* DU Hazardous duty: Canadian peacekeepers who served in Croatia
* DU COVER-UP: British soldiers suffered massive radiation poisoning Gulf War
* Children suffer terrible legacy of war: showing signs of radiation poisoning
* So did Henderson have evidence of radiation horror?
* U.S., Britain say Saddam is rebuilding missile sites
* Russia Said Skipping Y2k Step On Key Systems
* Russia Not Rushing to Y2K Crisis
* Russians ask for Y2K help with nukes
* U.S. Senators Urge Expanded Y2K Missile Watch
* The New Russian Menace (by Senator James Leach)
* Russia Test-Fires Topol-M Ballistic Missile
* Minor leak shuts down Swiss nuclear power plant
* EU sees Lithuania closing second N-reactor by 2009
* EU Lauds Lithuanian N-Plant Closure Decision
* FOCUS-Lithuania sets deadline for N-plant closure
* Dasa in state talks on Taurus missile sales (Germany)
* No German nuclear plant closures before 2002-Mueller

--------------------------

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Bob Gilmour, Journal Staff Writer The Edmonton Journal 9 September 1999
http://www.edmontonjournal.com/stories/990909/2834150.html

A military inquiry is hearing about a "horrendous range of symptoms" from Canadian peacekeepers who served in Croatia, says the inquiry president.

"We're finding an extremely high number of people coming forward and talking about problems," Col. Joe Sharpe said Wednesday.

"It would not lead one to conclude this is just a coincidence," Sharpe said before entering closed meetings with about 100 soldiers and with army reservists in Edmonton.

His board of inquiry is investigating peacekeepers' complaints of health problems after serving during the Croatian conflicts of 1993 to 1995. There are allegations they were exposed to toxic materials, including bauxite and carcinogenic PCBs.

"There's a tremendous range of symptoms -- many of which are related but none of which can be clearly tied to a specific cause," said Sharpe, who has already heard from peacekeepers stationed in Calgary and at CFB Gagetown, N.B.

"On a personal level, one can't help but draw conclusions. But that doesn't sway the long-term process."

Sharpe, who heads a six-member inquiry board, said about half of the 80 or 90 soldiers, reservists and veterans who were at a Calgary meeting Tuesday have serious symptoms.

Several are suffering from terminal illnesses and, in some cases, have only a few months to live, he said.

One Calgary doctor who spoke to troops has treated about 1,000 people.

"They range from sleep problems to terminal cancers, headaches, psychological disorders; physical, vision and skin problems (and) tumours."

There's a thread linking them to Croatia and that's why the inquiry needs everybody affected to come forward to help "put together a large jigsaw puzzle with no picture to guide us," said Sharpe.

"We're not even sure how many pieces we have or how many pieces are missing.... We have discovered some of our allies are finding similar problems and similar high numbers."

Several things inhibit regular and part-time soldiers from coming forward, Sharpe said. One fear is that the Canadian Forces or their civilian employers will dismiss them if they find they have medical problems.

He said the Canadian Forces is considering a long-term medical survey to track people over many years.

The inquiry will begin taking testimony under oath next week and will be back in Edmonton in 45 days for a formal hearing.

"I have five or six guys in my unit who were in Croatia between 1993 and 1995," said Capt. Ian Mollison, adjutant for the South Alberta Light Horse, an Edmonton army reserve unit. "One has some problems and the others are concerned but haven't indicated they have problems yet -- but maybe they just haven't told me."

"I'm glad to see there's something going on," Cpl. Bill Bracher, 30, of 1 General Service Battalion, said after the meeting.

Bracher, a 12-year army veteran, said he exhumed bodies while in Croatia in 1993 with Second Battalion, Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry.

He wakes up three to seven times a night. The doctors attribute it to chronic knee pain, Bracher said.

Cpl. Bill Maddison, 39, a member of 3PPCLI, said he was in the same company as Bracher in Croatia and they have the same symptoms.

Maddison wakes up for five to 10 minutes, three to seven times a night.

"It's been like that two to three years now.

"And my knees hurt. But every infantryman, their knees hurt. I never complained about it."

Maddison said another soldier, who has quit the military, has the same symptoms.

Master Cpl. Steven Atkins of Redwater, a medic with local 1 Field Ambulance, was a company medic with the 2PPCLI battle group in Croatia in 1993.

He estimates 30 per cent of its 1,100 soldiers today suffer mental or physical ailments due to combat stresses from being under fire, shelling and exposure to "toxic soup."

Atkins said the soldiers washed and drank stream and well water containing human remains which could have had infectious tuberculosis, skin disorders and body lice.

A military psychiatrist who studied them shortly after they returned said 20 per cent suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, Atkins said. He said he was assessed a week ago as still having the disorder but doesn't believe he's suffered physically.

He believes the so-called toxic soup, and soldiers filling of sandbags with soil contaminated by carcinogenic PCBs, contributed to their physical ailments. There were also depleted uranium shells, and chemicals from factories which were cleaned up and occupied.

-----------

EXCLUSIVE BY GREG SWIFT - London Express August 26, 1999
http://www.lineone.net/express/99/08/26/news/n0100splash-d.html

THE Government has been accused of a cover-up after new evidence emerged proving that British soldiers suffered massive radiation poisoning during the Gulf War.

Tests 500,000-times more accurate than any previously conducted have shown beyond doubt that servicemen and women were exposed to terrifying levels of depleted uranium after it was used by the Allies to crush Saddam Hussein's army.

The revelation comes as Gulf War veterans have accused former Armed Forces Minister Doug Henderson of misleading Parliament about the Ministry of Defence's knowledge of the poisoning suffered by British troops.

The veterans claim that at a defence select committee meeting on April 28 this year, Mr Henderson told members that the MoD had not received any evidence of depleted uranium (DU) tests from former soldiers.

But, they say, he neglected to mention a meeting between himself and the veterans on March 18, attended by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, at which evidence that 30 British veterans had tested positive for DU poisoning was presented.

The Government has repeatedly insisted that troops who handled DU-tipped weapons during the 1991 conflict were not at risk of radiation poisoning.

It has always insisted there has been no point testing British veterans because DU is passed from the system naturally within a few weeks and there was no risk from any contaminated dust with which troops may have come into contact.

More than 700,000 rounds of DU-coated missiles and bullets were fired during the conflict. Produced from nuclear waste, the DU gives weapons amazing armour-piercing powers.

But critics have argued that they are indiscriminate weapons of mass destruction which should be banned. Confirmation that veterans were poisoned and accusations that the MoD has deliberately covered up its knowledge of the facts, has led to calls for a public inquiry into how the Gulf War Syndrome issue has been handled by successive governments.

Professor Malcolm Hooper, a Government-appointed scientific advisor investigating Gulf-related illnesses, warned: "These results are unequivocal and extremely worrying. The MoD has insisted there is no danger from DU but these results say otherwise.

"This is a cock-up fast becoming a cover-up and unless the MoD says it is prepared to act swiftly then it must be accused of covering this up."

Earlier this year, 20 veterans sent urine samples to a Canadian geochemist for detailed analysis. As The Express has already exclusively revealed, two previous tests conducted by respected scientists indicated DU poisoning.

But the mass spectrometer tests conducted by Patricia Horan at the Memorial University of Newfoundland are up to 500,000 times more accurate than the earlier tests.

Only one veteran, Shaun Rusling, has so far received his results which show that eight years after the end of the Gulf War, he is still passing 60 per cent DU in his urine.

The highly-toxic compound attacks the lungs, liver and bones and can cause genetic mutations which are passed on through the generations. Sufferers of DU poisoning are susceptible to cancers at any time, anywhere in the body. Mr Rusling, head of the National Gulf War Veterans and Families Association, yesterday demanded a public inquiry into DU poisoning.

"As a former soldier, I can't feel anything other than let down," said the 40-year-old father-of-two at his home in Hull. "The Government appears to be waiting until the vets die of cancer or until our levels of DU excretion are low enough for them to say that it is not a hazard.

"To be excreting the amount of DU that I am now, eight years after the end of the war, shows that I was exposed to a massive amount at the time.

"All we want is for the vets to be properly tested, to have the medical treatment that we have so far been denied and for an acceptance from the MoD that they know about DU poisoning and an apology.

"I look at my nine-month-old baby and it breaks my heart because I know I will never see her grow up. I already have 23 acknowledged illnesses as a result of my Gulf service and the DU poisoning means that I could develop something fatal at any time.

"It is rather like sitting around having a gun held against your head and waiting for it to go off."

Professor Hooper said: "Patricia Horan's data makes it imperative that we begin an exhaustive study of British veterans. The results are reliable and a thorough investigation is urgently required, not only of Gulf War veterans but also those troops who have served in Kosovo where the Allies also used DU-tipped weapons."

Tam Dalyell, Labour MP for Linlithgow, also called for an inquiry. "Any one who has seen the results of these men will know what a parlous state they have been reduced to. We all want to know why and what will be done about it. The MoD handling of this crisis must be investigated," said the veteran MP.

l Saddam has stationed anti-aircraft missiles within 35 yards of civilian homes in a new human shield ploy, the US military claimed yesterday. Officials say it proves the dictator is willing to sacrifice his people over the issue of US and British warplanes patrolling no-fly zones in northern and southern Iraq.

---

EXCLUSIVE by Michael Nicholson, London Express, August 26, 1999
http://www.lineone.net/express/99/08/26/news/n0175children-d.html

THE Gulf War ended eight years ago yet thousands of Iraqi children are dying from cancer and former servicemen are showing signs of radiation poisoning.

The Allied governments insist there are no obvious reasons for the illnesses now afflicting soldiers who served during Desert Storm in 1991 and deny responsibility for the extraordinary cancer rate among Iraqi children.

But compelling evidence is emerging that the British and American governments not only used radioactive weapons, but carelessly allowed troops to go unprotected and unaware of the dangers. The Express has already highlighted how British soldiers who served in the Gulf are testing positive for depleted uranium - a highly toxic, radioactive material which can cause cancers, liver damage and genetic defects.

This evening's Tonight With Trevor McDonald programme, explores further claims suggesting that DU weapons are not only responsible for the soldiers' illnesses but also for the thousands of Iraqi children born each year with deformities and suffering from leukaemia. DU was used for the first time in combat during Desert Storm because its ultra-hard properties allowed weapons tipped with the substance to slice through enemy armour.

The American A10s, nicknamed warthogs, fired more than 700,000 DU-tipped rounds. The British Government insists its army fired less than a hundred. Whatever the figures, it is a fact that thousands of servicemen and women were allowed to wander the deserts with no protective clothing, potentially breathing in DU-coated particles during sand storms. Tonight With Trevor McDonald has discovered a once-secret US army video made after the war in which an officer says: "DU dust or smoke may be inhaled, if respiratory protection is not worn. It may also be picked up and ingested if gloves are not worn. Heavy metal poisoning may occur which can cause damage to internal organs and tissues. The second concern is radioactivity."

Dr Marah Al Din Marouf, a renowned scientist and Iraq's top radiation expert, told our researchers he has recorded DU at 5,000 times the expected levels. And Iraq's top geneticist told us that incidents of Down's syndrome in her country were four-and-a-half times higher than before the war. "This is a disaster which is comparable to Hiroshima and Nagasaki," she added. DU expert Dr Doug Rokke went to the Gulf to organise the clear-up. "We found that nobody knew what was contaminated, how to manage contamination, how to provide medical care for casualties. It was a mess," he said.

The Allies used DU weapons in Kosovo. Already there are reports of dangerous levels of radiation there. One British scientist is predicting that 10,000 people will die from fatal cancers. And yet the silence from the Allied governments suggests that those who sanction the use of this controversial weapon are not listening to warnings.

---

London Express, August 26, 1999
http://www.lineone.net/express/99/08/26/news/n0150shaun-d.html

FORMER Armed Forces Minister Doug Henderson has been accused by Gulf War veterans of misleading Parliament about DU poisoning, writes Greg Swift.

The Commons defence select committee has asked the Ministry of Defence to respond to an allegation that Mr Henderson told members that the department had received no evidence about DU testing from the veterans more than a month after getting documents from an eminent scientist.

On April 28 Mr Henderson was asked by committee chairman Bruce George to comment on a letter from the scientist that he had discovered evidence of DU poisoning among 15 British Gulf War veterans.

Mr George asked: "Are we going out and testing because if in this small sample 15 are found to have doses of between five and 15 micrograms, then maybe there are more out there?" The Newcastle MP replied: "We have heard of those suggestions. We have asked, through informal channels, that if there is any evidence they would like to present to us we will look at it and examine everything we are doing in the light of that evidence.

"We have not received that evidence... We cannot act on it until we receive it." The veterans complain that Mr Henderson failed to mention a March 18 meeting he attended with them, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and Professor Malcolm Hooper.

At the meeting, the veterans presented a letter containing a synopsis of the work of Professor Hari Sharma, of the University of Waterloo in Canada, in which he revealed how he had tested samples from 30 British ex-servicemen.

He found that 14 of them had tested positive for DU and the results for the rest indicated they had suffered likewise.

Professor Sharma's report outlined the tests he had done in precise scientific terms.

But the MoD insists that the paperwork presented to Mr Henderson has little in the way of scientific value. It did not contain details necessary for it to prove useful in the Government's own analysis. A spokesman said it would be unfair to say that the former Armed Forces Minister had misled the defence committee since the MoD did not accept it had been presented with evidence.Shaun Rusling, head of the National Gulf War Veterans and Families Association, said veterans were astonished when they heard of Mr Henderson's comments. "We want Mr Henderson to explain exactly what he meant by having not received any evidence since we sent the same stuff to a number of MPs who have admitted receiving it," he said.

---

By Douglas Davis, September 8, 1999, Jerusalem Telegraphic Agency
http://www.jta.org/sep99/08-sadd.htm

LONDON, Sept. 8 (JTA) -- Concern that Iraq is rebuilding missile factories that were destroyed in U.S.-led bombing raids is prompting a fresh Anglo-American diplomatic drive at the United Nations for a resumption of weapons inspections.

The new urgency is in part being fed by a secret White House report to Congress that expressed concern about ``Iraq's long-established covert procurement activity," the London Sunday Times reported.

The newspaper also said a classified White House report expressed alarm over ``activity" at Iraqi sites that are known to be capable of producing weapons of mass destruction.

The paper quoted experts on Iraq's nuclear capability as saying Iraqi President Saddam Hussein could assemble a nuclear warhead within months, although testing it would take much longer.

``It is assumed," said the paper, ``that Saddam has taken advantage of the absence of United Nations weapons inspectors he expelled late last year to pursue chemical and biological weapons programs as well."

A security council debate on Iraq is expected later this month, but expectations are low for restoring the U.N.-led weapons inspections, with the Security Council reportedly more divided than ever over how to deal with Saddam.

Britain and the United States insist on reinstating the former rigorous weapons-inspection program while continuing to impose sanctions until Saddam complies with U.N. disarmament demands.

But three fellow permanent members of the Security Council -- members France, Russia and China -- are seeking a relaxation in both the sanctions and the inspection program.

A U.S. proposal for Security Council members to meet Wednesday in Washington and discuss their differences fell through after some countries refused to attend, according to U.S. diplomats.

Pentagon officials are reportedly pressing for an intensification of the air campaign, which has involved U.S. and British pilots firing 1,100 missiles at 359 Iraqi targets during the past eight months.

At the same time, some members of Congress support the arming of Saddam's opponents.

Experts believe Iraq will try to acquire enriched plutonium from Russia for use in building nuclear weapons and have little confidence in the ability of Western intelligence agencies to detect this.

``They [the Iraqis] know how to hide their tracks," David Albright, a former nuclear inspector in Iraq and president of the independent Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, was quoted as saying. ``Russia is a shopper's paradise for them."

He believes it is possible that Iraq already has a nuclear weapon design, lacking only the ``fissile material'' -- enriched uranium or plutonium -- necessary for building a bomb.

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By Jim Wolf, Thursday September 9 3:51 AM ET
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19990909/tc/russia_usa_5.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Russia is skipping a basic step in readying its most important military computers for the 2000 technology challenge, including some that track sensitive nuclear stockpiles, the military arm of the U.S. embassy in Moscow has reported.

At issue are the most thorough possible checks for Y2K errors, glitches that threaten to boggle some computers and automated systems when 1999 turns into 2000 in 114 days.

``Due to time constraints, MOD (the Ministry of Defense) is bypassing the system certification process and moving directly to operationally based testing,'' the U.S. Defense Attache's Office said in a cable to Washington made available this week.

The memo did not spell out the Y2K compliance process cut out by cash-strapped Moscow. But it said the shortcut applied to 100 systems designated ``mission critical'' out of the 1,000 said to be in use by the Defense Ministry.

The Y2K problem stems from an old programming practice of using two digits to represent years, like 99 for 1999. Unless this bug is fixed, computers may read 00 as 1900 instead of 2000. That could cause system shutdowns or corrupt vital data.

Russian and U.S. defense officials resumed contacts on Y2K issues in Moscow in August. Russia froze dialogue in March after U.S.-led NATO began bombing in Serbia, a Russian ally.

During talks in Moscow Aug. 25 and 26, U.S. and Russian technical experts discussed ``measures to be taken by MOD in ensuring security and accountability of the MOD nuclear warheads during the Y2K transition period,'' the U.S. memo said.

Separately, both sides reached ``general consensus'' on Russian participation in a joint monitoring post being set up in Colorado Springs, Colorado, to prevent any missile misunderstandings during the date change.

The intent was to have Defense Secretary William Cohen and his Russian counterpart, Igor Sergeyev, sign a formal agreement on the Y2K Center for Strategic Stability during talks in Moscow next Monday, the memo said.

It said the Russian defense ministry, in a ``Y2K vulnerability analysis,'' had identified issues requiring attention before the 2000 calendar rollover takes place as well as in the longer term.

The Defense Ministry has begun to set up Y2K ``monitoring and control centers'' at its nuclear storage sites, the Defense Attache's Office said in the memo, first reported by Federal Computer Week, a trade publication.

The Pentagon declined comment on Russia's Y2K shortcut but experts inside and outside the U.S. government voiced qualms at any corner-cutting on sensitive military systems.

``Such shortcuts are not ideal,'' said Bruce McConnell, director of the International Y2K Center, a clearinghouse backed by the United Nations and funded by the World Bank. But ``with a short window like this you may not have many options.''

Christopher Dodd, the Connecticut Democrat who is vice chair of the special U.S. Senate panel on the 2000 technology problem, told a National Press Club audience: ``I've been told (skipping system certification) is problematical but not that serious.''

The memo said the Russians had asked for U.S. help to equip the new Y2K-related nuclear storage monitoring stations. The Russian wish list included ``computers, copiers, fax and communication equipment, portable power generators, emergency response vehicles, utility repair vehicles, warhead handling and transport vehicles and environmental monitoring equipment.''

The United States has become increasingly concerned about Russia's ability to keep track of its deadliest weapons since the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

``Rogue states and terrorist groups can now seek to buy or steal what they previously had to produce on their own,'' according to Sen. Richard Lugar, an Indiana Republican who has led efforts to curb the spread of Soviet-era nuclear, chemical and biological arms.

---

Wired News Report 12:15 p.m. 8.Sep.99.PDT
http://www.wired.com/news/news/politics/story/21642.html

The United States continues to negotiate with Russia to help staff a vital Y2K command center, and time is running out, the vice-chairman of a Senate Y2K committee said Wednesday.

More than 100 different systems in the Russian nuclear arsenal could be vulnerable to the millennium bug, said vice-chairman Senator Christopher Dodd (D-Connecticut).

"Fear of the Y2K malfunctions in these systems is a matter of great concern," Dodd told the National Press Club.

"Since the end of the Cold War, nations of the world have been concerned about the safety of nuclear weapons in the former Soviet Union."

Dodd said that a center being established in Colorado Springs, Colorado, aims to provide a "clear look at the skies," on New Year's Day, with one focus on Russian communications and military infrastructure.

The center will be designed to detect potential Y2K trouble in Russian nuclear weapons systems.

"Nations can overreact in a blind situation," Dodd said. "The center in Colorado Springs will provide secure lines of communication to eliminate that possibility."

He said the joint center will establish a clear line of communication with Moscow to validate potential nuclear events within Russia as real or computer-generated.

He said that Russian representatives plan to attend and participate in the Colorado Springs facilty, but that the State Department is still negotiating the terms of participation with Russian officials.

"There is no longer time to negotiate -- the remaining four months should be used to create and establish [the facility]."

Dodd recommended that the US military also consider inviting representatives of China, India, and Pakistan to the center.

"This is clearly in our self-interest to assist the Russian military," Dodd said. "There are serious problems that exist with the government today [that threaten] the long-term interests of the 21st Century United States."

"We can play a positive role without humiliating the people in Russia."

Read ongoing Y2K Coverage

http://www.wired.com/news/news/ytwok/

---

BY BOB BREWIN (antenna@fcw.com) AND DANIEL VERTON (dan_verton@fcw.com), SEPTEMBER 6, 1999 Federal Computer Week

http://www.fcw.com/pubs/fcw/1999/0906/fcw-newsrussians-09-06-99.html

Russia lags far behind in its efforts to fix potential Year 2000 problems that threaten its command and control systems and nuclear warhead storage facilities, according to a Pentagon message that details high-level talks between the U.S. Defense Department and the Russian Ministry of Defense.

The message, sent late last month by the Defense Attache Office in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, discloses that the Russian Ministry of Defense (MOD) has decided to bypass "due to time constraints" the laborious system-certification process that requires programmers to examine every line of code to determine whether it contains Year 2000 bugs.

Instead, the message said the Russians have decided to go directly to live testing of systems to locate Year 2000 errors in the 100 systems they have identified as mission-critical.

The message provided detailed highlights of meetings held last month between delegations headed by Edward Warner, assistant secretary of Defense for strategy and threat reduction, and Gen.-Col. Valery Manilov of the Russian MOD. The MOD team asked a delegation from the Pentagon to provide assistance from "key U.S. software vendors to address Y2K certification and information-assurance issues."

Members of the Pentagon delegation included Warner and representatives from the Joint Staff and the U.S. Space Command. The Russian delegation included representatives from the General Staff Y2K Directorate, the Strategic Rocket Directorate, which controls the Russian nuclear weapons arsenal, and others.

Government and industry officials familiar with the federal Year 2000 effort said the memo indicated just how far behind the Russians were in preparing computer systems that control nuclear weapons and other nuclear facilities. Year 2000 failures in those systems have U.S. and Russian Defense officials concerned about the systems reporting false nuclear attacks.

"Anyone who is surprised the Russians are behind in their Y2K preparations hasn't been paying attention," said a senior Clinton administration official.

Olga Grkavac, executive vice president of the Information Technology Association of America's Enterprise Solutions Division, called the level of support Russia requested "no surprise" given the number of warnings and concerns expressed by the CIA and other national security agencies over the possible consequences of computer failures. Although the fact that discussions have been restarted is "encouraging," Grkavac said there probably is enough time left for the Russian MOD to address "only the most critical of the mission-critical systems."

A Pentagon source close to the negotiations said the talks remain at a "low level," but that Secretary of Defense William Cohen plans to visit Moscow next week for high-level talks on Year 2000 preparedness and cooperation. "In principle, we've reached an agreement, but there are still details that need to be worked out," the Pentagon source said.

Bruce McConnell, director of the International Y2K Cooperation Center, which was founded under the United Nation's auspices, said the memo was encouraging because it indicated Russia was reaching out for help. "We're really glad to see the Russians reach out and work with the international community and get help when they need it," he said.

In addition, given the delay in cooperating on Year 2000 fixes caused by the war in Kosovo, which strained relations between Russia and the United States, Grkavac's comments on timing "are probably not too far off of the mark," one source said. "My money would be on looking only at the most critical systems."

The late August meeting also focused on what the message described as "measures to be taken by [the Russian] MOD in ensuring security and accountability of the MOD nuclear warheads during the Y2K transition period."

The Russians have "undertaken the creation of Y2K monitoring and control centers at its nuclear weapons storage sites,'' but the Russians need U.S. assistance in equipping the centers, according to the attache message.

The Russians asked the Pentagon to help furnish it with equipment for those monitoring and control centers, including "computers, copiers, fax and communications equipment, portable power generators, emergency response vehicles, utility repair vehicles, warhead handling and transport vehicles, and environmental monitoring equipment."

Both sides also edged closer to an agreement on Russian participation on the Center for Strategic Stability, set up by the Pentagon in Colorado Springs, Colo., to ensure that Year 2000 errors in both nations' C2 systems or nuclear control systems could not lead to an accidental launch, according to the memo. Both sides reached "general consensus" on a draft statement on Russian participation in that center "with the intent of having a document signed by...[Cohen] and the Russian MOD at their upcoming meeting,'' slated for Sept. 13.

Communications specialists from both sides already have agreed to install a "secure and highly reliable link'' between the Colorado Springs center and a Russian command center in Moscow that will include a dedicated terrestrial circuit and a backup satellite link.

A high-ranking DOD official familiar with the Moscow talks said the Russians' requests for assistance probably should be discounted "because their requests tend to be a mix of what they need and what they want. They think we're Santa Claus.''

This DOD official, speaking on background, added that the Pentagon has received assurance from the Russians that their key nuclear C2 systems will not be damaged by the Year 2000 bug. "We are also working with them to ensure that their nuclear custodial sites are not adversely affected by Y2K,'' the DOD official added. Another DOD official said it was hard to determine the extent of Russian Year 2000 problems "because they don't tell us everything.'' But, she added, "if they are far behind, they are working hard to catch up."

The high-ranking DOD official declined to comment directly on the contents of the attache's message, but he did say that the "time constraints" associated with fixing Russian mission-critical systems was a real concern, and the Pentagon's efforts to help the Russians were impeded by their cessation of Year 2000 talks and joint efforts over the NATO bombing of Serbia. "Because of that pause, months of valuable discussions were lost,'' the official said.

---

By Jim Wolf, September 9 3:51 AM ET
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19990909/tc/yk_missiles_2.html
http://search.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/WPlate/1999-09/09/233l-090999-idx.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Key senators called Wednesday for the inclusion of China, India and Pakistan in a U.S.-planned ``early warning'' center aimed at avoiding Year 2000-related missile miscues.

So far, only Russia -- with 2,500 nuclear-tipped missiles on hair-trigger alert -- has been invited by the Clinton administration to join in a shared Y2K Center for Strategic Stability being set up in Colorado.

Robert Bennett, the Utah Republican who heads a special Senate panel on the 2000 technology problem, and Connecticut Democrat Christopher Dodd, the vice chair, said they were optimistic that Russia finally was ready to accept the U.S. invitation.

``I think it's not a bad idea to even talk about inviting China...and even including an India and a Pakistan,'' now that Russia seems set to sign an agreement on participating within a week, Dodd told a luncheon at the National Press Club.

Dodd and Bennett, who also spoke at the club, later told Reuters they planned to press the administration to expand the center to include these three.

The Pentagon has said it would seat Russian and U.S. officers side-by-side at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs for a week or so on either side of the new year to head off fear of attack if the Y2K glitch blinds Russia's normal warning networks.

The Pentagon, which has earmarked $3.6 billion over six years to fix its Y2K problems, says it is confident its own ''mission critical'' systems will not be troubled by Y2K, glitches that could cause ill-prepared computers to crash or malfunction.

DIRECT LINKS TO RUSSIAN COMMANDERS

Inviting China, Pakistan and India ``would demonstrate that the United States is not trying to take advantage of the vulnerabilities of other countries,'' Bennett said. As currently planned, the center would have redundant direct links to Russian commanders in Moscow.

The Pentagon had no immediate comment.

Last year, Pakistan and India added a nuclear arms danger to their long rivalry. China-U.S. ties are strained by tension over Taiwan, alleged Chinese theft of U.S. nuclear weapons secrets and clashes over human rights among other things.

Russian and U.S. defense officials resumed contacts on the shared Colorado post and other Y2K issues in Moscow last month. Russia had frozen the dialogue in March after U.S.-led NATO began bombing in Serbia, a Russian ally.

The two sides have reached ``general consensus'' on Russian participation, with a view to have Defense Secretary William Cohen and his Russian counterpart, Igor Sergeyev, sign a formal agreement at a scheduled meeting in Moscow Monday, U.S. defense officials said.

Dodd told the luncheon that the United States, with the exception of its health care industry, was in ``good shape'' to cope with Y2K. But he said he was worried about possible disruptions in China, Japan, Italy and, above all, Russia.

``The commercial implications of a computer problem of the magnitude of Y2K, which could easily strike at the heart of an already vulnerable economy, ought to be of concern to everyone,'' he said.

In particular, he cited dangers associated with 16 ''Chernobyl-type'' nuclear reactors within the borders of the old Soviet Union.

``No one is expecting any sort of catastrophic nuclear meltdown because of Y2K,'' he said. But ``the computers controlling daily operations may well experience problems that impact safety operations.''

--------------

By JAMES A. LEACH, September 10, 1999
http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/oped/10leac.html

WASHINGTON -- Recent allegations that American and European banks have facilitated money laundering for Russian organized-crime figures underscore how intractable a problem corruption in Russia is and how vulnerable Western institutions are to the lure of servicing the world's most virulent kleptocracy.

Russia is hardly the first country to be victimized by a culture of corruption. The plundering of the Philippines under Marcos, the looting of Zaire by Mobutu and Indonesia's crony capitalism during the last years of Suharto stand as parallels. What sets Russia apart is the pervasiveness of politically tolerated corruption in a country of such size and geopolitical significance.

The Russian Government estimates that criminal syndicates control 40 percent of the economy and perhaps half of the country's banking assets, though others put the figures higher. In any country where political stability is questionable and legal protections of property are unreliable, those who come to control wealth, legally or otherwise, can be expected to invest abroad. In Russia, theft exceeds investment, resulting in negative economic growth and a disillusioned society.

The question is how the West should respond. Americans have both a vested and a humanitarian interest in helping the Russian transition to democracy. But there's no credible way to suggest to taxpayers that they should support assistance to a government that allows insiders to recycle aid from the West in the form of laundered bank deposits, personal investments in the stock market or Pebble Beach real estate.

American policy in this circumstance should be directed to helping the Russian people, not its rulers.

The struggle of the last half century was to defeat Communism; the challenge in the years ahead will be to constrain corruption. The second struggle may well prove more difficult, because avarice is a more fundamental aspect of human nature than the Communist precept that people are subject to historical determinist forces beyond the individual's control.

We should begin by enforcing our laws, issuing indictments if necessary. Such actions might prompt Russian prosecutors to do the same, calling Russia's new class of thieving oligarchs to account for domestic crimes more serious than international banking violations. We should also emphasize retrieving stolen assets for the Russian people rather than giving new aid, except perhaps food assistance.

For the Russians' part, instead of propelling the flight of capital through a banking system that principally serves as a platform for money laundering, they should establish community-oriented banks and press for the opening of branches of well-regulated Western banks in which people can trust that their savings will be turned into loans for local enterprises. No nation, after all, can prosper if it lacks institutions where people can safely put their money and seek secure loans.

Most of all, we have an obligation to insure that the corrosive impact of foreign corruption is blocked from our shores. America may be as challenged today by the threat of a deterioration of values -- galloping corruption -- as it was yesterday by Marxist ideology.

James A. Leach, a Republican Representative from Iowa, is chairman of the House Banking Committee, which will hold hearings this month on international financial corruption.

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MOSCOW, Sep 6, 1999 -- (Agence France Presse)
http://www.russiatoday.com/news.php3?id=90019

Russia said Friday it had successfully test-fired a ballistic missile after the Topol-M hit its target in the Far East Kamchatka peninsula, Interfax reported quoting strategic rocket command.

The fifth-generation intercontinental ballistic missile was launched at 3:44 p.m. (1144 GMT) from Plesetsk, north of Moscow, and landed thousands of kilometers (miles) east at the Kura testing site on Kamchatka, Interfax said.

"The pre-launch operations, launch and flight of the missile followed the program to the letter," said General Vladimir Yakovlev, commander of the strategic rocket forces.

He said the missile had hit its target "with a high degree of accuracy."

It was the eighth test of the Topol-M missile over the past three years.

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Minor leak shuts down Swiss nuclear power plant

September 8, 1999 Associated Press
http://www2.nando.net/noframes/story/0,2107,90709-143609-1000772-0,00.html

BERN, Switzerland (September 8, 1999 9:35 a.m. EDT http://www.nandotimes.com) - A nuclear power station near the Swiss capital shut down for 13 hours overnight following a radioactive steam leak, the local power authority said Wednesday.

The generator at Muehleberg stopped automatically at 9 p.m. Tuesday after an "extremely minimal quantity of slightly radioactive steam" leaked, Martin Pfisterer, an official with the authority, told Swiss radio.

Pfisterer said the steam did not leak outside the plant and tests had found no increase in radioactivity levels. The plant's second turbine was already shut for maintenance.

Swiss authorities allowed the station to be reactivated Wednesday morning.

Last October, the Swiss government announced it was planning the country's eventual exit from nuclear power. But environmental campaigners criticized the lack of a timeframe for closing the country's five nuclear power plants.

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01:16 p.m Sep 09, 1999 Eastern
http://www.dogpile.com - search Infoseek

BRUSSELS, Sept 9 (Reuters) - The European Commission said on Thursday it expected Lithuania to shut down the second of two reactors at its Ignalina nuclear power plant by 2009, after Vilnius set 2005 as the deadline for closing the first.

Lithuanian Economy Minister Eugenijus Maldeikis met Commission officials in Brussels on Thursday to present the country's national energy strategy, including the nuclear shutdown.

He argued that Lithuania has made changes which should allow it to cope better with competitive pressures in the European Union, which it has applied to join, the two sides said in a joint statement.

The Commission, the EU's executive, welcomed the decision to begin decommissioning at Ignalina, and said in a statement it ``considers that this will lead to the closure of unit 2 by 2009.''

The EU has consistently pressed for the closure of the Soviet-built power plant, with some countries linking the closure date to Lithuania's drive to start membership talks.

The Ignalina plant is similar to the one that caused the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine, when a reactor exploded, spewing radioactive dust over much of Europe. It currently provides Lithuania with more than 80 percent of its energy needs.

In return for closing the first Ignalina reactor, Lithuania will receive ``substantial long-term financial assistance'' from the EU, G7 and other international financial institutions, the statement said.

The Commission said Lithuania could now make use of additional funding under the EU's Euratom Loan financing programme and the PHARE programme for prospective EU members in eastern Europe.

Lithuania is not among the EU applicants selected for fast-track membership talks, but hopes its decision in Ignalina could speed things up.

((Michael Mann, Brussels newsroom, +322 287 6830, fax +322 230 5573, brussels.newsroom+reuters.com))

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By Andrius Vilkancas, September 8 11:33 AM ET
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/nm/19990908/wl/lithuania_nuclear_1.html

VILNIUS (Reuters) - Lithuania Wednesday set 2005 as the deadline for decommissioning the first of two reactors at its Ignalina nuclear power plant, winning praise from the European Union which it wants to join.

The cabinet voted unanimously in favor of the date, the first time Lithuania has set a firm deadline for shutting down the reactor. Parliament must still approve the shutdown date.

The EU has pressed hard for a firm date for the closure of the Soviet-built Ignalina plant, with some member states linking the date to Lithuania's drive to start accession talks.

``Certainly, nuclear safety is one of the main benchmarks of the applicants' suitability for (EU) accession,'' said Nico Wegter, spokesman for outgoing external relations Commissioner Hans van den Broek.

``The new Commission will certainly take this (move) into account when drafting the annual reports on the applicants, which are due around next month and will be discussed at December's Helsinki summit,'' he added.

Ignalina, 120 km (70 miles) northeast of the capital Vilnius, operates two RBMK reactors similar to the one that caused the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine when a reactor exploded, spewing a cloud of radioactive dust over Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and parts of western Europe.

The plant currently provides Lithuania with over 80 percent of its electrical energy needs, making the Baltic state the most nuclear-dependent country in the world.

Economy Minister Eugenijus Maldeikis, whose portfolio includes responsibility for energy affairs, told the cabinet: ''In the draft (energy) strategy we are talking about closure of the first unit by 2005. This is closely linked with long-term and essential European Union financial support.''

Closing the first reactor might cost Lithuania $2.5 billion, he said. Estimates for the full decommissioning of the entire plant range as high as $4 billion, which Lithuania says it will not be able to cover alone.

``Concerning the second unit, the issue will be solved in the amended energy strategy in 2004,'' Maldeikis said.

The date is part of Lithuania's long-term energy strategy, which Maldeikis will present to European Commission officials during a visit to Brussels later this week.

No decisions have been taken on how to replace Ignalina, although the economy ministry has begun talks on possible natural gas pipelines from Denmark. President Valdas Adamkus has said he would consider building a new, modern nuclear plant.

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06:51 a.m. Sep 08, 1999 Eastern By Andrius Vilkancas
http://www.dogpile.com - search Infoseek

VILNIUS, Sept 8 (Reuters) - The Lithuanian government on Wednesday set 2005 as the deadline for decommissioning the first of its two reactors at the Soviet-built Ignalina nuclear power, a move it hopes will help clear a path to European Union membership talks.

The cabinet voted unanimously in favour of the date, the first time Lithuania has set a firm deadline for shutting down the reactor, which many politicians see as a key to starting fast track EU entry talks.

Parliament must still approve the shutdown date.

Ignalina, 120 km (70 miles) northeast of the capital Vilnius, operates two RBMK reactors similar to the one that caused the 1986 Chernobyl disaster in Ukraine when a reactor exploded, spewing a cloud of radioactive dust over Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and parts of western Europe.

The EU has pressed hard for a firm date for Ignalina's closure with some member states linking the date to the country's drive to start accession talks.

The plant currently provides Lithuania with over 80 percent of its electrical energy needs, making the Baltic state the most nuclear-dependent country in the world.

Economy Minister Eugenijus Maldeikis, whose portfolio includes responsibility for energy affairs, told the cabinet that: ``In the draft (energy) strategy we are talking about closure of the first unit by 2005.

``This is closely linked with long-term and essential European Union financial support,'' he said.

Closing the first reactor might cost Lithuania $2.5 billion, he said. Estimates for the full decommissioning of the entire plant range as high as $4 billion, which Lithuania says it will not be able to cover alone.

``Concerning the second unit, the issue will be solved in the amended energy strategy in 2004,'' Maldeikis said.

The date is part of Lithuania's long-term energy strategy, which Maldeikis will present to European Commission officials during a visit to Brussels later this week.

``This government decision is the result of our dialogue with the European Commission and though I don't know their opinion, I think this will make (entry) negotiations easier,'' Foreign Minister Algirdas Saudargas told Reuters after the cabinet meeting.

Lithuania undertook under an EBRD/Nuclear Safety Account (NSA) grant in 1994 not to rechannel fuel rods at the Ignalina reactors when they wore out, a process originally envisioned in 2005 for Unit One and 2010 for Unit Two.

However, in the past two years officials have said they will shut the reactors only when international experts decide that they are unsafe, causing some speculation that they may try to extend the lifetime of the 15-year-old first reactor.

The plant supplies most of Lithuania's energy even with its two 1,500 megawatt reactors running at only about 1,300 MgW at any given moment. But officials say the country has sufficient domestic supply without Ignalina.

Currently only one of the reactors is operating at about 1,250 MgW, a plant spokesman told Reuters.

Lithuania also has a 1,800 MgW fossil fuel power plant at Elektreniai which would be sufficient for summer usage needs of just 1,000 to 1,200 MgW.

No decisions have been taken on how to replace Ignalina, although the economy ministry has begun talks on possible natural gas pipelines from Denmark and President Valdas Adamkus has said he would consider building a new, modern nuclear plant.

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September 9, 9:07 am Eastern Time
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/990909/m7.html

Taurus Systems GmbH, the two firms' joint venture, is already developing missiles for the German Defence Ministry for use by Tornado and Eurofighter jets, the company said. Germany is expected to take delivery of the missiles by 2002.

Dasa declined to disclose which countries it was in talks with about the potential sale of the Taurus missiles but rebuffed reports that the Italian government had opted for British and French-made missiles at Taurus' expense.

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September 10, 5:38 am Eastern Time
http://biz.yahoo.com/rf/990910/et.html

BERLIN, Sept 10 (Reuters) - German Economics Minister Werner Mueller said on Friday the government could not legally insist on the closure of any nuclear power stations before the end of 2002.

Mueller said in an interview with Berlin-daily Die Tageszeitung, that forced closures of still profitable power plants would hurt the interests of shareholders and they would be within their rights to sue the company's management.

``By 2002 we will not manage to shut down any nuclear power stations. How can we legally do so?'' Mueller said.

``This was the aim of politicians with ambitious intentions.''

Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's coalition partners, the ecologist Greens, have demanded that the decommissioning of Germany's 19 nuclear power stations begin in this parliament.

Environment Minister Juergen Trittin, one of just three Greens in the cabinet, has angered industry with his repeated demands for a speedy shutdown.

German media reports said he wanted to see six plants closed by 2003. Another Green member has demanded that three nuclear power stations be shut down by 2002.

Mueller, a former senior executive in the nuclear industry, has come up with a plan to limit the operating life of nuclear plants to 35 years which would mean the first unit would go off-line in 2003 and the last in 2024.

He said on Friday, that if the government wished to force closures before the plants had come to the end of their profitable life it would have to buy them off the companies.

``He who wants to go off-line before it is economically sensible to do so will have to in effect buy the nuclear power stations,'' he said.

German utilities RWE AG (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: RWEG.F), Veba AG (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: VEBG.F), Viag AG (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland:

VIAG.F) and Energie Baden-Wuerttemberg (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: EBKG.F) have threatened to sue for damages if they lose any money as the country withdraws from nuclear power.

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