NucNews October 3, 2006 -------- NUCLEAR -------- britain BNFL to fast-track sale of Magnox nuclear reactors By Michael Harrison, Business Editor 03 October 2006 UK Independent http://news.independent.co.uk/business/news/article1783811.ece Britain's ageing Magnox nuclear reactors are likely to be sold off to private buyers within the next six months under recommendations put to ministers by their owner, British Nuclear Fuels. The BNFL board is understood to have recommended that the disposal of its 11 Magnox stations, only four of which are still in service and producing electricity, should be fast-tracked alongside the sale of its engineering consultancy division and its stake in the consortium which runs the Atomic Weapons Establishment's Aldermaston site. BNFL is also thought to have agreed to a plan devised by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to keep the operation of the Sellafield waste reprocessing site in Cumbria in public ownership, but bring forward the date at which private-sector firms can compete for the work to 2008. The Government's original plan was to privatise British Nuclear Group (BNG), the division of BNFL which encompasses everything from Sellafield and the Magnox stations to the Aldermaston contract and engineering consultancy, as one. The successful bidder would then have been given a contract to run Sellafield until 2012. But in August that plan was scrapped in favour of a decision to proceed with a piecemeal sale of BNG. Fluor, the US engineering company, then made the Government a £400m offer for the whole business. Unions attacked the latest sell-off plans for BNG yesterday, warning that it could put at risk confidence among the 6,000 staff. ---- Emergency drill at nuclear site Tuesday, 3 October 2006 BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/5401558.stm Emergency services are taking part in the largest nuclear alert exercise seen in Cumbria for 15 years. The aim is to test emergency procedures around Sellafield, near Whitehaven, in the event of an incident at the reprocessing plant. Tuesday's Operation, Oscar 8, will see about 700 people involved in the exercise in the Whitehaven area and another 350 at Carlisle's Sands Centre. Plant operator British Nuclear Group (BNG) is co-ordinating the operation. The exercise, including members of police, fire, ambulance and local authorities, will also involve the sounding of the site siren at Sellafield. Donald Norrie, chief emergency planner for Cumbria County Council, said: "The alert will give those involved the opportunity to test fallback arrangements that are in place within the county to use an emergency centre other than the one designated in West Cumbria. "This county has been at the forefront of developing plans for dealing with emergency situations, including an incident at Sellafield." -------- china AECL wins $12 million contract for services, equipment in China Engineering services and spent fuel dry storage technology for Qinshan CANDU site Oct. 3, 2006 CNW http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/October2006/03/c4116.html MISSISSAUGA, ON, - Atomic Energy of Canada Limited (AECL) has been awarded a $12 million (Cdn), three-year contract to supply China's Third Qinshan Nuclear Power Company (TQNPC) with engineering services and equipment for the construction of a MACSTOR(R) 400 spent fuel dry storage system at the Qinshan CANDU nuclear power site. "AECL is committed to long-term relationships with our CANDU customers and to providing industry-leading services for CANDU reactors and their associated systems throughout their life cycle," said AECL President and CEO Robert Van Adel. "We are enjoying significant worldwide growth in our nuclear services business, a sign that AECL is truly becoming the international full project and services nuclear company of choice." The contract will allow TQNPC and the Shanghai Nuclear Engineering Research Institute, TQNPC's engineering subcontractor, to localize AECL's design and construct the first of approximately 10 storage modules. The project will take about three years to complete. Michael Ingram, AECL's Vice President of CANDU Services added, "Our goal is to be a key contributor to the success of CANDU plants worldwide. Our patented MACSTOR technology gives us the ability to help utilities manage their spent fuel safely, reduce overall costs while saving up to one-third of the space required by comparable systems." AECL's MACSTOR technology provides passively safe storage for CANDU fuel once it has been used in the reactor and cooled in the spent fuel bay. MACSTOR modules provide highly efficient heat-rejection and shielding and requires up to one-third less space than comparable systems. About MACSTOR(R) AECL developed MACSTOR (Modular Air-Cooled STORage) to provide on-site storage of dry spent fuel for CANDU utility customers around the world. Based on passive physics and engineering principles, MACSTOR modules can save up to one-third of the space required by comparable systems, while reducing manpower and operating and construction costs. MACSTOR modules are currently installed and operating at Gentilly 2 in Quebec and at the Cernavoda site in Romania. About AECL Atomic Energy of Canada Limited is a full service nuclear technology company providing services to nuclear utilities around the world. Established in 1952, AECL is the designer and builder of CANDU technology including the CANDU 6, one of the world's top performing reactors. AECL specializes in a range of advanced nuclear energy products and services that are an important component of clean-air energy programs on four continents. AECL's 4,000 employees provide R&D support, design and engineering, construction management, specialized technology, refurbishment, waste management and decommissioning in support of CANDU reactor products. More information on AECL and CANDU technology can be found at www.aecl.ca. For further information: Dale Coffin, Director, Corporate Communications, Direct: (905) 403-7457, Media: (905) 403-7539, Toll free: 1-866-886-2325, E-Mail: coffind@aecl.ca -------- depleted uranium VA Report Says Gulf War Syndrome Doesn't Exist By Marie Seigenthaler Marin County, CA, Coastal Post October 3, 2006 http://www.coastalpost.com/06/10/25.html On the 12th of September, the US Department of Veteran's Affairs released a report that denied the existence of Gulf War Syndrome, thus unnaming the umbrella disease indicated by a multitude of symptoms found in Gulf War veterans over the years. Since 1991, when veterans returned home from the war, there has been an onslaught of health issues affecting them. Leukemia, asthma, cancers, allergies, and lymphoma, not to mention birth defects in unfortunate offspring, are a few among the many in veterans. These ailments also plague the Middle and Near East, where many hospitals and doctors are incapable of assisting. Back in the States we have uninformed doctors attempting to treat symptoms of mystery diseases. Prior to now, only one study has been conducted by the government for depleted uranium in veterans. 32 soldiers, out of over 900 thousand men and women serving in both Gulf Wars, were tested for clinical health effects caused by depleted uranium. Their findings? Nothing that significantly deterred their health. While this is too small a sample to gauge for the other veterans, at least that .00003% is unharmed. The recent study was unique in that it was conducted at the request of the VA to determine the current state of veterans "irrespective of the exposure information". With a balanced mindset and assumptions cleared, a team of scientists set to work researching. The hunt for reliable information in the clause of a subject as touchy as the Gulf War is difficult. Many studies had to be declared "secondary" to be used as context or background. The selection of information is just as frustrating. Many of the studies don't use the same definition for the same terms. Still others had "invalid" control groups, if any at all. But, by the miracles of science and improvising thereof, perhaps the first iota of reliable intelligence regarding GWS is unveiled. Their results? "No unique syndrome, unique illness, or unique symptom complex in deployed Gulf War veterans. Veterans of the Gulf War report higher rates of nearly all symptoms or sets of symptoms than their non-deployed counterparts; 29% of veterans meet a case definition of "multi-symptom illness," as compared with 16% of non-deployed veterans." The point of this report seems extraneous, given that the veterans have been told for years that there is no single cause to their symptoms. And as there were many nasties employed throughout the war, including but not limiting to Benzene, Sarin, insecticides, and depleted uranium, this should be a given. So what's next? We have these results, so what are we going to do for the veterans? According to the report, the recommended actions are that we offer health screens both before and after combat, evaluate exposures, and look for "adverse health outcomes" such as cancer. One would think that we should have been doing this from the start by default. But then, one would also think that our government would sooner release vital information regarding the welfare of American veterans than spend over 300 million tax dollars researching for a treatment to a disease that doesn't exist. ---- Iraq Veterans' Action Proceeds After Trim October 3, 2006 By Daniel Wise New York Law Journal http://www.law.com/jsp/nylj/PubArticleNY.jsp?hubtype=TopStories&id=1159792525167 Nine veterans who claim they were injured by exposure to spent uranium while in Iraq can sue the government but only for poor medical treatment they allegedly received after their discharges, a Southern District judge ruled last week. Judge John G. Koeltl, in Matthew v. U.S., 05 Civ. 8045, substantially narrowed the lawsuit, dismissing claims against the government for negligence in permitting the veterans to be exposed to depleted uranium and for negligent medical treatment while they remained in the military. The decision will be published tomorrow. Judge Koeltl likewise dismissed a claim that a veteran's daughter had a birth defect caused by her father's exposure to spent uranium. The veterans' lawyer, George Zelma, said he is considering appealing the dismissal of claims arising while the soldiers were on active duty because Congress did not intend to protect the government "when it betrayed our troops by putting them in harm's way for no strategic reason." With respect to the claim that Judge Koeltl's ruling kept alive, the former soldiers contend Veterans Administration doctors misdiagnosed and mistreated ailments cause by exposure to uranium as stress-related symptoms such as battle fatigue, Mr. Zelma said. But, he added, they have had breathing problems, skin disorders, blurred vision, sleep difficulties, serious diarrhea and memory loss because of their exposure to uranium while in Iraq. The rule specifying what types of cases soldiers may bring against the government was set in 1950 by the U.S. Supreme Court in Feres v. United States, 340 U.S. 135, which held that soldiers are barred from suing for damages for injuries that "arise out of or are in the course of activity incident to service." The Supreme Court in Feres applied the doctrine of sovereign immunity to bar soldiers from suing the government except to the extent that the doctrine had been waived by the Federal Tort Claims Act, 28 USC §2671 et seq. While the line drawn by the Court in Feres was a broad one, it did not encompass claims of negligence "taking place wholly after the soldier-plaintiffs' respective discharges from service," Judge Koeltl concluded. To the extent that the former soldiers are suing for injuries caused by alleged medical malpractice at Veterans Administration hospitals, those claims survive, he ruled. But the bright-line test barring suits for most injuries incurred while on active duty, Judge Koeltl found, required the dismissal of claims related to the soldiers exposure to radioactive uranium and their treatment for ailments stemming from that exposure prior to discharge without regard to whether the treatment was received abroad or within the United States. In addition, Judge Koeltl ruled that the case law required the dismissal of a claim raised by serviceman Gerard Darren Matthew that his daughter, Claudette, was born with a malformed hand because of his exposure to uranium in Iraq. Judge Koeltl wrote that Feres bars recovery for derivative injuries resulting to others as a result of something that happened to a soldier while in the military. Even the veterans' malpractice claims for treatment after they had left the military had to be narrowed to the extent they alleged that the Armed Forces had failed to warn them about the dangers of exposure to uranium, Judge Koeltl ruled. That allegation had to be dismissed, the judge reasoned, because it related to a time period while the soldiers were on active duty. Several important policy considerations have driven the case law toward a broad definition of "activity incident to service," Judge Koeltl noted in citing precedents from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Among those policy considerations is "the need to preserve the military disciplinary structure." Another is to "prevent judicial involvement in sensitive military matters." The government was represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. Cronan. - Daniel Wise can be reached at dwise@alm.com. ---- UN Assesses War Damage to Lebanon's Environment BEIRUT, Lebanon, October 3, 2006 (ENS) http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2006/2006-10-03-02.asp The United Nations has sent an international team of experts to Lebanon to assess the environmental damage caused by the recent conflict with Israel. The team will work with Lebanese authorities to examine several sites around the war-torn nation, including the massive oil spill that has contaminated some 80 miles of Lebanon's coast. "There is an urgent need to assess the environmental legacy of the recent conflict and put in place a comprehensive clean-up of polluted and health-hazardous sites," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The Lebanese government requested the assistance from UNEP, which has carried out similar work in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Iraq and Liberia The potential list of sites to be visited and sampled is based on research by UNEP supplemented by remote-sensing data and recommendations made by Lebanon's environment minister. Some 10,000 to 30,000 metric tons of heavy fuel oil was released into the Mediterranean Sea when Israeli warplanes bombed the Jiyyeh power plant, some 17 miles south of Beirut, in mid-July. The spill has fouled nearly two-thirds of Lebanon's coast, as well as some beaches in Syria, and is widely considered the worst environmental catastrophe in the small nation's history. Lebanese authorities say the damage is severe and will take several months to clean up. It could take a decade for the environment to fully recover. Norway, Kuwait and Spain have sent boats and equipment to help contain the oil slick, and the effort is now focusing on the difficult work of cleaning the coastal areas affected by the spill. The economic impacts could be devastating for Lebanon, which had a vibrant beach-based tourism industry prior to the conflict. In addition to impacts on human health and tourism, the spill is having adverse affects on an important marine area that includes critical nesting areas for endangered green turtles. "Work is ongoing to deal with the oil spill on the Lebanese coast," Steiner said. "We must now look at the wider impacts as they relate to issues such as underground and surface water supplies, coastal contamination and the health and fertility of the land." The UNEP team will also assess the environmental impacts at the Beirut International Airport, where fuel tanks were set alight as a result of repeated bombing, and the Maliban glass factory in the Bekaa Valley destroyed by an air raid in July. Other sites expected to be assessed by the UNEP-led team and national experts include some of the estimated 22 country-wide petrol stations that were damaged or destroyed and locations where there is thought to be unexploded ordnance. Environmentalists have raised concerns that some Israeli ammunition fired in southern Lebanon was made with depleted uranium. The team also plans to assess pollution risks at several hospitals and at damaged drinking water and sewage treatment plants. In addition, they will investigate damaged power transformers, collapsed buildings and ruptured oil lines that may have leaked or discharged hazardous substances and materials- such as asbestos and chlorinated compounds. Steiner said the team expects to have a comprehensive report on sites and locations in need of decontamination and clean-up before the end of the year. "Once the hard facts are known and the hot spots pin pointed, I would urge the international community to back the findings as part of the reconstruction effort for Lebanon and its people," Steiner said. Funding for the assessment is being provided by Norway and Switzerland. ---- Please help if you can.... From: "tree2911" Date: Tue Oct 3, 2006 8:36 am I am not sure this fits here. My step son was exposed to radiation while serving in Iraq, this resulting in chromosome damage and leukemia. I am trying to pass the word regarding this and to seek whatever info is out there on it. All returning vets from Iraq are strongly encouraged to get the "Gulf War Exam" offered for free by the Veterans Administration. Some vets are returning home with chromosome damage caused by radiation exposure which is then resulting in life threatening cancers. For more info see http://www.iraqradiation.com -- Radiation Exposure to Our Iraq Vets Leukemia, Cancer, and Chromosome Aberrations http://www.iraqradiation.com/ Some of our soldiers in Iraq have been exposed to radiation and have had subsequent medical issues. This site is dedicated to all research found relating to this topic and as a forum for veterans and their families who may be experiencing the same. The more I research this the scarier it gets. Every vet returning from Iraq needs to get the GULF WAR EXAM as soon as possible, the exam is free and is given by the V.A. It is a two day comprehensive exam. I am hearing reports of significant numbers of soldiers returning with chromosome damage due to radiation exposure - resulting in cancers. I have heard from the V.A. of an entire platoon that had chromosome damage and 1/2 of them died from related cancers. For the majority of these soldiers the symptoms do not appear until they have been home for a year, to year and a half. We need to get the word out, loud and fast. Lives depend on it. Please spread the word to your family and friends. Please contact us immediately with any info you hear. The only way we can help them is if we ban together. They have fought for us and now we must fight for them. Contact Us Iraq Radiation mailto:iraqradiation@yahoo.com -------- korea North Korea says it will stage nuke test By BO-MI LIM, Associated Press Writer Tue Oct 3, 2006 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061003/ap_on_re_as/nkorea_nuclear_11 SEOUL, South Korea - North Korea said Tuesday it will conduct a nuclear test in the face of what it claimed was "the U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war," ratcheting up tensions amid international pressure to return to negotiations on its atomic program. The United States said it would raise the latest statement in a U.N. Security Council meeting, and South Korea raised its security level. "The government has taken measures to strengthen the security level in relation to the North Korea nuclear test, and has begun discussions with related countries," South Korea's presidential office said in a statement after an emergency meeting. The statement from Pyongyang gave no precise date as to when a test might occur. "The DPRK will in the future conduct a nuclear test in a condition where safety is firmly guaranteed," the North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, using its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. In an early-morning interview with The Associated Press, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, said the U.S. would bring up North Korea's statement for discussion Tuesday morning in a regular meeting of the U.N. Security Council. "A nuclear test by North Korea would be extraordinarily serious," Bolton said. "The threat is serious enough that we're certainly going to take this action in the council this morning, by raising it." Pyongyang has said it has nuclear weapons, but has not conducted any known test to prove its claim. South Korea's spy agency has said the North could test a nuclear bomb at any time. "The U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure compel the DPRK to conduct a nuclear test, an essential process for bolstering nuclear deterrent, as a self-defense measure in response," said the statement carried by the North's official Korean Central News Agency. China, North Korea's neighbor, ally and chief benefactor, had no immediate comment. Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Aso called the North's nuclear test plans "totally unforgivable," and said Japan would react "sternly" if the North conducted the tests, according to Kyodo News agency. In Finland, European Union foreign policy chief Javier Solana said such a test "is always bad news." Multilateral talks on North Korea's nuclear program have been stalled for almost a year, with Pyongyang boycotting the six-nation talks in protest over U.S. financial restrictions imposed for its alleged illegal activity, including money laundering and counterfeiting. Efforts to bring the North back to negotiations have taken on added urgency after the communist nation test-fired seven missiles in July, including one believed to be capable of reaching the United States. Reports have also suggested the North might conduct a nuclear test, citing suspicious activity at a possible underground test site. Many experts believe the North has enough radioactive material to build at least a half-dozen or more nuclear weapons. The North said Tuesday its ultimate goal is "to settle hostile relations between the DPRK and the U.S. and to remove the very source of all nuclear threats from the Korean Peninsula and its vicinity," accusing the U.S. of posing a nuclear threat in the region. The North, however, said it will "never use nuclear weapons first and strictly prohibit any threat of nuclear weapons and nuclear transfer." Charles Kartman, who was the lead negotiator with North Korea under the Clinton administration, said last week that North Korea had few other options than saber-rattling. "If they feel they are not getting interaction with us, they tend to do things to get our attention. And the tools that they have are all bad ones," he said. "The missiles, the nuclear program, the military." Associated Press writers Michael Weissenstein and Peter Spielmann contributed to this report from New York. ---- World leaders urge North Korea to abandon nuclear test plans Updated 10/3/2006 (AP) http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2006-10-03-north-korea-nuclear_x.htm SEOUL — North Korea's announced intention to test a nuclear bomb prompted dismay in its region Wednesday, with Australia calling the plan deeply offensive and South Korea saying the North's possession of nuclear weapons cannot be tolerated. Pyongyang sparked global alarm Tuesday when it said it would conduct a nuclear test sometime in the future to bolster its self-defense, saying it was compelled to because of an "extreme threat of a nuclear war and sanctions and pressure" from the United States. It is the first time the North publicly announced its intention to conduct a nuclear test, amid recent reports that it may be preparing one. The United States, Japan and European nations expressed consternation Tuesday over the plans, with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice saying it "would be a very provocative act." China, Russia, the United States, Japan and South Korea have all taken part in talks to persuade the North to freeze its nuclear development program, but that process has been stalled for nearly a year. Pyongyang has refused to resume the talks unless the U.S. withdraws financial sanctions imposed on the country, and in July drew international condemnation by test-firing seven missiles. In Australia, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said he was seeking a meeting with the North Korean ambassador to Australia Ambassador Chon Jae Hong on Wednesday over the Asian country's "deeply offensive" nuclear test plan. Australia, a close security ally of the United States, is one of the few Western countries to have limited official ties with North Korea. South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman Choo Kyu-ho expressed his government's "grave concern and regret" over the threatened test. "We reaffirm that we won't tolerate North Korea's possession of nuclear weapons," he added. New Zealand's Foreign Minister Winston Peters said his country joined other nations in urging North Korea to reconsider its plans. "If this threat is carried out, North Korea can expect a harsh response from the international community," Peters said in a statement. Japan on Tuesday called the nuclear test plan a "threat to peace," and Foreign Minister Taro Aso warned that Japan's response would be "severe." Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the North would "face further decline" if it doesn't end its nuclear program. Russia's Foreign Ministry expressed "deep concern" about North Korea's announcement and urged the country "to demonstrate restraint." China — North Korea's ally and chief benefactor — had no immediate comment. Singapore, Britain and France also urged the North to reconsider its plans. The European Union's foreign policy chief Javier Solana said, "That is always bad news," but he declined to discuss the issue further, saying he had only just heard the reports about it. The global outcry echoed the international reaction to a series of missile tests by Pyongyang in July, which prompted a U.N. Security Council resolution sanctioning the North. However, world opinion quickly became split over how far the reprimands should go. Japan and the U.S. argued for pressure through punitive sanctions, while South Korea and China called for further negotiations, saying more pressure would only exacerbate the issue. Japan has reacted especially sternly to potential threats from North Korea. With the help of the U.S., Tokyo is bolstering its missile defense capabilities, and a U.S. air base in southern Japan will soon deploy advanced Patriot missiles designed to intercept tactical ballistic or cruise missiles. Tokyo also slapped immediate sanctions on the North after the July tests, prompting accusations from Seoul and Beijing that Japan was overreacting. Analysts say a worst-case scenario would be that a nuclear test by the North could prompt Japan to seek its own nuclear deterrent, raising tensions with China and South Korea, both of which suffered under Japanese colonial rule in the early 20th century. Pyongyang says it has nuclear weapons, but it has not conducted any known test to prove its claim. South Korea's spy agency has said the North could test a nuclear bomb at any time. ---- U.S.: N. Korea nuclear test 'unacceptable threat' 10/3/2006 (AP) http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2006-10-03-US-NKorea_x.htm WASHINGTON — A North Korea nuclear test would be an "unacceptable threat to peace and stability" and further isolate Pyongyang from the rest of the world, a State Department spokesman said Tuesday. The spokesman, Sean McCormack, said the United States will work with its allies to discourage "such a reckless action." North Korea announced Tuesday that it would conduct a nuclear test in the face of what it claimed was "the U.S. extreme threat of a nuclear war." The statement from Pyongyang gave no precise date as to when a test might occur. Such a test, McCormack said, "would pose an unacceptable threat to peace and stability in Asia and the world." Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said: "The announcement is troubling." "If they were to conduct such a test it would only further isolate them from the international community," Whitman said, adding that President Bush is "seeking a peaceful, diplomatic solution." The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, John Bolton, told The Associated Press on Monday that the U.S. would bring up North Korea's statement for discussion Tuesday morning in a regular meeting of the U.N. Security Council. Pyongyang has said it has nuclear weapons, but has not conducted any known test to prove its claim. South Korea's spy agency has said the North could test a nuclear bomb at any time. International efforts to persuade the North to give up its nuclear programs have been stalled since November. ---- S. Korea Tells North Korea to Withdraw Plans for Nuclear Test By Heejin Koo, October 3, 2006 (Bloomberg) http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aIRdCcmPmlqI&refer=home Oct. 4 -- South Korea expressed its ``deeply serious concern and regret'' over North Korea's announcement it will conduct a nuclear test and told Kim Jong Il's regime to withdraw its plans. ``We reiterate our policy that we will not condone North Korea possessing nuclear weapons, and urge North Korea to cancel its plans to hold a nuclear test,'' Foreign Ministry spokesman Choo Kyu Ho told reporters at a briefing today in Seoul. ``North Korea's mention of a nuclear test goes against relevant nations' ongoing efforts towards a peaceful resolution.'' South Korea is the latest country to condemn North Korea's announcement yesterday. The U.S. government said a nuclear test would ``pose an unacceptable threat'' to the world while Japan said a test would be ``unforgivable'' and require a severe international response. The U.S., Japan and South Korea have been working with China and Russia to try to persuade North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons program. North Korea ``will in the future conduct a nuclear test under the condition where safety is firmly guaranteed,'' the Foreign Ministry said yesterday in a statement carried by the official Korea Central News Agency, without giving a date. The U.S.'s ``increasing threat of a nuclear war and its vicious sanctions and pressure have caused a grave situation on the Korean Peninsula,'' the ministry said. South Korea's government called its ministers to a security meeting today to discuss the North Korean announcement. South Korea also raised its level of surveillance on North Korea, a presidential spokesman said in a faxed statement. The government ``decided to raise its security level to detect signs of North Korea's nuclear test,'' presidential office spokesman Yoon Tae Young, said late yesterday. To contact the reporter on this story: Heejin Koo in Seoul at hjkoo@bloomberg.net -------- u.s. nuc facilities -------- arizona Federal inspection starts at nation's largest nuclear power plant 10-03-06 Associated Press http://www.team4news.com/Global/story.asp?S=5488846&nav=menu90_10 PHOENIX A team of federal inspectors will be at Arizona's Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station today to launch a special investigation. The two inspectors will be evaluating problems related to the emergency diesel generators at the plant 50 miles west of downtown Phoenix. The inspection is expected to take about a week. The National Regulatory Commission says the investigation is linked to tests in July and again last month, in which the emergency generator in one of the plant's three generating units failed to activate. The generators produce electricity for safety systems and components in the event of a loss of offsite power during an emergency. The N-R-C says Arizona Public Service, which operates Palo Verde, has taken steps to ensure the emergency generators will work. But it says it still wants to take a deeper look. Palo Verde is located in Wintersburg, Arizona, about 50 miles west of downtown Phoenix. It supplies electricity to about four (M) million customers in the four states -- including Texas. Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com -------- colorado Agreement sets stage for Flats’ upcoming life as wildlife refuge Site of former plutonium trigger plant is officially considered no threat to the public or environment. Tuesday October 03, 2006 By JUDITH KOHLER THE ASSOCIATED PRESS http://www.chieftain.com/business/1159859592/4 DENVER - An agreement signed Friday declaring Rocky Flats ready to be removed from the Superfund sets the stage for the bulk of the former nuclear weapons plant to be turned into a national wildlife refuge. The $7 billion cleanup of the 6,200-acre site 16 miles northwest of Denver was completed last year, years and billions of dollars short of original projections. The record of decision signed by the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency and Colorado officials signals that the area is considered cleaned up and not a danger to the public and environment, said Frazer Lockhart, manager of the DOE’s Rocky Flats office. The next steps are approval of a plan detailing the DOE’s long-term monitoring and management of the 1,600-acre core where plutonium triggers were produced for nuclear weapons and the transfer of about 4,900 acres to the Department of Interior to manage as a wildlife refuge. ‘‘This really marks the end of the regulatory process for the cleanup of the site,’’ Lockhart said. The EPA must agree to remove Rocky Flats from its Superfund list before the land can be managed as a wildlife refuge. Lockhart said the transfer to the Interior Department likely will happen early next year. ‘‘We don’t really see any technical barriers to that,’’ Lockhart said. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which released a conservation plan for the site in 2005, has said it will be a few years before any of the planned trails and facilities are open to the public. Rep. Mark Udall, D-Colo., and Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., sponsored the legislation to turn the former bomb plant into a wildlife refuge. ‘‘This effort stands as a model to the nation on how we can, with determination, collaboration and innovation, reclaim areas that have been impacted by weapons production and industrial use,’’ Udall said. Allard noted that the DOE originally estimated the cleanup could take up 60 years and cost $35 billion. He said cooperation among state and federal agencies, activists and the surrounding communities greatly accelerated the cleanup by private contractor Kaiser-Hill and the transformation from ‘‘weapons to wildlife.’’ ‘‘Together we have made the impossible possible,’’ Allard said. In nearly four decades, some 70,000 plutonium triggers for nuclear bombs were made at Rocky Flats. Production was halted in 1989 because of chronic safety problems, prompting a raid by FBI agents. The Cold War ended before production could resume. In 1993, the DOE announced that the facility’s mission was over. State and federal regulators signed an agreement in 1996 on the cleanup, including demolition of what was dubbed ‘‘the most dangerous building in America’’ because of leaks, spills and a fire that drove radiation levels off the charts. Thousands of acres of open space buffered the industrial complex made up of about 800 buildings. High-level radioactive waste was shipped to the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico and less contaminated waste was sent to sites in Utah and Nevada. Some of the structures were reduced to rubble and buried beneath several feet of earth. In 2000, Allard and Udall announced their plan to turn most of the land into a national wildlife refuge. The Fish and Wildlife Service says the tall-grass prairie in the buffer, relatively undisturbed for about 40 years, is home to a mule deer herd, elk, coyotes, the Western painted turtle and several species of birds. The site is also considered habitat for the threatened Preble’s meadow jumping mouse. Critics have questioned the thoroughness of the cleanup and don’t think the public should ever be allowed on the site.0 ‘‘Clearly, we need to make sure the site’s cleanup components are adequately secured and monitored,’’ Udall said. The DOE will maintain control over 1,600 acres to run treatment systems for plumes of contaminated groundwater and do monitoring. The government is negotiating to acquire private mineral rights on the land. On the Net: The Rocky Flats Closure Project: http://www.rockyflats.apps.em.doe.gov/ -------- maine Plant off-line for refueling outage 10-03-2006 By Susan Morse smorse@seacoastonline.com Hampton Union http://www.seacoastonline.com/news/hampton/10032006/nhnews-sea-around1003.html SEABROOK -- FPL Energy Seabrook Station shut down at 12:01 a.m. Sunday for its 11th refueling outage. The nuclear power plant is not releasing how long the facility will be off-line, because of the industry being deregulated and Seabrook Station now in the competitive market as a merchant plant, according to spokesman Al Griffith. The outage is planned, he said, and all normal activities are being conducted for the refueling by an estimated 1,300 contractors on site. The last refueling took place in April 2005. The plant last shut down over Labor Day weekend, because of an issue with a diesel generator, which required maintenance, he said. During the outage, the fuel rod assemblies containing uranium pellets are removed from the reactor and replaced. Spent fuel rod assemblies are initially placed in wet storage for cooling for a planned period of five years. Because of the delay in the federal government opening a dry storage facility at Yucca Mountain in Nevada, spent fuel pools are filling to capacity. Seabrook's pool will be full by 2009, according to information given by Griffith this summer. FPL Energy Seabrook Station and other power plants in the FPL nuclear fleet plan to build dry storage on site, Griffith said. Construction is expected to begin next year and the dry storage operational by 2008. -------- MILITARY -------- afghanistan Some 15,000 families displaced by fighting in southern Afghanistan 03 Oct 2006 By Mohammad Nader Farhad Source: UNHCR Reuters http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/UNHCR/eef90d0e99a3a38baad06328b3538ceb.htm KABUL, Afghanistan, October 3 (UNHCR) – Fighting pitting government and NATO troops against Taliban combatants has forced some 15,000 families to flee their homes in three southern Afghanistan provinces since July. UNHCR spokeswoman Jennifer Pagonis told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that the refugee agency was concerned about this displacement – amounting to approximately 80,000-90,000 people – in Kandahar, Uruzgan and Helmand. She said it had added "new hardship to a population already hosting 116,400 people earlier uprooted by conflict and drought." The Taliban have been waging a relentless and costly summer campaign in the south against government troops and forces of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), with British and Canadian soldiers bearing the brunt of attacks. The Afghan government has created a Disaster Management Committee in Kandahar to coordinate relief efforts. The committee is working in coordination with the United Nations, led by the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan. "UNHCR, as part of a joint UN effort, is providing the recently displaced Afghans in the province of Kandahar with non-food items. Together with UNICEF, distribution of jerry cans, plastic sheeting, floor mats, lanterns, family kits and blankets is under way," said Edmond Kamina, a UNHCR official in Kandahar. These have been issued to some 3,200 families in Panjwai and Zhare Dasht districts. World Food Programme is providing food aid. The government is currently assessing the needs of the displaced in the three southern provinces. "We are working very closely with tribal and IDP [internally displaced people] elders in order to assist the conflict-affected people, but they need more assistance to rebuild their lives," said Rahmatullah Safi of the Afghan Department of Refugees and Repatriation. "People have lost everything, their vineyards, orchards, schools and clinics. Some assistance has already reached them, but more needs to be done," he said, adding that some 5,000 of the displaced families had received aid. When the fighting escalated, Haji Abdul Majeed, 48, fled to Kandahar with his family from their home in Panjwai. "I will not return my family from Kandahar city until security has been restored," he said. Meanwhile, UNHCR has said it is ready to assist when it is clear what is required. "We expect further displacement may take place until conditions are safe for the population to return to their homes," Pagonis said. Some families were reported to have left Kandahar city and returned to Panjwai and Zhare Dasht during daylight, but returned to Kandahar at night for safety reasons. UNHCR has no information on population movements to other districts. In Kabul, Afghanistan -------- nato Nato names Afghan expansion date Tuesday, 3 October 2006 BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5401626.stm The Nato alliance is to assume control of military operations across the whole of Afghanistan from Thursday onwards. On 5 October it will take command of most US troops in the east. The move will complete Nato's expansion across Afghanistan, making it responsible for peace-keeping and security across the country. On Tuesday officials said two US troops and one Afghan soldier died in Kunar province. In Kandahar province at least one Nato-led soldier was killed. Kunar, on Pakistan's border, is eastern Afghanistan's most troubled province. Three US soldiers were also wounded in the clash in Pech district. "The soldiers were operating as part of a combat patrol that made contact with enemy extremists," a US military statement said. The Nato-led International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) said as well as the soldier killed in Kandahar province, another was presumed dead. A further eight had been injured when their patrol came under mortar and small arms fire in the province's Zhari district, a statement said. International forces in the country's south and east are increasingly coming under attack from Taleban fighters. United command "On the 5th of October Nato's Security Assistance Force will be expanded to all of Afghanistan," the alliance's senior civilian representative Dan Everts told a press conference in Kabul. "Most of the US forces that are operating under their own command right now in the east will join the overall International Security Assistance Force (Isaf) organisation and be part of the unified Isaf Command," he said. Isaf is the official name for the Nato-led force in Afghanistan. Nato officials endorsed the expansion at a meeting of its defence ministers in Brussels last Thursday. It means that an additional 12,000 US troops will come under Nato command. Isaf - comprising 37 nations - took command of the Taleban-dominated southern provinces from the coalition on 31 July, moving into one of the most hostile areas of the country. Correspondents say that British, Canadian and Dutch troops in the south have been engaged in some of the heaviest fighting since Nato's formation. The aim of Isaf is to quell the spiralling Taleban insurgency through a dual mission of military pressure and reconstruction, intended to win "hearts and minds". Nato troop numbers in Afghanistan now stand at 32,000, with around 8,000 US troops engaged in tracking down members of al-Qaeda in eastern Afghanistan. They will remain under US command. 'Terrorism hotbed' Correspondents say the expansion comes despite an admission from Nato military commanders that it does not have enough troops to carry out its mission. It has appealed for member countries to provide another 2,500 troops. Nato Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer recently warned it was very important for the alliance to stay in Afghanistan. The consequences of failure would be Afghanistan's return to "a hotbed of terrorism training and the violation of human rights", he said. "We have to stay the course and we will stay the course - and we will prevail". The Afghan and Pakistani presidents accuse each other of failing to act against the militants, with Afghan leader Hamid Karzai strongly criticising Gen Pervez Musharraf's peace deal with pro-Taleban militants in the North Waziristan border area. Mr Karzai has also suggested that Pakistan has turned a blind eye to Taleban supporters using parts of the country to train and launch attacks on Afghanistan. Gen Musharraf has angrily rejected allegations that his ISI intelligence service aided al-Qaeda and the Taleban. -------- russia / chechnya Georgia urges Russia to halt navy drills Tue Oct 3, 2006 By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=worldnews&storyID=2006-10-03T223509Z_01_N03235305_RTRUKOC_0_US-SG-GEORGIA-RUSSIA-UN.xml Georgia on Tuesday urged Russia to stop naval exercises near the countries' sea border, calling them a threat to regional peace and a violation of the United Nations charter. Georgia's U.N. envoy Irakli Alasania made the comments amid a spying row that has chilled relations between the ex-Soviet neighbors to the worst level in a decade. "Georgia calls upon the Russian side to immediately cease these trainings that are directed against the national interests of Georgia and threatens peace and security in the entire region," Alasania told a news conference. Russia, which has been irked by Georgia's pursuit of NATO and EU membership, has cut rail, air and postal links with Georgia and recalled its ambassador over the arrest of four Russian soldiers on spying charges. Georgia released the four on Monday in what it termed a goodwill gesture. Alasania said the peace process between Georgia and its breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia needed to be overhauled. Despite their rocky ties, he said Georgia still wanted Moscow to be part of the solution. Abkhazia won effective independence from Georgia in a 1992-1993 war, and Moscow props up the province by paying pensions, issuing Russian passports and allowing cross-border traffic as well as stationing peacekeepers there. Georgia accuses Russia of backing Abkhaz separatists, which Moscow denies. The United Nations has monitors stationed in Abkhazia. Russia's U.N. Ambassador, Vitaly Churkin, said on Tuesday he had withdrawn a draft U.N. Security Council statement that would have rebuked Georgia for its actions against the Russian soldiers and in Abkhazia. Instead, he said he was introducing a resolution extending the U.N. observer force and warning Georgia to refrain from further "provocative actions." Alasania said Georgia remained committed to a peaceful solution in the region but Russia had "not yet made the strategic decision to be part of the solution rather than be part of the problem". "It is crystal clear that the Russian peacekeeping force is not an impartial, nor international contingency," Alasania told a news conference. "It became the force that works to artificially alienate the sides from one another." "If the Russian government wishes to get back lost credibility as a facilitator in a conflict settlement, then it must act like one and behave responsibly," he said. -------- un The quiet diplomat who may lead the UN Ban Ki-Moon, South Korea's foreign minister, is the leading candidate to replace Secretary-General Kofi Annan. By Donald Kirk | Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor October 03, 2006 http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1003/p01s03-wogi.html SEOUL – The diplomat in the lead to head the UN for the next decade is skilled in compromise - exhibiting a deliberately bland style that was expected to stand him in good stead during a UN Security Council poll Monday over a successor to Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The candidacy of South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon hinges on the five permanent members: the US, Britain, France, China, and Russia. While the outcome is still uncertain, the soft-spoken career diplomat is the only one of the current candidates who has the minimum of nine positive votes. Mr. Ban has the support of the US, which wants the process wrapped up this month, and China is expected to give Ban the nod. Indeed, Ban's most saleable quality is his ability to get along with all sides, building consensus in the process. Ban's evenhanded approach, analysts say, may be what's needed to bring a semblance of harmony and cohesion among UN members. "He's extremely nonpolitical," says Moon Jong In, professor of international relations at Yonsei University in Seoul. "He's willing to listen to anybody. He doesn't have charismatic leadership - he has consensual leadership." Conservatives, while highly critical of the left-leaning government of President Roh Moo Hyun, agree. "At least he hasn't done any harm as foreign minister," says a retired business consultant here. "Conservatives like him. It would be a great thing if he became secretary-general." In his 36-year career, Ban has proven the ultimate diplomat while treading gingerly as foreign minister for the past 32 months through the minefield of US-South Korean relations and North Korea's refusal to return to nuclear talks for nearly a year. In fact, Han Song Ryol, North Korea's deputy permanent representative to the UN, told the leftist newspaper Hangyoreh that acceptance of Ban as Mr. Annan's successor would be "good for the Korean people" and that "nonaligned nations have a good feeling about him." In a poll last week, Ban got 13 votes of "encouragement" against only one of "discouragement" and one giving "no opinion." Since the five permanent members have the power of veto, the "no opinion" vote," if cast by one of them, would knock him out of the race even before the General Assembly of all 192 members casts a binding vote on the Security Council's choice. Ban has said with characteristic sangfroid that he's "reasonably confident" the five permanent members are on his side. That coolly stated view masks the intensity of a carefully modulated campaign in which he has often appeared to be emulating Annan's style. Hosting Annan last May, Ban took turns with the secretary-general in pressing for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. But they quietly made plain that they did not agree with the US emphasis on the North's human rights or counterfeiting efforts, saying that nuclear weapons took top "priority." The real issue may be whether Ban will be able to take a strong stand when countries and causes are at severe odds, as in the Middle East, and whether he will have the stamina to promote long-overdue reforms in the UN's bureaucracy. "I'm worried he might be too willing to compromise, says Park Nei Hei, a consultant to the Boston Consulting Group here. "His character may not be very effective." Nonetheless, Ban endorsed the UN Security Council Resolution, adopted after North Korea test-fired seven missiles in early July, banning member nations from any trade or financial dealings that might support North Korea's missile program. But he opposed US pressure for widening existing sanctions. Still, he then persuaded South Korea's President Roh to sublimate his distaste for the "tough" US policy and join President Bush last month in Washington in a call for a "broad comprehensive" approach to bring North Korea back to talks. Ban avoids the North's human rights record, saying that severe criticism would only make matters worse. Still, in an address before the UN General Assembly on Sept. 24, he stated that his government supported "global action to strength the values of human rights and democracy." Given his career path, Ban probably knows more about dealing with the UN than most of his competitors. After graduating from top-ranked Seoul National University in 1970, he joined the foreign ministry's UN division, followed by a tour in the ministry's UN mission, and then the post of director of the UN mission. He also served in the Korean Embassy in Washington and, in 1985, picked up a master's degree from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government. Ban rose to ambassador when he was posted to Vienna, where he served in 1999 as chairman of the preparatory commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization. His experience broadened when he was named Korea's chief envoy to the UN in September 2001. Ban rests his candidacy in part on his response in that challenging period. The ministry credits him with a "facilitating role in the prompt adoption by the membership of the first resolution of the session condemning the terrorist attacks," all "pivotal in turning a year that started out in crisis and confusion into one of the most productive and reform-oriented for the General Assembly." For Koreans, the post of UN secretary-general is the ultimate status symbol. With the image factor clearly in mind, Ban has pulled out all the stops, courting Security Council members far and wide. And while Ban is sensitive to the need to get along with the US, he is striving, diplomatically, not to appear too close to Washington. The US positions on peaceful resolution of the North's nuclear issue and denuclearization of the Korean peninsula were "very good ones, leaving room for future negotiations," he said, in the language of gentle diplomacy that's been his hallmark. -------- POLICE / PRISONERS / COURTS / JUSTICE -------- immigration / refugees Numbers of Displaced in Iraq Rising 03 October 2006 By Lisa Schlein VOICE OF AMERICA http://voanews.com/english/archive/2006-10/2006-10-03-voa36.cfm?CFID=72016477&CFTOKEN=24006983 The International Organization for Migration reports the number of Iraqis fleeing their homes to escape sectarian strife is rising dramatically, with as many as 9,000 people being displaced each week. The International Organization for Migration says nearly 190,000 people in the 15 central and southern provinces of Iraq have been displaced by violence since the bombing in late February in Samarra. It says displacement is following sectarian lines with Shi'ites moving to the South and Sunnis moving to the Central areas. It says Anbar Province has received the largest number of displaced, with more than 33,000 people, most from Baghdad. It notes nearly two thirds of them are in Falluja, Harma and Heet. IOM spokeswoman Jemini Pandya says the displacement is increasingly looking like a permanent move. "Majority of the people have moved in with friends or families and they are living in extremely crowded conditions with not enough resources all around," Pandya says. "And, here I am not just talking about shelter. I am also talking about things like food as well. And, prices for basic necessities are increasing constantly. And one of the underlying problems is the fact that hardly any of them have any work. And, they have identified a lack of employment as one of the key issues that they are having to deal with." The International Organization for Migration says the reasons for displacement are similar throughout the country. It says peoples' lives are being threatened because of their religious orientation. They also feel threatened by the abductions and assassinations that are taking place around them for the same reason. Pandya says this situation risks becoming a chronic humanitarian crisis if people are not given the means to earn their own livelihoods. She says tens of thousands of displaced people are in urgent need of food, water, shelter and other items. She says the International Organization for Migration has been carrying out emergency distribution of these supplies for the past few months. "But, a key problem for us is that funding for these emergency operations is about to run out in a few months time," Pandya says. "What we are really worried about is that with winter approaching and with very few other organizations able to carry out work on the ground with limited amount of assistance available, the situation is going to get worse very quickly." In a related issue, the U.N. refugee agency says the security situation of Palestinian refugees in Iraq has deteriorated, since the Samarra bombings. It says an increasing number of the refugees have left or are trying to leave the country. The United Nations says Palestinians in Iraq lack protection, have serious problems obtaining identity cards, and have been the target of continuing harassment, threats, kidnapping and killings. -------- POLITICS -------- corruption Rice More Sordid Than Foley Posted on Oct 3, 2006 By Robert Scheer E-mail: rscheer@truthdig.com http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/200601003_robert_scheer_liars/ They are such liars. And no, I am not speaking only of the dissembling GOP House leaders led by Speaker Dennis Hastert who, out of naked political calculation, covered up for one of their own in the sordid teen stalking case of Rep. Mark Foley. Call me old school, but I am still more concerned with the Republicans molesting Lady Liberty while pretending to be guarding the nation’s security, an assignment which they have totally botched. The news about the Foley coverup, while important as yet another example of extreme hypocrisy on the part of the Republican virtues police, should not be allowed to obscure the latest evidence of administration deceit as to its egregious ineptness in protecting the nation. On Monday, a State Department spokesman conceded that then-National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice had indeed been briefed in July 2001 by George Tenet, then-director of the CIA, about the alarming potential for an Al Qaeda attack, as Bob Woodward has reported in his aptly named new book, “State of Denial.” “I don’t remember a so-called emergency meeting,” Rice had said only hours earlier, apparently still suffering from some sort of post-9/11 amnesia that seemed to afflict her during her forced testimony to the 9/11 Commission. The omission of this meeting from the final commission report is another example of how the Bush administration undermined the bipartisan investigation that the president had tried to prevent. Surely lying under oath in what was arguably the most important official investigation in the nation’s history should be treated more seriously than the evasiveness in the Paula Jones case that got President Bill Clinton impeached. Nor is it just Rice who should be challenged, for Tenet seems to have provided Woodward with details concerning the administration’s indifference to the terrorist threat that he did not share with the 9/11 Commission. In his book, Woodward described an encounter between Rice and Tenet, in a near panic about a rising flood of intelligence warnings just presented to him by top aide Cofer Black. Tenet forced an unscheduled meeting with Rice on July 10, 2001, because he wanted the Bush administration to take action immediately against Al Qaeda to disrupt a possible domestic attack. “Tenet ... decided he and Black should go to the White House immediately. Tenet called Condoleezza Rice, then national security adviser, from the car and said he needed to see her right away,” Woodward reports. “He and Black hoped to convey the depth of their anxiety and get Rice to kick-start the government into immediate action.” A mountain of evidence proves that the Bush administration did nothing of the sort. Now, if Rice truly does not remember that now-confirmed meeting—which was apparently first reported in the Aug. 4, 2002, Time magazine in an article titled “Could 9/11 Have Been Prevented?”—wouldn’t that indicate she didn’t take it that seriously? Not remembering confirms her inattention to terror reports at a time the Bush administration was already fixated on “regime change” in Iraq. Rice is famously sharp and has an awesome memory. Considering the trauma of 9/11 and its effects, it is inconceivable that Rice would not recall such an ominous and prescient briefing by Tenet and Black, especially after the 9/11 Commission forced her to document and review her actions in those crucial months. It is, however, as she stated Monday, “incomprehensible” that she, then the national security advisor to the president and the person most clearly charged with sounding the alarm, would have ignored the threat. But ignore it the administration did, and then later tried to lay the blame on the Clinton administration, which, Rice claimed at the 9/11 Commission hearings, lied when it said it had given the incoming White House team an action plan for fighting Al Qaeda. “We were not presented with a plan,” Rice infamously argued under questioning from former Sen. Bob Kerrey (D-Neb.), but instead were given a memo with “a series of actionable items” describing how to tackle Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. Such weaseling would be funny if the topic were not so serious. But there is no way Rice can squirm out of this one, despite her impressive track record of calculated distortion on everything from Iraq’s nonexistent WMDs to the trumped-up ties between Osama bin Laden and Saddam Hussein. Can there be any better case for turning over control of at least one branch of Congress to the opposition party so that we might finally have hearings to learn the truth of this matter, which is far more important, and sordid, than the Foley affair? -------- investigations Kissinger's Bad Advice on Iraq By Ivan Eland The Consortium News Tuesday 03 October 2006 http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/100306P.shtml The bellwether of the cautious establishment press, Bob Woodward, has finally unloaded both barrels on the Bush administration's Iraq policy, in his new book, State of Denial. The media hoopla surrounding the book has focused mainly on the administration's deceptions surrounding the sorry state of affairs in Iraq and Andrew Card's attempts, with the apparent blessing of Laura Bush, to get Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld fired. Neither of these facts is surprising. The real surprise in Woodward's book has received less attention: The Bush administration's main advisor during the war has been Henry Kissinger. Kissinger, according to Woodward's book, apparently has convinced the Bush White House that any troop withdrawals from Iraq will start a wave of public pressure to pull out all U.S. forces from Iraq. He is probably right in this analysis. But Kissinger missed the main lesson of Vietnam and is now missing it in Iraq. As the U.S. generals in Iraq know, killing more Sunni insurgents and Shi'ite militiamen than the United States loses of its own troops will not win a war that is fundamentally political. As Lieutenant General William Odom (Ret.), former Director of the National Security Agency and opponent of the war, has noted, the Iraq situation will continue to deteriorate and the United States will eventually be forced to withdraw from Iraq. So withdrawing sooner, rather than later, according to Odom, will save U.S. lives and money and salvage what international prestige the United States has left. If Nixon and Kissinger had followed similar advice in Vietnam, the United States, its military, and its international standing would not have been tarnished by four additional years of war. And even worse than Vietnam, continued U.S. occupation of Iraq is fueling and worsening the Islamic terrorist threat to the United States, according to an estimate from Bush's own intelligence agencies. Most amazingly, Woodward's book indicates that General John Abizaid, the current chief of the U.S. military command that supervises the Iraq war, told U.S. Representative John Murtha, a decorated former Marine who advocates rapid U.S. withdrawal from Iraq, that he was very close to agreement with the congressman's position. When the commander in charge of the Iraq war believes that U.S. forces should be rapidly withdrawn from that country, that fact should be big news. But sadly it isn't. Consulting Kissinger on how to successfully "win" a counterinsurgency is like getting advice from Mel Gibson on public relations. Richard Nixon and Henry Kissinger came into office in 1969 vowing to get the United States out of Vietnam, while achieving "peace with honor." Four years and 22,000 American casualties later, Nixon and Kissinger settled for a face-saving peace settlement that they could have obtained shortly after they took office. The final agreement merely provided a "decent interval" between U.S. troop withdrawal and the fall of the South Vietnamese regime to the communists. Yet Kissinger's version of these events is that by 1972, the United States had virtually won the Vietnam War, but Congress and the American people wimped out and snatched defeat out of the jaws of victory. Although the U.S. bombing of North Vietnam in the Linebacker II air offensive of 1972 and threats of using nuclear weapons probably led the North Vietnamese to negotiate more seriously, Kissinger's argument that the United States had "won" the war is a fantasy. No one on either side of the ensuing negotiations believed that the North Vietnamese were going to honor the Paris Peace Accord after the United States left. Even if one believes that the United States had won the war militarily, an effective counterinsurgency campaign also requires winning politically. Because the North Vietnamese were fighting for their own country and the United States was merely fighting in some faraway jungle, the North Vietnamese were prepared to take horrendous casualties to wait out the Americans. As late as 1972, Nixon and Kissinger had a majority of popular support for the heavy Linebacker II offensive, and they, not the public, were the ones who were attempting to pressure the North Vietnamese to give them a "for show" peace deal that was a mere fig leaf. If the United States was winning the war, one should ask why Nixon and Kissinger were so eager to salvage any honor that the United States had left. In 1972, even Kissinger himself clearly wanted to end the war. Even if the Congress and the American people were to blame for the loss of the Vietnam War, as Kissinger contends, politicians should take into account that democracies will not allow an indefinite waste of lives and money to win a war that has little to do with national security. And the Bush administration, after the Vietnam experience, should have known that the public tires quickly of such unneeded military adventures. Ivan Eland is a Senior Fellow at The Independent Institute, Director of the Institute's Center on Peace & Liberty, and author of the books The Empire Has No Clothes, and Putting "Defense" Back into U.S. Defense Policy. -------- ENERGY -------- alternative energy Texas Announces $10 Billion Wind Energy Deal DALLAS, Texas, October 3, 2006 (ENS) http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2006/2006-10-03-09.asp#anchor5 Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry on Monday announced a $10 billion public-private initiative to expand wind energy. Texas has abundant wind energy, particularly in West Texas and along the gulf cost. In 2001 Texas added more wind power capacity than all other states combined, and earlier this summer Texas surpassed California as the nation's leader in wind generation capacity. The deal is expected to add 10,000 megawatts of wind power, enough to power 2.4 million homes. Perry said that private companies have agreed to the capital investments in wind energy generation while the Public Utility Commission (PUC) directs the construction of additional transmission lines to capture and deliver the power. "I am proud of our state's commitment to renewable energy production," Perry said. "We are on the leading edge of developing renewable sources of energy and a more diversified energy economy which is key to keeping costs down." For every 1,000 megawatts generated by new wind sources, Texas will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by six million tons over the next 20 years, said Perry, who also touted the economic benefits. "With this $10 billion announcement, the economic ripple will be more like a tidal wave as these companies pour millions of dollars into wages and salaries for Texas workers." The planned expansion of wind-generated energy builds on initiatives Perry developed in 2003 with the creation of the Texas Energy Planning Council. The council was charged with developing a long-term energy plan for the state, including exploring alternative and renewable sources of energy. The council's report, issued in December 2004, recommended that by 2025, 10 percent of the state's power needs come from renewable sources and that the PUC takes steps to overcome transmission obstacles that limit the development of renewable energy sources. "This is a monumental investment that will make our air cleaner and our people healthier," Perry said. -------- OTHER -------- environment UN Assesses War Damage to Lebanon's Environment BEIRUT, Lebanon, October 3, 2006 (ENS) http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/oct2006/2006-10-03-02.asp The United Nations has sent an international team of experts to Lebanon to assess the environmental damage caused by the recent conflict with Israel. The team will work with Lebanese authorities to examine several sites around the war-torn nation, including the massive oil spill that has contaminated some 80 miles of Lebanon's coast. "There is an urgent need to assess the environmental legacy of the recent conflict and put in place a comprehensive clean-up of polluted and health-hazardous sites," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). The Lebanese government requested the assistance from UNEP, which has carried out similar work in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Iraq and Liberia The potential list of sites to be visited and sampled is based on research by UNEP supplemented by remote-sensing data and recommendations made by Lebanon's environment minister. Some 10,000 to 30,000 metric tons of heavy fuel oil was released into the Mediterranean Sea when Israeli warplanes bombed the Jiyyeh power plant, some 17 miles south of Beirut, in mid-July. The spill has fouled nearly two-thirds of Lebanon's coast, as well as some beaches in Syria, and is widely considered the worst environmental catastrophe in the small nation's history. Lebanese authorities say the damage is severe and will take several months to clean up. It could take a decade for the environment to fully recover. Norway, Kuwait and Spain have sent boats and equipment to help contain the oil slick, and the effort is now focusing on the difficult work of cleaning the coastal areas affected by the spill. The economic impacts could be devastating for Lebanon, which had a vibrant beach-based tourism industry prior to the conflict. In addition to impacts on human health and tourism, the spill is having adverse affects on an important marine area that includes critical nesting areas for endangered green turtles. "Work is ongoing to deal with the oil spill on the Lebanese coast," Steiner said. "We must now look at the wider impacts as they relate to issues such as underground and surface water supplies, coastal contamination and the health and fertility of the land." The UNEP team will also assess the environmental impacts at the Beirut International Airport, where fuel tanks were set alight as a result of repeated bombing, and the Maliban glass factory in the Bekaa Valley destroyed by an air raid in July. Other sites expected to be assessed by the UNEP-led team and national experts include some of the estimated 22 country-wide petrol stations that were damaged or destroyed and locations where there is thought to be unexploded ordnance. Environmentalists have raised concerns that some Israeli ammunition fired in southern Lebanon was made with depleted uranium. The team also plans to assess pollution risks at several hospitals and at damaged drinking water and sewage treatment plants. In addition, they will investigate damaged power transformers, collapsed buildings and ruptured oil lines that may have leaked or discharged hazardous substances and materials- such as asbestos and chlorinated compounds. Steiner said the team expects to have a comprehensive report on sites and locations in need of decontamination and clean-up before the end of the year. "Once the hard facts are known and the hot spots pin pointed, I would urge the international community to back the findings as part of the reconstruction effort for Lebanon and its people," Steiner said. Funding for the assessment is being provided by Norway and Switzerland.