NucNews - February 13, 2005 -------- NUCLEAR -------- depleted uranium Iraqi boy who received leukemia treatment in Japan dies Sunday, February 13, 2005 Japan Today http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=327579 NAGOYA — A 6-year-old Iraqi boy who returned to Iraq last October after undergoing treatment for leukemia for nearly 10 months in Japan, died last Sunday after his condition suddenly deteriorated, a Japanese civic group that sponsored his stay in Japan said Saturday. Abbas A-Ali Al-Malky, who is believed to have contracted leukemia from depleted uranium used in the Iraq war, died shortly after being taken to the hospital, said Mariko Ono, representative of the Nagoya group Save the Iraqi Children. The boy developed a fever the night before his death. (Kyodo News) -------- iran Iran rejects key EU offer in nuclear talks TEHRAN (AFP) Feb 13, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050213144024.8yq45dt0.html Iran on Sunday rejected a European offer aimed at limiting its nuclear fuel activities and warned the United States against "playing with fire" in an increasingly bellicose standoff between Tehran and the West. Foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi insisted Iran would not give up construction of a heavy-water reactor, which can be used to make nuclear weapons material, in exchange for a light-water reactor offered by the Europeans. "We welcome such proposals but we will not under any circumstances replace our heavy-water research reactor," Asefi said at a press conference. "We will continue working on our heavy-water reactor," under construction at Arak southwest of Tehran. "We have told the Europeans to tell their American allies not to play with fire and the Europeans received that message perfectly well," Asefi said. The conservative-controlled parliament meanwhile prepared to muddy the waters, drawing up draft legislation requiring Iran to produce some of its own nuclear fuel. "Parliament is to debate a bill requiring the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization to produce part of the fuel needed for the country's power stations," the organization's vice president Mohammed Saidi told the official IRNA news agency. Key decisions on Iran's nuclear programme are all taken at the very highest levels of the regime, but MPs have previously approved legislation to make a symbolic point. Last October they passed a bill advocating continued uranium enrichment. Britain, France and Germany are trying to convince Iran it should dismantle an enrichment programme, which the United States says is part of a covert atomic weapons development, in return for economic and political rewards. Diplomats said EU negotiators have offered to send a mission to help Tehran obtain a light-water research reactor in what would be the first concrete move towards rewarding it for abandoning uranium enrichment. But Tehran's stance on the Arak reactor is likely to complicate the European task amid an escalating war of words between Iran and the United States over the clerical regime's nuclear activities. Iran insists its nuclear programme is purely for civilian energy needs, but the United States -- less than two years on from its invasion of Iraq in March 2003 -- has hinted at the possible use of military force. However Asefi declared: "We don't take Rice's threats seriously," referring to new US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who last week urged European negotiators to take a tough line with Iran and warned Tehran of sanctions if it refuses to renounce its nuclear weapons programme. "Rice and US officials know well Iran's capabilities (of responding)," he added. The Washington Post reported Sunday that the United States has been flying drones over Iran since April 2004, seeking evidence of nuclear weapons programmes and probing for weaknesses in Iran's air defences. The revelation came after the US National Intelligence Council launched a broad review of its classified data on Iran to assess its alleged weapons drive and its impact on regional and global security. Tehran insists its talks with the so-called EU3 which began in mid-December, must have concrete results within three months if they are to continue. But Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Hassan Rowhani, has acknowledged that if Tehran is referred to the UN Security Council, as demanded by the United States, Tehran cannot bank on avoiding sanctions. "If Iran does not reach an agreement with the Europeans on the nuclear issue, Iran's case will be referred to the Security Council, where it is unlikely one of the permanent members would use their veto in favour of Iran." Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States are the council's five permanent members. Iran agreed last November to suspend uranium enrichment but says it has the right to enrichment for peaceful purposes under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. ---- Iran rejects demand to stop building nuclear reactor 2/13/2005 7:28 AM (AP) http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-02-13-iran_x.htm TEHRAN, Iran — Iran rejected a European demand to stop building a heavy water nuclear reactor in return for a light-water reactor Sunday, hardening Iran's position on a key part of its nuclear facilities that critics claim is part of a weapons program. Iran has given indications in the past that it will insist on keeping its heavy water nuclear reactor, but Sunday's announcement is its clearest statement yet of its nuclear plans. It underscored the unresolved differences between Iranian and European negotiators, who are continuing their talks over Iran's nuclear program even as the United States escalates its criticism of Iran. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi also said Iran plans to become a major nuclear fuel supplier in 15 years, part of a program that Iran says is for peaceful domestic energy purposes. "We intend to turn into an important and a major player in the nuclear fuel supply market in the next 15 years because there will be (an) energy shortage in the future," Asefi said. Separately, The Washington Post reported Sunday that the United States has been flying unmanned surveillance drones over Iran since last year to look for evidence of nuclear weapons programs and probe the country's air defenses. Asefi rejected a proposal by European negotiators to stop building a 40 megawatt heavy water nuclear reactor near Arak, in central Iran, in return for a light-water reactor. Iran says it has gone a long way in developing the Arak facility. "We welcome the European offer ... but this won't replace the heavy water research reactor at all. That will continue. We will pursue that," he said. Iran's top leaders have been adamant in recent days that Iran won't scrap its nuclear program, suspected by Washington as a program to produce a nuclear bomb. Asefi said Iran had long and intensive talks — "early steps forward" — with Europeans this week. He said Europe should step up efforts to show progress that justify the continuation of the negotiations. "During the talks, we tried to make it open that the nuclear fuel cycle has economic justification and that we will continue our activities in this field," Asefi told reporters. The plants in question can be used to enrich uranium, a critical part in nuclear programs. Uranium enriched to low grades is used for fuel in nuclear reactors, but further enrichment makes it suitable for atomic bombs. Iran suspended uranium enrichment and all related activities in November, hoping to build trust and avoid U.N. Security Council sanctions. The International Atomic Energy Agency is monitoring the suspension. Iran has said its suspension of uranium enrichment activities are voluntary and temporary. Europeans seek to persuade Iran to turn its temporary suspension of dual use nuclear activities into a permanent cessation. Iranian officials have suggested that any acceptance of a permanent freeze of its nuclear activities would collapse the government since its program is a matter of national pride and prestige. Under an agreement reached with the European Union, Iran will continue suspension of its enrichment activities during negotiations about European economic, political and technological aid. Iran has said it will decide in a matter of months whether to continue its suspension, which is monitored by U.N. nuclear inspectors. ---- US Spy Agencies Launch Review Of Iran Data Washington (AFP) Feb 13, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/news/iraq-05g.html The US intelligence community, chastened by its fiasco in Iraq, has launched a broad review of its classified data on Iran to assess its suspected drive to manufacture nuclear weapons, US officials have said. The review, ordered by the National Intelligence Council, was expected to produce two major papers -- a new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran and a so-called "memo to holders," the officials said. "It involves the entire intelligence community to write these products," said one of the officials, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity. The official gave no specific date but said the new NIE was "coming out" while the memorandum was expected "several months from now." The official made a point to say that the "memo to holders" was "self-initiated." "It is not that somebody has requested it," the official added. The United States relied extensively on a similar intelligence review in arguing its case to go to war on Iraq in 2003, but the intelligence community has not produced a formal estimate on Iran since 2001. Analysts said the new focus on the country likely reflected new strategic priorities for the administration of President George W. Bush, who has accused Iran of "pursuing nuclear weapons while depriving its people of the freedom they seek and deserve." A report in The Washington Post Sunday meanwhile revealed that the United States has been flying drones over Iran since April 2004, seeking evidence of nuclear weapons programs and probing for weaknesses in Iran's air defenses. Such aerial espionage is standard in military preparations for an eventual air attack and is also employed as a tool for intimidation, the Post pointed out. Officials familiar with the program told the daily the surveillance had thus far added little new information about Iran's nuclear activities. The CIA-led intelligence review was expected to parallel a reassessment of information about Iran being undertaken by the Senate intelligence committee, which was to hold a series of closed-door hearings on the matter in coming months, according to congressional officials. Last year, the committee probed the US failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, whose alleged presence in the country served as the prime rationale for the March 2003 invasion. A scathing report produced as a result of this investigation accused the intelligence community of "group think," "poor management" and "inadequate intelligence collection." The Central Intelligence Agency told Congress late last year that Iranian efforts to develop an indigenous nuclear fuel cycle had "clear weapons potential." In its most recent report on proliferation matters, the CIA suggested International Atomic Energy Agency inspections and safeguards will most likely prevent Tehran from using its declared nuclear facilities for its weapons program as long as Tehran remains a party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. "However, Iran could use the same technology at other, covert locations for military applications," the agency warned. Moreover, the CIA said that Iran "may have already stockpiled" various types of deadly chemical agents and "probably has the capability to produce at least small quantities" of biological weapons. The intelligence reviews come as rhetoric surrounding Iran's suspected nuclear weapons drive is heating up, with US Vice President Richard Cheney pointing out last week that while the United States preferred a diplomatic solution, "we have not eliminated any alternative." Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, for his part, warned on Thursday that anyone who will try to invade Iran would be greeted with a "burning hell." ---- Senator Urges U.S. to Join European Effort on Iran By REUTERS Published: February 13, 2005 Filed at 12:27 p.m. ET http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/politics/politics-iran-usa-senator.html WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States must join Europe's effort to persuade Iran to abandon nuclear ambitions or face either Tehran as a nuclear power or the need to invade the country to prevent it, a leading Democratic lawmaker said on Sunday. ``We're at odds with our European friends, and it doesn't leave many options,'' Sen. Joe Biden, the ranking Democrat on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told ``Fox News Sunday.'' Biden said the effort of Britain, France and Germany, on behalf of the European Union, only had the chance to succeed if the nations were willing to invoke economic sanctions, including on Iranian oil sales. The three countries have been trying to persuade Iran to scrap potentially weapons-related activities in return for economic incentives. German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer signaled a tougher tone on Sunday, warning Iran it would be referred to the U.N. Security Council for possible action if it restarted nuclear enrichment. Iran denies it is pursuing nuclear bombs. Biden said the Bush administration, which says it does not rule out any option to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, had to be willing to sign on to a ``genuine nonaggression pact.'' ``This is a case where we're remaining to sit on the sidelines,'' Biden said. ``The three European countries that are negotiating with the Iranians are saying, 'Look, we've got to get in the deal with them. We can't just sit on the sidelines.''' He criticized Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice for indicating recently that the United States might not sign on to a deal with Iran even if it forswore a missile capability and nuclear weapons in a verifiable way. ``Nothing they're going to be able to do is going to be involved with us unless we're willing to get into some kind of an agreement that results in a verifiable arms control agreement,'' Biden said. And he noted that should the diplomatic effort fail, the issue can be referred to the United Nations, where sanctions could be imposed. ``If neither of those work, and I'm not at all sure they would, then you're left with one of two options: You accept them as a nuclear power, which I'm disinclined to do, or you invade, which we are not really particularly capable of doing right now,'' Biden said. In Tehran, an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Sunday the talks with European nations might produce a deal, describing the latest round that took place in Geneva on Friday, as ``deeper and more professional.'' Biden said the standoff with Iran was similar to the one with North Korea, where the United States has been reluctant to provide incentives for Pyongyang to dismantle its nuclear program. ``We have to be willing to use a few more carrots,'' Biden said, and the other negotiating partners, including China, Japan and South Korea, have ``to make it clear that there's consequences'' if North Korea does not cooperate. ``It cannot be done one way or the other,'' he said. ---- Iran Warns U.S. Not to Play with Nuclear 'Fire' By REUTERS Published: February 13, 2005 Filed at 12:00 p.m. ET http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/news/news-nuclear-iran.html TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran warned the United States on Sunday not to attack its nuclear facilities and said talks with Europe might produce a deal to defuse the dispute over its alleged covert ambitions to build atomic weapons. ``They know our capabilities. We have clearly told the Europeans to tell the Americans not to play with fire,'' Iranian spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told a news briefing in Tehran, referring to Washington's refusal to rule out the use of force. Germany, however, warned that Iran could be referred to the U.N. Security Council for its nuclear activities -- a toughening of the European line that narrows a rift between Europe and Washington which Iran has tried for months to exploit. An American newspaper, meanwhile, reported that U.S. military bases had been flying pilotless drone aircraft into Iran to hunt for tell-tale traces of nuclear weapons programs. Asefi said Iran was determined to continue its nuclear program which it says is solely for peaceful power generation. But Washington accuses Tehran of secretly pursuing atomic weapons under cover of the civil program and says it does not rule out any option to stop it acquiring them. France, Britain and Germany have been trying to persuade Iran to scrap potentially weapons-related activities in return for economic incentives. Iran has said repeatedly it will not give up plans to build a heavy-water reactor, which can be used to make weapons-grade material, in exchange for a light-water reactor offered by the Europeans, which is less useful for a weapons program. ``We will not under any circumstances replace our heavy-water research reactor,'' Asefi said on Sunday. ``We will continue building our heavy-water reactor.'' But Asefi said there was a chance of a deal with the Europeans, describing the latest round of Iran-EU talks, which took place in Geneva on Friday, as ``deeper and more professional.'' TOUGHER LINE FROM GERMANY German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer however signaled a tougher tone on Iran on Sunday. ``If Iran were to behave unreasonably, against its own interests, if it for example restarted (uranium) enrichment ... then that would lead to the Security Council. That would be then the right church, so to speak,'' he told a conference in Munich. Iran suspended uranium enrichment in November as a goodwill gesture in the run-up to the talks with EU nations, but said the suspension would be last months rather than years. Enriched uranium can be used in both weapons and power stations. Fischer did not say what action could ensue from a referral to the Security Council, noting there was resistance to U.S. calls for sanctions against Tehran. Diplomats say permanent, veto-holding Council members Russia and China would oppose them. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said last week Tehran must accept terms offered by the European Union or be referred to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions. ``I think if the United States were to engage positively -- and I'm aware of the difficulties of doing that -- that it would substantially strengthen the EU drive,'' Fischer said. Mohammad Saeedi, director-general for international affairs at Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, on Sunday said Iran's parliament could force the government to resume uranium enrichment. ``Parliament is preparing a bill which will oblige the organization to produce part of the fuel needed for our nuclear reactors,'' Saeedi told the official IRNA news agency. The Russian-built 1,000-megawatt Bushehr nuclear reactor, Iran's only nuclear power plant, will begin operating in late 2005 and reach full capacity in 2006. Hardline lawmakers, accusing President Mohammad Khatami's government of making too many concessions in its nuclear talks with European countries, last year obliged the government by law to press ahead with a nuclear energy program. The Washington Post said the U.S. military had been flying pilotless planes into Iran from bases in Iraq using radar, photography and air filters to detect nuclear activity. Iran denies U.S. accusations it is building bombs under cover of the civil program. But Asefi said it would never permanently end its disputed nuclear activities. ``Iran strongly insists on its views and we will not give up our people's legitimate right,'' he declared. ---- Iran to be taken to UN Security Council if restarts nuclear work: Fischer MUNICH, Germany (AFP) Feb 13, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050213121540.i4y15g89.html German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer warned on Sunday that Iran would be referred to the UN Security Council if it resumed nuclear enrichment which could be used for weapons. "If Iran behaves in an unreasonable way, if for example it restarts enrichment... then that would lead to the Security Council," Fischer told an international security conference in the German city of Munich. The world is awaiting the outcome of negotiations led by Germany, France and Britain over Iran's nuclear programme. The Europeans are trying to offer economic and political benefits to Iran to persuade it not to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists it is not seeking to build a bomb, but the United States suspects Tehran is working on a covert weapons programme that could spark an arms race in the Middle East. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said this month that a military attack on Iran is not on the agenda for the time being but has urged the European negotiators to take a tough line with Iran. ---- US Spy Agencies Launch Review Of Iran Data Washington (AFP) Feb 13, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/news/iraq-05g.html The US intelligence community, chastened by its fiasco in Iraq, has launched a broad review of its classified data on Iran to assess its suspected drive to manufacture nuclear weapons, US officials have said. The review, ordered by the National Intelligence Council, was expected to produce two major papers -- a new National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) on Iran and a so-called "memo to holders," the officials said. "It involves the entire intelligence community to write these products," said one of the officials, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity. The official gave no specific date but said the new NIE was "coming out" while the memorandum was expected "several months from now." The official made a point to say that the "memo to holders" was "self-initiated." "It is not that somebody has requested it," the official added. The United States relied extensively on a similar intelligence review in arguing its case to go to war on Iraq in 2003, but the intelligence community has not produced a formal estimate on Iran since 2001. Analysts said the new focus on the country likely reflected new strategic priorities for the administration of President George W. Bush, who has accused Iran of "pursuing nuclear weapons while depriving its people of the freedom they seek and deserve." A report in The Washington Post Sunday meanwhile revealed that the United States has been flying drones over Iran since April 2004, seeking evidence of nuclear weapons programs and probing for weaknesses in Iran's air defenses. Such aerial espionage is standard in military preparations for an eventual air attack and is also employed as a tool for intimidation, the Post pointed out. Officials familiar with the program told the daily the surveillance had thus far added little new information about Iran's nuclear activities. The CIA-led intelligence review was expected to parallel a reassessment of information about Iran being undertaken by the Senate intelligence committee, which was to hold a series of closed-door hearings on the matter in coming months, according to congressional officials. Last year, the committee probed the US failure to find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, whose alleged presence in the country served as the prime rationale for the March 2003 invasion. A scathing report produced as a result of this investigation accused the intelligence community of "group think," "poor management" and "inadequate intelligence collection." The Central Intelligence Agency told Congress late last year that Iranian efforts to develop an indigenous nuclear fuel cycle had "clear weapons potential." In its most recent report on proliferation matters, the CIA suggested International Atomic Energy Agency inspections and safeguards will most likely prevent Tehran from using its declared nuclear facilities for its weapons program as long as Tehran remains a party to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. "However, Iran could use the same technology at other, covert locations for military applications," the agency warned. Moreover, the CIA said that Iran "may have already stockpiled" various types of deadly chemical agents and "probably has the capability to produce at least small quantities" of biological weapons. The intelligence reviews come as rhetoric surrounding Iran's suspected nuclear weapons drive is heating up, with US Vice President Richard Cheney pointing out last week that while the United States preferred a diplomatic solution, "we have not eliminated any alternative." Iranian President Mohammad Khatami, for his part, warned on Thursday that anyone who will try to invade Iran would be greeted with a "burning hell." -------- treaties http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/13/opinion/l13nuclear.html A New Nuclear Treaty Published: February 13, 2005 NY Times To the Editor: You have it exactly right that the Pentagon and our weapons scientists are encouraging nuclear proliferation by proliferating new weapons of our own ("Encouraging Nuclear Proliferation," editorial, Feb. 10). But with the dismaying announcement by North Korea that it is breaking off the talks about its nuclear program and has now joined the nuclear club by producing its own nuclear bombs, the United States must do much more than merely stopping its development of new weapons. We must call for the establishment of a negotiating body for a treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons and invite all nuclear weapons states to the table. There is still time to exercise genuine world leadership and live up to our commitment in the Non-Proliferation Treaty for "good faith" negotiations for nuclear disarmament by establishing a timetable for the abolition of nuclear weapons by all nations under strict and effective international control. Alice Slater President, Global Resource Action Center for the Environment New York, Feb. 10, 2005 -------- u.n. Annan warns of nuclear 'cascade', calls for help in Darfur MUNICH, Germany (AFP) Feb 13, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050213134934.s2oloxze.html UN Secretary General Kofi Annan warned here on Sunday of the danger of a "cascade" of nuclear proliferation unless new steps are taken to prevent it and called for help to stop killings in Darfur. Annan told a conference of defence ministers and security experts that "the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty has helped prevent a cascade of nuclear proliferation. "But unless new steps are taken now, we might face such a cascade very soon," he said. Annan said a high-level panel which has proposed far-reaching reforms of the United Nations has also made "many forward-looking recommendations" to beef up the system to prevent states from developing nuclear weapons. Without making direct reference to the current nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea, Annan said: "Member states must summon the will to act to strengthen the non-proliferation regime." The UN chief believes that up to 30 countries could seek to develop a nuclear weapons capability. "Those who have the nuclear weapons are quite well known, we have about seven (or) eight of them," Annan told the BBC in a pre-recorded interview broadcast on Sunday. "But there are estimates that about 30 countries can have it (and) have the capacity to have it," he said. At the Munich conference, Annan called on NATO and the European Union to take action in the western Sudanese region of Darfur to end violence between ethnic minority rebels and government-backed forces. A UN panel found that the civilian population in Darfur "has been brutalized by war crimes, which may well amount to crimes against humanity," Annan said. "People are dying, every single day, while we fail to protect them. Additional measures are urgently required. Those organizations with real capacity -- and NATO as well as the EU are well represented in this room -- must give serious consideration to what, in practical terms, they can do to help end this tragedy," Annan said. "Remember this: our current collective shortcomings are measured in lives lost," he added. Annan saluted the work of the 1,850 African Union peacekeepers in Darfur, but said other international bodies must act as quickly as possible in a region where tens of thousands have died and 1.6 million have been displaced. The UN Security Council is currently considering how to hold those responsible for the killings in Darfur to account for their crimes. "If perpetrators of mass atrocities are allowed to get away with their crimes, it only emboldens others to do the same," he said. The killings in Darfur began nearly two years ago when the Sudanese government unleashed Arab militias against an uprising launched by ethnic minority rebels. Annan said the conflicts in Sudan -- including the north-south conflict which has recently been the subject of a peace accord -- should never have been allowed to develop. "It would have been far better if the chronic problems of governance that have long plagued Sudan had been addressed earlier," Annan said. "Our eventual goal must be a world of peaceful and capable states, able to exercise their sovereignty responsibly, and to deal with internal stresses before they erupt in conflict." Annan called on the world to strengthen collective defences "to give us the best chance of preventing latent threats from becoming actual". The UN chief said it must be accepted that "when prevention fails, and peaceful means have been exhausted, we may have to consider the use of force". ---- Washington steps up campaign to remove UN's nuclear chief By Phillip Sherwell in Washington (Filed: 13/02/2005) UK Telegraph http://telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml;sessionid=VP5P5KM4VFTLBQFIQMFSNAGAVCBQ0JVC?xml=/news/2005/02/13/wnuke13.xml&sSheet=/news/2005/02/13/ixworld.html America is stepping up its efforts to remove Mohammed El Baradei, the Egyptian head of the United Nations atomic energy agency, as Washington prepares for a showdown over Iran's secret nuclear programme, a senior Bush adminstration official has revealed. "It cannot be good for an organisation when the biggest contributor and its director general are at odds with each other," said the official, who is at the heart of policy-making in Washington. Mr El Baradei has just completed his second four-year term at the helm of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the usual limit for any chief of a UN body. Washington views him as soft on Iran's ruling clerics and suspects that he was behind the embarrassing leak about missing explosives in Iraq in the final week of last year's United States presidential election campaign. "There are gracious ways to leave the stage," the official said. "El Baradei has not chosen the gracious way, but that has not changed our view that we need a new IAEA head." US officials are trying to gain support for a no-confidence vote, possibly at the next IAEA meeting on February 28. As President George W Bush prepares for a four-day European trip to mend diplomatic fences after the rows over the Iraq war, the official said he believed that Washington and its European detractors were ready to "turn the page" on those disputes. The official said, however, that despite an apparent change of tone, there is no significant shift in American foreign policy at the start of the President's second term. In a sign of the deep transatlantic divide over how to handle Teheran's nuclear ambitions, he effectively accused Britain and its European allies of double standards for opposing US efforts to refer the issue to the UN Security Council. "We get all this criticism for being unilateralist American cowboys, but it is the US that wants to take this to the Security Council," the official said. "Who's been opposing that? Britain, France and Germany - two permanent members of the Security Council and one that wants to be. So who's in favour of using the UN system and who's against it?" The so-called EU3 (the British, French and Germans) reached an agreement with Teheran in December under which the Iranians, who say their nuclear programme is civil, not military, agreed to suspend uranium enrichment in return for trade accords and technical assistance. The US believes that the deal will fail because of Iran's track record of duplicity about its nuclear activities, and wants to refer Teheran directly to the Security Council. The official warned the European nations that their opposition to referring Iran to the Security Council "will not be forgotten in Washington" and said: "Next time we hear their views on the importance of the UN, we'll be reviewing previous comments by Europe on Iran." The next IAEA board meeting at which members will discuss the work of its nuclear inspectors in Iran begins on February 28. American diplomats at its headquarters in Vienna have begun seeking backing for a no-confidence vote on Mr El Baradei, who began a third term in office last month after the US failed to find a challenger to oppose him. Teheran last week again signalled its unwillingness to provide permanent guarantees that it has ceased all uranium enrichment operations as the mullahs celebrated the 26th anniversary of the overthrow of the Shah with mass street protests. At the same time North Korea claimed for the first time that it has nuclear weapons, and said it was withdrawing from the six-nation talks with America, China, Japan, South Korea and Russia. It said it would talk only to the US. The American official said Washington would not agree to this, although the Bush administration does believe North Korea's claim. On China, the official repeated US opposition to a resumption of weapons sales by the European Union, which imposed an arms embargo after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. The EU is preparing to lift the embargo and substitute a code of conduct governing military sales, but the US fears that advanced weaponry sold to Beijing could be deployed against its own forces in the event of military confrontation over Taiwan. The President will make clear his outright opposition to the French-led initiative in meetings in Belgium and Germany next week. In Washington, the House of Representatives condemned the EU plan by 411 votes to three, a sign of the strength of feeling in America. The administration official warned Europe that Congress might legislate to prohibit US firms from trading with European companies that conduct military trade with China. "Those European firms would have to decide: it's us or China. If the EU goes ahead with this, it will call into question the whole basis of transatlantic defence arrangements." -------- MILITARY -------- africa Mass Protests Against Togo's President Turn Violent By Bryan Mealer Associated Press Sunday, February 13, 2005; Page A23 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19794-2005Feb12.html LOME, Togo, Feb. 12 -- Thousands of people opposing Togo's army-installed president burned tires and threw jagged pieces of metal at police Saturday during a second day of demonstrations in the capital of this West African country. Security forces fought back with tear gas, batons and stun grenades, killing at least three protesters, as leaders from across Africa sought to stem the unrest a week after Faure Gnassingbe succeeded his father as president. Interior Minister Akila Esso-Boko confirmed the deaths, but said police fired after they were surrounded and protesters tried to rip their guns away. Two protesters died immediately, and one died later in a hospital, he said. Appearing on state-owned television, Gnassingbe condemned the demonstration and criticized opposition leaders, telling them they should, "show more maturity." The 52-nation African Union issued a statement from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, expressing concern over "the rapid deterioration of the situation in Togo." The statement also deplored "intimidation of journalists and the closing or jamming of independent radio stations," and implored Togo authorities to restore constitutional law. Togo's military named Gnassingbe president immediately after his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, died of a heart attack last Saturday. However, the country's constitution states that the speaker of parliament should become interim leader and call elections for a new president within 60 days. The parliament changed the constitution to remove references to the speaker assuming the presidency after army generals announced Gnassingbe's appointment. West African countries are spearheading the international efforts against what many diplomats say was a coup and have summoned Togolese authorities to neighboring Niger. The protest Saturday drew about 3,000 people, three times the number that showed up at a rally Friday, and turned violent through the day before subsiding by nightfall. "We're not stopping until Gnassingbe is gone," said Harry Olympio, one of Togo's main opposition leaders. "We're going to fight every day, and tomorrow we start again." -------- arms Firms from East and West converge on UAE arms bazaar ABU DHABI (AFP) Feb 13, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050213125732.d5s1dmy5.html The Middle East's largest military show opened in the capital of the United Arab Emirates on Sunday with the participation of arms makers from East and West. The UAE, which is hosting the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX 2005), has said it will announce new deals during the show but gave no details about their nature or value. BAE Systems, which is displaying a series of command vehicles and armored personnel carriers for the first time since it acquired the land systems from the British company Alvis last year, is hoping to sell the UAE an electronic radar warning system for helicopters, a BAE executive said. "We are discussing a deal with the UAE, which is still in its early stages, under which it would acquire the HIDAS," or Helicopter Integrated Defense Aids System, said John Hymns, head of helicopter EW campaigns. The deal, which is not expected to be announced during the exhibition, would be worth roughly 100 million dollars, he told AFP. Hymns said Kuwait had already signed up to buy the electronic system in a deal worth around 50 million dollars. The UAE is due to take delivery in May of the first batch of 80 US-built F-16 Falcon fighters purchased in 2000 for 6.4 billion dollars. Emiratis are being trained to fly the sophisticated, multi-role "Block 60" fighters both here and in Arizona. The oil-rich Emirates, in the shadow of Iraq and Iran, with which it has a dispute over three Gulf islands, had purchased 30 French Mirage 2000-9 combat planes in 1998 as part of a self-reliance policy. The 3.2-billion-dollar contract with France's Dassault included the modernization of 33 other Mirages. The five-day arms bazaar was opened by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, who is also the deputy supreme commander of the UAE armed forces. He was flanked by Jordan's King Abdullah II and UAE Defense Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum, who is the crown prince of Dubai, one of the seven emirates that make up the UAE. "The UAE knows what it wants and what it does not want. This is not a war exhibition, but a peace exhibition," Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashed told reporters when asked what deals the UAE would announce. The US delegation to the opening was headed by Rear Admiral Mike Tracy, commander of the Harry S. Truman Carrier Strike Group. US Central Command chief General John Abizaid is due in Abu Dhabi Monday, a US embassy spokesperson told AFP, but it was not clear if he would visit the exhibit. France sent defense minister special representative Thierry Borja to the opening. Many of the big names in the French defense industry are present at the show, including Giat Industries which sold the UAE more than 400 Leclerc tanks in 1994. Ministers and senior defense officials from around the world watched a demonstration of combat and other military vehicles from Europe, the United States, the UAE and Asia during the opening ceremony. More than 50 countries are taking part in the seventh IDEX fair, where more than 900 exhibitors, including US giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin, are displaying their wares. National pavilions from over 31 countries are taking part. Contracts worth more than one billion dirhams (270 million dollars) were awarded during the last IDEX fair in 2003, with the largest deal worth 116 million dollars helping three Emirati companies to expand two air bases in the country. ---- UAE announces arms deals worth 358 million dollars at military show ABU DHABI (AFP) Feb 13, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050213140348.hj5wwpx2.html The United Arab Emirates announced a series of deals to equip its armed forces worth around 358 million dollars on Sunday, the first day of the Middle East's largest military show which it is hosting. The two biggest contracts went to Germany's Rohde and Schwarz Gmbh, which will upgrade the Emirati army's communications system at a cost of 528 million dirhams (144 million dollars), and Italy's Agusta SPA, which will modernize helicopters currently with the armed forces at a cost of 261 million dirhams (71 million dollars), UAE military procurement chief Brigadier Obaid al-Ketbi told reporters on the sidelines of IDEX 2005. The third biggest deal went to Jordan, whose King Abdullah II was in Abu Dhabi on Sunday to attend the opening of the five-day exhibition in which more than 900 exhibitors from 50 countries are taking part. Advanced Industries of Arabia Company LLC will sell the UAE light military vehicles costing 153.7 million dirhams (41.8 million) dollars, said Ketbi, who is the exhibition's spokesman. France's Rockwell-Collins will supply radars for helicopters worth 12.8 million dollars, and the UAE will buy electronic equipment worth 12.7 million dollars from South Africa's Avetronics Ltd, Ketbi said. A number of deals went to local firms. More are expected to be announced during the exhibit, which ends on Thursday. -------- iran U.S. Uses Drones to Probe Iran For Arms Surveillance Flights Are Sent From Iraq By Dafna Linzer Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, February 13, 2005; Page A01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19820-2005Feb12.html The Bush administration has been flying surveillance drones over Iran for nearly a year to seek evidence of nuclear weapons programs and detect weaknesses in air defenses, according to three U.S. officials with detailed knowledge of the secret effort. The small, pilotless planes, penetrating Iranian airspace from U.S. military facilities in Iraq, use radar, video, still photography and air filters designed to pick up traces of nuclear activity to gather information that is not accessible by satellites, the officials said. The aerial espionage is standard in military preparations for an eventual air attack and is also employed as a tool for intimidation. The Iranian government, using Swiss channels in the absence of diplomatic relations with Washington, formally protested the incursions as illegal, according to Iranian, European and U.S. officials, all speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter. A U.S. official acknowledged that drones were being used but said the Iranian complaint focused on aircraft overflights by the Pentagon. The United States, the official said, replied with a denial that manned U.S. aircraft had crossed Iran's borders. The drones were first spotted by dozens of Iranian civilians and set off a national newspaper frenzy in late December over whether the country was being visited by UFOs. The surveillance has been conducted as the Bush administration sharpens its anti-Iran rhetoric and the U.S. intelligence community searches for information to support President Bush's assertion that Tehran is trying to build nuclear weapons. The Washington Post reported Saturday that the intelligence community is conducting a broad review of its Iran assessments, including a new look at information about the country's nuclear program, according to administration officials and congressional sources. A similar review, called a National Intelligence Estimate, formed an important part of the administration's case for war against Iraq. Bush's senior advisers, including Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, said last week that a U.S. attack on Iran is not imminent but that the option remains available. In late December, Iranians living along the Caspian Sea and on the Iraq border began reporting sightings of red flashes in the sky, streaks of green and blue, and low, racing lights that disappeared moments after being spotted. The Iranian space agency was called in to investigate, astronomy experts were consulted, and an agreement was quickly signed with Russian officials eager to learn more about the phenomena. But the mystery was laid to rest by Iranian air force commanders, some of whom were trained more than 25 years ago in the United States and are familiar with U.S. tactics. They identified the drones early last month, a senior Iranian official said, and Iran's National Security Council decided not to engage the pilotless aircraft. That action is considered a major policy decision and reflects Iran's belief that an attack is unlikely anytime soon. The U.S. National Security Agency, which conducts and manages overseas eavesdropping operations, said it has no information to provide on the reconnaissance missions over Iran. The drones are among several tools being used to gather information on Iran's nuclear programs and its military capabilities, U.S. officials said. The United States believes Iran is using its nuclear energy program to conceal an effort to manufacture nuclear weapons, but no one has found definitive evidence to substantiate that. Iran is engaged in diplomacy with France, Britain and Germany aimed at ending a 2 1/2-year crisis over Tehran's nuclear ambitions that began when Iranian defectors exposed a large uranium enrichment facility in August 2002. Inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have been in and out of the country since then investigating nuclear facilities. U.S. officials confirmed that the drones were deployed along Iran's northern and western borders, first in April 2004, and again in December and January. A former U.S. official with direct knowledge of earlier phases of the operation said the U.S. intelligence community began using Iraq as a base to spy on Iran shortly after taking Baghdad in early April 2003. Drones have been flown over Iran since then, the former official said, but the missions became more frequent last year. The spring 2004 flyovers led Iran's military to step up its defenses around nuclear facilities in the southern cities of Isfahan and Bushehr, where locals first reported the UFO sighting. Defenses were added around those sites and others last month, Iranian officials said, after it became clear they were being observed by the drones. A Dec. 25 article in the Etemaad newspaper, translated from Farsi by the CIA, reported on "the presence of unidentified flying objects in the Bushehr sky on a number of occasions, particularly in recent weeks." After Moscow experts were called in, the Russian daily Pravda reported on "UFO mania" sweeping Iran. One U.S. intelligence official said different types of drones with varying capabilities have been deployed over Iran. Some fly several hundred feet above the earth, getting a closer view of ground activities than satellites, and are equipped with air filter technology that captures particles and delivers them back to base for analysis. Any presence of plutonium, uranium or tritium could indicate nuclear work in the area where the samples were collected. The last drone sightings were in mid-January, about the same time that Iran's National Security Council met in Tehran to discuss them, according to an Iranian official. "It was clear to our air force that the entire intention here was to get us to turn on our radar," the official said. That tactic, designed to contribute information to what the military calls an "enemy order of battle," was used by the U.S. military in the Korean and Vietnam wars, against the Soviets and the Chinese, and in both Iraq wars. "By coaxing the Iranians to turn on their radar, we can learn all about their defense systems, including the frequencies they are operating on, the range of their radar and, of course, where their weaknesses lie," said Thomas Keaney, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and executive director of the Foreign Policy Institute at Johns Hopkins University. But it did not work. "The United States must have forgotten that they trained half our guys," the Iranian official said. After a briefing by their air force three weeks ago, Iran's national security officials ordered their forces not to turn on the radar or come into contact with the drones in any way. "Our decision was: Don't engage," the Iranian official said. Leaving the radar off deprives U.S. forces of vital information about the country's air defense system, but it also makes it harder for Iran to tell if an attack is underway. The Iranian government lodged a formal protest through the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which passed it on to the State Department, a Bush administration official said. The complaint was then forwarded to the Pentagon and to senior Bush administration officials, the official said. Asked last Sunday about Iran, Rumsfeld told ABC's "This Week" that he had no knowledge of U.S. military activities in Iran. Rice, who helped plan the Iraq war, said during her European trip last week that an assault on Iran was not on the agenda "at this time." So far, the drones have added little information to Iran's nuclear file, according to U.S. intelligence officials familiar with the mission. Estimates vary on when Tehran could build a nuclear weapon using material from its energy program. Iran has agreed to stop enriching uranium, a key ingredient for a bomb, while it is engaged in talks with European governments. Mohamed ElBaradei, the director general of the IAEA, said if Iran resumes that work, it could have enough highly enriched uranium for a bomb within two years and could complete a weapon within three years. Iranian officials have said repeatedly that their country has no intention of building nuclear weapons. Staff writer Glenn Kessler contributed to this report. -------- israel / palestine Israel OKs List of Prisoners for Release By PETER ENAV Associated Press Writer Feb 13, 2005 10:04 AM EST http://ap.washingtontimes.com/dynamic/stories/I/ISRAEL_PALESTINIANS?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel's Cabinet on Sunday approved a list of names of 500 Palestinian prisoners to be released in coming days, and several hundred Palestinian workers returned to jobs in Israel in line with agreements reached at a Mideast summit last week. Also Sunday, Raanan Gissin, a top aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, said law enforcement agencies would show zero tolerance for Jewish extremists, after a Cabinet minister received death threats against his children and a second top official had the tires of his cars slashed. The recent attacks against Cabinet ministers are part of growing tensions over Sharon's plan to withdraw from Gaza and four West Bank settlements this summer. Attempts to assassinate Sharon are increasingly likely as the withdrawal nears and opponents of the plan become desperate, Israeli military commentator Alex Fishman wrote Sunday in the Yediot Ahronot daily, raising the possibility that a Jewish suicide bomber would blow himself up to break through Sharon's tight cordon of bodyguards. In 1995, the assassination of then-Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by an ultranationalist Jew took Israel's security agencies by surprise. "The question now is not whether there will be an attempt to assassinate the prime minister but rather how," military commentator Alex Fishman wrote in the Yediot Ahronot daily. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, meanwhile, was to present a new Cabinet to his Fatah movement for approval Tuesday. Abbas was expected to appoint new interior, foreign and information ministers but keep on many members of the current Cabinet, officials said. The prisoner release is one of several Israeli gestures to Abbas. Israel will also allow several dozen Palestinian militants who had been expelled from the West Bank to return to their homes and gradually hand five West Bank towns to Palestinian control. The prisoners to be released were not involved in violence against Israelis and all have completed two-thirds of their sentences, Israeli officials said. Violent offenders could be freed later if a cease-fire between Israel and the Palestinians holds. Israeli officials initially said Qassam Barghouti, a son of jailed Palestinian uprising leader Marwan Barghouti, would be among those freed in coming days. However, Cabinet minister Haim Ramon said Sunday that a further check indicated that Qassam Barghouti had been involved in planning an attack against Israelis and would not be freed. In line with the agreements reached at last week's Mideast summit in Egypt, Israel is to release an additional 400 Palestinian prisoners within three months. Sharon told the Cabinet the release of the Palestinian prisoners had been a difficult step but that it could help build confidence between the sides and strengthen Abbas' administration. Palestinian Cabinet Minister Saeb Erekat criticized Israel for carrying out the release without talking to the Palestinians. "We urge the Israeli government that the next release will be done in total agreement between the two sides and through the ministerial joint committee that will be meeting tomorrow," he said. The prisoners to be released constitute only a small fraction of the estimated 8,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Palestinians are demanding that all be freed, while Israeli officials insist that with few exceptions, prisoners with "blood on their hands" cannot be considered. Also Sunday, several hundred Palestinian workers from Gaza returned to jobs in Israel, also part of the summit agreements. Before the outbreak of fighting, some 120,000 Palestinians worked in Israel. -------- nato German foreign minister Fischer backs call for NATO reform MUNICH, Germany (AFP) Feb 13, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050213110727.acygal5f.html German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer on Sunday backed Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's call for a reform of NATO but said it in no way spelled the "burial" of the transatlantic security body. Schroeder had called on Saturday at the international security conference here for an independent panel of experts to look at ways of revitalizing the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and adapting it to post-Cold War challenges. "The chancellor made an excellent speech which did not imply the burial of transatlantic relations," Fischer told the final day of the conference. "On the contrary, he does not want to undermine NATO but strengthen it." "The transatlantic link is the backbone of the new world order of the 21st century," Fischer said. But Fischer said it must be asked where the major problems facing the world today were discussed, echoing Schroeder's assertion that NATO "is no longer the primary venue where transatlantic partners discuss and coordinate strategies". Fischer said the United States and Europe were "existentially bound together" in the 26-country NATO alliance and Germany wanted to inject new life into that relationship. "We have complementary capabilities, isn't that the best relationship?" Fischer asked. Fischer, who is seeking a permanent seat on the UN Security Council for Germany, said reform of the United Nations to better reflect today's world climate was essential in order that "a multi-lateral approach" could be adopted to modern threats facing the world. However, echoing past divisions over the US-led invasion of Iraq, he called on the United States to re-affirm its support for the UN. "We need to know if the United States sees itself within the UN system or outside," Fischer said. New York Democrat Senator Hillary Clinton told the conference that "the United Nations is an indispensable organization to all of us, despite its flaws and inefficiencies." However, Clinton said, "the UN has 191 members and, quite frankly, many of them sometimes act against the interests of a stronger UN." -------- philippines Battle rages on Philippine island Troops arrive in Jolo Sunday, 13 February, 2005 BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4261473.stm The Philippine army is battling Muslim rebels who it says are making a "last stand" after a week of clashes on the southern island of Jolo. Up to 12,000 people have fled the fighting which has left about 90 soldiers and rebels dead. The rebels are from the al-Qaeda-linked Abu Sayyaf group along with followers of the jailed militant, Nur Misuari. Between 4,000 and 5,000 troops are fighting 800 militants in the heaviest fighting for years. The fighting began last Monday. An Abu Sayyaf leader, Abu Solaiman, told a radio station it had joined forces with the Misuari followers to avenge the death of a couple and their son who were killed by troops. Guide to Philippine conflict The military says it returned fire after the couple shot at soldiers. The rebels then attacked troops at an army base, killing 30, including the battalion commander, the military says. The government flew in reinforcements, including US-trained counter-terrorist troops, and said the army has killed more than 60 rebels in heavy fighting. Three more soldiers were killed on Sunday as they pursued the militants, the army said. "There's heavy fighting going on in the Panamao and Luuk areas," said senior southern Philippines commander Lt Gen Alberto Braganza. "They are taking a last stand in the mountains." Anti-terrorist taskforce commander, Brig Gen Agustin Dema-ala, said: "We are still encountering resistance but the situation is manageable." 'No surrender' Absalom Cerveza, a Misuari ally, said he had spoken to the rebels on Friday and they were in "high spirits and far from being crushed". "They do not like to surrender, they will fight to the death," he said. The BBC's Sarah Toms in Manila says there have been local calls for a ceasefire but the army has shown no signs it will agree. Misuari was the founder of the Muslim separatist Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF). The MNLF signed a peace deal with Manila in 1996 under which Misuari became governor of an autonomous region. But he mounted a failed rebellion when he was not endorsed for a second term and fled to Malaysia. He was deported and jailed. Abu Sayyaf has been involved in a number of kidnappings and bombings. It was blamed for sinking a ferry in Manila Bay last year, killing more than 100 people. Although the Jolo fighting is the worst since Misuari's uprising in 2001, the military has never been able to bring Jolo under full control. The rebels hold much of the island with support from many of the residents. -------- russia / chechnya Communists call for Putin ouster Pro-Kremlin party organizes own rally. Sunday, February 13, 2005 Associated Press http://www.columbiatribune.com/2005/Feb/20050213News035.asp MOSCOW (AP) - Tens of thousands of Russians protested yesterday across the country against a law replacing transportation and medical benefits for pensioners with cash payments but were countered by massive rival demonstrations organized by pro-Kremlin forces. The Communist-backed protest calling for the government’s ouster was the most widespread in President Vladimir Putin’s five years in power. It also was the first time that pro-Putin groups took to the streets over the reform. The overhaul, which took effect Jan. 1, replaces cherished benefits such as free transportation for pensioners and other groups with cash payments that many say are sorely inadequate. The reform has dented Putin’s popularity and on Thursday prompted an unsuccessful Communist-led no-confidence vote in Parliament against the government. An Interior Ministry spokesman said nearly 240,000 Russians demonstrated across the country but said the ministry did not have a breakdown between the pro- and anti-Putin rallies. A Communist Party official claimed the anti-Putin protests drew more than 200,000 nationwide. In Moscow, some 3,000 people, mostly elderly pensioners, gathered under red hammer-and-sickle flags near a statue of Soviet founder Vladimir Lenin on the edge of downtown, calling for the replacement of Russia’s leadership. "The state has robbed us, we are outraged!" said Nina Gulicheva, 80, banging a wooden spoon against a metal pot. "I voted for Putin, but now I bitterly regret it and want to take back my vote." Across the Moscow river, a much larger crowd organized by main pro-Kremlin party United Russia marched down the capital’s main street in support of Putin - part of the major effort to counter the nationwide Communist protests, which had been announced weeks in advance. Demonstrators held signs saying "Putin, we are with you!" and "Communists, stop fooling grandmothers!" "Our president is now being attacked by some people, and we came here to show him we are with him," said Andrei Bogomolov, a 23-year-old Moscow student. Organizers claimed 40,000 people attended the rally, the Interfax news agency reported. The Interior Ministry put the number at 30,000. Many demonstrators said they had been bused to the rally from Moscow suburbs. Kirill, an 18-year-old political science student who declined to give his last name, said he and his friends had been promised movie tickets by the organizers if they showed up. "These rallies show the presidential administration is very much afraid of the tendency of Putin’s rating falling," said Andrei Piontkovsky, head of the Center for Strategic Studies, a think tank. "The current political system hangs on only this thin thread of Putin’s political rating." At least one pensioner was beaten by police during the Moscow protest. The Interfax news agency reported that a member of a radical leftist group called Avangard Red Youth said he also was beaten by law enforcement officers when the group tried to block a street. In St. Petersburg, scene of some of the largest protests over the reform, pro- and anti-Putin protests each appeared to attract about 5,000 people yesterday, though Interfax said only 2,500 attended the pro-Putin rally. Eleven people were arrested for disturbing the peace after firecrackers, snowballs and an egg were thrown at St. Petersburg’s top lawmaker while he addressed the pro-Putin rally there, Interfax reported. -------- spies Controversial Pentagon Espionage Unit Loses Its Leader Rumsfeld Reportedly Moving Ahead With Plans to Expand Team's Intelligence Work Worldwide By Barton Gellman Washington Post Staff Writer Sunday, February 13, 2005; Page A08 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19785-2005Feb12.html The leader of a new Pentagon espionage unit has resigned his position, shortly after public disclosure that the Defense Department is expanding into clandestine operations traditionally undertaken by the CIA. The Strategic Support Branch and its departing leader are controversial among the elite special operations forces assigned to work with them on high-risk intelligence missions overseas, some of whom aired complaints in a Jan. 23 Washington Post story about deficits in the training and performance of the unit's officers. Defense officials with firsthand knowledge said the unit's leader, reserve Army Col. George Waldroup, surprised his staff in the first week of February with an announcement that he was stepping down immediately. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, subordinates said, is pressing ahead with plans for independent Pentagon intelligence operations around the world. The Post disclosed last month that Rumsfeld has reinterpreted U.S. law to grant him broad authority to dispatch clandestine teams into friendly and unfriendly nations, whether or not conventional war is in prospect. Designed to help cure what Rumsfeld described as his "near total dependence on CIA," the Strategic Support Branch gathers intelligence alongside newly empowered forces from the military's Joint Special Operations Command. In Congress, the House and Senate intelligence committees have held closed briefings in the past two weeks with senior defense officials, including Undersecretary for Intelligence Stephen A. Cambone. In sometimes heated exchanges, witnesses said, members of both parties complained to Cambone about learning from a newspaper account that the Pentagon created a new espionage team more than two years ago, using funds "reprogrammed" from congressional appropriations. Members of Congress also asked about Pentagon legal theories under which defense personnel could conduct "routine" and "traditional" operations without notifying Congress. Republicans, in public, have said Cambone's answers reassured them, and chairmen of the House and Senate Armed Services committees have expressed support for the program. "I asked very direct questions and got answers to those questions that are satisfactory to me," said Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-N.M.), a former Air Force officer who chairs the subcommittee on technical and tactical intelligence. On the condition of anonymity, two Republicans said Cambone did not adequately answer some of the questions about the plans, legal basis and operations of the Pentagon's new intelligence arm. One Republican committee member said Rumsfeld is rushing to create independent capabilities before the arrival of a director of national intelligence, a position created by Congress in December to oversee the 15 U.S. intelligence departments and agencies. Democratic colleagues echoed that sentiment. "We have just passed a law reorganizing our intelligence capability, and standing up what may be a new operation at DoD, under the radar, could not only undermine the legal requirements to inform Congress but also the new architecture we set up under the intelligence reform bill," said Rep. Jane Harman (Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the intelligence committee. "I start with the fact that the combination of special operations forces and human intelligence specialists are useful capabilities. However, there's an enormous potential for misuse, especially if Congress is cut out." In news briefings late last month, defense officials stressed that funding for the unit in its current form was approved by Congress in the 2005 budget, and said they had no intention to evade congressional oversight. They said confusion had arisen about the program because the name of the effort had changed over time. They also emphasized that the Pentagon was working cooperatively with the CIA in developing the program, not trying to bypass it. After Rumsfeld's initiative was publicized, Vice Adm. Lowell E. Jacoby, the Defense Intelligence Agency director, advised employees in an internal memorandum on Jan. 27 to ignore "innuendos and disparaging remarks" about the agency's new clandestine intelligence branch from critics who "don't know our mission." Jacoby's "Message to the Workforce," a copy of which has been obtained by The Post, acknowledged that after recent wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, "we recognized that DIA needed to improve HUMINT [human intelligence] support to combatant commanders." It will take time, he said, for the Strategic Support Branch to "increase our ability" to conduct those missions. During the same week, defense officials said, Jacoby began asking subordinates to account for reported deficiencies in the new organization. Waldroup announced his departure a few days later. One colleague said Waldroup, who had held the job since summer, blamed enemies in Congress and in what was then known as the Immigration and Naturalization Service, where he spent most of his civilian career. "He was told he needed to hand over his duties," the colleague said. Waldroup did not reply to messages left by telephone and e-mail. Don Black, a spokesman for the DIA, said Waldroup, an Army reservist, returned to civilian life last weekend after an initial period of active duty expired. He acknowledged that Waldroup's status was renewable. "I would not say that it was at anyone's initiative," Black said. "His . . . activation was over, so he was allowed to depart." Meanwhile, the DIA has stepped up a recruiting campaign for candidates with "outstanding foreign language skills" and "a background in hard science or special operations." "You are the unseen and hear the unspoken," said one advertisement placed in the Army Times and other newspapers with large military readerships. "You could be anybody, anywhere. You are Intelligence. Be DIA." The accompanying illustration depicts two men in silhouette, conversing at a darkened table with a cityscape featuring an Abrams tank out the window. The job being advertised is "DIA field HUMINT collector," requiring willingness "to fulfill short-term deployments and worldwide assignment." On the DIA's Web site, an "open continuous" announcement of the same vacancies -- posted Jan. 26 -- called for graduates of the CIA's Field Tradecraft Course or the military's "special mission units," the clandestine squadrons reporting to the U.S. Special Operations Command in Tampa. Leaders of those units -- including the squadrons formerly known as Delta Force -- are escalating their complaints about DIA plans to base the Strategic Support Branch at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. The special operations teams are based at four locations including Norfolk and the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, about 1,500 miles away. -------- POLICE / PRISONERS / COURTS / JUSTICE -------- prisons / prisoners California prison locked down after inmates plot to kill guards 2/13/2005 Associated Press http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-02-13-prison-plot_x.htm CRESCENT CITY, Calif. (AP) — The prison that houses some of California's most violent inmates will remain on lockdown for several weeks as authorities investigate what they call a "very sophisticated" plot to kill three guards. Pelican Bay State Prison has been under a state of emergency since Feb. 4, when inmates alerted prison officials to the plot, spokesman Lt. Steven Perez said Saturday. He said investigators believe the plot was orchestrated by members of the Mexican Mafia, a well-organized prison gang. "There is no doubt in our mind that this plot, had we not uncovered it, very well may have succeeded," Perez said. "It was a very sophisticated plot, and our concern is that we could have lost lives." All 1,400 general population prisoners have been confined to their cells since Feb. 4 as guards search cells and interview inmates. Guards have found about a half dozen weapons they believe are connected to the plot but believe there are up to 10 that have yet to be discovered, Perez said. Perez wouldn't say exactly what types of weapons were uncovered but described them as "typical inmate-manufactured weapons." Such weapons can include pieces of metal filed into a knife, or plastic bottles or toothbrushes that are melted and rolled to a spearlike point. Metal filings or prison-issued razor blades are sometimes inserted while the plastic is softened. Five or six inmates have been segregated for further questioning, Perez said. Pelican Bay, about 20 miles south of the Oregon border, is home to some of the state's most hardened criminals, most of whom are serving lengthy terms for violent crimes. -------- ACTIVISTS U.S. Nun Shot to Death In Amazon Rain Forest WORLD IN BRIEF Sunday, February 13, 2005 Washington Post; Page A29 http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A19980-2005Feb12?language=printer BELEM, Brazil -- A 74-year-old American nun was shot to death early Saturday in Brazil's Amazon rain forest, where she worked for decades to defend human rights and the environment despite constant death threats. Two gunmen shot Dorothy Stang, a missionary, in an isolated jungle settlement of landless peasants 30 miles from the town of Anapu in the state of Para, police and religious workers said. "It was three shots at point-blank range," said Sister Betsy Flynn of Stang's order, the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. "She received so many threats. I just never thought it would happen." "Two hired gunmen have now been identified and there are other people involved. There are witnesses that will be protected," a human rights minister, Nilmario Miranda, said in an interview on national television. Brazil's government compared the killing of the award-winning activist to that of legendary Amazon campaigner Chico Mendes, who was gunned down in 1988 and became a martyr in the fight to save the rain forest and protect its people. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva sent ministers and police teams to the area to carry out a manhunt and an investigation.