June 2003

Below is a listing of bioterrorism-related events this month, part of an ongoing bioterrorism chronology that begins with Sep 11, 2001. To see events from other months, go to the Bioterrorism Watch index page.

June 30

Germany needs to step up preparedness efforts, say native experts
Stefan Kaufmann, director of infectious biology at the Max Planck Institute in Munich, and Bernd Appel, head of biological security at the Robert Koch Institute, issue a warning that Germany remains unprepared to manage a biological or chemical attack, according to a report in Welt am Sonntag newspaper. "We urgently need broader based research," Kaufmann is quoted as saying. "We should be engaged in long-term research such as is being carried out in America, but the German Government simply isn't paying any attention to our appeals," Appel says.

June 29

Task force finds first-responders woefully underfunded
Police, fire, ambulance, and other emergency personnel throughout the country lack appropriate funding to prepare for terrorist attacks, according to a study by an independent, nonpartisan task force of the Council on Foreign Relations. The study recommends an additional $98 billion beyond current plans for the next 5 years to accomplish the task. The 62-page report, by the the Independent Task Force on Emergency Responders, notes that the Department of Homeland Security is doing valuable work but that the federal government must increase its spending fivefold to successfully prepare first-responders for terrorist assaults. "Although the American public is now better prepared in some respects to address aspects of the terrorist threat than it was two years ago, the United States remains dangerously ill-prepared to handle a catastrophic attack on American soil," says the study. (See CIDRAP News story.)

June 28

PO powder in Kansas sends six to hospital
Six Topeka, Kan., Postal Service employees receive treatment at a local hospital after they discover an unidentified powdery substance in a mail-sorting center, according to an Associated Press story. Employees, complaining of scratchy throats and burning eyes, told emergency responders that a powdery substance appeared to have fallen out of an envelope. The six were decontaminated at the postal facilityand then transported to St. Francis Health Center, where they received a second decontamination. The hospital closed its ambulance bay as a precaution. The Civil Support Team, a unit of the Kansas National Guard, will test the powder.

Maryland pond search brings no further immediate evidence in anthrax probe
The FBI search of a Frederick, Md., pond is complete, reports a Washington Post story. In May, laboratory equipment was found in the pond, which led to its draining in June (see June 9 item). Agents leave the area without finding any further physical evidence to suggest any links to the 2001 anthrax attacks, law enforcement sources say. Agents took soil samples from the bottom of the pond for testing. Frederick mayor Jennifer P. Dougherty says the FBI told her "they are done" at the pond. "They are leaving. I don't have any expectation that they'll be back in this area in the watershed." However, she adds, "they've given us no indication that they're out of Frederick County."

June 27

HHS offers computer model for local bioterrorism preparedness planning
The US Department of Health and Human Services offers a new computer program model to hospitals and health systems s for dispensing antibiotics and plan vaccination campaigns in response to bioterrorism or large-scale natural disease outbreaks. The resource consists of a computerized staffing model that can be downloaded as a spreadsheet and used by health professionals to calculate the specific needs of local healthcare systems on the basis of the number of staff they have and the number of patients who would require quick treatment in a bioterrorist event. Funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the model was developed by researchers at Weill Medical College of Cornell University in New York after testing several patient-triage and drug-dispensing plans. (See CIDRAP News story.)

June 26

Monitoring group finds no evidence of al-QaidaIraq connection
A UN Security Councilappointed monitoring group has found no evidence linking al-Qaida to Saddam Hussein's administration in Iraq, says Michael Chandler, the group's chairman. "That doesn't mean to say it doesn't exist," he notes, but only that his team has found no evidence connecting the two. The group's report does say that veterans of al-Qaida as well as a new generation of the terrorist group continue to post an international threat and that evidence exists that the group "has investigated the ways and means of developing" nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons.

Study reveals 'fragility' of public health system
The fall 2001 anthrax mail attacks exposed weaknesses in the US public health system that could have implications for response to future bioterrorist attacks, according to a study by the ANSER Institute for Homeland Security and the Johns Hopkins Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies. The attacks disclosed "an unacceptable level of fragility in systems now properly recognized as vital to national defense," says the study. "Too many citizens, elected leaders, and national security officials still have a limited understanding of the degree to which 22 cases of anthrax rocked the public health agencies and hospitals involved in response to this small bioterrorist attack," it continues. Specifically, the study found problems in terms of unclear decision-making processes; poor communication between public health officials and doctors, the media, and the general public; and insufficient resources.

Bush team points to evidence of secret Iraqi weapons programs
Recovered documents and equipment related to Iraq's pre-1991 nuclear program show that former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein sustained secret weapons programs, says the Bush administration. Evidence of this comes from former Iraqi nuclear scientist Mahdi Shukur Obeidi, who provided CIA officials in Baghdad with equipment components and documents he buried in his backyard as "part of a high-level plan to reconstitute the nuclear weapons program once sanctions were ended," says White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. "What's notable is that this case illustrates the extreme challenges that the world community faces in Iraq as we search for evidence of [weapons of mass destruction] programs that were designed to elude detection by international inspectors," Fleischer says. "Throughout the entire inspection process, Iraqis were scared to death to talk because they would die if they would," he adds.

June 25

US steps up efforts to prohibit illicit arms shipments
US efforts to coordinate initiatives with its allies to prohibit shipments of illicit arms (see June 12 item) are accelerating. The initial focus on North Korea's pursuit of weapons of mass destruction has expanded to include Iran and other nations suspected of seeking such weapons, according to a senior US official speaking with Reuters. The program aims to use existing laws and international agreements to halt shipment by air or sea of nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and the missiles to carry them. The Bush administration has circumvented the United Nations in seeking support from other countries to enforce existing national laws and agreements. US officials say many of the program details must still be determined, including what to do about "intellectual capital," or experts who sell their expertise to rogue states.

More dispute over supposed Iraqi mobile bioweapons labs
US officials say that a classified Jun 2 State Department memorandum disputes the CIA's conclusion that trailers found in Iraq produced biological weapons, according to a New York Times story. The CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) made their conclusions public on May 28. The State Department memo says the CIA and DIA neglected to consult with other intelligence agencies before issuing their report and that it was "premature" to draw the conclusion they did, the officials say. Some intelligence analysts questioned the CIA report, but it was not known previously that the report did not reflect an interagency consensus or that any intelligence agency had later objected to its conclusions. (See also Jun 7, May 28, and May 19 items.)

Planned Montana high-security lab causes community stir
A federal government's planned high-security lab in Hamilton, Mont. is creating fear and criticism from the local community, according to an LA Times article. The lab's goal is to finding cures for the diseases that bioterrorists might cause, but residents fear accidental release of the pathogens. "We've got homes and children sleeping 50 meters away," Jim Miller, a University of Montana research biologist and local resident, is quoted as saying. "They never consider the possibility that there could be a pathogen breach. It's like at Three Mile Island, saying that there could never be a release of radiation from a nuclear power plant." The lab is part of a federal movement to place at least six new bioterrorism research facilities around the country. The facilities are Biosafety Level 4, meaning they are designed to the most stringent level of pathogen containment.

Study reports safety of smallpox vaccination program
A new military study shows that the government's smallpox vaccination program has produced few serious adverse reactions and is basically safe. "Most adverse events occurred at rates below historical rates," say the authors, John Grabenstein of the Military Vaccine Agency and William Winkenwerder, assistant secretary of defense. "Our experience suggests that broad smallpox vaccination programs may be implemented with fewer serious adverse events than previously believed," they conclude. The campaign excluded pregnant women, people with weakened immune systems and those with chronic skin conditions. The report is published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. (See CIDRAP News story.)

June 24

Intelligence analyst claims pressure from administration
Congressional officials report that a State Department chemical and biological weapons expert said in closed door hearings that he was pressured to modify his analysis on Iraq to conform with the Bush administration's views, according to a New York Times story. The senior intelligence expert, identified as Christian Westermann, is the first active member of the intelligence community to admit to such pressure. He works as an analyst in the State Department's Bureau of Intelligence and Research, which provides the secretary of state with intelligence analysis independent of the CIA and other agencies. Westermann says that although he felt pressure, he never changed his intelligence reports. Administration officials say his most specific complaints dealt with intelligence on Cuba, and he has yet to discuss the handling of intelligence on Iraq. Westermann is viewed within the State Department as a careful and respected analyst.

June 23

Legislator touts smallpox vaccination program
The threat of a smallpox terrorist attack has not diminished appreciably, according to Republican lawmaker Richard Burr, R-N.C., says a Global Security Newswire article. House Select Intelligence Committee member Burr, who sponsored legislation in April regarding compensation for those injured by smallpox vaccine to try to remove one of the obstacles to the government's vaccination campaign, is quoted as saying, "I don't think there is any question that the need is still there for us to have a plan in place." Public health expert William Bicknell, a Boston University professor and authority in immunization planning says, "The threat is there . . . until the intelligence committee tells us it's gone, I'm unwilling to say it is gone, or decreased." He and Kenneth Bloem, a senior fellow at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Civilian Biodefense Strategies, agree that the threat of a smallpox attack goes beyond Iraq. In a soon-to-be-released paper from the CATO Institute, the Burr and Bloem say that health officials should not let the smallpox vaccination program die, according to the GSN article.

Brentwood P.O. to reopen in fall
Washington's Brentwood postal facility is scheduled to reopen by the end of November, US Postal Service spokesman Bob Anderson tells Global Security Newswire. Tests conducted in early March showed that the decontamination effort was successful. The Postal Service is currently renovating the facility in preparation for resuming full operation. The decontamination process, which involved filling the facility with chlorine dioxide gas to kill any anthrax spores, resulted in the creation of salt and water byproducts that caused some corrosion that needs cleaning, says Anderson. Contractors and former Brentwood employees are doing the renovation work as volunteers, he notes, adding that the latter are "enthusiastic and ready to get back to work."

New online bioterrorism education program for introduced
The Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) introduces a new online bioterrorism education program at a meeting of the World Health Organization. The program, geared for clinical laboratory professionals, is the first of its kind and the result of collaboration with Boston-based Acadient, a developer of online education, and the Massachusetts State Laboratory Institute. The newly developed course provides an efficient means to strengthen the ability of the public health and clinical laboratory systems to identify biological threats by detecting suspicious test results in hospitals and clinical laboratories. The Internet-based course, called Agents of Bioterrorism, takes about 1.5 hours to complete and highlights testing for agents that cause four bacterial diseases considered of highest concern: anthrax, tularemia, plague, and brucellosis. It will be field tested in Massachusetts during the next 2 months.

June 22

Former Soviet-US rivals to head new biodefense graduate program
Former Soviet bioweapons researcher Ken Alibek and former rival Charles Bailey, who once commanded the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) in Fort Detrick, Md., will co-direct a new graduate program in biodefense at George Mason University's Prince William campus, according to a Washington Post article. University officials say it is the first program of its kind to offer a degree in biodefense. "This is ambitious, but we know how to do this," Alibek is quoted as saying. "We understand this is absolutely essential work because for the first time, we understand the biological weapons threat. We understand it's a very grim threat." The program will cost the university about $1 million to open by fall, says Larry Czarda, vice president of operations for GMU's Prince William campus. School officials expect as many as 85 masters, doctorate, and certificate-bound students at that time.

June 19

ACIP advises against expanding smallpox vaccination program
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) advises against expanding the smallpox vaccination program to include millions of emergency workers, citing safety concerns, particularly unexpected cardiac complications. Joseph Henderson, the CDC's head bioterrorism official, says the agency is conducting a 6-month assessment of its smallpox preparedness work and expects to suggest adjustments to the White House with more focus on education and training, emergency response drills, and faster reporting of suspicious outbreaks. Investing almost solely in vaccinations "is not a practical approach right now," Henderson says in an interview. Julie Gerberding, director of CDC, said the recommendation will be reviewed but that more people likely will be encouraged to get the vaccinations. (See CIDRAP News item.)

Decontamination R & D a focus at Department of Defense
The Pentagon proposes allocation of $52 million 2004 as part of a 5-year strategy to expand research and development in chemical and biological decontamination technology, according to an article in National DEFENSE. Specific programs will focus on reducing the logistical burden of transporting decontamination equipment and developing safer decontamination agents that have less hazardous impact on military hardware, its operators, and the environment. Decontamination is still "a huge technological challenge," says Maj. Gen. John Doesburg, head of the Soldier Biological and Chemical Command. The Army still uses the same technology introduced 40 years ago, he adds. Doesburg has also been named to lead the Army's Research Development and Engineering Command. Asked which decontamination technology he hopes to see in the field, Doesburg says he would like to see equipment with "a chemical agent absorbent coating that you put onto a vehicle that would absorb whatever contaminant you come into contact with and self-decontaminate."

June 18

US emergency alert systemdoes it need a revamp?
The nation's emergency alert system remains ineffective, despite warnings from federal officials that terrorists could strike again with chemical, biological, or radiological weapons, according to a USA Today article. Consequently, many Americans would not learn about a potentially dangerous situation until it's too late to respond. "If you get warned, it's as much luck as anything else," Kenneth Allen, executive director of the Partnership for Public Warning, an organization of government emergency managers and industry executives, is quoted as saying. The group worries that the country lacks a unified, coherent warning system. The Cold War-era emergency alert system (formerly called the emergency broadcast system) functions in only a few states and is outdated, relying on television networks and radio broadcasters turning over airtime to the government voluntarily in an emergency. Allen's group and a Federal Communications Commission advisory committee support a high-tech solution. For example, warnings could be delivered through telephones, cell phones, pagers, and computers, and computer chips embedded in TVs and radios could make them turn on in the event of an emergency. Opponents believe that 24-hr news coverage is enough. So far, no federal agency is taking the lead on a warning-system project.

June 17

Washington anthrax cleanup cost $27 million
Decontamination of Capitol Hill offices following the anthrax attack of October 2001 cost the Environmental Protection Agency $27 million over 3 months, according to a newly released congressional report. The task required examination of 10,000 samples from 26 buildings. Contractors collected 3,250 objects for offsite decontamination in Richmond, Va., and about 4,000 packages and pieces of mail went to other sites for chlorine dioxide decontamination. Seven of the 26 buildings from which samples were taken held trace amounts of anthrax. According to the General Accounting Office, the EPA has done an effective job but needs to tighten its cost-oversight practices to make sure the government gets good value from contractors. The EPA initially estimated the cleanup would cost $5 million, but that figure changed as the complexity of the operation became clearer.

June 16

AMA developing standardized disaster training
The American Medical Association (AMA) is designing a voluntary program of standardized disaster-preparedness training for doctors, public health personnel, and military officials who respond to mass-casualty events. Much information and training is available, but the new program aims to provide consistent, standardized guidance for all hospitals and health officials, says Dr. James James, director of the AMA's new Center for Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Response, which is managing the program. In the initial curriculum are numerous courses, many covering newer areas specific to mass-casualty events, such as medical decontamination, mitigating stress on healthcare workers, and legal issues of disaster response. Eventually the training will be available over the Internet. With HHS oversight, authorities from the University of Georgia, the Medical College of Georgia, the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and the University of Texas in Huston are developing the coursework.

June 15

Senate hearings on pre-war intelligence to be bipartisan, says Roberts
The US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence plans to hold closed hearings on intelligence information regarding Iraq's pre-war weapons of mass destruction and whether that information was accurately communicated to the public by the Bush administration, says committee chairman Pat Roberts, appearing on CBS's "Face the Nation." Roberts, R-Kan., promises to use a bipartisan approach to the investigation and review the issue outside a "political context." He says a classified and a public report will likely be provided by the committee. Further, he says, he expects to interview administration officials and wants to hear from anyone in the intelligence community who thinks his or her analysis was skewed in any way or who feels he or she was intimidated or coerced.

British investigation says Iraqi trailers were not mobile labs
The two trailers discovered in northern Iraq and claimed by British and American administration officials to be mobile germ warfare labs (see June 7 item) are not, but were used instead to produce hydrogen to fill artillery balloons, according to an official British investigation. A British scientist and biological expert who examined the trailers in Iraq tells the Observer, "They are not mobile germ warfare laboratories. You could not use them for making biological weapons. They do not even look like them. They are exactly what the Iraqis said they werefacilities for the production of hydrogen gas to fill balloons." The revelation is embarrassing for Prime Minister Tony Blair, who claimed that discovery of the labs proved Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and justified the war. The findings are further embarrassing because a British company, Marconi Command & Control, sold the lab's original system to the Iraqi army.

June 12

Security at foreign ports of US-bound cargo to expand
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge announces phase 2 of the Container Security Initiative (CSI) through which inspections at foreign ports of cargo bound for the United States will expand. The aim is to prevent terrorists from smuggling unconventional weapons in cargo containersthe conveyance used for 90% of international cargo. US inspections are operational in most of the 20 top ports worldwide that were identified for phase 1 of the program. In phase 2, up to 25 more ports will be added, which translates to security protection of more than 80% of the more than 7 million cargo containers shipped to the United States each year. Ridge also announced the release of $170 million in grants for the program.

US-led international meeting aims at thwarting transport of WMD materials
The United States and 10 other countries meet in Madrid to work toward preventing shipments of weapons of mass destruction or their delivery systems, according to a Los Angeles Times story. The meeting is a first informal gathering of countries interested in changing international law to stop the spread of such weapons. The move, aimed at keeping WMD materials out of the hands of rogue nations and terrorists by thwarting their import and export, is part of the Proliferation Security Initiative proposed by President Bush in a May 31 speech in Krakow, Poland, says a senior State Department official. Participants are mid-level officials from the US, Britain, Italy, Japan, Australia, France, Germany, Poland, Portugal, the Netherlands and Spain.

June 11

Former UN weaspons inspector appointed to advisory post in US search for Iraqi weapons
The Bush administration appoints a former UN weapons inspector to provide guidance on how to more effectively coordinate the hunt for banned weapons in Iraq. David Kay, who led three arms inspections missions as the UN's chief nuclear weapons inspector in Iraq after the 1991 Persian Gulf war, has been named a special adviser to the director of central intelligence, George Tenet, according to a CIA announcement. Kay will work closely with the newly organized 1,400-member Iraq Survey Group. A CIA statement says that Kay will be based in Iraq and be "in charge of refining the overall approach for the search for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction."

June 10

Clues to terrorists' interest in US agriculture found in Afghanistan
Al Qaida terrorists who fled Afghanistan following the US postSep 11 invasion left behind indications of their interest in agricultural terrorism, according to government officials. The abandoned stash of information included hundreds of pages of US agricultural documents translated into Arabic. Additionally, a large portion of the group's training manual is reportedly devoted to agricultural terrorism, such as destruction of crops, livestock, and food processing operations. Defense Department officials are so concerned about the possibility of an attack that twice during the past several months, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's Strategic Policy Forum has held classified crisis-simulation exercises for members of Congress and federal officials to plan potential responses to an incident. While state and federal agencies have taken a number of steps to improve security, terrorism experts, including Peter Chalk, a policy analyst with RAND, a nonprofit research organization, say much more is needed.

US contentions about Iraqi weapons backed up by Iranian official
A high-ranking Iranian government official agrees with the United States about the existence of Saddam Hussein's banned weapons, according to a Washington Times report. "Our intelligence indicated that Iraq did possess weapons of mass destruction and was hiding them from the UN," says the official, who asked to remain anonymous because of escalating tensions between Washington and Tehran. He also questions what the Iraqis might have done with the weapons but suspects that some could have filtered onto local black markets. "We have people coming to Tehran from Baghdad with catalogs of items [stolen from the Iraqi government] offering them for sale, the official is quoted as saying."

Plum Island center to have joint DHS-USDA management
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) enter a partnership agreement to transfer management of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center, providing better protection against agroterrorism. Under the agreement, DHS and USDA will jointly manage a 4-month transition period. Marc Hollander, deputy director of facilities and infrastructure for the office of research and development, has been named as acting center director. USDA will continue to perform agricultural animal health research and foreign animal disease diagnostics programs at Plum Island. "Plum Island will remain a key part of the US animal health research and diagnostic infrastructure, which is vital to protect the nation's livestock and poultry from introductions of foreign animal diseases," says Dr. Joseph Jen, USDA's undersecretary for research, education, and economics.

June 9

New lab opens in Virginia to aid in bioterrorism defense
Virginia opens a state-of-the-art laboratory to help protect the nation against bioterrorism and deadly epidemics. The $60 million Richmond facility, known as Biotech Six, has eight sealed rooms for handling dangerous diseases such as SARS, West Nile virus, and tuberculosis. Within a year, addition of a Biosafety Level 4 room will allow safe testing of the most dangerous pathogens such as ebola, hantavirus, and smallpox. Additionally, the CDC has designated Virginia's Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services as one of five in the nation to handle 24-hour testing should a massive chemical attack by terrorists overwhelm the national labs in Atlanta.

Draining of Maryland pond for anthrax evidence begins
The FBI begins draining a Maryland pond in search of evidence surrounding the 2001 anthrax mail attacks (see May 11 and May 23 items). "The FBI and the US Postal Service are conducting forensic searches on public land located near the city of Frederick, Maryland," the FBI says in a press release. The investigation is expected to take up to 4 weeks, during which the area surrounding the 1-acre, 50,000-gallon pond will remain classified and restricted, according a press statement from the city of Frederick. Earlier searches produced several pieces of laboratory equipment, including what could be a box that would allow someone to manipulate hazardous material inside it while wearing gloves.

Former UN inspectors to join weapons hunt in Iraq
The Pentagon's new team of weapons inspectors preparing to take charge of the search for Iraqi chemical and biological weapons includes dozens of former UN arms inspectors and a big intelligence component, say US officials. Although the Bush administration opposes a UN role in the hunt, up to 50 former UN inspectors with previous experience in Iraq have joined the Iraq Survey Group, a defense official says. The group consists of approximately 1,400 members, mostly Americans.

Government reports says another al-Qaida attack likely
A new US government report indicates there is "high probability" that al-Qaida will attempt an attack with a chemical, biological, or nuclear weapon within 2 years. The report to a UN Security Council committee that monitors sanctions against the terrorist group does not say specifically where such an attack might occur but concludes terrorists could choose targets such as shopping malls, supermarkets, or places of recreation or entertainment. According to the report, "There are hundreds of ongoing counter-terrorism investigations in the United States associated with al-Qaida . . . Identifying and neutralizing these sleeper cells remains our most serious intelligence and law enforcement challenge."

June 7

Iraqi trailers' use as mobile weapons labs brought into question
The trailers discovered in Iraq (see May 19 and May 28 items) may not have been used as mobile biological units after all, according to some American and British intelligence analysts acquainted with the evidence, says a New York Times article. The analysts now believe the units were likely used for other purposes than producing biological weapons and say a rush to judgment has damaged the evaluation process. "Everyone has wanted to find the 'smoking gun' so much that they may have wanted to have reached this conclusion," one intelligence expert who has seen the trailers and spoke on condition of anonymity is quoted as saying. He adds, "I am very upset with the process."

June 6

Pentagon report made public joins the fray over pre-war intelligence
A Pentagon report by the Defense Intelligence Agency from last September is made public and may hold important clues as to whether the Bush administration had hard evidence of Iraqi biological/chemical weapons programs before launching its preeminent strike in March. While the report expressed confidence, based on intelligence that Iraq was hiding weapons from UN inspectors, that Iraq did have a program of unconventional weapons, it said there was "no definitive, reliable information" of chemical or biological weapons production or stockpiling. Not clear is whether this information was included in the national intelligence estimate presented to President Bush (see June 3 item). The CIA is reviewing the documents.

Iraqi tells of covert weapons program
Iraqi intelligence services developed secret cells and small laboratories after 1996 aimed at rebuilding banned chemical and biological weapons, a former senior Iraqi intelligence officer say, according to the Los Angeles Timesr. The officer, a brigadier general, says the weapons teams consisted of three or four scientists and other experts unknown to UN inspectors. He says they worked on computers and conducted crude experiments in bunkers and back rooms in safe houses around Baghdad. He also notes they did not actually produce illegal arms and that none now exist in Iraq. However, the teams met regularly and made plans to quickly develop unconventional weapons if UN sanctions against Iraq were lifted. "We could start again anytime," says the officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he fears for his life. "It's very easy. Especially biological. The point was, the Iraqis kept the knowledge," he explains during an interview. But US weapons hunters "will never find anything here. Only oil."

June 5

UN urges continued international inspections in Iraq
The UN Security Council urges the Bush administration to allow UN weapons inspectors to return to Iraq to confirm whether or not the country possessed illegal weapons before the US-led invasion, a point of contention as evidence of such weapons continues to elude the US inspectors now in the country. The demand was endorsed by an overwhelming majority of council members, including Britain. It was also urged by Chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix in his final briefing of the Security Council. According to Blix, the credibility of independent inspectors would be greater than that of US or British inspectors.

Bioshield debate focuses on intelligence reliability
The apparent disconnect between preIraqi war intelligence and failure to turn up any weapons of mass destruction affects the feeling of some members of the House Select Committee on Homeland Security about Project Bioshield, a Bush proposal aimed at stimulating research into drugs and treatments to protect against potential bioterrorist attack. Under the program, the administration would have unprecedented authority to research, buy, and distribute vaccines and antidotes against selected pathogens. Committee members question at a hearing whether selection of agents posing enough threat to trigger the program will be possible, given that the process would have to depend on reliable intelligence.

Canada seen as ripe source for 'clandestine' terrorist activity, says report
The Canadian Security and Intelligence Service says in its annual report that rogue states and terrorists are likely to seek unconventional weapons materials from Canada and that several groups or individuals associated with international terrorist organizations are active in Canada. Canada is stated to be a "frequent target for clandestine and illicit procurement activities" for those seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction because it is "an internationally recognized leader in many high-technology sectors (such as the nuclear, chemical, pharmaceutical, biotechnological, electronics, and aerospace sectors)."

June 4

US aims to stop proliferation of unconventional weapons, possibly through force
John Bolton, undersecretary of state for arms control and international security, testifies at a House International Relations Committee hearing that the United States plans to "eliminate or role back" suspected unconventional weapons possessed by certain states and terrorist groups and that the use of force would be one possible avenue for accomplishing this. Bolton describes Iran and North Korea as "axis of evil" countries and Libya, Syria, Cuba and Sudan as "beyond the axis of evil" countries either already having unconventional weapons or making an effort to obtain them. He further states that "The logic of adverse consequences must fall not only on the states aspiring to possess these weaapons, but on the states supplying them as well."

June 3

CIA review focuses on accuracy of October intelligence estimate
An internal CIA review by a team of retired CIA analysts brought together by director George Tenet to assess the accuracy of intelligence before the Iraq war is focused on a secret US intelligence report from last October. That report, a "national intelligence estimate," concluded that Iraq possessed chemical and biological weapons and was trying to rebuild its nuclear program. A national intelligence estimate is intended to present a consensus of analysts across the entire intelligence community and so typically carries special weight with policymakers. This report gave President Bush his last major overview of the status of Iraq's program to develop weapons of mass destruction before the start of the war. The failure of inspectors now in Iraq to discover weapons of mass destruction has brought up significant political issues for both President Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair about their justification for going to war.

CIA report says Al-Quida attacks could be small-scale
Al-Qaida's ultimate goal is to use chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons to cause mass casualties, but the group and associated extremists are likely to launch small rather than large-scale attacks, according to a CIA report prepared last month. The unclassified report says Osama bin Laden's network could easily build a radiological dispersal device, or "dirty bomb," that could create panic and economic damage but not mass casualties. In addition, a wide range of toxic chemicals have been considered by terrorists, the report says, as well as plots focused not only on broad dissimination of agents but also on such techniques as poisoning foods or spreading toxic agents via skin contact.

June 2

Five countries join Group of Eight in global partnership against weapons of mass destruction
The White House announces that five new countriesFinland, Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Switzerlandare joining the Global Partnership to Prevent the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction. The Group of Eight now making up the partnership (Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, United States) have pledged $20 billion over 10 years to help fund nonproliferation, disarmament, counterterrorism, and nuclear safety initiatives, primarily in Russia.

New UN report reiterates that many questions remain about Iraqi weapons
A report from Hans Blix's office distributed to the UN Security Council today says that many questions persist about whether and when Saddam Hussein's government destroyed its chemical and biological weapons, according to a New York Times story. The report also states that none of the vehicles on Iraq's prewar list of "legitimate vehicles" that could be mistaken for mobile biological weapons labs resembled the two mobile facilities recently discovered in Iraq. According to the report, despite some late and limited Iraqi cooperation, "The long list of proscribed items unaccounted for and as such resulting in unresolved disarmament issues, was neither shortened by the inspections, nor by Iraqi declarations and documents." Specifically, the inspectors found no clear evidence of how much anthrax and VX nerve gas Iraq had possessed, and how much it had destroyed, says the report.

Dual-use, on-demand weapons facilities described by Iraqi scientist
An Iraqi scientist asserts that Saddam Hussein decentralized his country's chemical and biological weapons programs by installing production equipment in commercial facilities to avoid detection, reports the Washington Post on the basis of a White House document made available to the paper. In it, the scientist is quoted as claiming that Iraq "carefully embedded its [weapons of mass destruction] infrastructure in dual-use facilities" with chemical weapons production "on demand." The document further states that "facilities for making deadly nerve agents were also producing legitimate products like pesticides," but "such sites also could employ 'just in time' manufacturing and delivery systems to reduce the need for stockpiles." The Iraqi tractor-trailer discovered in northern Iraq in April and equipped to manufacture biological agents represents "physical evidence of such an approach," according to the document.

Questions abound about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction
Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., chairman of the Armed Services Committee, announces that his panel will initiate hearings on the failure of the United States and its allies to uncover weapons of mass destruction in Iraq this month. In a similar move, the House Intelligence Committee has requested that the CIA investigate the administration's prewar estimates of Iraq's weapons capacity. In a letter to President Bush, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., says, "To date, you have offered no explanation as to why you and your most senior advisers made repeated allegations based on forged documents." He is referring to documents initially provided as evidence of an Iraqi nuclear program, which have since been determined to be fakes.

Masks distributed to Pengagon journalists
A group of journalists who cover news at the Pentagon receive emergency masks for protection against certain chemical and biological agents from the US Department of Defense. The masks cost about $150 each and protect for about 65 minutes, long enough to allow someone to get out of or find safety in a building. The DoD has purchased some 80,000 to protect employees and visitors to the Pentagon and other area buildings leased by the department.

For other months' installments, go to the Bioterrorism Watch index page