[ RadSafe ] White House now wants Congress to approve sales of nuclear technology to Turkey

Sat Jan 26 11:57:57 CST 2008

Warning! This is a fairly long post that could be regarded by some as 
inflammatory and blatantly political.  It is.  It is also however, 
directly related to issues of nuclear non-proliferation and security 
against radiological terrorism - both topics which have been discussed 
extensively on this list.  All of the topics touched on in this post 
can be further researched on the internet so I have left out most of 
the background material in the interest of brevity.  Those wanting more 
information and references can find them very easily.  I freely admit 
the fact of my own fallability and that of my sources.  Where I am 
wrong, please have the courtesy to correct me.  
#### 
For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
January 23, 2008
Message to the Congress of the United States
  White House
TO THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES:
I transmit to the Congress, pursuant to sections 123 b. and 123 d. of 
the Atomic Energy Act of 1954, as amended (42 U.S.C. 2153(b),(d))(the 
"Act"), the text of the proposed Agreement for Cooperation between the 
United States of America and the Republic of Turkey Concerning Peaceful 
Uses of Nuclear Energy (the "Agreement") together with a copy of the 
unclassified Nuclear Proliferation Assessment Statement (NPAS) and of 
my approval of the proposed Agreement and determination that the 
proposed Agreement will promote, and will not constitute an 
unreasonable risk to, the common defense and security. The Secretary of 
State will submit the classified NPAS and accompanying annexes 
separately in appropriate secure channels.
The Agreement was signed on July 26, 2000, and President Clinton 
approved and authorized execution and made the determinations required 
by section 123 b. of the Act (Presidential Determination 2000 26, 65 FR 
44403 (July 18, 2000)). However, immediately after signature, U.S. 
agencies received information that called into question the conclusions 
that had been drawn in the required NPAS and the original classified 
annex, specifically, information implicating Turkish private entities 
in certain activities directly relating to nuclear proliferation. 
Consequently, the Agreement was not submitted to the Congress and the 
executive branch undertook a review of the NPAS evaluation.
My Administration has completed the NPAS review as well as an 
evaluation of actions taken by the Turkish government to address the 
proliferation activities of certain Turkish entities (once officials of 
the U.S. Government brought them to the Turkish government's 
attention). The Secretary of State, the Secretary of Energy, and the 
members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are confident that the 
pertinent issues have been sufficiently resolved and that there is a 
sufficient basis (as set forth in the classified annexes, which will be 
transmitted separately by the Secretary of State) to proceed with 
congressional review of the Agreement and, if legislation is not 
enacted to disapprove it, to bring the Agreement into force.
In my judgment, entry into force of the Agreement will serve as a 
strong incentive for Turkey to continue its support for 
nonproliferation objectives and enact future sound nonproliferation 
policies and practices. It will also promote closer political and 
economic ties with a NATO ally, and provide the necessary legal 
framework for U.S. industry to make nuclear exports to Turkey's planned 
civil nuclear sector.
This transmittal shall constitute a submittal for purposes of both 
section 123 b. and 123 d. of the Act. My Administration is prepared to 
begin immediate consultations with the Senate Foreign Relations 
Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee as provided in 
section 123 b. Upon completion of the period of 30 days of continuous 
session provided for in section 123 b., the period of 60 days of 
continuous session provided for in section 123 d. shall commence.
GEORGE W. BUSH
THE WHITE HOUSE,
January 22, 2008.
# # #
Comments:
Consider the following:
1)
"The Agreement was signed on July 26, 2000, and President Clinton ... 
U.S. agencies received information that called into question the 
conclusions that had been drawn in the required NPAS and the original 
classified annex, specifically, information implicating Turkish private 
entities in certain activities directly relating to nuclear 
proliferation."

Note during this time frame, the FBI was investigating the American 
Turkish Council (ATC) and other individuals and companies in regard to 
the alleged smuggling of nuclear technology.   Sibel Edmonds has 
claimed that she was hired to translate some of the wire taps from this 
investigation and that they implicated high US officials, including 
members of congress in what would appear to be acts of treason.  Since 
testifying before Congress and the 9-11 Commission, she has been under 
a "State Secrets Privilege" gag order.  Both Congress and the FBI IG's 
office have stated that Edmonds claims are credible.  

On the ATC, (from Wikipedia): 
"According to its 2005 annual report, current American-Turkish Council 
(ATC) board members include:
Brent Scowcroft, the board chairman and former national security 
adviser for George H. W. Bush
George Perlman of Lockheed Martin
Elizabeth Avery of Pepsico
Ozer Baysal of Pfizer
Andy Button of Boeing
Richard K. Douglas of General Electric
Sherry Grandjean of Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation
John R. Miller of Raytheon
Selig A. Taubenblatt of Bechtel

ATC's advisory board also includes representatives of a number of high-
powered defense, pharmaceutical, consulting, and technology firms, 
including General Atomics, BAE Systems, Motorola, and the Cohen Group 
(Marc Grossman's current employer. cjb) Daniel Pipes is a former ATC 
board member.
Growing media scrutiny of the ATC is a result of allegations made by 
FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds regarding suspect activities of council 
members in an article in the September 2005 Vanity Fair.
The ATC is where former Ambassador Joseph Wilson met his future wife 
and CIA operative, Valerie Plame, leading some to speculate Plame's CIA 
front company, Brewster-Jennings & Associates, was monitoring the same 
alleged nuclear trafficking of the ATC as Sibel Edmonds."

2)
"My Administration has completed the NPAS review as well as an 
evaluation of actions taken by the Turkish government to address the 
proliferation activities of certain Turkish entities (once officials of 
the U.S. Government brought them to the Turkish government's 
attention)."

Considering this administration's connections with many of the ATC 
board members, and its role in the outing of Valerie Plame and the 
fictitious front company she worked for, Brewster-Jennings, what value 
is its assertion that Turkey's corrective actions have been adequate to 
ensure protection of US nuclear secrets?

3)
"the members of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission are confident that 
the pertinent issues have been sufficiently resolved and that there is 
a sufficient basis ... to proceed with congressional review of the 
Agreement and, if legislation is not enacted to disapprove it, to bring 
the Agreement into force."

One need only review the Commission's "Increased Controls" (ICs) 
requirements for materials licensees, and other actions regarding 
security of by-product material to realize that their confidence that 
the "pertinent issues have been sufficiently resolved" should inspire 
none in the rest of us. Remember, four of the five commissioners were 
formerly congressional aides, the other a former DOD official. 

4)
Congress must act in order to stop this agreement from taking effect.  
Hopefully there are enough members uncompromised by the ATC-AIPAC-BCCI-
Edmonds-Plame scandals (yes, they are all connected!) to prevent 
rewarding the illegal proliferation of nuclear secrets by legitimizing 
it. 
******************************
END OF POST
Clayton J. Bradt
dutcbradt at hughes.net