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Weapons of Mass Destruction
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Scientists Develop Polymer to Counter Biological and Chemical Toxins
Friday, March 19, 2010Scientists at the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine have developed a mesh material that could have applications as a countermeasure for combating contamination from weapons of mass destruction, a ...
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State Department Looks to Revamp Arms Control Bureaus
Wednesday, March 17, 2010 WASHINGTON -- The U.S. State Department has begun examining ways to strengthen its arms control bureaus in order to better implement President Barack Obama's nonproliferation agenda, according to Washington's top diplomat (see GSN, March 11). Foggy Bottom is "undertaking a focused reorganization of the Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation and the Bureau of Verification, Compliance, and Implementation," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote in a Feb. 23 open letter to department staff and management. "The goals of this reorganization are to realign the missions of the VCI and ISN bureaus to better leverage their support for key national security objectives and to create dedicated organizational advocates for (1) arms control and verification and compliance, and (2) nonproliferation," according to Clinton. -
India Continues Work on WMD Defense, Missile Systems
Monday, March 15, 2010India's Defense Research Development Organization is continuing development of WMD defense technology and the nation's newest long-range missile, the Express News Service reported Friday (see GSN, Feb. ...
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Report Cites U.S. Budget Increase for WMD Security
Thursday, March 11, 2010The Obama administration's $3.1 billion fiscal 2011 budget request for worldwide WMD security activities would provide a "significant boost" for efforts in the nuclear and biological sectors, the Partnership ...
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Legislation Seeks to Employ Former WMD Scientists
Thursday, March 11, 2010U.S. Representative Howard Berman (D-Calif.) yesterday announced a new bill aimed partly at employing former weapons of mass destruction scientists in civilian enterprises (see GSN, Feb. 4). ...
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Homeland Security Must Pursue Cargo Screening Mandate, Senator Says
Tuesday, March 9, 2010U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) on Friday urged the Homeland Security Department to renew its efforts to complete in the next two years the goal of scanning all cargo that is shipped by sea to the ...
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British Foreign Secretary Defends Logic For Invading Iraq
Monday, March 8, 2010Another top-level British official today defended the United Kingdom's rationale for participating in the 2003 invasion of Iraq, the London Guardian reported (see GSN, March 5). ...
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Screening Of All U.S.-Bound Air Cargo Still Years Away
Friday, March 5, 2010 WASHINGTON -- It could take the Homeland Security Department another two years to ensure that all cargo is screened for weapons of mass destruction before being flown into the United States on passenger airplanes, much longer than originally estimated, a senior department official told lawmakers Thursday (see GSN, March 19, 2009). A 2007 law that Democrats wrote as soon as they took over Congress required the Transportation Security Administration to ensure that all cargo aboard passenger flights is screened for weapons of mass destruction by August 2010. The deadline applies to flights originating inside the United States and those from other countries. But the deadline for incoming international flights will be missed, Gale Rossides, TSA's acting director, told the House Homeland Security Appropriations Subcommittee. -
British PM Defends Iraq Invasion
Friday, March 5, 2010 British Prime Minister Gordon Brown today said his country was right to participate in the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, Reuters reported (see GSN, Feb 19). “I believe this is the gravest decision of all, to make a decision to go to war. It was the right decision made for the right reasons,” said Brown, who served as the United Kingdom's top finance official for much of the conflict. One hundred seventy-nine British troops were killed in the war before the United Kingdom pulled its military forces out of Iraq in 2009. Speaking before an official panel examining the United Kingdom's involvement in the Iraq war, Brown emphasized late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's lack of cooperation with U.N. investigators. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair's testimony had primarily addressed the threat that Iraq's alleged WMD activities were believed to pose (Michael Holden, Reuters, March 5). -
House Panel Plans Authorization Bill To Address Homeland Security R&D
Thursday, March 4, 2010WASHINGTON -- The Homeland Security Department does not have an effective way to measure the success of research and development projects, as most efforts never blossom into proven new technologies, according ...
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Bush Did Not Intentionally Mislead U.S. on Iraqi WMD, Ex-Adviser Says
Wednesday, March 3, 2010Former President George W. Bush did not intentionally provide misinformation to the U.S. populace on prewar Iraq's possession of weapons of mass destruction, ex-presidential adviser Karl Rove wrote in a ...
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Terrorists Could Use Drones, Expert Says
Wednesday, March 3, 2010No fewer than 40 nations are seeking to develop or acquire unmanned aerial vehicles, which raises the specter that the proliferation of the technology could enable extremists to obtain the drone aircraft and ...
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Israeli Citizens Begin Receiving New Gas Masks
Tuesday, March 2, 2010Israel has started allocating new gas masks to its citizens in an effort to combat the threat of future chemical or biological warfare, Agence France-Presse reported Sunday (see GSN, Jan. 6). ...
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Iraq Pressed to Ratify IAEA Additional Protocol
Monday, March 1, 2010The U.N. Security Council said Friday it could eliminate sanctions on Iraqi nuclear energy work and other programs if Baghdad ratified the Additional Protocol to its nuclear inspections agreement with the ...
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Senators Oppose Coast Guard Budget Cut
Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010WASHINGTON -- Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) and ranking member Susan Collins (R-Maine) yesterday urged the Obama administration to reverse a decision to ...