CBR Weapons and WMD Terrorism News- October 27, 2008

GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] clamps down on illegal weapons trade
“A Gulf diplomat has outlined efforts by the UAE and its neighbours to clamp down on illegal arms dealers and halt the spread of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons across the Middle East. Addressing the UN General Assembly’s committee on disarmament and global security at the weekend, Nasser Abdulaziz al Nasr [GCC ambassador to the UN] said members of the GCC were actively tackling the proliferation of deadly arms. […] The six-nation GCC had become an ‘effective and complementary regional organisation’ to the UN in tackling the spread of atomic weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, he said.” (The National; 25Oct08; James Reinl) http://www.thenational.ae/article/20081025/NATIONAL/194966560/1011/NEWS

Pueblo [CO] chemical depot project on cash basis
“Puebloans impatiently have waited for the destruction of chemical weapons stored here to get underway […] After several years of delays, construction finally began this year on the structures where the depot's 2,100 tons of mustard agent will be neutralized. The Pentagon will spend at least $147 million during the next fiscal year and possibly $40 million more if congressional pressure to accelerate work continues.” (The Pueblo Chieftan; 27Oct08; Source: McClatchy-Tribune Information Services) http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/1972861/

Nerve agent VX eliminated from Newport, Ind. depot
“The Newport Chemical Depot sits on 7,000 acres of land now primarily used for farming. Less than three months ago, the site housed one of the deadliest nerve agents in the world: VX. […] In 1994, officials began investigating the proper way to dispose of the chemical, and now the elimination process is finally complete. ‘Newport successfully and safely destroyed over 2.5 million pounds of chemical agent VX,’ said Newport project manager Jeffret Brubaker. Once the nerve agent was neutralized in Newport, remaining byproduct was shipped to Texas where it was incinerated. […] The buildings that stored the nerve agent will be decontaminated and demolished.”
(WTHI; 25Oct08; Jessica Hayes)
http://www.wthitv.com/Global/story.asp?S=9238705&nav=menu593_2

New metro security measures will include random bag searches [DC]
“Signs in Metro stations are warning riders about the random bag searches […]. Soon, Metro transit officers will work in teams of five to eight in and around the nation's capital, often with bomb-sniffing dogs. Terror attacks on trains have substantial precedent around the world: in 1995, on a crowded Tokyo subway train, domestic terrorist group Aum Shinrikyo unleashed deadly sarin nerve gas, killing at least a dozen people. And in March of 2004, nearly 200 people died in a bombing on a Madrid railway. Then, in July of 2005, a bombing attack on the London underground and bus system killed 52 people, including the suicide bombers. Officials say they're starting the searches partly because of the upcoming events such as the presidential inauguration […]. Metro authorities insist the inspections will be random bag searches only, not body searches.” (News Channel 8; 27Oct08) http://cfc.news8.net/printstory.cfm?id=564716

Accused men sought violent jihad [Australia]
“Six alleged Sydney jihadists obtained, or sought to acquire, a stockpile of chemical weapons capable of causing ‘substantial damage and loss of life,’ potential jurors have been told. Counsel for the prosecution Richard Maidment SC [sic] said they were driven to wage violent jihad against the Australian public by fervent Islamic beliefs in martyrdom. […] The six have pleaded not guilty to conspiring to commit acts in preparation for a terrorist act, and are standing trial in the NSW [New South Wales] Supreme Court. […] Mr Maidment said the men obtained large quantities of firearms and ammunition between July 2004 and November 2005, as well as significant amounts of chemicals such as acetone and hydrogen peroxide.” (The West; 28Oct08; Source: AAP)
http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=525553

Nation at risk from 'dirty bomb' [and bioterrorism] [Australia]
“Australia’s proximity to the hotbeds of terrorism in Asia places it at greater risk of a biological terror attack, one of the US's leading biosecurity experts has warned. John Clerici, an architect of US President George W. Bush's emergency bio-terrorism laws, says Australians must be wary of complacency about the threat of this unusual form of terrorism, which he says represents a growing challenge to the Western democracies.
‘The threat (of bio-terrorism) is perceived to be very real in the US and is taken more seriously there than it is in Europe,’ Mr Clerici told The Australian. ‘But Australia's proximity to the hotbeds of terrorism in Asia means there needs to be a greater awareness of the threat here.’ […] ‘The biggest gap in preparations by the US and in the rest of the world is in dealing with a so-called dirty bomb (which disperses deadly radioactive material). If a dirty bomb were set off near the White House, it would make a five-block radius unlivable for many years. We are not yet ready to deal with something like that.’”
(The Australian; 27Oct08; Cameron Stewart) http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24555946-2702,00.htm

Qatar interested in Belarus’ radiometric equipment
“Representatives of Qatar expressed their interest in the radiometric equipment of Belarusian enterprises, BelTA [Belarusian Telegraph Agency] learnt from Boris Kazakov, Head of the Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Office of the Border Service Agency of the State Border Committee of Belarus. […] According to Boris Kazakov, the Qatar representatives asked the State Border Committee to provide them with the information about the Belarusian enterprises producing radiation control equipment. ‘These products were praised by the US representatives who confirmed that this equipment helps fulfill all the tasks related to the radiation control of land and nuclear radioactive materials,’ Boris Kazakov said.” (National Center of Legal Information of the Republic of Belarus; 27Oct08) http://law.by/work/EnglPortal.nsf/0/3A719FACF7E758A0C22574EF004E8521?OpenDocument

CNS ChemBio-WMD terrorism News is prepared by the Chemical and Biological Weapons Nonproliferation Program of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies in order to bring timely and focused information to researchers and policymakers interested in the fields of chemical, biological, and radiological weapons nonproliferation and WMD terrorism.