Russian legislators this week put off a decision on whether the country should open its borders to other countries' spent nuclear fuel. The second Duma reading of the controversial proposal, initially scheduled for yesterday, has been put off until mid-March.
The delay came at the request of the 11-member Duma Ecological Committee, who made the recommendation after a preliminary hearing on 19 February to sort through the hundreds of amendments to the plan proposed since its first successful reading in December.
The committee -- whose members hail almost exclusively from pro-government Duma factions -- recommended rejecting a pair of amendments that would place budgetary and legislative restrictions on the waste-import plan.
Igor Artemyev, a deputy with the liberal Yabloko faction, said the rejected amendments were "key" to providing the parliament a measure of control over the proposed import procedure:
"The 'nuclear lobby' (the Ecological Committee) in the Duma rejected an amendment to provide independent parliamentary control over the [import] contracts. Obviously, the nuclear lobby doesn't want any parliamentary control. The second amendment was a proposal by legislators to create a special budget fund by which it would be possible to see how, where, and through what accounts the money [earned from import contracts] is transferred -- whether it goes through the state coffers, and to what projects and programs."
The plan authored by the government with input from the Atomic Energy Ministry, proposes amending an article in Russia's existing law on environmental protection that bans the import of nuclear waste. The plan packages the proposed amendment with two additional bills outlining the conditions under which nuclear materials could be brought into the country for reprocessing or temporary storage.
The plan has been championed by Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeny Adamov, who claims the project could bring in as much as $20 billion -- money he says could be spent, in part, to build a new generation of Russian nuclear reactors and help bolster the safety conditions of those already in existence.
The plan's critics, however, argue that the country's poor nuclear safety record and aging facilities make the proposal a dangerous gamble for Russia.
A number of regional parliaments have protested the plan, with opposition registering especially high in Siberia, where the proposed waste imports would be stored and reprocessed. Many have questioned whether Russia has the resources and technology available to provide safe and reliable storage of nuclear waste for periods of up to 40 years, as the plan envisions.
Environmentalists have added that leaky transport containers and the poor condition of Russian railroads increase the risk of serious accidents during the long trip from Europe to Siberia. But a nationwide referendum on the issue was shot down last December when the Central Elections Commission declared invalid a portion of the more than 2.5 million signatures gathered.
The proposal is predicted to see a relatively smooth ride through the Duma, where the influential pro-government Unity faction holds more than 80 seats. Ecological Committee member Anatoly Greshnevikov -- one of the few members to openly criticize the proposal -- says the waste-import issue is an example of how the Kremlin's strong presence has effectively broken resistance in the parliament's lower chamber:
"It's all very sad. It's very bad that parliament has withdrawn from the control it should be using over such ecologically dangerous draft laws and deals. It's sad that the government is so actively insistent on earning these $20 billion. And since [the authorities] have the Unity faction and have talked other deputies into going along, there's no hope that the process can be stopped."
What some environmentalists and deputies find most disturbing about the plan is the Atomic Energy Ministry's apparent willingness to store the world's spent nuclear waste on a permanent basis. Greshnevikov explains:
"It's said that the temporary storage will last 40 years, but no one knows what will happen in 20, 30, 40 years. There is no guarantee in this law that the country -- for example, Thailand or Japan -- that brought the spent fuel in for reprocessing will then take it back out in 40 years..."
The Norwegian Bellona environmental association echoes similar concerns, reporting in their newsletter that Russia's tentative proposal to reprocess the imported fuel could be a violation of the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, since it entails the extraction of depleted uranium that could then be used for military purposes. For that reason, Bellona says, Russia may only be able to attract customers in one way: by offering permanent disposal.
---
Russia opens nuclear power plant
01/02/23
Infobeat
Associated Press
By SERGEI VENYAVSKY
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406237042
ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia (AP) - More than 20 years after its conception, Russia's first new nuclear power plant since the Soviet era was launched Friday by top officials who called it a breakthrough for the industry after years of opposition.
Operators switched on the first reactor at the Rostov Atomic Energy Station to minimal output and will gradually bring it to full power over the next several months.
Plant and government officials insist the reactor is Russia's safest and will provide jobs and much-needed electricity to the Rostov province and the surrounding North Caucasus region.
But environmental groups and many residents of the nearby forested region strongly oppose it, and say its designers have ignored lessons of the 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl plant, the world's worst nuclear accident.
Atomic Energy Minister Yevgeny Adamov promised the Rostov plant would observe all necessary precautions. ``The main thing is the safe operation of the plant,'' he said at the ceremony.
Later, he promised electricity discounts and medical benefits to the 250,000 people living within 18 miles of the plant. The facility is adjacent to town of Volgodonsk, 120 miles east of Rostov-on-Don.
The reactor had been almost complete when the government froze construction on all Russian nuclear plants because of public protests prompted by the Chernobyl blast.
But amid increasing electric blackouts across Russia prompted by deterioration of coal-powered electric plants and chronic funding shortages, the government announced a drive to revive the nuclear energy industry. The Atomic Energy Ministry allocated funds in 1999 for completing the Rostov reactor and several other projects.
``We will no longer allow such pauses,'' Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Khristenko said Friday.
Opponents say the plant was built too close to a major reservoir and in an area of high seismic activity. They also say the reactor was not properly maintained while construction was stalled.
``This is the last thing the Rostov province needs. We've seen what those monsters can do, and should never forget it,'' said Alexander Filipenko, chairman of the Rostov Chernobyl Union.
Filipenko's group unites 20,000 people who helped clean up after the Chernobyl accident, many of whom suffer medical problems that doctors attribute to radiation exposure. Millions of people from around the Soviet Union were sent to clean up Chernobyl.
The Soviet-designed VVER-1000 reactor at Rostov is considered structurally more sound than the RBMK reactor that blew up at Chernobyl. The main difference is that the VVER-1000 has a concrete containment structure designed to hold in damage from an explosion. It can also withstand a magnitude-7 earthquake or the crash of a 20-ton aircraft, plant officials say.
After years of pressure from Western governments and environmental groups, Ukraine shut down Chernobyl's last working reactor in December. Many Ukrainians protested the loss of jobs and electricity the plant provided.
With Friday's launch, Russia now has 10 nuclear plants that produce about 12 percent of the nation's electricity.
-------- u.s. nuc facilities
SECC PRESS RELEASE
Friday, February 23, 2001
Safe Energy Communication Council
WASHINGTON D.C. The report, "Licensed to Kill: How the Nuclear Power Industry Destroys Endangered Marine Wildlife and Ocean Habitat to Save Money," further documents a lack of oversight by governmental regulatory agencies, particularly the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), that may border on collusion. "Tragically, under the present regulatory system, the nuclear power industry's needs almost always prevail over the interests of marine life," said Scott Denman, Executive Director of the Safe Energy Communication Council (SECC).
"Instead of applying sanctions when a nuclear plant kills more than its allotted quota of endangered species, NRC almost always supports industry attempts to raise the limits on the number of animals that can be killed or captured during reactor operation," Denman added.
The Safe Energy Communication Council, Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS), Standing for Truth about Radiation (STAR), and The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), are the four groups issuing "Licensed to Kill." The report documents the nuclear power industry's use of the ecologically harmful, but relatively inexpensive once-through cooling technology responsible for devastating marine ecosystems from New England to California. Once-through cooling technology is used exclusively in 48 nuclear reactors with 11 additional reactors employing the technology in conjunction with cooling towers and canals. These reactors, situated on coastal waters, major rivers, and lakes can draw in as much as a billion gallons of water per reactor unit a day, nearly a million gallons a minute, in order to dissipate the extraordinary amounts of waste heat generated in the fission process.
The initial devastation of marine life and ecosystems stems from the powerful intake of water into the nuclear reactor. Marine life, ranging from endangered sea turtles and manatees down to delicate fish larvae and microscopic planktonic organisms vital to the ocean ecosystem, is sucked irresistibly into the reactor cooling system, a process known as entrainment. Some of these animals are killed, either through impingement (animals are caught and trapped against filters, grates, and other reactor structures), or, in the case of air-breathing animals like turtles, seals, and manatees, drown or suffocate.
"Nuclear power stations are routinely allowed to destroy alarming percentages of fish stocks and larvae entrained through cooling water intakes," said Bob Alvarez, Executive Director of the STAR Foundation, based on Long Island Sound. "In contrast, the commercial fishing industry must submit to strict regulatory standards including fines and license suspension for illegal takes."
The report notes that an equally huge volume of wastewater is then discharged at temperatures up to 25 degrees F hotter than the water into which it flows. Indigenous marine life suited to colder temperatures is consequently eliminated or, in the case of endemic fish, forced to move, disrupting delicately balanced ecosystems. Moreover, the new, warmer ambient water temperatures often encourage warm-water species to colonize the artificially maintained warm-water zone. When the warm water flow is diminished or halted because of maintenance, cleaning, or repair work on the reactor, these species are often "cold-stunned;" many subsequently die of hypothermia. Species affected include endangered sea turtles, marine mammals, fish, and sea birds.
For more information visit www.safeenergy.org.
For more information, contact: Linda Gunter Communications Director Safe Energy Communication Council
202-483-8491 lcpentz@erols.com NIRS: 202-328-0002; STAR: 631-324-0655; HUMANE SOCIETY: 202-452-1100
-------- new mexico
Sandia Labs Welcome Expanding Role
Friday, February 23, 2001
Albuquerque Journal
By John Fleck
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/258720news02-23-01.htm
Boosts in missile defense and nuclear weapons work have given Sandia National Laboratories a healthy, $1.5 billion budget this year, labs president C. Paul Robinson told reporters Thursday afternoon.
With budget problems of last year behind them, Sandia's managers are planning to hire 2,500 new scientists and engineers over the next five years to replace retirees and employees who leave.
But Sandia managers recognize they might have to do that while coping with the budgetary ups and downs that have accompanied U.S. nuclear weapons spending in recent years.
"We don't have any secret medicine to deal with that," Sandia vice president Joan Woodard said.
Woodard and Robinson spoke to reporters before their annual community "state of the labs" public talk.
A year ago, the two were grappling with the possibility of having to lay off workers because of budget shortfalls.
But a rapid turnaround, driven in part by funding for missile defense work, helped avoid layoffs and has left Sandia in better shape this year.
Sandia, a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory, is one of New Mexico's largest employers, with nearly 7,000 people working at its headquarters on Kirtland Air Force Base, south of Albuquerque.
Its primary mission is designing and maintaining components for U.S. nuclear weapons, but in the past year missile defense research has been a major part of the labs' work.
Sandia makes the targets for missile defense research - designing and building stand-ins for enemy missiles so U.S. researchers can try to figure out ways to shoot them down.
That work and other research for federal agencies other than the DOE has continued to grow - "diversifying the customer base," Woodard called it.
The nuclear weapons budget, meanwhile, also shows signs of growing, up to $5 billion nationwide this year.
Last fall, the Defense Department asked the Department of Energy to begin refurbishing aging warheads on Trident nuclear submarines, a job in which Sandia will play a major role.
Additional refurbishing jobs are planned for the future, something Robinson said provides challenging work for his scientists and engineers.
Plans are under way for refurbishment of the W80 cruise missile warhead and the B61 nuclear bomb, Robinson said.
During the Cold War, nuclear warheads were typically replaced every 10 years or less, but laboratory scientists now face the task of ensuring that aging weapons remain safe and reliable over far-longer lifetimes.
Robinson and Woodard used their "state of the lab" events to unveil what they call a "core vision" for Sandia's future: "Helping our nation secure a peaceful and free world through technology."
Nuclear weapons have always been the key part of that mission, but on Thursday Robinson suggested a broader goal - for Sandia to be lab the nation turns to to solve its most serious problems, from defusing chemical or biological weapons to defending the country's computer infrastructure.
"We'd like to be the lab the nation calls on first when serious problems arise," Robinson said.
-------- new york
Leak Is Plugged at Power Plant in Buchanan
February 23, 2001
New York Times
By RANDAL C. ARCHIBOLD
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/nyregion/23NUKE.html
WHITE PLAINS, Feb. 22 - A minor, nonradioactive leak at the Indian Point 2 nuclear plant has been repaired, but the plant will not resume full power for at least another day while technicians complete what officials describe as unrelated preventive maintenance.
Con Edison officials said workers finished installing a metal plug today to patch a pinhole-size leak noticed Monday in a water pipe that had forced the utility to reduce the plant's output to 50 percent of its nearly 1,000-megawatt capacity.
The leak sprang from a pipe on a discharge line that, while not involving radioactive water, did carry superheated water that could have badly burned workers if the seepage had grown worse, officials said. Workers plugged the hole, tested the pipe and "now it is working the way it is supposed to," said Neil Sheehan, a spokesman for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
But the plant, in Buchanan, 35 miles north of Manhattan, will remain at half power while workers upgrade the electronics that help control one of two pumps that feed water into the steam generators. Officials at Con Edison and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission both described the work as routine maintenance that did not raise any concerns for safety.
Michael Clendenin, a spokesman for Con Edison, said the work was expected to be completed tonight or Friday. The plant will return to full power shortly thereafter, he said.
The plant has sustained a series of minor leaks and other problems since early January, when workers began restoring it to operation nearly a year after it was shut down because of a radioactive leak last February. The plant resumed full power Jan. 28.
The accident last February did not result in any injuries, and no radioactivity escaped into the air. But it brought renewed, sometimes harsh, focus on the plant - from residents, public officials, regulators and environmentalists - that continued even today.
Two environmental groups, the Citizens Awareness Network and Environmental Advocates, filed a request with the state's Public Service Commission to suspend its review of the transfer of the plant's license to the Entergy Corporation, which is buying the plant from Con Edison. Con Ed expects to complete the sale in May or June.
The groups said the Public Service Commission should not proceed until the Nuclear Regulatory Commission completed its review of the groups' petition to revoke the plant's license because of what they consider chronic mismanagement and poor maintenance.
David Flanagan, a spokesman for the Public Service Commission, said the petition would be referred to an administrative law judge.
Mr. Clendenin said, "We think the filing has no basis, and there is no reason to delay the transfer of the license."
-------- us nuc politics
Team players
February 23, 2001
Washington Times
Embassy Row James Morrison News and dispatches from the diplomatic corridor.
http://www.washtimes.com/world/embassy-200122321852.htm
The Bush administration is building its foreign policy team with seasoned career diplomats and experienced officials who served under President Reagan or in the first Bush White House.
National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice yesterday announced five appointments to deal with Latin America, Africa, Europe and Russia, arms control and nuclear proliferation.
She selected John F. Maisto as director for Western Hemisphere affairs. Mr. Maisto has served as ambassador to Venezuela and Nicaragua, deputy assistant secretary of state for Central America and deputy ambassador to the Organization of American States.
Miss Rice appointed Harvard professor Jendayi E. Frazer as director for African affairs. She has served as a political-military planner with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and as an African security specialist with the State Department's International Military Education Training programs.
Miss Rice chose Daniel Fried as director for European and Eurasian affairs. Mr. Fried, a career diplomat with 24 years service, was ambassador to Poland from 1997 until May 2000.
He also served as a principal deputy special adviser to the secretary of state for new nations created after the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Miss Rice appointed Robert G. Joseph, a veteran of the Reagan and first Bush administrations, as director for proliferation strategy, counterproliferation and homeland defense.
Under former President George W. Bush, he served as ambassador to the U.S.-Russian Consultative Commission on Nuclear Testing and as commissioner to the Standing Consultative Commission on the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. In the Reagan administration, Mr. Joseph held several senior position in the Defense Department.
Miss Rice named Franklin C. Miller, a former principal deputy assistant secretary of defense, as director of defense policy and arms control.
Earlier this week, President Bush said he will nominate John R. Bolton to be undersecretary of state for arms control and international security affairs.
Mr. Bolton served in the Reagan and first Bush administration at the State and Justice departments.
Mr. Bush also selected Andrew Natsios as administrator of the Agency for International Development. He is a former director of USAID's office of foreign disaster assistance.
-------- MILITARY
China-Iraq military axis is 'troubling,' Bush says
February 23, 2001
Washington Times
By Bill Gertz
http://www.washtimes.com/national/default-200122322553.htm
China and Iraq are denying U.S. reports that Beijing is building a fiber-optic air defense network for Baghdad, but President Bush said yesterday the two nations' military activity is "troubling."
"We're concerned about Chinese presence in Iraq, and my administration is sending the appropriate response to the Chinese," Mr. Bush told reporters. "Yes, it's troubling that they'd be involved in helping Iraq develop a system that will endanger our pilots."
Earlier in Beijing, Zhu Bangzao, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman, denied China violated U.N. sanctions in Iraq and charged the United States and Britain violated U.N. rules with their air strikes Feb. 16.
"The U.S. has ulterior motives by alleging that China is aiding Iraq's air defense system, and this move will be futile," Mr. Zhu was quoted by the official People's Daily newspaper as saying.
The spokesman's statement did not deny China was involved in the Iraqi fiber-optic communications network.
On Wednesday, Jamil Ibrahim Ali, Iraq's secretary of state for transport and telecommunications, denied any Chinese workers are in the country. "There are no Chinese experts working in the field of telecommunications in Iraq," he said.
He dismissed U.S. charges about the activity as "cheap lies."
Asked during yesterday's White House press conference if he is convinced about the Chinese-Iraqi military ties, Mr. Bush said: "Well, we think that may be the case. Let me just tell you this: It's risen to the level where we're going to send a message to the Chinese."
Mr. Bush said the Feb. 16 raids were successful in highlighting his administration's aggressive stance on Iraq and diminishing air defense threats against U.S. pilots over Iraq.
"We got his (Saddam's) attention," the president said. "I believe we succeeded in both of those missions."
Mr. Bush said "many nations" in the Middle East are not abiding by sanctions in place on Iraq since the end of the 1991 Persian Gulf war. "And as a result, a lot of goods are heading into Iraq that were not supposed to," he said. "And so good sanction policy is one where the United States is able to build a coalition around the strategy."
Pentagon officials said the Chinese are building a fiber-optic communications network in Iraqi that would link Iraqi air defense radar around the country. The underground fiber-optic cables are less vulnerable to air strikes than analog or digital cable.
The attacks by U.S. and British jets were successful in knocking out seven communications "nodes" for the air defense grid, although bombing raids on radar sites were less successful.
Pentagon officials said the raid was conducted on a Friday as a way to minimize casualties, including possible Chinese military and civilian technicians in Iraq who were working on the communications grid.
Meanwhile, U.S. warplanes attacked air defense sites in northern Iraq yesterday. The raids were carried out in response to Iraqi anti-aircraft fire and radar targeting of U.S. warplanes, Pentagon officials said.
Defense officials said fewer than half of the Navy's high-technology guided bombs used in the raids hit their targets and some fell far from the targeted radar sites.
The guided bombs, called JSOWs, for Joint Stand-Off Weapons, are dropped from aircraft and guided by satellite navigation systems.
Pentagon spokesman Rear Adm. Craig Quigley told reporters that some of the bombs missed their targets. "We fired these weapons at a distance of dozens of miles," he said. "We know that every weapon used in the raid did not perform 100 percent."
Most of the errant bombs were launched from Navy F-18 jets based on the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman in the Persian Gulf. The bombs are called "fire-and-forget" weapons because they can be dropped up to 50 miles from their targets and then maneuvered using satellite navigation systems.
-------- colombia
Colombia Massacre's Strange Fallout
February 23, 2001
New York Times
By JUAN FORERO
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/world/23COLO.html?pagewanted=all
BOGOTÁ, Colombia, Feb. 22 - He seemed to be the perfect officer for the beleaguered army.
The son of a colonel. Graduate of the most demanding military courses. Service with a Colombian battalion in the Sinai Desert. A combat soldier who excelled in infantry courses at Fort Benning, Ga. His peers, in fact, said they believed that he would one day become a general.
Instead, Lt. Col. Hernán Orozco's career ended on Feb. 12, when a military tribunal sentenced him to three years in prison for not having done enough to prevent the killings of dozens of villagers by paramilitary gunmen in 1997.
Some officials celebrated the verdict, saying Colonel Orozco's conviction, along with that of Gen. Jaime Humberto Uscategui, underscored the commitment to rooting out human rights violators in the military.
But Colonel Orozco protests his sentence, arguing that he has spoken out about abuses as few other officers have, providing hard evidence and risking his life and his family's welfare to tell the truth.
"I was the only officer of those who were investigated who showed that he did something to prevent what happened at Mapiripán," he said in an interview this week.
Human rights groups, which have long contended that paramilitary gunmen have worked with military units in fighting leftist rebels, agree, saying that the case was a travesty and that Colonel Orozco's conviction's will only discourage other officers from coming forward.
"He tried to be the honorable new man, respecting human rights by informing on his superiors," said Robin Kirk, who researches Colombia for Human Rights Watch, of New York. "The message this sends to junior officers is keep your mouth shut or you'll be made to pay."
Court records and testimony show that in July 1997 Colonel Orozco informed General Uscategui that gunmen had entered Mapiripán, a southern village, a warning that was ignored. In the next five days, the paramilitary forces killed at least 30 villagers, decapitating and dismembering them and throwing the bodies in a river. The military arrived after the gunmen had left.
Later, investigators from the attorney general's office exposed how some military officials had not only turned a blind eye to the massacre, but had also cooperated with the paramilitary groups. Colonel Orozco provided much of the documentation and testimony that implicated General Uscategui and others.
The convictions were handed out at a time when President Andrés Pastrana's administration is trying to demonstrate that it is aggressively chasing paramilitary groups and severing their ties to the armed forces.
Critics argue that the efforts have yielded few results and that the convictions of Colonel Orozco and General Uscategui, who received a 40-month term for one of the bloodiest slaughters, mean little.
"It's halfhearted, and it's a very small step," said Michael Shifter, an expert on Colombia at the Inter- American Dialogue, a Washington group. "But I don't think anyone should be fooled to believe that this amounts to significant progress."
In his interview, Colonel Orozco, 40, said he believed that all along he would be found not guilty. He is appealing his conviction. "They condemned me for denouncing a general and, by extension, for offending the generalship," he said.
His involvement in the case began on July 15, 1997, when he was a major temporarily commanding the Joaquín Paris Battalion in a rebel-infested region. That day, Judge Leonardo Ivan Cortés of Mapiripán telephoned Major Orozco to say paramilitary gunmen had appeared. Colonel Orozco testified that he relayed that message by phone to General Uscategui, who oversaw the Seventh Brigade in the city of Villavicencio, and that he followed up early the next morning by faxing a detailed report to the general. General Uscategui never responded, the investigation showed.
Colonel Orozco now says he did not contact General Uscategui again because he assumed that the general would act when he was ready. He also said he became preoccupied with other matters because officers from the Second Mobile Brigade told him on July 14 that rebels were expected to attack another town. Colonel Orozco sent more than 100 soldiers to that town.
Government investigators learned that after the killings ended on July 20 General Uscategui ordered Colonel Orozco to alter the fax that he had sent. The investigators found the original fax months later, leading Colonel Orozco to cooperate. "It was time to say the truth," Colonel Orozco said. "So I gave them the truth - late - but it was the truth."
His testimony and documents indicated that the intelligence officer of the Second Mobile Brigade, Lt. Col. Lino Sánchez, helped coordinate the paramilitary units' arrival. Colonel Sánchez, records show, approached the police before the attack on Mapiripán to request the use of police helicopters to transport the gunmen. The police refused.
Investigators also said two sergeants let planes carrying more than 100 paramilitary gunmen land at a military-controlled airport at San José de Guaviare. The sergeants and Colonel Sánchez face trials.
Colonel Orozco said he hoped to leave Colombia with his family. He said he could not forget his superiors' failures. "The desire to help the paramilitaries expand," he said, "led my fellow officers to betray me and for the high command to give me the cold shoulder."
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Military intervention at the hands of the FTAA
Fri, 23 Feb 2001
FYI.
by Genny Santos
"I hope the ends don't justify the means" says a US military authority in Colombia, but what he will not admit is that the FTAA is neither justifiable as an end nor as a means. The expansion of NAFTA, named the Free Trade Area of the Americas, is expected to be ratified by 2005. However this is not just another treaty that is in its negotiation stage and should be stopped before its final implementation. It is a process that is already working in full gear towards the FTAA as an end result. An end which is the creation of a secure playing field for capitalism. Thus, in the expectation of creating a capitalist heaven, the 34 participant "democracies" have a mission that consists not only in passing neoliberal pieces of legislation that will undermine labour, environmental standards, and all sorts of human rights, but also consists in wiping out all domestic and international obstacles/opposition to the "free" market economy.
With that end in mind, the FTAA supporters achieved the approval of an aid package called Plan Colombia. Initially proposed by the Colombian government the plan was then ratified by the Clinton administration after prolonged lobbying by interested parties. It consists of more than a $2 billion package for the Colombian state and military with the principal goal of recovering the state's control over the country, while creating a safe playing field for investors. $ 1.3 billion is from the US, and an equitable amount from the European Community, showing that although the FTAA is an affair of the American continent, Europe's as well as Japan's economic interests have the same objectives in mind.
Despite the western media portrayal of Plan Colombia as an aid to a country torn by what they frame as a drug war, it is a plan designed to facilitate the Free Trade Area of the Americas. In order to fully understand how Plan Colombia falls into the mandate of the FTAA, it is important to have some basic background knowledge of Colombia's socio-economic history.
In Colombia, political violence has been a well known experience to many generations. Since the early 20th century, there has been a two-party electoral system that has suppressed any possibilities of opposition. Within that system there have been ongoing pockets of resistance. The early black communities whom managed to organize a successful fight to slave work in plantations, moved into the jungle in northern Colombia where they formed today's free communities known as 'Palenques.' They were the first to achieve recognized autonomy from the Spanish monarchy.
Meanwhile, various indigenous communities have been struggling by every means possible against the invasion of their lands by TNCs wanting to drill into sacred territories or power plants that build damns resulting in hundreds of deaths from disease and the displacement of entire communities. One internationally known community is that of the U'wa people whom, faced with the threat of their land being drilled by Oxy Petroleum, have expressed their intention to commit mass suicide if the drilling plans go ahead. As their statement says, "death with dignity is better than slow genocide."
The largest standing guerrilla group, the FARC, with significant peasant support have managed to gain control of the southern territories and have strongly opposed the privatization of Colombian resources while waging a constant war against US-backed military and paramilitary groups. The Colombian military, armed and trained by the United States, has not crushed domestic resistance but has contributed to the annual death toll of about 3,000, as well as the now habitual massacres (mostly committed by paramilitary groups) and to the 300,000 new refugees that are driven form their homes every year. Furthermore, Colombia has been a receiver of IMF/World Bank austerity policies since the 1970's, and has been described by the Wall Street Journal as the country with the best economic growth in Latin America. All this, while approximately 55 percent of Colombia's population lives below the poverty level.
Within this context, Colombia remains a country rich in natural resources and is considered an excellent trade rout due to its geographical situation with coasts on both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Its main natural resources are oil, coal, gold, emeralds, platinum and uranium. And its main exports are coffee, exotic flowers, sugar, bananas and cotton. Colombia is also expanding its maquiladora industries. However, the numerous resistance movements and the long history of union organizing are not welcoming to foreign investors whom choose to hire private militaries/paramilitaries in order to secure their establishments.
British Petroleum, for example, has intervened directly in the ongoing war by hiring mercenaries to work with the military on counterinsurgency strategies in order to protect the oil industry from guerrilla bomb attacks as well as from union organizing. Sindicalist organizing is yet another strong threat to profit maximization, which is why no less than 79 union activists were murdered in Colombia in one year (2000), in addition to the assassination of 4.000 opposition activists and 3.000 union leaders in 14 years of violence. Nevertheless, the Colombian state continues to be praised as the longest standing democracy in Latin America.
This is the state that has received Plan Colombia as an aid package. It was initially described as a plan to fight narcotics, but approved by the US senate in April, 2000, after extensive lobbying on the part of several corporations whose interests have nothing to do with drug policy. Those corporations include Occidental Petroleum Corp., BP Amoco, United Technology Corp., (military helicopter producer), and Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. Therefore, it is no surprise that 85 percent of the US package to Colombia is to be spent on military weapons.
Meanwhile, one of the FTAA's principles states a clear commitment to "non-intervention and to the peaceful resolution of disputes." So, does the funding of a war escalation, the training of a military known for its human rights atrocities, the fumigation of the only crops that can sustain the people's lives, and the purchase of advanced weaponry qualify as non-intervention and peaceful resolution? Perhaps, a better question should be; what are the real intentions, behind Plan Colombia. This is where the actual FTAA, rather than its nice-sounding statement of principles, comes into play.
The process by which the FTAA is negotiated is through nine working roups, of which-just as an interesting side note- the one pertaining to 'market access' is to be chaired by Colombia. Every year, each of the 34 countries, represented by their trade ministers, make several commitments to a plan of action within each of the working groups. Some of the steps within the plan of action that Colombia has certainly taken a lead on are; (a) "Combating the problem of illegal drugs and related crimes" and (b) "Combating terrorism."
Thus, Plan Colombia falls perfectly into place just at the right time with one of its main responsibilities being "the reduction of cultivation, processing, and distribution of narcotics" and "the strengthening of police and armed forces." However, the target is not actually to put an end to coca production but to put an end to the historically rooted opposition and resistance to the illegitimate bi-party system and neoliberal agenda.
As a result, the intended victims are not the big drug cartels who will profit by purchasing the fumigated lands that peasants find themselves forced to sell off, nor the US banks and chemical corporations that are well known to be engaged in the narcotrafficking business. The intended victims are rather the peasants, the urban poor, the guerrillas, the indigenous people struggling to protect their land and their lives, the black communities seeking self-government and the protection of the freedom they have fought for for so long, and basically any one who opposes the ultimate free market economy that the FTAA is seeking to impose.
The are many benefits to waging war in Colombia. To begin with, Colombia now has the third largest displaced population in the world. Internal refugees are mostly peasants, indigenous people, and afrocolombians whom are forced to abandon their small lots of land, escaping from the violence. Between 1995 and 1999, the number of displaced people surpassed one million (89,000 in 1995, 181,000 in 1996, 257,000 in 1997, 308,000 in 1998, and 225,000 between January and September 1999). Half of the people forcefully displaced are black Colombians. The issue is, as Hector Mondragon, a Colombian analyst living underground states, "Not only that people have been displaced by war, but also more importantly, that this war is being made specifically to displace people." The reason is that this displacement allows for large land-owners, known as 'latifundistas,' to purchase more land for large-scale coca production and export crops resulting in the further enrichment of the elite at the expense of the small 'campesino'.
We are witnessing the new century's foreign policy. A policy of war, where communism is no longer the excuse for western illegitimate intervention, but rather narcotics are the excuse for an intervention that is made legitimate by the free market forces and for the free market.
Already in the previous war known as 'La Violencia' between 1948 and 958 about 2 million peasants were displaced and 200,000 murdered. During that time period, the large sugar cane plantations were extended together with cotton production which grew by 500 percent. This leaves coca production as the only profitable crop for peasants to produce. However, as they are displaced from their land and enter the jungle, the cost of production is increased, which means that the peasant is forced to work harder and plant more coca leaves in order to survive. In 1999, although 16 thousand hectares of illegal plantations were destroyed another 38 thousand new ones were planted. Thus, it is well known that fumigations will not eradicate coca production and that increased violence is no solution to narcotraffic, but both are in fact a solution to the unwanted survival and autonomy of the poor and to the spread of opposition to neoliberalism.
It is obvious that the FTAA supporters are also taking into account their experiences from the implementation of NAFTA. In 1993, Mexico eliminated, through a constitutional reform, the inalienable rights of communal lands, resulting in the armed uprising of the zapatistas (Mayan community of Chiapas). Now that NAFTA is to be expanded, Colombia is the next state that is expecting to implement a similar constitutional reform. In fact, president Pastrana made a public declaration last February 2000, in regards to a constitutional reform in favor of free trade. Such reform consists of making available all land for foreign investment. A step that is essential to the creation of a free trade area.
The inalienability of indigenous land as well as the land belonging to the black communities of Colombia was a right that they managed to secure in the 1991 Constitution. Although in practice, this right has only given the indigenous people and afrocolombians relative protection, it is vital that they maintain such recognition. The authorities know that such constitutional reform is likely to result in a similar situation as the one faced by Mexican authorities and their investors. Thus, Plan Colombia will serve to forcefully free up more land through the displacement of 'campesinos' while also strengthening military in view of increased opposition.
The concentration of land ownership for large scale production is not the only reason why land is so valuable nor the only reason why the displacement of people is so desirable in the capitalist eye. The FTAA, together with international financial institutions like the World Bank and the IMF, have other projects in mind for Colombia. They plan to use large extensions of Colombian land to build new trade infrastructure. This includes the construction of a dry canal connecting the Atlantic-Pacific with connections to the railway system, as well as construction of new extended highways between ports, rivers, and the Amazon. In addition, as all other members of the free trade area, Colombia is expected to open up its public services, such as education, health care, water, etc., to private investors. And given the success story of the Bolivians' resistance to the privatization of water it will come in handy for the Colombian state to have increased its military capabilities and its reign of terror.
Meanwhile, the black communities have made an active move towards internationalizing their struggle since it has become obvious that without the support of international solidarity they would be unable to resist the increased militarized repression. Their current situation is increasingly worrisome given that their autonomous territories are in the way of the large infrastructure projects. Blacks in Colombia have fought since their arrival to the unknown continent to protect their own culture, to create their own autonomous methods of survival and development, and to create their own identity as black Colombians with a right to be different. Today, blacks constitute about 30 percent of Colombian population. Some live in the 'palenques' (black autonomous communities) while others are dispersed throughout the country. Coca production on their land is there because they have no alternative means of subsistence.
Part of Plan Colombia is a plan to substitute coca with five export crops (i.e. bananas and peppers). This means that whatever land is not in the way of the megaprojects will be turned into centrally managed plantations stripping the people of their autonomy in order to be made into laborers. The black communities recognize this as a violation of their freedom. Their movements are based on an ancestral teaching that says, "I am because we are" meaning that an individual can only be free if the people around are also free. In this time of capitalist globalization they only see their struggle as successful if other struggles for freedom also succeed.
For the same reason that the FTAA is about all of the Americas, the effects of Plan Colombia are not to remain within the Colombian borders. Social movements are on the rise in all of Colombia's neighboring countries. And Venezuela, with even larger oil fields than Colombia, is becoming a place of concern to western capitalists ever since president Chavez was known to be negotiating with Cuba, Iraq and other non-western oil producers. Thus it is in the interest of the western oil producers that the US have a strong military pesence in South America. Thus, one of the tasks of Plan Colombia is to build bases in surrounding countries. In Panama, for example, near the Colombian border, live peacefully the indigenous Kuna people. Now, they are fighting against American intentions of creating a naval base on their land, while they are intimidated with the increased presence of US soldiers. The American military claims that they have to be there for the Kuna's protection as they expect Colombian guerrillas to move closer to the northern border, and coca production to expand outwards.
The Kuna people do not want their territory militarized. Colombia's black communities do not want to be part of a war that is not their war. The Colombian campesino does not want to abandon his plot of land. Colombian women do not want to end up in a situation where the only option is to become a maquiladora slave-worker or a wage worker at a large plantation. The Embera Katio people have seen enough deaths and had enough of damn projects and power plants and want the right to live peacefully on a healthy diverse ecosystem as they had done for centuries. The problem is that our northern model of democracy is one that only listens to certain voices. But the American continent does not need a "free" trade area, nor a military aid package. What we need is to raise our voices through different means, not just until they are heard, but until we are actively determining the future of each of our communities in a network of participatory democracies.
What Colombia needs in a time of war is a people-based peace process with deep socio-economic reforms that allow for the various sectors of Colombian society to put an end to the history of domination; immidiate demilitarization and recognition of the worker's unions and peasant federations as legitimate actors; as well as the recognition of the capability of the indigenous and the black communities to self-govern.
As Alfonso from PCN (Proceso de Comunidades Negras) says, "Plan Colombia is the cruelest expression of globalised capitalism." It is the expression of the FTAA in full gear, which is not only going to meet the sustained resistance of the people of Colombia, but also a growing globalized resistance of diverse communities. A resistance with a vision of real participatory democracy that will radically replace the real terrorists meaning the nation-state and its business partners.
-------- drug war
Desperate Farmers Imperil Peru's Fight on Coca
February 23, 2001
New York Times
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/world/23PERU.html?pagewanted=all
TRES UNIDOS, Peru - Not long ago, American officials considered Peru a model of success in their fight against the illegal drug trade, one they are seeking even now to replicate in neighboring Colombia.
The coca growing that boomed here in the early 1990's had been reduced by two-thirds, after years in which the Peruvian Air Force shot cocaine-trafficking planes out of the sky, law enforcement officials ripped up plants, and United States aid lured farmers into growing legal crops as coca prices collapsed.
But victories in the drug war can be ephemeral, officials are finding out, even in places where the peasants have been reasonably eager to turn away from a livelihood that brought with it so many ills that destroyed their communities.
There are now incipient signs of a coca comeback in this frontier village of clay roads and thatched-roof huts slashed out of the jungles of the Huallaga Valley and in a number of surrounding towns in the central and northern parts of the region.
Officials say they are still making progress against coca growing, but it has ominously slowed. The reasons are many, and they point to the near impossibility of anti-drug officials keeping ahead of traffickers and controlling the many factors that lead farmers to resort to coca in times of economic desperation.
Local police officials complain that the recent political turmoil in Lima has interrupted the financing for their eradication and interdiction efforts. Traffickers have found new routes out of the valley by river to Brazil and Colombia for eventual shipment to the American market and by road and sea to Chile and Argentina for European drug users.
That has re-established the demand for local coca leaves and increased their price, United States and Peruvian officials say, just as the prices of various legal crops like corn and coffee have plunged - making illegal farming relatively more attractive once again.
Meanwhile, jobless and landless peasants are pouring into the valley from the northern highlands seeking new opportunities by burning their way through the jungles opened up in recent years by government road programs, some of which were explicitly intended to help bring development and make it easier to get alternative legal crops to markets.
Local officials say traffickers are offering the settlers coca seedlings to plant, and many are apparently giving in to the temptation.
"Coca is coming back because our corn and rice don't have a stable price and coffee and cacao prices have also dropped," said Julio Fernández Dávila, 47, a former coca farmer who was mayor of Tres Unidos from 1990 to 1998. "The farmers don't want anyone to know it, but they are beginning to grow coca again between their rows of coffee and corn plantings so they will not be detected."
Maj. José Amesquita Arroyo, the National Police anti-drug intelligence chief in the northern and central Huallaga Valley, said he had received reports of traffickers moving back to set up a new cocaine refining operation near Saposoa, a town 60 miles west of Tres Unidos.
He said he feared that as the United States steps up its efforts to eradicate coca crops in Colombia, "traffickers will cross our borders and increase their activities here."
The fear is well founded because the problem has already moved in the other direction.
As recently as 1995, Peru was the world's No. 1 coca-producing country, with plantings covering 287,500 acres, according to United States estimates. But the advances against coca in this traditional coca-growing area and in neighboring Bolivia, shaky as they are, have been almost entirely offset by new plantings in Colombia after traffickers shifted their operations there.
United States officials have expressed concern for months that the recovery of local coca leaf prices - from $8 for 25 pounds in early 1997 to $18 in early 1999 to $40 by late last year - would entice farmers back into coca production.
They say the price has recovered because Colombian and Peruvian traffickers have become more sophisticated in hiding their aerial communications to avert air force interceptions while setting up a wide array of river, road and sea routes across Peru.
To the relief of United States officials here, coca cultivation actually fell by 12 percent in Peru last year, as abandonment and eradication of the crop outpaced new plantings, according to C.I.A. satellite intelligence photography. Here in the lower and central Huallaga Valley there was a more modest 5 percent decrease.
The officials say they hope that the continuing progress, even if it is slowing, is a sign that the $85 million the United States has spent on promoting legal crops and building infrastructure in Peruvian drug-producing areas from 1995 to 2000 is taking hold.
But they concede that they cannot be sure how solid their success will prove unless the coca leaf price comes down or the prices of legal commodities revive soon.
"To our surprise there has not been a massive move back into coca, although there has been some," said a senior Bush administration official. "I don't have the impression that it's out of control yet, but it's something we need to be alert to."
But here in Tres Unidos, the advances already appear to be in jeopardy.
For the peasants who lived through the coca boom in this village, the early 1990's was a roaring time when everyone could buy a stereo and television. But people also remember that the bonanza had its price. Marxist terrorists demanded a cut of the profits, cocaine traffickers abused the young women, and prostitutes who came from far and wide broke up families.
The good and the bad ended suddenly in 1995 when the Peruvian Air Force began shooting down cocaine- trafficking planes and the market for coca leaves collapsed across the country.
Residents now talk of a deep division between those who lived through the violent coca days and never want to go back and hundreds of impoverished newcomers from Cajamarca and Piura provinces who see a golden future in coca without the tarnish.
The old-timers tend to live near the center of the village, where coffee is roasting under the tropical sun in the same central plaza where piles of coca leaves were once left to dry. Four schools and a health clinic financed by American aid and a local confederation of mayors stand as models of what a future of legal farming can bring.
"We've had it with coca and we're never going back," said Marta Luz Pinche, 41, a merchant who once tended a few acres of coca with her husband. "What do we need the extra money for if our children become addicted to all sorts of vices?"
But on the outskirts of the village, where newcomers are slashing and burning the jungle to build thatched- roof huts, memories are shorter.
At a recent meeting at a schoolhouse between new settlers and Neiro Delgado Pizarro, the provincial mayor, peasants said they viewed coca as their only salvation at a time when other commodity prices are dropping.
"The United States government gave us help so we won't grow coca," said Luis Solorzano, a 37-year-old farmer who migrated four months ago from Cajamarca Province. "But let's be honest. My children's hunger cannot wait for the price of corn, coffee and cacao to recover."
Mayor Delgado Pizarro advised the farmers to diversify their plantings to guard against price swings and pleaded with them to stay away from coca.
"When a person is desperate he may think about suicide," he said. "Returning to coca is the same. Does anyone want to think about his daughter being raped by drug traffickers? We don't want to go back to that."
-------- u.n.
UN unable to get aid to refugees
01/02/23
Infobeat
Associated Press
By KATHY GANNON
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406231616
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) - At least 20 Afghan refugees who have fled to a squalid refugee camp in Pakistan have died, and the United Nations said Thursday it has been unable to distribute food and blankets that could help keep others alive.
Pakistan has refused to allow the United Nations to register and help the newest refugees because the government fears it will be left to support them when the international aid dries up. In political limbo, tens of thousands wait in Jalozai camp _ a congested, filthy patch of land in northwest Pakistan with no sanitation and no running water.
``The tragedy of the situation is that people are dying every day and they don't need to because we have the supplies, the international community has given them, but we can't get them to the people in Jalozai,'' Yusuf Hassan, the spokesman for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Pakistan, told The Associated Press.
In the last two weeks, at least 20 people _ mostly children _ have died in Jalozai camp, where an estimated 80,000 new refugees from Afghanistan have gathered to await assistance.
Hassan said the death toll is probably much higher, because most people bury their dead immediately, in keeping with Islamic tradition.
In addition to the squalor of the camp, the refugees face the anxiety of not knowing how long they will be allowed to stay. On Thursday, Pakistan ordered 100,000 Afghans to clear out.
``There are several camps where they may go. They may also go back to Afghanistan, but we want the land back,'' said Syed Mazhar Ali Shah, secretary of home and tribal affairs in northwest Pakistan.
The decision to evict the Afghans comes as Pakistan tries to cope with a fresh influx of more than 177,000 new refugees, who are fleeing a devastating drought and civil war in their country.
Pakistan is wary of accepting more refugees because the United Nations stopped assisting the 1.2 million Afghans living in other camps, mostly in northwest Pakistan, in November 1997.
Pakistan allowed Afghans who arrived in the last five months to be registered and transferred from Jalozai to other established camps. But in January, it said it could accept no more.
Since then, tens of thousands have slipped across the porous border between the two countries.
Even if Pakistan were to allow the United Nations to bring relief to the chaotic Jalozai camp, the desperation of the refugees would make fair distribution of aid almost impossible, Hassan said. There have been riots in recent weeks when sympathetic local businessmen tried to distribute food, clothing and tents.
The UNHCR also asked Pakistan to give new land for refugee camps. Pakistan has refused. So far the UNHCR has received $4 million to help new refugees coming to Pakistan, Hassan said.
``We are in a position to address the needs of the new refugees in a humane and dignified manner,'' the UNHCR said in a statement Thursday. ``The conditions of the makeshift settlement (at Jalozai) are deteriorating rapidly, further pushing an estimated 80,000 inhabitants into the depths of misery and despair.''
---
UN troops at Ethiopia-Eritrea border
01/02/23
Infobeat
Associated Press
By ABEBE ANDUALEM
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406232108
SHILALO, Eritrea (AP) - U.N. peacekeeping troops took up positions along the disputed Ethiopia-Eritrea border Thursday, after Ethiopian troops withdrew from territory they captured during a 2 1/2-year war.
The last 1,200 Ethiopian troops drove their tanks, artillery and armored personnel carriers out of this semi-arid border town on Wednesday, clearing a 16-mile-wide buffer zone for U.N. troops to occupy.
Brig. Gen. Teferra Mamo, the commander of Ethiopian forces in western Eritrea, said his troops were redeploying to northwestern Ethiopia.
Shilalo, about 16 miles inside Eritrea, had served as the Ethiopian command post for the western sector of the border war.
The war broke out in May 1998, when Eritrean troops took control of territory claimed by Ethiopia. Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war, but the border was never properly demarcated.
Tens of thousands of troops are believed to have died in recent fighting, and the war cost the impoverished nations of Ethiopia and Eritrea hundreds of millions of dollars before a peace agreement was reached last year.
In all, 4,200 peacekeepers from more than two dozen countries will be stationed along the disputed border.
The pullout of Ethiopian troops also went smoothly in other sectors of the 625-mile-long border, government and U.N. officials said.
Maj. Roger Barrett, commander of 250 U.N. peacekeepers from the Netherlands and Canada, said the Ethiopian withdrawal from the central sector near Senafe was orderly and carried out ahead of schedule.
---
UN, Congo agree on new timetable
01/02/23
Infobeat
Associated Press
By NICOLE WINFIELD
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406232065
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - Taking advantage of new momentum in Congo's peace process, the Security Council set a new timetable Thursday for the warring sides to pull back troops from front lines and for U.N. observers to verify their departure.
Diplomats and U.N. officials hailed the adoption of the resolution as a breakthrough in the drawn-out Congolese conflict, which has engulfed six African nations. But they acknowledged it marked only one step forward to end the 2-year-old war.
``It depends on the will of the parties at the end of the day,'' said acting U.S. Ambassador James Cunningham. ``Nobody can impose peace on Congo or on the region.''
In a unanimously adopted resolution negotiated with the fighting factions, the council set March 15 as the starting date for the forces to begin a nine-mile pullback to defensive positions that will be overseen by U.N. military observers.
By May 15, the warring sides must prepare a plan for their complete withdrawal from the country that could be presented to a delegation of Security Council ambassadors visiting the region.
Ambassadors warned in the resolution that they will consider possible sanctions against any side that fails to comply.
Congolese Foreign Minister Leonard She Okitundu said in an interview that the threat was an important incentive for all sides to abide by the resolution. ``They must respect their pledges. All those who don't respect will be subject to sanctions,'' he said.
The resolution was adopted at the conclusion of a two-day meeting with the council, ministers of the six warring countries and representatives of Congo's three main rebel groups.
Rebels backed by Rwanda and Uganda took up arms in August 1998 to oust Congo's late President Laurent Kabila from power. Zimbabwe, Angola and Namibia joined the fray to support Kabila. All sides signed a cease-fire agreement in Lusaka, Zambia, in 1999, but all have violated it.
The meeting and resolution were intended to pressure the sides to take advantage of momentum in the peace process boosted by pledges by Rwanda to pull back troops 125 miles from front lines and by Uganda to withdraw two battalions from Congolese territory.
In addition, Congo's new president, Joseph Kabila, has agreed to meet with a regional mediator to launch talks with the country's internal opposition _ a key provision of the Lusaka agreement that his slain father refused to fulfill.
The initial redeployment of forces is expected to begin sooner than March 15 in one location _ the southeastern town of Pweto, which Rwanda and its rebel allies took in December. Rwanda has promised to leave Pweto next Wednesday.
Two weeks later, the United Nations will begin sending out 39 teams of U.N. military observers to verify the redeployment of other forces nine miles back to defensive lines. The whole process is expected to take 56 days, the U.N. special representative, Kamel Morjane told a press conference.
While the resolution makes such deadlines clear, it leaves undecided a key issue that all sides agree must be resolved: how former Rwandan soldiers and Hutu militias responsible for the 1994 genocide are to be disarmed _ as demanded by Rwanda as a prerequisite for leaving Congo.
-------- u.s.
A defense budget battle
February 23, 2001
Washington Times
Tom Mead
http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/ed-column-2001223175551.htm
No sooner had word leaked out that the administration would submit a defense budget that temporarily held the line on spending, than some conservative defense leaders and analysts were ready to declare that Bill Clinton's defense policies had received a third term.
Overnight, President Bush's national security team, led by Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld, went from conservative darlings to being charged as co-conspirators in the Clinton administration's neglect of the military.
So what exactly did the administration say it was going to do? Temporarily hold the line on spending, undertake a review of the military's needs to meet the threats of today and tomorrow, and then proceed with a retooling. And it turns out that there will indeed be a much-deserved raise for the troops.
This in no way deviates from Mr. Bush's commitment to rebuilding the military, supporting the troops, identifying new strategic priorities or establishing a lighter and quicker fighting force. Nor does it change the administration's intention to deploy a layered, global missile defense at the earliest opportunity.
It was probably unrealistic to expect that eight years of benign (and in some cases intentional) neglect could be identified, prioritized and fixed in less than a month.
To be sure, fixing the Clinton military is a daunting task. Consider some of the problems Mr. Rumsfeld must immediately address: demoralized troops, severe shortages of parts, open-ended "peacekeeping" missions, radical social agendas, lack of adequate training, under-funded research and development, missile defenses years behind schedule, new and growing asymmetrical threats, resurrecting promising technologies mothballed during the 1990s, etc.
Given this situation, it is completely reasonable and proper for Mr. Bush to order a review of both the strategic environment and of the military's most pressing needs, lest we end up with more pork and less meat. Mr. Bush reiterated this strategy in Norfolk on Monday commenting that "our defense vision will drive our defense budget."
The objective of these reviews should be to guarantee that our troops are equipped with the most sophisticated training and tools to protect the nation's interests, deter our enemies and, if called on, win the next war.
We should not worry when our leaders strive to understand the scope of a problem before they devise a solution. As conservatives, we believe in reducing government waste. If, as was reported in the early 1990s, the Army was spending $200 for a hammer or $500 for a new toilet seat, there is cause for review. We should worry when they attempt to fix something before they know whether it is really broken, or even needed.
Mr. Bush has clearly demonstrated that he will keep his campaign promise to rebuild and retool the military and to move forward with a missile defense system that will protect the United States and its allies. Unlike former President Clinton, the new administration appears to be planning ahead and is willing to modernize our military and restore America's confidence to utilize our existing equipment and develop a defense system that will protect us against the new threats to our nation.
To the naysayers on the right, we believe Mr. Bush deserves the benefit of the doubt; after all he chose the two men, Dick Cheney and Don Rumsfeld, who would have been at the top of any conservative's "defense dream team" six months ago.
Let the nouveau peaceniks, who, like Bill Clinton, loathe the military, criticize the new commander in chief. They've had enough practice at demoralizing our troops and tearing down our military readiness.
Rather than jumping to conclusions about the reason for reviewing the military budget, conservatives should cheer that this president takes the matter so seriously; it is a refreshing and welcome change.
Tom Mead is the executive director of Americans for a Strong Defense.
-------- OTHER
-------- environment
Britain Bans Shipping of Livestock
February 23, 2001
Associated Press
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Britain-Livestock-Disease.html
LONDON (AP) -- Agriculture authorities slapped a one-week ban on livestock movements Friday to combat an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease that has shut British meat out of export markets.
Earlier, officials said they had identified three more sites of infection, and believed the epidemic may have started in northern England.
Agriculture Minister Nick Brown said that all shipments of livestock within Britain would be banned for seven days.
``The purpose is to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease while we are trying to extinguish it,'' Brown told reporters.
The travel ban applies to cattle, sheep, pigs and goats, but does not affect horses, poultry, milk or animal feed. Fox, deer and hare hunting are also included in the ban to prevent the spread of disease.
Major supermarket chains warned Friday that meat availability could soon be affected by the outbreak, saying current supplies will only last a few days. Several chains said they were planning for increases in demand for poultry and fish.
The disease was confirmed at three new sites Friday: one in Essex county, northeast of London, where the disease was first detected on Tuesday, and two in the north. Three other sites were identified earlier in the week.
Agriculture officials said a farm at Heddon-on-the-Wall in northern England had supplied pigs to the slaughterhouse in Essex county where the scare began.
``The disease appears to have been present on the farm for some time. It is feasible that this may be the source of the infection at the abattoir in Essex,'' the ministry said.
The farm's owner, Bobby Waugh, issued a statement Friday saying his 500 pigs passed an annual Agriculture Ministry checkup on Jan. 25, He said there was no sign of disease in the herd in the last few weeks.
``I always keep a careful eye on all my pigs because, naturally, I want healthy pigs,'' Waugh said. ``How could I report something I didn't see?''
Chief Veterinary Office Jim Scudamore said another outbreak was confirmed at a farm 4 miles from Heddon-on-the-Wall.
A five-mile exclusion zone was imposed around the farms, as has been done at four other sites where the disease has been confirmed.
Britain voluntarily suspended exports of live animals, meat and dairy products on Wednesday, and the United States, Russia and the European Union have also imposed import restrictions. Hungary announced a similar ban Friday.
Foot-and-mouth disease affects cloven-footed animals, including sheep, goats and cows. Causing blisters on the mouth and feet, fever and loss of appetite, it is not usually fatal in itself, but animals are slaughtered to stop its spread.
Transmission to humans is extremely rare, but possible if a person is in close contact with an infected animal, the Food Standards Agency said.
The Ministry of Defense joined efforts to help contain the disease Friday, suspending all nonessential military training to minimize movement of its personnel and vehicles. Wildlife officials urged people to stay away from the from the country's 2,300 nature reserves.
A horse track inside one of the exclusion zones was forced to cancel its Monday races.
---
FOOT-AND-MOUTH PLEA
February 23, 2001
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/world/23BRIE.html?pagewanted=all
BRITAIN: Officials continued to search for the source of the foot-and-mouth disease that struck pigs and cows in Essex, keeping five farms under quarantine and urging the public to avoid areas where livestock live and graze, lest they spread the disease to other animals. No new cases have been reported. Sarah Lyall (NYT)
---
GASOLINE STUDY SOUGHT
February 23, 2001
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/nyregion/23MBRF.html?pagewanted=all
HAUPPAUGE: Two Suffolk County lawmakers said yesterday that they planned to introduce legislation to study the health risks and costs of a potentially dangerous gasoline additive leaking into ground water. The legislation, to be introduced next week, would authorize spending up to $85,000 for a law firm to outline any health risks, determine the cost of a cleanup and identify anyone responsible for allowing the additive, methyl tertiary butyl ether, or M.T.B.E., into the ground water. Cameron Alden, a Republican, wrote the bill with Maxine S. Postal, a Democrat and the legislature's deputy presiding officer. Al Baker (NYT)
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UK bans shipping of livestock
01/02/23
Infobeat
Associated Press
By ROBERT BARR
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406237074
LONDON (AP) - Agriculture authorities on Friday slapped a one-week ban on transporting livestock to combat an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease that has shut British meat out of export markets.
Earlier, officials said they had identified three more sites of infection, and believe the epidemic may have started in northern England.
Agriculture Minister Nick Brown said all shipments of livestock within Britain would be banned for seven days.
``The purpose is to prevent the spread of foot-and-mouth disease while we are trying to extinguish it,'' Brown told reporters, adding that he hoped that his action would not lead to food shortages.
The disease was confirmed at three new sites Friday: one in Essex county, northeast of London, where the disease was first detected Tuesday, and two in the north.
Agriculture officials said a farm at Heddon-on-the-Wall in northern England had supplied pigs to the slaughterhouse in Essex county, where the scare began. ``It seems likely that this farm may have been the source of the current outbreak,'' Brown said.
The disease appears to have been circulating on the farm for two to three weeks, with animals and vehicles traveling between the farm and the Essex slaughterhouse regularly, he said.
Chief Veterinary Office Jim Scudamore said another outbreak was confirmed at a farm 4 miles from Heddon-on-the-Wall.
A five-mile exclusion zone was imposed around the farms, as at four other sites where the disease has been confirmed.
Britain voluntarily suspended exports of live animals, meat and dairy products on Wednesday, and the United States, Russia and the European Union have also imposed import restrictions. Hungary announced a similar ban Friday.
The transport ban applied to pigs, cattle, sheep and other cloven-hoofed animals, but did not affect the transport of poultry, horses or milk. Brown also ordered livestock fairs and markets closed, and banned the hunting of deer, foxes and hares because of the risk of spreading the virus.
Foot-and-mouth disease causes blisters in the mouth and on the hoof, fever and loss of appetite. It is not usually fatal in itself, but animals are slaughtered to stop its spread.
Transmission to humans is extremely rare but possible if a person is in close contact with an infected animal, the Food Standards Agency said.
``If this can be sorted out in a week then it would not be too much of a disaster,'' said Peter Kingwill, chairman of the Livestock Auctioneers' Association.
``But I am afraid we may have to face the prospect that the ban may have to be extended. That would cause significant difficulties, particularly on issues of cash flow.''
Turnover at livestock markets normally is $36 million per week.
-------
Whitman weighs pesticides guidelines
01/02/23
Infobeat
Associated Press
By JOHN HEILPRIN
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406232542
WASHINGTON (AP) - EPA Administrator Christie Whitman is trying to decide whether to go along with a Clinton administration decision to honor tough pesticide regulation guidelines sought in a lawsuit by environmentalists and farm workers.
With so many matters to weigh during her first weeks in office, however, Whitman has yet to make her priorities clear, let alone whether she considers the looming decision on the out-of-court settlement as her first big political test, as an environmental group contended Thursday.
The consent decree, agreed to the day before President Bush took office, was based on the demands of the Natural Resources Defense Council and its co-plaintiffs of environmentalists and farm workers.
``She's definitely looking at the issue, but we don't have any comment at this point,'' said Dave Deegan, the Environmental Protection Agency's spokesman for pesticide and biotechnology issues.
On Jan. 19, former President Clinton's last full day in the White House, his EPA agreed to the settlement in a federal court in San Francisco.
Industry groups, who were not consulted, called it an abuse of power and demanded that Whitman seek to withdraw from the consent decree.
Next month, the EPA will have to either defend the settlement in court or scrap it. In a telephone conference call with reporters Thursday, the resources council depicted the stakes in stark terms.
``Christie Todd Whitman has a chance to show her true environmental colors and to really demonstrate whether she is taking a position to protect children and infants' health, or whether she's going to side with protecting industry profits and back out of the settlement,'' the council's staff attorney Erik Olson said.
The environmental coalition sued to push the EPA into adopting elements from a 1996 pesticide law because the agency had missed an Aug. 3, 1999, deadline to review the ``worst'' pesticides including those used in foods most eaten by children.
The agency also had not implemented a program to test whether pesticides harm the body's hormone system, the lawsuit contended.
The plaintiffs, who included the United Farm Workers of America, also challenged the EPA's failure to complete a review of almost 200 pesticides registered before 1984.
Under the settlement, the EPA during the next year and a half must determine whether certain insecticides and weed killers act together as cumulative poisons, according to the resources council.
Whitman had no public reaction Thursday on the question, but she is reviewing the matter and presumably will respond to the court in March, Deegan said.
The resources council hopes to blunt any influence by interest groups, including the American Farm Bureau Federation, that sent a Feb. 12 letter to the EPA. ``The consent decree in this case _ and the process by which it was developed _ represents a serious abuse of power,'' the groups' attorneys wrote.
``The settlement is a clear attempt by the outgoing Clinton political appointees to create a new regulatory program, impose it on the new administration and give their perceived allies the power to use the courts to enforce the newly created requirements,'' they wrote.
On the Net: EPA Office of Pesticide Programs: http://www.epa.gov/pesticides
Natural Resources Defense Council: http://www.nrdc.org/health/pesticides/default.asp
-------- police
N.Y. Town Agrees to Restrain Police Force
February 23, 2001
New York Times
By LISA W. FODERARO
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/nyregion/23COPS.html
WALLKILL, N.Y., Feb. 22 - After months of ignoring allegations that the police routinely harassed women and tried to intimidate critics, the Wallkill Town Board approved an agreement tonight with the state attorney general's office providing for strict guidelines on police conduct and oversight by a federal monitor.
The attorney general, Eliot L. Spitzer, said the 31-page agreement, known as a consent decree, was "precisely the same document" his office had offered to the Town Board before his office filed a federal civil rights complaint against the town in mid-January. The agreement settles the complaint.
"They are now willing to put pen to paper on a document that will be a very significant and important step forward for the citizens of Wallkill," Mr. Spitzer said. "They will get the type of police force that they are entitled to."
Only a dozen people turned out in a blinding snowstorm tonight for the Town Board meeting, where board members passed a resolution ratifying the decree.
Among the provisions in the consent decree are those requiring practices that are commonplace in other police jurisdictions: a civilian complaint procedure, annual evaluations of police officers, a ban on traffic stops other than for valid law enforcement reasons and written explanations of the circumstances surrounding all such stops.
The attorney general's complaint detailed a pattern of abuse and harassment on the part of the police, particularly toward women, that was first revealed in a report released last summer by the town's own police commission. The four members of the commission, all volunteers, later found themselves to be targets of the police.
The chairman, Oscar Dino, reported that his tires had been slashed, the billboard advertising his real estate business had been vandalized and his wife had routinely been followed by patrol cars.
The commission was abolished last month by the Town Board, which took no action on the report's findings.
According to the attorney general's complaint, police officers stopped cars driven by young women and, after charging them with a crime, offered to dismiss the charges if they agreed to dates. One officer, the complaint said, made repeated lascivious comments to a teenage waitress at a local diner; another threatened a bar owner who had fired the officer's girlfriend.
The complaint also described police retaliation against the commission. It said the officers set up a radar checkpoint at the end of the cul-de-sac where Mr. Dino lives. One night last summer, the complaint said, a Wallkill patrol car circled in front of Mr. Dino's home continuously; when Mr. Dino phoned the Police Department, he was told that the officer "must be lost."
Before the vote tonight, the town supervisor, Thomas F. Nosworthy, read a statement saying that it "has always been the intent of the Town Board to work with the attorney general's office to investigate those allegations, and to commence disciplinary procedings against such officers, if warranted."
He went on to say that the Town Board had already appointed an acting police chief, John Beairsto, who has adopted a number of practices recommended by the attorney general.
The attorney general's office will submit the ratified consent decree to United States District Court in White Plains on Friday, and a federal monitor could be in place within two months, Mr. Spitzer said.
The required changes, which include equipping all squad cars with video cameras, will cost the town about $250,000 over four years, but not more, he added.
If there are no violations after three years, and the Police Department successfully goes through the state's accreditation process, the force of the decree will end, according to the agreement.
Today, critics of the police reacted to the Town Board's willingness to accept the agreement with a mix of relief and bewilderment.
"I think it's a shame that it took a gun to the head for them to come to the realization that there's a problem," Mr. Dino said. "They always believed this would go away and that they could cover this up."
A town councilman, Eric Valentin, who was the only board member who supported accepting the attorney general's recommendations last month, said: "It's way overdue. It's going to make for a more professional environment."
Mr. Valentin, the lone Democrat on the Town Board, said that even the acting police chief, appointed after the former police chief was suspended amid allegations of impropriety, had been shocked that the proposed procedures had not already been in place.
"It's Police Work 101," Mr. Valentin said, "like having a blotter and sheet and keeping a log."
---
CIVIL RIGHTS CHARGES
February 23, 2001
New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/nyregion/23MBRF.html?pagewanted=all
NEWARK: A Passaic County sheriff's officer was indicted yesterday on federal civil rights charges that he beat one Democratic campaign worker and threatened to kill another on Election Day 1999, the United States attorney's office announced. The indictment of the officer, George E. Rosario, follows complaints of voter intimidation by sheriff's officers. The indictment charges that Mr. Rosario, a Republican, punched one victim and threatened to kill a second because they were putting up Democratic campaign signs. Mr. Rosario's lawyer, George L. Schneider, said that his client, 30, was off duty and in civilian clothes and that the scuffle was minor. Steve Strunsky (NYT)
-------- spying
Hanssen's letters could lead to more spies
February 23, 2001
Washington Times
By Bill Gertz
http://www.washtimes.com/national/default-200122322112.htm
Federal investigators obtained hundreds of letters and computer messages they believe were sent between FBI Special Agent Robert P. Hanssen and his Russian handlers that are providing leads to other possible spies, U.S. officials said yesterday.
The communications were obtained by the FBI and CIA counterintelligence as part of what FBI Director Louis J. Freeh called "an intelligence coup" several months ago. He did not elaborate.
Meanwhile, President Bush said yesterday he is "disturbed" by the espionage case but would not say if Mr. Hanssen's reported spying activities on behalf of Moscow damaged U.S.-Russia relations.
"I intend to deal with Mr. Putin in a very straightforward way, to be up front with him on all matters," Mr. Bush told reporters at his first White House news conference. "I am, of course, disturbed about the espionage, the alleged espionage that took place."
Mr. Bush said he has confidence in Mr. Freeh despite the 16-year spying case, viewed as the most damaging in the FBI's history.
The spy letters form the basis of the espionage charges against Mr. Hanssen, and excerpts of some of the most important were disclosed in an FBI affidavit made public Tuesday.
They reveal how Russia's intelligence agency directed their agent, identified in the letters as "B" and who investigators say is Mr. Hanssen, to help in recruiting other officials with access to intelligence information as spies.
The leads contained in the letters have prompted FBI and CIA investigations of people who may have been recruited.
Investigators are tracking down a former U.S. government official who was mentioned by Mr. Hanssen in a 1991 letter to the KGB as a possible spy recruit.
The FBI affidavit stated that "B" had recommended the recruitment of "a particular named individual who he described as an 'old friend.' " The FBI said Mr. Hanssen had been a friend of the person since he was a teen-ager.
Asked yesterday about whether other spies are operating in the United States, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard C. Shelby, Alabama Republican, said: "You never say never because you don't know."
A 1990 letter from the KGB to Mr. Hanssen asked him to "give us some good leads to possible recruitments" of "interesting people in the right places."
However, there is no evidence so far that Mr. Hanssen was part of a spy ring involving other people, law-enforcement officials said.
Mr. Hanssen, a 27-year veteran of the FBI, stated in one letter dated June 8, 2000, to his "Dear Friends" that he had set up a cipher code system for communicating with his handlers and was worried that he had used the decrypting "key" several times.
In another letter from 1988 -three years after he volunteered to spy for Moscow - "B" stated that he needed to take precautions to avoid being uncovered. "My security concerns may seem excessive," he stated. "I believe experience has shown them to be necessary. I am much safer if you know little about me. Neither of us are children about these things. Over time, I can cut your losses rather than become one."
Mr. Bush said the case shows that "there are people who don't particularly care what America stands for and people who are interested in our secrets."
"We ought to be concerned about espionage in America," Mr. Bush said. "We will find spies and we will prosecute them. I'm pleased that they caught the spy. Now the courts must act."
Mr. Shelby said in an interview with The Washington Times that his panel will conduct an investigation of the Hanssen case, with its first hearing with Mr. Freeh and CIA Director George J. Tenet set for Wednesday.
"I'm interested in finding out why it took the FBI so many years to identify who the mole was, especially in the sensitive area of counterintelligence," Mr. Shelby said. "The Bureau did a good job after they had a lead, and moved expeditiously. But the question is why it took so long."
Mr. Shelby said the case so far appears extremely damaging. Among the questions he wants answered in the committee's inquiry are why the FBI security system broke down, and why FBI agents were not given polygraph, or lie-detector, tests like other intelligence agencies.
Mr. Shelby also said he will review whether the FBI left its agents "too long in sensitive positions."
The letters reveal a highly technical relationship between Mr. Hanssen and the KGB and later its successor, the SVR. Much of the exchanges are about spying techniques - secret drop-off and pickup locations where documents and money were left.
The letters also reveal Moscow's spying priorities. In 1991, the KGB wanted to know U.S. intelligence "plans to respond to domestic turmoil in the Soviet Union" and new U.S. communications intelligence efforts.
---
The Moles Will Always Be With Us
February 23, 2001
New York Times
By ROBERT M. GATES
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/opinion/23GATE.html
COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- There is nothing more painful for the men and women entrusted with the security of our country than learning that one of their own has betrayed them and their country. No part of our government is immune to such treachery, no matter how thorough an organization's security and vetting procedures.
The arrest for espionage of Robert Philip Hanssen, a longtime counterintelligence officer at the Federal Bureau of Investigation, has prompted many questions. Above all, how could the spying attributed to him continue for 15 years without detection?
The question will undoubtedly be investigated by a number of panels and Congressional committees. And, with the clarity of perfect hindsight, if past experience is any guide, previously unnoticed clues will be found that if detected earlier might have led to a more timely identification and arrest.
But, unlike Aldrich Ames, who as a spy for the Soviets engaged in behavior that should have raised suspicion early on, Mr. Hanssen, according to the F.B.I., apparently used his training as a counterintelligence officer to protect himself. He never displayed any outward sign he was receiving large amounts of cash, never met with his Russian handlers, never told the Russians his true identity, and constantly used his access to F.B.I. files to monitor whether he was being investigated.
A careful spy who knows all of the tricks of the counterintelligence world can be very difficult to identify. This is especially so in organizations like the military, the F.B.I. and the C.I.A., where colleagues place enormous trust in one another. Improving counterintelligence - finding spies or "moles" - has been a special focus and priority for both the F.B.I. and the C.I.A., especially after Aldrich Ames was arrested in 1993. Subsequently, cooperation between the two agencies improved dramatically; both became more realistic about the possibility of penetration by a foreign intelligence service.
And yet . . . it still took years to identify Mr. Hanssen as a possible spy. As is Washington's way, fingers of blame will be pointed - perhaps deservedly. After all, we can always do better. But we must be realistic. In any democratic society, counterintelligence is decidedly difficult and will never be perfect. It wasn't perfect in the totalitarian Soviet Union, and it certainly won't be in America.
As Richard Helms, the former C.I.A. director, told me when I became director, "Never go home at night without wondering where the mole is." There will always be a tiny number who betray the trust. Catching them early is critical, but catching them at all will almost always be hard.
Espionage did not begin or end with the cold war. There will always be moles because governments will always want to know what other governments are up to. From the American perspective, we still live in a world of terrorists, weapons of mass destruction, despots with aggressive ambitions, and ethnic cleansing. While our national existence is no longer at risk, as during the cold war, the government's ability to protect us and our interests around the world is always at risk. Intelligence about those risks will always be a priority for the government, just as it will be for most other governments.
However, those other governments face an interesting paradox. Many intelligence targets are enduring. Nonetheless, in a new global environment, in which the American government ever more widely shares its intelligence and its military technologies, foreign governments may find that at times their right hands are paying spies for stealing what their left hands are receiving openly and officially from Washington. In the meantime, the hunt for the rare American betrayer must continue, with the F.B.I. and C.I.A. working together.
Robert M. Gates served as deputy director of central intelligence under President Reagan and as the C.I.A. director under President George H.W. Bush.
---
Spy Drama Survivor Watches as Story Unfolds
February 23, 2001
New York Times
By RALPH BLUMENTHAL
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/national/23BORI.html
Boris Yuzhin could be called the third man in the unfolding F.B.I. spy drama, the only survivor of a trio of named Russian agents for the United States who the government says were exposed by Robert Philip Hanssen.
On Monday, the day before the espionage scandal broke, Mr. Yuzhin received a cryptic call at his home in Northern California. "Watch the news tomorrow," an F.B.I. contact said.
And so Mr. Yuzhin, a mild-mannered former Soviet K.G.B. operative who worked secretly for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the 1970's and 80's before being unmasked in Moscow and imprisoned in Siberia, learned with the rest of the world on Tuesday of Mr. Hanssen's arrest.
"They always catch them on my birthday," Mr. Yuzhin, who turned 59 on Wednesday, told a friend, who later recounted the conversation in an interview.
It was exactly seven years earlier, on Feb. 21, 1994, that the F.B.I. arrested Aldrich H. Ames, a senior official of the Central Intelligence Agency, and his wife, on charges of selling the Soviet Union and later Russia some of the nation's most sensitive secrets. Although working independently of each other, Mr. Ames and Mr. Hanssen corroborated each other's information for the Russians, the Justice Department has charged. Mr. Ames is serving a life sentence.
In an affidavit in support of the criminal complaint and arrest and search warrants, the F.B.I. named Mr. Yuzhin and two K.G.B. officers in the Soviet Embassy in Washington - Valery F. Martinov and Sergei M. Motorin - as having been exposed as American spies by Mr. Ames in 1985 and then several months later by Mr. Hanssen.
The two senior K.G.B. officers were recalled to Moscow and executed. Mr. Yuzhin, back in Moscow for reassignment, was arrested in 1986 and spent more than five years of a 15-year sentence in Perm 35, a Siberian prison, before being released in an amnesty after the fall of Communism in 1992.
He later immigrated to the United States and was resettled with the help of the F.B.I. in the San Francisco area, where he had been assigned by the K.G.B. a quarter century ago to monitor student activities and work under the cover of being a Tass correspondent - and where he decided to volunteer his services to the F.B.I.
Why wasn't he executed? "He was never in residency in the K.G.B. offices," said one of his former F.B.I. handlers. "He was able to convince his interrogators he knew nothing about operations and cases."
Mr. Yuzhin, who first recounted the story of his double-agentry and his arrest to The New York Times in 1994, said yesterday that he did not want to discuss the latest developments, largely over concern with jeopardizing family ties in Russia. He said, however, that he had never met Mr. Hanssen and had long thought that it was Mr. Ames alone who had betrayed him.
Friends of Mr. Yuzhin's, including some longtime F.B.I. agents who worked with him, said he lived with his wife and grown daughter, an occupational therapist, in an attractive house he bought about five years ago in Santa Rosa, Calif. His mother, sister and a married son, an economist, with children of his own, live in Russia. Mr. Yuzhin has not been back to Russia since his release from prison in 1992, but his son and grandchildren come for visits.
Supported by a modest American government stipend, he writes, does historical research and augments his income with occasional lectures.
According to one listing carried on the Internet, Mr. Yuzhin spoke last October in Palm Springs, Calif., to the Southern California Fraud Investigation Association. His topic: "The Russian Mind."
One project that long absorbed Mr. Yuzhin was researching the cases of other former Soviet prisoners, including Raoul Wallenberg, the anti-Nazi Swedish diplomat who disappeared into the gulag after World War II. Working with an American, Susan Mesinai, in the Ark Project, a human rights organization dedicated to finding lost political prisoners under the Soviets, Mr. Yuzhin helped establish that Mr. Wallenberg did not simply disappear but was secretly held by Soviet authorities until his death in prison, a fact that Russian authorities subsequently acknowledged.
Mr. Yuzhin also worked with Ms. Mesinai and others to track down missing American prisoners, including a defector from the National Security Council, Victor Hamilton, who was found 30 years later, in 1992, in a Soviet psychiatric hospital.
Friends of Mr. Yuzhin's said that they had encouraged him in recent years to look for other work that would occupy his mind and offer him income but that he found it difficult to find the right thing.
"He's not going to flip burgers," one retired F.B.I. agent said. "His attitude was that he would not start at the bottom."
---
One Case May Hold Clues to Another
February 23, 2001
New York Times
By JAMES RISEN
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/national/23BLOC.html?pagewanted=all
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 - For nearly a dozen years, a former State Department official, Felix S. Bloch, has lived in limbo, dismissed from his senior diplomatic post and investigated on suspicion of being a Russian spy, yet never charged with any crime.
While United States intelligence and law enforcement officials have long made it clear that they harbored strong suspicions that Mr. Bloch had committed espionage, the government never took its case to court. Former United States officials have complained that their 1989 inquiry was short-circuited - and their ability to gather evidence limited - because Mr. Bloch had somehow been warned that he was under scrutiny.
As a result, the Bloch case has remained an intriguing unsolved mystery of the final years of the cold war.
But now, with the arrest of an F.B.I. agent, Robert Philip Hanssen, on charges of spying for Moscow, the government apparently believes it has finally solved the riddle of how Mr. Bloch was alerted.
In an affidavit filed in support of its case against Mr. Hanssen, the government says Mr. Hanssen tipped off the K.G.B. that Mr. Bloch was under scrutiny, and the affidavit quotes from a letter the government says Mr. Hanssen wrote to the Russians discussing his decision to do so.
Some current and former officials said today that the Hanssen affidavit may be the first time the government has gone to court to lay out some of the facts in the Bloch case that were never pressed against him directly.
The affidavit does not quite state that Mr. Bloch was believed to be a spy. Instead, it says Mr. Hanssen, operating anonymously and using the code name B, compromised an F.B.I. investigation of Mr. Bloch.
Mr. Bloch had been identified as an associate of a known Soviet agent based in Austria, Reino Gikman, as a result of a telephone call between the two men on April 27, 1989, according to the affidavit. The next day, "the F.B.I. opened a classified investigation of Bloch," the affidavit states.
Meetings between Bloch and Gikman were then observed in Paris on May 14, 1989, and Brussels on May 28, 1989, the document said.
But on May 22, 1989, the government now says, Mr. Hanssen left a package at a site in Virginia that contained, along with other classified material, information about the new inquiry into Mr. Bloch's activities. "This disclosure compromised the F.B.I.'s then-ongoing espionage investigation of Bloch," the affidavit states.
After B warned the K.G.B. about the Bloch investigation, Mr. Gikman suddenly returned to Moscow in early June 1989, according to the affidavit. Then, early in the morning of June 22, 1989, Mr. Bloch received a telephone call at his home in Washington from a man identifying himself as Ferdinand Paul. During the call, he told Mr. Bloch that he was calling "in behalf of Pierre" who "cannot see you in the near future," adding, "he is sick." The caller said a "contagious disease is suspected." The affidavit says that Mr. Bloch knew Mr. Gikman as Pierre and that the call was a warning to Mr. Bloch that "his association with Gikman had been compromised."
The F.B.I., which was monitoring Mr. Bloch's calls and heard the warning, interviewed Mr. Bloch later that day.
"Bloch denied that he had engaged in espionage and ultimately declined to answer any further questions," the affidavit states. "The F.B.I. was unable further to develop its investigation of Bloch."
On Aug. 7, 1989, B again dropped off a package in Virginia that contained information from the Bloch- Gikman file, the affidavit adds. By that time, however, the investigation of Mr. Bloch was badly stalled.
For years after their stillborn investigation, F.B.I. and C.I.A. officials have frequently speculated about how Moscow had known enough to tip off Mr. Bloch. Some believed that the Soviets had penetrated the French security service, which had helped in the Bloch investigation. Other officials grumbled that news media leaks had damaged the case. The chronology in the affidavit indicates that the government believes Mr. Hanssen compromised the case from within the F.B.I. so quickly that investigators never really had a chance to piece together enough evidence to prove their case.
The affidavit also includes a letter the government says Mr. Hanssen wrote to his Russian handlers last November in which he discusses his warning on the Bloch matter. The letter displays open disdain for the United States official sent to France to supervise the government's efforts to catch Mr. Bloch in the act of espionage. "Bloch was such a schnook," the letter says. "I almost hated protecting him, but then he was your friend, and there was your illegal I wanted to protect."
Efforts to reach Mr. Bloch today were unsuccessful.
The investigation of Mr. Bloch was disclosed in the news media in July of 1989, leading to surreal scenes of a suspected spy being trailed by a pack of television crews, reporters and F.B.I. agents as he remained free to make his everyday rounds in Washington.
After months of scrutiny by the F.B.I. and the press, Mr. Bloch was dismissed from his job in 1990. He moved to North Carolina and reportedly worked for a time at a grocery store and more recently as a bus driver.
---
U.S. Had Evidence of Espionage, but F.B.I. Failed to Inspect Itself
February 23, 2001
New York Times
By DAVID JOHNSTON AND JAMES RISEN
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/national/23SPY.html?pagewanted=all
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 - For a number of years, American intelligence officials have had evidence that Russia had a significant pipeline from the United States government, yet the F.B.I. failed to conduct a rigorous internal review of its own personnel, current and former government officials say.
The conclusion that Moscow had somehow penetrated the American government - perhaps with a well- placed mole or some other intelligence technique - was drawn by these officials from older threads of evidence in a series of seemingly unrelated breakdowns. Those included the collapse of the 1989 espionage investigation of Felix S. Bloch, a State Department employee, as well as the unexplained failures of technical intelligence operations aimed at the Russians.
In fact, sophisticated electronic surveillance programs against the Russians were compromised in a loss that officials said could have cost the United States hundreds of millions of dollars.
Several current and former officials said there were relatively recent concerns, which they declined to detail, that had led them to believe that there might be a Russian spy. Those suspicions were confirmed late last year when the Federal Bureau of Investigation obtained what now appears to be virtually the entire Russian case file that it says gives full details of Robert Philip Hanssen's espionage career.
Until then, Mr. Hanssen had failed to arouse suspicions, even though he once was caught at F.B.I. headquarters breaking into the computer of Ray Mislock, then a supervisor of a classified unit responsible for Russian counterespionage operations, officials said.
There were also growing suspicions that another mole was still operating deep in American intelligence in the aftermath of the espionage case against Aldrich H. Ames, the C.I.A. officer sentenced in 1994 to a life term as a spy for Moscow.
Investigators did not believe, for example, that Mr. Ames could have been responsible for the compromise of the Bloch case, and officials said he did not have direct access to the technical operations that were inexplicably blown.
Counterintelligence officials said the unwillingness of the F.B.I. director, Louis J. Freeh, to require wider use of polygraphs to screen employees for possible security problems was partly responsible for making it more difficult to reveal the work Mr. Hanssen is accused of doing as a spy for Moscow.
To be sure, polygraphs are not always reliable, are not admissible in court, and their use in law enforcement cases has become increasingly disputed. Still, Mr. Hanssen was never given a polygraph, and under current F.B.I. procedures only prospective employees, employees already under suspicion or those assigned to special programs are given polygraph examinations.
By contrast, C.I.A. officers have to undergo periodic polygraph examinations throughout their careers.
Mr. Freeh has already asked William H. Webster, the former F.B.I. and C.I.A. director, to lead a review of the bureau's internal procedures in the wake of the new disclosure that espionage went undetected for more than 15 years.
Current and former officials said the bureau allowed a fairly free exchange of information within the counterintelligence units and agents in the unit were allowed wide access to classified data banks.
Today, law enforcement officials said Mr. Freeh was preparing to announce a series of changes in security procedures in response to the Hanssen case. Among the changes will be more restrictions on access to classified computer databases and more intensive audits of computer use. The bureau has said Mr. Hanssen combed the F.B.I.'s internal computers to glean classified information and to determine whether he was under suspicion.
President Bush, at a news conference, expressed concern today about the reported penetration of the F.B.I. by a spy but also said he had confidence in Mr. Freeh. "He has made the right move in selecting Judge Webster to review all procedures in the F.B.I. to make sure that this doesn't happen again," President Bush said. He added: "I'm pleased that they caught the spy. Now the courts must act."
Mr. Hanssen, a 25-year F.B.I. veteran and counterintelligence expert, was arrested on Sunday in a Virginia park. The government says he was leaving classified material for his Russian contacts.
The F.B.I. says he volunteered to help the K.G.B. in 1985 and immediately began betraying highly classified information, including the identities of three K.G.B. officers who were working for the F.B.I. All three had previously been identified to Moscow by Mr. Ames, who had volunteered to spy for the K.G.B. just a few months earlier. Two of those K.G.B. officers were executed; the third was imprisoned and later released.
But officials say Mr. Hanssen also betrayed highly classified and tightly compartmentalized technical intelligence programs that were being used against the Russians in the United States. "In one case, he compromised an entire technical program of enormous value, expense and importance to the United States government," a government affidavit filed in his case said.
Former American intelligence officials said the loss of some highly sensitive technical intelligence programs raised nagging questions among investigators about whether there was yet another mole after Mr. Ames was arrested.
In what appears to be a remarkable stroke of good fortune for American counterintelligence, a Russian source turned over K.G.B. documents on the current case. While Mr. Freeh said at a news conference on Tuesday that Mr. Hanssen had passed material anonymously and that the Russians did not know his name, the Russian documents obtained by the United States included so much detail that they led the F.B.I. to Mr. Hanssen.
The F.B.I. obtained the Russian documents late last year, Mr. Freeh said, and then began an investigation of Mr. Hanssen. But the earlier concerns about the possibility of another Russian mole had apparently not led to any scrutiny of Mr. Hanssen until the Russian files were handed over.
-------- terrorism
Ex-terrorist group had money woes
01/02/23
Infobeat
Associated Press
By TOM HAYS
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406233043
NEW YORK (AP) - A budget crisis in the early 1990s hampered Osama bin Laden's terrorist organization from mounting a holy war against Americans, a former follower of the Saudi millionaire testified Thursday.
L'Houssaine Kherchtou, a prosecution witness in the trial of four men accused in the deadly 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in Africa, recalled a scene in Sudan in 1994.
``There is no money,'' bin Laden allegedly told members of al Qaeda. ``You shouldn't expend for a lot of things.''
The defendants are accused of bombing the U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania on Aug. 7, 1998. Twelve Americans were among the 224 people killed. Thousands more were injured.
If convicted of conspiracy charges, Wadih El-Hage, 40, and Mohamed Sadeek Odeh, 35, could get life sentences. Mohamed Rashed Daoud Al-'Owhali, 24, and Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, 27, could face the death penalty if found guilty of murder conspiracy.
Prosecutors say the bombings were organized by bin Laden, who has been indicted but remains at large. Kherchtou is the second admitted terrorist to testify about the inner workings of al Qaeda. Kherchtou said he joined the group in Afghanistan in 1991 but quit four years later because of its money troubles.
The pilot also admitted being in Nairobi the day of the embassy bombings but only for a job interview.
Kherchtou said after the bombing he met with a former al Qaeda associate, who suggested ``Harun'' may have been involved in the bombing. Court papers allege ``Harun'' is an alias for Fazul Abdullah Mohammed, a fugitive leader of the group's Kenyan branch.
As he left Nairobi, Kherchtou said he was intercepted at the airport by an intelligence agent. He was allowed to return to Sudan, but later surrendered to the FBI and became a government witness as part of a plea deal.
The trial is adjourned until Monday.
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Spain captures Basque terrorist
February 23, 2001
Washington Times
World Scene Combined dispatches and staff reports
http://www.washtimes.com/world/worldscene-20012232173.htm
MADRID - The suspected military chief of the Basque separatist group ETA, who was one of Spain's most wanted fugitives, was captured in southern France yesterday just hours after a car bomb killed two persons in Spain's Basque region.
Francisco Xabier Garcia Gaztelu, who was seized by French police in the town of Anglet, was believed to have ordered yesterday's bombing in the Basque coastal city of San Sebastian, Spanish state radio reported.
It was the second fatal attack linked to ETA this year, bringing to 26 the number of killings it has been accused of carrying out since it called off a 14-month cease-fire in December 1999.
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Effort to Cut Expenditures Costly for bin Laden
February 23, 2001
New York Times
By BENJAMIN WEISER
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/nyregion/23TERR.html
Several years ago, the Saudi exile Osama bin Laden told his followers in Sudan that he had money problems, and was cutting back on salaries and travel budgets. But Mr. bin Laden was known as a man of great wealth, and one member of his group, L'Houssaine Kherchtou, asked one of his aides for $500 to cover the cost of a Caesarean section for his wife. He was refused.
That falling-out eventually led Mr. Kherchtou into the hands of the American government, at a time when federal prosecutors in Manhattan were preparing a case against several of Mr. bin Laden's followers in a conspiracy to bomb American embassies in East Africa in 1998.
Mr. Kherchtou ultimately agreed to cooperate with the American authorities last fall, offering new evidence about Mr. bin Laden and his followers and the embassy bombings conspiracy.
Yesterday, Mr. Kherchtou completed his testimony for the prosecution in Federal District Court in Manhattan, telling jurors that Mr. bin Laden's organization was rife with tension over money, Mr. bin Laden's decision to cut back the size of his group, and concerns that two of Mr. bin Laden's senior aides were cooperating with the Americans.
But the testimony also showed for the second time in the trial how much American investigators profited from Mr. bin Laden's apparent parsimony with his group, Al Qaeda.
Mr. Kherchtou is the second major defector among Mr. bin Laden's followers to testify that his loyalties were splintered because he thought Mr. bin Laden was being miserly with his associates.
When Mr. Kherchtou was asked yesterday how he felt at being turned down by Mr. bin Laden's aide when he asked for the money for his wife's operation, he replied, "If I had a gun, I would shoot him."
In two days of testimony, Mr. Kherchtou, 36, offered only a partial account of his unlikely journey from Morocco, where he was born and later attended catering school, to his decision to join Mr. bin Laden in 1991 on the front lines in Afghanistan and then to later cross over and work with the Americans.
But what he did reveal had all the uncertainty and intrigue of what it became, a spy story.
He said, for example, that a close aide of Mr. bin Laden did not trust another aide, Ali A. Mohamed, one of two men suspected of secretly working against Mr. bin Laden.
"He was afraid that maybe he is working with United States or other governments," Mr. Kherchtou said.
In fact, records show, Mr. Mohamed had been in touch with the F.B.I. But he also admitted last October when he pleaded guilty that in 1994 he conducted surveillance of the American Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, on behalf of Mr. bin Laden.
Mr. Kherchtou said on Wednesday that he moved to Nairobi in 1993 to enroll in flight school, hoping to become Mr. bin Laden's personal pilot. In 1994, he said, Ali Mohamed and two other top Al Qaeda members stayed in his apartment in Nairobi on their surveillance mission - of the American Embassy, it turned out.
Yesterday, Mr. Kherchtou said he grew bitter toward Al Qaeda after Mr. bin Laden told his followers to cut back their spending.
Mr. Kherchtou said Mr. bin Laden also stirred dissension when he said not all of his followers could accompany him when he moved his base from Sudan to Afghanistan in early 1996.
In June 1998, Mr. Kherchtou said, he returned to Nairobi to meet a businessman who wanted a pilot to fly wealthy Middle Eastern tourists. While there, Mr. Kherchtou said, he looked up a former associate from Al Qaeda. Mr. Kherchtou said he returned to Nairobi in August 1998, and learned that some of his associates had disappeared.
The embassy attack occurred the next day. He said he found one former associate, and both of them agreed that they should not be seen together because they might come under suspicion.
Mr. Kherchtou said he was jailed, and interviewed by an intelligence officer whose country was identified only as neither Kenya nor America.
Mr. Kherchtou said he was allowed to leave Kenya in return for agreeing to "work against Al Qaeda for him."
Mr. Kherchtou said he did not get back in touch with the officer, but two years later, he began cooperating with the Americans. He came to the United States on Sept. 21, 2000, and pleaded guilty in a secret proceeding, apparently to terrorism conspiracy charges. He is now in the witness protection program.
Not long after his secret plea, the government announced a new indictment in the terrorism case in which five new defendants, all fugitives, were charged in the bombings conspiracy. Much of the new information contained in that indictment appears to have come from Mr. Kherchtou, his testimony this week shows.
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GLOBALIZATION, HAZARDOUS TO YOUR HEALTH!
WHAT: STOP THE FTAA TEACH-IN
WHEN: SATURDAY, MARCH 3, 2001 @ 1:00 PM
WHERE: AMERICAN UNIVERSITY'S WARD BUILDING, WARD 2
Thousands are beginning to organize against the next target of the anti-globalization movement: the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City on April 20-22. The main focus of the these protests will be to stop the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) agreement. The secretive FTAA, like the NAFTA and other free trade agreements demanded by global capitalism, promises more deregulation and privatization-policies which have led to the further exploitation of workers and destruction of the environment.
Right here in the capital of the richest country in the world, the only public hospital, DC General, is being privatized. This will lead to the laying off of over 1,300 health care workers and cutting off of access to health care for the majority of the city's poor and uninsured. This, in a city where life expectancies and infant mortality rates are comparable to the poorest countries in the world.
Moreover, by strengthening intellectual property rights, the FTAA will make it more difficult for the 35 million people with AIDS, 25 million of whom live in sub Saharan Africa, to get access to affordable, generic AIDS drugs which would extend their lives considerably. Again, this would have a tremendous effect in DC where the leading killer of young black men is AIDS.
Join members of the Anti-Capitalist Convergence (CLAC) from Montreal and the Summit of the Americas Welcoming Committee (CASA) from Quebec City, local activists fighting to stop the privatization of DC General, and members of ACT UP Philadelphia in a teach-in to LOCALIZE THE MOVEMEMENT FOR GLOBAL JUSTICE.
SPEAKERS:
Globalization, the FTAA and their Impact on Women - Helene Vallieres, CASA
Stopping the Privatization of DC General Hospital - Representative, Health Care Now Coalition
The FTAA & the Aids Crisis in the Global South - Jim Straub, ACT-UP! Philadelphia
Organizing Against the FTAA in Quebec City - Ian Renaud-Lauze, CASA
For more information, contact Rami at:
Call/Fax: 202 777 2642 x8978 Email: relamine@zdnetonebox.com
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Invitation to Global Greens Conference, April 2001
YOUR INVITATION TO GLOBAL GREENS 2001 14-16 APRIL, CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA
Next April, Greens from around the world will converge on Canberra for the Global Greens 2001 Conference.This event is a world first and an important step in bringing people together across many cultures and working together under a common purpose.
Imagine the things that become possible when tens of thousands of people in over 80 countries begin to coordinate their efforts for Ecological Wisdom, Grassroots Democracy, Social Justice and Peace.
This is what the April Global Greens conference aims to kick start. Among the things discussed will be the signing of an international Greens charter based around the four pillars mentioned above. A draft of this is available from: http://www.global.greens.org.au/Charter.html
You are invited to Global Greens 2001 if you are -- a member of a Green party or political movement a supporter of a Green party or political movement committed to working for ecological justice, social justice, democracy and nonviolence
All participants will be able to attend the plenary sessions and take part in workshops and events before, during and after the conference.
The conference is the centrepiece of two weeks of special events starting with the first ever meeting of Global Young Greens in Sydney on 7--9 April. To find out more about other events follow this link: http://www.global.greens.org.au/Events.html In some countries it is a lot more dangerous being a Green than in Australia. Some countries haven't even established democracies and the Greens there form part of the underground pro-democracy movement. In places like New Caledonia you get your house burnt down for contesting elections which are intended to be one choice/no choice.
Please consider coming to the conference, if nothing else it promises to be the biggest international party for like minded people ever. The conference also coincides with the National Folk Festival so there will be plenty to do in between workshops.
Follow this link to find out more: http://www.global.greens.org.au
Follow this link to register for the conference: http://www.global.greens.org.au/register.html
Follow this link to join the Greens: http://www.vic.greens.org.au/members/index.htm
Thanks, Yours Faithfully, Daniel Scoullar Victorian State Convenor The Australian Greens http://www.vic.greens.org.au
Ecological Wisdom - Grassroots Democracy Social Justice - Peace/Nonviolence
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homeless people are dangerous
Fri, 23 Feb 2001
That's the assertion made by suburban authorities near Miami, Florida, (land of justice America-style) who are cracking down on Homeless Voice vendors due to the "threat" to public safety that homeless people pose. See below for the article, a strong contender for "The Day's Top Reason to Puke, print division."
Electoral reform is necessary, but cultural reform is going to have to happen first. When I think about how complicated life in this country is, and how our political-economic system enables wrongheaded people to goad us into hating each other based upon differences in class, race and status, I get sick to my stomach. Institutionalized deception.
I encourage everyone to come to Union Station tomorrow at 11 a.m. to support Homes Not Jails in a housing takeover that gets to the root of our country's nefarious lack of humanity and common decency. Housing is a right, not a privilege. We'll meet at the front of Union Station and walk to the house. Don't be late. LA
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BETTER THAN EVERYONE ELSE
http://www.newtimesbpb.com/issues/2001-01-25/news.html FWD New Times Broward-Palm Beach Online / 2001-01-25
Cities that try to restrict the sale of Homeless Voice hear from the voluble Sean Cononie Word on the street: Commissioners in several South Florida cities have proposed laws to sweep away Homeless Voice vendors By Amy Roe
Exhaust wafts from tailpipes and mingles with the acrid stench of sun-baked asphalt. It is a crossroads: In the middle of rush hour at the intersection of Broward Boulevard and Federal Highway, there's a confluence of classes, a face-to-face exchange between rich and poor.
Homeless Voice vendors are often seen (and sometimes heard) here, though their product is not so much a scream from the streets as a whisper to the collective conscience of commuters. To buy it, motorists simply wait for a vendor in a bright orange-and-black T-shirt to stride down their line of cars.
Today, however, a female driver doesn't seem to see the salesman. More likely she is pretending not to notice. He may be saying something, or perhaps he's merely mouthing the words. With engine idling and CD player playing, who can tell?
The distracted drivers aren't buying, but Cononie's ragtag team of once (and sometimes future) homeless vendors are smiling anyway. They know things could be worse. Elsewhere a backlash against their work is burgeoning. In the past two years, at least five Broward and Miami-Dade cities have considered ordinances to restrict the sale of Homeless Voice. Cononie is now filing a lawsuit against Hallandale Beach. What was once a simple transaction has turned into a showdown.
The 16-page tabloid is a mishmash of fact, opinion, and personal history; it's a twice-a-month digest of life on and (barely) off the streets. Published by the COSAC Foundation, Sean Cononie's Hollywood-based nonprofit agency, the paper examines hard-knock lives in stark but optimistic terms. Proceeds go to COSAC's Hollywood shelter, the area's largest provider of emergency beds for the homeless. Cononie started the charity in 1997, bankrolling it with half a million dollars in worker's comp settlements he received in 1983 and 1990 after taking a fall while working as a security guard.
In 1999 he started the newspaper, which now has a circulation of 70,000. Its pages contain success stories and Bible-tinged testimonials. Cheerful reminders and common sense advice from local social service professionals are rife; occasionally a poem appears. Once Cononie, a boyish, heavyset man of 36 years, contributed a heartfelt essay about his childhood reverence for actor Lee Majors, a local supporter of homeless rights.
But over the past two years, police officers in Hallandale Beach (which has no antivending ordinance) have repeatedly kept his vendors from selling there, Cononie says. Fort Lauderdale attorney John David is handling Cononie's case against the southeastern Broward County city. David, who last year represented homeless advocate Arnold Abbott in his unsuccessful quest to continue feeding the homeless on Fort Lauderdale beach, says he'll file a federal lawsuit against Hallandale Beach this week, citing discrimination and violation of his client's First Amendment rights.
"We're suing them because they're preventing my clients from selling a newspaper [that] represents a political point of view," David explains. Moreover, he says Homeless Voice is unfairly singled out: "At the same time, they don't restrict The Herald and the Sun-Sentinel."
Legal action is a last resort, David says. In September, he claims, he sent a letter to the city: "We asked them to stop and they didn't."
However, Hallandale Beach city attorney Michael Goldstein says he never received the missive. "I've not heard from [Cononie], and his name doesn't ring a bell. And I haven't heard anything from my people about that."
In fact the impending court battle is only the latest development in a series of apparent attempts to sweep Homeless Voice vendors off the streets.
In 1997, in a stated effort to protect fundraising schoolchildren, city commissioners in Davie and Pembroke Pines considered ordinances that would have restricted soliciting donations on the street. After Cononie spoke before both commissions, officials eventually agreed Homeless Voice workers were selling papers, not soliciting donations, and exempted them from the restrictions. Vendors continue to sell in both places.
But that hasn't kept other cities from trying to stop Cononie's crews. In May 1999 Weston police arrested six vendors for violating the city's laws against soliciting donations. Officers said some vendors weren't carrying the newspaper, which was, and still is, marked "$1 donation." The charges were later dropped, but the issue re-ignited in October 2000, when Weston commissioners gave final approval to a controversial measure banning vendors along five major roads.
Cononie says he may challenge that ordinance in court, too. He's also had skirmishes with Miramar, a city he says has flip-flopped its position on vendors. "Miramar said, "No, you can't do it,' about a year and half ago. John David contacted them, and Miramar said, "Feel free to solicit; we were never stopping you.' We went back out there, and they started to stop us again."
Miramar city attorney Jamie Cole says if such an incident occurred, it must have been a misunderstanding. "We talked to the police about that. Miramar doesn't prohibit any of the newspapers [from being sold at intersections]. Bottom line, we don't treat [Homeless Voice] any differently than The Miami Herald and Sun-Sentinel."
Cononie has already won one battle. When Hollywood commissioners last year reconsidered an ordinance that would've restricted where roadside peddlers could stand, Cononie joined forces with The Miami Herald and the Sun-Sentinel to oppose the proposal. Fearing it would not withstand a constitutional challenge, commissioners backed down, rejecting the ordinance in a 4-to-3 vote.
Earlier this month Cononie persuaded the City of Aventura to reject an ordinance that would have kept his vendors off the streets of that burg. Commissioners agreed to hold a workshop on the issue and return with a proposal that would not prohibit the sale of the newspaper.
The turnabout was in part due to impassioned opposition by Commissioner Jay Beskin, a Davie attorney. "At bottom I think the purpose of this ordinance is insidious," Beskin says. "It's to keep people we don't want in Aventura out of Aventura. We want to keep newspaper [vendors] who are not homeless but [are] close to homeless out of Aventura. We can't differentiate between different types of vendors because of the content of what they're vending. [The proposed ordinance] is a blot and a stain on the people of the City of Aventura."
Likewise Cononie says Hallandale Beach's response reflects poorly on that city. He says he can't figure out why officials resist his vendors' presence, particularly after other cities have grudgingly accepted them. "Maybe," Cononie says with a sigh that belies his usual feistiness, "they just think they're better than everyone else."
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Beijing Tries to Woo Olympics and Keep Dissidents in Check
February 23, 2001
New York Times
By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/02/23/world/23CHIN.html
BEIJING, Feb. 22 - Hoping to avert protests that might hurt China's chances of winning the 2008 Olympics, Chinese officials have placed known critics of the government and their families under more surveillance this week and warned them not to speak out while inspectors from the International Olympic Committee are visiting here.
Two days into a five-day visit by an International Olympic Committee team, it was clear the Chinese government was taking a two-pronged approach. The Beijing 2008 Olympic Games Committee has sought to wow inspectors with evidence of the city's enthusiasm and planning - as well as promises to spend $20 billion to build highways, stadiums, hotels and subways if its bid succeeds. But the government, which has repeatedly stated that human rights issues should not influence the committee, has dispatched security forces to make sure this is so.
On Wednesday, the Beijing Olympic Bid Committee pressed on courageously with its slick presentations, despite unseasonably wet weather and unusually thick pollution in a city that has done much to improve its air quality in the last three years. Roads were lined with fake flowers as well as banners bearing Beijing's flashy Olympic logo; inspectors were showered with love and performances wherever they went. Beijing officials told inspectors that the city's building plans for the Olympics "would be one of the largest construction projects ever in China, since the construction of the Great Wall," said the state-run New China News Agency.
And at a news briefing today, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Zhu Bangzao, again denounced efforts "to link human rights and political issues to Beijing's Olympic bid." "Most Chinese," he said, "believe that the human rights situation in China is the best ever."
But that was not true for all Chinese this week. On Monday, two members of the banned China Democracy Party were detained in hotel rooms, the Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said. And on Wednesday, Shan Chengfeng, the wife of a jailed China Democracy Party member, was sentenced to two years in a labor camp for signing a petition urging the International Olympic Committee to press China to release jailed democracy advocates, the human rights group said.
Likewise - though a Beijing court was to have heard the appeal of a jailed pro-democracy advocate, Jiang Qisheng, this week - the authorities have suddenly postponed the hearing, his wife said. She added that the police had visited her last weekend and warned her not to sign any petitions. This week they have been stationed outside her apartment day and night, even following her to exercise class.
Mr. Jiang was detained in 1999 for calling on people to commemorate June 4, 1989, the day Chinese troops fired on pro-democracy protestors in and around Tiananmen Square, killing hundreds. He is now serving a four-year prison term for "inciting subversion of state power."
The police have also increased surveillance on Tiananmen Square, where five Falun Gong followers set themselves on fire last month, apparently to protest the government's ban on the spiritual movement.
Some critics of the Chinese government, like the New York-based Students for a Free Tibet, have suggested that China's poor human rights record should disqualify it from serving as the Olympic host. But many others, including Falun Gong and several mainland-based democracy advocates, have generally supported the bid - hoping that Beijing's intense desire to win the Olympics will prompt it to make some concessions on human rights.
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Fighting in Gaza Strip;
Anti-U.S. Demonstration in West Bank
February 23, 2001 Filed at 3:38 p.m. ET
Associated Press
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/world/AP-Israel-Pale.html
JERUSALEM (AP) -- On the eve of Secretary of State Colin Powell's first Mideast trip, Palestinians burned U.S. flags, Israeli tanks shelled Palestinian police stations and West Bank gunmen battled Israeli soldiers Friday.
One Palestinian was killed and a second seriously wounded by Israeli fire in the latest flare-up of violence. In all, 407 people, most of them Palestinians, have been killed in five months of Israeli-Palestinian fighting.
Powell's visit comes at a time of growing anti-U.S. sentiment among Palestinians angry over last week's U.S.-British airstrikes against Iraq.
In the West Bank town of Ramallah, about 2,000 demonstrators cheered Friday as masked men burned U.S. flags and a cardboard model of a missile with pictures of President Bush pasted on it.
After the march, dozens of demonstrators hurled stones at Israeli troops, who responded with rubber-coated steel bullets. Ten Palestinians were hurt. Later, gunmen in the crowd shot at Israeli troops, who returned fire.
Mahmoud Abbas, Arafat's deputy, also known as Abu Mazen, said three bullets from cross fire hit his office in Ramallah. There were no injuries.
Powell was to arrive in the region Saturday and hold separate meetings with Israeli Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat on Sunday.
Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami was to have greeted Powell at the airport on behalf of the government and then join him in a meeting with caretaker Prime Minister Ehud Barak. But Ben-Ami canceled his participation in the Powell visit, and spokeswoman Yaffa Ben-Ari would not say why.
Powell's whirlwind visit was not expected to bring Israel and the Palestinians closer to a resumption of peace talks, with both having set rigid conditions.
The Palestinians say negotiations must resume at the point where they left off last month, a demand Sharon has rejected. Sharon, in turn, has said he will not negotiate under fire. The Palestinians say Israel is the sole aggressor, and demand that Israel lift its blockade of the West Bank and Gaza Strip before talks resume.
Killed in the nearly five months of violence were 335 Palestinians, 14 Israeli Arabs, 57 other Israelis and one German.
The latest flare-up began Thursday night when Palestinians fired four mortar shells at the Jewish settlements of Dugit and Alei Sinai in the northern Gaza Strip. In response, Israeli tanks shelled two Palestinian police stations Friday and army bulldozers later razed the buildings.
Israel also blocked the main north-south thoroughfares, cutting the Gaza Strip in half. Hundreds of Palestinians walked along the Mediterranean beach to get around army roadblocks.
Fatmah Alian Jaber, 42, said she was at a Gaza hospital with her pregnant daughter and was prevented from returning to her refugee camp by the Israeli roadblocks. She joined others on foot trying to bypass the soldiers, but they opened fire.
She said Israel's actions have killed hopes for peace. ``We have nothing to lose after we have already lost everything.''
Settlers charged that the army is not doing enough to stop the Palestinian attacks. Avi Farhan, a settler leader, said the army must be allowed to take stiff measures. ``This is war, and in war there are no limits,'' he told Israel radio.
Earlier Friday, Palestinians set off several roadside bombs aimed at Israeli army patrols in Gaza. A soldier suffered minor injuries.
In the West Bank village of Al Khader, a 21-year-old Palestinian was killed in clashes with Israeli troops, witnesses said. Near the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt, a Palestinian was seriously wounded in what Palestinian witnesses said was an unprovoked Israeli shooting. The army had no comment on the incidents. Ahmed Abdel Rahman, a senior aide to Arafat, said the Palestinians would ask Powell to put a stop to what he termed ``Israeli aggression.''
Sharon, in turn, said he hoped to redefine the Israel-U.S. relationship, placing less emphasis on peace talks and more on bilateral ties.
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Ecuador protesters seize oil wells
February 23, 2001
Washington Times
World Scene Combined dispatches and staff reports
http://www.washtimes.com/world/worldscene-20012232173.htm
QUITO, Ecuador - Protesters seized control of oil wells in Ecuador's crude-rich Amazon provinces yesterday in an escalation of demands for government aid to combat poverty and protect peasants from Colombian rebels crossing the border.
Television reports showed roads blocked throughout jungle provinces of Sucumbios and Orellana, two of the poorest in this Andean nation of 12.4 million people.
According to an oil industry source who requested anonymity, eight state-owned oil stations in the Amazon are in the hands of some 800 demonstrators.
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Monk deaths arouse suspicion
01/02/23
Infobeat
Associated Press
By ANGUS MCDONALD
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406231559
DHARAMSALA, India (AP) - A Tibetan monk arrested while returning from exile in India has died under mysterious circumstances in the custody of Chinese police, a Tibetan human rights group said Thursday.
Another Tibetan, a former political prisoner, died within a month of being released from jail on medical parole last year, the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy said, bringing to five the number of Tibetan political prisoners who died last year.
``These deaths are further evidence of the Chinese government's continuing blatant violation of fundamental human rights,'' said Lobsang Nyandak, the center's executive director. ``We find it appalling that the international community has still failed to actively condemn the Chinese government.''
The monk, Saru Dawa, 27, was arrested at the Chinese border at Dram while returning to Tibet on Nov. 20. Dawa, who left Tibet in 1992 and joined a monastery in Dharamsala in northern India, was returning to visit his sick mother.
Dawa's relatives learned of his arrest and made inquiries at the Nyari Detention Center in Shigatse, where prisoners arrested at the border normally are held, the center said. After paying a bribe, the family was told Dawa committed suicide Jan. 9, 2000. Dawa's body was shown to the family Feb. 15 before being cremated, the statement said.
Prison officials said Dawa was arrested carrying a photo of himself with the Dalai Lama and a number of books published by the Tibetan exile community. The officials said Dawa was sick when arrested, and this, along with his crime, had driven him to suicide.
But a fellow monk at the Kirti Monastery in Dharamsala said Dawa was only carrying religious texts.
Another prisoner, identified only as Penpa, 40, was severely beaten by police in 1997 when he was arrested for allegedly raising a Tibetan flag at Lhasa's Jokhang temple, the center said. He was denied medical attention at the time, the statement said.
A former political prisoner who arrived in Nepal this week said Penpa was released on parole early last year, six months before the end of his three-year sentence. Following his death, family members discovered he had a collapsed lung, apparently as a result of torture, the center said.
The Tibetan Center is based in Dharamsala, home of the Dalai Lama, the supreme spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists. The Dalai Lama fled to India in 1959 after a failed uprising against Chinese rule and based himself in the northern Indian town.
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Zapatistas outline march plans
01/02/23
Infobeat
Associated Press
By LISA ADAMS
http://www.infobeat.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/IBFrontEnd.woa/wa/fullStory?article=406231908
LA REALIDAD, Mexico (AP) - Mexico's Zapatista rebels, who are preparing a journey from the jungle to rally support for Indian rights, accused President Vicente Fox on Thursday of trying to rush the guerrillas to peace without achieving justice.
``The central worry of Mr. Vicente Fox is not peace in Chiapas, but to make it appear that peace in Chiapas is possible or is now a fact,'' the ski-masked rebel leader Subcomandante Marcos told reporters at the rebels' jungle village.
Marcos said the government hopes ``to force an unconditional surrender'' by pushing the rebels based in Chiapas state to sign a peace agreement without achieving their goals of Indian rights and economic justice.
The Zapatistas took up arms for two weeks in January 1994 to fight for the rights of poor Indians. The rebellion was followed by six years of conflict between pro-government paramilitary groups and rebel sympathizers in Chiapas.
Fox himself already achieved one of the main Zapatista goals with his July 2000 election: He defeated the Institutional Revolutionary Party that had ruled Mexico since 1929.
Mexican TV stations broadcast part of Marcos' news conference live from La Realidad, a village of tin-roofed, wood-plank buildings in a clearing several hours from the nearest paved road.
Marcos outlined plans for a 15-day march through about a dozen states, with plans to arrive in the Mexican capital March 11, to promote a law that would expand the rights of Indian communities to enact laws, control lands and use their own languages.
He and 23 rebel commanders plan to leave their villages on Saturday, rendezvous in San Cristobal de las Casas on Sunday and then roam through southern and central Mexico, accompanied by hundreds of foreign and Mexican supporters. The march has already become a major national issue.
Fox said Wednesday that he ``welcomes this march because we believe, feel and bet that that march will bring us to a peace process.''
But some senators and governors denounced the Zapatistas for refusing to give up their masks and guns. Others say they fear accidents or conflicts on the route could set back peace efforts. Business groups worry that the march could frighten investors.
A state congressman from Morelos, one of the Zapatista stops, challenged Marcos to a shootout. Ranchers in Chiapas, angry at rebel occupation of their lands, threatened to block the route.
On Wednesday, Marcos accused Fox's government of blocking plans to have the International Red Cross accompany the march.
The president expressed ``surprise'' at the accusation, adding: ``We have had no contact'' with the Red Cross on the issue.
Fox said his government would try to ensure the safety of the march, but the Zapatistas' had refused to meet to discuss security even while demanding safety measures.
A congressional peace commission said Thursday it will meet with Marcos after he gets to Mexico City, in hopes of giving him a chance to address congress. The commission, which has struck a largely pro-rebel stance, also said it will join the Zapatista march.
Marcos and the Zapatistas have refused to meet with the new government until it fulfills a series of demands: troop pullbacks, liberation of prisoners and passage of the rights law.
Talks cannot start ``while the army is still holding Zapatista communities hostage,'' he said.
Congress has not yet acted on the rights bill and while Fox has withdrawn many troops and freed many prisoners, the Zapatistas said he has not gone far enough.
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