3 GSN Articles

[Guest guest]

The second article resembles a very close resemblance to the cuban report.

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http://www.nti.org/d_newswire/issues/2006_3_27.html#A0B4B994

Bioterror Threat Real, Interpol Chief Says

There is no denying the threat of bioterrorism, Interpol chief Noble

said today at a workshop organized by his agency in Singapore (see GSN,

March 24).

" Some people still question whether the threat of bioterrorism is real, they

question whether it is truly necessary to prepare for it. I have no doubt

that the threat is real, " he said.

" If we have the chance to take measures to protect the citizens of our

nations, to help reduce the chances of our countries of becoming a target,

then we have a duty to do so, " he said. " Police around the world are now

also beginning to recognize and respond to this threat. "

The three-day Interpol conference will offer information on laboratory

security, forensic efforts and laws aimed at preventing bioterrorism, the

Associated Press reported.

Law enforcement agencies should coordinate their efforts against

bioterrorism, said Ho Peng Kee, Singapore's senior minister of state for law

and home affairs.

" We may not realize that a biological attack has occurred until days or even

weeks later, " he said. " By that time, the terrorist may already have fled

the country or succumbed to the biological agent, and all the valuable

investigative leads may have disappeared. "

Southeast Asian terror groups have not used biological agents in attacks.

However, a Malaysian biochemist has been connected to al-Qaeda's biological

and chemical weapons development efforts, and a manual found in the

Philippines indicated that the terrorist group Jemaah Islamiyah was

interested in using biological of chemical weapons, AP reported (

Torchia, Associated Press, March 27).

High temperatures and population density and inadequate public health

infrastructure make Southeast Asia vulnerable to a major bioterrorism

incident, AP reported. Countries in the region are subject to quickly

spreading infections and epidemics, health officials said.

Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and other nations need to improve laws against

bioterrorism, said Barry Kellman, a weapons control expert at the De

University College of Law in Chicago.

The United States believes North Korea has a biological weapons program and

fears that weak regulations in China could promote proliferation of dual-use

technology that could be used to produce biological weapons, AP reported

( Torchia, Associated Press/Washington Post, March 25).

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Meanwhile.....

Bush Looked for Non-WMD Reasons for War, Memo Says

U.S. President W. Bush in January 2003 mentioned several

options for forcing a war with Iraq in the absence of weapons of mass

destruction, including assassinating Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, the New

York Times reported today (see GSN, March 22).

Bush told British Prime Minister Tony Blair during a Jan. 31 meeting

that his plans for invasion would not be stopped by lack of a second U.N.

resolution on Iraq or inspectors' inability to find unconventional weapons

in the country, according to a memo by Manning, who was then Blair's

chief foreign policy adviser.

" Our diplomatic strategy had to be arranged around the military

planning, " according to the memo on the discussion by the two leaders and

six leading aides.

" The start date for the military campaign was not penciled in for 10

March, " Manning wrote. " That was when the bombing would begin. "

The meeting occurred five days before then-Secretary of State Colin

briefed the U.N. Security Council with evidence of Iraq's alleged WMD

programs. No unconventional weapons have been found since the fall of the

Hussein regime.

Blair and Bush noted at the meeting that international inspectors had

not found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the Times reported. Bush

mentioned several possible plans for leading Iraq into war, according to the

memo.

" The U.S. was thinking of flying U2 reconnaissance aircraft with

fighter cover over Iraq, painted in U.N. colors, " the memo states. " If

Saddam fired on them, he would be in breach. "

Bush also said the " U.S. might be able to bring out a defector who

would give a public presentation about Saddam's WMD. "

Another option would be to assassinate Hussein, Bush is noted as

saying in the memo.

The British press last month reported on Bush's proposals. It is not

clear in the memo whether the president was speaking in an off-hand fashion,

or if the proposals were included in a White House plan, according to the

Times. The memo does not indicate how Blair reacted to the potential

assassination of Hussein.

National Security Council spokesman Frederick said that Bush's

conversation with Blair did not contradict his public statements in the

buildup to the March 2003 invasion.

" While the use of force was a last option, we recognized that it might

be necessary and were planning accordingly, " he said.

" Saddam Hussein was given every opportunity to comply, but he chose

continued defiance, even after being given one final opportunity to comply

or face serious consequences. Our public and private comments are fully

consistent " (Don Van Natta Jr., New York Times, March 27).

High-level prewar Iraqi officials doubted whether Baghdad had weapons

of mass destruction even as Hussein played up their existence in hopes of

preventing an attack by Israel, United Press International reported

Saturday.

Hussein adviser Ali Hassan al-Majid - also known as " Chemical Ali " -

" was convinced Iraq no longer possessed WMD, but claims many within the

ruling circle always believed they did, " according to a report by the Iraqi

Perspectives Project at the U.S. Joint Forces Command.

The CIA belief in Iraqi unconventional weapons persuaded one official

in Baghdad that they existed, UPI reported.

By late 2002, Hussein was attempting to cooperate with U.N. weapons

inspectors and to eliminate WMD remnants, the report states. However, the

report also says there is support for U.S. weapons inspectors' postwar

conclusion that Hussein planned to reconstitute chemical, biological or

nuclear weapons programs once he was freed from economic sanctions, UPI

reported (Pamela Hess, United Press International, March 25).

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But rest assured...............

Pentagon Anthrax Scare Leads to Response Changes

The U.S. Defense Department is making changes to its biological hazard

response plans in the wake of the anthrax scares of March 2005, the American

Forces Press Service reported Friday (see GSN, April 14, 2005).

An independent laboratory on March 14, 2004, alerted the Pentagon's mail

screening contractor that samples taken March 10 had tested positive for

anthrax. However, mail from that day was incorrectly approved for

distribution.

Mail at a Defense Department mail facility in Fairfax County, Va., was

placed in a biocabinet. However, the amount of mail in the cabinet blocked

airflow and caused an alarm to sound. That was mistakenly believed to be

indicating the presence of anthrax, according to Ellen Embrey, deputy

assistant defense secretary for force health protection and readiness.

On March 18, a testing system indicated that anthrax was present at the

Defense Intelligence Agency mailroom at Bolling Air Force Base in

Washington.

Additional testing determined that there was no anthrax in any of the

facilities.

A report by the RAND Corp. found that: the Pentagon Remote Delivery Facility

ensured that personnel were separated from the threat; the Defense

Department correctly notified other agencies of the incident which led to

quick decisions on treating the public health issues and those potentially

exposed to anthrax; and conducted a strong public health response to the

incidents.

The Pentagon identified, screened, treated and offered counseling workers

who might have been exposed to the agent, Embrey said. More than 800 people

had been tested by March 17.

" Once we were notified that anthrax was detected in the Pentagon mail

sample, the first concern was the health and safety of those who may have

been exposed, " Embrey said.

The primary area for improvement identified by the report was is the speed

and coordination of notification, said Donley, administration and

management director for the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

" Especially in the Washington area, where there are multiple agency and

interagency partners, we need to work harder at the process by which all the

necessary folks get contacted in the appropriate timeliness, " he said.

The Pentagon is preparing guidelines for notification procedures and

incident command, Donley said. Incident command is to include operations,

logistics, communications and public affairs.

The U.S. Health and Human Services Department, Arlington County public

health and other relevant agencies would receive earlier notification in the

event of a positive or seemingly positive finding, Embrey said.

New rules should require three organizations to certify that mail is free of

weapons agents before it can be released, Donley said. Defense Department

officials hope that will prevent mail from being delivered before it is

proven safe, AFPS reported.

Pentagon mail facilities were rebuilt to better contain threats, Donley said

(Sara Wood, American Forces Press Service/U.S. Defense Department, March

24).

Randi Airola

517-819-5926

" This country, with its institutions, belongs to the people who inhabit it.

Whenever they shall grow weary of the existing government, they can exercise

their constitutional right of amending it, or exercise their revolutionary

right to overthrow it. " - Abraham Lincoln

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deserve neither liberty nor safety. " - lin