------- Index of Articles

NUCLEAR
South Asia's nuclear powder keg
WMC rules out nuclear power for SA
Bush: Anti-Missile Plan a Hard Sell
Putin Adviser Warns on Missile Range
Radar Malfunctioned in Missile Test
Missile Interception Test Was Hit-and-Miss, Pentagon Reports
Putin won't side with Beijing against shield
Russia: No Ammo Found in Nuke Sub
Pushing Agenda for ABM's, Bush Prepares to Meet Putin
Cutting the Nukes
Good news from Congress on nuclear testing
Radiation Victims to Be Compensated
New Jersey renews nuclear plant's water permit despite fish kills
Uranium contamination may extend into other states
Adviser to decide whether reactor restart needs vote
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SECRETARY NAMED AT ENERGY DEPARTMENT
Link for Yucca Mountain Project

MILITARY
US Military Cutbacks Won't Affect Asia
S. Korea Villagers Seek Base Closed
China Signs $2 Billion Deal for Russian Fighter Jets
U.N. Arms Traffic Deal in Jeopardy
Grumman Extends Bid for Newport News
BAE targets smart bomb market
China, Belarus Aim to Strengthen Ties
Europeans Propose Observer Force for Middle East
Mexico's New Anti-Drug Team Wins the Trust of U.S. Officials
Former U.N. Inspector Accuses U.S.
Putin Offers West Reassurances and Ideas on NATO
Navy Seeks Vieques Alternative
Space laser experiment to cost Pentagon nearly four billion dollars
Astronauts struggle with air leaks on space station
Bush plans to test space-based laser weapons
Former U.N. Inspector Decries U.S.
US Military Cutbacks Won't Affect Asia
Rumsfeld Sees Discord on Size of Military
Figures Say US Needs Bigger Military

OTHER
House Committee OKs Energy Package
SHREDDED WOOD REMOVES CONTAMINANTS FROM STORM RUNOFF
Derailed Chemical Train Still Burns
EPA Issues Rules for Regulating Crops
Ashcroft targets human trafficking in U.S.
Accounting Urged for Arms, Computers
Witnesses: Blame 'the club' for FBI debacles
Fortress Genoa Awaits G-8 Leaders and Foes
Computer Virus Targets White House
New Terror Warning

ACTIVISTS
Demonstrators Warm Up for Summit
Hanged Effigies Kick Off Expected Wave of G8 Demos
Protesters Start Marching on Eve of G8 Summit


-------- NUCLEAR

-------- asia

South Asia's nuclear powder keg

By John J. Schulz,
7/19/2001
Boston Globe
http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/200/oped/South_Asia_s_nuclear_powder_keg%2B.shtml

FOR MOST AMERICANS, news of the failed Pakistan-India Summit talks may be ''interesting,'' but of little consequence. Indeed, we will likely take comfort in knowing that the four-decades-long nuclear confrontation between Moscow and Washington resulted in mutual deterrence. We may find this a comforting paradigm for South Asia today: Nuclear war is as unlikely there as it was during the Cold War nuclear stalemate. But nothing could be further from the truth.

Any number of potential issues could provide the spark leading to nuclear war between Pakistan and India - issues that never existed between the United States and the now-defunct Soviet Union.

First, throughout the post-war era, with the buildup of nuclear arsenals and ever-more sophisticated delivery systems on both sides, no American troops ever engaged in battle with Soviet troops.

Pakistan and India have fought three bitter wars since the two states were created in 1947, and skirmishes and artillery exchanges continue to kill soldiers on either side of the line of demarcation near the Siachen Glacier. For many in both societies, another unforgiven remembrance of things past includes India's treatment of 90,000 Pakistani POWs, the brutality of the fighting, and the merciless rape and slaughter of noncombatants by both sides, especially in the final weeks of the 1970-71 Bangladesh secessionist war, when India intervened on the side of Bangladesh.

Second, despite arsenals that grew to as many as 30,000 nuclear warheads on both sides from 1950 to 1990, Moscow and Washington had no outstanding territorial disputes.

Islamabad and New Delhi have two of immediate importance. The predominantly Muslim and hotly disputed ''Indian State'' of Kashmir, along Pakistan's eastern border, could provide the biggest spark of all. Last year, insurgent Pakistani forces fighting inside Indian-controlled territory brought the two states to the brink of war. The Siachen boundary issue could also spark war.

In interviews with top generals and at the Strategic Institutes in the early 1990s, both sides referred to the ''strategic'' Siachen Glacier, thus underscoring the emotional content in the rivalry, and the fuzzy thinking that often clouds their bilateral disputes. When pressed, these generals and think tank experts conceded that the daily, hot-war artillery exchanges in one of the highest mountain regions of the world could not, by definition, be ''strategic'': It is simply not possible to build up, then launch a major military offensive where geography prohibits creation of a huge staging area for men or war machines. Cold-eyed analysis such as this, by senior officers or in the two strategic institutes (heavily populated by retired generals), is desperately needed and virtually nonexistent.

During the Cold War, the two superpowers worked to guarantee that mutual assured deterrence was imbedded in ''mutual assured destruction.'' India and Pakistan have warheads, aircraft, and missiles sufficient to assure the deaths of tens of millions on both sides.

Moscow and Washington had clearly articulated, mutually understood doctrines, spelling out conditions under which nuclear weapons might be used. Warning signs were thus posted to prevent actions, activities, and miscalculations that spark war. Moreover, both sides developed highly sophisticated systems to maintain tight control over the handling and - in worst case scenario - launch of such weapons. The full package, command, control computers, communication, and intelligence - referred to as ''C-cubed-I'' - was more expensive and extensive than the weapon systems.

Pakistan and India have only the most rudimentary of strategic doctrines, and despite assurances that these are now in place, they remain unclear and unwieldy. Measures designed to command and control handling and release of nuclear weapons are rudimentary at best. The C-cubed-I ''package'' must be as invulnerable and sure-fire as the arsenals, but every aspect of C-cubed-I is vulnerable in South Asia.

Other potential sparks could also light the South Asian nuclear powder keg: Roughly as many Muslims live in India as in Pakistan, a country of about 140 million. Sectarian violence, religious clashes, and perceptions that the Hindu majority is persecuting its Muslim citizens are recurring problems which, on any day, at any time, can cause violence and death. Mobs then take to the streets, demanding political and military action by political leaders. None of these emotional historical factors was present in the ideological, geostrategic superpower rivalry.

Finally, faith in the system or fear of the secret police meant American and Soviet citizens tended to eschew mob action or armed conflict to resolve internal political disputes. India holds regular elections. Pakistan opts for bloodless military coups. But political leaders are vulnerable to violent domestic political segments that limit diplomatic maneuverability.

Thus, the failed summit talks deserve our grave concern: Since 1991, State Department experts have labeled South Asia the likeliest place for nuclear war. Nothing from the recent summit changes that estimate.

John J. Schulz, professor of international communication at Boston University, is a former South Asia correspondent, National War College professor, and editor of Arms Control Today magazine.

-------- australia

WMC rules out nuclear power for SA

Thur, 19 Jul 2001
ACST Australian Broadcasting
http://www.abc.net.au/news/state/sa/archive/metsa-19jul2001-1.htm

The head of the company which operates the Roxby Downs Uranium mine is ruling out a nuclear power plant as a solution to South Australia's electricity problems, saying it lacks community and public acceptance.

But Western Mining Corporation's (WMC) chief executive Hugh Morgan says South Australia will not be able to compete with Victoria and New South Wales until electricity becomes a lot cheaper.

Describing the current situation as an electricity crisis, Mr Morgan says it is undermining South Australia's potential to become "a great mineral province" - generating billions of dollars in export revenue.

He says there is currently about 36 nuclear power plants being constructed around the world and America's power crisis has seen a positive swing in the pendulum of community attitudes.

But he says that is not likely either publicly or politically in Australia.

"It's still a big ask in terms of community acceptance... political acceptance...I think Sir Humphrey would suggest that it would be courageous, Minister," he said.

-------- missile defense

Bush: Anti-Missile Plan a Hard Sell

By Ron Fournier
AP White House Correspondent
Thursday, July 19, 2001
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010719/aponline193043_000.htm

HALTON, England -- President Bush said Thursday he is having a hard time selling a missile defense plan to skeptical allies in Europe because he has only "vague notions" about what it would entail. Bush also bristled at criticism of his climate change policy.

"Our strategy must make sure working people in America are not thrown out of work," Bush said at a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Their meeting, the second of Bush's presidency, underscored how much divides the United States and its closest allies.

Though the two leaders papered over their differences, the session at the prime minister's 436-year-old retreat served as a preview of thorny issues awaiting Bush when he travels Friday to Genoa, Italy, for a three-day summit of the world's wealthiest nations, plus Russia.

His fellow leaders plan to challenge Bush's positions on missile defense, global warming, genetically produced food and other topics.

With Blair at his side, Bush said the landmark 1972 Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty forbids the United States from even testing a potential system - let alone settling on a shield and deploying it.

"Therein lies part of the dilemma for the prime minister. He said, 'What do you want me to support? What are you proposing?'" Bush said, offering an unusually candid assessment of one ally's doubts about his missile system plans.

"It's hard for any country to commit to vague notions," Bush said.

Tens of thousands of protesters were expected in the Italian port city for the latest international gathering of demonstrators loosely grouped under the banner of the anti-globalization movement.

In a direct challenge to protesters, who White House aides fear will overshadow the summit, Bush said, "For those who want to shut down trade, I say to them as clearly as I can: You're hurting poor countries. For those who want to use this opportunity to say the world should become isolationist, they're condemning those who are poor to poverty."

Bush himself was accused of fostering U.S. isolationism; Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., told USA Today that the president was driving a wedge between the United States and its allies. The president fired back.

"We're not retreating within our borders," he said during a tour of the British Museum. "I happen to believe missile defenses is important to keep the world more peaceful, and I believe we need to work together to reduce greenhouse gases. But I refuse to accept a treaty that will harm our country's economy."

White House spokesman Ari Fleischer called Daschle's remarks "unseemly," a break from the traditional foreign policy truce while the U.S. president is overseas. Senate Republican leader Trent Lott complained, "Politics stop at our nation's borders. And certainly politics stop when the president is abroad." Daschle later said he could have picked a better time to make his point.

A sightseer in chief, Bush also toured the musty warren where Winston Churchill directed Britain's defenses against Nazi Germany and had lunch with Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

Aides said they hoped the photographs would soften media coverage of the president's contentious dealings with U.S. allies.

Blair helped Bush's case by soft-pedaling his concerns about the fledgling U.S. missile shield project. Though his foreign secretary declined last week to support Bush's push to set aside the landmark U.S.-Russian arms control treaty, Blair ducked the questions Thursday.

Instead, he praised Bush for consulting with allies and agreed that new threats require "imaginative solutions" that should include defense systems.

A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the two leaders seemed to close the gap on their differences. However, the official, who attended one of the sessions with Blair, said he could not point to a specific advance made by Bush.

Bush, in turn, praised Blair for his open-mindedness.

"There are some leaders who just out of hand reject any willingness to think differently about security. And prime minister Blair is not that way," Bush said.

The remark was a concession to missile defense opponents who complain that Bush is urging the American public and U.S. allies to back a missile defense system before deciding how it would work, how much it would cost or where it would be deployed.

In Genoa, U.S. allies had similar questions.

"We shouldn't give up something that has proven itself without a better solution," German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer said.

Blair said there were "differences of the minute" between the United States and Britain, a vast understatement of the dispute over climate change policy. Blair supports the 1997 treaty that limited the emission of heat-trapping gases.

French President Jacques Chirac warned that the allies will be pushing Bush hard to change his mind on global warming.

"We must continue dialogue to try to convince the United States to join" the climate treaty, said French President Jacques Chirac.

Bush also said he's studying the opportunities and downsides of continuing federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. And he told Blair he was "a simple phone call away" if the prime minister needed help resolving the Northern Ireland conflict.

----

Putin Adviser Warns on Missile Range

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Russia-US-Missile-Defense.html?searchpv=aponline

MOSCOW (AP) -- Russia would view the start of construction of a U.S. missile defense test facility as a violation of the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, President Vladimir Putin's military adviser said Thursday.

Igor Sergeyev said Russia still hopes to reach a compromise with the United States on the ABM. He wouldn't say how Russia would respond to the U.S. moves if no deal is reached.

``The beginning of construction of the test range ... will signal the violation of the ABM Treaty,'' Sergeyev said at a news conference.

Moscow hopes that Washington would give notice of its intention to withdraw from the treaty before it starts construction, he said.

U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said last week that a number of missile test activities, including the start of construction of a test facility in April 2002, would raise questions about compliance with the ABM treaty, which bans large-scale missile defenses.

Other officials said the Pentagon plans to build missile interceptor silos for test launches at Fort Greely and Kodiak Island in Alaska.

Russia strongly opposes U.S. plans to deploy a nationwide defense against ballistic missiles, saying it would upset the strategic balance and trigger a new arms race.

It dismisses U.S. arguments that the missile shield is intended to deal with missile threats from countries antagonistic to the United States and wouldn't be capable of fending off a massive strike Russia is capable of launching.

The ABM Treaty bans nationwide missile defense systems on assumption that the fear of retaliation would prevent either country from launching a nuclear strike.

Putin has said Russia might respond to the U.S. moves by fitting its single warhead missiles with multiple warheads in order to overwhelm the defense system.

--------

Radar Malfunctioned in Missile Test

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/news/AP-Missile-Defense-Radar.html?searchpv=aponline

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A prototype radar used in Saturday's missile intercept test to assess the result of the collision between the interceptor and a mock warhead malfunctioned, a Pentagon official said Thursday.

Air Force Lt. Col. Rick Lehner, a spokesman for the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, said it was the first time the radar, known as an X-band radar and located on Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands, was used in the assessment role.

In its main role of helping guide the missile interceptor to its target and distinguishing between the target and decoys, the X-band radar performed as designed, Lehner said.

In attempting to assess the result of the impact, the radar's software was overwhelmed by the huge amount of dust and debris, Lehner said. As a result the Pentagon will give the radar a faster and larger capacity to process information so that in future tests it could be used in the assessment role, he said.

The malfunction was first reported by the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday.

Lehner disputed assertions by critics who said Saturday's malfunction showed that the X-band radar could be fooled if an enemy surrounded its missile warheads with chaff -- small scraps of metal. Lehner said this was illogical because there is no comparison between chaff and the debris from a missile-on-warhead collision.

The final version of the X-band radar is to be built on Shemya Island in the Aleutians, although the Bush administration's current missile defense plan provides no money for the Shemya Island radar and has not committed to building it.

--------

Missile Interception Test Was Hit-and-Miss, Pentagon Reports

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By JAMES DAO
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/19/national/19RADA.html?searchpv=nytToday

WASHINGTON, July 18 - A prototype missile defense radar had a malfunction after a successful interception test on Saturday and was unable to confirm that a mock warhead had been destroyed, the Pentagon said today.

The prototype being developed for tracking long-range missiles by using finely focused, or X-band, radar waves is intended to help guide intercepting missiles toward targets and assist in differentiating warheads from decoys, Pentagon officials say.

The officials said the prototype X- band radar stationed on Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands successfully performed those tasks in the test Saturday.

The result was a direct hit on a mock warhead, which was demolished in a collision with the intercepting missile, or kill vehicle, 140 miles above the Pacific.

Pentagon testers were also counting on the X-band radar to help them confirm that the warhead had been destroyed. Instead of doing that, the system froze because it was inundated with data from debris created by the collision, a Pentagon official said.

"The radar was so sensitive it overwhelmed its information processing ability," Lt. Col. Rick Lehner, a spokesman for the Pentagon's Ballistic Missile Defense Organization, said. "The system locked up, like your computer at home. It was too much work to track all the debris."

The malfunction was first described by The Los Angeles Times today.

Colonel Lehner asserted that the problem was not major, and probably could be rectified by rewriting software.

Over all, he contended, the test proves that the X-band radar works. He said other sensors were able to confirm the intercept.

Critics of the Bush administration's missile defense plans said the failure was more significant than the Pentagon was willing to admit. They contended that if the radar locked up when tracking debris from a collision, adversaries could confound it by surrounding their warheads with tiny scraps of metal, or chaff.

"Chaff is simple and it's cheap," Joseph Cirincione, senior associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said. "This underscores the unreality of these tests, how carefully choreographed they are for success. They work only as long as everything goes exactly according to plan."

Philip E. Coyle III, the former director of testing for the Pentagon, said that had the system malfunctioned in a real attack, a battle manager might have continued firing interceptors at a target that had been destroyed, wasting precious weapons.

As the Pentagon makes its missile defense tests more complicated, he said, software problems are likely to arise, raising questions about whether the Pentagon will be able to have a system ready for operation as quickly as the administration wants.

Aides to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said he had not been briefed about the problems with the X-band radar.

In a news conference today, Mr. Rumsfeld said of Saturday's test, "As with any test, you're testing any number of things, and inevitably there are going to be one or two things, or more, that you learn from that you need to do differently."

He said he was pleased with the test, the second success out of four tries in the last two years. "It's better to have two out of four than one out of four," Mr. Rumsfeld said.

--------

Putin won't side with Beijing against shield

July 19, 2001
By Alice Lagnado
SPECIAL TO THE WASHINGTON TIMES
http://www.washtimes.com/world/20010719-22759960.htm

MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin lavished praise on President Bush and pledged not to join forces with China should Washington abandon the ABM Treaty to develop a missile shield.

Mr. Putin's comments at a press conference came as a finale to a carefully orchestrated campaign to gain acceptance into the exclusive club of Western leaders at the Group of Eight summit next week.

Mr. Putin said that Russia, despite signing a friendship treaty with China this week, would make its strategic decisions independently.

"We do not plan joint activities in this sphere with other states, including China," he said in reference to U.S. moves to develop a missile defense that is likely to breach the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

Both Beijing and Moscow oppose the U.S. effort and both have clashed with Washington repeatedly over the issue since Mr. Bush became president.

Mr. Putin's remarks yesterday, at his first Moscow press conference open to both local and international reporters, appeared aimed at Western fears of a future Sino-Russian military alliance.

Beijing is concerned that a U.S. missile shield will make its modest nuclear arsenal obsolete and that Washington might supply Taiwan, which it views as a renegade state, with defense technology.

Moscow has boasted of nuclear capabilities powerful enough to defeat the limited missile defense sought by Mr. Bush, which is directed at protecting people from rogue states and terrorists.

Mr. Putin, analysts believe, is intent on showing he deserves equal status to world leaders like Mr. Bush, British Prime Minister Tony Blair and French President Jacques Chirac, whom he will join this weekend in Genoa, Italy.

Yesterday's news conference, unprecedented in scale with more than 500 reporters, was part of a campaign by the Kremlin that has intensified in recent days as the Genoa summit draws near.

The Russian parliament has recently passed laws allowing some private land sales, adopting pension reforms and measures to combat international money laundering.

This week alone, Mr. Putin has issued statements claiming a commitment to ending corruption in Russia. Investigations have also been initiated against senior army officers accused of human rights abuses in Chechnya.

Mr. Putin said he liked Mr. Bush after a first meeting in June.

"I found [Mr. Bush] a rather sincere person, pleasant to talk to," Mr. Putin said. "I don't know if I should say this, but he also appeared to me to be a little bit sentimental."

"For me, this is also a good sign, although he also took a firm stance on his positions," Mr. Putin said.

At the same time Mr. Putin reaffirmed his support for the ABM Treaty as the cornerstone of a global security network and has asked Mr. Bush to negotiate with Russia.

Mr. Putin and Mr. Bush are expected to meet privately during the G-8 summit, which includes leaders from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan.

Mr. Putin also condemned NATO, which he said has outlived its usefulness, since it was formed during the Cold War to oppose the now-defunct Soviet bloc.

"There is no more Warsaw Pact, no more Soviet Union, but NATO continues to exist and develop," he said.

NATO's expansion into Eastern Europe creates "different levels of security on the continent which does not correspond to today's realities and is not caused by any political or military necessity," he said.

But he also said Russia was not threatened by NATO.

"We do not see it as an enemy," he said. "We do not see a tragedy in its existence, but we also see no need for it."

Mr. Putin proposed a "single security and defense space in Europe" by disbanding NATO, having Russia join it, or by creating a brand-new organization in which Moscow plays an equal role.

The Russian leader's decision to hold a news conference on the eve of the Genoa meeting was widely read as a sign of his growing ability to bask in the international spotlight.

Despite the statesman-like aura of the press conference, the Russian leader suddenly lost his temper over questions about Chechnya, raising his voice and becoming agitated in answer to a reporter's question about the behavior of Russian soldiers conducting "security checks" in the rebellious province.

Mr. Putin said the security checks were a reaction to terrorist attacks by Chechen fundamentalists against Russian troops in "attempts to provoke the local population against federal authorities."

Human-rights groups charge that hundreds, if not thousands, of Chechen men were rounded up, severely beaten and sometimes tortured during the security checks by Russian soldiers earlier this month.

The Russian government acknowledged that some violations had taken place and opened six criminal investigations into soldiers' behavior on July 3 and 4.

-------- russia

Russia: No Ammo Found in Nuke Sub

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Russia-Nuclear-Submarine.html

MOSCOW (AP) -- Engineers preparing to raise the sunken nuclear submarine Kursk have found no unexploded ammunition in the vessel's damaged first compartment, a Russian Navy spokesman said Thursday.

The first compartment was mangled in the explosion that sank the Kursk and it was feared it could contain unexploded torpedoes. It is to be cut off and left at the bottom of the Barents Sea when the submarine is raised in September.

Navy spokesman Igor Dygalo said cameras examining the first compartment this week did not find any unexploded ammunition, the ITAR-Tass news agency said.

The Kursk sank on Aug. 12, 2000, during a training exercise in the Barents Sea off northern Russia, killing all 118 crew members.

An international operation to salvage the submarine began this week, with engineers using an unmanned, remote-controlled vessel to measure radiation levels and dig out the buried first compartment.

After the compartment is cut off, a step tentatively set for Aug. 8, Russian and foreign divers will drill holes in the hull and attach steel cables to lift the sub. The cables will be attached to 26 hydraulic cranes anchored to a giant pontoon, which will be towed to Murmansk.

The Norwegian ship Mayo, which so far has served as a base for the operation, arrived Thursday morning in Norway's Arctic port of Kirkenes, where it will change crews and pick up new equipment, ITAR-Tass said, citing the Russian consul in Kirkenes, Igor Bukharkin. The ship was to head back to the Kursk area about 12 hours later, it said.

Russia has maintained that no radiation has leaked from the wreck but says it is raising it to ensure the Kursk's two reactors pose no future danger.

-------- treaties

Pushing Agenda for ABM's, Bush Prepares to Meet Putin

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By MICHAEL R. GORDON
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/19/international/19MISS.html?searchpv=nytToday

LONDON, July 18 - As President Bush prepares for meetings this weekend with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and other world leaders, the White House has stressed its desire to work out a new understanding with Moscow to replace the Antiballistic Missile Treaty of 1972.

But the Bush administration has already decided that it will not accept a new agreement that limits the development of antimissile defenses.

"We don't want to have formal restrictions on development, testing and deployment," a senior administration official said today.

Mr. Bush's approach represents a radical break with the approach that has regulated military competition between Moscow and Washington for three decades - detailed, legally binding treaties that spelled out carefully negotiated limits and verification measures.

Administration officials say their stance reflects the end of the cold war and a desire to give the Pentagon maximum flexibility in devising defenses against potential missile threats from aspiring third world powers like Iran or North Korea.

But that approach is, at best, a hard sell with the Russians. In Moscow, Mr. Putin today tempered his criticism of Washington's plans for a limited defense but gave no hint that he was prepared to abandon the ABM treaty.

If Moscow fails to go along with the administration's approach, that is quite likely to cause serious consternation in Europe. Most European governments say if the 1972 treaty is to be abandoned it should be succeeded by a legally binding accord that regulates the development of strategic systems and makes the military balance more predictable.

For months, Mr. Bush, who arrived this evening in London, has been saying that he wants to replace the the treaty with a new strategic framework. Although many elements of the framework are still vague, one fact is clear, that the Pentagon has been given a free hand and a hefty budget to develop an antimissile defense.

The Pentagon has proposed an ambitious program to conduct antimissile tests in space, at sea, on aircraft and on land. Senior administration officials say that in devising a testing plan they did not take into account whether they had complied with the ABM treaty. The goal, they said, is to develop and deploy the systems as quickly as possible.

"We want to deploy a limited defense as soon as possible to deal with new threats," a senior administration official said. "And the capability we will have will in no way threaten the Russian offensive deterrent."

To reassure Russia that a missile shield would not threaten its nuclear deterrent, the administration is proposing to keep Moscow informed about the pace and scope of its program. It is talking about making deep cuts in the United States strategic nuclear force, though the only reductions it has so far announced are the retirement of 50 MX missiles and two Trident submarines.

Washington has offered to help fill gaps in Russia's network of early warning radars and other forms of cooperation, including joint production of nuclear reactors. What Washington is not prepared to do is negotiate a detailed arms control treaty to take the place of the ABM accord.

"The clear preference is not to have a formal cold-war style set of negotiations that produces a 300- page document that lays out what can be done and what cannot be done by two adversaries," a senior official said. "That is not the sort of relationship we want to have with Russia."

Critics said the administration's proposal to inform the Russians about the development of missile systems but not to subject the United States to formal limits failed to provide Moscow with sufficient assurance to believe that a limited American shield would stay limited. That, the critics said, will pressure Moscow to deploy multiwarhead missiles and take other steps to preserve its offensive striking power.

"Treaties that place limits on the testing and deployment of defensive systems provide predictability to all sides about the future strategic environment," said Ivo Daalder, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. "And it is that predictability that will enable Russia to avoid worst case assumptions and to continue to reduce its nuclear arsenal significantly. It is wrong to equate arms control treaties with the cold war. Treaties are an instrument for reducing tensions among states in a cold war and for avoiding a return to the cold war."

The 1972 treaty limits testing of antimissile technology. But it does not preclude all development or deployment. The Russians have, in fact, deployed 100 interceptors near Moscow, as the pact permits.

As political pressure grew in the Clinton administration to pursue an antimissile shield, officials developed plans for a limited system. Their approach was to test elements of the program and, if successful, deploy 100 interceptors in Alaska.

To address Moscow's worries, the Clinton administration proposed to amend, not jettison, the ABM accord. Many of the prohibitions, including the ban on the testing and deployment of space-based and sea-based defenses, would have been retained.

From the start, however, the Bush administration has been far more radical. It committed itself to deploying an antimissile shield before it devised a test program.

The goal is a multitiered program that can intercept missiles right after launching, destroy warheads in space and knock out any surviving warheads as they re-enter the atmosphere. In an echo of Ronald Reagan's Strategic Defense Initiative, or Star Wars plan, the Pentagon even plans to test a space-based laser and space-based interceptors that would destroy missiles in their boost phase, three to five minutes after launching.

The first elements of the program, the interceptors in Alaska, could be deployed as early as 2006. The Pentagon even has a plan to rush the ground-based interceptors into the field by 2004 should a crisis arise. The ultimate goal is to blunt an attack by dozens of missiles, not hundreds. But the precise design of the system is still undetermined.

The Pentagon's basic approach has been to finance an array of options, at a cost of $8 billion a year, and see which systems work. Lt. Gen. Ronald T. Kadish of the Air Force, who oversees the missile defense program, told Congress last week that he could not say what the system would look like in 5, 10 or 15 years.

But the White House has no interest in detailed talks about permissible testing and deployments. "This is not about lining in, lining out the ABM treaty to try to get a little bit of flexibility to do this test or that test," Condoleezza Rice, Mr. Bush's national security adviser, said last week.

"There's a good reason not to get into 15-year negotiations, which is what it has taken to create arms control treaties," Ms. Rice added. "I'm saying it's not necessary."

Although Washington does not want another arms negotiation, it does want Russia's blessing to proceed with its program. That is not only important for building new ties with Moscow, but it is also important to soothe European anxieties and to maintain Congressional support for multibillion-dollar effort.

Time is running out. The State Department sent a cable to its diplomats this month advising them that the testing program would "come into conflict with the ABM treaty in months, not years."

If it does not obtain Russia's approval to abandon the ABM treaty, Washington can withdraw on six months' notice. The administration is hoping that the withdrawal threat will pressure the Russians to come to an accommodation with Washington. Pulling out of the accord, however, is a double-edged sword and would have consequences for the Bush administration that could exceed the uproar in Europe over the White House opposition to the Kyoto environment accord.

"If the ABM treaty is changed," a German official said, "it should be a negotiated solution between the United States and the Russians. Our concern is that there is a framework that has served us well and that we should only do away with the old framework if we have a better one."

-------- u.s. nuc weapons

Cutting the Nukes

Thursday, July 19, 2001
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A17729-2001Jul18?language=printer

I take exception to many of the conclusions in the July 15 news story "Nuclear Arms Chief Questions Cut in Warheads." Although The Post accurately quoted from the written statement I submitted to the Senate on July 11, it took the quotations out of context.

As I said in my statement, the president is committed to "achieving a credible deterrent with the lowest possible numbers of nuclear weapons consistent with our national security needs including our obligations to our allies." The defense strategy reviews and the Nuclear Posture Review that the secretary of defense has undertaken provide an opportunity to develop a coherent, strategy-based approach to future defense needs that will achieve the president's objective: a deterrent strategy with lower nuclear salience, reduced warhead numbers and a less adversarial character.

We sometimes forget how far we've already come since the end of the Cold War. Our strategic forces no longer target other countries during peacetime. Our strategic bombers and their supporting tankers have not been on alert since 1991. Our strategic command and control aircraft no longer maintain continuous 24-hour airborne alert operations. We are on track to remove four Trident submarines from strategic service. And now we have proposed inactivating our entire Peacekeeper strategic missile force. Clearly, we are not "drawing a line in the sand" or resisting the president's initiative.

My written statement is available at www.senate.gov as a matter of public record. I encourage people to read it in its entirety and draw their own informed conclusions.

RICHARD W. MIES
Admiral, U.S. Navy
Commander in Chief,
U.S. Strategic Command
Offutt Air Force Base, Neb.

----

Good news from Congress on nuclear testing

From: David Culp <david@fcnl.org>,
Legislative Representative,
Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers)

Thu, 19 Jul 2001

1. Nevada Test Site Readiness Request Denied.

Currently it would take the Energy Department two to three years of preparations to conduct a nuclear test at the Nevada Test Site. The Bush administration had proposed that the readiness period be shortened to six months. However, the Appropriations Committees have rejected the request.

The Republican-controlled House Appropriations Committee barred any funds "to increase the readiness for underground nuclear testing" in its energy and water appropriations bill. The strong language from the subcommittee chairman, Rep. Sonny Callahan (AL), is at the bottom of this message. The Senate Appropriations Committee also rejected the administration's request in its version of the bill.

2. Full Funding for Nuclear Testing Monitoring Organization.

The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) was created as an international body to monitor compliance with the nuclear testing moratorium. The Bush administration budget request for fiscal year 2002 includes the U.S. dues payment to the CTBTO of $20 million, similar to previous requests. Some Senators have been urging that the U.S. terminate its payments to the organization. In a March 12 letter to the State Department, Sen. Jesse Helms stated: "I believe that it is time ... to terminate funding to CTBT organizations."

However, Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee this week provided full funding for the CTBTO in the foreign operations appropriations bill. Credit goes to Rep. Jim Kolbe (AZ), the foreign operations appropriations subcommittee chairman.

Sen. Patrick Leahy (VT), a strong supporter of arms control, chairs the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that handles the foreign operations bill. Thus CTBTO funding is secure for fiscal year 2002.

However, the Bush administration is currently reviewing whether the U.S. should continue payments to the CTBTO and may decide not to request further funds for the organization in the fiscal year 2003 budget, which will be submitted in February 2003.

Thanks to those of you of that contributed to these victories. We can expect both issues to be back next year.

David Culp, Legislative Representative Friends Committee on National Legislation (Quakers) 245 Second Street, N.E. Washington, D.C. 20002-5795 Tel: (202) 547-6000, ext. 146 Fax: (202) 546-6019 E-mail: david@fcnl.org Website: www.fcnl.org

-------- u.s. nuc facilities

Radiation Victims to Be Compensated

By Robert Gehrke
Associated Press Writer
Thursday, July 19, 2001
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010719/aponline180637_000.htm

WASHINGTON -- Uranium miners and residents exposed to radiation from Cold War-era nuclear weapons tests will finally see promised compensation for their illnesses.

In a deal struck Thursday as part of negotiations over a supplemental spending bill, those holding IOUs will be covered - although no amount has yet been attached. The Senate had estimated outstanding IOUs for those exposed to radiation at $84 million.

The government had been issuing IOUs to the radiation victims since the compensation program ran out of money more than a year ago.

The compromise budget bill must be approved by the House and Senate and signed by President Bush. Funding for victims under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act is part of a $6.5 billion spending bill designed to address programs in need of urgent funding. The House hadn't budgeted for it, while the Senate had.

"That's great news and it's a relief for the families of the ill IOU-holders," said Lori Goodman, spokeswoman for the group Dine-CARE, which represents Navajo Indians who worked uranium mines on the reservation. "They're doing the right thing - the humane thing."

"It's a long time overdue," said Ed Brickey, co-chairman of the Western States RECA Reform Coalition. "It's an oversight that shouldn't have happened."

The act, passed in 1990, provided cash payments of $100,000 to uranium miners and $50,000 to "Downwinders" - residents sickened by their exposure to radioactive fallout caused by nuclear weapons tests in Nevada.

Last year, the law was expanded to cover more people, but no new money was added. Starting in May 2000, qualifying claimants received letters informing them the program was out of money.

Many have died while awaiting payments.

Bob Key of Fruita, Colo., who suffers from pulmonary fibrosis after working for four years in a uranium mine, was hospitalized this week and is in need of surgery. He received his IOU last August.

According to the Justice Department, which administers the program, there are 191 claimants - either miners, Downwinders or their survivors - holding IOUs worth $10 million.

In Colorado, 71 claimants are owed $6.5 million. Sixty-eight claimants are owed $3.5 million in Nevada, 47 are owed $3 million in Arizona, 42 are owed $4 million in New Mexico, and 13 are owed $1 million in California.

Other claimants are scattered across the country.

Justice Department spokesman Charles Miller said it is unclear how long it would take for claimants to begin receiving checks once the deal is approved.

-------- new jersey

New Jersey renews nuclear plant's water permit despite fish kills

Thursday, July 19, 2001
By Environmental News Network
http://enn.com/news/enn-stories/2001/07/07192001/nuclearfish_44356.asp

A permit to continue using the Delaware River to cool a nuclear power plant in New Jersey will also expand what may be the largest privately funded environmental restoration project in the country. But that is not sufficient to save the river's fish, environmentalists maintain.

On June 29, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) gave final approval for Public Service Electric & Gas (PSEG) of Newark, N.J., to continue using the river to cool the Salem Nuclear Generating Station. The plant is situated on the Delaware River 18 miles south of Wilmington, Del.

At the same time, the agency approved $7.8 million to expand the restoration project, known as the PSEG Estuary Enhancement Program (EEP). The Estuary Enhancement Program originated with approval of the company's previous permit application in 1994.

"As a result of the 1994 permit, we instituted what is probably the largest privately funded restoration in the U.S. and the world, said Neil Brown, a spokesman for PSEG Nuclear. "The company overall believes that the permit renewal issued by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection is certainly justified by the depth of scientific information that we provided to the agency."

Under the 1994 permit, the company committed to restore 32 square miles of degraded coastal environment in New Jersey and Delaware. As part of the restoration project, the company constructed fish ladders to aid fish in getting to their destinations and installed state-of-the-art technology to keep fish away from the power plant's water intakes.

The permit issued in July 1994 requires the company to restore, enhance or preserve 14,500 acres of wetlands in and around the Delaware estuary to improve habitat for fish propagation. It specifically requires the company to purchase a minimum of 8,000 acres of degraded wetlands plus 6,000 acres of upland buffers or an additional 2,000 acres of degraded wetlands.

A biological monitoring program was established, and the company is investigating underwater sound technology as a way to keep fish away from the intakes. PSEG also funded an artificial reefs program and is making various environmental improvements in Delaware.

Delaware, which shares the river with New Jersey, intervened on both permit applications to continue using cooling water under the New Jersey Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit.

But even considering the ongoing environmental restoration, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network is opposed to the permit renewal. Speaking for the environmental group at an NJDEP permit hearing in January, Maya van Rossum said, "PSE&G through its Salem plant is the single largest predator in Delaware Bay. Every year the Salem Nuclear Generating Station kills over 3 billion Delaware River fish including over 59 million blueback herring, over 77 million weakfish, over 134 million Atlantic croaker, over 412 million white perch, over 448 million striped bass and over 2 billion Bay anchovy," she said.

"This is no small impact, not to us and not to the commercial and recreational fishermen who are subject to size and catch limits while Salem is allowed to continue killing indiscriminately," van Rossum said.

In the 1994 permit proceeding, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection agreed that PSEG could draw up to 3.024 billion gallons of water daily on a monthly average for cooling the plant. That total remains in force.

The water does not come into contact with any nuclear material and does not pick up any radioactivity, though it does return to the river at a higher temperature. That temperature change could affect the breeding and living habits of fish and aquatic life in and around the river. Fish and other water creatures are drawn into the plant through the water intakes. They don't survive the trip, and both recent agreements include a requirement that the plant must find ways to eliminate as much animal traffic through the water intakes as possible.

A hot issue in the previous permit procedure centered on whether PSEG should build cooling towers instead of using river water. A cost/benefit analysis indicated that cooling towers were not feasible, and this determination led to the establishment of the restoration project.

Van Rossem says that was the wrong decision. More than 10 years ago the NJDEP's own expert told them that cooling towers would reduce Salem's fish kills by 95 percent, she told the January hearing. "Both the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and an expert hired by the State of Delaware have made clear that cooling towers would minimize the plant's fish kills," she said.

Maria Taylor, spokeswoman for the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, said, "With regard to the PSEG settlement, the river and the aquatic life there are shared resources we have an interest in protecting."

Now that its permit has been renewed, PSEG is required to continue its wetlands restoration program, which is expected to show improvements by 2006. An enhancement oversight committee will monitor progress. The new agreement requires that PSEG hone its own biological monitoring program for better data on the plant's impact on fish and more information on how well the fish ladders and enhancements are performing.

-------- south carolina

Uranium contamination may extend into other states

The Oak Ridger
Thursday, July 19, 2001
http://www.oakridger.com/ns-search/stories/071901/stt_0719010039.html?NS-search-set=/3b6b4/aaaa065346b4e97&NS-doc-offset=44&

GREENVILLE, S.C. (AP) -- Geologists studying how uranium could have gotten into some South Carolina wells say the contamination may be more widespread than originally thought.

Tom Temples, a geologist at the University of South Carolina, said he wants to see a study done from Georgia to North Carolina to determine the extent of contamination.

"Based on what we know, it looks like it could be associated with a geologic province from Alabama all the way up the Appalachians," he said.

Meanwhile, the federal government has committed $2 million for the extension of water lines to homes that have high levels of uranium, said U.S. Rep. Jim DeMint, R-S.C.

State officials asked for money for water lines after they found 94 out of 105 people in the Simpsonville-Fountain Inn area tested had high levels uranium in their bodies.

Uranium is a radioactive metal naturally present in granite. Research shows it can cause cancer and kidney damage with prolonged exposure.

Some lawmakers want the state Department of Health and Environmental Control to conduct uranium tests on wells statewide, but DHEC said it doesn't have the money.

The public is overreacting to the health risks from uranium, said Charles Jeter, a former administrator with the federal Environmental Protection Agency.

"Everything we do each day has some level of risk," Jeter said. "We have to put the risk in proper perspective. In my opinion, there's a very minimal risk for the people drinking water out there. The real risk is more of an emotional risk and scaring the people to death down there."

Environmental officials knew as far back as the 1970s that uranium was present in high levels in some parts of the Carolinas and Georgia, Temples said.

"There have been some hints that it was a potential problem, but I don't think anybody knew enough to be concerned," he said.

In 1989, the EPA published a study of several wells in Georgia and found the highest readings in the northeast part of that state.

But the EPA never followed up to determine the extent of contamination, Temples said.

"There's been no further research that we're aware of," Temples said. "We've done a quick scan on data out there, and you see spotty evidence that this could be occurring up the coast. If it would have been me, it would have gotten my curiosity up. I would have started snooping sooner."

EPA spokesman Carl Terry said he is not aware of any uranium studies by the agency since the 1989 report.

-------- washington

Adviser to decide whether reactor restart needs vote

July 19, 2001,
By John Stang,
Tri-City Herald
http://www.hanfordnews.com/2001/0719.html

If reviving the partly built Hanford No. 1 reactor appears technically feasible and desirable, then the state and owner Energy Northwest would have to research whether its resurrection requires a public vote, Gov. Gary Locke's executive policy adviser on energy said Wednesday.

David Danner, speaking to about 55 members of the Pasco-Kennewick Rotary Club in Kennewick, said the state and Energy Northwest want to find out first whether finishing the closed nuclear construction project is feasible.

Until then, they won't tackle the next step -- whether a statewide referendum would be required to restart the work. The unfinished reactor is north of Richland near Energy Northwest's Columbia Generating Station, which is the state's only operating nuclear reactor.

Energy Northwest halted No. 1's construction in the early 1980s because of massive cost overruns. But the nation's energy crisis and the Bush administration's blossoming interest in nuclear power have prompted Energy Northwest to reconsider.

Two studies are under way, said Don McManman, Energy Northwest spokesman. Bechtel Power and Framatome ANP are studying construction and licensing issues. Meanwhile, Energy Northwest is looking at training and operations implications of running the reactor. Those studies are supposed to be done later this summer, McManman said.

Another engineering firm will double-check the two studies' facts, figures and conclusions. Then, an independent review panel will review the information and make recommendations to Energy Northwest's executive board in the fall.

If those feasibility studies support finishing the plant, on which work began in the mid-1970s, then several legal questions must be addressed, Danner said.

In 1981, Washington's voters passed an initiative that requires a public referendum on any attempt to build a major power plant in the state using bonds issued through a public agency.

Several issues must be resolved before any recommendation can be put into effect, Danner said:

-- Would a plan to finish No. 1 keep it in public hands, or would it switch the project over to a private company with private money?

-- Would completing it be legally considered finishing an approved project after a 20-year hiatus, or would it be considered a brand-new project?

-- Should all Washington voters cast ballots on the proposal, or just voters in the public utility districts that make up the Energy Northwest consortium?

If finishing the reactor works its way to a referendum, then politics will enter the picture, Danner said.

"A lot of people in Seattle don't want to think about nuclear power. They think of Chernobyl, and they think of (Oregon's) Trojan (reactor that was decommissioned). ... I think it'll be very contentious. I couldn't predict the outcome," Danner said.

-------- us nuc politics

ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SECRETARY NAMED AT ENERGY DEPARTMENT

July 19, 2001
ENS
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2001/2001L-07-19-09.html

WASHINGTON, DC, Jessie Roberson has been sworn in as the Department of Energy's (DOE) Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management.

Roberson is a member of the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and was previously the DOE's manager of the Rocky Flats Field Office at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site in Colorado from 1996 to 1999. In 1996 she was named National Black Engineer of the Year for Professional Achievement in Government.

Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham swears in new Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management Jessie Roberson (Photo courtesy Department of Energy)

She has also held positions with the Georgia Power Company and chemical giant DuPont.

"I am pleased and excited about Jessie joining me here at the Energy Department. She brings tremendous experience and knowledge that will be an asset to our team at DOE," said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham.

As Assistant Secretary of Environmental Management, Roberson will spearhead the efforts in cleanup of inactive waste sites and facilities, waste management operations, research and development programs and environmental restoration. She was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by unanimous consent last week.

-------- us nuc waste

Link for Yucca Mountain Project

From: "Scott D. Portzline" <sportzline@home.com>
Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2001

http://www.ymp.gov/

-------- MILITARY

-------- asia

US Military Cutbacks Won't Affect Asia

The Associated Press
Thursday, July 19, 2001
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010719/aponline110235_000.htm

TOKYO -- The top commander for U.S. forces in Asia said Thursday that U.S. forces in the region are not likely to suffer cutbacks, despite the Pentagon's possible plans to overhaul the military.

"I see an increase in the emphasis on Asia as the region of both potential opportunity and potential threat," Adm. Dennis Blair, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, said.

"I look at the fundamental force structure we have here to do our jobs and I think those are going to stay pretty constant," he told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has said he wants to shift the military's current strategy, which involves preparing troops to fight two major regional wars at the same time.

Department of Defense officials have said the changes - the first since the end of the Cold War in 1991 - would require only having enough forces on hand to simultaneously win one regional war and defend against other smaller threats.

Rumsfeld told a Congressional committee last month that the two-war strategy was outdated and left the United States increasingly vulnerable to threats like ballistic missiles.

Among the biggest threats to stability in Asia is North Korea, said Blair, who is based in Hawaii. He said the United States would continue to focus defenses in Asia toward repulsing a possible attack from the reclusive communist nation.

"The North Korean missile program poses a direct threat to both the citizens of South Korea and U.S. forces," said Blair. "North Korea has the capability to fit them with weapons of mass destruction warheads as well as with conventional warheads."

Blair also said the Bush administration would continue to try to reach a missile agreement with Pyongyang.

The United States considers North Korea a state sponsor of international terrorism - a label that allows it to maintain economic sanctions against Pyongyang.

Blair stressed that North Korea's missiles - which it test-fired in 1998 - can reach Japan. He said he hopes Japan will collaborate with the United States in building a regional missile defense system.

Blair said Asia's regional stability also hinges on China, whose relations with Washington have been tense in the aftermath of a U.S. spy plane's collision with a Chinese fighter jet earlier this year.

The United States has nearly 100,000 troops in Asia, mostly concentrated in Japan and South Korea. Around 47,000 of those men and women are in Japan, which has served as a key U.S. military outpost since World War II.

----

S. Korea Villagers Seek Base Closed

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-SKorea-US-Military.html

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Villagers living close to a U.S. bombing range vowed Thursday to step up protests against their government's decision to continue allowing American warplanes to use the facility.

Thousands of residents of Maehyang-ri, a village on South Korea's central west coast, are angry over the exclusion of the range from plans by the U.S. military to close and consolidate its bases in South Korea beginning next year.

``We are enraged by the United States' infringement upon our human rights and our very right to live,'' said Chun Man-kyu, a village leader.

Villagers, joined by hundreds of activists and students, plan to stage a large-scale protest rally in front of the U.S. Embassy in Seoul next Thursday, a day before U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell arrives for a two-day visit to South Korea.

``Through the protest, we will send a strong message, demanding the closure of the range,'' said Chun.

The Pentagon said early this week that joint plans being worked out by Seoul and Washington call for the U.S. military to hand over to South Korea a large amount of land the U.S. military has been using for decades.

U.S. and South Korean officials in Seoul said details have yet to be worked out but a final draft accord could be presented for approval by their defense ministers at their annual security consultative meeting in November.

Kim Yong-kyu, a spokesman for the U.S. military command in Seoul confirmed published reports that ``fifteen, yet unnamed, installations will be closed.''

Kim said a plan in the final stages of negotiations calls for the U.S. military to return about 30,000 acres of land to South Korea and receive some 600 acres in turn.

The U.S. military newspaper Stars & Stripes reported early this week that the number of U.S. installations in South Korea could be cut from 41 to 26 under the ``land partnership plan.''

Seoul's Defense Ministry said the bombing range in Maehyang-ri and the main U.S. military base in Seoul, the Yongsan Garrison, are not among the candidates to be shut down or consolidated by 2011.

The bombing range has been a target of anti-U.S. protests in recent years. Villagers have been fighting for its relocation. The range, which comprises land and offshore targets, is close to homes, in some areas a few yards from the fence.

Villagers claim that nine people have died in accidents linked to the range, which has been used exclusively by the U.S. Air Force since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.

Protests have grown stronger and often turned violent since May last year, when a U.S. fighter jet with engine trouble dropped six bombs on the range to lighten its weight.

Villagers said six people were slightly injured in the incident and that buildings were damaged by the impact.

In April, a Seoul court ordered the South Korean government to compensate $100,000 to 14 Maehyang-ri villagers who have suffered from noise from U.S. bombing exercises.

A similar lawsuit by 2,500 villagers is pending in court.

-------- arms sales

China Signs $2 Billion Deal for Russian Fighter Jets

By John Pomfret
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, July 19, 2001
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A9583-2001Jul17?language=printer

BEIJING, July 19 - China has signed a contract with a Russian aircraft manufacturer for another batch of ground-attack jets, Russian press reports and diplomats said, in a move that would allow China's modernizing armed forces to improve their ability to launch an assault on Taiwan.

Russian press reports and diplomats said Chinese officials signed the contract with the Komsomolsk-on-Amur Aviation Production Association to supply upward of $2 billion worth of Su-30 MKK ground-attack planes. One report, by the Russian Tass news agency, put the number of jets at 38.

Another report, by Russia's Military News Agency, said the factory's 5,000 workers would be working overtime until 2003 to fulfill the terms of a foreign contract. In 1999, China concluded a $1.8 billion deal for 40 Su-30s. So far, 10 are believed to have been delivered.

The Su-30 will provide China's air force with a potent ground-attack element to complement the Su-27 fighter that China first purchased from Russia in 1992, analysts said. So far, Russia has delivered between 70 and 100 Su-27s to China, and the two countries are currently co-producing the fighter in an aeronautics factory in Shenyang, China. Ten are believed to have rolled off that production line.

News of the contract came after China and Russia concluded on Monday their first treaty since their military alliance of 1950 that collapsed 10 years later. China's President Jiang Zemin and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, signed the treaty on the second day of Jiang's four-day visit to Russia, the second of four summits scheduled between the two leaders this year.

The treaty contains provisions for military technology cooperation but falls far short of the previous, ill-fated alliance. After it collapsed, relations degenerated into sporadic border clashes in the 1960s and 1970s.

The new treaty, which has a duration of 10 years, commits Russia and China to unite wherever possible to work against "hegemonism," which analysts say is a code word for the United States. Moscow also reiterated its support for China's stance vis-a-vis Taiwan: that the island of 23 million people is an inalienable part of China and that China has the right to attack Taiwan if it declares independence.

Jiang's delegation did not include senior weapons procurement officials, diplomats said, so the deal was either signed before or just after he left.

China's modernization of its military is of concern to the United States because it is aimed at Taiwan, an island 100 miles off China's coast that the United States is somewhat vaguely committed to defending. The United States is most concerned with a build-up of China's missile bases opposite Taiwan, but other areas of Beijing's military modernization, specifically its air force and navy, are also of concern to Washington, Western diplomats said.

Ken Allen, a former U.S. Air Force officer and an expert on the Chinese air force, said the purchase of the Su-30s was even more significant than China's decision in 1992 to buy the Su-27 fighters. The reason is that China now has obtained a sophisticated ground-attack aircraft after years of relying on its 450 A-5s, a slightly redesigned Mig-19 with no ability to defend itself and a short range.

"China had tried for years to make the Su-27 into a ground-attack aircraft and it didn't work," Allen said. "The Su-30 gives them a long-range, air-to-ground attack aircraft. That's arguably more important than having the Su-27."

Allen said that combined with the Su-27, the Su-30 could constitute a potent threat to Taiwan. The Chinese could use the Su-27 to attempt to gain air superiority and use the Su-30 in its primary role as a ground-attack aircraft.

However, Taiwan's air force also has potentially powerful countermeasures: U.S.-built F-16 fighters, French-built Mirage 2000s and a Taiwanese-designed fighter.

Allen said the Su-30 deal also marked another major step toward increasing China's dependence on Russian military technology. Russia is China's biggest foreign arms supplier and China now constitutes Russia's biggest arms market - accounting for between 30 percent and 50 percent of Russia's foreign military sales, according to a recent report by the Interfax news agency.

An example of this dependence is the Su-27 co-production arrangement. The fighters are assembled in Shenyang, but the parts are made in Russia. And there is little sign that Russia is willing in the near future to transfer the technology needed to manufacture important parts of the plane, such as its avionics and engine, in Shenyang. And, most important, jet fighters need to have their airframes overhauled, usually after about 800 hours of flight time, and this can only be performed on the Su-27s and Su-30s in Russia.

"This means that China is going to be shipping the pride of its air force back to Russia," said an Asian diplomat. "Think about it. No wonder China is so interested in ensuring good ties with Moscow."

The pair are believed to be negotiating a deal to provide China with an airborne early warning radar system as well as advanced in-flight refueling technology.

China has concentrated its military build-up on ensuring that it will have military superiority in the Taiwan Strait. The Pentagon has predicted that the military balance will begin to shift between 2005 and 2010. China's purchases, particularly of Kilo-class submarines, Su-27s, Su-30s and Sovremenny-class destroyers equipped with Sunburn supersonic anti-ship missiles, are designed, analysts say, not to simply threaten Taiwan but to give U.S. commanders in the region pause before they engage China in a fight were China to attack Taiwan.

Allen said the sale is also another indication that China's plans to create an indigenous ground-attack aircraft, called the F-10, are far behind schedule.

--------

U.N. Arms Traffic Deal in Jeopardy

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-UN-Arms-Trafficking.html

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Despite late-night negotiations, representatives from 189 nations were far apart Thursday on key elements of a plan designed to halt an illegal and lucrative small arms trade fueling over 40 conflicts in the world.

Many diplomats acknowledged their hopes for a strongly worded program of action have been crushed by hard-line positions, including those taken by the United States. Others feared the two-week conference, which wraps up Friday, may end in failure.

One of the major obstacles was whether delegates would make the conference a one-time event or part of a larger process on the issue.

All Western nations, except for the United States, want provisions made for a follow-up meeting and eventually, a legally binding accord. The United States is wary of legal agreements on small arms, and U.S. officials argued from the start that a follow-up conference is unnecessary.

With neither side backing down, one Western diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the follow-up issue could prevent any deal.

When the conference opened July 9, the United States said it would walk before compromising on key red lines, including gun ownership, and the freedom to supply small arms to rebel groups. U.S. delegates said they wanted whole paragraphs stricken from the 11-page draft document and others modified.

The tough U.S. position was criticized even by America's allies who said everyone needed to give a little at the table.

But so far, the United States has not compromised on a single item or persuaded others of its positions -- some rooted in America's constitutional right to bear arms -- according to Western diplomats taking part in the negotiations.

At one point Wednesday, a clearly frustrated conference president, Camillo Reyes of Colombia, apparently turned to a colleague without realizing his microphone was on and said that ``nothing is happening here, we're not going to reach consensus.''

Lincoln Bloomfield, U.S. assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, would not comment on the negotiations Thursday, except to say that the United States was hopeful for a favorable outcome in line with its positions.

Bloomfield came up from Washington on Wednesday, ostensibly to calm frustrations over the U.S. position.

By Thursday, there was little time left to reach consensus on a voluntary plan that calls on governments to, among other things, implement export controls, adopt marking and tracing systems and manage stockpiles.

``We have 24 hours to go and only half the document has been agreed to,'' said Rachel Stohl, an observer at the conference from the Washington-based Center for Defense Control.

Human Rights Watch said the struggle over the program ``could still prompt a walkout by either supporters or opponents of a stronger commitment to curb weapons flow.''

Others were slight more optimistic.

``There will be an agreement -- maybe with some countries making strong statements afterward about their positions,'' predicted Bangladesh Ambassador Anwarul Chowdhury.

The United States is not the only country that has problems with sections in the draft.

Britain, France and Israel were objecting to a paragraph inserted by a group of Arab states that reaffirms the right of self-determination, ``in particular, for peoples under colonial or other forms of alien domination or foreign occupation.''

For Israel, the language is clearly directed at its conflict with the Palestinians. Similar wording on behalf of the Palestinians is often inserted in U.N. conference agreements, but in the context of weapons, others believe it is also a nod to the disenfranchised to take up arms.

-------- business

Grumman Extends Bid for Newport News

By Leslie Gornstein
AP Business Writer
Thursday, July 19, 2001
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010719/aponline203650_000.htm

LOS ANGELES -- Northrop Grumman Corp. said Thursday it will extend its hostile bid for Newport News Shipbuilding for a third time, despite the fact that the Virginia company has essentially rejected the offer.

The deadline was moved from Thursday to Aug. 2.

A Newport News spokeswoman said her company would have no comment.

Los Angeles-based Northrop first made the surprise bid in May, saying it would match the $67.50-per-share offer being tendered by defense contractor General Dynamics of Falls Church, Va.

The Newport News shipyard designs and constructs nuclear-powered aircraft carriers and submarines for the Navy and services ships in the Navy fleet.

Northrop Grumman is General Dynamics' primary competitor for Navy shipbuilding contracts.

The Newport News board of directors in June voted to support the offer by General Dynamics but took no position on Northrop.

Analysts have equated the board's silence with a rejection.

The Newport News board has said the all-cash General Dynamics bid offers a more certain value than that of Northrop, which is a mix of cash and stock.

Some analysts, however, still think Northrop has a shot at a deal.

The government has expressed concern that if the General Dynamics offer goes through, the combined company would have too big a share in U.S. military research and development, especially in nuclear technology.

Northrop has no nuclear operations and little shipbuilding business, said analyst Paul Nisbet of JSA Research in Newport, R.I.

"I know that the Department of Defense has been studying the daylights out of the situation," Nisbet said Thursday.

Newport News has said there would be no antitrust issues in a General Dynamics merger.

--------

BAE targets smart bomb market

Terry Macalister
Guardian
Thursday July 19, 2001
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4224290,00.html

An arm of the defence group BAE Systems plans to start manufacturing "smart bombs", probably in Lostock near Preston, Lancashire, if it breaks into a £2bn weapons market.

The decision came as Alenia Marconi Systems (AMS), a joint venture between BAE and Finmeccanica of Italy, yesterday signed a "teaming agreement" with US aerospace group Boeing.

The partners plan to market worldwide Boeing's joint direct attack munition (JDAM) family of missiles which have been used by US forces in Kosovo and Iraq.

One of their first initiatives will be to try to win a Ministry of Defence contract for a precision-guided bomb using JDAM technology. The MoD is expected to go out to tender in September for such a weapon and place a contract before the end of next year.

The JDAM smart bomb is guided to its target by satellite global positioning and boasts all-weather capability, unlike laser-guided missiles which caused the British war effort embarrassment in Kosovo when they could not be fired during bad weather.

Boeing hopes it has a head start on the competition in Britain and elsewhere because it has already delivered 10,000 JDAMs to the US government with a further 28,000 on order.

AMS and Boeing have already cooperated successfully on the Brimstone anti-tank missile, which has been selected by the RAF.

Boeing claims to purchase £1.4bn worth of aerospace equipment from Britain every year, creating jobs for 40,000 workers here.

Neither AMS nor Boeing was prepared to say how much the RAF's precision-guided missile contract would be worth.

Ian White, managing director of the dynamics division at AMS, admitted only that it would be "substantial" but "quite a lot less than £1bn".

He said a special manufacturing plant would be created in Britain to deal with this and possibly any international contracts. Mr White would not say how many such manufacturing jobs might be created or where they would be located. Sources close to the company said the probable site was Lostock, a Matra BAE Dynamics plant that is expected to become part of AMS under a merger later this year.

Mr White said the tie-up with Boeing on JDAM brought enormous opportunities for the Anglo-Italian company. The deal included access to the Small Diameter Bomb programme which was competing for contracts already in the US.

In return Boeing would gain access to markets in Europe where AMS was already a powerful force.

The agreement is supported by the US department of defence, which has been urging local companies to forge global alliances.

-------- china

China, Belarus Aim to Strengthen Ties

By Marina Babkina
Associated Press Writer
Thursday, July 19, 2001
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010719/aponline121936_000.htm

MINSK, Belarus -- President Alexander Lukashenko and Chinese Premier Jiang Zemin emphasized their common stand on global issues during a meeting Thursday and criticized a proposed U.S. missile defense plan.

Lukashenko thanked Jiang, who arrived in Belarus on Wednesday night after a four-day trip to Russia, for China's support for his country.

The Belarusian leader, who has taken a tough line on dissent and been accused of authoritarian ways, told Jiang he appreciates "your unbiased support of Belarus on all issues," according to the Interfax news agency.

After his talks with Jiang, Lukashenko told reporters that China and Belarus share "a single approach to all world problems."

Jiang said relations between the two countries had "a bright future."

"China and Belarus adhere to the same belief that all countries have the right to choose their path of development," Jiang said. "Together we call for supporting an international balance of political forces."

Jiang and Lukashenko attacked U.S. plans for a missile defense, saying in a joint statement that the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty - which prohibits national missile shields - was "a cornerstone of global strategic stability and international security."

As Jiang left Lukashenko's residence, about 10 people stood nearby waving portraits of the Dalai Lama to protest China's policies in Tibet. Troops took the protesters away in a minibus.

-------- europe

Europeans Propose Observer Force for Middle East
Powell Cool to Idea that Israelis Oppose

By William Drozdiak
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, July 19, 2001
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A15785-2001Jul18?language=printer

ROME, July 18 -- Seeking to play a more assertive role in Middle East peacemaking, European Union governments proposed today to send impartial outside observers to the region as a buffer force that might help stop escalating violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

At a meeting here of foreign ministers from the Group of Eight industrial powers, four EU countries -- Britain, France, Germany and Italy -- insisted that dispatching an observer force was necessary to restore the basis for a lasting cease-fire and renewed peace talks.

But U.S. Secretary of State Colin L. Powell stopped short of supporting the European proposal, saying it was premature to consider sending an observer force unless all sides in the conflict were willing to cooperate. While Palestinians support the idea, Israel has opposed it.

The Middle East's cycle of violence dominated discussions among the G-8 foreign ministers at the start of a two-day conference to prepare common positions before heads of government gather for a summit in Genoa, Italy, later this week.

European diplomats said the ministers want to send "a strong signal" supporting the conclusions of an international panel on the Middle East conflict headed by former U.S. senator George J. Mitchell. The group's report laid down guidelines for a cessation of hostilities, a halt to the expansion of Israeli settlements on Palestinian territory and the restoration of peace negotiations.

"We are very worried by the situation in the Middle East and we realize that time is limited," said Italian Foreign Minister Renato Ruggiero, who hosted the talks at a 16th century villa overlooking the Italian capital. "There is no alternative to the Mitchell report, which has broad international consensus."

Despite Israel's resistance, French Foreign Minister Hubert Vedrine said the concept of an international observer force is gaining ground because the outside world is becoming convinced the Israelis and Palestinians are no longer capable of resolving their differences on their own.

"We can't leave the Israelis and Palestinians alone, face to face, in this atmosphere of growing hate and panicky fear," Vedrine said.

In the past, Europe has usually deferred to the United States in taking the lead on Middle East peace initiatives. But with the Bush administration showing reluctance to become deeply involved in the region, the EU is trying to promote new ideas, starting with an international observer force.

Vedrine said that although Israel remains adamant in opposing such a force, "we can't begin from the principle that it will never be accepted." He contended that "the concept is becoming part of the political landscape" and noted that Powell, while expressing reservations that it might be premature, did not oppose the idea.

Besides the Middle East, Powell and his counterparts reviewed the fragile state of negotiations in Macedonia, where U.S. and EU mediators are trying to broker a peace agreement between the government and ethnic Albanian rebels. Powell also held a two-hour breakfast with Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov to discuss the fate of international sanctions against Iraq and the Bush administration's plan to build a national missile defense network.

-------- drug war

Mexico's New Anti-Drug Team Wins the Trust of U.S. Officials

New York Times
July 18, 2001
By TIM WEINER
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/18/international/18MEXI.html?pagewanted=all

MEXICO CITY - After five years of failure, American and Mexican officials fighting the war on drugs say they have created a trusted group of undercover Mexican investigators who are arresting long- sought suspects and attacking all the big drug cartels, instead of selling out to them as in the past.

This breakthrough in no way means that the tide has turned in the drug war, they acknowledge. A never-ending river of cocaine and heroin still flows north from Mexico to meet never-ending demand in the United States. Drug barons are still using their profits to try to corrupt Mexican law enforcement at every level.

But in the last few months, something significant has changed: with the creation of a 117-member Mexican organized-crime unit, which works side by side with the United States Drug Enforcement Administration in Mexico, both sides say they are starting to trust each other.

"We have got counterparts down here whom we trust and with whom we can share sensitive information without that filtering out to the traffickers, and we haven't been proved wrong yet," said a senior United States law enforcement official in Mexico. "We have found some people in whom we have confidence."

The creation of the new drug police unit, each member rigorously vetted by both nations, has meant a new way of doing business, said Joseph Keefe, the United States drug enforcement agency's chief of operations.

"We can sit down and freely share information with the Mexicans, they can share information with us, the information doesn't wind up on the street," he said. "They are going out and attacking drug organizations."

José Santiago Vasconcelos, chief of Mexico's special organized-crime unit, who oversees the vetted unit, as it is known, said: "Information is flowing on both sides, almost instantaneously. We obtain information, we communicate it to the Americans immediately; they obtain information, and they communicate immediately, and we are connecting, coordinating, on cases as much in the United States as much as in Mexico."

Both nations have tried without success since 1996 to form a cadre of trustworthy undercover Mexican investigators. The 117 Mexicans under Mr. Vasconcelos have been through financial audits, psychological screening and polygraphs. Their neighbors and families have been grilled. Their blood and urine have been analyzed. The screening was done by Mexican government officials with American help. Then they have gone to the United States for more tests and extensive training.

They have been working since April for Mr. Vasconcelos and his organized crime unit. He is the only man in Mexico empowered to run wiretaps and undercover operations against drug cartels.

The Americans give Mr. Vasconcelos information. He takes it to a trusted Mexican judge - a judge who, he hopes, will not leak details of the investigation to drug gangs - to win approval for wiretaps against suspects in Mexico. The information gleaned from bugging in Mexico can provide probable cause to seek more wiretaps in the United States.

That sets information flowing across the border, "and there's a real synergy there," said a senior United States official in Mexico. Members of the Mexican unit then run the cases from investigation to arrest.

They have attacked all the major drug cartels this year - "the entire spectrum of narcotics trafficking, making it very difficult to assert that this is anything other than real," said this American official.

"In years past, to the extent that the government in Mexico did anything against one of the major cartels, it was typically viewed as a means of protecting another cartel someplace." he said. The implication had been that "the government was lining its pockets with money from one cartel, while trying to curry favor with the United States or others by going after another one."

But now, he said, "there's a fundamental difference down here." Since President Vicente Fox took office in December, "there has been a broad- based offensive against all of the cartels."

This year, the unit has helped arrest a former governor, Mario Villanueva, and a drug cartel operator, Alcides Ramón Magaña, jointly accused of conspiring to ship more than $2 billion worth of cocaine to the United States.

Mr. Villanueva had been slipping in and out of Mexico since his term ended in 1999. But in May he was detected in Cancún. He was tracked for eight days, until officials had dotted every i and crossed every t for his arrest and potential extradition to the United States, Mexican and American officials said.

"We worked side by side, we had live sources on Villanueva's comings and goings, and we seized the right moment," Mr. Vasconcelos said.

Mr. Magaña, a former federal police officer, had been in plain view, off and on, for close to four years. American agents had given their Mexican counterparts his home addresses, telephone numbers and safe-house locations, officials said. But nothing happened until June, when Mexican agents cornered him.

This year ships hauling more than 50 tons of cocaine off the Pacific coast have been seized, officials said, and large drug smuggling and money laundering rings that reached from the Canadian border to Colombia have been at least temporarily destroyed.

The arrest roster also includes three senior military officers, several drug cartel lieutenants, and a Tijuana cartel enforcer charged with shooting a Roman Catholic cardinal in 1993. After Mexico's Supreme Court approved extradition of drug suspects, four suspected major traffickers were sent to the United States for trial.

Mr. Vasconcelos said the underlying trust in his new vetted unit "comes from a new openness" between the Americans and Mexicans. "We've created it among ourselves and it's generating confidence," he said. "And at last we understand we have a common enemy" - instead of fighting one another.

The history of the drug war in Mexico suggests that tactical government victories are fleeting. The cartels have billions of dollars to buy off officials. They feed a seemingly insatiable demand with "ever-increasing supplies, delivered by ever- more sophisticated means," said Michael Massing, a longtime analyst of the drug war and author of "The Fix" (University of California Press, 2000).

"Can it make a difference?" he said, referring to the new unit. "I'd be surprised if these changes lead to a substantial decrease in drugs going to the U.S. or a decrease in the violence and power of the cartels."

The Drug Enforcement Administration in Mexico is essentially an intelligence service. Its agents cannot carry guns or make arrests. It gathers and analyzes information and hopes that its Mexican counterparts will act on it.

If it cannot pass on information with confidence, in its view, nothing good will happen - and many bad things could, like the collapse of investigations or the death of colleagues.

Its officials say they do not want to paint too rosy a picture.

Only two years ago, Thomas Constantine, then the director of the Drug Enforcement Administration, said Mexican drug enforcement was corrupt and incompetent. And its previous attempts to form a trusted cadre of Mexican officers also began with enthusiasm, but failed miserably.

"There is little effective law enforcement leading to the arrest of major traffickers in Mexico," he said. "Investigations have been compromised," usually when drug traffickers bought information from corrupt Mexican agents. His depressing and largely undisputed assessment meant that the drug war, from the Americans' standpoint, was a losing battle and perhaps a lost cause.

From 1996 onward, the drug agency, the F.B.I, the United States military and the C.I.A. have tried forming vetted units. Between 1997 and 1999, the American drug agency alone spent $4.5 million on training, equipment and lie-detector tests for Mexican agents and prosecutors.

Seventy passed the test. Shortly after they were mobilized, the unit collapsed - corruption in the ranks, Mr. Constantine said.

That left the number of trusted Mexican drug agents, and therefore the effectiveness of counternarcotics operations in Mexico, at "zero - or less than zero," said Mr. Keefe, the agency's operations chief.

Part of the problem was the "massive ignorance and arrogance" of United States officials, said Barry R. McCaffrey, the retired Army general who served as the American antidrug chief for five years. He cited his own public assessment of his Mexican counterpart in the war on drugs, Gen. Jesús Gutiérrez Rebollo, as "a guy of absolute unquestioned integrity."

General Gutiérrez was trusted with highly secret information by White House, Drug Enforcement Administration and intelligence officials. Presumably, every bit of it ended up in the hands of the traffickers.

He was arrested in February 1997 and convicted of working for a major Mexican drug trafficker.

A predecessor, Mario Ruíz Massieu, Mexico's drug policy chief in 1993 and 1994, killed himself in 1999 rather than stand trial in Texas on drug and money laundering charges.

The moral, said General McCaffrey, was, "Watch your step - honest men die in Mexico," while the corrupted thrive.

But the real lesson, said Mr. Fox's national security adviser, Adolfo Aguilar Zinser, is that the nations have to work harder to establish trusted units.

"President Fox convinced President Bush to try this" when they met at Mr. Fox's ranch on Feb. 16, Mr. Aguilar Zinser said.

A senior American official in Mexico said the two men had issued "orders from on high to make this thing work."

Mr. Keefe said: "We're certainly sharing a lot more intelligence than we were a year or two ago. We're sharing it sooner. This is what's new - the straightforwardness of it. And it's been successful. So far."

-------- iraq

Former U.N. Inspector Accuses U.S.

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-UN-Iraq-Documentary.html

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- In a new documentary film, a former U.N. weapons inspector accuses the United States of manipulating the United Nations to provoke a confrontation with Saddam Hussein as a pretext for U.S. airstrikes on Iraq.

Scott Ritter, a former U.S. Marine intelligence officer, says in the 90-minute documentary that he did not provoke the confrontation the Americans wanted in March 1998, but fellow inspector Roger Hill -- an Australian -- did have a confrontation in December of that year.

Days later, chief U.N. inspector Richard Butler declared that Iraq was not cooperating with weapons inspectors and the United States and Britain launched airstrikes against Iraq in punishment. U.N. inspectors pulled out of the country ahead of the bombing raids, and Iraq has barred them from returning for more than 2 1/2 years.

Butler, who was Ritter's boss, denied any improper collaboration with the United States. The U.S. Mission to the United Nations said it would have no comment on the documentary, which premiered at the United Nations on Wednesday.

The documentary traces the history of the U.N. Special Commission, known as UNSCOM, which was created by the U.N. Security Council after the 1991 Persian Gulf War to oversee the destruction of Iraq's biological and chemical weapons and the missiles used to deliver them. The council replaced it in December 1999 with a new agency, the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission.

By 1995, Ritter said both he and former chief weapons inspector Rolf Ekeus believed Iraq was ``fundamentally disarmed.'' He noted that the head of Iraq's weapons programs -- Saddam's son-in-law Hussein Kamal al-Majid -- told Ekeus after he defected to Jordan in August 1995 that all of Iraq's banned weapons had been destroyed.

But Ritter said the Security Council is now focused on better targeting sanctions imposed after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait -- not on returning U.N. inspectors so they can resume monitoring and prevent any rebuilding of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

``This film will hopefully compel people to start ... taking a harder look at Iraq's disarmament'' and then confronting the issue of lifting sanctions, he said.

Ritter resigned from UNSCOM in August 1998, denouncing the Clinton administration for having withdrawn support for the U.N. agency and undermining weapons inspection.

He has since said Washington used UNSCOM to spy on Iraq -- a longtime charge by Baghdad. In the documentary, he repeated the spying charge and made new allegations.

On either Feb. 28 or March 1, 1998, Ritter said he and Butler attended a meeting with then U.S. Ambassador Bill Richardson at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, hours before he left for Baghdad to lead an inspection mission.

Ritter said Butler drew a line on a blackboard with the UNSCOM timeline for the inspection on one side and the U.S. timeline for military action on the other side, and then told him: ``You have to provoke a confrontation ... so the U.S. can start bombing'' before March 15, a Muslim holy period.

In Baghdad, Ritter said the Iraqis at first refused to allow his team to carry out orders to search the Ministry of Defense.

At that moment, then U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was attending a meeting in Paris, prepared to tell the French why the United States was undertaking military action, he told reporters later. But the military strikes were called off when the Iraqis later allowed the inspectors in, he said.

-------- nato

Putin Offers West Reassurances and Ideas on NATO

By Peter Baker
Washington Post Foreign Service
Thursday, July 19, 2001
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A15789-2001Jul18?language=printer

MOSCOW, July 18 -- Russian President Vladimir Putin made new overtures to the West today on the eve of his next meeting with President Bush, saying he considers the American leader to be a good soul, too, and even suggesting that NATO should admit Russia as a member.

As he prepared to sit down with Bush this weekend for the second time in as many months, Putin challenged the Western alliance to either enroll Russia or disband, calling NATO a Cold War relic that will only continue to sow the seeds of suspicion in Europe as long as it excludes its onetime archenemy.

Putin made his comments at his first formal Kremlin news conference as president as part of an effort to set the agenda for his emerging dialogue with the West. Heading to Italy for the annual gathering of major industrial powers, Putin tried to stake out a position of strength by signing a new treaty this week with China while reassuring the United States today that the two powers would not team up to counter any nuclear missile shield.

His remarks about NATO membership for Russia, however implausible that might sound at the moment, suggested that the Kremlin leader wants to find a way to redefine Moscow's relationship with the West and more fully integrate the former superpower into Europe rather than prolong old confrontations.

"The simplest [solution] is to dissolve NATO, but this is not on the agenda," Putin told reporters. "The second possible option is to include Russia in NATO. This also creates a single defense and security space. The third option is the creation of a different new organization which would set itself these tasks and which would incorporate the Russian Federation."

Putin added that "we do not see NATO as a hostile organization," but given the demise of the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact, "we don't see why it is needed" anymore. If NATO turns away Russia while expanding to include other countries all the way up to its borders, "we shall continue to mistrust each other, although I think that everybody understands now that Russia is not threatening anyone."

Whether Putin genuinely wants to join NATO or merely intended to make a political point remained unclear. Moreover, Russia would not be eligible for NATO membership at this point if judged on the same criteria as other applicants, according to security specialists.

But Putin's suggestion came at a time of renewed discussion in Washington and Moscow about the possibility of putting Russia on track toward membership as a way of appeasing its concerns about NATO expansion. Bush asked advisers last month about the wisdom of such an approach, according to a source familiar with the conversation. House Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) said during a visit to Moscow this month that Russian membership in NATO was worth considering over a long term. Several leading voices in Moscow's foreign policy circles have broached the idea as well.

As Bush arrived in Europe in advance of the Group of Eight summit of major industrialized countries that opens Friday in Genoa, Italy, Putin offered warm words about the American president intended to reciprocate for Bush's generous assessment following their first meeting in Slovenia last month.

Reminded of Bush's comment that he had looked into Putin's "soul" and found him to be "honest" and "trustworthy," Putin returned the compliment. "I don't know whether he'll like it or not, but it seemed to me he was a fairly good-hearted person, nice to talk to, I would even say . . . even a little bit sentimental." Contrary to Bush's critics, Putin said he found him to be "competent" and "very well prepared."

Putin also reassured Western leaders that the friendship treaty he signed this week with Chinese President Jiang Zemin did not mean that the two powers would work together to thwart a U.S. nuclear missile shield. "Theoretically it is possible, but in practice Russia is not planning joint actions in this sphere with other states, including China," he said. "I must tell you that Russia at present has enough strength and resources of its own to react to any change in international and strategic stability."

Putin made his comments at his first full-fledged solo news conference in Moscow since taking office more than 18 months ago. The 90-minute session, coming just a month after Putin sat down with nine American correspondents, represents the latest effort of a new Kremlin public relations campaign to present a more open face for an administration that until now had valued secrecy above all else.

The former KGB officer appeared calm and confident through open-ended questioning by Russian and foreign journalists. Mostly dry and unemotional, he revealed little of a personal nature other than the fact that he owns a black dog and a white dog. But he grew sarcastic when the name of one of his most prominent critics was mentioned -- "Who is Boris Berezovsky?" he asked dismissively -- and turned angry when challenged on his handling of the war in Chechnya.

"This is my approach and I'm not going to change it," he said. The sweeps that have rounded up innocent civilians recently, giving rise to allegations of torture and brutality, are simply efforts to check passports, he said. "It is hard to create order and a functioning system."

In contrast to his normal, almost sonorous monotone, Putin was practically shouting by this point, waving his finger and sitting forward in his chair tensely. Chechen rebels have shot people in the street and engaged in abuses of their own, he said. "Why aren't you asking how we're fighting against the criminals?" he hotly demanded of a Western reporter who pressed him on the matter.

On other domestic policies, Putin continued to offer the sort of mixed message that has confused many in the West. He took credit for recent market reforms that he has been pushing through parliament to allow the sale of nonagricultural land, deregulate business and revise the tax code.

But he also spoke out against removing the body of Soviet state founder Vladimir Lenin from the mausoleum in Red Square where it remains on display and burying it, as many liberals have urged. "Many people associate their own lives with the name of Lenin," he said. "To them, the burial of Lenin . . . would mean that they had worshiped false values, that they had set false tasks for themselves and that they had lived their lives in vain."

-------- puerto rico

Navy Seeks Vieques Alternative

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/news/AP-Navy-Vieques.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A group of military experts led by two retired general officers will develop a list of alternatives to Puerto Rico's Vieques island as a training range for U.S. naval forces, the Pentagon announced Thursday.

The study group will operate on the assumption that the Navy will abandon its Vieques training range in May 2003, officials said. The group is expected to present its conclusions by spring 2002, the officials said.

The Navy had resisted leaving Vieques, but the accidental killing of a civilian security guard at Vieques in 1999 triggered a public outcry against the Navy there, and last year the Clinton administration agreed the Navy would leave by 2003 if it lost a Vieques referendum to be held in November 2001.

President Bush said in June that the Navy must plan to abandon Vieques by May 2003, and the administration said it intended to ask Congress to remove the requirement for the November referendum.

A Pentagon spokesman, Rear Adm. Craig Quigley, said Thursday the administration has not yet submitted its request to Congress to scrap the referendum.

``We're almost there, but draft legislation has not yet been submitted,'' Quigley said.

For years the Navy has said there is no single alternative to Vieques because it is the only place where it can simultaneously conduct amphibious landings, naval surface gunfire and air strike operations.

Military officials have called Vieques unique because it has waters deep enough to accommodate aircraft carriers and is able to accommodate aerial war games without interfering with commercial air traffic.

The study announced Thursday will be done under the auspices of the Center for Naval Analyses, a federally funded research center that specializes in Navy and Marine Corps issues. The center named retired Adm. Leighton Smith and retired Marine Corps Gen. Charles Wilhelm to lead the study team.

They will review potential training facilities, sites and methods to find alternatives to Vieques. They also will estimate costs, assess potential environmental concerns and develop a time line for moving the training from Vieques, officials said.

-------- space

Space laser experiment to cost Pentagon nearly four billion dollars

Agence France-Presse
Thursday July 19, 10:12 AM
July 18 (AFP)
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/010719/1/19g58.html

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama, An experiment to put a laser in space and beam it at a target missile will cost the Pentagon nearly four billion dollars over the next decade, defense officials said here Wednesday.

The space-based laser is one of the most politically sensitive of a series of ongoing US missile defense projects as it could open the door to weapons in space.

Kept on a slow track by the previous administration, the space laser was given a 26 million-dollar funding boost to 165 million dollars in the proposed 2002 defense budget submitted by President George W. Bush.

The department plans to build a hydrogen fluoride laser with components to control and direct a megawatt beam in space.

After years of ground testing, by 2012 the laser will be boosted into space to test whether it can destroy a ballistic missile target at a range of about 100 nautical miles.

The program's director insists the experiment complies with the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile treaty, which bars testing of space-based missile defenses and which the Bush administration has said it wants to replace.

"It is technology. It is not a weapons prototype," Air Force Colonel William McCasland told reporters.

An operational space-based laser is not envisioned before 2020, he said at a conference at the army's space and missile defense command here.

The Pentagon foresees a constellation of 18 to 48 large space vehicles mixing lasers and laser relays used to destroy missiles as they launch into space.

Such a system would require lasers with a range of thousands of miles, McCasland said.

"So the beam control, the acquisition tracking and pointing is in my own opinion probably the toughest part of making this technology credible," he said.

The Pentagon is keen to exploit the near-instantaneous action of lasers as it devises ways to intercept missiles in the brief phase when their fiery plumes makes them highly visible.

It plans to test its first airborne laser -- a Boeing 747 modified to carry a chemical oxygen iodine (COIL) laser -- against a Scud-type ballistic missile in 2003.

A successful test could provide some short-range military capability in a crisis, said Air Force Colonel James Forrest, the program's deputy director.

Plans call for a fleet of seven aircraft equipped with more powerful lasers by around 2008, he said.

A US-Israeli laser has been successfully used to shoot down Katyusha rockets in tests, and the army is looking at ways to mount similar lasers on ground vehicles and helicopters.

The US Special Forces Command is interested in helicopter-mounted lasers for use in covert operations to disrupt terrorist operations or for attacks behind enemy lines, said Dick Bradshaw, director of the army's laser program.

--------

Astronauts struggle with air leaks on space station

USA Today
07/19/2001
The Associated Press
http://usatoday.com/news/nation/2001/07/20/space-station.htm

CAPE CANAVERAL (AP) - Astronauts struggled with more air leaks aboard the International Space Station on Thursday, this time inside the newly attached portal for spacewalkers.

NASA said the latest leaks were small and would not interfere with Friday night's spacewalk through the new $164 million air lock. A shrill noise coming from the air lock's depressurization pump, when turned on, also will not hamper any of the activity, officials said.

Space station astronaut Susan Helms complained of the noise Thursday night.

"The decibel measurement right now is 100," Helms reported. Mission Control said they copied what she was saying. "What?" she shouted, then added: "Just kidding."

Space station astronaut Jim Voss used a leak-detecting tool to confirm that air was seeping from three spots in one compartment of the air lock into the other. Among the repair options: closing valves, tightening fittings and replacing seals.

Spacewalkers will use the air lock to leave the space station and float into the vacuum of space. The outer chamber of the air lock is depressurized before the astronauts step out, making a tight seal essential.

Flight director Paul Hill said even if no repairs are made, only a few pounds of air will leak out during Friday night's spacewalk, an amount "which is just not that big of a deal."

"Even at this (leak) rate, the air lock's pretty tight and looks really good and really ready to go," Hill said.

Hours earlier in the mission, Voss fixed a leak that cropped up a few days before in a ventilation valve near the air lock, which was delivered by space shuttle Atlantis and installed over the weekend.

Voss also had to wrestle earlier in the week with leaky plumbing that spilled water near the air lock.

Atlantis astronauts Michael Gernhardt and James Reilly II hope to use the new air lock for their third and final spacewalk of the mission, a five-hour outing to hang another nitrogen tank on the air lock. They have already installed one nitrogen tank and two oxygen tanks.

The gas is needed to repressurize the air lock following spacewalks. It could also be used to replenish air aboard the rest of the space station in an emergency or to provide oxygen to a stricken crew member.

The new air lock will enable American space station residents to wear their own spacewalking suits, rather than Russian ones.

--------

Bush plans to test space-based laser weapons
Special report: George Bush's America

Richard Norton-Taylor
Guardian
Thursday July 19, 2001
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4224166,00.html

The Bush administration is planning to test a space-based missile defence system - the first step towards "weaponising" space - as early as 2005, according to a senior US defence official.

Robert Snyder, executive director of the Ballistic Missile Defence Organisation, said $110m had been included in the US defence budget to study technologies aimed at hitting missiles in their "boost" phase three to five minutes after launch.

Under the plan, space-based lasers would be mounted on satellites. Mr Snyder said the test planned for 2005 or 2006 would probably involve launching a prototype laser into space and then firing it back at a target in the earth's atmosphere, the Washington Post reported.

"It's not clear we know how we're going to do that," Mr Snyder said at a conference in Alabama sponsored by the US army space and missile defence command.

The test suggests the Bush administration plans to dust off the technology behind President Reagan's Strategic Defence Initiative, dubbed "Star Wars", which was abandoned after the US and Soviet Union agreed missile reductions.

Menwith Hill in Yorkshire and other US bases in Britain could play a role in a new space-based weapons system.

The plan is one reason why the US Pentagon wants to abandon the 1972 anti-ballistic missile (ABM) treaty, according to a report by the London-based International Security Information Service (Isis).

The treaty prohibits the deployment of weapons in outer space, blocking the implementation of an emergent US military doctrine called "space control", it says.

It says US analysts are warning that since the American economy and military is highly dependent on space satellites for telecommunications and surveillance, the country is vulnerable to a "space Pearl Harbour". This was the conclusion of a report by a commission led by the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld.

Another official planning document, Vision for 2020, published by the US space command, foresees "space-based strike weapons" as part of "global engagement capabilities". US pursuit of such weapons is imperative, according to space command officials, because "space superiority is emerging as an essential element of battlefield success and future warfare".

The Isis report says: "Far from being an irrelevant 'cold war relic', the ABM treaty is perhaps the most relevant post-cold war check there is against space weaponisation.

"ABM treaty breakout, conducted under the guise of missile defence, functions as a tripwire for unilateral US military domination of the heavens."

Ballistic missile interceptors based in space with the ability to knock out enemy missiles in mid-flight could also be used as orbiting "death stars" capable of sending munitions hurtling through the earth's atmosphere, it says.

Isis points out that in November more than 150 countries, including Britain, voted for a UN resolution for the "prevention of an arms race in outer space". The US abstained.

-------- u.n.

Former U.N. Inspector Decries U.S.

By Edith M. Lederer
Associated Press Writer
Thursday, July 19, 2001
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010719/aponline190312_000.htm

UNITED NATIONS -- In a new documentary film, a former U.N. weapons inspector accuses the United States of manipulating the United Nations to provoke a confrontation with Saddam Hussein as a pretext for U.S. airstrikes on Iraq.

Scott Ritter, a former U.S. Marine intelligence officer, says in the 90-minute documentary that he did not provoke the confrontation the Americans wanted in March 1998, but fellow inspector Roger Hill - an Australian - did have a confrontation in December of that year.

Days later, chief U.N. inspector Richard Butler declared that Iraq was not cooperating with weapons inspectors and the United States and Britain launched airstrikes against Iraq in punishment. U.N. inspectors pulled out of the country ahead of the bombing raids, and Iraq has barred them from returning for more than 21/2 years.

Butler, who was Ritter's boss, called the allegations "completely false" and accused Ritter of making "a propaganda film." The U.S. Mission to the United Nations said in a statement Thursday that allegations of collusion were "baseless and false."

The documentary traces the history of the U.N. Special Commission, known as UNSCOM, which was created by the U.N. Security Council after the 1991 Persian Gulf War to oversee the destruction of Iraq's biological and chemical weapons and the missiles used to deliver them. The council replaced it in December 1999 with a new agency, the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission.

By 1995, Ritter said both he and former chief weapons inspector Rolf Ekeus believed Iraq was "fundamentally disarmed." He noted that the head of Iraq's weapons programs - Saddam's son-in-law Hussein Kamal al-Majid - told Ekeus after he defected to Jordan in August 1995 that all of Iraq's banned weapons had been destroyed.

Butler said Ritter had always claimed to him that Iraq's banned weapons had not been destroyed. "Either he was misleading me when on the job or he is now misleading the public in his role as a film producer," Butler told the AP.

But Ritter said the Security Council is now focused on better targeting sanctions imposed after Iraq's 1990 invasion of Kuwait - not on returning U.N. inspectors so they can resume monitoring and prevent any rebuilding of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction.

"This film will hopefully compel people to start ... taking a harder look at Iraq's disarmament" and then confronting the issue of lifting sanctions, he said.

Ritter resigned from UNSCOM in August 1998, denouncing the Clinton administration for having withdrawn support for the U.N. agency and undermining weapons inspection.

He has since said Washington used UNSCOM to spy on Iraq - a longtime charge by Baghdad. In the documentary, he repeated the spying charge and made new allegations.

On either Feb. 28 or March 1, 1998, Ritter said he and Butler attended a meeting with then U.S. Ambassador Bill Richardson at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, hours before he left for Baghdad to lead an inspection mission.

Ritter said Butler drew a line on a blackboard with the UNSCOM timeline for the inspection on one side and the U.S. timeline for military action on the other side, and then told him: "You have to provoke a confrontation ... so the U.S. can start bombing" before March 15, a Muslim holy period.

In Baghdad, Ritter said the Iraqis at first refused to allow his team to carry out orders to search the Ministry of Defense.

At that moment, then U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright was attending a meeting in Paris, prepared to tell the French why the United States was undertaking military action, he told reporters later. But the military strikes were called off when the Iraqis later allowed the inspectors in, he said.

-------- u.s.

US Military Cutbacks Won't Affect Asia

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Asia-US-Military.html?searchpv=aponline

TOKYO (AP) -- The top commander for U.S. forces in Asia said Thursday that U.S. forces in the region are not likely to suffer cutbacks, despite the Pentagon's possible plans to overhaul the military.

``I see an increase in the emphasis on Asia as the region of both potential opportunity and potential threat,'' Adm. Dennis Blair, commander in chief of the U.S. Pacific Command, said.

``I look at the fundamental force structure we have here to do our jobs and I think those are going to stay pretty constant,'' he told reporters at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld has said he wants to shift the military's current strategy, which involves preparing troops to fight two major regional wars at the same time.

Department of Defense officials have said the changes -- the first since the end of the Cold War in 1991 -- would require only having enough forces on hand to simultaneously win one regional war and defend against other smaller threats.

Rumsfeld told a Congressional committee last month that the two-war strategy was outdated and left the United States increasingly vulnerable to threats like ballistic missiles.

Among the biggest threats to stability in Asia is North Korea, said Blair, who is based in Hawaii. He said the United States would continue to focus defenses in Asia toward repulsing a possible attack from the reclusive communist nation.

``The North Korean missile program poses a direct threat to both the citizens of South Korea and U.S. forces,'' said Blair. ``North Korea has the capability to fit them with weapons of mass destruction warheads as well as with conventional warheads.''

Blair also said the Bush administration would continue to try to reach a missile agreement with Pyongyang.

The United States considers North Korea a state sponsor of international terrorism -- a label that allows it to maintain economic sanctions against Pyongyang.

Blair stressed that North Korea's missiles -- which it test-fired in 1998 -- can reach Japan. He said he hopes Japan will collaborate with the United States in building a regional missile defense system.

Blair said Asia's regional stability also hinges on China, whose relations with Washington have been tense in the aftermath of a U.S. spy plane's collision with a Chinese fighter jet earlier this year.

The United States has nearly 100,000 troops in Asia, mostly concentrated in Japan and South Korea. Around 47,000 of those men and women are in Japan, which has served as a key U.S. military outpost since World War II.

--------

Rumsfeld Sees Discord on Size of Military

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By THOM SHANKER
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/19/politics/19MILI.html?searchpv=nytToday

WASHINGTON, July 18 - Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld said today that sharp disagreements remained among some in the armed services over how large the American military must be to carry out new strategic guidelines he recently negotiated with the nation's most senior officers.

Some in the military have interpreted the new guidelines, called "terms of reference," to defend current force levels and even to argue for more weapons and people in uniform.

While Mr. Rumsfeld said that no final decision had been made, he expressed his displeasure today with the work of at least one group of military planners who are turning the broad guidelines into a detailed strategy that can be used to plan a budget.

"It came back with some cases that were larger, some cases that were smaller, some instances where it didn't seem to fit what we had had in mind when we crafted, we thought we crafted, the terms of reference," Mr. Rumsfeld said at a Pentagon news briefing.

As a result, Mr. Rumsfeld said, he told those officers "to go back, look at the terms." He said that any ambiguities in the guidelines would be clarified but warned that the problem might be "simply a misunderstanding on the part of the team that was working it through."

Mr. Rumsfeld said there was no need to reopen the often tough negotiations that resulted in what he said was "unanimous" agreement on the future of the armed services among the Pentagon's civilian leadership, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the war- fighting commanders.

Although Pentagon officials say that Mr. Rumsfeld may still be persuaded that the armed forces need to grow, some senior officers say that his goal is to reduce costs to pay for President Bush's agenda of military reform. That is why Mr. Rumsfeld was so surprised that the agreement he negotiated has resulted in language now being used to defend buying more ships, building more planes and paying for more troops, these officers said.

"The secretary said up front that he is trying to free up money to modernize," said one senior officer. "Missile defense is their No. 1 priority. He has said to us, `We've got to find a way to de-emphasize conventional programs to pay for strategic defense.' "

More than a dozen Pentagon officials and military officers described the classified guidelines, saying that under the terms of reference, the United States was abandoning requirements that its military be prepared to win two major wars almost simultaneously.

Instead, the new guidelines order the armed forces to prepare for four core missions: to "win decisively" in a single major conflict; defend American territory against new threats; maintain global deployments to deter aggression; and, at the same time, conduct a number of holding actions, peacekeeping missions and support operations around the globe.

The broad directives are contained in a classified 29-page document, "Guidance and Terms of Reference for the 2001 Quadrennial Defense Review." The document is the manual for the Pentagon's top-to-bottom analysis of strategy and budgets required by Congress every four years.

"When you give us those missions, and say we have to be prepared to do them `concurrently,' I don't know how you get to less people or less stuff," one official said today.

Another official said: "The working group sized the force as close as it could to what they all thought the terms of reference called for. They came back with such a large figure that Rumsfeld fell off his chair."

Senior Pentagon officials said Mr. Rumsfeld had pointedly told those officers writing proposals for the structure of the armed forces that the new guidelines were endorsed by the chiefs of each of the armed services, with the message being: "Listen to your boss."

In setting priorities for investment, the new guidelines list personnel issues, followed by such broad areas as intelligence; missile defense; information warfare; pre- conflict management; precision- guided weapons; rapidly deployable forces; unmanned weapons systems; countering weapons of mass destruction; and infrastructure and logistics.

Some civilian Pentagon officials have also complained that, in the review, the military has been slow to shape its forces to fit the new age of combat in which intelligence data on enemy forces moves at lightning speed and even small powers have advanced and accurate weapons.

The Quadrennial Defense Review is due to go to Congress by September. Mr. Rumsfeld acknowledged that the accelerated schedule is making the work of the separate task forces more difficult.

Civilian Pentagon officials and military officers agreed that a central friction in the review was over how much risk the armed forces could accept, if the nation had to go to war today, to pay for the future transformation as envisioned by Mr. Rumsfeld and President Bush.

"We're trying to look at operational risks and evaluate them," Mr. Rumsfeld said today. "We're trying to then look at the risks of not doing a proper job for our people," he said in reference to issues like pay and housing, "and balancing that against operational risks."

Mr. Rumsfeld said that the Pentagon bureaucracy could assess risks in preparation for battle and that it could figure out how to attract and train quality personnel. But he complained that it was unable to make the tough budgetary trade-offs between those two.

"The normal tracks or procedures or processes in this building tend to balance `likes,' but not balance different types of risks against each other," he said, "and that is what we're going through, and that is hard work and it takes a lot of thought."

----------

Figures Say US Needs Bigger Military

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/news/AP-War-Strategy.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld sent Pentagon planners back to the drawing board after they came up with a blueprint for a military force larger than the one America has now.

``We went back and asked ourselves how that might have happened,'' Rumsfeld said Wednesday.

The Defense Department was trying to calculate how many people, weapons and materiel would be needed if it scrapped the long-held goal of being ready to fight two major wars at the same time.

Rumsfeld and the Joint Chiefs of Staff asked planners to look instead at what it would take to fight one major war and cover international peacekeeping and humanitarian missions as well as defend U.S. soil.

Officials said the senior officials were surprised when the answer came back that it would take more battle carrier groups, air units and troops than currently included in the 1.4 million person military.

One official said the planners misunderstood the strategy laid out by the senior officials and thought the force was supposed to be big enough to take on the smaller missions simultaneously. Rumsfeld said it was unclear whether they misunderstood or whether the written strategy they were working from was flawed.

The new approach was described in a classified document called the ``Terms of Reference.'' Rumsfeld and senior officials asked several panels to work with the strategy to come up with needs.

``Either the terms of reference had ambiguities in them ... or there was simply a misunderstanding on the part of the ... team that was working it through,'' he said.

He said ``several pockets of people'' were working on the problem.

The work was being done as part of the congressionally mandated Quadrennial Defense Review. Rumsfeld said that despite the setback, Congress will receive the report as required by Sept. 30.

Since the end of the Cold War in 1991, the U.S. military has stuck to what became known as the two-war strategy.

The notion was that by sizing the military to deal with two major regional wars, an outbreak of conflict in, say, the Gulf would not embolden North Korea to invade South Korea, where about 37,000 American troops are based.

Rumsfeld has said the two-war approach was overdue for change because it had outlived its usefulness and left the United States increasingly vulnerable to emerging threats like ballistic missiles.

Additionally, President Bush campaigned on his view that the military was being asked to do too much with too few resources and promised to reduce military commitments.

Officials have said previously that it was unclear whether dropping the two-war strategy would lead to a decrease in the size of the American military, which has about 1.4 million men and women in uniform.

It was clear from what Rumsfeld said Wednesday at a Pentagon briefing, however, that the increase would be a move in the wrong direction.

Rumsfeld didn't describe what the strategy projected. Officials said privately last month that it recommended maintaining sufficient forces to win decisively in one major regional war and have the capability to conduct three other high-priority missions at the same time.

The three other missions, they said, were to defend U.S. territory, conduct ``small-scale contingencies of limited duration'' in other parts of the world -- such as peacekeeping in the Balkans -- and deter aggression in critical areas of the world through the presence of U.S. forces in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

-------- OTHER

-------- energy

House Committee OKs Energy Package

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/news/AP-Congress-Energy.html?searchpv=aponline

WASHINGTON (AP) -- From oil and gas producers to the coal industry, a package of energy tax breaks headed to the House floor provides billions of dollars more than President Bush proposed for traditional energy producers.

More than a quarter of the 10-year, $33.5 billion measure approved Wednesday by the House Ways and Means Committee would benefit oil and gas producers. Approximately $3.3 billion goes to coal companies for investing in clean coal technology, $3.5 billion in write-offs is earmarked for gas distribution pipelines and $2 billion for the cost of taking nuclear plants off line.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, said the largesse appeared to represent payback for industries that ``have expressed great concern about being left out'' of the 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut signed into law by Bush. That bill's tax cuts focused almost entirely on individual taxpayers.

Even the Bush administration wasn't ready Wednesday to fully embrace the bill, which also includes such Bush priorities as tax credits for hybrid gas-electric cars and for production of alternative energy sources, such as wind and agricultural products.

``We did not explore those areas,'' said Mark Weinberger, assistant Treasury secretary for tax policy. ``We can't take a position on the additional proposals at this time.''

But the legislation cleared the Ways and Means Committee on a near party-line 24-17 vote, sending it to the full House. The measure will be combined with other energy bills into a single package that Republican leaders hope to bring to a vote before the August congressional recess.

The panel's chairman, Republican Rep. Bill Thomas of California, said the items benefitting the energy industry were added to the tax bill to provide better balance -- particularly with administration statistics showing that oil consumption will rise 33 percent and electricity demand 45 percent over the next 20 years.

``This bill presents a balanced package of tax measures that address energy conservation, energy reliability and energy production,'' Thomas said.

Democrats voted against the bill because it would be paid for out of projected budget surpluses they said are already overcommitted to tax and spending measures. An attempt by Democrats to scale back the Bush tax cut to cover the energy bill's cost was defeated.

The bill's $12.5 billion in energy conservation provisions most affecting individual taxpayers include a 15 percent credit for residential solar water heaters, credits for purchase of hybrid vehicles and a credit of up to $2,000 for energy-efficient improvements to existing homes and businesses, including insulation, windows and doors, and for heating or cooling units in new homes.

About $8 billion in tax relief is aimed at energy production, including more generous write-offs for oil and gas operating losses, write-offs for geologic and geophysical expenses, tax credits for marginal producers during times of low prices and provisions for losses to be taken against previous years' profits.

Work continued Wednesday on other pieces of the broader House energy plan.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee rejected a proposal that would have brought automobile fuel economy to 37.5 miles per gallon in 10 years, maintaining that such an increase is not currently achievable and would harm the auto industry.

But the committee agreed to require that sport utility vehicles be held to stricter fuel economy rules with a requirement they cut gasoline use by 5 billion gallons over the next six years.

Supporters said that amounts to a 3 mpg average fleet increase for new SUVs. Opponents estimated it would be closer to a 1 mpg increase. The 5 billion gallons is equal to about two weeks of gasoline consumption by all motor vehicles.

The overall bill, which is expected to clear the committee Thursday, directs the EPA to re-examine its requirements for cleaner gasoline blends and mandates new energy saving measures for government agencies. It seeks to spur the popularity of hybrid-fuel vehicles by directing they be allowed on restricted HOV commuter lanes.

In addition, the House Science Committee approved Bush's $2 billion, 10-year clean coal research program and authorized $900 million for a long-range government-industry research program to help develop oil and gas reserves in extremely deep waters of the western Gulf of Mexico.

Separately, the committee directed increases in Energy Department research programs on conservation, energy efficiency and renewable energy programs, in some cases doubling program recommendations from the Bush administration.

^Associated Press Writer H. Josef Hebert contributed to this report. On the Net:

Joint Committee on Taxation: http://www.house.gov.jct

-------- environment

SHREDDED WOOD REMOVES CONTAMINANTS FROM STORM RUNOFF

July 19, 2001
ENS
http://ens.lycos.com/ens/jul2001/2001L-07-19-09.html

KINGSTON, Rhode Island, A Rhode Island professor may have helped solve the problem of the water pollution municipal and highway storm runoff by using a cheap, common material: shredded wood.

Thomas Boving, assistant professor of geosciences at the University of Rhode Island, and graduate student Wei Zhang are evaluating the effectiveness of highway storm water detention ponds in Providence, Rhode Island. Storm water is carried from the roadway and surrounding urban areas to three ponds designed to filter out contaminants before the water reaches Narragansett Bay.

"The goal of the project is to find out if the ponds are doing what they're supposed to do," said Boving. "And during a shower in May, they appeared to capture most of the pollutants well."

But he noted that heavy rains cause more pollutants to run off the road, and the faster flow of water into and out of the ponds during these storms is expected to reduce the ponds' effectiveness.

"Most of the contaminants in roadway runoff are attracted to suspended organic material and sediments, which then settle to the bottom of the ponds," Boving said. "But if the flow rate is too fast, like during a heavy storm, there may not be enough time for the solids to settle before flowing out and into the bay."

Boving tested the ability of shredded aspen wood, available in the southwestern U.S. for use in evaporative cooling systems, as a contaminant filter. Boving used pyrene as a test contaminant.

A human carcinogen, pyrene is a polyaromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) and a significant component of contaminated roadway runoff. PAHs are the byproduct of combustion, and come from smokestacks, automobile tailpipes, chimneys and outdoor grills, among other places.

In a laboratory experiment, Boving pumped water contaminated with pyrene through the shredded wood, and found the wood effective at removing 97 percent of the pyrene from the water. Although the wood absorbed less pyrene over time, he concluded that shredded wood is effective if replaced every 30 to 60 days.

Boving calculated that up to 100 pounds of shredded wood would be needed each month at the Providence ponds.

"I was very encouraged by what I found with this first test," Boving said. "It fulfills all of the requirements for a successful technology - it's non-toxic, cheap, available, and public acceptance of these filters is likely very good since no one is concerned about putting wood in water."

----

Derailed Chemical Train Still Burns

Thu, Jul 19
By PAUL OWENS, Associated Press Writer
http://news.excite.com/news/ap/010719/08/news-train-derailment

BALTIMORE (AP) - A fire that broke out in a downtown tunnel when a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed burned for a second day Thursday as firefighters braved searing flames and billowing smoke.

Two firefighters were taken to hospitals because of chest pains.

At one point Wednesday, all major highways into town were blocked, a Baltimore Orioles game at nearby Camden Yards was postponed and the Inner Harbor was closed to boat traffic. The blaze burned so hot that firefighters couldn't reach the flames for eight hours.

To add to the chaos, a water-main break caused by the 3:10 p.m. derailment caused power outages to hundreds of customers and the collapse of a section of a major downtown thoroughfare, Lombard Street. Officials said the break also may have had a good effect by flooding the tunnel and reducing the fire.

Though the highways had reopened Thursday, motorists searched for ways to get around downtown, where several streets remained closed.

"We're still trying to deal with probably one of the most difficult fire situations we've ever had," Mayor Martin O'Malley told NBC's "Today" show. "This is a hazardous chemical fire inside a tunnel that runs underneath our city. ... It's slow going."

Four cars were pulled from deep inside the 1 1/2-mile-long tunnel by a locomotive early Thursday. Fire Department spokesman Hector Torres said the blaze was not burning near the chemical tankers, and firefighters were unsure what was on fire.

"I think we're probably going to go through the morning with this," he said.

Eight tankers in the 60-car CXS Transportation Inc. freight train were carrying hazardous materials, including hydrochloric acid, a corrosive chemical that can cause lung damage if inhaled, officials said.

A car carrying hydrochloric acid was leaking, but the leaking chemical was not combustible and was not a health concern, CSX spokesman Robert Gould said.

Once enough cars were removed from the tunnel, the freight line will bring in an empty tank car and transfer chemicals from the train, he said.

O'Malley said analyses of the smoke pouring from the tunnel showed no dangerous levels of the chemicals. But health officials still warned residents to stay inside with their windows closed and their ventilation systems off.

"So far, all the air quality has been OK," O'Malley said. "There's some really hazardous stuff in there."

Gould said the train was inside the tunnel that runs from Camden Yards through downtown when a sensor in one of three locomotives detected an unidentified problem.

The two-person crew stopped the train and started to walk back to check the cars. When they saw smoke, they uncoupled the locomotives and rode out of the tunnel to safety.

State highway officials closed all major roadways into the city in the hours at the request of fire and police officials. About 200 highway workers were stationed at the city line to turn back motorists.

"This isn't a panic," said Kurt Kocher of the city's Department of Public Works. Residents and tourists could leave the city, he said. No homes or businesses were ordered evacuated.

It took about eight hours before firefighters were able to reach the burning train cars, Torres said.

Firefighters used thermal imaging equipment to pinpoint the train's location within the tunnel. But one of the first firefighters to enter said his colleagues were forced back by the heat.

The Baltimore Orioles had been scheduled to play the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night. The game was rescheduled to Thursday afternoon, but had to be postponed again as the fire continued to burn.

The train was traveling from Hamlet, N.C., to Oak Island, N.J.

-------- genetics

EPA Issues Rules for Regulating Crops

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/news/AP-Biotech-Crops.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday issued rules for regulating crops that are genetically engineered to ward off pests.

The decision came seven years after the rules were first proposed. The rules are supported both by environmental groups and the biotech industry, and EPA has been following them informally. However, there had been some dispute over the regulations among researchers who felt they went too far.

Cotton and corn that have been genetically engineered to produce their own pesticides already are in wide use.

Crops that are developed by conventional methods are exempt from the regulations, although manufacturers must report any adverse effects.

The rules include a provision that says all DNA of the gene-altered crops is safe for food use. Any pesticidal substances in the plant, however, could be subject to restrictions.

Industry officials say that the DNA exemption could make it more difficult for the government to demand recalls of food made with StarLink corn, a genetically engineered corn that was discovered in the food supply last fall although it had not been approved for human consumption.

A pesticidal protein in the corn cannot be detected in many processed foods, but the Food and Drug Administration has considered a positive test for StarLink DNA to be an indicator that the protein is also there. Agency officials say they aren't sure how the EPA rules will affect their policy.

The Grocery Manufacturers of America said it didn't expect the EPA rules to have any effect on company recall policies.

StarLink corn has been withdrawn from the market, but EPA is deciding whether to renew the licenses of several other varieties, all of which are approved for food use.

EPA said it would take public comment on several other exemptions proposed in 1994 but dropped from the rules that were issued Thursday. One would exempt crops that are altered in ways that only affect the plants, such as producing a waxy coating.

-------- human rights

Ashcroft targets human trafficking in U.S.

July 19, 2001
By Jerry Seper
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20010719-56574788.htm

Attorney General John Ashcroft yesterday called on federal law enforcement personnel, immigration officers and State Department officials to provide protection and other assistance to victims of human trafficking as their cases are investigated and prosecuted.

"The toll in human suffering caused by human trafficking and forced labor is enormous," Mr. Ashcroft said at a news conference to announce new regulations brought by the Justice and State departments.

"The cooperative efforts of federal agencies and law enforcement officials will help provide victims with the tools and services needed to punish traffickers to the fullest extent of the law," he said, noting that 50,000 people annually, overwhelmingly women and children, are brought into the United States and are forced to labor against their will.

"Many are forced into the sex trade. But the crime of human trafficking is not limited to the sex industry," he said. "Victims are often forced to labor in illegal sweatshops, in agricultural industry locations, or in domestic servitude."

The new regulations instruct federal law enforcement personnel, immigration officials and State Department officials to identify victims of severe forms of human trafficking, protect victims in custody, provide victims with access to information and translation services, and develop appropriate training for Justice Department and State Department personnel investigating and prosecuting the cases.

Acting under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act passed by Congress in October, Mr. Ashcroft announced in March that combating human trafficking would be a Justice Department priority. He issued guidelines to federal prosecutors describing the new crimes under the act and urged coordination among U.S. attorneys and the civil rights and criminal division at the Justice Department in Washington.

Joined at the news conference by Rep. Christopher H. Smith, New Jersey Republican, Mr. Ashcroft ordered that federal officials identify victims of "severe" human trafficking and that the victims be "informed of their rights, provided information about pro bono and low-cost legal services, and given access to translation services if they're unable to communicate in English."

The attorney general said victims of severe forms of trafficking who are in custody will be protected.

In addition, he said, access to medical assistance and the help of victim service organizations, including domestic violence and rape crisis centers, will be provided.

"In order to enable law enforcement officials to successfully prosecute traffickers, officials may allow victims who cooperate with prosecutors to remain in the United States rather than to return to their home countries," he said.

Since the act's passage, Mr. Ashcroft said, it has become apparent how urgently these measures are needed.

He said the Justice Department has encountered "a large number of individuals who need protection from retaliation and continued victimization by people who traffic them into the United States."

Others, he said, need assistance in recovering from the trauma of having been brought to this country as prostitutes or forced laborers.

Mr. Smith said many young women are lured to the United States with the promise that they will obtain legitimate jobs, but when they arrive, "their passport is pulled and then they realize the nightmare that they're in for."

He noted that before passage of the act, convictions of those responsible for bringing their human cargo to this country carried prison sentences of less than two years.

The Justice Department has prosecuted 16 trafficking cases since 1999. A department official said problem areas are in Southern states, parts of the East Coast and California.

-------- police / prisoners

Accounting Urged for Arms, Computers

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/news/AP-FBI-Missing-Computers.html?searchpv=aponline

WASHINGTON (AP) -- With the FBI having lost hundreds of laptops and firearms, lawmakers demanded a government-wide accounting of other firearms and computers and criticized the nation's largest law enforcement agency for losing track of its valuable equipment.

``If our premier law-enforcement agency, the FBI, is so lax in keeping track of its guns, I shudder to think about what other abuses may exist at other federal agencies,'' said Rep. John Dingell of Michigan, top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

Dingell wants the General Accounting Office, Congress' investigative and auditing arm, to check every federal agency to see if any other weapons are missing. In addition, GOP Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, ranking Republican on the Finance Committee, called for the Treasury Department -- which includes the Secret Service -- to account for its guns and secure computers.

``To have laptops missing that could have national security information on them would be atrocious,'' Grassley said. ``For the FBI to have lost firearms and failed to account for them is inexcusable.''

The FBI has since tightened security and Attorney General John Ashcroft said he has confidence in the agency.

The Justice Department revealed Tuesday that 449 side arms and submachine guns are missing. One of the missing guns was used in a homicide, officials said. Also, there are 184 computers -- at least one containing classified data -- missing.

Each FBI employee has been accountable for the whereabouts of laptop computers assigned to them. Kenneth Senser, the FBI's deputy assistant director in charge of internal security, said the FBI established an internal group that began in May 2000 to put in place a system to make sure the bureau was keeping track of the computers.

``Who is held accountable?'' demanded Senate Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., of Senser.

``At the time, actually, there was no one held accountable, in the sense that the FBI policy was very clear on the control of laptop computers,'' Senser said.

He said the FBI has improved its security systems and protocols in the last two years and can now identify where every computer with classified information is supposed to be.

Attorney General John Ashcroft said he still believes in the FBI despite its recent controversies. ``Every organization has problems,'' he said. ``But how do you respond to the problems? I have to say the FBI has been responding constructively.''

Senators have complained for weeks that the FBI has a culture of covering up its mistakes and have offered several bills to reform the agency, including provisions for outside reviews and more power for agency watchdogs such as the inspector general's office.

President Bush has nominated Robert Mueller, a former U.S. Attorney known for cleaning up and reforming law enforcement offices, to be the new FBI director.

Mueller will go before the Senate Judiciary Committee on July 30, officials said.

``It has become clearer that significant changes are necessary at the FBI if it is to maintain its status as the worlds premier law enforcement agency,'' said Sen. Richard Durbin, D- Ill., who talked to Mueller on Wednesday. ``The FBI isn't starving for resources -- its starving for leadership.''

The FBI has been under fire for missteps going back years, including the failure to provide thousands of documents to Timothy McVeigh's lawyers, the Robert Hanssen spy case, the bloody Branch Davidian and Ruby Ridge standoffs and the botched investigation of former Los Almos nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee.

Besides the theft of 184 FBI weapons, 265 were lost, said FBI and Justice officials. Most of the missing weapons are handguns, but some are submachine guns, they said.

In all, 184 laptops are missing, including 13 believed to have been stolen, officials said. They said that in addition to one computer known to have contained classified information, three other missing machines might also have had classified material.

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Witnesses: Blame 'the club' for FBI debacles

07/18/2001
By Toni Locy,
USA TODAY
http://usatoday.com/news/washdc/july01/2001-07-19-fbi.htm

WASHINGTON - A small group of senior FBI executives who protect one another at all costs, resist change and retaliate against anyone who challenges them is to blame for the agency's recent debacles, current and former bureau officials told the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Known as "the club" by agents in the field, these executives - who were not identified during Wednesday's hearing - rule the FBI through petty office politics and derail the careers of anyone who investigates one of their pals, witnesses told the Senate panel.

The witnesses said the managers set a bad example on accountability, leading to the FBI's recent failure to keep track of 449 guns and 184 laptop computers. A federal audit released Tuesday indicated that at least one of the missing laptops carried classified information related to two closed cases.

The senior FBI executives' actions have created a climate of cynicism within the bureau that has discouraged promising agents from going into management, said John Werner, a retired agent who now is in private business.

"The rank-and-file employees are hitting on all cylinders," Werner told the senators. But they are "frustrated over the inefficiencies of management, broken or nonexistent information systems and concerns over being held to higher standards than senior management."

The FBI would not comment on the allegations.

FBI agent Patrick Kiernan, who heads a unit that provides ethics training, testified that he has been scorned for a report he did in 1999 that documented inconsistent disciplinary standards that allowed top managers to be treated less harshly than underlings.

"It's not easy battling people in your own organization on issues of 'doing the right thing,' " he said.

Other witnesses said the senior executives, by resisting change, have hamstrung the FBI's technological capabilities. Critics have said that former FBI director Louis Freeh paid too much attention to expanding the bureau's presence around the world while ignoring management problems.

"Fundamentally, at the dawn of the 21st century, the FBI is asking its agents and support personnel to do their jobs without the tools other companies use, or that you or I would use at home," said Bob Dies, a former IBM executive who joined the FBI a year ago to improve its computer systems.

Kenneth Senser, a CIA official loaned to the FBI to oversee efforts to improve its internal security measures, said that revamping the FBI will take time.

By failing to make technology a priority, Dies said, the FBI was unable to detect a traitor in its ranks such as convicted spy Robert Hanssen, a veteran agent who exploited holes in the bureau's security systems and sold secrets to Moscow for 15 years.

The hearing was the second in a series that committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., plans to hold on the FBI. The hearings have highlighted several embarrassments, dating from the FBI's actions during the fatal 1992 confrontation with white separatists at Ruby Ridge, Idaho, to its delay in turning over thousands of pages of documents in the Oklahoma City bombing case.

Leahy said he is especially troubled by the revelations this week about the missing laptops. "You would think after the total fiasco of the FBI's handling of the Hanssen matter that they would have learned," he said.

Senators from both parties called on Robert Mueller, President Bush's choice for FBI director, to move aggressively to improve the bureau.

Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said that amid all the criticism, he felt it necessary to defend Freeh, who had a good relationship with lawmakers and received huge increases in FBI funding.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., wasn't as complimentary. "The FBI has not been starved for funds," he said. "The FBI has been starved for leadership."

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Fortress Genoa Awaits G-8 Leaders and Foes

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By ALESSANDRA STANLEY
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/07/19/international/19ITAL.html

GENOA, Italy, July 18 - Scrubbed, freshly painted and sealed off with metal fences, the harbor where a summit meeting for the world's major industrial nations will begin on Friday is quite calm - the shuttered-down silence that enveloped the western frontier town before the shootout in "High Noon."

"It's a little scary, and I am coming home," a young woman whispered in Italian into her cellphone this morning as she turned her 2- year-old's stroller away from the harbor where the Group of 8 is to gather. Today it was all but deserted, except for roaming packs of police officers.

"It really does seem like we are under siege in some kind of war," the woman, Geraldine Brown, said apologetically, explaining why she was turning back.

British by birth, Ms. Brown is married to an Italian and works at a hair salon that will not open for business on Friday when President Bush and seven other government leaders arrive. Neither will almost all of the other shops and restaurants inside the so-called red zone, a secure six- square-mile area where leaders will meet from Friday though Sunday. Some anti-globalization groups have pledged to penetrate the zone.

More than 100,000 demonstrators are expected to come to Genoa to protest what they view as a United States-led global capitalism that exploits and further impoverishes the third world.

The surrounding counter-summit in many ways mirrors the meeting it seeks to denounce and disrupt - tidy white canvas banquet tents, information booths, brochures, maps, housing (mostly of the squatter/tent variety), scheduled meetings, discussion groups and news conferences. The protesters, however, want the two parallel universes to collide.

And fears that groups of protesters and riot police officers will clash violently, as they have almost routinely since the first major anti-globalization protest in Seattle in 1999, is one reason so many residents have fled to other towns or other parts of the city. Others fear a terrorist attack, or anarchist bombs. Those few who remained watched uneasily as the police this morning erected the last gratings, concrete lined metal fences bolstered with steel poles, that seal off small alleys and other access routes to the harbor.

"Inside the red zone we are really protected, but we are so protected our clients can't get to us," Marisa Salvi, 55, complained as she stood guard over the veal in her empty butcher's shop a few blocks from the pink, motel-style Jolly Hotel Marina on the harbor where President Bush and about 130 members of his 700- member entourage will stay.

Genoa, a small medieval city whose port - an odd blend of South Street Seaport-style restored warehouses and modern jetties - is surrounded by high-rise-clotted hills, was not an obvious choice for a G-8 summit meeting. The last major international conference in Genoa was in 1922, a meeting of leaders discussing economic reconstruction of Europe after World War I. The meeting was hailed then as the largest international conference in history. It failed after Germany and the Soviet Union signed a separate pact of their own in nearby Rapallo.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a conservative media tycoon who was elected in May, initially said his center-left predecessors should take the blame if anything went wrong in Genoa, but has more recently decided his own prestige is also at risk. Italy spent more than $100 million on pre-summit restoration, infrastructure and security.

The prime minister, who has a keen sense of "bella figura," has made three inspection trips to Genoa since taking office. A little like a regional Soviet party boss, Mr. Berlusconi personally pointed out flaws and ordered last-minute changes, minor and major. Among other things, he called for a different color for a repainted facade across the street from the Ducal Palace where key meetings will take place, and ordered that a row of potted lemon trees be realigned.

When the prime minister asked that Genoese remove wet laundry from their windows while his important guests were in town, however, he went too far for some residents. Today, at least, damp sheets and undershorts fluttered proudly near Italian national flags.

Security, fueled by fears of terrorism and riots by protesters, is audible from the helicopters hovering above rooftops, and visible on the streets, where more than 16,000 police officers and army soldiers have been assigned to keep the peace, many of them already carrying riot helmets and batons on their belts.

But proper protocol is also a concern. At 11 tonight, Genoa police drivers, with the nervous solemnity of ushers at a wedding rehearsal, were practicing aligning their cars in a motorcade to pick up world leaders from the summit sessions at a snappy but dignified pace.

And nerves are edgy. A letter bomb exploded today in the Milan office of a television network news station that belongs to Mr. Berlusconi, lightly injuring a secretary, and in the northeastern city of Treviso an envelope sent to the headquarters of the clothes retailer Benetton burst into flames when it was opened in the company's mail room. No damage or injuries were reported.

But both attacks echoed a letter bomb that injured an officer in a Genoa police station on Monday. Dozens of false alarms have followed. The main wholesale produce market of Genoa was evacuated today after the police received an anonymous bomb threat at 5:40 a.m. that turned out to be a prank.

Also at dawn, more than 300 police officers in riot gear raided a Genoa stadium turned tent city that serves as the counter-summit headquarters of the more radical protest groups, whose slogan is "civil disobedience" and who promise to break through to the red zone. The police checked the tents and sleeping bags, but did not confiscate anything, not even shields and helmets kept in plain view.

"We have nothing to hide," said Luca Casarini, a leader of Tutte Bianche, or White Overalls, an Italian anti-globalization group. "If we did, we wouldn't have spent the last month talking about how to carry out civil disobedience at the G-8."

Genoa's four McDonald's restaurants were closed today, their windows shielded by wooden planks. The fast-food chain has become a target of protests at such gatherings.

Perhaps not surprisingly, José Bove, the French farmer who became a cult hero after he went to prison for vandalizing a McDonald's in France, showed up in Genoa today.

For all the heightened security, the red zone, like many forbidden things in Italy, is not totally impregnable. One 21-year-old French protester, a university student who declined to give her name or hometown, confessed she had toured the zone with a male companion this morning.

"It looks like an occupied zone," she said with contempt. Asked how she managed to get past checkpoints without a pass, she blushed and explained, "I was wearing shorts."

-------- terrorism

Computer Virus Targets White House

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/technology/AP-White-House-Virus.html

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The White House Web site dodged an Internet bullet Thursday, using some technical sleight of hand to sidestep a computer virus dubbed ``Code Red,'' security experts said.

The virus has infected more than 225,000 computer systems around the world, defacing many Web sites with the message ``Hacked By Chinese,'' experts said. Despite the message, the origin of the virus is unknown.

The ultimate goal of the virus, known as a ``worm,'' is to gather strength by infecting more computers and then have them all attack a numerical Internet address that represents the White House Web site. The assault, which was set to go off Thursday at 8 p.m. EDT, is a denial of service attack, designed to hamper or shut down a computer system by flooding it with huge amounts of data.

The White House apparently shifted its Web site to a different numerical address to avoid the attack, said Stephen Trilling, director of research at Symantec Corp. (news/quote) of Cupertino, Calif., a computer security company.

White House spokeswoman Jeanie Mamo would say only that the White House had ``taken preventative measures aimed at minimizing any impact from the computer virus known as the Code Red worm.''

The FBI's National Infrastructure Protection Center issued a warning late Thursday, calling the virus a significant threat that could ``degrade services running on the Internet.''

The CERT Coordination Center, the government-funded computer emergency response team at Carnegie Mellon University, said at least 225,000 computers were infected.

Code Red exploits a flaw discovered last month in Microsoft (news/quote) software used on Internet servers. While a software patch was made available to correct the flaw, not everyone has made use of it, Trilling said.

Specifically, vulnerable computers are those running the server software on Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 or Windows 2000.

Since the virus targets servers, mostly used by businesses, few individual computer users were affected.

Computer security companies were posting advisories on how to deal with the virus late Thursday.

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New Terror Warning
State Department Warns of 'Imminent' Attack on Arabian Peninsula

ABCNEWS.com
July 19
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/world/DailyNews/terrorthreat_010719.html

- U.S. facilities in the Persian Gulf region remain on a heightened state of alert, bracing for a possible terrorist assault as early as today.

The State Department said Wednesday it has "strong indications" of an "imminent" terrorist attack against Americans in the Arabian Peninsula.

"The United States Government has strong indications that individuals may be planning imminent terrorist actions against U.S. interests in the Arabian Peninsula," it said in a statement intended to alert Americans in the region.

"As always, we take this information seriously," it said.

"American citizens in the region are urged to remain vigilant with regard to their personal security and to exercise caution," State Department spokesman Phillip Reeker said at a press briefing today.

No Specific Information

The statement said the government has no further information on specific targets, timing, or method of attack, but warned that civilians may be as likely targets as government personnel.

Sources told ABCNEWS, though, that the information the government has received suggests two possible sites for an attack - Saudi Arabia and Kuwait - and indicates a terror assault could occur today.

The sources said the quality of the information is good. It is derived from a coded message believed to have been sent to a very important operative in Osama bin Laden's organization, a person suspected of heavy involvement in coordinating terrorist attacks in the past, the sources said.

Neither Reeker, nor a Pentagon spokesman at a press briefing today, would comment on the nature of the threat.

U.S. Concerns Persist

The announcement supplements worldwide cautions issued by the department in May and June. In May, U.S. authorities said they had received information that American citizens abroad might be targeted by extremist groups with links to bin Laden's network, Al-Qaeda. In June, they updated the worldwide caution, warning of "an increased risk of a terrorist action from extremist groups."

Bin Laden, an exiled Saudi millionaire, is accused of orchestrating a wide range of attacks against American interests, including the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa.

The June advisory also followed a federal indictment in New York of 14 people suspected of involvement in a 1996 bombing that killed 19 U.S. servicemen at the Khobar Towers military housing complex in Saudi Arabia.

Last month, citing information suggesting an "imminent" terrorism attack, U.S. military forces in the Persian Gulf region went on high alert and some 20 U.S. warships were put to sea. Routine military air traffic was halted, the movement of some 20,000 military personnel was restricted, and a Marine Corps exercise was stopped.

U.S. government facilities in the Persian Gulf region have been on heightened alert since the terrorist attack on the USS Cole as it refueled in the port of Aden, Yemen, which is on the Arabian Peninsula. The October 2000 bombing killed 17 sailors.

Citing a suspected increased terror threat to Americans in Yemen, the State Department in June authorized the departure of nonessential personnel from the U.S. Embassy and warned against travel in Yemen. The FBI has also pulled out its personnel investigating the Cole attack, first from Aden, then from the U.S. Embassy in Sanaa.

In late May, U.S. officials said there was a "serious and specific" terrorist threat to Americans in Aden.

ABCNEWS' Martha Raddatz and John McWethy and ABCNEWS.com's David Ruppe contributed to this report.

-------- activists

Demonstrators Warm Up for Summit

By Martin Crutsinger
AP Economics Writer
Thursday, July 19, 2001; 7:08 p.m. EDT
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/20010719/aponline190834_000.htm

GENOA, Italy -- Leaders of the world's richest nations were expected to approve a $1 billion fund to combat AIDS at a summit beginning Friday. On the eve of the meeting, protesters staged small scale demonstrations in preparation for their own effort to strike a blow against global capitalism.

Streets were barricaded in an unprecedented show of security for President Bush and the leaders of Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Russia, Italy and Canada.

The leaders planned to unveil only hours after the summit begins Friday one of the big achievements expected out of Genoa - a new global health fund to combat AIDS with an initial contribution of $1 billion from wealthy nations.

The AIDS fund will be announced after an opening lunch and early afternoon session dedicated to assessing vulnerable spots in the current global economy - a list expected to cover a U.S. economy flirting with recession, a Japanese economy probably already in a downturn and growing threats to big emerging economies such as Argentina, which is struggling to avoid defaulting on $130 billion in foreign debt.

But the Bush administration insisted that efforts in the United States to cut taxes and reduce interest rates offered the prospect of better days ahead for the global economy.

"A strong world economy requires growth from the three largest economies in the world - the United States, Europe and Japan," Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill said in a Thursday night speech in New York. "I remain optimistic that we are going to see higher growth next year, and that, as we did in 1998, the U.S. economy will lead the world back to the path of prosperity."

Several of the leaders began to express impatience with the tactics of demonstrators who have pitched battles with police at every major economic gathering since Seattle's 1999 World Trade Organization conference.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair, according to an aide, complained about "the anarchists' traveling circus, who are there solely to cause trouble and disruption."

President Bush, who earlier this week said that people are "just kind of sick" of all the protesters, said Thursday at a joint news conference with Blair that demonstrators attacking trade liberalization are "hurting poor countries."

Bush will arrive in Genoa along with most other leaders on Friday.

The demonstrations began peacefully Thursday morning with a crowd of about 1,000 mostly Iranian exiles who staged mock stoniness and hangings to protest the government of Iran. An afternoon march followed, with 25,000 participants demonstrating support for immigrants.

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, this year's host, was the first on the scene, stopping for a tour of the European Vision, the luxury liner serving as a floating hotel for all the leaders except Bush.

Anxious for the summit to reflect well on Italy, Berlusconi was deeply involved in summit preparations, even ordering a decorative screen to cover an office building that he deemed too ugly to be seen by his fellow leaders as they arrived and departed from the more attractive and historic Palazzo Ducale, the main site for the talks.

Thousands of police and military personnel from around Italy were brought in to guard a six-mile-long chain-link security fence. The area around the harbor looked like a ghost town with empty shops and nearly deserted streets.

The more militant protesters, led by Italy's Tute Bianche, or the White Overalls, have vowed to breach the security perimeter and get into the secure Red Zone. They said they would make their first attempt during Friday's opening ceremonies.

Various summit countries said they hoped to convince Bush to reverse his decision to reject the Kyoto warming treaty as fatally flawed.

"We must continue dialogue to try to convince the United States to join," said French President Jacques Chirac in an interview.

Secretary of State Colin Powell, in Rome for a meeting of the summit countries' foreign ministers, said the United States would offer a specific alternative to the Kyoto pact when a U.N. conference on the matter convenes in October.

Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi insisted his own support for the treaty has not wavered despite promises he recently made to Bush that Japan would not implement the accord without U.S. participation.

"Our position hasn't changed," he told reporters traveling with him to Genoa. "It is best to have the cooperation of the United States. Japan has a heavy responsibility, and we must do whatever we can to see that an agreement is reached."

On the issue of missile defense, German Foreign Minister Joschka Fisher said Germany opposes the Bush's efforts to scrap the 1972 Anti-ballistic Missile Treaty that imposes strict limits on deploying such systems.

"We shouldn't give up something that has proven itself without a better solution," Fisher said in an interview with German television.

-------

Hanged Effigies Kick Off Expected Wave of G8 Demos

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By REUTERS
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-group-p.html

GENOA (Reuters) - Five hanged effigies, hands bound behind their backs, hung from a crane in a Genoa square Thursday -- part of a carnival of protest planned by thousands of demonstrators to greet world leaders in the Italian city.

Around the corner, at the main train station, trains disgorged hundreds of anti-globalization activists eager to condemn the leaders of the Group of Eight nations, who are due in Genoa for a three-day summit starting Friday.

The first major protest march of the summit -- for migrants' rights -- was to begin later Thursday, winding its way through the historic city but steering clear of a central ''red zone'' sealed off to protect the G8.

Italian activist group ``Tute Bianche'' (White Overalls) has vowed to try to break into the zone, which is surrounded by concrete barriers and wire mesh fence, during protests Friday.

But police said Thursday they had barred any protests from the strategically placed Piazza Verdi, adjacent to the red zone, because a high concentration of Tute Bianche there would effectively constitute an invasion.

The zone was largely deserted Thursday except for police and a few stunned residents. One old woman with a dog plaintively asked a ``border'' guard if she could go home.

DEMONSTRATIONS BEGIN

Sporadic demonstrations were already beginning around the city -- almost devoid of traffic as many Genoese stayed home or headed out of town fearing clashes between police and demonstrators.

The hanging protest, organized by opponents of the Iranian government of President Mohammad Khatami, attracted about 1,000 demonstrators.

Below the ``bodies,'' half a dozen mock condemned people stood below a makeshift gallows in black and white prison garb.

``The toll of the Khatami government -- 950 public executions,'' read a large banner surrounded by a sea of Iranian and resistance movement flags.

Although not tied to anti-globalization protests, the organizers had their own gripe with the G8 -- the United States, Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Japan, Canada and Russia -- urging it not to back Khatami, seen in the West as a moderate.

``He is the smiling face of a repressive regime,'' one said.

The migrants' march later Thursday was expected to focus on what demonstrators say is a denial of rights by rich Western countries to immigrants from poor nations, and on the G8's perceived exploitation of the Third World.

The case is made poignantly around Genoa by a poster showing an emaciated black woman attempting to breast-feed a chubby white baby.

One migrant leader arriving in Genoa late Wednesday with a group of Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi protesters said the subcontinent had been ravaged by colonialism and was now at the mercy of the G8.

``These eight countries are responsible for our economic position,'' he said.

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Protesters Start Marching on Eve of G8 Summit

New York Times
July 19, 2001
By REUTERS
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-group-l.html

GENOA (Reuters) - Italian police guarded the steel and concrete cordon they have thrown around the center of Genoa as thousands of protesters marched peacefully on Thursday on the eve of a Group of Eight summit.

Anti-globalization demonstrators staged the first in a series of planned marches that have thrown authorities on the defensive and provoked extraordinary security measures.

``If big business and multinational companies can cross borders, so should refugees, asylum seekers and migrants,'' said Martin Empson, a member of the British Socialist Workers Party, one of the crowd estimated by police at up to 50,000-strong.

Protests against rich countries and multinational firms have disrupted a series of international gatherings over the past two years -- most recently at Gothenburg, Sweden, where major riots broke out at a European Union summit last month.

Genoa is taking no chances.

Surface-to-air missiles intended to defend against possible guerrilla attack are deployed at the city's airport, which closed to commercial traffic on Thursday.

Authorities have built a six-meter (20-foot) concrete and steel mesh barrier to separate the ``red zone'' around the summit venue from an adjacent ``yellow zone'' or buffer area.

``The way in which this summit is taking place is surreal,'' Genoa Mayor Giuseppe Pericu told a news conference, saying police had taken over the summit precautions.

``This is not our Genoa. We did not imagine the difference between the red zone and the yellow zone in such rigid and dramatic terms. This is a wound for our city.''

Summit organizers' nerves, already on edge because of the threat of violent protests, were further jangled by three parcel bombs explosions in northern Italy this week, although they caused only slight injuries.

``We think the latest (bomb) episodes lead back to anarchists,'' Italian Interior Minister Claudio Scajola said.

Two bomb alerts on Thursday, in a Genoa suburb and at the Spanish consulate in Milan, turned out to be false alarms.

Leaders of the G8 -- the United States, Japan, Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Canada and Russia -- will start their three-day meeting on Friday not only under siege from protesters but against a gloomy economic and diplomatic backdrop.

Among their chief concerns is a global economy whose three leading engines -- the United States, Europe and Japan -- are all sputtering.

NO NEW DEBT PLAN SEEN

``At present the world economy is not in a good shape. Each country will talk about what it is doing to bolster its economy,'' Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, the first G8 leader to arrive in Genoa, told reporters.

``I need to explain that we think Japan will not see economic growth without reforms.''

A senior Canadian official said the leaders would ``compare notes'' on the world economy but were unlikely to come up with a coordinated approach to combat the slowdown.

``There is no need to look at gloomy scenarios and to have deep contingency plans here for recession. That's not the way we're going,'' he told reporters.

Another G8 official said the leaders would not announce new initiatives to cancel Third World debt, despite the demands of the anti-poverty campaigners.

Instead, he said, they will focus on ways to combat AIDS by setting up a $1 billion global health fund to tackle the pandemic in many of the world's most indebted countries, notably in Africa.

As President Bush geared up for his first G8, the gulf with his European partners yawned wider than ever on the issue of global warming.

Bush provoked widespread anger in March by abandoning the 1997 Kyoto Treaty to reduce greenhouse gases, arguing it would penalize U.S. industry and damage the economy. The chief U.S. negotiator at U.N. climate talks in Bonn confirmed on Thursday that Washington would not ratify the accord.

Bush himself, on a visit to London, denied his policies were isolationist and told reporters: ``We are not retreating within our borders.''

He vowed to stand up for his views on global warming and on a planned missile defense system, designed to protect America and its allies against attack from ``rogue states.''

Russia, whose President Vladimir Putin will meet Bush for the second time in Genoa, has led opposition to the scheme which it fears could provoke a new arms race.

A U.S. official said G8 foreign ministers had not come up with any breakthrough language on missile defense at a two-day pre-summit meeting in Rome.

The United States ``is not here to sign everybody up,'' the official said. ``This is not the meeting to do that.''

The ministers urged Israel and the Palestinians to accept outside monitors to help save a U.S.-brokered truce which, after a week of bloodletting, exists in little more than name only.


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