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CONTENTS:

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK:

1. World
2. Africa
3. Americas
4. Asia Pacific
5. Europe
6. Middle East
7. South Asia
8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare
9. Finance
10 Human Rights
11. Law and Legal Issues
12. Transportation
13. Weapons of Mass Destruction
14. Recently Published

FEATURE ARTICLE:
Anthrax to Ricin: US Public Health Preparedness

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK

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1. World

The increasing spread of avian influenza raises more fears of a new pandemic. There is now evidence of transmission to pigs and from human to human. Investigations into the 1918 flu epidemic find that virus also jumped from birds to humans. http://www.sciencemag.org Vaccinations and culls are underway. For latest news on the crisis see http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenze/en/

The discovery of the widespread clandestine nuclear trade has led to a crisis meeting underway by members of the International Atomic Energy Agency and other interested parties who are acting urgently to change the current "gentleman's agreement" for export controls and to urgently upgrade nuclear security. (see the WMD section, below)

North Korea has agreed to a new round of 6-nation talks on its nuclear weapons program, beginning in China February 25. North Korea has strongly denied charges that it has gassed political prisoners in tests of chemical weapons.

Officials in the US and UK are scrambling to deflect the growing controversy over intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq. A year after US Secretary of State Powell's presentation to the UN Security Council, the UN is sending a team to evaluate the feasibility of holding elections and the state of security in Iraq. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan summarized the state of affairs in a press encounter after the Liberian Reconstruction Conference as follows: "... I have given you an indication that the international community is coming back. Of course, there has been some damage. Damage that will probably take some time to heal. People are going to be very suspicious when one talks to them about intelligence. And they are going to be very suspicious when we try to use intelligence to justify certain actions. But we need to be careful not to throw everything out of the window. Because intelligence is going to be necessary for governmental work. But one has to be very, very careful as to the quality of the intelligence and perhaps be extra careful to check with other sources to make sure that it is solid. So the damage in that sense is that people would need to be really convinced that the information is solid, that there is a real threat, so the bar has been raised as to how to you convince people, whether your own nationals or the international community. But the kind of committees that both Washington and London intend to set up, I think is a step in the right direction." http://www.un.org/apps/sg/offthecuff.asp?nid=537

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2. Africa

In Algeria, talks between the government and the Berber's have collapsed over the status of the Berber language, Tamazight. The Berbers have threatened to resume protests, interfering with elections scheduled for April.

A Burundian rebel of the National Liberation Forces (FNL) has told his army captors he was involved in an ambush in which Vatican ambassador Michael Courtney was shot dead last December. Fighting between FNL rebels and government forces in Nyabiraba province killed 30 FNL fighters and one government soldier.

Central African Republic and Democratic Republic of Congo will reopen their common border as soon as troops are deployed to replace the rebels of the Movement for the Liberation of the Congo (MLC) previously in force.

In Eastern Ethiopia ethnic fighting between Somali and Oromo killed at least 18 and hundreds of homes were burned down.

The Law Society of Kenya says that the country's efforts to combat terrorism have led to human rights abuses of its Muslim minority, about a quarter of the population. For information on the suppression of terrorism act see http://www.khrc.or.ke/news.asp?ID=9 and http://www.lawafrica.com/Lsk/

Liberia's recovery from 14 years of civil war is threatened by an emerging health crisis, including a critical shortage of sage water. Of a population of three million, almost half are internally displaced and a similar number have sought refuge in neighboring countries. An international donor conference has generated promises of $500 million for reconstruction. Human rights, including rehabilitation of thousands of child soldiers, is crucial to the peace process. Note http://web.amnesty.org/library/index/engafr340042004 and http://hrw.org/english/docs/2004/02/02/liberi7150.htm

South Africa has reduced its HIV/AIDS treatment budget by two-thirds.

Fighting in Sudan has led to another surge in the refugee population. The humanitarian situation is very serious, with at least 600,000 displaced persons, with some hundred thousand that have crossed into Chad. Amnesty International has accused the Sudanese government of indiscriminate attacks on civilians. http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGAFR540082004

Zimbabwe's only independent daily newspaper, the Daily News, has suspended publication following a Supreme Court decision that the government could stop journalists working without government accreditation. The paper will remain suspended until its journalists have complied. Under Zimbabwe's land redistribution program, the Hippo Valley sugar estate, owned by Anglo American of South Africa, has been confiscated.

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3. Americas

Chile and its relations with the US has been further informed by new tapes released in a National Security Archive Electronic Briefing Book, "Nixon on Chile Intervention" demonstrating US instructions to block Salvador Allende http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB110/index.htm

Another new briefing sheds light on " Lessons on Justice from Guatemala" and crimes in Mexico http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB111/

In El Salvador, unidentified gunmen attacked National Indigenous Confederation President Leonidas Iza and his son seriously injured. The act has been blamed on political persecution.

Haitian rebels have seized control of the town of Gonaives, the fourth largest city, killing at least nine people, and forcing most of the population of 20,000 to flee the town. Earlier in the week a police station was attacked and inmates freed, killing four bystanders and injuring 20. Anti-government protests have been growing more violent for several months, with more than 70 killed since last September.

The 9/11 Commission investigating the terrorist attacks against the US will be given a deadline for its final report, extending it by 60 days until July 26.

US Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs testified before the House Appropriations Committee that there has been deterioration in US standing around the world and that "it will take many years of hard focused work to get out of it". http://appropriations.house.gov/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Hearings.Testimony&HearingID=284&WitnessID=441

The Pentagon has revised rules for military tribunals to advise defense attorneys in advance if the government plans to listen to their conversations with their clients and to advise the client that the conversations may not be private.

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4. Asia Pacific

Regional ministers from 33 countries met in Bali for a 2-day conference focused on law enforcement, legal frameworks, information sharing, and counter-terrorism. They cited difficulties with some extradition treaties and cultural difficulties and agreed that further attacks were inevitable. Australia and Indonesian promised to fund a regional counter-terrorism center.

In Burma, representatives of ethnic groups have rejected the democracy roadmap proposed by the military government. They have asked for talks, including the opposition League for Democracy.

China is putting pressure on US officials to prevent Taiwan's planned referendum addressing ties between the two countries, calling it a provocation that could lead to a confrontation. Taiwan's President has called for a demilitarized zone between the two sides.

Indonesia faces new challenges from an emergent militant Islamic group called Mujahedeen KOMPAK, formed by hard-liners who split from Jemaah Islamiah. International Crisis Group suggests that "Recent violence in Poso (Central Sulawesi) suggests a need to revise assessments about the nature and gravity of the terrorist threat in Indonesia. While the shorter term prospects are somewhat encouraging, there is an under appreciated longer-term security risk". http://www.crisisweb.org/home/index.cfm?id=2500&l=1

Singapore's Home Affairs minister warned that citizens should learn to live with the threat of terrorism and be prepared to deal with attacks.

Thailand's southern region saw continued violence including the murder of a police instructor and an attack on a Buddhist temple.

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5. Europe

Greek security forces have begun testing their security plans for the upcoming Olympics. More than a thousand will participate in a 3-day exercise including simulated chemical, biological, and nuclear terrorist attacks. This is the sixth such exercise. More than 50,000 security personnel will be deployed during the games.

In Spain, the Basque separatist group ETA says its campaign against tourist interests will be carried out all year long, not just during the summer season.

It was a bloody week in the Russian federation. On Monday a small bomb exploded outside a journalist's apartment in Moscow, causing property damage and in Grozny, Chechnya, clashes between rebels and police injured two officers and killed one rebel. Meanwhile in nearby Dagestan a federal security officer was gravely wounded and the house of a police official in Ingushetia was blown up. On Tuesday an explosion in Vladikavkaz, also in the Caucasus killed two people and injured several troops. Two rebel attacks in southern Chechnya killed nine Russian soldiers. Russian forces attacked suspected rebel camps, detaining more than 200 people.

The worst incident occurred on Friday when a bomb exploded on a crowded subway train in Moscow. Nearly 40 people were killed and over a hundred injured. Russian President Putin blamed Chechen rebels, but they have condemned the explosion and said they are not responsible. The attack is being investigated, including the possibility of a suicide bomb or a device hidden on the train.

English police are investigating criminal gangs in Lancashire and elsewhere who are believed to have made millions from human trafficking of Chinese workers. Nineteen people died when they were picking cockles in Morecombe Bay and were caught by rising tides.

The review of the Good Friday Agreement is due to begin on Tuesday. Political institutions in Northern Ireland have been suspended since October 2002, triggered by alleged IRA intelligence gathering.

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6. Middle East

In the Gaza Strip, Israeli Defense Forces exchanged fire with Palestinian militants killing four. Later in the week, IDF used a helicopter gunship to attack and kill Islamic Jihad operative Aziz Mahmoud al-Shami. An 11-year-old boy was also killed and ten Palestinians were injured. A gunfight, possibly an assassination attempt against the police chief, killed one policeman and injured 11.

Iran's President Khatami has agreed the general election can proceed despite the continued controversy over more than 2,000 reformist candidates barred from the vote.

The civilian death toll attributed to the war and occupation in Iraq now exceeds 10,000. http://www.iraqbodycount.net/bodycount.htm
Regarding intelligence leading up to the war, US President Bush announced the formation of an "independent commission" into intelligence capabilities. http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/02/20040206-3.html
CIA Director George Tenet gave his perspective in a speech to Georgetown University. http://www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/speeches/2004/tenet_georgetownspeech_02052004.html And Foreign Secretary Jack Straw laid out the UK's plans for an intelligence review committee. http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page5312.asp

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has proposed to move Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip, possibly to the West Bank.

In the West Bank, Hamas activist Mohammed Abu Ouda was killed during an Israeli Defense Forces siege against his house in which four soldiers were wounded.

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7. South Asia

Afghanistan's future is under threat from the opium trade. A conference on this conference finds that 90 percent of European heroin comes from Afghanistan, and it is an increasing problem within the country especially among those in refugee camps. Nearly seven percent of the population works in opium, earning as much as the country is given in aid. The trade also finances terrorism and other criminal activities. NATO has agreed to expand the peacekeeping force; the current mission is under-funded and under-staffed. A car bomb detonated by remote control killed the mayor of Sehrwud district and his family, eight people in all.

Tripura, India's separatist rebels of the All Tripura Tiger Force (ATTF) ambushed a police convoy during a counter-insurgency operation and killed three policemen. The ATTF have suffered many losses during similar operations in the last few months.

In Indian-administered Kashmir, militant commander Rafiq Ahmed Dar of Al-Umar Mujahideen was shot dead by police, as were 17 others, during Indian military operations. A grenade attack killed two and injured 28. Militants from Hizbul Mujahideen attacked Indian soldiers with a landmine, killing four and injuring six. Senior police officer Mohammad Amin Shat was shot dead by unidentified gunmen, suspected militants.

Nepalese troops have shot dead 19 Maoist rebels in a raid on their meeting. Rebels killed former Member of Parliament Hem Narayan Yadav.

Pakistan's President Musharraf has pardoned the father of the nuclear program and now disgraced weapons scientist, Abdul Qadeer Khan, who has admitted selling Pakistan's nuclear knowledge for personal gain. (See WMD, below.) Opposition parties have demanded an inquiry, and there is general disbelief that Khan acted without the knowledge of people in the government and military.

Sri Lankan President Kumaratunga has dissolved parliament in advance of a snap election, four years ahead of schedule. She hopes to gain control from her rival Prime Minister Wickramasinghe, whose party took control of parliament in December 2001.

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8. Cyberterrorism and Information Warfare

To address a critical flaw in Microsoft Explorer that allows maliciously constructed URLs, Microsoft has decided to remove support for handling user names and passwords in http or https syntax. Rather than fixing the problem, they company dropped support for this common authentication method and issued suggestions for designers and programmers to reprogram their systems. In addition to this critical flaw, Microsoft broke its monthly scheduled release cycle to address two other serious flaws that involve download spoofing and cross-site scripting.

The US Pentagon has cancelled its planned electronic voting project after uncovering excessive security risks.

Security firm WebCohort has found that 92 percent of web applications are vulnerable to some form of hacker attack. http://www.webcohort.com/web_application_security/company/news/020204.html

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9. Finance

Indonesian environmental group Telepak and the Environmental Investigation Agency have accused Malaysia of supporting the wholesale laundering of the rare ramin timber from Indonesia. http://www.telapak.org/index_en.php,
http://www.eia-international.org/cgi/news/news.cgi?a=184&t=template.htm

The US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has been used in a phisher fraud that uses a false "Anti-Terrorist Stop order". http://www.fincen.gov/letterscamalert.pdf

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10. Human Rights

The UN Development Program's new Disaster Risk Index shows that natural disasters are more deadly in poor countries. They suffer 11 percent of disasters but account for 53 percent of deaths. Countries with the most deaths per million people are North Korea (605), Mozambique (328), Armenia (324), Sudan (275), Ethiopia (273), Honduras (144), Venezuela (71), Bangladesh (69), Mauritania (53), and Afghanistan (49). Note the number of these that own critical reserves of natural resources, including oil, and are in sensitive border security locations.
http://www.undp.org/dpa/pressrelease/releases/2004/january/risk_disaster_2.pdf

A new International Labor Organization study finds that "the benefits of eliminating child labour will be nearly seven times greater than the costs, or an estimated US$ 5.1 trillion in the developing and transitional economies, where most child labourers are found". http://www.ilo.org/public/english/bureau/inf/pr/2004/4.htm

The International Court of Justice has received written submissions by more than forty member states regarding legality of the barrier Israel is constructing in the West Bank. The ICJ will begin hearings on February 23. The hearings will include an Egyptian judge whose participation had been opposed by Israel.
http://www.icj-cij.org/icjwww/idocket/imwp/imwpframe.htm

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11. Law and Legal Issues

Naeem Deeb Abu Fool, Basheer Abu Laban, Mohammed Dosouki Asaliyye and Ahmed Abdel Fattah Safi have appeared before an Israeli military court in connection with the bombing of a US diplomatic convoy last October. The US State Department has offered a $5 million reward for information in connection with this incident.

Luca Farris has been detained in Italy on suspicion of sending package and letter bombs to EU figures last month.

Momcilo Krajisnik has pleaded not guilty in the UN tribunal to genocide and war crimes charges connected with his actions as a Bosnian leader during 1992-5.

Mullah Kreker, founder of Ansar-al-Islam, will be held in Norway for another four weeks while the court considers evidence of alleged murder plots and other charges.

Joseph McElroy has been sentenced in British court to 200 hours of community service for hacking into an unclassified US nuclear research laboratory. McElroy had attempted to use the facility for storage of entertainment materials.

Wilmer Antonio Marin "Hugo" has been sentenced in Colombia to 40 years in prison for being found guilty of last year's bombing of a Bogota nightclub, killing 36, and of membership in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC). He must also pay compensation to the victims' families.

Abdelghani Mzoudi has been acquitted by a German court because of insufficient evidence. US authorities had withheld evidence requested by the German court that would have been obtained from suspected al Qaeda detainees in US custody. Mzoudi had been accused of helping plan the 9/11 attacks.

Jaybe Ofrasio is being held in Northern Ireland charged with raising money for Jemaah Islamiah and of being a senior member in the group. He may be extradited to the Philippines.

Abu Salem, accused of participation in the 1993 Bombay bombings, will be extradited from Portugal to India, pending the results of an appeal. Portugal's constitution prohibits extradition if the suspect could face a death sentence.

The Vietnam Association for Victims of Agent Orange has filed a lawsuit against US companies that produced the toxic defoliant.

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12. Transportation

The US Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General released "A Review of Background Checks for Federal Passenger and baggage Screeners at Airports" finding serious shortcomings in the process that allowed screeners to remain on duty even after they were found to possess serious criminal records.
http://www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/interweb/assetlibrary/OIG_04_08_Review_of_Screener_Background_Checks.pdf

Jason Burke reports on "Terrorist bid to build bombs in mid-flight" investigating reports that components have been moved on planes for assembly in flight, involving scores of trained militants. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,6903,1143524,00.html

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13. Weapons of Mass Destruction

The father of Pakistan's nuclear program, Abdul Qadeer Khan, was not acting alone. He now appears to be the head of a nuclear supermarket involving at least seven countries. Dr ElBaradei, head of IAEA, said that recent technology transfers to Libya, North Korea and Iran were only the tip of the iceberg and that the network stretched through Europe, Asia and the Middle East, including Japan, South Africa, Germany, Malaysia and USE.

The discovery of the widespread clandestine trade has led to a crisis meeting underway by members of the International Atomic Energy Agency and other interested parties who are acting urgently to change the current "gentleman's agreement" for export controls and to urgently upgrade nuclear security. http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2004/NGO_Forum0602.html
http://www-rasanet.iaea.org/default.asp

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) warns that " The legacy left by twenty years of intensive uranium mining near Mailuu-Suu in Kyrgyzstan risks becoming an ecological disaster for Central Asia. Landslides and earthquakes threaten to wash huge quantities of uranium waste into the Syr Darya river basin." http://www.osce.org/features/show_feature.php?id=204

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14. Recently Published

Judith Brown "Nehru: A Political Life" Yale University Press

John Dinges "The Condor Years: How Pinochet and His Allies Brought Terrorism to Three Continents" New Press

Robert Frank "What Price The Moral High Ground? Ethical dilemmas in competitive environments" Princeton University Press

Janine di Giovanni, "Madness Visible: A Memoir of War" Knopf/Bloomsbury

Yehoshua Kenaz, transl Dalya Bilu "Infiltration" Steerforth/Zoland (novel)

Philip Stephens "Tony Blair", Viking

Shashi Tharoor, "Nehru: The Invention of India" Arcade

Benjamin Weiser "A Secret Life" Public Affairs

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FEATURE ARTICLE: Serbia: Anthrax to Ricin: US Public Health Preparedness

In the fall of 2001, letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to news media personnel and congressional officials, resulting in 23 cases of anthrax, 5 deaths, and the contamination of numerous postal facilities and government offices. Last week, an envelope contaminated with ricin was found in the offices of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, leading to the evacuation and closure of three Senate buildings.

Following the first intentional release of anthrax in the US, the General Accounting Office conducted an investigation into the public health response to the incidents to help understand and improve bioterrorism preparedness.

The investigation found that "Local and state public health officials .... said that although their preexisting planning efforts, exercises, and previous experience in responding to emergencies had helped promote a rapid and coordinated response, problems arose because they had not fully anticipated the extent of coordination needed among responders and they did not have all the necessary agreements in place to put the plans into operation rapidly. Officials also reported that communication among response agencies was generally effective but public health officials had difficulty reaching clinicians to provide them with guidance. In addition, local and state officials reported that the capacity of the public health workforce and clinical laboratories was strained and that their responses would have been difficult to sustain if the incidents had been more extensive. Officials identified three general lessons for public health preparedness: the benefits of planning and experience; the importance of effective communication, both among responders and with the general public; and the importance of a strong public health infrastructure to serve as the foundation for responses to bioterrorism or other public health emergencies.

"The experience of responding to the anthrax incidents showed aspects of federal preparedness that could be improved. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was challenged to both meet heavy resource demands from local and state officials and coordinate the federal public health response in the face of the rapidly unfolding incidents. CDC has said that it was effective in its more traditional capacity of supporting local response efforts but was not fully prepared to manage the federal public health response. CDC experienced difficulty in managing the voluminous amount of information coming into the agency and in communicating with public health officials, the media, and the public. In addition to straining CDC’s resources, the anthrax incidents highlighted both shortcomings in the clinical tools available for responding to anthrax, such as vaccines and drugs, and a lack of training for clinicians in how to recognize and respond to anthrax. CDC has taken steps to implement some improvements. These include creating the Office of Terrorism Preparedness and Emergency Response within the Office of the Director, creating an emergency operations center, enhancing the agency’s communication infrastructure, and developing databases of information and expertise on the biological agents considered likely to be used in a terrorist attack. CDC has also been working with other federal agencies and private organizations to develop better clinical tools and increase training for medical care professionals."

Another report reviewed " Issues Associated with Anthrax Testing at the Wallingford Facility" where no workers contracted the disease. In this case, initial test results were not communicated to the workers. The investigation led to three recommendations, that "...the Postmaster General work with CDC, EPA, OSHA, and other relevant agencies, and union representatives to (1) reassess the risk level associated with contamination, (2) reconsider the advisability of retesting, and (3) communicate any relevant health-related information to postal workers and the public."

The anthrax attacks cost the US billions of dollars, including the costs of cleanup, implementation of screening systems, investigation of the attacks, and lost trade. Federal funding for activities to counter bioterrorism was increased. Those responsible have not been found.

This week, an envelope containing the deadly toxin ricin was found at the offices of Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist.

Has the experience of dealing with the anthrax attacks led to improvements in emergency response?

The biggest issue identified in the anthrax response was emergency response coordination. New offices to coordinate emergency response and emergency response strategies have been created, but they have not succeeded in overcoming the cultural, communication and technical barriers that remain major obstacles. Even at the most basic level, first responders from emergency services, fire, and police cannot share communication protocols, a problem that was first identified during the World Trade Center response and whose resolution still lacks basic leadership and authority to act.

Illustrating the continued coordination and communication problems is the revelation that the Secret Service, responsible for protecting the president, intercepted a letter containing a vial of ricin last November but delayed informing other agencies and law enforcement. This communication was almost identical to that later received at the Senate.

Another area of concern is that the coordination and communication strategies developed at the federal level have not made their way to state or local responders.

Nor has funding made an appearance. Federal funds have been slow in coming and have not been disbursed to state or local authorities. In turn, the efforts that need to be made in local emergency equipment, stockpiles, detection, technology, training, and so forth remain unfunded. In fact, the same day the ricin letter was found at the Senate was the day that President Bush's budget called for elimination of a $8.2 million building decontamination research program. Worse still, the Postal service requirements for biodefense investments have been funded at less than half the required amount. Biosensors have not been installed and the only irradiation equipment in place is for mail being sent to government offices.

With all this, the largest indicator of the lack of emergency response facilities is a very simple fact: the continued emergency room shortage. In the case of a genuine biological disaster, whether natural or man-made, the ability to respond to large numbers of infections or casualties is grossly lacking.

In the absence of national leadership and investment in public health, take care of yourself with simple preventative health measures, including flu vaccinations and a household emergency kit. Refer to the sources cited below for information.

And if you do run across suspicious mail:

Further Reading:

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