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British Government Cites Nuclear Smuggling by Terrorists
 March 23, 2010 – London. Today, the British Government issued a report entitled "United Kingdom’s Strategy for Countering International Terrorism." The report said that the UK Government "has identified factors which have increased the risk that terrorists may acquire and use CBRN weapons: the significant increase in the illicit trafficking of radiological materials; the availability of CBRN related technologies on the internet; and the increasing use of CBRN material for legitimate purposes, increasing the risk that these might be acquired by terrorist organisations." The report further found that "Contemporary terrorist organizations aspire to use chemical, biological, radiological and even nuclear weapons and have also developed new types of explosives and ways of using them. The use of some CBRN materials has the potential to have very serious and widespread consequences."
Australian Government Warns WMD Terrorist Attack "Feasible"
February 23, 2010 – Canberra, Australia. Terrorists have the potential to use a weapon of mass destruction in an attack on Australia, the government in Canberra said in a report released yesterday. The Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States "highlighted how creative and ruthless terrorist attack planning can be. The potential for terrorist use of chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) weapons is of particular concern," according to the report, Securing Australia: Protecting Our Community. "We know that a small number of terrorists seek CBRN weapon capabilities and would use them if they could. While the risk is small, the consequences of any such attack would be devastating. The acquisition of a nuclear weapon is currently beyond terrorist capability though a crude, low-yield nuclear device is possible. An attack with a radiological dirty bomb, biological materials or industrial chemicals is feasible and could have a significant impact even if it only succeeded in generating widespread panic," the report said.
Obama Invites Singapore PM to Nuclear Summit
November 15, 2009 – Singapore. President Barack Obama on Sunday invited Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to the Global Nuclear Summit to be held in Washington, D.C. in March 2010. Obama’s invitation to The Global Nuclear Summit recognizes Singapore’s key security role, US officials said. "Singapore serves as a critical trading hub in the region, and we commend Singapore's commitment to counter-proliferation efforts," National Security Council spokesman Michael Hammer said after talks between the two leaders. Singapore was one of the first countries to sign on to the US Proliferation Security Initiative, aimed at halting the spread of weapons of mass destruction by closely monitoring international cargo passing through its ports. Dating from 2003, the initiative now has the support of more than 90 countries, the US State Department says. Singapore has one of the world's busiest sea ports and provides non-combat and reconstruction support to US-led military forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as access for US forces including aircraft carriers. "As the first country in the region to sign on to the Proliferation Security Initiative, Singapore is working to expand the reach and membership of this important tool to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction," Hammer said.
IAEA Data Suggests Iran Has Tested Advanced Detonator
November 5, 2009 – London, U.K. Today the London Guardian reported that a U.N. analysis of Iran's nuclear capabilities suggests the Middle Eastern state might have tested explosive elements of a "two-point implosion" technology that could be used in producing smaller nuclear warheads. The design, which uses explosives to simultaneously compress two ends of a football-shaped fissile "pit," is "a more elegant" means of detonating a nuclear bomb than primitive triggers that can rely on dozens of compression points, said one diplomat with knowledge of the undisclosed International Atomic Energy Agency report. If successfully incorporated, the technology would help produce warheads more easily fitted on missiles. "It is breathtaking that Iran could be working on this sort of material," said one European official specializing in nuclear matters. "It's remarkable that, before perfecting step one, they are going straight to step four or five," added James Acton, an nuclear analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. "To start with more sophisticated designs speaks of [a] level of technical ambition that is surprising." It is uncertain how Iran acquired the advanced implosion technology, a Western expert on Iran's nuclear program said.
Previous Attacks on Pakistan Nuclear Facilities Reported
October 15, 2009 – Washington, D.C. Today, the Homeland Security News Wire (HSNW), a Washington, D.C. daily news wire publisher, reported that there have been three previous terrorist attacks on Pakistan's Nuclear facilities. The HSNW reported, "Pakistan's nuclear facilities have already been attacked at least three times by Pakistan's home-grown extremists and terrorists in little reported incidents over the last two years, even as the world remains divided over the safety and security of the nuclear weapons in the troubled country. The incidents include an attack on the nuclear missile storage facility at Sargodha on 1 November 2007, an attack on Pakistan's nuclear airbase at Kamra by a suicide bomber on 10 December 2007, and perhaps most significantly, the 20 August 2008 attack when Pakistani Taliban suicide bombers blew up several entry points to one of the armament complexes at the Wah cantonment, considered one of Pakistan's main nuclear weapons assembly.
Iran Successfully Tests 1,250 Mile-Range Missiles
September 27, 2009 – Today, Iran successfully tested "upgraded" versions of Shahab 3 and Sajjil missiles. Both weapons are said to have ranges around 1,250 miles, a distance that would place Israel, Europe and some U.S. military targets within their reach. The missiles are capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The missile launches come on the heels of news that Iran has been secretly constructing a uranium enrichment plant on a military base southwest of Tehran. The size and location of the plant suggest that it has been developed to enrich weapons grade uranium. The facility will eventually house 3,000 enrichment centrifuges, roughly one-third the number installed at Iran's other known enrichment site at Natanz. Meanwhile, an organization of Iranian exiles accused Tehran of assembling nuclear-weapon detonators at two clandestine facilities: "Resistance sources have managed to uncover two centers that work directly on nuclear armaments and which were until now kept secret," said Mehdi Abrihamtchi, spokesman for the Paris-based group People's Mujahedeen. "They are places for research and production of detonation systems which is a major part of the mullahs' atomic bomb project.
Obama To Host Global Nuclear Summit
July 8, 2009 – Today, the White House announced that President Obama will host a Global Nuclear Summit in March 2010. The Global Nuclear Summit will bring countries from all over the world to the United States to discuss the nuclear terrorism threat and "develop steps that can be taken together to secure vulnerable materials, combat nuclear smuggling and deter, detect, and disrupt attempts at nuclear terrorism." Quoting President Obama, the White House press release said, "Nuclear terrorism is the most immediate and extreme threat to global security." The President will lead "an international effort to secure vulnerable nuclear materials within four years, break up black markets, detect and intercept materials in transit, and use financial tools to disrupt illicit trade in nuclear materials." Click here to read the White House press release.
North Korean Will “Weaponize” Its Plutonium
June 13, 2009 – North Korea responded to new U.N. sanctions by vowing to enrich uranium and to "weaponize" all available plutonium, the Washington Post reported. On May 25, 2009, North Korea conducted its second underground nuclear test. It is unclear whether the test was “successful,” i.e., greater than previous North Korean detonations of 3-4 kiloton yields. The U.N. Security Council then penalized Pyongyang for the atomic blast with heightened trade and finance penalties. "It makes no difference to North Korea whether its nuclear status is recognized or not," said a North Korea Foreign Ministry official in a statement. "It has become an absolutely impossible option for North Korea to even think about giving up its nuclear weapons." Striking an aggressive tone similar to statements issued following past U.N. actions, Pyongyang added that "an attempted blockade of any kind by the United States and its followers will be regarded as an act of war and met with a decisive military response." The statement appeared to be addressing the request in the Security Council resolution passed on June 12, 2009 that U.N. member nations consider inspections of suspicious cargo coming into or out of the Stalinist state. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the North's "continuing provocative actions are deeply regrettable."
U.S. State Department Issues Terrorist WMD Report
May 1, 2009 – Washington, D.C. The threat that extremists might acquire and use unconventional weapons remains a significant danger to the United States, the U.S. State Department said yesterday in its annual report on terrorism. "The nexus of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and terrorism poses one of the gravest risks to the national security of the United States and its global partners," according to the Country Reports on Terrorism 2008. "A successful major WMD terrorist attack could result in mass casualties and produce far-reaching economic and political consequences." The report addresses four "material threats" — chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear. The widespread use of radioactive substances for medicine and other civilian purposes creates an opening for terrorists to acquire material for a radiological "dirty bomb," according to the report. Al-Qaeda and other organizations have made it clear that they hope to obtain a nuclear weapon, the State Department said. Their aspiration could be aided by scientific and technical information found online and by potential nuclear proliferators such as North Korea. "Terrorists may, however, seek to link up with a variety of facilitators to develop their own nuclear capability," the report says. "These facilitators include black market proliferators or transnational criminal networks that may seek to profit from the sale of nuclear material, a weaponized device, or technical knowledge gathered from nuclear experts currently or formerly involved in a national nuclear program." The report also lists Iran as "the most significant state sponsor of terrorism …"
Pakistan Augments Its Nuclear Capability
April 24, 2009 – Washington, D.C. For the second time this week, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton testified about Pakistan’s nuclear capability and concerns the United States has about it. Clinton's warning came amid new indications that Pakistan is augmenting its atomic capabilities, according to U.S. officials. It has been years since there were any significant talks on the matter between Islamabad and Washington, they said. Satellite images from late January indicate that Pakistan has made significant progress in construction of its Khushab plutonium-production complex, according to the Institute for Science and International Security. "The imagery shows that major construction of the buildings associated with the second Khushab reactor is likely finished and that the roof beams are being placed on top of the third Khushab reactor hall," according to an ISIS analysis released yesterday. "The operational status of the second reactor is unknown, but it could start in the near future." "This suggests that Pakistan is increasing its plutonium capacity, and went from one reactor several years ago to having three," with the third yet to be completed, said ISIS senior research analyst Paul Brannan. There has also been "enormous growth" in the last few years in the Pakistani uranium-based nuclear effort, he said.
Clinton Warns of "Mortal Threat" in Pakistan Takeover by Extremists
April 22, 2009 – Washington, D.C. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton today voiced alarm about a rising extremist presence inside Pakistan, which she said "poses a mortal threat to the security and safety of our country and the world." She called for greater world attention and concern. "We cannot underscore the seriousness of the existential threat posed to Pakistan by the continuing advances — now within hours of Islamabad — that are being made by a loosely confederated group of terrorists and others who are seeking the overthrow of the Pakistani state," Clinton testified before the House Foreign Affairs Committee. She noted that the risks are particularly heightened by the existence of Pakistan's nuclear arsenal, which many analysts are concerned might fall into the hands of Islamic extremists should the central government be overthrown. Islamabad is estimated to have roughly 60 nuclear weapons. "I don't hear that kind of outrage or concern coming from enough people that would reverberate back within the highest echelons of the civilian and military leadership in Pakistan," Clinton said.
The Syrian Facility Destroyed by Israeli Air Strike Was a Nuclear Reactor
April 7, 2009 – Washington, D.C. The Syrian facility destroyed in a 2007 Israeli air strike almost certainly housed a reactor being readied to produce nuclear-weapon material, an effort that the Middle Eastern state is not likely to resume, one expert said yesterday. "I think for the moment this program is really quite dead, not likely to be restarted," said Leonard Spector, head of the Washington office for the Monterey Institute's James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Spector spoke here on the first day of a nonproliferation conference organized by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, on a panel that addressed several "nuclear crisis points" – also including Iran, North Korea and Pakistan. Damascus denied that claim, and in the wake of the attack razed the site and built a new structure in the same location. It has allowed only one inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency, which found some evidence to support the assertion that the facility was a nearly finished reactor designed with help from North Korea to produce weapon-ready plutonium.
Obama Appoints Gary Samore WMD Terror Prevention Coordinator
February 2, 2008 – Washington, D.C. President Barack Obama has appointed Council on Foreign Relation's Vice President and Director of Studies, Gary Samore, to be the new coordinator responsible for overseeing all efforts to prevent nuclear and other WMD terrorism. Samore will be in charge of coordinating all U.S. programs aimed at reducing the risk of nuclear terrorism and weapons proliferation. As current VP and Director of Studies for the Council on Foreign Relations, Samore oversees a staff of some 100 research fellows and associates. He also pursues his own writing, primarily on nuclear proliferation in the Middle East and Asia. From 1993 through 1995, Samore served in the Clinton Administration as a Deputy Ambassador responsible for policy on the North Korean nuclear issue. He also headed the primary State Department office responsible for U.S. nuclear nonproliferation policy towards key countries and regions (e.g., South Asia, the Middle East, China, and the DPRK) and operational support for IAEA special inspections and the UN Special Commission on Iraq. Samore is a Harvard Ph.D. in Government and wrote his thesis on "Royal Family Politics in Saudi Arabia, 1953-1983."
Obama to Appoint WMD Terror Prevention Coordinator
December 3, 2008 – Washington, D.C. U.S. President-elect Barack Obama intends to assign a coordinator responsible for overseeing all efforts to prevent nuclear and other WMD terrorism, a step strongly urged by a bipartisan report issued this week. "Everything involving nuclear weapons is inherently presidential and will require presidential leadership," Obama's website said today. "Barack Obama will appoint a deputy national security adviser to be in charge of coordinating all U.S. programs aimed at reducing the risk of nuclear terrorism and weapons proliferation," it pointed out. A major report released yesterday also recommended the creation of WMD terrorism prevention coordinator in the White House. The Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, led by former Senators Bob Graham (D-Fla.) and Jim Talent (R-Mo.), cautioned that terrorists would probably use nuclear or biological weapons in the next five years unless urgent actions are taken. Several U.S. lawmakers praised the commission yesterday. "There is no greater urgency in protecting American people than addressing the threats posed by weapons of mass destruction proliferation and terrorism," said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). "The report ... is a reminder that despite some progress, the risk associated with these weapons, and the technologies from which they come, continues to grow."
Iran Now Has 5,000 Centrifuges In Operation
December 1, 2008 - Tehran. Iran said Wednesday that it was operating 5,000 uranium enrichment centrifuges in a program that could be geared toward nuclear weapons development, Reuters reported. The figure given by Iranian Atomic Energy Organization chief Gholamreza Aghazadeh significantly exceeds a tally of 3,800 running centrifuges that the International Atomic Energy Agency reported from a Nov. 7 visit to Iran's Natanz enrichment facility. "Now we have 5,000 running centrifuges," Iranian state media quoted Aghazadeh as saying. "Suspension of nuclear enrichment is not in our vocabulary," Aghazadeh said. "In the next five years we should install at least 50,000 machines." The 5,000 figure rings true to a story the VeriTainer News Page previously reported: "January 10, 2006 - Washington, D.C. - According to a Global Security Newswire report, Alireza Jafarzadeh, a prominent Iranian resistance figure, said today that Iran has begun building platforms in two underground halls on which it could soon begin installing up to 5,000 uranium enrichment centrifuges it has produced." The report cited Iran's Natanz enrichment facility. These centrifuges can enrich uranium to fuel grade or weapons grade levels.
ElBaradei and IAEA Warn That Nuclear Smuggling Is On The Rise
October 27, 2008 - The New York Times - United Nations. Mohamed ElBaradei, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said in a speech on Monday that the number of reports of nuclear or radioactive material stolen around the world last year was "disturbingly high." Dr. ElBaradei, in his annual report to the General Assembly, said nearly 250 such thefts were reported in the year ending in June. "The possibility of terrorists obtaining nuclear or other radioactive material remains a grave threat," he said. "Equally troubling is the fact that much of this material is not subsequently recovered." Members of Dr. ElBaradei's staff and outside experts cautioned that the amount of missing material remained relatively small. If all the stolen material were lumped together, it would not be enough to build even one nuclear device, they said. It is also unclear if the rising number of reports of stolen material stems from a growing market for radioactive goods or more vigilant reporting of thefts by member states. However, the idea that there might be a new market for such material is of concern, they said, especially if some of it were to end up in a dirty bomb. The threat from such a bomb is less a health risk from radiation than from the panic an attack would probably cause, said Cristina Hansell, a professor at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies, in Monterey, Calif. Most of the concern about thefts centers on the countries of the former Soviet Union, where nuclear programs were widespread, but they occur everywhere. In a typical case, Ms. Hansell said, an oil company reported last May that a device containing radioactive material that was used in exploration in Sudan was missing. It would take long exposure to the device to create any health risk, she said. "What will kill you from a dirty bomb is the immediate explosion, not the radioactivity," she said, noting that the main concern was that despite the attention devoted to trying to police such material, the amount disappearing keeps rising. "There still seems to be quite a big problem."
Iran Blocks IAEA Inspection
September 15, 2008 – Washington, D.C. Iran has effectively blocked international attempts to clarify whether its nuclear program involves weapons development, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei said in a report today. The report states that Tehran has not submitted requested details on alleged documents that indicate Iran has conducted research bearing on a possible nuclear weapons program. Iran's alleged studies — according to documents provided electronically by Western nations earlier this year — include precision high-explosives testing and research into modifying its Shahab 3 missile to accommodate a nuclear warhead. "Unless Iran undertakes … to resolve substantively the outstanding issues, the agency will not be in a position to progress in its verification of the absence of undeclared nuclear material and activities in Iran," the report says, adding that only when Tehran provides the requested information can "doubts … about the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program be dispelled."
Bush Gives Israel the "Amber Light" to Attack Iran
July 14, 2008 – Washington, D.C. President George W. Bush has given the "amber light" to Israel to attack Iran's nuclear sites according to an unnamed Department of Defense official. The London Times reported that Bush has offered implicit approval for an Israeli attack on Iranian nuclear facilities if diplomacy fails to resolve the standoff over Tehran's atomic activities. In response to ongoing concern that Iran could use its nuclear program to support weapons development, Bush has issued an "amber light" to a possible Israeli bombing strike, according to a high-level U.S. Defense Department official. "Amber means get on with your preparations, stand by for immediate attack and tell us when you're ready," the official said, adding that Washington has said it would not provide military support or allow Israel to stage a strike from U.S. air bases in Iraq.
Israel Has 150 Nuclear Weapons
May 26, 2008 – Wales, U.K. Former President of the United States, Jimmy Carter, stated that Israel has 150 nuclear weapons in its arsenal. "The US has more than 12,000 nuclear weapons; the Soviet Union (sic) has about the same; Great Britain and France have several hundred, and Israel has 150 or more," he said. Israel has never confirmed or denied that it has nuclear weapons. Coming from a former President of the United States, Carter's statement carries weight and will certainly set off a firestorm of protest in the Arab world. His remark was made at the Hay-on-Wye festival in Wales which promotes current affairs books and literature. Although the world assumes the existence of Israeli nuclear weapons, this is the first public confirmation by a person who had access to the most classified of information. Currently, U.S. officials do not deviate in public from the Israeli line of neither confirming nor denying Israel's nuclear arsenal. Carter has been highly critical of the American and Israeli governments for ignoring the "fair and square" election of Hamas in the Palestinian sector, Israeli rocket attacks on Hamas in Gaza, and the failure to hold direct talks with Hamas.
Iran Installing Advanced Centrifuges
April 4, 2008 – Iran has placed next-generation uranium enrichment centrifuges at its Natanz enrichment facility as part of a program it could tap to produce a nuclear weapon ingredient, Reuters reported today. Tehran in recent months has added 300 centrifuges to its existing installation of 3,000 machines at the site. Some of the new devices are older, less efficient P-1 centrifuges, similar to those already deployed, while some are newer, advanced models. The centrifuges are split between two networks, or "cascades." "One of the two cascades is using the advanced model, the older the other one. There are more machines in the advanced cascade than the 164 typically used for the (older model)," one diplomat said.
The diplomats suggested that the new installation was intended to "state a fait accompli" that Iran would maintain its uranium enrichment program in defiance of U.N. Security Council demands. Tehran insists the program is only intended to generate nuclear power plant fuel. "Iran may not have had enough of the advanced one ready yet to put into two cascades. But they wanted to show the world they could go beyond the threshold of 3,000 now enriching at Natanz (despite international pressure) to stop," the diplomat added. Iran is preparing to test the high-speed advanced centrifuges with uranium gas following preliminary checks, but it remains uncertain when the machines will enter operation, the diplomat said. "Iran has already done most of the necessary vacuum tests, including leakage checks, to make sure the (latest) centrifuges are in working order and to activate them," he said.
Pakistani Nuclear Technicians Abducted
February 12, 2008 – Sheikh Badin, Pakistan. Agence France Presse today reported that two Pakistani technicians with the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), which is responsible for Pakistan’s nuclear energy program, were abducted. The men were "whisked away" by masked men on Monday morning (02/11/08) in the town of Sheikh Badin in the politically unstable northwest border region of Pakistan where Al Qaeda and the Taliban hold forth. The town is located in the so-called Dera Ismail Khan district, a stronghold for tribal militants in the region. "We don’t know if the abductors were militants or members of some criminal gang," said local police chief Akbar Nasir. "A search is under way, we are contacting local people. … We are all trying but so far we have no clues," Nasir said.
NIE Report: Iran Halted Weapons Program in 2003
December 21, 2007 – Washington, D.C. The Intelligence branch of sixteen (16) U.S. Agencies issued a National Intelligence Estimate ("NIE") declaring that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program in 2003. "We judge with high confidence that in fall 2003, Tehran halted its nuclear weapons program," reads a declassified version of the NIE Report’s key findings. "We judge with moderate confidence that the earliest possible date Iran would be technically capable of producing enough highly enriched uranium (HEU) for a weapon is late 2009." The NIE Report found that the halt in Iran’s weapons program was "directed primarily in response to increasing international scrutiny and pressure …" President Bush and many Administration supporters decried the Report. Said former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, "A handful of highly partisan State Department bureaucrats wrote a document that is so professionally unworthy, so intellectually indefensible and so fundamentally misleading that it is damaging to our national security." Gingrich referred to the NIE Report as a "Bureaucratic Coup d’Etat."
Nuclear Black-Marketeers Busted With 98.5% Pure U235
November 28, 2007, Associated Press - Two Hungarians and a Ukrainian were arrested with about 1 pound of weapons-grade uranium that they allegedly attempted to sell for $1 million. Investigators are continuing to search for the intended recipient of the powdered uranium said Slovakian First Police Vice President Michal Kopcik. Authorities determined the uranium recovered in unlabeled containers to contain 98.6 percent uranium 235. Uranium containing this level of the U235 isotope is very dangerous, weapons grade radioactive material. "According to initial findings, the material originated in the former Soviet republics," Kopcik added. Investigators believe the suspects planned to complete the sale between Monday and Wednesday this week, but police detained the three when the transfer was not completed as expected according to Kopcik.
U.S. Develops "Regional" Nuclear Strike Plans
November 5, 2007, Washington D.C. – According to the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), an organization that boasts membership of 67 Nobel Laureates, the United States has developed new nuclear attack options to strike regional powers seeking weapons of mass destruction. The new "regional" targets include North Korea, Libya, Iran and Syria. The plans were apparently drawn up in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to an FAS analysis of a recently declassified U.S. Strategic Command document. The 26-page document, obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the FAS, is heavily redacted and just a fraction of a 123-page presentation of the U.S. strategic war plan that went into effect in March 2003.
Israeli Jets Strike Syrian Nuclear Plant
October 13, 2007. Washington, D.C. – Today, the New York Times reported that on September 6, 2007, Isreal launched air strikes directed against a site that Israeli and American intelligence analysts judged was a partly constructed nuclear reactor, apparently modeled on one North Korea has used to create its stockpile of nuclear weapons fuel. The Times cites American and foreign officials with access to the intelligence reports. The description of the target addresses one of the central mysteries surrounding the Sept. 6 attack, and suggests that Israel carried out the raid to demonstrate its determination to snuff out even a nascent nuclear project in a neighboring state.
Syria Building a Nuclear Plant?
September 13, 2007, Washington, D.C. – Satellite images and other intelligence acquired by the United States over the last six months has suggested to some U.S. officials that North Korea might be helping to build a nuclear installation inside Syria, the Washington Post reported today. Provided largely by Israel, the intelligence has been restricted to a handful of high-level officials under orders from national security adviser Stephen Hadley, leaving other members of the U.S. intelligence community unsure of its implications, according to sources. Some satellite images indicate development of a plant for production of material that could be used in nuclear weapons, according to some U.S. officials. Some of the sources expressed skepticism that North Korea and Syria would work together on nuclear development although they have collaborated in the past on missile programs. They warned that analysts frequently re-evaluate early indications of unusual activity.
Nuclear Smuggling Remains Top Threat
September 10, 2007, Washington D.C.
– Appearing before Congress on the eve of the anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, top U.S. homeland security and intelligence officials warned that a nuclear or radiological attack on the United States remains the paramount concern of the counterterrorism community. "We recognize that our first and most urgent priority is to prevent nuclear weapons from coming into this country and preventing dirty bombs from being constructed and detonated," Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff told the Senate Homeland Security Committee. However, determining if non-state groups are acquiring nuclear or radiological material through an atomic black market is a daunting task that requires a range of intelligence assets, said U.S. spy chief Mike McConnell. Al-Qaeda has stated its intention to acquire nuclear material but assessing its capability to do so is difficult. "I wish I could be more optimistic — to tell you that we have great confidence, that we could always detect it," McConnell said. "We have some sensors that would aid us in that capability, but it takes the entire panoply of intel resources to be able to do this."
Iran Has "Taken Another Step In The Nuclear Progress"
September 2, 2007, Tehran, Iran
– President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced today thatIran
had finally reached its stated goal of developing 3,000 centrifuges. "The West thought the Iranian nation would give in after just a resolution, but now we have taken another step in the nuclear progress and launched more than 3,000 centrifuge machines, installing a new cascade every week," state television quoted the president as saying. A report released Thursday by the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna said that there were nearly 2,000 centrifuges running in the bunker-like facility in Natanz, with about 650 centrifuges being tested or under construction.
Iran
insists that it is pursing a peaceful nuclear program, but Western officials have said they believe
Iran
wants to develop a weapons program.
Bush Signs 100% Scanning into Law
August 3, 2007, Washington, D.C. – President Bush signed the 9/11 Bill (H.R. 1) into law today requiring that 100% of all inbound U.S. containers be scanned for radioactive content not later than July 1, 2012. While lauding Congress for passing the bill, Bush said he will continue to work with lawmakers to ensure the cargo screening provisions are workable and don't impede commerce. "Now the real work starts," said John I. Alioto, Chairman and CEO of VeriTainer Corp. "We must do everything possible to make scanning seamless to the industry. The rapid movement of freight is the hallmark of containerization. I have no doubt we can mitigate the risk of nuclear smuggling while, at the same time, maintaining the flow of commerce."
Congress Agrees on Overseas Cargo Scanning
July 19, 2007, Washington, D.C. – Lawmakers yesterday reached an agreement on legislative language to require all cargo containers to be scanned for radiation abroad before being loaded on U.S-bound ships. In the House version of a security bill implementing a number of the Sept. 11 commission's recommendations, legislators called for cargo to be scanned at all overseas ports within five years. The Senate legislation called for 100-percent radiation scanning abroad but did not set a timeline. Lawmakers in a House-Senate conference committee yesterday agreed on an amendment that sets a five-year deadline for complete screening at foreign ports but would also give the homeland security secretary broad powers to make exceptions. Advocates of the measure have said such steps are necessary to prevent terrorists from using a cargo container to convey a radiological or nuclear weapon to the United States, while opponents say the requirement is impractical and could damage the flow of trade. Under the agreed language the secretary could grant two-year extensions for specific ports indefinitely for a variety of reasons including the determination that implementing such a scanning system would significantly impact trade.
MI5 Chief Warns of Nuclear Terrorism:
July 6, 2007, London, England – The London Telegraph reported former British spy chief Eliza Manningham-Buller has warned that terrorists could acquire and detonate a weapon of mass destruction in the United Kingdom. "It remains a very real possibility that (terrorists) may, sometime, somewhere attempt a chemical, biological, radiological or even nuclear attack," wrote Manningham-Buller, who retired as head of MI5 in April, in an article published in the Telegraph. About 1,700 terrorists scattered in 200 networks across the United Kingdom are preparing up to 30 attacks at any given time, she stated. "In addition to these 200-plus networks and groupings now identified, there are sure to be others at large, which we have yet to uncover," she wrote. British courts are waiting to hear more than 40 terror cases involving more than 100 suspects, including the alleged plot to detonate liquid explosives on passenger airliners flying to the United States. There is a "pressing demand" for British authorities to organize a network of Muslim informers who could help provide intelligence on suspect activities, Manningham-Buller stated.
The British Stop Nuclear Smuggler’s Sale to Iran:
June 10, 2007, London, England – The London Observer reported that British officials have stopped an Iranian effort to purchase weapon-grade uranium from international smugglers. For over 20 months, British intelligence services monitored a group of British citizens who successfully acquired the uranium from the Russian black market, according to the Observer. The smugglers planned to sell the material to Iran through a middleman in Sudan, investigators said. Authorities disrupted the plot in early 2006 before the uranium was delivered. They have arrested one person who has been charged with trying to proliferate weapons of mass destruction. In addition, officials have closed down a British business, the Observer reported. The Observer did not report the quantity of seized uranium, the identity of the arrested individual or the name of the shuttered company.
Iran Joins the Nuclear Club:
April 9, 2007, Nantanz, Iran – Today, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced that Iran "has joined the nuclear club of nations." "Iran can enrich uranium at an industrial level," Ahmadinejad declared. The announcement appeared to show Iran's resolve not to bend to U.N. powers inthe continuing nuclear crisis, the Associated Press reported. "With great honor, I declare that as of today our dear country has joined the nuclear club of nations and can produce nuclear fuel on an industrial scale," Ahmadinejad said.
Congolese Uranium on the Blackmarket?:
March 8, 2007, Kinshasa, Congo – The head of Congo's atomic energy commission has been arrested on suspicion of illegally selling uranium found in the nation, the AP reported today. Fortunat Lumu and one of his aides were arrested Tuesday, Atty. Gen. Tshimanga Mukendi said. He declined to give details. In August, the Democratic Republic of Congo's government denied a report in the Sunday Times of London that a uranium shipment left its territory in 2005 bound for Iran, saying the dangerous element was tightly controlled by international agencies. Officials declined to say whether there was any connection between the arrest and the alleged 2005 shipment.
Nuclear Smuggler Has Weapons Grade Uranium:
January 25, 2007, New York, NY – The New York Times today reported that Georgian authorities thwarted a significant nuclear smuggling effort about one year ago, arresting a man who tried to sell undercover agents 100 grams of weapon-grade uranium. The suspect, a Russian named Oleg Khinsagov, delivered the sample expecting to be paid $1 million. He purported to be able to deliver two to three kilograms of similar uranium. U.S. testing of the confiscated sample showed that it contained nearly 90 percent uranium 235, a weapon-grade concentration. Khinsagov was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison after a secret trial that followed his arrest. His smuggling efforts were detected after he came in contact with four Georgians who were under surveillance. The four made arrangements to move the material from Russia to Georgia, and security services were able to set up a false buyer who said he was working for a Muslim man from "a serious organization." The uranium probably came from a Russian facility, according to an analysis by a U.S. nuclear laboratory.
Iran Produces Uranium Hexafluoride:
January 4, 2007 Tehran, Iran – Today, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization announced that Iran is producing huge amounts of uranium hexafluoride gas, the basic ingredient for both fuel grade and weapons grade uranium. "We have produced more than 250 tons of [uranium hexafluoride], kept in tunnels that are almost unique in the world," he announced. Uranium hexafluoride gas can be spun in high-speed centrifuges to produce fuel for nuclear power plants or nuclear weapons. Meanwhile, Iran's president vowed yesterday to defy U.N. Security Council pressure to freeze the nation's nuclear program. "Iran has the fuel cycle, and very soon we will push the button on nuclear fuel production for industrial uses," said President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a speech. "The Iranian people have made their decision to continue this path wisely and will not pay attention to empty cries of the materialists and the bullying of decadent powers."
Port of Loading Scanning Announced:
December 8, 2006, Washington, D.C. – DHS yesterday announced a program to conduct radiation scans on all U.S.-bound containers on cargo ships leaving three major international ports. Beginning early next year, port authorities will use radiation detectors and X-ray machines to scan for nuclear weapons and dirty bomb materials in containers leaving ports in Pakistan, Honduras and the United Kingdom. Called the Secure Freight Initiative, the $60 million program would also scan some, but not all, U.S-bound containers at three additional ports in South Korea, Singapore and Oman. "Our highest priority and greatest sense of urgency has to be aimed at preventing a nuclear weapon or dirty bomb attack against the homeland," said Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff. "This initiative advances a comprehensive strategy to secure the global supply chain and cut off any possibility of exploitation by terrorists." Called for by the SAFE Port Act enacted last October, this program begins "port of lading" scanning, the effort to scan 100% of the containers bound for the U.S. for radiation as they are loaded in foreign ports.
Global Initiative on Nuclear Terrorism:
November 1, 2006, Washington, D.C./Rabat, Morocco – The United States and Russia have formed a new group dedicated to preventing nuclear terrorism. The group is called the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism and had its inaugural meeting in Rabat, Morocco. The meeting ended yesterday (10/31/06) with 13 nations endorsing a statement of principles to improve efforts to prevent terrorists from acquiring nuclear weapons. The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism seeks to "develop partnership capacity to combat nuclear terrorism on a determined and systematic basis," the group's principles say. The principles further call for nations to improve domestic measures to account for and secure nuclear and radioactive materials, to coordinate efforts to develop radiation detection technology, to increase the ability to search for and confiscate hidden nuclear materials, and to deny safe haven and financial support to terrorists.
President Bush Signs SAFE Port Act:
October 13, 2006, Washington, D.C. – Today President Bush signed the SAFE Port Act (See, Latest News 09/14/06). Among other things, the SAFE Port Act requires that 100 % of the containers entering the United Sates in the top 22 ports must be scanned for radiation at Port of Entry. The Act will also set up three foreign ports as a pilot program where 100 % of the containers bound for the United Sates must be scanned at Port of Lading. At the signing ceremony, President Bush said, "The SAFE Port Act will build on progress and help us protect our ports in three key ways. First, the SAFE Port Act will strengthen physical security measures at our ports by helping us harness the power of technology. The bill authorizes the development of 21st century inspection equipment, so that Customs agents can check inside cargo containers for dangerous materials without having to open them. The bill also requires radiation detection technology at our 22 busiest ports by the end of next year. America has the best technology in the world, and with this bill we will apply that technology to make our ports the safest in the world."
North Korea A Blackmarket Threat:
October 10, 2006, New York – North Korea's October 9th detonation of a 1 kiloton plutonium nuclear weapon presents strategic problems for the world: a nuclear smuggling and nuclear black market threat. In a headline story, the New York Times made it clear: "North Korea is more than just another nation joining the nuclear club. It has never developed a weapons system it did not ultimately sell on the world market, and it has periodically threatened to sell its nuclear technology. So the end of ambiguity about its nuclear capacity foreshadows a very different era, in which the concern may not be where a nation's warheads are aimed, but in whose hands its weapons and skill end up." Last Monday's detonation may be seen not so much as an act of defiance to the United Nations, but rather a demonstration of goods for sale on the nuclear blackmarket.
Al Qaeda Call for Nuclear Weapons:
September 28, 2006, Associated Press/ABC News – The head of al-Qaeda in Iraq in an audiotape released yesterday urged nuclear scientists and other weapons experts to join the jihad against the West, the Associated Press reported. Support is needed from people who work in "chemistry, physics, electronics, media and all other sciences especially nuclear scientists and explosives experts," said the speaker, believed to be Abu Ayyub al-Masri. "We are in dire need of you," he said. "The field of jihad can satisfy your scientific ambitions, and the large American bases (in Iraq) are good places to test your unconventional weapons, whether biological or dirty, as they call them." A Web site known to air al-Qaeda messages carried the 20-minute dispatch, AP reported. Al-Masri is thought to be the successor to Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed in June by U.S. forces, as leader of a group in Iraq affiliated with al-Qaeda (David Rising, Associated Press/ABC News, Sept. 29).
New Legislation on Container Shipping Security:
September 14, 2006, Washington, D.C. – In a unanimous 98-0 vote, the U.S. Senate passed the Port Security Improvements Act of 2006 ("PSIA"). As reported here, the PSIA was introduced on November 15, 2005 as the "GreenLane Maritime Cargo Security Act," also called the GreenLane Bill (S. 2008). It is a companion bill to the one overwhelmingly passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on May 4, 2006 (and reported here) called the SAFE Port Act. The PSIA contains many provisions that support VeriTainer's Business Plan. The most important are its radiation scanning requirements. There are two of note: (1) no later than 12/31/07, 100% of all inbound U.S. containers must be scanned at the U.S. port of entry; and, (2) within one year of enactment, 3 foreign ports chosen by DHS (within the next 90 days) must have 100% radiation scanning before loading on a ship bound for the U.S. Of the ~2,500 container cranes worldwide, this legislation mandates scanning for anywhere from 400-600 depending on which foreign ports are chosen by DHS. So this legislation creates at least 20%, and perhaps as much as 25%, of the world scanning market. The White House has indicated that President Bush will sign the PSIA.
Here's the latest on Iran:
August 7, 2006, London, England – The United Nations said in a report last month that Iran is seeking to import large quantities of uranium from Africa, the London Sunday Times reported yesterday. A significant amount of smuggled uranium 238 from the Congo was headed to Iran before it was stopped on July 22 during a routine check in Tanzania. A senior Tanzanian customs official said the ore was to be delivered to Kazakhstan via the Iranian port at Bandar Abbas. "There were several containers due to be shipped and they were all routinely scanned with a Geiger counter," the official said. "This one was very radioactive. When we opened the container it was full of drums of coltan. Each drum contains about 50 kilograms of ore. When the first and second rows were removed, the ones after that were found to be drums of uranium."
Here's the latest on NNSA:
August 2, 2006, Washington D.C. – The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) plans to build a transportation and technology center in Albuquerque, N.M., the Associated Press reported today. The semiautonomous Energy Department agency is a major force in container shipping security with its Megaports program. NNSA plans to soon accept bids for construction of the facility, according to Representative Heather Wilson (R-N.M.). The 40-acre site is to include at least three buildings, she said. The Transportation and Technology Center, which should be finished by 2009, would offer capabilities for NNSA transportation, security, emergency operations and research and development.
Here's the latest on the Container Cargo Security:
July 14, 2006 - Washington D.C. - Today, Michael Chertoff, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, became the third top Bush Administration official in recent days to declare that nuclear smuggling was the single largest threat to the U.S. homeland. On June 19, 2006, Vice President Cheney said that the major threat facing the United States "is the possibility of an al-Qaeda cell armed with a nuclear weapon or a biological agent in the middle of one of our own cities." On June 20, 2006, the newly appointed and confirmed Commissioner of CBP, W. Ralph Basham, said, "Preventing the smuggling of illicit nuclear weapons and radiological materials remains CBP's highest priority." Now today, in announcing the award of a $1.6 billion contract to radiation portal monitors manufacturers, Secretary Chertoff said, ""The single biggest threat we worry about in terms of protecting this country and securing the homeland is the threat of a weapon of mass destruction, and at the very top of the scale is a nuclear device or a radiological device."
Here's the latest on the Container Cargo Security:
June 20, 2006 - Washington D.C. - The new commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, W. Ralph Basham wasted little time in letting us known where he stood on the issue of container shipping security. "Preventing the smuggling of illicit nuclear weapons and radiological materials remains CBP's highest priority," said Commissioner Basham today in an announcement concerning CBP's Container Security Initiative.
Here's the latest on the Container Cargo Security:
June 19, 2006 - Washington D.C. - Today Vice President Cheney said that the major threat facing the United States "is the possibility of an al-Qaeda cell armed with a nuclear weapon or a biological agent in the middle of one of our own cities."
Here's the latest on International Terrorism:
June 8, 2006 - A U.S. air strike yesterday killed terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who led al-Qaeda's operations in Iraq, the New York Times reported. Zarqawi and seven associates died during an attack on a remote safe house roughly five miles north of the city of Baquba, said Gen. George Casey Jr., head U.S. military commander in Iraq. He said the air strike - reportedly launched from U.S. attack helicopters - used "precision munitions" against "a single dwelling in a wooded area surrounded by very dense palm forest." Zarqawi was positively identified through fingerprints, "facial recognition" and known scars, according to Casey and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki. "Today, we have managed to put an end to Zarqawi," Maliki said. "[Insurgents] should stop now. They should review their situation and resort to logic while there is still time."
Here's the latest on Container Cargo Security:
May 4, 2006 - Washington, D.C. - By an overwhelming 421-2 vote, today the U.S. House of Representatives passed the SAFE Port Act (H.R. 4954). Among other things, the Act requires that (1) All containers designated as "high risk" by DHS must be scanned for radiation at the port of origin (last inbound for the U.S.); (2) Not later than September 30, 2007, DHS must deploy nuclear and radiological detection systems at all U.S seaports with high container volumes (in at least 22 U.S. seaports). There is similar legislation pending in the U.S. Senate.
Here's the latest on Nuclear Proliferation and Iran:
April 11, 2006 - Mashhad, Iran - In a televised address, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced to his country and the world that Iran was now a nuclear nation capable of generating industrial-scale nuclear power. As he formally declared that his country had joined the "nuclear club," Ahmadinejad stood in front of a sign that said "Atomic Energy Is Our Certain Right." Said Ahmadinejad, "At this historic moment, with the blessings of God almighty and the efforts made by our scientists, I declare here that the laboratory-scale nuclear fuel cycle has been completed and young scientists produced enriched uranium, needed to the degree for nuclear power plants on Sunday the 9th of April this year." Not only is this a significant step technically for Iran's nuclear industry, but it is also in defiance of the United Nations Security Council resolution passed last month calling on Iran to cease its nuclear enrichment activities.
Here's the latest on the Container Cargo Security:
March 14, 2006 - Washington D.C. - Today a bipartisan group of Representatives in U.S. House of Representatives introduced yet another bill to tighten port security. Dubbed the Security and Accountability for Every (SAFE) Port Act (text not yet available), the bill would mandate that every container bound for the United States be scanned for radiological content. The SAFE Port Act has 46 bipartisan co-sponsors and is a companion to S. 2008, a bill introduced in the Senate on November 15, 2005 by Senators Collins (R. ME) and Patty Murray (D. WA). Rep. Dan Lungren, one of the SAFE Port Act's chief sponsors, stated: "The adoption of comprehensive port security legislation is urgent, eminent, and essential to protecting the American people and the vitality of the American economy.
Here's the latest on the Container Cargo Security:
March 8, 2006 - Washington D.C. - Today a group of Democrats headed by Rep. Jerry Nadler (D. NY) introduced a new port security bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. The bill, dubbed the "Sail Only if Scanned" (S.O.S.) Act (HR. 4899), would mandate that every container bound for the United States be scanned for nuclear weapons at the port of last loading. On November 15, 2005, Senators Collins (R. ME) and Patty Murray (D. WA) introduced a bill in the Senate that contains a similar mandatory scanning provision (reported below). The controversy surrounding the Dubai Ports World acquisition of the U.S. terminal operations of P & O Ports has caused Congress to look closely at the issue of port security. The matter will surely be front and center in the forthcoming November 2006 U.S. Congressional elections.
Here's the latest on the Nuclear Smuggling:
February 28, 2006 - Washington D.C. - The heads of U.S. civilian and military intelligence today told senators that terrorism is the greatest threat to the United States, with weapons of mass destruction right behind. The two threats intersect in al-Qaeda's continued WMD quest, according to National Intelligence Director John Negroponte. "Terrorism is the pre-eminent threat to our citizens, to our homeland, to our interests and to our friends," Negroponte told the Senate Armed Services Committee during the public portion of a hearing that later went behind closed doors. Poverty and strife continue to fuel a "global jihadist movement," Negroponte said, and al-Qaeda will continue to pursue "high-impact attacks" as long as its central command exists and affiliated organizations continue to operate.
Here's the latest on Nuclear Proliferation and Iran:
February 1, 2006 - Washington, D.C. - There were three key developments in a story we have been covering for the last two years. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that it has evidence that suggests links between Iran's ostensibly peaceful nuclear program and its military work on high explosives and missiles. Also today, Iran's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said any decision taken by the West would have no effect in Iran's decisions. And also today, Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, said some cameras monitoring Iran's nuclear facilities may be removed if Iran is reported to the U.N. Security Council.
Here's the latest on Nuclear Proliferation and Iran:
January 10, 2006 - Washington, D.C. - According to a Global Security Newswire report, Alireza Jafarzadeh, a prominent Iranian resistance figure, said today that Iran has begun building platforms in two underground halls on which it could soon begin installing up to 5,000 uranium enrichment centrifuges it has produced. Jafarzadeh, now a private consultant in Washington, cited sources in the Iranian government in leveling this latest allegation, which came at a briefing at the National Press Club. In 2002, Jafarzadeh and his group led the International Atomic Energy Agency to suspicious nuclear work at Natanz, the site about which Jafarzadeh spoke today. "In addition to preparing the foundations for the centrifuge machines, Iran has already manufactured as many as 5,000 centrifuge machines ready to be installed in Natanz, which is a clear breach of its agreement with the IAEA and the European Union," Jafarzadeh said, alluding to Iran's promise to freeze enrichment activity while in talks on its controversial programs.
Here's the latest on the Nuclear Black-Market:
November 18, 2005 - Washington, D.C. - the Global Security Newswire reports that Iran has conceded receiving documents on nuclear weapon production from the black-market nuclear network operated by former top Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a report issued today. Papers obtained by Iran from the Khan network beginning in the late 1980s provided detailed instructions on shaping "enriched, natural and depleted uranium metal into hemispherical forms," according to the agency report. Iranian officials have previously denied seeking the uranium sphere designs, which they said were provided unilaterally by members of the nuclear network. Drawings provided to Iran by the Khan network also included instructions on how to connect uranium enrichment centrifuges in cascades and how to arrange 2,000 centrifuges in a small enrichment plant.
Here's the latest on container cargo security:
November 15, 2005 - Washington D.C. - Senator Susan Collins, R. Maine, Chairperson of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Senator Patty Murray, the highest ranking Democrat (and former chairperson) on the Senate Transportation Appropriations sub-committee, today introduced legislation (S. 2008) calling for mandatory radiation scanning of 100% of all inbound U.S. shipping containers. In a fact sheet prepared by Senator Murray concerning S. 2008, it states: "Radiation Detection and Radiation Safety - Despite the concern over smuggling a WMD into the U.S., less than a quarter of the necessary systems have been deployed to examine containers for radiation. Thus, in an aggressive step, the bill directs the Secretary to examine all inbound containers for radiation no later than one year after enactment of the bill. The Secretary must also provide a plan detailing the health and safety impacts of non-intrusive inspection technology."
Here's the latest on Nuclear Proliferation:
October 7, 2005 - Oslo, Norway - The Nobel Peace Prize for 2005 was today awarded to Mohamed ElBaradei and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for their work in the effort to halt nuclear proliferation. ElBaradei has been at the center of all of the recent nuclear proliferation crises in Iraq, Iran and North Korea. On VeriTainer's News Page for May 20, 2005, ElBaradei was quoted predicting that "another 15-20 nations 'could go nuclear' in the next decade or so." Today, as the news of the Nobel prize broke, the New York Times quoted ElBaradei to say, "The prize will strengthen my resolve and that of my colleagues to continue to speak truth to power."
Here's the latest on Nuclear Proliferation:
September 19, 2005 - Beijing- Today North Korea pledged to drop its nuclear weapons development as part of an agreement arising out of the so-called "Six Party Talks" among China, Japan, Russia, the United States, North Korea and South Korea. In a joint statement issued after more than two years of negotiations, North Korea promised to "drop all nuclear weapons and current nuclear programs," "get back to the (Nuclear) Nonproliferation Treaty as soon as possible" and "accept inspections" by the International Atomic Energy Agency. In the statement, the United States and South Korea "affirmed that (they have) no nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula" and no intention to invade or attack North Korea. China's vice foreign minister, Wu Dawei, stated, "This is the most important result since the six-party talks started more than two years ago."
Here's the latest on Nuclear Terrorism:
August 8, 2005 - Washington, D.C. - Today, Iran restarted its uranium enrichment program continuing the threat that it could be a source for bomb-quality HEU on the black market. Iran is a known supplier of terrorist organizations, most notably Hamas. Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the IAEA, confirmed the restart of the Iranian program. Joschka Fischer, German Foreign Minister, warned of "disastrous consequences" if Tehran were to acquire an atomic bomb. Any further European/Iranian talks, he said, must be based on the suspension of enrichment operations at Isfahan. On the other hand, Mohammad Saidi, the vice president of the Iranian Atomic Energy Agency, echoed the sentiment of the Iranian people: "It is a historic day. With the help of God the plant is back online today, just as the people wanted."
Here’s the latest on the 9/11 Commission and Nuclear Terrorism:
July 7, 2005 – New York– In the wake of al Qaeda’s London subway bombing that killed at least 50 people and injured another 700, two members of the 9/11 Commission, former Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman and former Congressman Timothy J. Roemer, warned of inadequate U.S. security against nuclear terrorism. Commissioner Lehman said, "As horrible as it is to lose 30 to 40 people in a city at a time, the real name of the game are nuclear weapons that have inadequate security in many areas of the world. *** There’s been a lot of talk about suitcase bombs. And they do exist. But it is certainly possible to bring a nuclear weapon through security, if you have one. Now we don’t believe they (al Qaeda) have one yet. But there are plenty of vulnerabilities, plenty of nuclear weapons … that we know al Qaeda and other groups are having their top priority to obtain. *** And we have to have a more adequate, to say the least – we’re far from adequate – in the security of our trains and subways and buses and transportation systems." Concerning al Qaeda creating a "Hiroshima-type activity on America," Commissioner Roemer said, "We have to do more. We’re not doing nearly enough."
Here’s the latest on the Container Security Initiative:
June 24, 2005 – Brussels– In another major accomplishment of DHS/CBP and the CSI program, the 166-member World Customs Organization voted Thursday (06/23/05) to approve an agreement on international standards for cargo security. Several countries, including the United States, Japan, European Union nations, Australia and Canada immediately declared their intent to implement the shared principles and assist developing countries in modernizing their border controls. The agreement will lead to world customs authorities adopting new standards such as scanning shipping containers for radioactive material as they are loaded aboard containerships. The goal is modeled on the U.S. strategy of trying to detect a terrorist weapon in a container before it arrives at a U.S. port.
Here's the latest on nuclear proliferation:
May 20, 2005 – Washington D.C. – In an interview on PBS’ Foreign Exchange, Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), predicted that another 15-20 nations "could go nuclear" in the next decade or so. Speaking in response to a question from Foreign Exchange’s Fareed Zakaria, ElBaradei said, "I mean any country with a decent industrial infrastructure should not have difficulty developing the capability to enrich uranium or plutonium …" ElBaradei further remarked, "You cannot have a double standard; you cannot have the (nuclear) haves and the have nots. It’s not sustainable in the long run."
Here's the latest on radiation portal monitor tests:
May 8, 2005-New York-The New York Times today reported that customs officials at the Newark CBP home office, near the site of the huge container terminals of Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, referred to the newly installed radiation portal monitors as "dumb sensors." Apparently tests of the expensive radiation detection systems have revealed that the monitors "cannot differentiate between radiation emitted by a nuclear bomb and naturally occurring radiation from everyday material like cat litter or ceramic tile." Said the New York Times article: "Alarms occurred so frequently when the monitors were first installed that customs officials turned down their sensitivity. But that increased the risk that a real threat, like the highly enriched uranium used in nuclear bombs, could go undetected because it emits only a small amount of radiation or perhaps none if it is intentionally shielded."
Here's the latest on US/China cooperation (CSI) on container security:
May 2, 2005– Shanghai, China – Shanghai, the 4th largest container port in the world (8.62 million TEUs in 2002), has become operational under the U.S. Customs’ (CBP’s) program for international inspection at port of loading known as the Container Security Initiative (CSI). This is another major accomplishment of DHS/CBP as Shanghai becomes the 36th port to become operational under CSI. Virtually all of the world’s 200 million annual container movements are loaded by ~2,200 container cranes. These cranes act like checkpoints. It is VeriTainer’s vision that these container cranes will be VeriSpreaders™. A VeriSpreader® is VeriTainer’s proprietary container crane spreader bar or hoist attachment. In the first 45-60 seconds as the container is loaded aboard a ship, the VeriSpreader® takes the container’s radiological fingerprint. Within a matter of a few more seconds, any government agency interested in the matter will have a copy of this radiological fingerprint on its computers received via the internet.
Here's the latest on the nuclear technology blackmarket:
April 13, 2005 - Crawford, Texas- Today, Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon urged President Bush to step up pressure on Iran to "give up all elements of its nuclear program," according to senior American and Israeli officials. Mr. Sharon said Israeli intelligence showed Iran was near "a point of no return" in learning how to develop a weapon, the officials said. However, Mr. Sharon gave no indication that Israel was preparing to act alone to attack Iranian nuclear facilities, a prospect that Vice President Dick Cheney, who was at the lunch, raised publicly last January 21st. Iran is a known supplier of terrorist organizations. In addition, there were persistent contacts between Iranian security officials and senior Al Qaeda figures leading up to the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. See, 9/11 Commission Report at 240.
Here’s the latest on the nuclear technology blackmarket:
March 26, 2005 – Washington, D.C. – The Los Angeles Times reported that a federal criminal investigation uncovered evidence that Pakistan has made black market purchases of U.S. high-tech components (sophisticated detonation switches) for use in its nuclear weapons program. The highly specialized equipment passed through the hands of an arms dealer located in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. The dealer is named Humayun Khan who federal authorities say has ties to Islamic militants. Recently discovered evidence also shows that Pakistan has begun to acquire advanced nuclear components in the black market to upgrade its 30-year-old nuclear program.
Here's the latest on the nuclear technology blackmarket:
March 12, 2005 – New York – The New York Times today reported that Iraqi nuclear weapons development facilities were systematically looted just after the American invasion in April 2003. Quoting Iraq’s current deputy minister of industry, Mr. Araji, the Times said, "looters systematically dismantled and removed tons of machinery from Saddam Hussein's most important weapons installations, including some with high-precision equipment capable of making parts for nuclear arms." The looting included equipment capable of making parts for missiles as well as nuclear arms. It was missing from 8 or 10 sites that were the heart of Iraq's dormant program on unconventional weapons. Araji’s account "raises the possibility that the specialized machinery from the arms establishment … had made its way to the black market or was in the hands of foreign governments," said the Times.
Here's the latest on who’s gonna pay for container shipping security:
February 22, 2005 – San Francisco – A carrier group of transpacific liner operators and shipowners, the Transpacific Stabilization Agreement, said today that members may have to pass on to shippers increases in the costs they face from ports. Carriers "cannot simply absorb those costs," the TSA said. The announcement about the rate increases will be made on May 1, 2005. "Lines are beginning to talk of reserving the right to come back later in the year with further rate increases and/or cost-based charges to cover a wide range of emerging operating expenses," it said today. The charges include, especially, "Special port security fees."
Here's the latest on the nuclear terrorism:
February 16, 2005 – Washington D.C. - In a rare triple on the same day, the United States’ Secretary of Defense, Director of the CIA and Director of the FBI warned that Al Qaeda and other terrorists are intent on delivering nuclear terrorism. Before the House Armed Services Committee, Secretary Donald Rumsfeld testified, "We can reasonably predict that terrorists will try to use weapons of mass destruction." Before the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Director Port Goss testified that (1) "Al-Qa'ida is intent on finding ways to circumvent US security enhancements to strike Americans and the Homeland;" and, (2) "It may be only a matter of time before Al Qa'ida or another group attempts to use chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons." Before the same Senate Committee, FBI Director Robert Mueller testified, "Second, because of Al Qa'ida's directed efforts this year to infiltrate covert operatives into the U.S., I am also very concerned with the growing body of sensitive reporting that continues to show Al Qa'ida's clear intention to obtain and ultimately use some form of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear or high-energy explosives (CBRNE) material in its attacks against America."
Here's the latest on the nuclear technology blackmarket:
February 2, 2005 – Washington D.C. – Today the San Francisco Chronicle’s Washington Desk reported that "American intelligence agencies and government scientists" have concluded that North Korea sold highly enriched uranium (HEU) to Libya. Said the Chronicle: "(T)he conclusion about the uranium transfer to Libya, which is contained in a classified briefing that has been described to the New York Times, could alter Washington’s debate about the assessment of the North Korean nuclear threat."
Here's the latest on the nuclear technology blackmarket:
January 21 and 22, 2005 – Washington D.C. and London - On January 21, Vice President Dick Cheney said that Iran was on the top of the Administration’s list of world trouble spots. Cheney further opined that Israel "may well decide to act first" and launch a preemptive air strike against Iran’s new nuclear facilities. This evokes images of Israel’s June 1981 air attack against Iraq’s Osirak nuclear facility near Baghdad. Currently, Iran’s nuclear facilities are producing highly enriched uranium (HEU), the stuff of nuclear weapons. On January 22, an unnamed Israeli official said that Cheney was playing "bad cop" to Europe’s "good cop" in the effort to get the Iranians to agree to halt the manufacture of HEU.
Here's the latest on U.S./Middle East cooperation (CSI) on container security:
December 13, 2004 – Dubai, United Arab Emirates – Dubai, the 13th largest container port in the world (4.2 million TEUs in 2002), becomes the first Arab nation to join the U.S. Customs’ (CBP’s) program for international inspection at port of loading known as the Container Security Initiative (CSI). This is a major accomplishment of DHS/CBP in its quest for worldwide shipping container inspection. Virtually all of the world’s 200 million annual container movements are loaded on 1800 container cranes. These cranes act like checkpoints. It is VeriTainer’s vision that these container cranes will be VeriSpreaders™. A VeriSpreader® is VeriTainer’s proprietary container crane spreader bar or hoist attachment. In the first 45-60 seconds as the container is loaded aboard a ship, the VeriSpreader® takes the container’s radiological fingerprint. Within a matter of a few more seconds, any government agency interested in the matter will have a copy of this radiological fingerprint on its computers received via the internet.
Here's the latest on China/European cooperation on container security:
December 6, 2004 - Brussels - The European Commission today announced a series of "customs cooperation agreements" with the People’s Republic of China. According to the EU, the agreements could possibly lead to inspection missions in both directions to ensure the effective enforcement of customs regulations. To our knowledge, this is the first CSI type bilateral agreement that does not involve the United States. It is just the type of global customs exchange predicted in VeriTainer’s Business Plan.
Here's the latest on US/European cooperation on container security:
November 15, 2004 - Brussels - The European Commission today announced an historic agreement with the United States on container shipping security. The US and EU have adopted common, reciprocal measures on maritime container security. The EC described the common measures as "the first measures" on maritime container transport security agreed upon by the EU and the United States. They cover mutually acceptable reciprocal security standards and industry partnership programs, an information exchange network, an agreement on "minimum requirements" applicable for all European ports willing to participate in the U.S. Container Security Initiative (CSI), and identification of best practices concerning security controls of international trade. In our view, this agreement lays the foundation for radiation inspection of all containers loaded in ports on the so-called Transatlantic trade routes.
Here's the latest on the nuclear technology blackmarket:
September 21, 2004 - Paris - The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, today announced that Iran has begun converting tons of uranium into a gas, uranium hexaflouride, a critical step in the making of either nuclear fuel for a reactor *or* a nuclear weapon. The U.S. State Department's spokesperson on the matter, Kurtis Cooper, stated: "Iran is continuing its unrelenting drive to make nuclear weapons." We include this news under the heading of the nuclear blackmarket for the reason that Iran is a known weapons supplier of several radical Islamic terrorist organizations.
Here's the latest of "Who's Gonna Pay?" for container shipping security:
September 13, 2004 - Washington, D.C. - As Liner Carriers all over the world impose a "Security Surcharge," as high as $11 per container in the case of Zim Container Service, late last week the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee considered a bill that would impose a tax on all containers entering the United States to pay for antiterrorist port security measures. As quickly as the subject of a container tax was raised, the National Industrial Transportation League, based in Arlington, Virginia strongly protested. Its executive vice-president, Peter Gatti, said that the NIT League "is strongly opposed to any plan to impose fees and penalties on the maritime industry to finance programs that benefit the nation as a whole." "Homeland security is a national responsibility, and should not be funded through additional fees on maritime commerce," said the NIT League.
Here's the latest of "Who's Gonna Pay?" for container shipping security:
August 24, 2004 - New York - Liner Carriers in the Far East Freight Conference announced a $6 per container charge for costs associated with ISPS compliance. The charge is effective September 15, 2004. The Far East Freight Conference covers liners trading on the Europe/Far East Trade Route. This surcharge establishes the pattern that all security costs incurred by the Liner Carriers will be tacked on to freight rates via a surcharge. No doubt, in the end, the consumer will pay.
Here's the latest on the nuclear technology blackmarket:
August 8, 2004 - San Francisco - In its "Iraq Update," the San Francisco Chronicle reports that, in late June 2004, the United States airlifted 1.8 tons of uranium, enriched to a level of 2.6%, out of Tuwaitha, Iraq. Reports the Chronicle, "Diplomats familiar with the transfer said Saturday (08/07/04) the substances airlifted out were deemed either to pose a proliferation risk or to be open to possible theft." Another 6.6 pounds of low-enriched uranium and ~1,000 "highly radioactive sources" were airlifted out of Tuwaitha at the same time. At the time of the Gulf War in 1991, Tuwaitha was associated with Iraq's clandestine nuclear weapons program.
Here's the latest on Portside Wi-Fi (Wireless Networking) Systems:
July 27, 2004 - Amsterdam - The Digital Ship reports that the Port of Amsterdam has now installed wi-fi radio data communications, so that ships anywhere in the harbor and up to 2km from shore can access the internet. Currently the system is only available to Port Authority vessels but may soon be made available for private subscribers. "Our management will decide later this year if we are willing to open up our access points," said Fons Maartens, technical manager of the Port. Such wireless access would permit VeriTainer's radiation detection system to email detection results directly to Government authorities at the moment they are taken by detectors located on container cranes.
Here's the latest on Ship Owner Compliance with ISPS requirements:
July 2, 2004 - Miami - The U.S. Coast Guard turned back eight (8) foreign flag vessels from the Port of Miami yesterday for failure to comply with the July 1 deadline of ISPS Compliance. At the same time, DHS Undersecretary Asa Hutchinson announced that at least 20% of the 8,000 foreign flag vessels that annually call on U.S. ports are not ISPS compliant. A few days ago, the London-based International Chamber of Shipping called for "rigor but rationality" among governments around the world on the eve of the July 1 implementation of the ISPS Code. The International Maritime Organization's ISPS Code requires that shipowners and ports adopt security plans, appoint security officers and the like. In 2002, Congress passed a law (the Maritime Transportation Security Act) that requires all vessels calling at U.S. ports to be ISPS compliant by the July 1, 2004 deadline.
Here's the latest on the nuclear technology blackmarket:
June 19, 2004 - San Francisco - The San Francisco Chronicle reported today that the authoritative Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies has concluded that terrorists are "all but certain" to set off a "radiological weapon" in the United States. The conclusion is contained in a book published by the Monterey Institute called "The Four Faces of Nuclear Terrorism." Finding it unlikely that a terrorist group could construct a nuclear bomb, the book concludes that the so-called "radiological weapon" will most probably be an RDD (radiological dispersal device) or dirty bomb.
Here's the latest on the nuclear technology blackmarket:
June 17, 2004 - New York - The New York Times reports that the International Atomic Energy Agency has "rebuked" Iran for failing to cooperate with the Agency concerning its "nuclear ambitions." It said that Iran has "obstruct(ed) the agency's efforts to inspect advanced centrifuge facilities, where Iran could produce weapons-grade uranium."
Here's the latest on Ship Owner Compliance with ISPS requirements:
June 15, 2004 - Las Vegas - Officials of the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration told an audience gathered for the National Cargo Security Council's Annual Conference that as of the July 1, 2004 deadline for compliance with ISPS requirements, U.S. Flag vessels will be "99 % compliant." This is good news. Every year, 10,000 U.S. flag vessels and 8,000 foreign flag vessels visit U.S. ports. In the wake of September 11, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) imposed security requirements on vessel operators. Called the International Ship and Port Security Code or ISPS, the requirements mandate the full time employment of a security officer, the adoption of a security plan and the like.
Here's the latest on the Container Security Initiative (CSI):
April 22, 2004 - Washington, D.C. - The Journal of Commerce reports that the United States and the European Union have signed an agreement to strengthen Customs & Border Protection's (CBP) CSI program. You'll remember that CSI is CBP's principal response to the need for maritime container shipping security. CSI essentially provides for inspection of containers at the port of loading as distinct from inspection at the port of discharge. The idea is that if you've discovered a container with a nuclear weapon in it at the discharge port, say, Oakland or Long Beach, it's too late. The new agreement with the EU expands the reach of CSI to 18 countries and 38 ports.
Here's the latest of "Who's Gonna Pay?" for container shipping security:
April 21, 2004 - London, England - At an international container shipping conference, Maersk Sealand's CEO Knud Stubkjaer said the shipping industry will accept their security responsibilities, but stressed the question of the associated costs. "It’s a challenge to the industry to predict these costs and an even greater challenge to recover these costs," he said. Stubkjaer praised the recent Maritime Security Discussion Agreement of 41 ocean carriers and terminal operators in the United States. It was established to create an ocean freight "security surcharge." Maersk Sealand and its affiliate APM Terminals North America are members of the "Discussion Agreement."
Here's the latest on a nuclear weapon black-market and it's not good:
April 15, 2004 - Washington, D.C. - Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham made an announcement about changes in the U.S. Energy Department during the course of which bad news about nuclear proliferation was released. "During the Cold War," the United States "gave" 17,500 kilograms of the most dangerous nuclear material, highly enriched uranium (HEU), to 51 countries around the world. It was part of a Government program called "Atoms for Peace." Among the recipient countries are Iran, Pakistan and Israel. The Energy Department revealed that all but 1,000 kg. of this HEU has been retrieved and that the balance 16,400 kg. is "out of U.S. control." This quantity of HEU - 16,400 kg.- is enough to make ~800 atomic bombs.
Here's the latest on al-Qaeda and the so-called "Russian Suitcase Nuclear Bombs:"
March 23, 2004 - Moscow - San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Anna Badkhen reports that al-Qaeda's second-in-command Ayman al-Zawahri -- the terrorist supposedly trapped in a Northwest Pakistan shoot out with the Pakistani army -- "bragged that the terrorist group bought suitcase nuclear bombs from former Soviet nuclear scientists in Moscow and Central Asia." In September 1997 on CBS' 60 Minutes, former Russian national security advisor Aleksandr Lebed claimed that the Russian military has lost track of 100 suitcase sized one-kiloton nuclear bombs. Now it is reported that, in 2001, al-Zawahri made the boast (of having acquired such a bomb) in a news interview with Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir. A U.S. federal indictment handed down in 1998 accused al-Qaeda of having "made efforts to procure enriched uranium for the purpose of developing nuclear weapons." According to Mir, al-Zawahri said: "If you have $30 million, go to the blackmarket in Central Asia, contact any disgruntled Soviet scientist and a lot of ... dozens of briefcase bombs are available."
Here's the latest on the "Industry" paying for container shipping security:
March 11, 2004 - New York, NY - Asa Hutchinson, DHS' second in command, said that the time has come for the "private sector" (read, shippers and carriers) to pay its fair share for container shipping security. Said Hutchinson: "[t]he Department feels that government funding is at the right level." He disputed that the government isn't spending enough to protect ports. He said: "The federal government has to do its share, and the private sector has to do theirs." On February 23, 2004 on PBS, Tom Ridge said that he expected to shift more of the cost burden for container shipping security onto "the private sector." In our view, that was the first shoe to drop. Now Hutchinson drops the second one. Clearly, this is the beginning of the U.S. Government's insistence that the shipping industry — shippers and carriers — begin to pay the cost of inspecting shipping containers.
Here's the latest from DHS Secretary Tom Ridge:
February 23, 2004 - Washington, D.C. - In an interview on PBS, the Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Tom Ridge, announced that this year's top priority will be to expand the Container Security Initiative ("CSI"). CSI involves joint customs arrangements between U.S. Customs and Customs in U.S. inbound foreign load ports. The purpose of CSI is to facilitate inspection of containers in the port of *loading.* As we have pointed out, to find a nuclear weapon in a container in, say, the Port of Long Beach is much too late. Similarly, from Asia's or Europe's point of view, containers should be inspected when they are *loaded* in the U.S. bound for foreign ports. Ridge also said that he expected to shift more of the cost burden for container shipping security onto "the private sector." In our view, this is the beginning of the U.S. Government's insistence that the shipping industry - shippers and ship owners - begin to pay the cost of inspecting shipping containers.
Here's the latest on European container security:
February 17, 2004 - Brussels - The European Commission today called for uniform security measures for all EU ports. The call includes a request for a system of code alerts - yellow, orange, etc. It is designed to ensure "that all European port areas benefit from a Europe-wide security scheme." Combined with international cooperation in CBP's Container Security Initiative (CSI), this European security uniformity bodes well for the development of radiation detection in all of the ports of the Trans-Atlantic trade. The Trans-Atlantic trade route is the third largest (behind Trans-Pacific and Inter-Asia) in the world.
Here's the latest on container shipping security:
February 10, 2004 - San Francisco, CA - The San Francisco Chronicle reports that John Bolton, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, stated that "black-market rings trafficking in nuclear technology, parts and components are so wide and extensive that shutting them down is proving to be an enormous challenge." To our knowledge, this is the first time the U.S. Government has acknowledged that there exists a robust black-market in nuclear technology. More than ever, there should be a sense of urgency about radiological inspection of 100% of the international shipping containers that freely travel in and out of the ports of the world, including the United States, Europe and Asia.
Here's the latest on important container shipping security developments:
February 5, 2004 - Washington, D.C. - The Department of Homeland Security has named Elaine Dezenski to Director of Cargo and Trade Policy for its Border and Transportation Security Directorate. This group works with CBP on, among other things, the Container Security Initiative ("CSI"). From VeriTainer's point of view, CSI is a key U.S. Government program. It will be the vehicle for outfitting all off-shore container cranes with radiation detection units. In essence, CSI begins the creation of a market for VeriTainer's radiaton detection services. Ms. Dezenski now holds an important spot in this development.
Here's the latest:
February 3, 2004 - Washington, D.C. - President Bush's proposed budget for 2004-2005 contains important new money for container shipping and related security. The proposal includes $40.2 Billion for DHS of which $6.2 is earmarked for CBP. The proposed budget has $126 Million for CBP's Container Security Initiative ("CSI"), probably the most important government program from VeriTainer's point of view. An additional $100 Million is proposed to be spent on beefing up enforcement of the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. We'll see how these figures hold up against Congressional proposals. Given recent statements by Democrats and Republicans alike, these particular budget proposals look strong.
Here's the latest from the highest levels of the U.S. Government:
January 13, 2004 - Washington, D.C. - Vice-President Dick Cheney outlined the terrorist threat as follows: "This worldwide campaign began after the attacks of September 11th, 2001, a watershed event in the history of our nation. We lost more people that morning than were lost at Pearl Harbor. And this was the merest glimpse of the violence terrorists are willing to inflict on this country. They desire to kill as many Americans as possible, with the most destructive weapons they can obtain. They target the innocent as a means of spreading chaos and fear, and to shake our national resolve. This enemy holds no territory, defends no population, is unconstrained by rules of warfare, and respects no law of morality. Such an enemy cannot be deterred, contained, appeased, or negotiated with. It can only be destroyed, and that's the business at hand."
Tough talk, but still 95% of the thousands of shipping containers that enter U.S. ports every day are not inspected at all: not for radiological weapons or any other type of mass destruction weapon.
January 3, 2004 - Washington, D.C. - Failing to meet the 12/31/03 deadline, almost half of the ships and a shocking 80% of the U.S. port facilities have failed to present security plans and to implement security measures under the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002. Passed in the wake of 9/11, the Act requires shipowners and port facilities to prepare security plans and to begin to implement them. As of the end of 2003, it seems that very few in the maritime industry want to comply. Look for the CBP (via the U.S. Coast Guard) to come down hard on the shirkers. Unless we're mistaken, the DHS is serious about thwarting terrorists and the maritime risk is obvious.
Here's the latest on what the U.S. is actually doing:
December 22, 2003 - Washington, D.C. - The US Government is giving money to Romania to help with its rail system. The AmShipper reports: "The U.S. Trade and Development Agency has awarded the Romanian government a $250,000 grant to help fund a study to improve rail safety and capacity."
Here's the latest on what the U.S. is thinking about doing:
December 22, 2003 - Washington, D.C. - The U.S. Government wants to know who's working on what in container shipping security. The AmShipper reports: "The U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection is requesting information and descriptions, in the form of "white papers" on innovative concepts, to achieve cargo container security and integrity upon arrival at U.S. ports of entry. Participation does not imply any obligation on the part of the government, and proprietary information will be protected to the greatest extent provided by law," Customs said in a statement. "This is not a request for proposal, but for investigative purposes only, and is not to be construed as a commitment by the government." Of course, VeriTainer will point CBP to its website and walk CBP through its innovative concepts about container shipping security. This is just our thinking, no commitments of course.
Here's the latest news on RFID tags for containers:
On December 10, 2003, the American Shipper reports that UK retailer (Selfridges) is trying out 120 boxes tagged by Exel, a UK logistics service company. RFID tag technology holds a lot of promise for asset tracking, in general, and container shipping security, specifically. The ability of a container to "respond" to a transceiver call by indentifying itself is the heart of tracking. It's also very helpful to non-invasive inquiry for gamma-rays and neutrons. It puts a container "name" on a particular gamma-ray spectrum "fingerprint" or a neutron count taken by VeriTainer's radiation detection unit ("RDU").
Here's the latest on CBP's enforcement of the new 24-hour rule (requirement to electronically submit manifest information 24 hours before a U.S. bound vessel is loaded):
On December 5, 2003, the U.S. Bureau of Customs and Border Protection has formally issued its final rule. The new rules go into effect January 5. Enforcement with regard to inbound shipments via vessels will start March 4. Enforcement in regard to outbound shipments and other modes of transportation will be phased in by Customs. The full CBP filing is available in the December 5, 2003 Federal Register. Regulations requiring vessels to provide electronic manifest data via the Automated Manifest System ("AMS") 24 hours before cargo is loaded about a vessel inbound to the United States is designed to permit CBP to "profile" containers for physical inspection.
Here's the latest on Maritime Terrorism:
On December 5, 2003, The Digital Ship (London) reports that in March 2003, pirates seized a gas tanker near Sabah in the South Pacific. The "pirates" then navigated the gas tanker for several hours, increasing and decreasing speed. They then left the vessel, taking several hostages. The hostages are still missing. The matter is just now coming to light as the British publication, the UK Economist, broke the story. The implication is that the terrorists were trying to learn how to navigate a chemical or gas tanker -- such as an LNG (liquid natural gas carrier) -- to bring it into proximity to coastal population centers and causing an enormous explosion. The Digital Ship article explained: "Gas tankers are a particularly high security threat; if ignited they could create a fireball large enough to destroy a medium sized coastal city." Gas tankers bound for U.S. ports receive Coast Guard escort from 200 miles out, the Digital Ship reported.
Look for the U.S. and European to begin moving in lock-step on container shipping security.
On December 2, 2003, The American Shipper+ reported that CBP will delay the industry-wide implementation of the automated procedure. "We want to restore and improve communications among trade members," said John Considine, director of cargo verification at Customs, in a telephone interview with AmShipper. "Obviously, we don't want to make it worse." Customs set the new rollout date for Jan. 10.
Here's the latest on U.S./European cooperation on container shipping security:
On December 1, 2003, the European Union's Frits Bolkestein, a Member of the European Commission, spoke at the Freight Forwarders Day in Brussels. Bolkestein said: "I am pleased that we have now moved forward from our earlier differences with the US and welcome the fact that the European Community will soon formally sign an agreement with the United States to expand our customs co-operation by introducing efficient and effective containers. The implementation of these measures will certainly increase the security of the global supply chain."
This is the latest on cooperation between the European Union and CBP:
On November 19, 2003, The American Shipper+ reported that the U.S. and EU have agreed to cooperate on container security and customs. Said the article: "The United States and the European Commission Tuesday signed an agreement to cooperate on transport security and customs, and set up a working group to define standards on container security. The agreement to expand an existing U.S./EU customs cooperation agreement, by including transport security, was initialed by Robert Verrue, European Commission director general for taxation and customs union, and Rockwell Schnabel, the U.S. ambassador to the EU. The agreement 'will guarantee the right balance between trade facilitation and security by ensuring that general customs control of legitimate trade takes due account of security concerns and by creating equal levels and standards of controls for U.S. and European Community operators,' the European Commission said." |
