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Digest 84, originally sent Wed Apr 28 02:36:33 1999 :
There are 7 messages in this issue.
Topics in today's digest:
1. NucNews-1-Int'l 4/26/99 - Yugo/Depleted Uranium (2); Japan-US Security Agreement; Chernobyl (3); NATO-DC Arrest
2. NucNews-0 Brief 4/26/99
3. NucNews-2 4/26/99 - Los Alamos Spy (2); Nuc Contractors; Nuc Game
4. NucNews-0 Brief 4/27/99
5. NucNews-3- 4/27/99 - Russia re NATO enviro catastrophe; Apache crash; War Powers Act; Hi-Tech Warfare; Congressman Jim Saxton (R-NJ) opposes war
6. NucNews-2 4/27/99 - Canada (3); Clinton re CTBT; Ohio-Utah Waste Train; NY Nuc Plant Sale; Chernobyl virus fails; Rocketdyne health
7. NucNews-1-Int'l 4/27/99 - Czechs/Iran; India/China; Slovakia (2); Paris/Germany; Chernobyl (2)
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Message: 1 Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 18:05:11 -0400
Subject: NucNews-1-Int'l 4/26/99 - Yugo/Depleted Uranium (2); Japan-US Security Agreement; Chernobyl (3); NATO-DC Arrest
1. Yugoslavia protests over environmental effect of bombing
Monday 26 April, 1999 Australian Broadcasting http://www.abc.net.au/news/newslink/weekly/newsnat-26apr1999-14.htm
The Yugoslav Foreign Minister, Zivadin Jovanovic, has warned the United Nations that the NATO bombing campaign is causing an ecological disaster.
In a message to the UN Secretary General, Kofi Annan, Mr Jovanovic said the destruction of chemical, oil and pharmaceutical installations had released huge quantities of hazadous substances.
He also complained at the use of depleted uranium in some NATO bombs which had been linked to leukemia and birth defects. Mr Jovanovic said peoples lives were at risk as well as the long term pollution of the air and soil, and urged Mr Annan to act.
He said thousands of Yugoslav citizens had already been forced to seek medical help.
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[More tank-busters on their way to poison the Balkans....]
2. NATO General Visits U.S. Troops
April 26, 1999, Associated Press http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-Kosovo-NATO-General.html
KUKES, Albania (AP) -- NATO commander Gen. Wesley Clark, visiting U.S. soldiers readying an Apache helicopter unit for action in Kosovo, says the air campaign against Yugoslavia is ``right on schedule.''
``We said it would be a serious and sustained effort,'' Clark said Sunday. ``We said it would progressively intensify. We've more than doubled the aircraft that are engaged. We're bringing in additional reconnaissance means and I think we're having effect.''
The general came to northern Albania, near the Kosovo border, to check on the progress of Task Force Hawk, which features U.S. Army Apaches known for their tank-killing abilities.
``I don't have a specific date as of when the Apaches will be operational, but we're on track and they won't be too long,'' he told reporters.
The deployment of the Apaches is expected to herald a new phase in NATO's air war against Serb forces in Kosovo. They are heavily armed and, with their low-flying ability, are considered to be highly effective weapons against ground targets such as Serb troops.
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3. Japan Panel OKs Security Guidelines
TOKYO (AP, April 26, 1999) http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-Japan-US-Defense.html Associated Press
North Korean ballistic missiles. A military buildup in China. Economic crisis and social unrest.
After years of talks and a month of legislative debate, Japan is about to deliver its answer to growing security threats in Asia: new defense guidelines to tighten Tokyo's military alliance with the United States.
A legislative committee approved most of the guideline package late Monday, and the powerful lower house of Parliament was to vote on Tuesday. The upper house will take a largely symbolic vote in May.
The moves come just in time for Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, who was eager to wrap up the security agreement before leaving on Thursday for a May 3 summit with President Clinton.
``The government is very pleased,'' Kyodo News agency quoted Obuchi as saying of a compromise struck Sunday night that paved the way for approval of the pact.
The new guidelines, the first update of the U.S.-Japan military alliance since 1978, expand the role that Japanese forces will play in assisting U.S. fighters in Asia.
The pact will give America access to Japanese logistical expertise and civilian installations for defense of Japan and -- for the first time -- in support of U.S. missions in the region.
The Japanese will help with technical support, search and rescue, minesweeping and evacuations, while the United States will continue the role of providing military hardware and fighting forces.
But the guideline package now moving through Parliament is missing an important chunk: provisions allowing Japanese forces to inspect foreign ships to enforce economic sanctions.
That measure will be dealt with in separate legislation as part of an agreement struck between the ruling Liberal Democrats, the Liberals and the smaller New Komeito party.
The guidelines were set down in a Tokyo-Washington accord in 1997, despite opposition from groups in Japan who fear a widened security role would violate a clause in the constitution barring Japanese forces from offensive military action.
So far the government has been able to overcome much of that opposition -- with the help of growing security threats in Asia.
North Korea's firing last August of a missile over northern Japan shocked Tokyo and bolstered the arguments of proponents of new guidelines. Asia's economic crisis has also raised the threat of greater instability in the region. Japanese defense planners have specified China's military buildup as a top security concern.
The guidelines are part of growing military cooperation with the United States. Washington and Tokyo, for example, have agreed to jointly research a missile defense system. Japan has approved funding for a spy satellite network as well.
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4. Ukraine Halts Animal Program
April 26, 1999, Associated Press http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-Chernobyl-Animals.html
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Ukraine has suspended a controversial program to settle wild horses, bears, deer and other animals in overgrown forests in the evacuated zone surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
The animals were to be brought into the 19-mile-radius ``exclusion zone'' to eat dry grasses to reduce the chance of forest fires that could disturb soil containing radiation and send up contaminated smoke.
Opponents said the program is not feasible and a waste of money, prompting the government to rethink the idea.
The exclusion zone was established after Chernobyl's reactor No. 4 exploded 13 years ago today, on April 26, 1986, in the world's worst nuclear accident. Towns and villages inside the zone were evacuated, although more than 600 people have since returned to their homes.
Forests, considered to be good protection against radiation, cover about 50 percent of the zone's territory. However, they suffer frequent fires, especially during the hot and often dry Ukrainian summer.
Most biologists agree there is no danger of radiation-related mutations among the imported animals, but opponents of the program have argued that their arrival may disrupt the ecological balance of local animals in the zone.
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5. Chernobyl's Messy Legacy Lingers
April 26, 1999, Associated Press http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-Ukraine-Chernobyl.html
KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Chernobyl radiation victims are still praying for better treatment. The leaky concrete-and-steel shelter covering the ruined reactor still needs repairs. And Ukraine says the plant won't be closed unless the West gives it $1.2 billion for two new reactors.
On the 13th anniversary of the world's worst nuclear accident, a grim legacy lingers from the explosion and fire at reactor No. 4 of Chernobyl's atomic power plant.
The accident -- on April 26, 1986 -- sent a radioactive cloud over much of Europe and contaminated large areas in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. The government now says 4,365 of those who took part in the hasty and poorly organized Soviet cleanup have died due to the disaster, and more than 70,000 Ukrainians are considered fully disabled by it.
At first, the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1991 provided hope for victims, offering promise that better treatment would be made available, that the protective cover would be made environmentally sound, and that an independent Ukraine would close the plant for good.
Years later, those hopes have been unfulfilled.
Ukraine has a terrible health legacy and scant finances to cope. Nearly 400,000 adults and 1.1 million children are entitled to government aid for Chernobyl-related health problems.
Yuriy Shcherbak, a medic who wrote a book on Chernobyl and later served as Ukraine's ambassador in the United States, said the anniversary today brought him a sad feeling of continuity.
``As an undefeatable evil ... Chernobyl will continue to exist for an indefinite period of time, posing ever new problems for mankind,'' he said.
Urged by the West, Ukraine pledged to shut down the plant by 2000. Now it seems unlikely that pledge will be carried out.
Last week, President Leonid Kuchma said it flat out: Chernobyl will continue to operate until the West provides Ukraine with the estimated $1.2 billion necessary to complete two new nuclear reactors to compensate for the loss of the electricity Chernobyl provides.
The Group of Seven richest nations promised aid in 1995 to help Ukraine close Chernobyl, but the nation, strapped for energy and cash, has complained that the money has been slow in coming.
Kuchma says the G-7 also should help Ukraine build nuclear waste depositories and compensate the 6,200 Chernobyl employees who will lose their jobs.
Ukraine's arguments seem to be linked more to its desperate financial position than on energy problems.
The nation is heavily dependent on its five nuclear plants -- but of its 14 working reactors, only one is at Chernobyl.
The plant once had four reactors and plans for more. After the accident, reactor No. 4 was out of action. Another of the plant's Soviet-made reactors has been inactive since a 1991 fire and a third was stopped in 1996.
The working reactor, No. 3, has its own troubles. It underwent repairs for nearly three months and was restarted in March, only to suffer a daylong shutdown over a turbine generator malfunction later that month.
Work is slow on making the shelter over the exploded reactor environmentally safe, although international donors have pledged $400 million. Safety concerns also have delayed construction.
That work ``might take 50 and even 100 years,'' according to Shcherbak, who is Ukraine's coordinator at Chernobyl talks with the G-7.
The Ukrainian government says it is increasingly unable to bear the long-term costs of the disaster after spending $5.7 billion to deal with its consequences during Soviet times and more than $4 billion from 1992-97.
With Ukraine's economy declining since the Soviet collapse, state funding covered only an average 51.6 percent of Chernobyl relief needs from 1996-98. This year's budget allocation of $443 million is only a third of what is needed, according to Emergency Situations Minister Vasyl Durdynets.
In neighboring Belarus on Sunday, 7,000 protesters marched through the capital of Minsk demanding more attention for accident victims.
In eastern France, 400 people gathered Sunday near a nuclear reactor in Thionville to mark the Chernobyl anniversary and protest France's heavy reliance on atomic energy.
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6. Belarusians Recall Nuke Disaster
April 25, 1999, New York Times / Associated Press http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-Chernobyl-Protests.html ALSO: Chernobyl remembered USA Today, April 26, 1999 http://usatoday.com/news/world/nw1.htm
MINSK, Belarus (AP) -- Thousands of Belarusians rallied peacefully Sunday to mark the 13th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident and protest against government policies.
The explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear plant on April 26, 1986, in neighboring Ukraine -- the world's worst nuclear accident -- spewed radiation across parts of Europe. A substantial chunk of the contamination fell on Belarus.
About 7,000 protesters marched through the Belarusian capital of Minsk on Sunday carrying red-and-white nationalist flags and banners calling for more attention to the lingering consequences of the accident.
The cash-strapped former Soviet republic has struggled to pay for cleanup and health care for fallout victims.
In eastern France, 400 people gathered Sunday near a nuclear reactor in Thionville to mark the anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident and protest France's heavy reliance on atomic energy.
The protesters, chanting ``End nuclear power!'' unrolled a single banner along two miles of a rail line used to transport nuclear waste from Germany to France's nuclear processing plant in Normandy.
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7. Letter to the Editor,
April 26, 1999 Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm
Re: "In the End, NATO Weekend Was Lots of Talk, Little Action," By Peter Slevin, April 26, 1999 Washington Post, got at least one detail wrong. "Fifty years of NATO. Three days of summitry. Two White House dinners. One communique. Zero arrests," Mr. Slevin wrote. Either he didn't do his homework, or the U.S. Park Police and Secret Service misinformed him. One man WAS arrested - [William Thomas, the founder of the 18-year antinuclear vigil outside the White House] - standing up for freedom and against the bombing. See http://prop1.org/parkcurr.htm. Ellen Thomas
ALSO: From: Mike Flugennock <flugennock@sinkers.org> Subject: "De-nuke NATO" demonstration Web report online, finally! http://www.sinkers.org/natonuke-demoApr2399
Contains fotos and video clips of the April 23, 1999 Citizens' Summit Rally at the Mall, featuring Daniel Ellsberg, Sam Smith, the Washington Action Group Players, and a brand-new performance of the classic "Fixin' to Die Rag" with updated verses by Country Joe MacDonald himself....
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- First of Two messages - ______________________
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Message: 2 Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 18:05:21 -0400
Subject: NucNews-0 Brief 4/26/99
[Please address replies to the original publisher (with a copy to us). Your help in refuting false information appreciated!]
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NucNews-1-Int'l 4/26/99 - Yugo/Depleted Uranium (2); Japan-US Security Agreement; Chernobyl (3); NATO-DC Arrest NucNews-2 4/26/99 - Los Alamos Spy (2); Nuc Contractors; Nuc Game
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1. Yugoslavia protests over environmental effect of bombing Monday 26 April, 1999 Australian Broadcasting http://www.abc.net.au/news/newslink/weekly/newsnat-26apr1999-14.htm The Yugoslav Foreign Minister, Zivadin Jovanovic, has warned the United Nations that the NATO bombing campaign is causing an ecological disaster. He also complained at the use of depleted uranium in some NATO bombs which had been linked to leukemia and birth defects....
[More tank-busters on their way to poison the Balkans....]
2. NATO General Visits U.S. Troops April 26, 1999, Associated Press http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-Kosovo-NATO-General.html KUKES, Albania (AP) -- NATO commander Gen. Wesley Clark, visiting U.S. soldiers readying an Apache helicopter unit for action in Kosovo, says the air campaign against Yugoslavia is ``right on schedule.''
3. Japan Panel OKs Security Guidelines TOKYO (AP, April 26, 1999) http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-Japan-US-Defense.html Associated Press North Korean ballistic missiles. A military buildup in China. Economic crisis and social unrest. After years of talks and a month of legislative debate, Japan is about to deliver its answer to growing security threats in Asia: new defense guidelines to tighten Tokyo's military alliance with the United States.
4. Ukraine Halts Animal Program April 26, 1999, Associated Press http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-Chernobyl-Animals.html KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Ukraine has suspended a controversial program to settle wild horses, bears, deer and other animals in overgrown forests in the evacuated zone surrounding the Chernobyl nuclear plant.
5. Chernobyl's Messy Legacy Lingers April 26, 1999, Associated Press http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-Ukraine-Chernobyl.html KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -- Chernobyl radiation victims are still praying for better treatment. The leaky concrete-and-steel shelter covering the ruined reactor still needs repairs. And Ukraine says the plant won't be closed unless the West gives it $1.2 billion for two new reactors.
6. Belarusians Recall Nuke Disaster April 25, 1999, New York Times / Associated Press http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-Chernobyl-Protests.html MINSK, Belarus (AP) -- Thousands of Belarusians rallied peacefully Sunday to mark the 13th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident and protest against government policies. ALSO: Chernobyl remembered USA Today, April 26, 1999 http://usatoday.com/news/world/nw1.htm
7. Letter to the Editor, April 26, 1999 Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/edit/letters/letterform.htm Re: "In the End, NATO Weekend Was Lots of Talk, Little Action," By Peter Slevin, April 26, 1999 Washington Post, got at least one detail wrong. "Fifty years of NATO. Three days of summitry. Two White House dinners. One communique. Zero arrests," Mr. Slevin wrote. Either he didn't do his homework, or the U.S. Park Police and Secret Service misinformed him. One man WAS arrested - [William Thomas, the founder of the 18-year antinuclear vigil outside the White House] - standing up for freedom and against the bombing. See http://prop1.org/parkcurr.htm. Ellen Thomas ALSO: From: Mike Flugennock <flugennock@sinkers.org> Subject: "De-nuke NATO" demonstration Web report online, finally! http://www.sinkers.org/natonuke-demoApr2399 Contains fotos and video clips of the April 23, 1999 Citizens' Summit Rally at the Mall, featuring Daniel Ellsberg, Sam Smith, the Washington Action Group Players, and a brand-new performance of the classic "Fixin' to Die Rag" with updated verses by Country Joe MacDonald himself:
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8. FBI Aided by Los Alamos Scientist's Wife Before Spying Probe, Sylvia Lee Supplied Data on Chinese Visitors By Walter Pincus Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, April 26, 1999; Page A04 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-04/26/046l-042699-idx.html ALSO: China Spy Suspect's Wife Was FBI Informant-Reports Reuters, April 26, 1999 http://www.webcrawler.com/news/r/990426/00/news-nuclear-china-wife The FBI used as an informant the wife of a then-Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist now under investigation for allegedly giving classified nuclear weapons information to China.
9. Doubt Removed About China Having U.S. Nuclear Secrets BY JOHN OMICINSKI, GANNETT NEWS SERVICE, April 25, 1999 Salt Lake Tribune http://www.sltrib.com/1999/apr/04251999/nation_w/100626.htm WASHINGTON -- Top U.S. intelligence officials have no doubts China got key design secrets about the Pentagon's best nuclear warhead and its neutron bomb.
[Three of the Washington DC area's top 100 companies admit to being suppliers for nuclear industries (General Dynamics, USEC, GTS Duratek). A couple of others are big defense contractors (Lockheed-Martin, Allied Research). Their descriptions included here.]
10. THE WASHINGTON POST'S TOP 200 COMPANIES Monday, April 26, 1999; Page F16 http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-04/26/145l-042699-idx.html
[This is a new video game. Pretty brazen, with teens shooting up Colorado.]
11. Nuclear Strike Hits N64 GameSpot News Apri 23, 1999 http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99_04/23_vg_nucstri/index.html Nintendo posted details regarding THQ's port of the newest addition to Electronic Arts' Strike series, Nuclear Strike. The game, being developed by Pacific Power & Light, will put you in 15 different vehicles, including choppers, jets, tanks, and hovercrafts....
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Message: 3 Date: Mon, 26 Apr 1999 18:04:59 -0400
Subject: NucNews-2 4/26/99 - Los Alamos Spy (2); Nuc Contractors; Nuc Game
8. FBI Aided by Los Alamos Scientist's Wife Before Spying Probe, Sylvia Lee Supplied Data on Chinese Visitors
By Walter Pincus Washington Post Staff Writer Monday, April 26, 1999; Page A04 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-04/26/046l-042699-idx.html ALSO: China Spy Suspect's Wife Was FBI Informant-Reports Reuters, April 26, 1999 http://www.webcrawler.com/news/r/990426/00/news-nuclear-china-wife
The FBI used as an informant the wife of a then-Los Alamos National Laboratory scientist now under investigation for allegedly giving classified nuclear weapons information to China.
Sylvia Lee, who worked at Los Alamos in an administrative position and helped arrange tours for visiting Chinese delegations, was used as an "informational asset" by the FBI from 1985 to 1991, sources said yesterday. That meant she volunteered what she considered useful information about Chinese visitors but was not given assignments by the FBI, intelligence sources said. Her relationship with the FBI ended, the sources said, because the data she provided was no longer considered useful.
When the investigation of her husband, Wen Ho Lee, was begun in 1995, sources said, the FBI agents running the case were aware of Sylvia Lee's former bureau relationship. The FBI has assured itself since that "as far as is known" Sylvia Lee was not a double agent, according to a source familiar with the inquiry.
Legislators, who recently learned of Sylvia Lee's FBI role, have questions about the thoroughness and speed of the bureau investigation into Chinese spying on U.S. nuclear laboratories. The Senate and House intelligence committees plan to question FBI Director Louis J. Freeh about whether Sylvia Lee's bureau relationship caused any delay in the inquiry, congressional sources said. Her FBI relationship was first reported in this week's issue of Newsweek magazine.
The FBI inquiry into lax security at U.S. nuclear laboratories began in early 1996, after the Energy Department and intelligence agencies determined that a Chinese military document the CIA had obtained a year earlier contained classified data about the size and shape of the newest miniaturized nuclear weapon. Wen Ho Lee was a primary focus of the FBI inquiry because he was thought to have access to the information involved and had traveled to China in 1988, the year the data appeared in the Chinese document.
Sylvia Lee's close relationship and popularity with Chinese scientists led the Beijing government to invite her and her husband to take part in a 1980s conference in China. Sylvia Lee was asked to speak even though she was not a scientist. Los Alamos officials provided her with a videotape as her presentation "because the lab was anxious to have her go there," one intelligence source said.
However, some Energy officials and congressional investigators, unaware of Sylvia Lee's FBI connection, have cited the trip and speech as among the reasons Wen Ho Lee became a suspect. Sylvia Lee retired several years ago. Her husband was fired in March after being charged with security violations and failure to report the substance of meetings with Chinese scientists overseas. His lawyer has said Lee did not give any classified information to China.
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9. Doubt Removed About China Having U.S. Nuclear Secrets
BY JOHN OMICINSKI, GANNETT NEWS SERVICE, April 25, 1999 Salt Lake Tribune http://www.sltrib.com/1999/apr/04251999/nation_w/100626.htm
WASHINGTON -- Top U.S. intelligence officials have no doubts China got key design secrets about the Pentagon's best nuclear warhead and its neutron bomb.
After months of finger-pointing between administration Democrats and congressional Republicans, the unclassified version of an official damage assessment report concludes China got "at least basic design information on several modern U.S. nuclear . . . vehicles, including the . . . W-88" warhead.
What really hurts, said senior officials, is that security lapses like the loss of the W-88 design are more costly now because U.S. technology is no longer miles ahead of the rest of the world. "Decreases in research efforts have diminished the [U.S.] protective edge," said the report, " . . . making such losses much more significant in today's world."
China apparently scored its espionage coup in the 1980s, but it wasn't discovered until 1995. After that, there is disagreement between 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. and Capitol Hill about how energetically the administration pursued the matter.
Whatever the pace of the pursuit, the intelligence panel was certain that it was a major loss, allowing Beijing's scientists to focus on "critical paths" of nuclear development and ignore others.
As nuclear weapons go, the W-88 is an extremely valuable piece of machinery.
It fits into the nose of the submarine-launched Trident missiles that are a key to U.S. world power.
As a result of China's spying, modern warheads based on U.S. designs are likely to start showing up on Chinese intercontinental ballistic missiles within years, said the damage report. The espionage, it said, has "probably accelerated its program to develop future nuclear weapons."
What remains unclear, according to the damage assessment report, is whether China got the secrets solely through espionage, through contacts with U.S. scientists, or through declassified information.
The nuclear information obtained by Beijing's scientists included the design of the best and smallest American warhead -- the W-88 -- and of the neutron bomb. Neutron waves kill people while leaving structures in place.
U.S. officials have suspended Taiwan-born Wen Ho Lee, a scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory where the W-88 is made. He has not been charged with a crime.
The realization that China had gained possession of the W-88 came in 1995 when "a source" gave U.S. intelligence officials a Chinese document. Some of the information in that document, said officials, could have been obtained "only by espionage."
Intelligence officials are not sure, they said, whether the Chinese got actual blueprints or design sketches.
Robert Walpole, national intelligence officer for strategic and nuclear programs, oversaw the damage assessment on the loss of the W-88 data, pulled together from a dozen U.S. agencies. Retired Adm. David Jeremiah and former Air Force Gen. Brent Scowcroft, President George Bush's national security adviser, headed a panel that reviewed the Walpole committee's work.
The Walpole report was sharply critical of the U.S. intelligence community for "having too little depth," saying its "technical and language expertise has eroded."
The United States is working on no new warhead designs, top U.S. scientists said, devoting most of its weapons research to figuring out how to extend the useful life of current warheads.
Los Alamos National Labs director John Browne told reporters Thursday that nuclear scientists are not certain how long a nuclear warhead is usable. It may be 15 or 20 years or less, he said. Over time, he said, the radioactive plutonium "pit," or core, of the warhead acts to break down surrounding materials in the plastic high-energy explosives that trigger the nuclear reaction.
"One of the pressures is to develop something [new] without testing it," said Browne.
U.S. scientists agreed that it is not certain whether China's science is sophisticated enough to build a W-88 warhead. "Significant deficiencies remain in the Chinese weapons program," said the report.
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[Three of the Washington DC area's top 100 companies admit here to being suppliers for nuclear industries. A couple of others are big defense contractors.]
10. THE WASHINGTON POST'S TOP 200 COMPANIES
Monday, April 26, 1999; Page F16 http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-04/26/145l-042699-idx.html ... (#2) Lockheed Martin Corp. 6801 Rockledge Dr. Bethesda, Md. 20817 301-897-6000 http://www.lmco.com
FOUNDED: 1995 FISCAL YEAR: Dec. 31 REVENUE: $26.27 billion PROFIT: $1.00 billion EARNINGS PER SHARE: $2.63 DIVIDEND: 82 cents STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY: $6.14 billion RETURN ON EQUITY: 22 percent STOCK: LMT (NYSE) ASSETS: $28.74 billion MARKET CAPITALIZATION: $17.04 billion 52-WEEK HIGH: $58.50 (4/23/98) 52-WEEK LOW: $34.62 1/2 (1/29/99)
CHAIRMAN: Vance Coffman (CEO) PRESIDENT: Peter B. Teets EMPLOYEES: 165,000 LOCAL EMPLOYEES: 9,500
DESCRIPTION: Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin is the country's largest defense contractor. Its products include the F-16 and F-22 fighter jets, the Titan rocket and the Aegis combat system for Navy ships. The company also is a principal contractor to NASA and provides information technology services for state governments and private customers, running telecommunications and computer networks for large users.
DEVELOPMENTS: Lockheed Martin began the year on a sour note, reporting 1998 earnings 23 percent below those reported a year earlier. For a company whose executives like to boast of "mission success," there were a number of glaring miscues, not the least of which was misleading Wall Street analysts about how the company was performing.
If there is one goal for Lockheed this year, it is to restore credibility with shareholders. Chairman Vance Coffman implored managers at the company's annual executive meeting to "roll up our sleeves . . . and go to work."
That will mean less emphasis on acquisitions -- which have dominated the past six years -- except for completing the planned $2.7 billion purchase of satellite services company Comsat Corp. It also means intense focus on improving relations with the Defense Department, which have become strained over cost overruns and the alleged arrogance of Lockheed program managers.
And it means trying to find creative ways to increase the financial returns at the company's space and missile systems unit, as well as its commercial information technology businesses.
Other top goals for the year include completing a $5 billion deal to sell F-16 fighters to the United Arab Emirates -- which is stalled over the type of electronics the plane will carry -- and successfully testing an antimissile weapon. Lockheed also will closely monitor development of the F-22 fighter, whose cost has some in Congress concerned, as well as its design work on the Joint Strike Fighter. The company also hopes to mount a major push with its Global Telecommunications subsidiary, formed in 1998 to chase the rapidly expanding market for corporate data networks.
Company President Peter B. Teets will lead the effort to reduce overhead and improve profit margins through budget-cutting and some layoffs. Last month, the company announced plans to lay off 1,200 workers at its Denver astronautics division.
The overall plan, insiders say, is for the company to focus on the "blocking and tackling" of business rather than some of the more glamorous technological and strategic moves the company made in the early 1990s when it was the leading consolidator of the industry....
(#8) General Dynamics Corp. 3190 Fairview Park Dr. Falls Church, Va. 22042 703-876-3000 http://www.generaldynamics.com
FOUNDED: 1952 FISCAL YEAR: Dec. 31 REVENUE: $4.97 billion PROFIT: $364.0 million EARNINGS PER SHARE: $2.86 DIVIDEND: 96 cents STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY: $2.22 billion RETURN ON EQUITY: 19 percent STOCK: GD (NYSE) ASSETS: $4.57 billion MARKET CAPITALIZATION: $8.85 billion 52-WEEK HIGH: $71 (4/14/99) 52-WEEK LOW: $40.25 (4/27/98)
CHAIRMAN: Nicholas D. Chabraja (CEO) PRESIDENT: James E. Turner Jr. EMPLOYEES: 31,000 LOCAL EMPLOYEES: 140
DESCRIPTION: General Dynamics is a defense contractor, whose Electric Boat subsidiary is the primary supplier of nuclear-powered submarines to the Navy. Its Bath Iron Works unit builds Navy destroyers. The company also makes tanks and armored vehicles for the Army and the Marines as well as for some foreign militaries.
DEVELOPMENTS: General Dynamics Chairman and chief executive Nicholas D. Chabraja has a reputation in the defense industry for making smart acquisitions, picking up niche players in the defense industry at bargain prices.
In February, Chabraja showed he also relishes playing the role of spoiler. He made a surprise, unsolicited bid for Newport News Shipbuilding Inc. as Newport News was close to acquiring rival shipyard Avondale Industries Inc. The General Dynamics-Newport News deal ultimately was rejected by the Department of Defense, and General Dynamics withdrew its bid earlier this month.
Avoiding conventional industry behavior has long been a General Dynamics hallmark, and this year should be no different. Although Chabraja was unsuccessful in acquiring Newport News for $2 billion in cash and assumed debt, he roiled the country's $6 billion-plus naval shipbuilding industry, and analysts expect he'll try another defense industry deal.
Meanwhile, the company's core business -- building nuclear-powered submarines for the Navy and tanks and armored vehicles for the Army and Marines -- is on track. General Dynamics has a strong balance sheet and the respect of Wall Street, and is still awaiting payment on its share of a $1.8 billion award stemming from the 1991 cancellation of the A-12 aircraft. The case is on appeal, but General Dynamics so far has won at every step....
(#23) USEC Inc. 6903 Rockledge Dr. Bethesda, Md. 20817 301-564-3200 http://www.usec.com
FOUNDED: 1998 FISCAL YEAR: June 30 REVENUE: $1.42 billion PROFIT: $68.4 million EARNINGS PER SHARE: 68 cents DIVIDEND: $1.10 STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY: $2.42 billion RETURN ON EQUITY: NA STOCK: USU (NYSE) ASSETS: $3.47 billion MARKET CAPITALIZATION: $1.37 billion 52-WEEK HIGH: $16.31 1/4 (9/11/98) 52-WEEK LOW: $12.81 1/4 (4/12/99)
CHAIRMAN: James R. Mellor PRESIDENT: William H. Timbers Jr. (CEO) EMPLOYEES: 5,000 LOCAL EMPLOYEES: 145
DESCRIPTION: USEC Inc. is the world's leading seller of uranium enrichment services to commercial nuclear power plants. Among its businesses is the megatons to megawatts program, which converts uranium from decommissioned Russian nuclear warheads into fuel sold to nuclear power plant customers, including Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. The company supplies about three-fourths of the domestic market and one-third of the world market for uranium enrichment services.
DEVELOPMENTS: USEC began as a federal corporation in 1993, created by Congress to take over the government's uranium enrichment activities and to prepare it for privatization. In July 1998, the company went public, with shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Since then, its stock has hovered near its initial public offering price of just over $14, while paying a 7.5 percent dividend.
The company has been working to reduce its costs by taking operating control of its two plants, which have so far been run under contract with Lockheed Martin Corp. of Bethesda. The company also began renegotiating its power contracts -- USEC is an enormous consumer of electricity -- and renegotiated its $500 million bank debt to gain better terms....
(#75
GTS Duratek Inc. 10100 Old Columbia Rd. Columbia, Md. 21046 410-312-5100 http://www.gtsduratek.com
FOUNDED: 1983 FISCAL YEAR: Dec. 31 REVENUE: $160.3 million LOSS: $3.9 million LOSS PER SHARE: 30 cents DIVIDEND: None STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY: $55.0 million RETURN ON EQUITY: NA STOCK: DRTK (Nasdaq) ASSETS: $128.5 million MARKET CAPITALIZATION: $80.1 million 52-WEEK HIGH: $12.75 (5/26/98) 52-WEEK LOW: $3.87 1/2 (10/8/98)
CHAIRMAN: Daniel A. D'Aniello PRESIDENT: Robert E. Prince (CEO) EMPLOYEES: 1,300 LOCAL EMPLOYEES: 110
DESCRIPTION: GTS Duratek's goal is to turn nuclear waste into profit. Using a proprietary technology, the company removes waste from nuclear power plants and weapons production facilities, often by turning the waste into glass. The company's main customers are the Department of Energy and nuclear power plant operators.
DEVELOPMENTS: GTS was awarded some large and lucrative contracts in 1998. In September, the company won 10 percent of a $250 million project to clean up the Hanford facility, a former nuclear weapons plant in Washington state. That same month, GTS inked a $25 million deal to package and sort waste as part of the decommissioning of the Big Rock Point Nuclear Power Station in Michigan.
Yet GTS stock has lost roughly half its value in the past 12 months, closing Friday at $5.87 1/2. The troubles started in July, when the company announced that a customer, Maine Yankee, decided not to cover GTS's cost overruns for a cleanup project. Making matters worse, the company shifted earnings from another project that were originally slated to be booked in the second quarter to the third and fourth quarters. Then the company had to write off a $9.3 million plant in South Carolina when additional business failed to materialize....
(#78
Allied Research Corp. 8000 Towers Crescent Dr., Suite 750 Vienna, Va. 22182 703-847-5268 http://www.cfonews.com/alr
FOUNDED: 1962 FISCAL YEAR: Dec. 31 REVENUE: $145.4 million PROFIT: $9.1 million EARNINGS PER SHARE: $1.90 DIVIDEND: None STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY: $50.0 million RETURN ON EQUITY: 25 percent STOCK: ALR (Amex) ASSETS: $113.1 million MARKET CAPITALIZATION: $32.7 million 52-WEEK HIGH: $13.06 1/4 (5/22/98) 52-WEEK LOW: $6 (10/7/98)
CHAIRMAN: J. R. Sculley (CEO) PRESIDENT: William Glenn Yarborough Jr. EMPLOYEES: 431 LOCAL EMPLOYEES: 6
DESCRIPTION: Allied Research is a weapons and munitions developer and manufacturer that supplies equipment for defense departments worldwide. It also designs, produces and markets sophisticated electronic security and access-control systems for government and private sector clients.
DEVELOPMENTS: The company increased earnings slightly in 1998, in part because of a favorable tax ruling affecting a former London subsidiary, which saved the company $795,000.
Although earnings without that tax break would have been less impressive, the company's cost-cutting and diversification have maintained profits -- so much so that Fortune magazine named Allied the 38th fastest growing company in the nation last year, based on earnings per share over the past three years. In October, the firm announced plans to buy as many as 200,000 of its 4.7 million outstanding shares.
Meanwhile, low oil prices and stability in the Middle East have depressed demand for munitions by the region's governments, which are Allied's primary clients.
As part of its continuing cost-cutting, Allied plans to move its corporate headquarters from Vienna this year, but will likely stay in the region.
----------------------
[This is a new game. Pretty brazen, with teens shooting up Colorado.]
11. Nuclear Strike Hits N64
GameSpot News Apri 23, 1999 http://headline.gamespot.com/news/99_04/23_vg_nucstri/index.html
Nintendo posted details regarding THQ's port of the newest addition to Electronic Arts' Strike series, Nuclear Strike. The game, being developed by Pacific Power & Light, will put you in 15 different vehicles, including choppers, jets, tanks, and hovercrafts. As you did in its PlayStation counterpart, you'll be chasing terrorists all over the place, so expect to see several different environments in the game.
The N64 version will use real-time light sourcing in its explosions that, if used properly, should help improve the overall graphics quite a bit. For big war fans, you'll even try to avert World War III on the N64 this winter.
By Jeff Gerstmann, videogames.com
----------------------
[I bring this up because I've been noticing similar news nuggets nearly every day. Iraq is in the far news background now. Does anyone know what this "being threatened by Iraqi radar" means? Seems to me these American pilots might have an itchy trigger-finger.]
U.S. planes strike Iraq
USA Today, April 26, 1999 http://usatoday.com/news/world/nw1.htm
ANKARA, Turkey - U.S. warplanes struck Iraqi air defense sites Sunday in the northern ''no-fly zone" after being threatened by Iraqi radar, the U.S. military said. Air Force F-16s dropped laser-guided bombs and launched an anti-radar missile at sites south and northeast of Mosul. All planes left the area safely, the statement said, adding that damage to Iraqi forces was being assessed. U.S. and British planes have been patrolling the northern no-fly zone and another zone in the south since the 1991 Gulf War. The Iraqi government, which does not recognize the zones, has been challenging planes there since December.
----------------------
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Message: 4 Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 19:17:51 -0400
Subject: NucNews-0 Brief 4/27/99
[Please address replies to the original publisher (with a copy to us). Your help in refuting false information appreciated!]
-------------------------
NucNews-1-Int'l 4/27/99 - Czechs/Iran; India/China; Slovakia (2); Paris/Germany; Chernobyl (2) NucNews-2-US 4/27/99 - Canada (3); Clinton re CTBT; Ohio-Utah Waste Train; NY Nuc Plant Sale; Chernobyl virus fails; Rocketdyne health NucNews-3- 4/27/99 - Russia re NATO enviro catastrophe; Apache crash; War Powers Act; Hi-Tech Warfare; Congressman Jim Saxton (R-NJ) opposes war
---(1)
1. Czechs warned to reject nuclear deals with Iran By Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES, April 27, 1999 http://www.washtimes.com/news/news3.html#link The State Department has lodged several protests with the Czech Republic over the new NATO member's nuclear dealings with Iran, The Washington Times has learned.
[The next few articles come from a word search on the Reuters search engine "Dogpile" (http://www.dogpile.com/) - I've been advised that the long URL's from these searches don't work, so I suggest if you want to look up these articles you go simply to http://www.dogpile.com/ and search for the article or do a broader search (as I do) for "nuclear OR plutonium OR uranium OR radioactiv???"]
2. India, China hold talks on security issues Apr 26, 1999 Reuters http://www.dogpile.com/ NEW DELHI - India and China began talks on security and nuclear disarmament issues on Monday, an Indian foreign ministry said.
3. Slovakia says nuclear reactor to stay on line Apr 26, 1999 (Reuters) http://www.dogpile.com/ BRATISLAVA - The Slovak government plans to keep at least one reactor on line at its controversial Jaslovske Bohunice nuclear power station for the foreseeable future, an adviser to the deputy prime minister said on Monday.
4. Greenpeace slams Slovak nuclear decision Apr 26, 1999 (Reuters) http://www.dogpile.com/ BRUSSELS, == - Environmental group Greenpeace on Monday attacked Slovakia's decision not to close a controversial Soviet-designed nuclear reactor, calling the move a ``provocative challenge'' to the European Union.
5. Paris presses Germany on nuclear waste shipments Apr 26, 1999 (Reuters) http://www.dogpile.com/ PARIS, April 26 (Reuters) - France said on Monday it was growing impatient over Germany's failure to set a date for rail shipments of nuclear materials to resume between German nuclear power plants and its Cogema reprocessing plant.
6. Ukraine marks 13th Chernobyl anniversary Apr 26, 1999, By Dmitry Solovyov (Reuters) http://www.dogpile.com/ PRIPYAT, Ukraine - Stray dogs and crows are the only living creatures left in Pripyat, once a bustling settlement of nuclear energy workers in northern Ukraine but now a ghost town.
7. Chernobyl survivors mark disaster 13 years on Apr 25, 1999 Reuters, By Christina Ling http://www.dogpile.com/ KIEV, April 25 (Reuters) - Thousands of survivors of the 1986 explosion at Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant mourned their dead on Sunday, on the eve of the tragedy's 13th anniversary.
---(2)
8. Canada accepting radioactive danger with old warheads, groups warn Apr 27, 1999 Canadian Broadcasting http://www.cbcnews.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/1999/04/27/pluton ium990427 OTTAWA - Ottawa's plan to import weapons-grade plutonium for use in nuclear reactors is facing more opposition.
9. Firefighters seek moratorium on plutonium fuel shipments By DENNIS BUECKERT -- The Canadian Press, April 26, 1999 http://www.canoe.com/TopStories/plutonium_apr26.html OTTAWA (CP) -- Firefighters are calling for a moratorium on the shipment of plutonium fuel into Canada until the government sets up a computer system to help them deal with possible spills and accidents.
10. Energy company upholds safety of test nuclear fuel Apr 26, 1999 Canadian Broadcasting http://www.cbcnews.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/1999/04/26/nukes9 90426 HALIFAX - The nuclear fuel that may be coming to Canada is less radioactive than material used every day for treating cancer patients, says the company making the proposal.
11. Text of Clinton Letter on Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty To: National Desk Contact: White House Press Office, 202-456-2100 WASHINGTON, April 26 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released today by the White House: http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/Current_Releases/0426-132.htm
12. Trains carrying contaminated soil from Ohio to Utah Ohio Business Journal, April 26, 1999 http://www.ohio.com/bj/news/ohio/docs/028988.htm CINCINNATI (AP) -- The first trainload of radioactive contaminated soil left the U.S. Department of Energy's Fernald cleanup site Monday for a commercial disposal facility in Utah, federal officials said.
13. Nuclear plant sale makes sense for utility and its customers [Niagara Mohawk, NY] Albany, NY Capital District Business Review, April 26, 1999 http://www.amcity.com/albany/stories/1999/04/26/editorial5.html To the Editor: Given the impact of the Nine Mile Point nuclear plants on our upstate region, it's understandable that some are concerned about our announced intent to sell the plants.
14. Chernobyl computer virus fails to radiate By William Glanz THE WASHINGTON TIMES, April 27, 1999 http://www.washtimes.com/business/business2.html This time Chernobyl wasn't a disaster, and Melissa was a blessing in disguise. The computer virus named after the 1986 nuclear accident did infect some personal computers yesterday, but damage was limited, computer-security experts said.
15. Study Urged on Danger of Lab to Neighbors Health: On heels of probe into effect on workers, Mikels calls for investigation into possible hazards posed to people living near Rocketdyne facility. By GARY POLAKOVIC, April 21, 1999 Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/CNS_DAYS/990421/t000035705.html Ventura County Supervisor Judy Mikels on Tuesday called for a study to determine if hazardous materials used at Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Field Laboratory have affected the health of people living in nearby communities.
---(3)
[I was hopeful that they would say something about depleted uranium here -- yesterday's Australian Broadcasting article about Yugoslavia objecting to d.u. would lead one to think that Russia might have said something about it in their letter, as well. Trying to access the actual letter. Will send to you when I find it.]
16. Russia Levels Charges at NATO By The Associated Press, April 26, 1999 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-UN-Russia-Yugoslavia.html UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Russia has accused NATO of carrying out ``large-scale environmental warfare'' in Yugoslavia, taking up the Yugoslav government's claim that NATO bombing is creating an ecological catastrophe in the Balkans.
17. U.S. Apache Was Destroyed In Monday's Crash Apr 27, 1999 Eastern http://www.dogpile.com/ TIRANA (Reuters) - A U.S. Army Apache attack helicopter that crashed on a training mission in Albania Monday night was destroyed in the crash, the U.S. Army said in a statement Tuesday.
18. House dusts off War Powers Act USA Today, April 27, 1999 http://usatoday.com/news/washdc/nc1.htm The U.S. military commitment to the Balkan war gets a hearing Tuesday as the House International Relations Committee considers two resolutions under the rarely invoked War Powers Act. One would end U.S. military operations in the war and the other would seek a formal declaration of war against Yugoslavia. The full House may take up the measures Wednesday.
19. DIGITAL NATION High-Tech Warfare Is a Losing Proposition By GARY CHAPMAN, April 26, 1999 Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/CNS_DAYS/990426/t000037414.html Gazing over a battlefield strewn with thousands of corpses and moaning wounded, Napoleon muttered to his shocked aides, "Soldiers are meant to die."
20. Forward From: Sylvia Zisman <earthgoddess@juno.com> Have you contacted Congressman Jim Saxton (R. N.J.) regarding his opposition to the war? He needs all the support he can get in the upcoming debate on invoking the war powers act to sanctify the past 35 days of bombing and to prepare for a possible ground war. Congress ought to be informed that they have a duty to prevent future Gulf War Illnesses by noting the contents of the protests by the Yugoslavian government.
_____________________________
A fast way to keep up to date: Subscribe to NucNews !! To subscribe: prop1@prop1.org Say "Subscribe NucNews"
NucNews Archive: http://prop1.org/nucnews/nucnews.htm The Conversion Project at http://prop1.org "A-Z Antinuclear Weblinks" at http://prop1.org/prop1/azantink.htm
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Message: 5 Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 19:19:27 -0400
Subject: NucNews-3- 4/27/99 - Russia re NATO enviro catastrophe; Apache crash; War Powers Act; Hi-Tech Warfare; Congressman Jim Saxton (R-NJ) opposes war
[I was hopeful that they would say something about depleted uranium here -- yesterday's Australian Broadcasting article about Yugoslavia objecting to d.u. would lead one to think that Russia might have said something about it in their letter, as well. Trying to access the actual letter. Will send to you when I find it.]
16. Russia Levels Charges at NATO
By The Associated Press, April 26, 1999 http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/i/AP-UN-Russia-Yugoslavia.html
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Russia has accused NATO of carrying out ``large-scale environmental warfare'' in Yugoslavia, taking up the Yugoslav government's claim that NATO bombing is creating an ecological catastrophe in the Balkans.
NATO's shift from bombing military targets to attacking chemical plants, oil depots and oil refineries is causing environmental contamination, Russia's state committee on environmental protection said in a letter circulated Monday by the U.N. Security Council.
It warned that ``the dispersal of toxins'' could even reach the Middle East and North Africa.
``The deliberate bombing of environmentally hazardous targets and the growing scale of damage to the environment demonstrate that there is a transition from localized military action to the phase of large-scale environmental warfare,'' the letter said.
It noted that some of Yugoslavia's neighbors are participating in the NATO action or backing it even though they also face environmental consequences from the bombing.
Russia has been Yugoslavia's strongest supporter in the Security Council.
The letter was dated April 21, three days after Yugoslav Foreign Minister Zivadin Jovanovic wrote to Secretary-General Kofi Annan saying the NATO bombing ``has already caused an ecological catastrophe, threatening the lives of millions of citizens in Yugoslavia, its neighboring countries and in Europe.''
The Russian committee accused NATO countries of violating several international conventions, including Protocol I to the 1949 Geneva Conventions. That bars methods of warfare that might cause ``widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment.''
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17. U.S. Apache Was Destroyed In Monday's Crash
Apr 27, 1999 Eastern http://www.dogpile.com/
TIRANA (Reuters) - A U.S. Army Apache attack helicopter that crashed on a training mission in Albania Monday night was destroyed in the crash, the U.S. Army said in a statement Tuesday.
Monday, the U.S. European Command said in a statement from Germany that the AH-64 Apache, one of 24 sent to join NATO attacks against Serb armor and troops in Kosovo, crashed about two miles north-northeast of its base at Tirana airport but the two crewmen escaped and were in good condition.
Lieutenant-Colonel Garrie Dornan, a U.S. Army spokesman, said there were no plans to ground the remaining Apache gunships deployed to Albania to boost NATO's firepower in its air war against Yugoslavia.
Dornan said army officials would not alter their timetable for putting the Apaches into action against Serb forces. He said the cause of the crash was still under investigation.
The helicopter, one of the world's most effective tank-killing weapons, went down in a mountainous, sparsely populated area, he said.
``The aircraft was destroyed as a result of the crash. There are no initial indications of hostile fire,'' the army statement said.
-------------------
18. House dusts off War Powers Act
USA Today, April 27, 1999 http://usatoday.com/news/washdc/nc1.htm
The U.S. military commitment to the Balkan war gets a hearing Tuesday as the House International Relations Committee considers two resolutions under the rarely invoked War Powers Act. One would end U.S. military operations in the war and the other would seek a formal declaration of war against Yugoslavia. The full House may take up the measures Wednesday. Those votes would be the first formal congressional debate on the war since NATO began bombing March 24. The War Powers Act, passed in 1973, is intended to bar a president from waging war for more than 60 days without congressional approval. President Clinton, like his predecessors, has complied with the spirit of the law while contending he has authority as commander in chief to use military force in the national interest.
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19. DIGITAL NATION High-Tech Warfare Is a Losing Proposition
By GARY CHAPMAN, April 26, 1999 Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/CNS_DAYS/990426/t000037414.html
Gazing over a battlefield strewn with thousands of corpses and moaning wounded, Napoleon muttered to his shocked aides, "Soldiers are meant to die."
Fast forward more than 150 years, to 1970, when U.S. Army Gen. William Westmoreland said: "On the battlefield of the future, enemy forces will be located, tracked and targeted almost instantaneously through the use of data links, computer-assisted intelligence and automated fire control. . . . I am confident the American people expect this country to take full advantage of its technology--to welcome and applaud the developments that will replace wherever possible the man with the machine."
The current war in the Balkans between NATO forces and Yugoslavia is delivering new lessons about the contrast of these two perspectives--whether wars are won by soldiers dying for a cause or by machines that deliver death and destruction to the enemy.
There obviously is a growing chorus of critics of this latest war, who are pointing out that NATO's bombing of Serbia is doing little to bring about a solution to the Kosovo crisis. In fact, the bombing may be producing the perverse effect of reinforcing Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic, while he uses the war as an excuse to accomplish his goals, such as "cleansing" Kosovo of ethnic Albanians.
Critics are saying that ground troops are the only real solution, and the introduction of ground troops will almost certainly entail American casualties, something the Pentagon has done everything to avoid thus far.
This conundrum illustrates a debate that has been going on in the military for more than 20 years over the role of high tech in warfare and U.S. arsenals. This debate goes back to the war in Vietnam, a time before personal computers or even microchips. But the debate has intensified in recent years because of the revolution in weaponry and in our society at large, brought about by new information technologies.
A great many people are puzzled by NATO's strategy, given its poor results. An Albanian Kosovar refugee told the media, "We don't understand NATO's strategy. They are up in the air, while we are dying here on the ground."
There are many historical reasons NATO has chosen its strategy, and these reveal significant frictions between Napoleon's view of war and that of modern U.S. military officers enamored of high tech.
First, NATO forces were configured in the 1970s and 1980s to counter the armies of the Warsaw Pact in Western Europe, not to fight the kind of war NATO is now waging in the Balkans. In the mid-1980s, the Warsaw Pact had an overwhelming numerical superiority in weapons, such as its 46,230 battle tanks to NATO's 17,730. The U.S. always claimed that it might be forced to use nuclear weapons because of this numerical imbalance in the event of a Warsaw Pact attack against Western Europe, but few people took this seriously, as nuclear weapons would destroy the very places NATO was sworn to protect.
Because of this, NATO instead pursued a policy of "quality over quantity" by investing in "smart" weapons that would destroy Soviet and Warsaw Pact forces deep behind their lines. These weapons included cruise missiles, precision-guided "submunitions" (missiles that deploy multiple homing warheads) and "fire and forget" projectiles that would seek out their targets after release. This trend gave birth to an entire generation of "over the horizon" weapons using distant remote sensing of targets, sensors on-board munitions and weapons guided by satellites, as well as laser-guided bombs and stealth aircraft.
The era of "attrition warfare," such as that practiced during World War II, in which soldiers and armor engage the enemy directly, was replaced with "maneuver warfare," a model in which opposing forces are held at bay by overwhelming firepower; advanced technology; rapid movement; complex, theater-wide communications; and command and control.
Another reason the U.S. military began to rely on high tech during the last two decades of the Cold War was that military leaders understood that the option of a vast standing army was no longer possible. Not only was a peacetime draft politically infeasible, but demographic changes in the U.S. and Western Europe had dramatically lowered the population of young men who might enlist in military service. Thus high-tech weapons were viewed as "force multipliers," substituting for manpower.
Richard Cooper, director of the Pentagon's Defense Advanced Projects Agency in the early 1980s, said, "It's my view that this society has decided that it will only use a fraction of its human effort in its own defense in peacetime. The imperative just isn't there. . . . So, consequently, we have no other alternative but to turn to high technology. That's it."
At the same time, the U.S. military is at any given time a reflection of the society and economy it represents. Military officers are often trained in management and organization at civilian colleges and universities whose curricula have been transformed by the influence of computers, networks and the imperatives of the information economy.
Moreover, senior military officers are often hired by defense contractors after they retire, and they have close ties to defense technology experts even during their service. They are disinclined to criticize the assumptions of the defense industry, which survives on selling increasingly complex and sophisticated technologies to the Pentagon.
Thus the worldview of the military has been reshaped by the culture of high tech in civilian and defense technology firms. "Efficiency" is a watchword for the military, as it is in the high-tech economy, and is a concept that competes with effectiveness, leadership, bravery and sacrifice.
Finally, of course, military leaders are only too aware of public opinion polls that show sharp downturns in public support for U.S. military involvement if it means American casualties. Recent polls have indicated public support for the use of ground troops in the Balkans would drop from 50% to below 20% if U.S. casualties exceed 1,000 soldiers. TV images of body bags returning to the U.S. from a place most Americans have only recently heard of would be the earliest trigger of collapsing public support. The Pentagon would rather have TV show dramatic explosions of targets hit by smart bombs.
For all these reasons, the U.S. military is trapped in its own web when it confronts a completely different, hostile and primitively brutal environment such as that of Yugoslavia. As the military should have learned in Vietnam, or as the Russians learned in Afghanistan, high technology cannot substitute for determination and perseverance on the ground by opponents. The U.S. dropped three times more bomb tonnage on Southeast Asia than was used by all the powers of World War II, in all the theaters of that war--a grim fact that most Americans still don't grasp--yet even that failed to secure victory.
The American public sustains very high levels of defense spending for high-tech weapons based on the rationale of wanting "nothing but the best" for our troops. But that naive desire may be at odds with military success. High-tech weapons may have changed the way war looks, but not the way wars are won.
* * Gary Chapman is director of the 21st Century Project at the University of Texas at Austin. His e-mail address is gary.chapman@mail.utexas.edu.
---------------------
20. From: Sylvia Zisman <earthgoddess@juno.com>
Have you contacted Congressman Jim Saxton (R. N.J.) regarding his opposition to the war? He needs all the support he can get in the upcoming debate on invoking the war powers act to sanctify the past 35 days of bombing and to prepare for a possible ground war. Congress ought to be informed that they have a duty to prevent future Gulf War Illnesses by noting the contents of the protests by the Yugoslavian government.
______________________
- Third of Three messages - ______________________ _____________________________
A fast way to keep up to date: Subscribe to NucNews !! To subscribe: prop1@prop1.org Say "Subscribe NucNews"
NucNews Archive: http://prop1.org/nucnews/nucnews.htm The Conversion Project at http://prop1.org "A-Z Antinuclear Weblinks" at http://prop1.org/prop1/azantink.htm
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Message: 6 Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 19:19:52 -0400
Subject: NucNews-2 4/27/99 - Canada (3); Clinton re CTBT; Ohio-Utah Waste Train; NY Nuc Plant Sale; Chernobyl virus fails; Rocketdyne health
8. Canada accepting radioactive danger with old warheads, groups warn
Apr 27, 1999 Canadian Broadcasting http://www.cbcnews.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/1999/04/27/pluton ium990427
OTTAWA - Ottawa's plan to import weapons-grade plutonium for use in nuclear reactors is facing more opposition.
LINKS: Websites related to this story
The International Association of Firefighters says the shipments are unsafe. It's calling for a moratorium.
Now, Greenpeace activists plan to follow the route of the plutonium shipments so they can alert towns along the way.
The government says Greenpeace is scaring people for no reason.
Under Ottawa's plan, the radioactive fuel -- from Russian and U.S. nuclear warheads -- would be shipped to Ontario from Montreal or Halifax. It would then be tested in labs to see if the weapons-grade plutonium could be converted into energy in Candu reactors.
Ottawa insists it will ship a small amount of the fuel -- less than a kilogram -- and use it only for a test. But if the test is successful, Canada could decide to go ahead and ship in another 100 tonnes of plutonium in the coming year.
But the firefighters warn emergency workers wouldn't know how to handle a plutonium spill.
Greenpeace worries not just about a spill, but that the radioactive material could fall into the wrong hands and be used to create more weapons.
Ottawa says it's taking the plutonium to encourage disarmament and make the world a safer place. Greenpeace's Steve Shallhorn says that stand is just a cover because the material comes from weapons already destroyed.
According to Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd., Canadian hospitals handle more dangerous materials every day.
As the debate over shipping continues, one thing is certain: The plutonium will create nuclear waste that will remain radioactive for thousands of years, and Canada will be responsible for its storage.
---------------------
9. Firefighters seek moratorium on plutonium fuel shipments
By DENNIS BUECKERT -- The Canadian Press, April 26, 1999 http://www.canoe.com/TopStories/plutonium_apr26.html
OTTAWA (CP) -- Firefighters are calling for a moratorium on the shipment of plutonium fuel into Canada until the government sets up a computer system to help them deal with possible spills and accidents.
But officials at Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. say the plutonium fuel is less dangerous than other materials, such as medical isotopes, routinely carried on Canadian roads.
They promise that emergency-response personnel in communities along the route of the shipments will be fully briefed about possible hazards as soon as a route has been chosen.
They say the plutonium fuel, known as MOX, is not highly radioactive, and cannot explode or burn.
Transport Minister David Collenette says about 800,000 shipments of radioactive material already occur in Canada each year and there is an elaborate response system to deal with accidents.
"We have a tracking system and safety and response systems that make sure that all emergencies are attended to," Collenette said Monday in the Commons.
Atomic Energy has said it will conduct a test burn this summer of nuclear-reactor fuel containing plutonium from surplus U.S. and Russian warheads.
The goal of the experiment is to determine whether the plutonium fuel works well in Candu reactors. If it does, a large-scale program might be set up to help rid the world of dangerous surplus warheads.
Anti-nuclear critics say the MOX fuel could pose serious risks to public safety.
The International Association of Fire Fighters took up the issue as its annual convention opened Monday.
"We fear for public safety in the event of an accident involving plutonium or some other deadly substance if we arrive on the scene without knowing what we're dealing with," said Sean McManus, the association's Canadian director.
The firefighters association has been lobbying for a computerized system called Operation Respond that would allow emergency response teams to quickly get information on how to deal with a spill.
Collenette said the government has tested Operation Respond software and has decided not to use it nationally because the current system, based on a phone hotline, is more effective.
He said the public will know in advance which route will be used to transport the MOX fuel to the test reactor at Chalk River, Ont., but the dates of shipments won't be made public.
Larry Shewchuk, a spokesman for Atomic Energy, said emergency-response officials along the route will be informed of the potential hazards and the timing of shipments.
"Emergency officials along the selected route who are in a need-to-know basis would know in advance when the MOX shipment would be coming within their jurisdiction."
Shewchuk said the radioactivity from MOX fuel is so weak it can't penetrate paper.
MOX fuel contains three per cent plutonium which has been ground up, mixed with other materials, formed into pellets, immobilized in ceramic material and encased in zirconium tubes. These tubes are placed within steel containers designed to withstand traffic accidents.
"The plutonium has been removed from its detonation device, and the fuel by itself, even if it was an accident, can't explode, can't ignite, can't burn by itself. It can't spill because it's a solid material, it's a ceramic like a radio insulator or a coffee mug."
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10. Energy company upholds safety of test nuclear fuel
Apr 26, 1999 Canadian Broadcasting http://www.cbcnews.cbc.ca/cgi-bin/templates/view.cgi?/news/1999/04/26/nukes9 90426
HALIFAX - The nuclear fuel that may be coming to Canada is less radioactive than material used every day for treating cancer patients, says the company making the proposal.
Earlier this month the federal government approved a test burn of mixed oxide uranium or MOX fuel for later this year. The fuel is material mixed with plutonium from dismantled nuclear warheads in Russia and the United States.
Now Atomic Energy of Canada Limited is waiting to apply for a route to take the fuel to Chalk River, Ontario.
Halifax is a possible port of entry and while Greenpeace plans protests on the shores of the harbor, AECL insists its fuel is safe.
AECL spokesman Larry Shewchuk says hospitals handle more dangerous materials every day.
AECL says the soonest a shipment of nuclear fuel could move to Canada would be at the end of 1999. The company says there has been no decision on a route.
Canada decided to go ahead with a test burn despite recommendations from a parliamentary Committee which said transporting the fuel would be difficult. The committee said people living along the route might worry an accident could cause nuclear contamination.
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11. Text of Clinton Letter on Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty To: National Desk Contact: White House Press Office, 202-456-2100
WASHINGTON, April 26 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released today by the White House:
http://www.usnewswire.com/topnews/Current_Releases/0426-132.htm
TEXT OF A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT TO CONGRESSIONAL LEADERSHIP AND SELECTED REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS
April 23, 1999
In my September 22, 1997, message transmitting the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty to the Senate for advice and consent to ratification, I announced that I would provide to the appropriate committees of Congress the annual certification of the nuclear weapons stockpile by the Secretaries of Defense and Energy and accompanying report. Enclosed is a copy of that certification and report.
I am pleased to note the Secretaries' conclusion that the nuclear stockpile has no safety or reliability concerns that require underground testing at this time. Problems that have arisen in the stockpile are being addressed and resolved without underground nuclear testing to ensure the stockpile remains safe and reliable. In reaching this conclusion, the Secretaries obtained the advice of the Directors of the National Weapons Laboratories, the Commander in Chief, United States Strategic Command, and the Nuclear Weapons Council.
Sincerely,
WILLIAM J. CLINTON
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12. Trains carrying contaminated soil from Ohio to Utah
Ohio Business Journal, April 26, 1999 http://www.ohio.com/bj/news/ohio/docs/028988.htm
CINCINNATI (AP) -- The first trainload of radioactive contaminated soil left the U.S. Department of Energy's Fernald cleanup site Monday for a commercial disposal facility in Utah, federal officials said.
It was the first of about 100 trains that will carry the tainted soil from the 1,050-acre Fernald site, 18 miles northwest of Cincinnati, to the Envirocare disposal facility in Clive, Utah, during the next few years, Energy Department spokesmen said.
The government has been shipping other low-level radioactive wastes by truck for years from Fernald to the Energy Department's Nevada test site. A multimillion-dollar commitment has been made to clean up by 2006 the radioactive contamination from 40 years of processing uranium metal at Fernald for production of nuclear weapons elsewhere.
The government expects to send a train to Envirocare every three to four weeks. The contaminated dirt is from ground waste pits at Fernald which have held solid and liquid wastes since the 1950s.
Each train includes about 50 railcars containing a permanent liner, a secondary plastic liner and a fiberglass lid to secure the material during transport, federal officials said.
The Energy Department and its cleanup contractor at Fernald, Fluor Daniel Fernald, also said they plan to resume within the next few weeks truck waste shipments to the Nevada site.
The department was harshly criticized after the last truck shipment leaked near Kingman, Ariz., in December 1997. In March, Washington officials said the shipments could resume after final safety reviews were completed.
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13. Nuclear plant sale makes sense for utility and its customers [Niagara Mohawk, NY]
Albany, NY Capital District Business Review, April 26, 1999 http://www.amcity.com/albany/stories/1999/04/26/editorial5.html
To the Editor:
Given the impact of the Nine Mile Point nuclear plants on our upstate region, it's understandable that some are concerned about our announced intent to sell the plants.
But there are good reasons why a sale makes sense for residents, Niagara Mohawk customers and plant employees.
First and foremost, the sale of the Nine Mile plants will help create a competitive electricity market. Niagara Mohawk believes that large national and multi-national companies will dominate the future generation business, including nuclear generation.
Selling our nuclear assets to a company with plans to be a major player in the generation business will enhance competition, help secure the future of the plants, and provide long-term cost savings to customers.
Niagara Mohawk electricity customers also will benefit from limited exposure to potential future decommissioning costs for the nuclear plants. Although it is likely that we would pre-fund agreed-upon decommissioning costs at the time of a sale, any unanticipated changes in costs would be the responsibility of the new owner. In addition, our customers and shareholders will be insulated from the financial impact of unforeseen operational and maintenance costs.
And, despite speculation to the contrary, there would be no increase in rates due to a sale of the plants. We would expect to establish a short-term contract with any buyer for future production from the plants, which will help protect customers from market price increases in the immediate future.
In any sale, we will require the buyer to take on the current collective bargaining agreement with the IBEW, and we will seek to maximize opportunities for our employees.
The issue of nuclear safety also will play a role in any sale. Any buyer would have to stand scrutiny from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission during a license transfer review, ensuring that the new owner would have the necessary expertise and experience to operate the plants safely. The companies currently in the market seeking to purchase nuclear assets are there because of their previous success in all aspects of nuclear operation, including safety performance.
There is no question that the changes Niagara Mohawk is facing in response to deregulation and competition--such as the divestiture of our nuclear assets--are dramatic. However, every move we make is driven by the principles established in PowerChoice: lowering electricity prices, providing customers with the ability to choose their suppliers, securing Niagara Mohawk's future in the regulated energy-delivery business, and providing a platform for growth in new, unregulated businesses that will add jobs and economic activity Upstate.
William E. Davis Chief Executive Officer Niagara Mohawk Power Corp. Syracuse
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14. Chernobyl computer virus fails to radiate
By William Glanz THE WASHINGTON TIMES, April 27, 1999 http://www.washtimes.com/business/business2.html
This time Chernobyl wasn't a disaster, and Melissa was a blessing in disguise. The computer virus named after the 1986 nuclear accident did infect some personal computers yesterday, but damage was limited, computer-security experts said.
"I don't think it's turned out to be a national disaster," said Mike Burmeister, director of data recovery at Ontrack Data International in Minneapolis.
Damage from the Chernobyl computer virus was limited in part because anti-virus software developers identified it last year and began efforts to develop a countermeasure.
Damage also was reduced because computer users were prepared for it. Last month's attack by the devastating Melissa e-mail virus raised awareness of the computer virus problem.
"People are now more aware of the damage viruses can create and Melissa helped alert people of the need to update anti-virus software," said Raul Elnitiarta, a software engineer with Symantec Corp., the Cupertino, Calif., maker of Norton Antivirus software.
Chernobyl is believed to have surfaced in Taiwan last June. The virus has three strains, and its most common version was programmed to activate yesterday on computers using Windows 95 and Windows 98 operating software.
Another version of Chernobyl can strike computers on the 26th day of any month.
The viruses attempt to erase a computer's hard drive and reprogram a computer's system settings, preventing a user from starting a machine.
Anti-virus software developers have their work cut out for them. An estimated 42,000 potentially damaging viruses are floating around, according to Sal Viveros, spokesman for the anti-virus business unit of Network Associates Inc., the Santa Clara, Calif., developer of McAfee anti-virus software.
Mr. Burmeister said Ontrack Data's U.S. and British offices received about 210 calls from people whose personal computers were struck by Chernobyl.
"We were definitely surprised that it was that widespread," he said. "This is not completely hype. There are more instances this year of this occurring than there were last year."
Other computer-security firms were continuing to assess damage caused by the virus. Home PC users are most likely to be victims of Chernobyl, they said.
"If there's going to be an outbreak, it'll be consumers -- home users who didn't update their anti-virus programs -- who get hit," Mr. Viveros said.
A file named "Frog in the Blender" has carried the Chernobyl virus for at least two weeks, Mr. Viveros warned. The file is an animated game.
Chernobyl is likely to cause more damage outside the United States, especially in Asia, where Chernobyl was created, Mr. Viveros said.
Malaysia's stock exchange said computer systems at 12 of the country's 60 brokerages were infected by the virus, slowing trading. The virus also affected part of the computer systems of Malaysia's biggest private television operator, Sistem Televisyen Malaysia Bhd., a spokeswoman for the company said.
Mr. Viveros said a "medium-size French company," which he declined to name, suffered system damage due to Chernobyl.
Computer security experts also received reports yesterday that Chernobyl struck machines in Russia, Singapore, Finland and Malta.
Yesterday was the 13th anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear accident.
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15. Study Urged on Danger of Lab to Neighbors Health: On heels of probe into effect on workers, Mikels calls for investigation into possible hazards posed to people living near Rocketdyne facility.
By GARY POLAKOVIC, April 21, 1999 Los Angeles Times http://www.latimes.com/CNS_DAYS/990421/t000035705.html
Ventura County Supervisor Judy Mikels on Tuesday called for a study to determine if hazardous materials used at Rocketdyne's Santa Susana Field Laboratory have affected the health of people living in nearby communities.
The request joins a growing chorus of community leaders intent on finding out if hazardous substances used at the lab near Simi Valley injured people in nearby communities. Those concerns gained an added sense of urgency last week when newly released health studies identified a link between contaminants at the lab and cancer deaths.
"The community has a right to know to what extent, if any, they were subjected to potentially hazardous chemicals," said Mikels, whose district includes the lab. "We have been looking for ways to fund this study and get it off the ground. Now is the time to move forward and stop playing games."
Last week, a spokesman for Assemblywoman Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) also urged state health officials to undertake such an investigation. Kuehl will seek $150,000 in the state budget to pay for a new study.
Specifically, the lawmakers want an independent panel of experts to do the study so the results have credibility in the community. So far, state health officials have committed to studying health effects of workers at the lab, but not residents in the surrounding community.
The Santa Susana lab has tested rocket engines for spacecraft and nuclear missiles since 1948. As many as 10 small nuclear reactors, the first in the nation, were tested at the lab in the 1950s.
Last week, scientists at the UCLA School of Public Health released the findings of a six-year study that showed twice as many lung cancers in workers who handled a rocket-fuel component called hydrazine compared with workers who did not.
The study, which examined 6,107 workers, did not conclusively prove hydrazine caused the deaths, although the researchers expressed confidence some chemical or chemicals related to hydrazine or rocket refueling is to blame. Rocketdyne officials and their experts dispute those findings.
It was the second study in two years by the UCLA researchers to link hazardous substances at the lab to increased deaths. Two years ago, the scientists linked radioactive materials to increases in death among workers from several types of cancer.
Barbara Johnson, an advocate of cleanup for Rocketdyne and member of a panel that hired and oversees the UCLA team, said the worker-health studies are sufficient basis to proceed with a study of the community's health.
"The basic premise of the epidemiological study was that if it showed any problems with workers we should proceed with a study of the community. It did and we should," Johnson said.
So far, the state Department of Health Services has not decided whether to pursue a full-blown community-health study. Such an undertaking would be expensive and, according to members of the UCLA team, difficult because it is hard to determine who, if anyone, living outside the 2,668-acre lab was exposed to toxic chemicals or radiation.
Rocketdyne officials could not be reached for comment late Tuesday. Last week, however, Steve Lafflam, director of the company's health and environmental affairs division, said Rocketdyne will work with state health officials in the next 90 days to begin to assess whether anyone in the community may have been exposed to hazardous substances.
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- Second of Three messages - ______________________
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Message: 7 Date: Tue, 27 Apr 1999 19:08:14 -0400
Subject: NucNews-1-Int'l 4/27/99 - Czechs/Iran; India/China; Slovakia (2); Paris/Germany; Chernobyl (2)
1. Czechs warned to reject nuclear deals with Iran
By Bill Gertz THE WASHINGTON TIMES, April 27, 1999 http://www.washtimes.com/news/news3.html#link
The State Department has lodged several protests with the Czech Republic over the new NATO member's nuclear dealings with Iran, The Washington Times has learned.
Department officials in Prague contacted the Czech Foreign Ministry to oppose any nuclear deals between Czech companies and Russia and Iran for sales of equipment and consulting services to Iran's Bushehr nuclear power project.
"It is a concern as far as cooperation," a U.S. official said.
A second official from a different agency said, "We have had diplomatic exchanges with the Czech government, as we have with many other nuclear supplier governments, about nuclear cooperation with Iran.
"Czech officials have assured us that no such cooperation would be authorized," the official said.
The protests are part of the Clinton administration's effort to block foreign help to Iran's nuclear program, which Washington believes is a cover for building nuclear weapons.
At least four subsidiaries of Skoda, the huge Czech Republic industrial conglomerate, held talks recently with officials of the Russian Atomic Energy Ministry and the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran on the Bushehr project, said officials familiar with government reports on the cooperation.
The officials said Czech representatives of four Skoda companies or spinoffs were involved in the sales effort, including Skoda JS, an engineering company that builds nuclear power plants. Others firms were identified as Skoda Prague and Skoda Plezen -- both manufacturers of heavy equipment and high-technology gear.
Representatives of the Czech companies spoke to the Russians and Iranians in late March and earlier this month, the official said. U.S. officials said the Czech companies tried to sell engineering consulting services, cooling and ventilation equipment and a steam turbine to the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran.
"This is not sensitive technology per se," the official said. "But we don't think there should be any cooperation."
Officials said U.S. intelligence agencies are closely monitoring the construction of the Bushehr facility to see if the Czechs go ahead with supplying expertise or equipment.
According to the officials, the State Department sent several diplomatic protest notes to the Czech Foreign Ministry categorically opposing any sales efforts and views the current Czech-Russian-Iran talks as contrary to government assurances that there will be no Czech role in building Bushehr.
Skoda is the Czech Republic's largest heavy industry and manufacturer, making a range of products from turbines to automobiles. According to the company's Web site, Skoda has 25 subsidiaries.
Several years ago, Skoda was approached by the Iranians to provide major components for the nuclear power complex at Bushehr, and the U.S. government pressured Prague into blocking the sales, which involved substantial economic losses for the companies.
A spokesman for the company could not be reached for comment. Martin Weiss, the press spokesman for the Czech Embassy, said he was aware of past efforts by Skoda to sell nuclear technology abroad, but he was unaware of the recent attempts to provide equipment to Iran.
Washington has been trying for years to block Russian involvement in the construction of the power generating facility because of fears that Iran is using the nuclear technology to build atomic weapons.
Moscow promised to limit its cooperation with Iran to the Bushehr project, but earlier this year was found to be covertly supplying additional nuclear components to Iran, according to U.S. officials.
The officials said the Czech companies' involvement in the nuclear effort related to Bushehr is a sign that economic problems in the Eastern European nation are becoming acute.
Officials said it was unusual for the Czech companies to continue to pursue the nuclear sales to Iran despite repeated U.S. diplomatic protests.
"We've protested this sale several times," one official said.
The Czech Republic is one of three new NATO members admitted to the alliance and has been supportive of U.S. military actions against Yugoslavia.
Czech President Vaclav Havel attended the NATO summit last weekend, but Czech officials made no public appearances and didn't meet with the press, unlike representatives of NATO's two other new members, Hungary and Poland.
In 1997, the Czech government stepped in to halt an attempt by elements of Czech government and military to sell special electronic warfare equipment to Iraq. The deal for Tamara systems, which reputedly have a limited capability to detect radar-evading stealth aircraft, was first disclosed by The Washington Times.
According to U.S. intelligence officials, the Tamara deal was being brokered by a group of Bulgarian arms dealers who tried to sell five of the Tamara systems to Baghdad for $375 million. The equipment was to be shipped by air to Turkey from the Czech Republic and then driven overland to Iraq by truck.
Like the nuclear talks with Russia and Iran, the Clinton administration said the Tamara deal appeared to be driven by cash-strapped businesses struggling to survive in the post-communist economy.
Proliferation specialists said the talks between Skoda representatives and the Russians and Iranians raise the prospect that Bushehr will be used as a cover for Iran's nuclear weapons program.
"The problem is that Bushehr constitutes an enormous cover for all kinds of nuclear activity," said Henry Sokolski, who worked against international cooperation in the project as a Pentagon proliferation official during the Bush administration.
For example, if Bushehr is allowed to go forward, Moscow can then train nuclear scientists in weapon-related applications without arousing the suspicions of the international community, he said. "It's the cover that the project affords, not the technology involved," Mr. Sokolski said.
Kenneth Timmerman, director of the Middle East Data Project, which tracks nuclear developments in Iran, said he is surprised Skoda would renew its interest in contracting with the Bushehr project.
"The Czechs have been extremely supportive of U.S. initiatives toward Iran, and the Czech government has stopped foreign contracts with Iran at U.S. requests," Mr. Timmerman said.
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[The next few articles come from a word search on the Reuters search engine "Dogpile" (http://www.dogpile.com/) - I've been advised that the long URL's from these searches don't work, so I suggest if you want to look up these articles you go simply to http://www.dogpile.com/ and search for the article or do a broader search (as I do) for "nuclear OR plutonium OR uranium OR radioactiv???"]
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2. India, China hold talks on security issues
Apr 26, 1999 Reuters http://www.dogpile.com/
NEW DELHI - India and China began talks on security and nuclear disarmament issues on Monday, an Indian foreign ministry said.
The world's two most populous nations whose ties have dipped since India's nuclear explosions last year discussed ``recent developments in the region,'' the statement said. It gave no details.
India's nuclear tests which were followed by similar blasts by arch-rival Pakistan triggered off strong words from Beijing.
This month New Delhi and Islamabad carried out ballistic missile trials prompting more criticism from China.
Indian Foreign Secretary K.Raghunath who led the talks which opened in Beijing said that New Delhi wanted to build trust with its biggest neighbour.
``We wish to develop trust and confidence on the basis of expanding understanding on issues of mutual concern which affect our bilateral relations with China,'' the statement said.
Chinese Foreign Minister Tang Jiaxuan said Beijing was committed to seeking good relations with India into the new century, the statement said.
India and China fought a brief border war in 1962, but since the 1980s have attempted to repair ties.
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3. Slovakia says nuclear reactor to stay on line
Apr 26, 1999 (Reuters) http://www.dogpile.com/
BRATISLAVA - The Slovak government plans to keep at least one reactor on line at its controversial Jaslovske Bohunice nuclear power station for the foreseeable future, an adviser to the deputy prime minister said on Monday.
Neighbouring Austria is fiercely anti-nuclear and has publicly expressed misgivings at civil nuclear power projects in former communist countries on its borders. Bohunice is 60 km (40 miles) from the Slovak-Austrian frontier.
The Slovak government decided last week it would not keep to a 1994 pledge to close the Soviet designed station by 2000 but promised to observe the highest safety standards.
Robert Zitnansky, adviser to deputy prime minister for the economy Ivan Miklos, told Reuters that the oldest reactor, V1, would be phased out at some point but that there were now no specific plans for the closure of the V2 reactor.
``For the moment the government plans to keep the V2 reactor on line,'' Zitnansky said. ``The fundamental reason for this plan is the estimated losses in energy if V1 were closed down immediately and V2 soon.''
Zitnansky added that the government would continue to upgrade the V1 reactor in order to prolong its life as long as safety considerations permitted. But he said the government accepted that it would close at some time.
Austria protested against Slovakia's decision to bring its other nuclear power station at Mochovce on line last June.
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4. Greenpeace slams Slovak nuclear decision
Apr 26, 1999 (Reuters) http://www.dogpile.com/
BRUSSELS, == - Environmental group Greenpeace on Monday attacked Slovakia's decision not to close a controversial Soviet-designed nuclear reactor, calling the move a ``provocative challenge'' to the European Union.
Greenpeace called on the EU to refuse to begin negotiations with Slovakia on eventual membership of the bloc until it agreed to shut the two reactors at Jaslovske Bohunice.
``This decision means that these acutely dangerous units will continue to operate, and threaten the populations and environment of Europe for years to come,'' Greenpeace spokesman Ben Pearson said in a statement.
The Slovak government decided last week it would not keep to a 1994 pledge to close the station by 2000, but promised to observe the highest safety standards.
Robert Zitnansky, adviser to deputy prime minister for the economy Ivan Miklos, told Reuters that the oldest reactor, V1, would be phased out at some point, but that there were now no specific plans for the closure of the V2 recator.
The EU has made it clear that some of the eastern European countries which have applied to join the bloc will have to shut down some of their oldest and least safe nuclear power stations.
``No-one's ever said it's an absolute condition for membership, but certainly things would be very difficult for them if they didn't shut these places down,'' said a European Commission spokesman.
Slovakia is not in the first group of countries selected for EU membership, but is hoping to begin talks soon.
``Greenpeace is calling on the European Commission and all EU member states to refuse to begin negotiations with Slovakia on EU membership unless the 1994 decree is reinstated,'' Pearson said.
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5. Paris presses Germany on nuclear waste shipments
Apr 26, 1999 (Reuters) http://www.dogpile.com/
PARIS, April 26 (Reuters) - France said on Monday it was growing impatient over Germany's failure to set a date for rail shipments of nuclear materials to resume between German nuclear power plants and its Cogema reprocessing plant.
``We have asked quite firmly for a date to be set. We are still waiting,'' a spokeswoman for France's industry ministry told Reuters.
Paris first asked in mid-December for a firm date to be set for resumption of the shipments, suspended in May 1998 after tests found that the trains and nuclear containers had been contaminated with radioactivity.
A month ago a Franco-German working group meeting in Bonn agreed in principle on a resumption of the shipments by railway in both directions. But a date has still not been forthcoming, the spokeswoman said.
The agreement reached in Bonn was intended to cover both the shipment of waste from Germany to the Cogema plant and the return of reprocessed fuel to Germany.
The shipments could not resume until the German states through which the nuclear materials would pass have agreed, the officials said at the time.
Shipments have resumed in France but not yet to foreign clients of the Cogema plant in northern France.
Relations between Paris and Bonn over nuclear power became a hot potato after Germany announced a decision to ban nuclear waste reprocessing, prompting France to threaten to sue for damages if lucrative reprocessing contracts were not met.
Germany announced in January that it would delay its planned ban, leaving more time for Paris and Bonn to reach an agreement on how to handle the existing contracts.
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6. Ukraine marks 13th Chernobyl anniversary
Apr 26, 1999, By Dmitry Solovyov (Reuters) http://www.dogpile.com/
PRIPYAT, Ukraine - Stray dogs and crows are the only living creatures left in Pripyat, once a bustling settlement of nuclear energy workers in northern Ukraine but now a ghost town.
Thirteen years ago, Pripyat's population of more than 50,000 was evacuated overnight after reactor No 4 at the nearby Chernobyl nuclear power station blew up on April 26.
With radioactivity levels exceeding standard limits by dozens of times, Pripyat, surrounded by barbed wire and police checkpoints, gazes at the world through broken windows in its once-modern high-rise apartment houses.
Schools, cinemas, fading posters of Lenin and Soviet emblems hide in a jungle of unkempt parks and streets with untended trees.
``Pripyat is a monument town, a warning for next generations of the possible consequences of technological accidents,'' said Volodymyr Kholosha, Ukraine's deputy emergency situations minister.
``This ghost place has no future,'' said Kholosha -- himself a former resident of Pripyat -- speaking to reporters and foreign diplomats invited by the government to visit the Chernobyl disaster area at the weekend.
The population of more than 100 local villages was relocated away from the so-called ``exclusion'' zone contaminated by radioactive dust. One-fourth of the territory of neighbouring Belarus was contaminated as well.
On Monday, Ukraine and Belarus held ceremonies to mark the anniversary of the 1986 Chernobyl tragedy and pay tribute to those who fought the world's worst civilian nuclear accident.
In Ukraine's capital Kiev, President Leonid Kuchma laid flowers on a modest monument to a group of ``liquidators'' who died in the first month after reactor No 4 exploded.
Fire engines with wailing sirens drove by a nearby chapel popularly known as ``the Chernobyl church'' to commemorate firemen who died fighting the Chernobyl fire.
In the Belarussian capital Minsk, a government delegation took part in a service held at a church erected to the memory of those who perished after the nuclear accident.
More than a decade after the disaster, there are no exact estimates of its consequences.
Hundreds of thousands of people had to abandon the immediate zone around the plant after the explosion sent a poisonous radioactive cloud billowing over Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and parts of western Europe.
Thirty-one people, mostly firemen who died immediately after the explosion, are officially casualties. Independent experts say several thousands of ``liquidators'' and local residents have died from diseases caused by or related to high radioactivity.
The future of the Chernobyl plant is unclear.
The Group of Seven leading industrialised nations and Ukraine have agreed to stop Chernobyl's last working reactor by 2000. But Ukraine has complained it lacks the funding necessary for the closure of the station.
Prime Minister Valery Pustovoitenko told reporters on Monday that Ukraine needs $450 million to complete two new reactors at the Rivne and Khmelnitska stations due to replace Chernobyl.
Kholosha told Reuters that safety works on the sarcophagus covering reactor No. 4 were also underfinanced.
``Of the necessary $758 million, the West has committed itself only to granting $390 million, but just around $200 million has so far trickled to a relevant bank account,'' he said.
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7. Chernobyl survivors mark disaster 13 years on
Apr 25, 1999 Reuters, By Christina Ling http://www.dogpile.com/
KIEV, April 25 (Reuters) - Thousands of survivors of the 1986 explosion at Ukraine's Chernobyl nuclear power plant mourned their dead on Sunday, on the eve of the tragedy's 13th anniversary.
``We want to show we are still here, we are still alive,'' said Mykola Bosiy, commander of a secret clean-up battalion ordered to the plant hours after its No. 4 reactor blew up early on the morning of April 26, 1986.
The sombre column of sufferers, many with black bands tied around their foreheads and bearing black banners, marched through crowds of families and rollerblading children out enjoying spring sunshine on Kiev's central Khreshchatik Street.
Diseased and cancer-ridden children, including one boy in a wheelchair, joined widows and children of those sent to clean up in the weeks and months after the explosion in a march police said mustered about 4,000.
``We built and worked at that cursed reactor...now I get a pension of 160 hryvnias ($40) a month and they want to take away our compensation and discounts,'' said one woman carrying a black-framed portrait of her husband in one hand and wiping away a tear with the other.
Hundreds of thousands of people had to abandon the immediate zone around the plant after the explosion sent a poisonous radioactive cloud billowing over Ukraine, Russia, Belarus and parts of Western Europe, killing 31 people and affecting thousands more in the world's worst civil nuclear disaster.
Red Communist flags mingled with the black in Kiev, while in neighbouring Belarus, 7,000 protesters marched to the sound of a tolling church bell in the capital to commemorate the disaster, which contaminated a quarter of Belarussian territory.
Ukrainian Deputy Emergency Situations Minister Vladimir Kholosha said this week the government had spent about $11 billion so far to battle the consequences of the accident.
But Ukraine's cash-strapped and indebted government must stick to a tight fiscal and monetary policy to receive funds from the IMF and others, and wages and pensions are delayed for months across the country, including at nuclear power plants.
``It is OK for us, the medicines we need are still on the list of those provided free to Chernobyl victims,'' said Andriiy, 40, whose seven-year-old son Serhiy has cancer and who still lives in a town near the Chernobyl zone.
Health officials say the number of radiation-related diseases in the impoverished country is increasing. Four children have died from thyroid cancer so far, a deputy health minister said this week, while the total of cases among those who were under 18 in 1986 has hit 1,200.
Safety at nuclear plants throughout the former Soviet Union, including Ukraine, has come under renewed scrutiny in the run-up to the new millennium. Analysts fear the date change could cause some types of computer systems to malfunction.
Chernobyl's chief engineer said this week the plant's systems were susceptible to the bug, although there was time to deal with the problem.
President Leonid Kuchma has also renewed his pledge to keep the last remaining reactor running at Chernobyl until Western states come up with promised financial assistance to finish construction of two replacement reactors.