NucNews - September 12, 2005 -------- NUCLEAR -------- britain Nuclear plant shut down for checks Mon Sep 12, 2005 06:59 PM BST (Reuters) http://go.reuters.co.uk/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=861362§ion=news&src=rss/uk/topNews LONDON - British Energy on Monday shut down its Heysham 1 nuclear power plant in northwest England for at least a month and extended an outage at its Hartlepool plant after checks showed the potential for stress corrosion. "The return to service of all four units is dependent on the successful outcome of the programme of work at each unit," the company said in a statement. British Energy, the UK's biggest power producer, said the unplanned shutdowns -- which cover about a quarter of its nuclear capacity -- would lead to the loss of about 1 terawatt hour of output. But the company said it re-confirmed that it expects annual average nuclear output over the next two years to be about 63 terawatt hours. Heysham I has a capacity of 1,150 megawatts. Hartlepool, which went off last week for refuelling and inspections, is a 1,200-megawatt plant. Heysham and Hartlepool will be kept offline while engineers make checks on bolts on boiler closures. "There appears to be the potential for stress corrosion cracking of the primary holding down bolts," said the company. Testing had shown no evidence of actual cracking at either Heysham 1 or Hartlepool. One unit at Heysham will remain offline after the corrosion checks are completed, for a period of planned maintenance. -------- business Constellation, Areva unite to build U.S. nuclear plants Alan Zibel Contributing Writer Washington Business Journal September 12, 2005 http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2005/09/12/daily32.html?from_rss=1 Constellation Energy Group on Thursday announced a joint venture with the U.S. arm of France's state-owned nuclear power company to build at least four nuclear power plants around this country. Together with Areva Inc. -- the U.S. subsidiary of France's Areva Group, based in Bethesda -- Baltimore-based Constellation is forming UniStar Nuclear, based in Annapolis. "Our two companies are joining forces to introduce a new and unique business model for the future of American nuclear power," Michael Wallace, executive vice president of Constellation Energy and co-CEO of UniStar Nuclear, said at a Thursday press conference. Constellation also said it was withdrawing two of its nuclear power plants from a consortium called NuStart that plans to pick two potential locations for new nuclear reactors by next month. Constellation's Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Lusby and the Nine Mile Point Nuclear Station in upstate New York had been potential sites for a new power plant under the NuStart effort. While Constellation said it would still support the NuStart effort financially, the company said it has picked Areva's nuclear technology instead of the technologies being developed by the NuStart group. Constellation has made nuclear energy one of its key priorities. "Nuclear power is the one energy source that is completely domestic, environmentally friendly and able to generate massive amounts of electricity," Wallace said. The recent passage of the federal energy bill provided substantial guarantees and incentives to make new plants more likely, Wallace said. Constellation said the venture will bring together Areva's experience building nuclear reactors and Constellation's experience operating the plants. The new plants are to be based on Areva's technologies, but the reactors are to be designed and built in the U.S. They are to be owned by Constellation and a variety of other investors, which could include banks or other energy companies around the country. While Areva is based in France, executives on Thursday sought to emphasize the company's sizable American operations, which employ about 8,000 people, said Thomas A. Christopher, CEO of Areva's U.S. subsidiary. The new plants "will be made in America by Americans with American engineering American construction and many many American components," Christopher said. Bechtel Power Corp. will provide architecture, engineering and construction support for the new plants. -------- europe Hungarian gov't approves Paks nuclear power plants for 20 more years Monday September 12, 2005 Budapest Business Journal http://www.bbj.hu/?module=displaystory&story_id=251074&format=html A cabinet decision made yesterday enables Hungary's only nuclear power plant to stay in operation for the next 20 years, the government spokesperson told the press after the cabinet meeting. The cabinet decided to give permission for holes to be bored near Bátaapáti in S Hungary in preparation to establish a storage facility for small and medium radioactive waste, said Boglár László. This means in effect means the Paks nuclear plant has can stay operational for another 20 years, she added. Several audits and tests carried out in the nuclear plant in Paks, 100 km south of Budapest, showed that all safety conditions can be fulfilled for the extension of operation and the project is technically viable as well as economical, said László. ---- Greenpeace seeks to block construction of Finnish nuclear reactor HELSINKI (AFP) Sep 12, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050912145803.71w8gsle.html Greenpeace will take legal action against the Finnish government to try to block construction of the country's fifth nuclear reactor, the environmental group said in a statement on Monday. Greenpeace said the Finnish government had given the go-ahead for the facility despite what the ecological organisation said were insufficient safety guarantees. The move came as representatives of the French-German Areva-Siemens consortium building the pressurized water reactor attended on Monday a symbolic foundation-laying ceremony at the Olkiluoto plant in Pori in southwestern Finland. Outside the site a hundred or so Greenpeace and other activists protested against the project. Greenpeace said it would file its complaint by the end of September with the Chancellery of Justice, which is tasked with examining the legality of the government's actions. The complaint will target the trade and industry ministry and the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK). Greenpeace argued that STUK's evaluation process for the project was far too short, taking just 13 months, and said safety, public health and environmental issues were not adequately analyzed. It claimed that a number of safety issues it had identified, including potential leaks, accidents and terrorist attacks, had yet to be addressed by The 1600 megawatt reactor is expected to become operational in 2009, at an estimated cost of three billion euros (3.72 billion dollars). It will supplement Finland's four existing nuclear reactors which were built in the 1970s. ---- Construction begins on controversial Finnish nuclear reactor Mon Sep 12, 2005 12:17 PM ET (AFP) http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050912/sc_afp/finlandenergynuclearenvironmentcompanyarevasiemens_050912161730%3b_ylt=A9FJqanZwSVD0v0AHADPOrgF%3b_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl PORI, Finland - Construction of Finland's controversial new nuclear reactor began when the first block was put in place under the gaze of political and business leaders. Speaking at the ceremony, the president of the Finnish parliament, Paavo Lipponen, said greater dependency on nuclear power would enable Finland to escape the impact of price changes for non-renewable fossil fuels in the future. "That's why nuclear power, with its stable production costs, is important for the production of electricity in our society," he said. The 1600-megawatt third generation nuclear reactor, the first of its kind in the world, is expected to become operational in 2009 at an estimated cost of three billion euros (3.72 billion dollars). The highly divisive project forced the departure of the Green Party from the previous left-right coalition government in Finland, and prompted a warning from environmental lobby group Greenpeace last week. A consortium grouping French nuclear energy group Areva and German engineering giant Siemens are building the pressurised water reactor at the Olkiluoto plant in northern Finland. It will supplement four existing nuclear Finnish reactors which were built in the 1970s. Finland has few natural energy resources of its own, possessing neither oil, gas or coal deposits and having little hydroelectric capacity. As a result, it currently imports 67 percent of its electricity needs. The start of construction was observed by Siemens director Uriel Sharaf, Areva chairwoman Anne Lauvergeon and senior executives from Finnish electricity group TVO. Greenpeace argued last week that neither the builders nor Finnish authorities could vouch for the reactor's safety because assessment of the project by Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) had been done too quickly. ----- Italian intelligence denies report of nuclear device in country ROME (AFP) Sep 12, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050912144429.jhle3vkk.html Italian intelligence agencies denied Monday that a nuclear device intended for use in a terrorist attack was on Italian soil, as reported by the Turin daily La Stampa citing what it called a secret official risk assessment. La Stampa said the study was prepared "in recent weeks" and envisaged the possibility that a nuclear device was in the country. Intelligence sources quoted by the ANSA news agency said the report in La Stampa was not confirmed by any document produced by state security services. The newspaper quoted the purported study as saying: "The political importance of Italy, given its bilateral relationship with the United States and its long tradition of economic and political links with the moderate Arab countries, makes it possible that a nuclear attack could be launched on our territory." It said an attack in a major city would destroy buildings in a one-kilometer (600-yard) radius, sow havoc, damage and death over several kilometers and entail the evacuation of half a million people. It also envisaged the possibility of an attack by sarin nerve gas, which it said would take six months to prepare, last 10 minutes and kill 95 percent of the people in the target area. Italian Interior Minister Giuseppe Pisanu said in a radio interview Monday that the attack plotters were losing their campaign, arguing tha Al-Qaeda no longer has bases in Afghanistan and that Arab governments are taking steps to stop the spread of Islamic extremism. Pisanu also said that most Muslims in Europe were distancing themselves from the extremists. "That's what has happened in England, and is happening more each day in our country. That means that terrorism is starting to lose its hold," he said. -------- india France to fully cooperate with India in civilian N-energy Saisuresh Sivaswamy in Paris | September 12, 2005 Rediff http://in.rediff.com/news/2005/sep/12pm.htm France on Monday agreed to fully cooperate with India in the field of civilian nuclear energy. The assurance came during the one and a half hour meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and French President Jacques Chirac at the latter's official resident, Elysee Palace. The two sides also agreed on a framework agreement on defence cooperation, and the prime minister conveyed India's decision to purchase the advanced Scorpene submarines, the process and technology transfer for which would begin immediately. India to buy 6 Scorpene submarines While the final cost of the deal was not disclosed, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran said France had agreed to a reduction in cost escalation. While Singh was assisted by National Security Advisor M K Narayanan in the talks, Chirac was accompanied by his diplomatic advisor. The talks continued over lunch, with senior members of both sides joining. Help lift N-curbs on India: Singh tells France Chirac also agreed to visit India on February 20-21, 2006. The two countries have also agreed to strengthen their cooperation in dealing with global challenges and work together in the fight against terrorism, prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, promote equitable development. France also reaffirmed its support for India's bid for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council. Complete coverage: PM's UN visit While there was no mention of France supplying fuel for the Tarapur nuclear power plant, France has agreed to work with the Nuclear Suppliers Group, of which it is a member, in lifting the various restrictions placed on India, and to cooperate in changing the regime. Ahead of the meeting with Chirac, Singh hosted French CEOs for at the Ritz Hotel for over two hours, and held wide ranging talks with them. According to prime minister's media advisor Dr Sanjay Baru, Louis Schweizer, chairman of Medef International, was so impressed by the prime minister's 'precision and openness of answers,' that he said French confidence in India's future has increased. ---- France backs India's nuclear energy plans after winning sub, Airbus deals PARIS (AFP) Sep 12, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050912141809.x3jea7wq.html France on Monday said it backed India's plans to develop civilian nuclear energy after winning two multi-billion-euro contracts for the sale of Airbus aircraft and conventionally powered submarines. "France recognises the need for full international cooperation with India in the civilian nuclear field and will work towards that by collaborating with other countries and with the Nuclear Suppliers Group," French President Jacques Chirac and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said after meeting in Paris. "France welcomes the firm commitment by India to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the measures it has taken and intends to take in that regard," they said in a joint statement, issued in French. "In this context, the two countries are working to seal a bilateral cooperation agreement in the nuclear field." The Nuclear Suppliers Group comprises 30 countries including Britain, France and the United States, which work together to direct the development of atomic energy in the world while enforcing the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. India, which is not party to the treaty and which tested nuclear weapons in 1998, has already won approval for its civilian nuclear energy programme from the United States and Britain. France's inclusion strengthens India's claim to be a unique case among non-signatories to the non-proliferation treaty which should nonetheless receive assistance. Chirac's endorsement of India's civilian nuclear ambitions came after Singh confirmed his country was purchasing six Franco-Spanish submarines in a contract worth 2.4 billion euros (three billion dollars) and 43 Airbus planes worth 1.8 billion euros. The submarine deal, which France had been lobbying hard to win, will involve the Franco-Spanish made vessels being assembled in Mumbai as part of a technology transfer arrangement. The 65-metre (213-foot) long diesel-electric vessels are designed for coastal defence, with sophisticated detection equipment, six torpedo tubes and missile launchers. They are able to stay at sea for up to 45 days with a crew of 31, and can dive to a depth of 300 metres. The Airbus deal was previously announced by Singh and India's state-run Indian Airlines. The contracts were "a measure of the friendship, trust and cooperation" between their two countries, Chirac said as he greeted Singh before their meeting. It was the 72-year-old French president's first meeting with a foreign dignitary since being released from hospital last Friday after suffering what his doctors called a minor vascular problem that affected one of his eyes. Chirac said the talks agenda also included India's bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. He announced after the meeting that he had accepted an invitation from Singh to make a two-day visit to India starting February 20 next year. His last trip to the country dates back to 1998. In the evening, Singh was to dine with French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. He will leave Tuesday for New York to attend a UN summit with other world leaders. In an interview published Monday in Le Figaro newspaper, Singh vowed that any outside help India gets with its nuclear energy ambitions would be kept entirely separate from its military nuclear programme. He sought to differentiate India from arch-rival Pakistan, which also tested A-bombs in 1998, by saying: "India is a democracy that functions well. Our political system offers sufficient guarantees to ensure that we keep our promises." India, with its billion-plus population, imports 70 percent of its fuel requirements and with the price of oil hovering over 60 dollars a barrel is now looking urgently for alternative sources of energy. "France is prepared with India to look at how it will be possible to cooperate in the civilian nuclear area within an international and bilateral framework that respects the non-proliferation criteria," a French diplomat said after the Chirac-Singh meeting. She added that France's involvement "appeared necessary" to Chirac after US President George W. Bush moved to lift a ban on civilian nuclear technology sales that had been imposed on India after its May 1998 nuclear bomb tests. -------- iran Iran set to expand cooperation with Russia 15:53 | 12/ 09/ 2005 (RIA Novosti) http://en.rian.ru/world/20050912/41371170.html MOSCOW, September 12 - The Iranian government intends to expand its cooperation with Russia, an Iranian official said Monday. During a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Gholamreza Aqazadeh, Iranian vice-president and the head of the country's Atomic Energy Organization, said relations with Russia were very important. "We have many joint projects that allow us to increase the volume of bilateral trade," Lavrov said, opening the talks. "The results of the first half of 2005 show the increasing rate of trade turnover between Russia and Iran." Earlier in the day, Aqazadeh met with head of the Russian Atomic Energy Agency Rosatom Alexander Rumyantsev and discussed the construction of the Bushehr nuclear power plant in Iran. ---- Top Iranian nuclear official visits Russia MOSCOW (AFP) Sep 12, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050912133020.alj9k18s.html Iranian Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh, who heads his country's atomic energy agency, began talks in Moscow on Monday with Russia's work on a nuclear power station high on the agenda, officials here said. The visit came ahead of a crucial September 19 meeting of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog that may ask the UN Security Council to penalize Iran for refusing to stop nuclear fuel work. Following talks between Aghazadeh and the head of the Russian federal nuclear agency, Alexander Rumyantsev, a spokesman for the agency confirmed plans to push ahead with development of the Bushehr nuclear power plant that Russia is building in Iran. "Moscow and Tehran have confirmed their intention to launch operation of the Bushehr nuclear power station by the end of 2006," a spokesman for the Russian federal nuclear agency said. Aghazadeh was later due to meet Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Igor Ivanov, head of Russia's security council. Construction of the plant at Bushehr has sparked controversy as the United States and other Western countries accuse Iran of seeking to secretly build nuclear weapons. But ahead of the talks in Moscow, a Russian foreign ministry spokesman reaffirmed that Russia would not support a possible decision by the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), to bring Iran before the Security Council. "Moscow doesn't see grounds for referring the question of Iran to the UN Security Council," ITAR-TASS quoted a foreign ministry official as saying ahead of the visit. Russian media on Monday saw the visit by Aghazadeh as a rebuff by Russia to Western efforts, including those by Germany, Britain and France, at taking a harder line on Iran. "The visit of Mr. Aghazadeh to Moscow is largely of a propagandist nature, aimed at showing the whole world that Russia will not follow the 'Eurotroika' in condemning Tehran's nuclear programme, but is in solidarity with the ayatollahs' regime," the Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper said. -------- pakistan Pakistan seeks Western help for nuclear power ISLAMABAD (AFP) Sep 12, 2005 http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050912135220.ooa488so.html http://www.indiadaily.com/breaking_news/44684.asp Pakistan wants the West to help it build more nuclear power stations, an official said Monday, as rival India won further foreign support for its own civilian atomic programme. "We would like the developed countries, especially the Western countries and the United States, to extend cooperation to Pakistan for peaceful uses of nuclear energy," foreign ministry spokesman Naeem Khan told a briefing. Without mentioning India, Khan said his country needed to meet its energy requirements through peaceful use of nuclear technology. However Islamabad's appeal came as France agreed to help India develop its nuclear power plans, and less than two weeks after Washington lifted curbs on six Indian nuclear facilities. Pakistan is a key US ally, but the international community has been alarmed by last year's revelation that the so-called father of its nuclear weapons programme, Abdul Qadeer Khan, passed secrets to Iran, North Korea and Libya. India, in contrast, has been reaping rewards for apparently meeting international nuclear standards. In July, US President George W. Bush and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh after talks in Washington announced plans to cooperate on developing India's civilian nuclear energy program. The decision was a departure from the US prohibition of nuclear assistance to countries that do not allow international monitoring of all atomic facilities, as required by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The US ambassador to New Delhi said in an interview published on September 2 that India was a "unique" non-proliferation case, adding that the US was dropping its curbs on the six Indian facilities. French President Jacques Chirac announced the latest help for India after a meeting in Paris with Singh on Monday. Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Khan said his country's civilian nuclear facilities could be inspected by the UN nuclear watchdog and that Islamabad would accept "all safeguards" for additional facilities. "Our expectation is that as our friend China has extended cooperation to Pakistan in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, the West and the United States will also appreciate the expanding requirements of Pakistan and would extend cooperation in this regard," he said. -------- russia Russia could help Vietnam develop nuclear power 12:14 | 12/ 09/ 2005 (RIA Novosti) http://en.rian.ru/business/20050912/41368949.html MOSCOW, September 12 - Russia may contribute to creating nuclear power in Vietnam, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alexeyev said in an article published on the ministry's official Web site. The energy sector is a key element of Moscow's cooperation with Hanoi, Alexeyev said. The joint Russian-Vietnamese oil company Vietsovpetro accounts for more 60% of oil extraction in Vietnam. In 2004, the company extracted more than 12 million metric tons of crude. Russia has contributed to the construction of numerous power stations in the country and is currently working on the modernization of a Vietnamese thermal power plant and the construction of a hydro-electric power station. Russian companies have also won tenders for the delivery of equipment to the Vietnamese energy industry. Russian-Vietnamese trade turnover could exceed $1 billion this year, Alexeyev said. There are 45 ongoing investment projects with partial Russian funding. The Russian automotive companies KamAZ and UAZ build heavy goods and off-road vehicles in Vietnam and Vietnamese airlines are using Russian Antonov aircraft. Military and technical cooperation between the two countries is also on the rise. -------- terrorism In Age Of Terrorism, Nuclear Power Industry Feels The Heat Emergency Planners, Watchdog Groups, NRC Trade Ideas And Barbs By PATRICIA DADDONA Day Staff Writer, Waterford Published on 9/12/2005 http://www.theday.com/eng/web/news/re.aspx?re=ce82074b-08e2-4777-9fa0-09ec947aa5b5 Bethesda, Md. — Four years after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001 increased concerns about the potential vulnerability of the nation's nuclear plants, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission hosted an open forum here at which it heard urgent calls for change and blunt comments about public distrust of the nuclear industry. Hosted by the NRC at the North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center on Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, not far from the agency's Rockville headquarters, the discussion between a panel and the audience of about 200 led to insightful and sometimes heated exchanges. Suggested changes in NRC policy included offering drills that more closely resemble the intricacies of the Sept. 11 attacks; having local law enforcement participate in drills; and assigning NRC or Federal Emergency Management Agency liaisons to communities so emergency officials would be working with a familiar face during a crisis. State emergency experts and nuclear watchdogs told federal officials that sharing information more readily is of paramount importance. During a terrorist attack, “it doesn't matter where the plane hits,” said Anthony W. Sutton, Commissioner of Emergency Services for Westchester County, N.Y., near the Indian Point reactors. “We have to deal with the release of radiation. We have to engage and restore the public's confidence in public officials so people will listen to us.” Dominion of Virginia, the parent company of the owner of Millstone Power Station in Waterford, monitored part of the conference remotely, but the nuclear plant did not send staff, said Pete Hyde, a spokesman at Millstone. The company communicates fully with local officials, he said. The workshop on emergency preparedness came several months after the NRC wrestled with the National Academy of Science over the public release of a report that found radioactive waste stored in spent fuel pools at reactor sites could be vulnerable to a terrorist attack. The regulatory agency argued that the information that was made public could be used by enemies of the country. Agency officials defended its performance since the 2001 attacks. NRC Chairman Nils Diaz said the agency has made many constructive changes and is prepared to deal with security threats when necessary, though he conceded some procedures may need refining. “I would just say, frankly, I vigorously reject Chairman Diaz's notion that everything's OK,” said Eric Epstein, coordinator for the EFMR Monitoring Group, Inc., in Harrisburg, Pa. “If everything was OK, we wouldn't be here. If you think you can manage or control information during an incident or accident you're naïve.” Epstein, who dealt with mass confusion during evacuations of Three Mile Island, the nation's most serious nuclear accident in 1979, told the story of an inebriated fisherman who recently trespassed on reactor property. The NRC called the incident a “low grade event,” minimizing what, in a terrorist age, has broader implications, Epstein said. “What concerned me is that it didn't aggravate the NRC that someone could be on the island for half a day drunk,” he said. “You may want to put a process (for handling incidents) in place, (but) by the time that plant farts, we smell it, that's reality. Don't assume you can control information.” Mary Lampert, a member of Pilgrim Watch, a group that focuses on public safety issues at the Pilgrim Nuclear Station reactor in Plymouth, Mass., said the NRC should develop methods for addressing “fast-breaking” radioactive releases that could come with a terrorist attack. NRC plans and drills for “a slowly evolving emergency in which it is assumed that evacuation could occur over a 10-hour span or more,” she said, an approach that could leave communities unprepared if a successful terrorist attack caused a quick release of radiation. The NRC has an elaborate and often time-consuming process for assessing, classifying and responding to security issues both on- and off-site. Rules for notifying local emergency officials about an incident could be more flexible and timely than they are now, some participants said. One step the NRC is considering, with the support of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, is having reactor owners notify the NRC of a serious security breach within 15 minutes, instead of within an hour. Reactor owners already notify local emergency officials within the first 15 minutes. Craig Conklin, chief of the nuclear and chemical hazards branch of FEMA, which is now a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, said the change is a good idea. Walter “Ned” Wright, director of emergency management in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, warned of the importance of not releasing information prematurely and causing undue alarm. “I need to know exactly what's really happening” before alerting the public, he said. And Mark Lemke, an emergency planning manager at Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in California, said many reactor owners already work closely and effectively with their surrounding communities on emergency response and evacuation plans. “We know how and what to communicate,” Lemke said. Others, however, ridiculed the idea that everything is just fine. “These discussions are ludicrous,” added Elgan H. Usrey, manager of the mitigation and preparedness division of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency. “The state or local government is responsible for the health of the people,” he said. “If you have not considered all of these ramifications, then you are not doing your job. We who work in state and local governments are doing our dead-level best to protect the public. If you don't believe that, I can't convince you of it, I'm sure.” Several panel members called for more workshops. While making no promises, Eric Leeds, an NRC security expert, said the federal agency believes “emergency preparedness is equivalent to public health and safety” and will continue to improve it. “It was real encouraging not to see them parroting words off the slides,” said David Lochbaum, an engineer with the Union of Concerned Scientists and a frequent industry critic. “But if it was a one-time thing and there's not going to be any follow-up, I don't think anybody's going to be satisfied.” -------- u.s. nuc weapons US develops strategy for first use of nuclear weapons against WMD By Rupert Cornwell Published: 12 September 2005 UK Independent http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article311903.ece The Pentagon has drawn up a new strategy, built on the 2002 "Bush doctrine" of pre-emptive military strikes, that would allow the United States to make first use of nuclear weapons to thwart an attack using weapons of mass destruction against the country. Under the scheme, developed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff but yet to be ratified by Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence Secretary, commanders would be able to request permission from the President to use nuclear weapons in a variety of scenarios. According to The Washington Post, one scenario is of an enemy that is using, or "is about to use", WMD against US military forces or the civilian population. Another is where nuclear weapons could be used against biological weapons that an enemy was close to using, and which could only be safely destroyed by nuclear weapons and their after-effects. In practice, the strategy would update existing guidelines, drawn up in 1995 under the Clinton administration. It would fit in with plans mooted by the Pentagon to develop a new generation of nuclear weapons, specifically designed to attack enemy bunkers holding WMD, which could be buried deep underground. Congress has thus far declined to provide funds for a study into the so-called "Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator", not least because of criticism that such a move would make a mockery of US-led efforts to prevent nuclear-weapons proliferation, and make it more, rather than less likely, that such weapons would be used. The Pentagon document argues that proliferation has already made it more likely that nuclear weapons could be used. It claims that some 30 nations have WMD programmes - not to mention terrorists, or "non-state actors", some of them acting with state sponsorship. The Pentagon has drawn up a new strategy, built on the 2002 "Bush doctrine" of pre-emptive military strikes, that would allow the United States to make first use of nuclear weapons to thwart an attack using weapons of mass destruction against the country. Under the scheme, developed by the Joint Chiefs of Staff but yet to be ratified by Donald Rumsfeld, the Defence Secretary, commanders would be able to request permission from the President to use nuclear weapons in a variety of scenarios. According to The Washington Post, one scenario is of an enemy that is using, or "is about to use", WMD against US military forces or the civilian population. Another is where nuclear weapons could be used against biological weapons that an enemy was close to using, and which could only be safely destroyed by nuclear weapons and their after-effects. In practice, the strategy would update existing guidelines, drawn up in 1995 under the Clinton administration. It would fit in with plans mooted by the Pentagon to develop a new generation of nuclear weapons, specifically designed to attack enemy bunkers holding WMD, which could be buried deep underground. Congress has thus far declined to provide funds for a study into the so-called "Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator", not least because of criticism that such a move would make a mockery of US-led efforts to prevent nuclear-weapons proliferation, and make it more, rather than less likely, that such weapons would be used. The Pentagon document argues that proliferation has already made it more likely that nuclear weapons could be used. It claims that some 30 nations have WMD programmes - not to mention terrorists, or "non-state actors", some of them acting with state sponsorship. ---- U.S. nuke arms plan envisions pre-emption 9/12/2005 12:57 AM (AP) http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2005-09-12-pentagon-document_x.htm WASHINGTON — A Pentagon planning document being updated to reflect the doctrine of pre-emption declared by President Bush in 2002 envisions the use of nuclear weapons to deter terrorists from using weapons of mass destruction against the United States or its allies. The "Doctrine for Joint Nuclear Operations," which was last updated 10 years ago, makes clear that "the decision to employ nuclear weapons at any level requires explicit orders from the president." But it says that in a changing environment "terrorists or regional states armed with WMD will likely test U.S. security commitments to its allies and friends." "In response, the U.S. needs a range of capabilities to assure friend and foe alike of its resolve," says the 69-page document dated March 15. A Pentagon spokesman said Saturday evening that Navy Cmdr. Dawn Cutler, a public affairs officer for the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has issued a statement saying the draft is still being circulated among the various services, field commanders, Pentagon lawyers and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld's office, . Its existence was initially reported by The Washington Post in Sunday editions, which said the document was posted on a Pentagon Internet site and pointed out to it by a consultant for the Natural Resorces Defense Council. The file was not available at that site Saturday evening, but a copy was available at http://www.globalsecurity.org. "A broader array of capability is needed to dissuade states from undertaking ... courses of action that would threaten U.S. and allied security," the draft says. "U.S. forces must pose a credible deterrent to potential adversaries who have access to modern military technology, including WMD and the means to deliver them." It says "deterrence of potential adversary WMD use requires the potential adversary leadership to believe the United States has both the ability and will to pre-empt or retaliate promptly with responses that are credible and effective." It says "this will be particularly difficult with nonstate (non-government) actors who employ or attempt to gain use of WMD. Here, deterrence may be directed at states that support their efforts as well as the terrorist organization itself. "However, the continuing proliferation of WMD along with the means to deliver them increases the probability that someday a state/nonstate actor nation/terrorist may, through miscaluation or by deliberate choice, use those weapons. In such cases, deterrence, even based on the threat of massive destruction, may fail and the United States must be prepared to use nuclear weapons if necessary." It notes that U.S. policy has always been purposely vague with regard to when the United States would use nuclear weapons and that it has never vowed not to be the first to use them in a conflict. One scenario for a possible nuclear pre-emptive strike in the draft would be in the case of an "imminent attack from adversary biological weapons that only effects from nuclear weapons can safely destroy." The Bush administration is continuing to push for development of an earth-penetrating nuclear warhead, but has yet to obtain congressional approval. However, the Senate voted in July to revive the "bunker-buster" program that Congress last year decided to kill. Administration officials have maintained that the U.S. needs to try to develop a nuclear warhead that would be capable of destroying deeply buried targets including bunkers tunneled into solid rock. But opponents said that its benefits are questionable and that such a warhead would cause extensive radiation fallout above ground killing thousands of people. And they say it may make it easier for a future president to decide to use the nuclear option instead of a conventional weapon. The Senate voted 53-43 to include $4 million for research into the feasibility of a bunker-buster nuclear warhead. Earlier this year, the House refused to provide the money, so a final decision will have to be worked out between the two chambers. -------- u.s. nuc facilities -------- utah Nuclear transport to Utah may face problems September 12, 2005 By Suzanne Struglinski LAS VEGAS SUN WASHINGTON BUREAU http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/lv-gov/2005/sep/12/519342580.html WASHINGTON -- Moving nuclear waste to the planned interim storage site in Utah will face the same challenges as moving waste to Nevada's Yucca Mountain. The arguments over the transportation of high-level nuclear waste follow a well-laid path. Critics will point to potential terrorist strikes and accidents while the industry will point to a relatively clean record of moving used fuel from one place to another. The transportation planning process, a private venture for Utah and public one for Nevada, share similar characteristics. Each need a large land withdrawal from the Bureau of Land Management to begin construction, detailed planning and cooperation from states waste shipments would cross and eventual public acceptance. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved Private Fuel Storage's license on Friday. The consortium of nuclear utilities investing in the project will now begin to look for companies interested in storing their waste there -- until the proposed repository at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas opens. Private Fuel spokeswoman Sue Martin said some planning on moving the waste from nuclear power plants has been done, including designing and building a prototype rail cask that would move the waste. But until Private Fuel knows exactly where it will be taking waste from and moving it to Utah, specific details like routes and transportation methods are still unknown. Several utilities are the initial investors in Private Fuel, but they will give the opportunity to utility storing nuclear to put waste in Utah. Yucca Mountain, if approved, would bring waste from almost every state east of the Mississippi River. The Energy Department aims to build a new rail line from Caliente on the Union Pacific lines to move waste to the mountain. Similar to transportation plans that would bring waste to Yucca, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will have to approve any container Private Fuel would use to move the waste and it would need to be moved under Transportation Department rules for radioactive material. Transportation planning was not part of the eight-year application process and Utah was not allowed to bring it up during proceedings. Utah Assistant Attorney General Jim Soper said the commission said transportation was not within the scope of whether the site should get a license. Soper wonders how many utilities will actually use Private Fuel Storage. "It is not an attractive alternative for all utilities," he said, because it may cost more and utilities would still be liable for waste as it moved to the state. For Yucca, once the department takes title to the waste at the utility when it begins preparing it for shipment, it is the Energy Department's responsibility, he said. Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., said the NRC's decision to license Private Fuel is "irresponsible beyond human comprehension." "If this stuff is so safe to store above ground, it is safe to leave it on site," Berkley said. "There is no reason to be moving this stuff. We've been against shipping waste for years and they are still going forward with this." Similar to the Energy Department, Berkley said Private Fuel is vague about routes. "Once the American public gets wind of the fact nuclear waste will be driven through their neighborhoods, they will protest," she said. ---- Church opposes nuclear dump LDS leaders 'regret decision' by federal regulators on Skull Valley facility By Judy Fahys and Robert Gehrke 09/12/2005 Salt Lake Tribune http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_3019246 Utah's political bigwigs have for eight years fought a plan to bring high-level nuclear waste to the desert just beyond the heart of the state's population centers. But missing from the chorus has been one voice of authority: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Until now. Church leaders spoke up after federal regulators Friday signed off on the waste plan. For an institution that has remained staunchly, if enigmatically, silent on the issue for so long, the words were strong: "We regret [the] decision by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to authorize the issuance of a license that would allow storage of radioactive waste in Skull Valley. Storage of nuclear waste in Utah is a matter of significant public interest that requires thorough scrutiny." Maryann Webster, a member of Utah's dominant church, has petitioned leaders for years. She knew their influence helped keep the MX missile out of Utah. She hoped they would agree it would be a shame to welcome most of the nation's used reactor rods just an hour's drive from the church's world headquarters. "The church is the only political entity in the state powerful enough to defend us," she said. "I hope they will speak more strongly and work to prevent it." In the wake of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission's decision Friday to license the nuclear storage, waste opponents hope their new apparent ally will change the conversation from that of who is to blame for a strategy that has failed so far, to that of how they get on a winning course. The aim is to defeat a plan by a group of utilities, Private Fuel Storage LLC, to lease land on a tribal reservation about 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City for storing up to 44,000 tons of used reactor fuel. By teaming up with the Skull Valley Goshutes, the company has co-opted the neighbors and their government. Utahns hate the idea. In a 2002 poll, 87 percent said they opposed the NRC license. The opposition is not surprising. Utah has no nuclear plants. Utahns already live with military installations handling chemical and biological arms. Many have lost a family member to illness caused by uranium mining or simply living downwind of atomic weapons tests. And now, with the license granted Friday, Skull Valley is the first U.S. license to be granted for a high-level facility in more than three decades. Some blame greed. PFS has promised the Skull Valley Band's 121 members - whose incomes are below poverty level - hundreds of millions of dollars to take part in the multibillion-dollar waste project. In return, it enjoys protection under the band's sovereign status, immune to Utah's complaints and free to collect rent from other companies for its storage pads. "Who but the companies and the band benefits?" complained Michael S. Lee, chief counsel for Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. and leader of the state government's opposition to the site. The NRC made its decision after eight years of reviewing the state's objections, more than 50 of them. Some were simply thrown out on procedural grounds. Others, like the potential impact of earthquakes and a jet-fighter crash, became fodder for years of in-depth debate. Lee and other state leaders have said that, while disappointed with the NRC's decision, they can't wait to raise Utah's concerns in a different forum - U.S. District Court - because the NRC gives the nuclear industry a home-court advantage. He noted the state will continue its three-pronged approach, fighting the site in the courts, federal agencies and before Congress. Former Rep. Jim Hansen still sees the U.S. Capitol as Utah's best hope. He says his bill to block the waste site's rail route with wilderness would have succeeded a few years ago if an environmentalist had not stymied the move. "If he had just given up," Hansen said, "[the waste] would have been going to Yucca Mountain by now." The bill is being carried this year by Hansen's successor, Republican U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop. It has passed in the House but stalled once again in the Senate. "I don't know that it can be done, but we are going to keep trying," said U.S. Sen. Orrin Hatch, also a Republican. Others wonder if the state has burned an important bridge in Congress. Jason Groenewold, director of the Health Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL), notes that a deep rift divides Utah's mostly Republican delegation and Nevada Sen. Harry Reid, the influential U.S. Senate minority leader. It sprouted from a historic vote three summers ago that made it possible for the federal government to pursue the Yucca Mountain repository over that state's bitter objections. Groenewold said Hatch and fellow Utah Republican Bob Bennett fumbled by voting to speed the waste to Yucca Mountain - past Skull Valley - rather than hanging with the Nevadans. "It may be time to change strategies," said Groenewold. "And we hope that Senators Bennett and Hatch will work with our allies in the West rather than alienating them." Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson, a liberal who is frequently a target of Utah's Republican majority, says leaders need to be prodded to action. "My greatest hope is that we don't all stand around like a bunch of sheep waiting for the slaughter," he said after the license decision, "but that we rise up and let our elected federal officials know that we are very displeased with this." In Nevada, the strategy that has worked for more than 20 years is having a unified opposition, says Eric Herzik, a political scientist at the University of Nevada, Reno. He notes that there is a split in Utah that does not exist in Nevada, with the Goshutes welcoming the waste and others opposing it. "Within the state [of Nevada]," he said, "there is really only one side." Along with the LDS Church's statement Friday, there are other signs that Utah leaders may be able to pull together behind the cause after all. On Friday, the state's congressional delegation, including its lone Democrat, renewed its lobbying effort at the U.S. Interior Department. The Interior secretary supervises two federal agencies that have something PFS needs in order to go forward with its plans: a rail spur through land controlled by the Bureau of Land Management and a final lease that requires the approval of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Bennett, in a statement, noted there remain a number of legal issues "that stand between granting a license and operating" the site. "These legal issues will be raised and aggressively pursued by all members of the congressional delegation and our governor." Bishop, in Utah's U.S. House delegation, offered a philosophical take Friday, saying the state "never had a great hand to play in the first place." "I just keep reminding myself," he said, "in every Rocky movie, he loses every round until he wins by a knockout in the end." Tribune reporter Heather May contributed to this story. ---- Nuclear Regulatory Agency OKs Utah waste repository Sept. 12, 2005 Waste News http://www.wastenews.com/headlines2.html?id=1126544537 The Nuclear Regulatory Agency authorized a license for Private Fuel Storage LLC to build and operate a nuclear waste repository in Skull Valley, Utah. The commission voted 3-1 on Sept. 9 to deny the state of Utah´s final appeal in the matter. The state had argued that one of the 7,000 F-16 military jets flying each year from nearby Hill Air Force Base could crash into the site, causing radioactive contamination. Private Fuel Storage, a consortium of eight electric utilities, has entered into a lease agreement with the Skull Valley Band of Goshute Indians to build a facility to store spent nuclear fuel on the Goshute Indian reservation, about 50 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. The consortium would pay $3.2 billion to construct, operate and decommission the 100-acre facility, which would be located within an 820-acre control area. Power companies, running short on space to store spent nuclear fuel rods, want to build a temporary storage facility on the reservation. The site would store about 40,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel in a maximum of 4,000 aboveground casks. ---- Feds, Firms Move Forward with Utah Nuke Storage Plan by Brendan Coyne Sep 12, 2005 The NewStandard http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/2344 In a maneuver designed to circumvent a public deliberation process that has already spurred vocal opposition, the US Department of Energy announced Friday that it has awarded a $3.1 billion contract to a consortium of eight nuclear power plant operators to build a waste storage facility at a disputed Utah site on Native American land. The announcement spurred a new round of complaints and plans for lawsuits from state officials and Native American, religious and environmental groups. Plans to store the spent nuclear fuel in Utah have been in the works for eight years, but they picked up pace in 2002 after President Bush and Congress approved the plan to allow a consortium of nuclear companies to use land offered by a faction of the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes, the Indian nation that owns rights to the proposed waste storage site, as a temporary storage facility for radioactive waste presumably headed toward a proposed constructed permanent facility in Nevada. The consortium, Private Fuel Storage (PFS), will be permitted to store upwards of 40,000 tons of spent nuclear fuel on the Skull Valley site, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission said Friday. The site is to be used as a temporary repository for waste slated to be stored at a site on Yucca Mountain, Nevada. The Nevada site is also heavily contested and has run into technical and legal problems. "Our decision today concludes this protracted adjudication, which has generated more than 40 published Board decisions and more than 30 published Commission decisions," the Commission said in issuing the order. "The adjudicatory effort, plus our staff’s separate safety and environmental reviews, gives us reasonable assurance that PFS’s proposed [storage facility] can be constructed and operated safely." Opponents of the effort say the waste represents environmental and health threats in the event of an accident or deliberate attack. The groups warn that the Utah location will become a de facto permanent storage facility, due both to the growing, somewhat successful opposition to the Yucca Mountain site, and because the transportation and transfer of spent fuel is so dangerous. Last year, a federal court ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to redraft the Yucca Mountain storage facility plans because the proposal "unabashedly" rejected scientific views on the issue. Public Citizen termed the latest NRC decision "irresponsible and misguided," and cautioned that people and officials need to see through the "nuclear industry’s need for a publicly presentable waste solution that it can use in its push for a ‘nuclear renaissance.’" Private Fuel Storage will take about 20 years to transport all the planned waste to Skull Valley, but the license does not require the consortium to develop removal plans for fifteen years, the Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah (HEAL Utah) noted. The group also warns that clean-up responsibility remains an up-in-the-air issue, as does the length of storage. In addition to sparking opposition efforts by the state of Utah and environmental groups, the Skull Valley deal created a tribal rift that has yet to heal. Previously, The NewStandard reported on an ongoing battle between the tribe’s federally-recognized leader, Leon Bear, and tribal members who dispute his status and his decision to allow the storage of nuclear waste on Goshute land. Utah politicians threatened to take action to halt the PFS plans, and environmental groups are considering filing a court challenge to the NRC decision, the Washington Post reported this weekend. In a statement, PFS said the facility will not be operational before 2008. "We are pleased that the Commissioners have made a final decision on these issues and authorized a license," said PFS Chairman and CEO John Parkyn. "We can now move forward to meet the needs of the commercial nuclear industry and help protect the electricity supply in our nation." -------- MILITARY -------- pakistan / india Pakistan offers to build fence at Afghan border 9/12/2005 6:13 PM (AP) http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2005-09-12-pakistan-fence_x.htm UNITED NATIONS — Chafing under criticism Pakistan is not doing enough to counter terrorism, President Pervez Musharraf offered Monday to construct a security fence to deter incursion of militants and drug merchants from Afghanistan. Musharraf made the offer at a meeting with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that was expanded to 75 minutes from the 30 minutes originally planned. It sets the stage for President Bush's meeting with the Pakistani leader on Tuesday. "We don't ever want anybody to say Pakistan is not doing enough," Foreign Minister Khurshid M. Kasuri said. The minister said he was "fed up" over such allegations. Declining to say whether Rice expressed support for the idea, Kasuri said "she heard us out" and was "very appreciative" of Pakistan's desire to help stop infiltration from both sides of the border with Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden, head of the al-Qaeda terror network who has eluded U.S. and other efforts to capture him, is believed to be hiding in the border area. Kasuri said the fence would be designed to deter infiltration in both directions, but as envisioned by the Pakistan government there would be arrangements for controlled crossings. "Pakistan has nothing to hide," he said. "And we are fed up with people who say Pakistan has to do more to counter terrorism." On Friday, Musharraf told The Associated Press that his government has proposed building a barbed-wire fence along the border to help keep Islamic insurgents from crossing the area freely. Kasuri did not specify the form a fence would take, such as barbed wire or solid material. The route the barrier would take has not been decided, he said. Kasuri said the aim would be to screen out warlords and narcotics trade as well as terrorists. "We have a very strong interest in peace and stability in Asia," he said. Rice made no statement after the meeting and there was no official U.S. reaction. The assembly of more than 170 world leaders to mark the United Nations' 60th birthday gives Rice a unique opportunity to advance U.S. foreign policy goals on several difficult fronts. Success is by no means assured. While the United States is the largest contributor and the world's only real superpower, it cannot count on the United Nations for automatic support. Rice's lobbying, and Bush's appearance before the world body Wednesday, come at a moment when the United States is looking unusually vulnerable to foreign eyes following Hurricane Katrina's devastation and international opposition to the war it is fighting against insurgents in Iraq. Rice's drive to pressure Iran to resume negotiations on its nuclear program is a key test. Any U.S. resolution in the U.N. Security Council to censure Iran or to impose sanctions runs the risk of being vetoed. Pakistan appealed, meanwhile, for a peaceful resolution of the dispute. Kasuri said at his news conference Pakistan was a friend and neighbor of Iran. Rice is appealing openly to China and Russia, which have veto power, to join in sending a "unified message" to Tehran. Russia remains dubious about having the council take up the issue. On Friday, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Yakovenko called it a hasty step. Rice is also trying to advance two Mideast goals: pressure Syria to keep hands off Lebanon and to spur Israel and the Palestinians to use the momentum of Israel's withdrawal from Gaza to move toward creation of a Palestinian state. She plans to meet with Arab and European leaders on Syria as a U.N. inquiry explores whether Syria played a role in the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafil Hariri last February in Beirut. Syrian President Bashar Assad has canceled plans to attend U.N. sessions. On Mideast peacemaking, the goal of a Palestinian state already has the support of most U.N. members. Rice will meet with U.N., European and Russian officials who joined the United States in devising a blueprint or roadmap for negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. On another front, U.N. reform, U.S. Ambassador John R. Bolton and Rice are seeking management changes and new approaches on terrorism and human rights. The outlook is uncertain. Rice met Monday with American Jewish leaders, Tanzanian Foreign Minister Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete and officials of 10 South Asian countries. The meetings were off limits to reporters and there were no immediate accounts of the deliberations. She also participated in a ceremony marking the signing of a pact with Georgia that extends $293.5 million in U.S. development aid over the next five years to the former Soviet republic. Rice said 54% of Georgians who live outside the capital, Tbilisi, are impoverished and the money would be used to build roads, to rehabilitate a gas pipeline and to help launch small businesses. President Mikhail Saakashvili said Georgians have always admired America and that his government has moved the country away from a corrupt past. -------- us New Orleans Activist Points to Neglected Corpse as U.S. Military Passes Off Blame Monday, September 12th, 2005 Democracy Now! http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/12/1426218 Democracy Now! reports from the streets of New Orleans. We speak with community organizer Malik Rahim who points out a dead body in his neighborhood that has been neglected since hurricane Katrina hit and we ask soldiers and police why it hasn't been picked up. [includes rush transcript] Democracy Now! broadcasts from Baton Rouge, Louisiana - a city that has been flooded with people pouring out of New Orleans and its surrounding area since before Hurricane Katrina hit. We have spent the weekend traveling around New Orleans, surveying the devastation, talking to scores of people. The city remains under a curfew and there are police and military checkpoints everywhere. In the time we have been here, we have encountered law enforcement officers from nearly every possible agency under the sun. New Orleans has been transformed into a complete militarized zone. There are still areas of the city that have not been reached by rescue workers and there are a number of large makeshift morgues that have been set up. There is still no firm death toll. Last night, President Bush reportedly slept aboard the USS Iwo Jima and he is touring the area once again beginning here in Louisiana. In New Orleans itself there are people who are refusing the evacuation order and are calling on the government to restore their gas and electricity. But most areas remain like a ghost town. We spoke with community organizer Malik Rahim in the Algiers neighborhood. He is one of those who has refused to leave. * Malik Rahim, a veteran of the Black Panther Party in New Orleans. For decades he has worked as an organizer of public housing tenants both there and in San Francisco. He recently ran for New Orleans City Council on the Green Party ticket. RUSH TRANSCRIPT AMY GOODMAN:This is Malik Rahim. MALIK RAHIM: You could basically smell it from right here. You know, and the police, they pass by. They look at it and they ain't going to do nothing, you know, to pick it up. AMY GOODMAN:Malik then walked us down the driveway next to the health center and lifted up a sheet of corrugated metal with an X revealing the dead body underneath. MALIK RAHIM: Now, his body been here for almost two weeks. Two weeks tomorrow. All right. That this man's body been laying here. And there's no reason for it. Look where we at? I mean, it's not flooded. There's no reason for them to be, left that body right here like this. You mean, just totally disrespect. You know? I mean two weeks. Every day, we ask them about coming and picking it up. They refuse to come and pick it up. You can see, it's literally decomposing right here. Right out in the sun. Every day we sit up and we ask them about it. Because I mean, this is -- close as you can get to tropical climate in America. And they won't do anything about it. AMY GOODMAN:Malik, do you know who this person is? MALIK RAHIM: No. But regardless of who it is, I wouldn't care if it's Saddam Hussein or Bin Laden. Nobody deserves to be left here, and the kids pass by here and they are seeing it. The elderly, this is what is frightening a lot of people into leaving. We don't know if he's a victim of vigilantes or what. That's all we know is that his body had been allowed to remain out here for over two weeks. AMY GOODMAN:We are standing right outside the health clinic. It's doors are chained. The building is not seriously damaged. Have you reached people there? What authorities have you talked to to pick up this body? MALIK RAHIM: We have talked to everyone from the army to the New Orleans Police, to the State Troopers, to – I mean, we have talked to everybody who we can. I even talked to Oliver Thomas, who is the councilman at large, yesterday, about this body. He said he was surprised to see that this body is still there. But it's been two weeks. Two weeks that this man has been just laying here. AMY GOODMAN: As Malik Raheem was speaking, as if on cue, every level of authority he mentioned drove by. There's a dead body right here. Is -- who are you with? SOLDIER: We're with 5015. AMY GOODMAN: Which is? SOLDIER: The cav. AMY GOODMAN: Army? SOLDIER: Regular army. AMY GOODMAN: There's a dead body right here. Can you guys pick it up? SOLDIER: You don't think we can pick it up, but we can call the local authorities to come pick it up. AMY GOODMAN: This gentleman who lives in the neighborhood said that they have been trying to get -- here, let me ask these guys, too. Excuse me. Excuse me. Hi. There's a dead body right here. Can Louisiana State Troopers, can you pick it up? LOUISIANA STATE TROOPER: You need to talk to the public information officer, Ma'am. AMY GOODMAN: It's been here two weeks. We have filmed it last week, and gentleman over here said he has been trying to get it picked up for two weeks. Louisiana State Troopers, the Police, the Army, no one has responded. We're looking right over at it right there. LOUISIANA STATE TROOPER: You need to talk to the public information officer and contact him at the troop. AMY GOODMAN: Your name is? LOUISIANA STATE TROOPER: You need to talk to the public information officer. AMY GOODMAN: Do you know about the body? LOUISIANA STATE TROOPER: You need to talk to our public information officer. AMY GOODMAN: Sir, do you know about the body over there. LOUISIANA STATE TROOPER: Ma'am, you talk with the public information officer. AMY GOODMAN: Do you know what they should do to get this body removed moved? ROBERT GONZALEZ: I have no idea. I can't tell you. I don't know. There's been several people over here looking at it. AMY GOODMAN:[planes flying overhead] That was homeland security that just went by. Sir, what -- what did you say? ROBERT GONZALEZ: There's been several people here looking at it, but you know like I said, I haven't seen anybody take it. AMY GOODMAN: Several army guys? ROBERT GONZALEZ: Army, state police over here looking at it. Seen ambulances looking at it. That's about it. AMY GOODMAN: What's your name? ROBERT GONZALEZ: Sorry? AMY GOODMAN: What's your name? ROBERT GONZALEZ: Robert. Robert Gonzalez. AMY GOODMAN:Robert gonzalez. You're with? ROBERT GONZALEZ: 15 cav. AMY GOODMAN:Out of -- ROBERT GONZALEZ: Ft. Hood, Texas. AMY GOODMAN: Do you think the body should be picked up? ROBERT GONZALEZ: Yeah. Sometime. When they get around. There's probably a lot of bodies that they need to pick up. AMY GOODMAN:Have you seen alot of bodies? ROBERT GONZALEZ: No I mean this all, I've seen is all, I've seen. I haven't seen a lot. These are the only two, but I'm sure there's problems in other areas, too. They're probably having a hard time picking all of them up all at once. AMY GOODMAN:Where would you bring it if you picked it up? ROBERT GONZALEZ: I have no idea. NEW ORLEANS POLICE OFFICER: Our sector is this area here. AMY GOODMAN:This is right in your sector? NEW ORLEANS POLICE OFFICER: Yes. AMY GOODMAN:So that body is right in your sector? NEW ORLEANS POLICE OFFICER: Yes. AMY GOODMAN: So, what should happen then? NEW ORLEANS POLICE OFFICER: Well, what I can do in my position is let -- notify my chain of command and leave it up to them to make those bigger decisions. It would be out of my hands. I'm just a lower level position. AMY GOODMAN:Have you all contacted your higher-ups since this is your sector and this has been pointed out the last few weeks. NEW ORLEANS POLICE OFFICER: We will notify our chain of command now. That's my lieutenant right there. AMY GOODMAN:Lieutenant there's this dead body over there. Would the army take it out? NEW ORLEANS LIEUTENANT POLICE OFFICER: No. That's not really in our jurisdiction. We can't do any police work. So, that's not for us to handle we can only report it and hope that the cops take care of it, but we can't do anything. AMY GOODMAN:Have you reported it? NEW ORLEANS LIEUTENANT POLICE OFFICER: Yep. AMY GOODMAN:Why do you think the cops are not moving it? NEW ORLEANS LIEUTENANT POLICE OFFICER: I have no idea, ma'am. No idea. JEREMY FOWLER: Jeremy Fowler. With first cav. AMY GOODMAN:Yes. JEREMY FOWLER: You are? AMY GOODMAN: I'm Amy Goodman. We're down from New York public radio and television. We're just wondering about this body that's been there since the hurricane. Who is going to pick it up? JEREMY FOWLER: The -- we have notified the New Orleans police and they're in the process of getting a mortuary team down here. The problem is, as you probably know, most the mortuary teams are north of the river, doing evacuation ops. up there. It's been notified. The locals have been notified. We have got patrols currently in the area just keeping local security, and we are waiting for local law enforcement to take care of it. AMY GOODMAN: We saw local law enforcement, Louisiana State Police, New Orleans police, all of them had no comment. JEREMY FOWLER: I can just tell you what I have done. We're just here to help restore some stability to this area and help really get this community back on its feet. So -- that's really all I can tell you. AMY GOODMAN: Where are you from? JEREMY FOWLER: Ma'am, I'm from Rock Springs, Wyoming. AMY GOODMAN: So, what's the exact unit? Are you U.S. Army, or National Guard-- JEREMY FOWLER: I'm actually the Company Commander of Charlie Company, first battalion fifth United States cavalry. We're stationed out of Ft. Hood, Texas. We were activated about a week ago to come down here and to help the great people of Louisiana. AMY GOODMAN: And any chance either of you were in Iraq? JEREMY FOWLER: We were. Actually, we both were. This is my Executive Officer. AMY GOODMAN: What's your name? MATTHEW COHEN: Matthew Cohen, Captain, U.S. Army. AMY GOODMAN:Wyoming also. MATTHEW COHEN: No, I'm from California. AMY GOODMAN: Where? MATTHEW COHEN: San Francisco. AMY GOODMAN: Where were you in Iraq? MATTHEW COHEN: We were in southern Baghdad. AMY GOODMAN: When did you come out? MATTHEW COHEN: We got back last March as a unit. basically the whole company came back in late March. AMY GOODMAN: How does this compare? MATTHEW COHEN: I'll tell you, Ma'am, this is great to be down here. It's great that we can kind of come out and actually help Americans. AMY GOODMAN: Hi, Sir. You New Orleans Police? NEW ORLEANS POLICE OFFICER: Yes, ma'am. I can't talk, though. AMY GOODMAN: We're just -- there's a dead body over here and we're wonder if the police would pick it up. NEW ORLEANS POLICE OFFICER: I have no comment on that, Ma'am. You have to call one of the press guys. Sorry. Thank you. AMY GOODMAN: Malik, just a minute ago, as we were pulling up, there were two what were they, police cars -- MALIK RAHIM: Yes. AMY GOODMAN: What were they? MALIK RAHIM: They were police. AMY GOODMAN: New Orleans Police. MALIK RAHIM: New Orleans Police. AMY GOODMAN: Have you talked to the New Orleans Police. MALIK RAHIM: New Orleans Police is the worst of the lot. Some of them. I ain't going to say all of them but most of them. We get a more friendly response from the Army. And the National Guard. Than from the New Orleans Police. I have no real respect for them anymore. Because they allowed those white vigilantes to ride through with carte blanche. I mean, if a white person was taking something, he was taking food for his family. But if a black was taking something, he was looting. You know? And you see signs all around: “We kill looters. We shoot looters.” Some of them was even bragging about it. We used to -- for the first week we had truckloads of whites riding around, white vigilantes riding around talking about they're protecting the neighborhood. New Orleans came so close to breaking into a race riot than I ever seen. You know, because even though they were shooting blacks in the Algiers part where I live, Algiers is surrounded by nothing but black communities. And guys were saying that if they hear of anybody else being shot, they are going to shoot any white that comes through their community. It took a lot for us to stop this. But we didn't have no consideration from the government. You know? And that kept on going because again, if whites -- I mean, we sit here and watch them. They ride around in their dump trucks, I mean, pickup trucks with shotguns and high powered rifles. And if a black just showed a knife, it was automatically jumped on. I mean, it was just totally two standards of justice. I mean, that's the part that really got me. You know, that -- because it shouldn't have been. I mean, we didn't, first of all, we didn't have to abandon the 120,000 people that we literally abandoned in the city. I mean, we literally abandoned the poor and told them, “Hey, you fend for yourself.” Then when they fend for themselves, then they was arrested. AMY GOODMAN: Malik Rahim speaking just next to the Arthur Monday Multi-service Center in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans. Unlike many of his neighbors, Malik has chosen to stay in his community. ---- New Orleans 'Holdout' Compares U.S. Military Evacuating Residents to Nazi Germany Monday, September 12th, 2005 Democracy Now! http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/09/12/1426228 A New Orleans resident discusses why she is refusing to leave her home in the French Quarter and describes how soldiers approached her house and asked her to leave: "It was kind of like being in Nazi Germany, [the U.S. military] came with guns and told us we had to leave our home. Very, very nasty, and said they would come back the next day and drag us out of our homes." [includes rush transcript] * Sandra, New Orleans resident. RUSH TRANSCRIPT AMY GOODMAN: As we walked along Esplanade Avenue, we bumped into one of his neighbors, who was also a holdout. She was standing in front of her home. She had been walking a dog that had been left behind in the storm. This is Sandra. SANDRA: The sooner they get people back in here into the French Quarter, the better the French Quarter is going to be. They're very durable people here. A lot of what we see is strictly cosmetic that can be attended to here in the Quarter. I'm not saying the other parts of the city. But there's absolutely no damage to my house. I mean, it's a little inconvenient, but I'm not going to leave my house because of some inconvenience. AMY GOODMAN: What's your name? SANDRA: My name is Sandra. AMY GOODMAN: Have they told you to leave? SANDRA: Yes. They have told us to – well, we had some storm troopers come into our house at 3:00 in the morning the other night. I didn't tell you about this, banging on the door with sirens. It was kind of like being in Germany – Nazi Germany. They came with guns and told us we had to leave our home. And very, very nasty, and said they would come back the next day and drag us out of our homes. We have gotten in touch with the authorities. They cannot do that. There's no reason to. Our house is in perfectly good shape. We even have a swimming pool. We are doing very fine. They can't make us leave our homes. AMY GOODMAN: Sandra was afraid to tell us her last name. She lives with a bartender and his wife. She went on to describe what happened. SANDRA: They did ask for his name, his family. And they wanted his identification and such, so it was strictly harassment, because they didn't realize there was someone else living in the building and was witnessing this. And so, they were just doing it to harass him because he said negative things about the administration, present administration, which – hey, we're Americans, aren't we? We do have that right. And so, they came in the middle of the night with guns, military, threatening, and I witnessed the whole thing, and they said they were going to come back and drag him out the next day. I mean, this is more terrifying than the looters who were shooting in our building at the beginning of last week. So, you know, we're not going to stand for that. And we have talked to a lot of bigwigs up at the government. And this administration is not going to terrify the citizens. And he was offered a lot of help to get New Orleans back on its feet, which he denied, and they went to other parishes, and now they have electricity, and they are running again, and we are not. AMY GOODMAN: They offered who money? SANDRA: They offered assistance from different countries to the Mayor of New Orleans. And he rejected it. So, they went and they offered it to other parishes. AMY GOODMAN: Sandra says she's not planning to leave, and she wants the electricity turned on. -------- ENERGY First Steps on the Hard Road to Environmental Restoration BATON ROUGE, Louisiana, September 12, 2005 (ENS) http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/sep2005/2005-09-12-02.asp The total environmental impact of the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina on August 29 is still unknown, but it is currently being evaluated by the U.S. Coast Guard and other federal and state agencies. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco will meet with President George W. Bush today on the Iwo Jima in New Orleans. Commanding officer of the Louisiana National Guard Bennett Landreneau and former director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency James Lee Witt will join her in the briefings. Afterward, the officials plan a walking tour of the French Quarter. With loads of rocks and sandbags, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the National Guard have repaired the broken levees through which the deadly floodwaters poured starting on the morning of August 29. Working with the city of New Orleans and private contractors, the Corps is now making progress on pumping floodwaters out of the city and vicinity. Through a system of existing and temporary pumps, floodwaters are being pumped into Lake Ponchartrain. The number of operational pumps is continually changing. On average, this system is pumping water at about one million gallons per day, which is equalvant to 432 Olympic-size swimming pools per day. The Corps has revised its original estimates of 30 to 80 days for completing the removal of flood waters from the city, and now estimates that based on normal seasonal rainfall, "overall un-watering effort will be completed in early to mid-October." The Corps says its efforts were helped by lack of rainfall, strong easterly winds that have allowed the Lake Ponchartrain levels to recede lower than expected, and deliberate breaches made in the levees that allowed flooded areas to drain faster and improved pump capacity. The un-watering effort will remove most, but not all the water, and the Corps says some isolated pockets of water will remain, but they should not hamper recovery efforts such as debris removal, structural assessments and restoration of critical services. The fourth of four critical breaches at the 17th Street Canal and London Avenue Canal was closed Saturday. Auxiliary pumps and generators are operating at both locations. More than 1,600 Corps employees are engaged in recovery efforts, and the numbers are increasing daily. In addition to repairing the levees around New Orleans and pumping floodwater out of the city, the Corps is working with government and contracting partners to provide ice and water, temporary roofing, temporary housing, power assessment, and debris removal in the affected areas of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. In Mississippi, more than 18,000 tons of ice and eight million liters of water have been delivered to staging areas. In Louisiana, more than 15,000 tons of ice and 15 million liters of water have been delivered. In Alabama, more than 6,000 tons of ice and five million liters of drinking water have been delivered. More than 270,000 cubic yards of debris now has been removed from areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. In Mississippi and Louisiana "Operation Blue Roof" is underway in several counties. The Operation Blue Roof program provides temporary plastic sheeting for roofs that were damaged during Hurricane Katrina. Over 3,000 requests for assistance have been received, and Corps estimates that more than 40,000 homes will need plastic sheeting. In Mississippi, some 200 power assessments have been completed, and 35 sites have power restored. Power assessment teams continue to work in New Orleans with 223 of 256 assessments completed. Housing needs continue to be identified daily. As of today, eight units have been leased, 80 units are ready for occupants, and 130 units have been identified. In support of FEMA, the Corps of Engineers will be assessing and repairing public facilities such as schools, libraries, and fire stations for the state of Louisiana. This mission is estimated at $200 million dollars, a small fraction of the $2.9 billion in missions the Corps has been assigned. The Coast Guard, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Louisiana are working together with local industries to recover spilled oil and mitigate further environmental damage in the aftermath of the hurricane. From a Coast Guard operating base in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the agencies are coordinating pollution response efforts. An estimated 16,000 barrels of oil were discharged from the Murphy Oil facility near Chalmette. The agencies say the majority was contained within an existing secondary containment unit located on refinery property. During the hurricane, an unknown quantity of oil escaped the secondary containment and affected the surrounding neighborhoods. The EPA and Coast Guard are working together on ongoing oil recovery operations. As of Friday, 1,645 barrels were recovered using 12 vacuum trucks and 10 drum skimmers. There are plans for 24 hour operations with two high-volume pumps. Shell Pipeline Company LP has confirmed that damage from Hurricane Katrina resulted in two crude oil spills from company facilities in southern Louisiana. In the first incident, crude oil was found leaking from an above-ground storage tank and into a tank dike and surrounding area at the company tank farm in Pilottown. The incident was caused by apparent wind damage. Of the app About 10,000 barrels leaked in Pilottown, and more than 6,200 barrels have been recovered to date, the company says. Some 2,800 feet of absorbent boom and 2,000 feet of eight-inch hard boom have been deployed. Workers also placed 600 feet of 10-inch hard boom in the affected area. No further pollution is expected as the water and oil mixture within the secondary containment unit has been pumped to a level below the break in the containment unit. In the second Louisiana incident, crude oil was found leaking from a 20 inch pipeline in Nairn damaged when a hurricane protection levee was breached. The release was estimated at 250 barrels. There is no further potential for loss of oil as the pipeline has been secured. Pollution response equipment and responders are on scene and are cleaning up the remaining spilled oil. Bass Enterprises reported that 81,000 barrels of oil from two storage tanks were discharged into the secondary containment system surrounding the tanks. Preliminary tests indicate most of the oil is contained within the secondary containment levee and 7,500 barrels are still in the tanks. Pollution response equipment and responders are on scene and are transferring the oil in the containment system to a barge and have deployed boom to contain a visible sheen on the river. No sheen is visible beyond the booms. The Chevron Empire Facility reported 23,000 barrels of oil were discharged into the containment and are being pumped out. The majority of the oil is contained at the facility. Pollution response equipment and responders are on scene. The Chevron Pipeline Company reported an estimated 200 barrels of oil was discharged into West Bay, near Venice, Louisiana. About 100 barrels of oil has already evaporated, and 100 barrels of oily water mixture has been recovered. Venice Energy Services Company reported an unknown amount of oil discharged in Tante Phine Pass near Venice. The oil is contained within the facility's secondary containment. The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality and the Coast Guard are working together to oversee recovery operations. Pollution response equipment and responders are on scene. At the battered port of Gulfport, Mississippi, the Coast Guard Cutter Decisive has been established as a command, control and communications platform for the new Mississippi Coastal Recovery Base Gulfport. The base was set up to provide assistance to local law enforcement agencies, search and rescue capabilities, ports and waterways restoration and humanitarian aid. The Decisive's crew along with six small-boat crews from Gulfport and Port Clinton, Ohio provided meals-ready-to-eat and care packages to more than 250 Vietnamese fishermen on fishing boats trapped in Back Bay Biloxi, Mississippi. The Popps Berry Bridge was demolished by the storm, trapping the fishermen in the bay. The bridge has been cleared and the fishermen moved out of the bay on Friday. The Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Team from Panama City, Florida, replaced navigational markers in the Gulfport's main shipping channel. All base units continue to search from Pearl River to Wolf River, Mississippi, including all marshes in Back Bay, for survivors and hazards to navigation. The state of Louisiana has awarded a contract to repair the damaged I-10 twin-span bridge across Lake Pontchartrain, the world's longest overwater highway bridge. Hours after opening bids for emergency repairs to the bridge, the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD) awarded a $30.9 million contract to Boh Brothers Construction Co. of New Orleans, the low bidder on the job. Work begins today and will continue 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Officials estimate traffic will be back on the Twin Spans within 45 days. “Repairing our roads and bridges is a critical step in helping Louisiana citizens get back to normal,” Governor Blanco said. “I have directed the state DOTD and its contractor to work nights and weekends to repair this bridge as quickly as possible. DOTD’s construction schedule reflects my sense of urgency and commitment to getting the job done.” The project will make one of the spans over Lake Pontchartrain passable for two lane traffic and the other span passable for one lane traffic. Both spans, which connect New Orleans and Slidell, suffered severe damage during Hurricane Katrina, which shifted, damaged or destroyed dozens of pre-cast concrete panels. All costs should be eligible for reimbursement for emergency relief funds allocated to the Federal Highway Administration upon passage of a special funding package from Congress. In the first quarter of 2006, state Department of Transportation and Development Secretary Johnny Bradberry said, the agency plans to take bids on a new twin-span bridge to replace the current twin spans, Bradberry said. That new bridge will be a six lane structure built at a higher elevation. Bradberry said he expects construction to take about three years. -------- ACTIVISTS Activist may go quietly: Lawyer 12 sep 05 Australia Herald Sun http://www.heraldsun.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5478,16573116%255E1702,00.html DETAINED peace activist Scott Parkin may accept deportation rather than stay in jail, according to his lawyer. The American is being held at Melbourne Custody Centre and faces deportation after having his six-month visitor visa cancelled on the grounds he was a risk to national security. Lawyer Marika Dias told ABC Radio today that Mr Parkin was considering accepting deportation in order to get out of jail. "Another issue is of course that a big deal of energy is going into getting Mr Parkin out of detention and really the key way of doing that at this point in time is for him to agree to be deported," Ms Dias said. "Whether or not he seeks a review of the decision is a separate matter. "He may well accept deportation for his own benefit so as not to remain languishing in jail, obviously for him it's a particular concern especially as he's being detained not in an immigration facility but in a common prison." Ms Dias said yesterday Mr Parkin had not been told why he was considered a potential security threat and that he could have grounds for appeal, but this would involve him staying in detention. He was being charged about $130 a day for his detention, she said. A Department of Immigration spokesman has said Mr Parkin was subject to a security assessment in which he failed to meet its character requirements. His custody status was an "alternative immigration detention arrangement", the spokesman said. Meanwhile, high-profile refugee advocate Julian Burnside QC has questioned whether the Federal Government was abusing its power by detaining the American. Mr Burnside said he wanted to know why it took Australian authorities so long to act if the man was indeed a security threat. "They've got the right, but the question is whether that right has been exercised in a way that provides sufficient protection for ordinary citizens and visitors to Australia," Mr Burnside told ABC radio. ---- At 9/11 Walks, Remembrances Stream Forth Thousands in D.C. and Va. Honor Victims, U.S. Troops By Petula Dvorak and Nia-Malika Henderson Washington Post Staff Writers Monday, September 12, 2005; B01 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/11/AR2005091100508_pf.html On a Sept. 11 as sunny and warm as that earth-shattering date four years ago, thousands of people yesterday remembered the terrorist attacks by walking in the nation's capital. Some strolled past the Pentagon, cheering for the troops abroad, and others walked solemnly from churches to mosques to temples as they prayed for peace. The Freedom Walk, sponsored by the Pentagon as a tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks and as a rally for U.S. troops, was a tightly controlled event. Thousands of preregistered walkers put on free T-shirts and poured from the Pentagon onto the Mall, where they plopped down in the shade and listened to country music star Clint Black. And along Embassy Row in Northwest Washington, hundreds of people representing a wide spectrum of religious faiths held a Unity Walk to recall the spirit of togetherness that the United States felt after the attacks. There were colorful banners and saris and flowing, white tunics. Across the region, the day was a patchwork of emotions. There were upbeat smiles, antiwar outbursts, pro-war sentiments, patriotic cries, tears for Sept. 11 victims and the veil of grief for the Gulf Coast. "It says 'Freedom Walk,' but that's not why I'm here," said Lashawn Dickens, 33, pointing at her Pentagon-issued T-shirt. Her 11-year-old son, Rodney, was killed that day on Flight 77 -- which hit the Pentagon -- as he headed off on a school trip. "I'm here to support my son. It should say 'Rodney Dickens Walk.' " Dickens said she usually spends Sept. 11 in a "quiet space," thinking about her son. But this year, she said, "It was hard to focus on my son when we see so many people suffering" from Hurricane Katrina. On the Pentagon walk, helicopters flew overhead and dozens of police officers carrying many plastic handcuffs, ready to make arrests, smiled to walkers along the route. Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld joined the walk and was treated like a rock star, hounded by passersby who begged his Secret Service detail to snap their photos with him. "I wish I remembered my permanent marker so he could sign my T-shirt," one woman lamented after shaking Rumsfeld's hand. Patricia Rivera, 26, an Air Force enlistee, gasped and said: "Oh, my. What an honor! What an honor!" after having her photo taken with Rumsfeld. A few war protesters who registered for the event turned their Freedom Walk shirts inside-out and, using black markers, replaced the shirt's red-and-blue logos with their own political sentiments. Their presence prompted an occasional verbal parry. One flash point was along Independence Avenue, where a few people shouted and held up signs critical of the war and the Bush administration. "USA! USA!" marchers chanted in reply. "Mindless idiots!" a man shouted at the protesters. One protester, Rik Silverman, 27, of Arlington said he was holding a sign that said, "Shame on You" when a marcher leaned over the railing and punched him in the stomach. A U.S. Park Police officer wrote a report but no arrests were made. Although the Pentagon required walkers to preregister for the event, officials did not provide a crowd estimate. Metro officials said about 4,000 people arrived at the Pentagon's Metro station yesterday morning. The scene included a mix of soldiers and toddlers, baby strollers and backpacks. Some people attended to support the military. One woman waved to cameras that were streaming a live feed of the walk to troops in Iraq, then blew a kiss and mouthed, "I love you!" Some marchers wore the names of family members or friends who were serving in the military or who had been killed in action. Austin Hamner, 45, a lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve who recently served eight months in Iraq, wore a black T-shirt bearing the names of two soldiers he knew who were killed by a car bomb in Baghdad: Sgt. Clinton Lee Wisdom, 39, and Spc. Don Clary, 21. Hamner wore the shirt "so that their names are remembered, because that's the problem -- they get too many names and everybody forgets. They just remember that it was a war." Others said they showed up because it was the best way they could think of to remember the victims of Sept. 11. Before leaving the Pentagon's parking lot, Renee Baldwin, 53, stopped and sighed. "I remember when I came to this parking lot to recover my sister's vehicle," she said, patting her shirt, which bore a photo of her sister, Cecelia O. Richard, an Army budget analyst killed in the attack. "I think about her all the time. And today, boy, today is still hard." The attack on the Pentagon also resonated with Army Lt. Col. Steve Whitmarsh of Burke, who marched with his wife, Gwen, and sons Jeffrey, 9 and Scott, 6. He said he was inside the Pentagon when the plane hit. "It seems like it was just yesterday," Whitmarsh said. "It was just a dark, sad time, and a time of national resolve -- kind of like what we're seeing [with] Katrina right now." As he spoke, he sat about 100 yards from the spot, now landscaped and pristine, where the plane hit -- and where military personnel were leading groups of marchers on brief tours of the site and the remaining, charred stone saved from that day's searing fire. Kevin Pannell, who stood on his prosthetic legs, said the Sept. 11 attacks still take their toll on the nation. "I lost my legs in Baghdad, and 9/11 was the initiative," said Pannell, 27, of Woodbridge. "The longer it goes since it happened, the less people seem to think about it. I think about it every day. We don't need to forget 9/11." Staff writers Michael E. Ruane and Ylan Q. Mui contributed to this report.