WASHINGTON, U.S.A. – The following is being released by the Institute for Research: Middle Eastern Policy:

Declassified files from long-running investigations of the Nuclear Materials and Equipment Corporation (NUMEC) over alleged illegal diversions of US government-owned weapons-grade uranium to Israel are now available online at http://www.IRmep.org/ila/numec

The 733 pages of information obtained under the Freedom of Information Act for the new book Divert! NUMEC, Zalman Shapiro and the diversion of US weapons-grade uranium into the Israeli nuclear weapons program include:

A 1980 FBI interview of an eyewitness (PDF) of NUMEC executives stuffing U-235 canisters into sealed equipment shipped to Israel.

CIA Director of Operations Carl Duckett’s 1978 testimony about NUMEC (PDF) before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.

Atomic Energy Commissioner Glenn T. Seaborg’s reaction (PDF) to news that traces of Portsmouth U-235 of the type supplied to NUMEC had been picked up in Israel.

NUMEC corporate correspondence (PDF) with the AEC claiming that undercover Israeli intelligence agents Rafael Eitan and Ephraim Beigun visiting NUMEC in 1968 were merely energy scientists.

National Security Advisor Zbigniew Bresinski’s 1979 order (PDF) that Senator John Glenn not be given direct access to a top secret memorandum about “missing material from the NUMEC plant in Apollo, PA.”

Deputy Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti’s confidential letter (PDF) to President Jimmy Carter to “establish a plan for coordinated interagency action to detect and investigate the theft or diversion of nuclear material in the future.”

A 1978 congressional interview transcript (PDF) with NUMEC President Dr. Zalman Shapiro.

National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger’s 1969 strategy document (PDF) about how the US should respond to Israel’s clandestine nuclear weapons program.  “There is circumstantial evidence that some fissionable material available for Israel’s weapons development was illegally obtained from the United States by about 1965.”

FBI wiretap (PDF) of a 1969 toxic spill at NUMEC caused by improper storage.

According to a 2001 Department of Energy report, NUMEC lost 269 kilograms of highly enriched uranium between 1957 and 1968—the highest in the US and enough for dozens of atomic weapons.  The former NUMEC factory site is currently undergoing a toxic cleanup the US Army Corps of Engineers estimates could cost taxpayers between $250-$500 million.

The newly published book Divert! (available in paperback and Kindle) presents additional evidence that NUMEC—unable to complete US government contracts or protect workers and the environment—was originally established as a nuclear smuggling front.

Image Courtesy of  Wutthichai / Shutterstock.com

The article Evidence of US Weapons-Grade Uranium Diversions to Israel appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

As the United States has removed itself from one extended military conflict in the Middle East – in Iraq – another one possibly looms on the horizon, brought on by Iran’s suspected nuclear program and, among other things, Israel’s desire to abolish it. The U.S. has a tricky and nuanced road to navigate, made only more complicated by Israel’s role, the rising price of oil, and the presidential election in November. When Americans were asked about various items related to the potential conflict with Iran, the responses reflect the complicated nature of the issue.  Seven in ten Americans agree that Iran’s nuclear capabilities pose a threat to the United States (72%), yet what action the United States should take in response is less clear.

Over half of U.S. adults say that if Israel takes action against Iran’s nuclear program that the U.S. should support Israel (56%), yet fewer than half of Americans say Israel should take action to destroy Iran’s nuclear program (45%) and fewer believe that the U.S. should take this action themselves.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,451 adults surveyed online between March 12 and 19, 2012 by Harris Interactive .

While a majority of all U.S. adults agree that Iran’s nuclear capabilities pose a threat to the United States this belief is stronger among older generations; 77%-79% of Baby Boomers (ages 48-66) and Matures (ages 67+) agree, compared to 63%-71% of Echo Boomers (ages 18-35) and Gen X (ages 36-47) who do.  The older generations are in similar agreement about the U.S. supporting Israel if Israel takes action against Iran’s nuclear program: over three in five Baby Boomers (63%) and Matures (68%) say the U.S. should support Israel, yet just 55% of Gen X and 45% of Echo Boomers respectively say the same.  There is a less strong opinion on whether Israel should take military action to destroy Iran’s nuclear capabilities.  Approximately half (47%-51%) of Gen X, Baby Boomers and Matures say Israel should, although just 38% of Echo Boomers agree.  If Americans are uncertain about how Israel should act, they are even more uncertain about what the U.S. should do:

• Overall 45% of U.S. adults agree that the United States should NOT take military action to destroy Iran’s nuclear program, 39% disagree and 16% are not at all sure;
• Matures (aged 67+) are most likely to say that the U.S. should not take action against Iran and Gen X is least likely to say this (40%).

Political Differences
Military engagements and involvement with Israel are usually politically charged issues, but that sense is even more escalated in an election year. Republicans, Democrats and Independents show a different mind when considering Iran’s nuclear situation:

• While a majority of all political parties say that Iran’s nuclear capabilities pose a threat to the United States and that if Israel takes action against Iran the U.S. should support Israel, Republicans are the most likely to say these things (83% say Iran poses a threat and 70% want the U.S. to support Israel). Democrats and Independents agree that Iran poses a threat (70% and 73% say so respectively), yet these groups are less strongly in favor of supporting Israel taking action (51%-57% agree the U.S. should do so);
• When asked directly if Israel should take military action against Iran’s nuclear program Republicans agree they should (59%), yet significantly fewer Democrats and Independents say the same (40% and 45%);
• On the other hand, a majority of Democrats say that the U.S. should not take military action to destroy Iran’s nuclear program (52%), yet fewer than half of Independents (46%) and Republicans (37%) agree.

Taking a more philosophical look, interestingly a majority of Americans — in all political parties — disagree that Iran has the right to continue working on its nuclear program (65%-71% of Republicans, Democrats and Independents say this).

So What?
Although most reports indicate that neither Israel nor the U.S. is likely to take immediate military action against Iran – the results of which could be enormous and costly — the continued discussion and analysis on what each country should do might have consequences of its own, particularly if Iran sees the ongoing discussion as provocation unto itself.  It will be interesting to see how President Obama handles the discussions and decisions moving forward — it seems unlikely that he would want to enter into a new military engagement, yet the potential threat from Iran is felt by Americans, the pro-Israel lobby is strong, and the U.S. demand for oil continues to be pervasive.

Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between March 12 and 19, 2012 among 2,451 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The Harris Poll  #39, April 10, 2012
By Samantha Braverman, Sr. Project Researcher, Harris Interactive

Image Courtesey of  Steve Rhodes

The article What Do Americans Think About Iran’s Nuclear Threat? appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.

As the Governments of the United States and Israel shift their policy vision to building robust commercial space industries, the U.S.-Israel Science and Technology Foundation (USISTF) is facilitating the cooperation between U.S. and Israeli industry that will help make that vision a reality.

Israel Space 2012, which took place from January 28th – February 3rd, 2012, organized by USISTF in cooperation with the U.S. Commercial Service and the Airlift Company brought U.S. and European commercial space companies to Israel to see first-hand next generation technologies being developed by innovative Israeli companies to develop new business partnerships.

Companies attended an international business forum, organized by USISTF that highlighted U.S. and Israel government space programs and the opportunities their new emphases on private sector capabilities open for new joint activities.

The international delegation included Virgin Galactic, the Ohio Department of Development, Optimax Systems, Sierra Nevada Corporation, Gomspace, EaDs Astrium, Astro- und Feinwerktechnik Aldershof, Evoleo Technologies and Ruag Space.  Participating Israeli companies included Accubeat, BAE Systems Rokar, Boeing, Cyclone, Elop, IAI, Kanfit, Rafael, Satlink and Spacecom.

Ann Liebschutz, Executive Director of the U.S.-Israel Science and Technology Foundation says, “our program, which drew together innovative U.S. and Israeli commercial space companies offers an opportunity to showcase the technology and services that each had to offer but also aims to move beyond conversations by working to create working consortia of U.S. and Israeli scientists to jointly provide the commercial space solutions of tomorrow.”

The U.S.-Israel Science & Technology Foundation (USISTF) is a Washington, DC based 501c3 non-profit organization founded by a joint initiative of the U.S. Department of Commerce and the Israel Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor with a mission of strengthening the scientific and R&D relationship of the U.S. and Israel to promote economic growth through innovation.

USISTF convenes U.S.-Israel scientific and industry conferences, produces policy strategies and facilitates R&D framework programs that enable joint research activities.

The article US-Israel Industry Cooperation for Space Programs appeared first on The Toonari Post - News, Powered by the People!.