WASHINGTON, May 15 (UPI) -- A former U.N. biological weapons specialist is asserting that the prime ministers of Australia and Britain knew at the time that pre-war intelligence on Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was false.
Rod Barton, an Australian, worked as a United Nations weapons inspector in Iraq for a decade. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on May 13 that Barton turned whistleblower over the machinations of American, British and Australian politicians distorting pre-war intelligence in order to justify the March 2003 invasion of Iraq.
In March 2004, Barton and fellow Australian, foreign affairs disarmament specialist John Gee, resigned in protest from the Iraq Survey Group.
Following the March 2003 invasion of Iraq, the CIA and the U.S. Department of Defense established the Iraq Survey Group to locate Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. Following its efforts, the group issued a final report, usually referred to as the Duelfer Report, compiled by the ISG's 1,400-member international team.
In his new book "The Weapons Detective," Barton goes into detail about his work for the Defense Intelligence Organization, which he joined in 1972 as a microbiologist. Baton asserts that British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Australian Prime Minister John Howard both knew before the invasion that the intelligence on Iraqi WMDs was false.
Barton says that U.S. President George W. Bush may not have known, because his intelligence agencies were reporting what he wanted to hear.
When shown the pre-war Iraqi WMD Australian intelligence assessment, Howard even asked, "Is that all there is?"
Barton said, "I knew that blowing the whistle would bring some penalties, but not to this extent. Was I that much a threat to the security of Australia when -- what was it I spoke out about: prisoner abuse?"
Barton's security clearance has been withdrawn, and after pressure the prime minister's staff, Barton and Gee were dropped from the 2005 guest list for the Australia Group's 20th anniversary meeting in Sydney, a forum of intelligence specialists from 38 countries on chemical and biological weapons, which Barton and Gee had helped to found in 1985.
Saudi Arabia's Supreme Economic Council is soliciting applicants for licenses to operate two planned new national private air carriers.
The council has set a July 30 deadline for applications, and will announce the results by the end of the year.
The country's national carrier, Saudi Arabian Airlines, based in Jeddah, was founded in 1945 and currently operates domestic and international scheduled flights to over 70 Middle Eastern, African, Asian, European and North American cities.
The tender was announced by General Authority of Civil Aviation President Abdullah Rehaimi during a seminar on opening up Saudi Arabia's civil aviation sector at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The Arab News reported on May 13 that Rehaimi told seminar participants, "This sector has a positive impact on other sectors, such as tourism, commerce and industry. Socially, it contributes to people's lifestyle and luxury. It also helps at times of crisis and natural disasters in providing aid."
The Arab News wrote, "The GACA will make a decision on the applications by Dec. 30. The licenses would allow carriers to operate international flights after two years if they meet all obligations, regulations and standards of service. Applicants can choose either Riyadh or Dammam as their hub, while Saudi Arabian Airlines will use Jeddah as its hub. There will be no restrictions on the number of flights in the local market."
The Saudi media estimates that the opening up of Saudi civil aviation sector would create 50,000 additional jobs and contribute an additional $6.67 billion annually to the national economy by 2020.
An international Washington-proposed program to provide nuclear fuel to developing nations may impinge on the current Japan-U.S. pact for atomic energy cooperation.
Japanese government officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that while Japan has agreed to take part in the Bush administration's new initiative, it may infringe the 1988 U.S.-Japanese agreement for cooperation on peaceful uses of atomic energy, as the proposed agreement specially bans the transfer of recycling technology for neutralizing nuclear waste.
The program envisages developing new and more efficient ways to generate nuclear fuel for developing nations.
Kyodo news agency reported on May 14 that U.S. Energy Department Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Energy Dennis Spurgeon told Kyodo News in Washington on Friday that the outstanding issues need to be resolved, stating that the Bush administration is considering revising the 1988 agreement. Spurgeon said that the 1988 agreement was concluded during a period when the U.S. government was firmly against the promotion of nuclear fuel recycling.
Earlier, Tokyo offered to cooperate with Washington's Global Nuclear Energy Partnership program, intended to safely provide civilian nuclear fuel to developing nations and develop advanced technologies for recycling and protecting nuclear fuel and waste from possible terrorist attack.
Japanese assistance was offered by Science Minister Kenji Kosaka during a meeting with U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman during a meeting in Washington Friday.
Japan's experience is highly valued, as Japan is the world's third-largest generator of nuclear electricity, behind the United States and France, currently operating 55 of the world's 443 nuclear reactors.
Japan is also a world leader in reprocessing spent nuclear fuel, which can recover up to 95 percent of a depleted fuel rod's remaining uranium and plutonium for blending into new fuel rods.
Washington's proposal includes conducting joint U.S.-Japanese fuel development using Japan's "Joyo" and "Monju"' experimental and prototype fast-breeder nuclear reactors, in addition to designing U.S. fuel cycle facilities and establishing safeguards for fuel cycle facilities based on Japanese experiences.
