McMaster's atomic PR fight
An Ontario university is suing a U.S. author who alleges the school has lax nuclear security
Adrian Humphreys, National Post
Published: Saturday, April 21, 2007Walking through the small lobby of the Nuclear Research Building, a plain building on the western side of the McMaster University campus, and up a flight of stairs, it is a short stroll past professors' offices and humming laboratories to a glass and metal door.
At this side of the door is an electronic keypad c
ontrolling the entrance; above it a red-lit sign: "Reactor On."
On the other side of the door is a glassed-in bridge that stretches some 10 metres to a low-power nuclear reactor used mainly by scientists and students for scientific and medical research.
This is ground zero for an acrimonious dispute over contentious allegations -- statements that brought stern condemnation, a multi-million-dollar lawsuit and a counter-punch from an unapologetic protagonist.
Officially opened in 1959 by John Diefenbaker, McMaster's nuclear reactor is a distinctive, cylindrical, concrete structure that once looked space-aged but now looks worn and tired, with rust from exposed metal parts staining its grey facade.
The reactor's operating licence expires at the end of June. The university has applied for a seven-year renewal, an extension being recommended by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission's staff.
Against the backdrop of the licence renewal an odd public relations battle is playing out. McMaster is suing an American author for claims in a book published last year that lax security at the reactor and the school's abundance of Egyptian-born professors is letting al- Qaeda pull off an "American Hiroshima" -- the planned detonation of nuclear bombs in U.S. cities.
The allegations are made in The Dunces of Doomsday by Paul L. Williams and the university minces no words describing it. "We regard Mr. Williams' allegations about McMaster as being on a par with UFO reports and JFK conspiracy theories," said Peter Downard, a Toronto lawyer representing the university in the case. "The notion that because there are people on faculty from Egypt that Mc- Master is then a haven for terrorism is not only logically offensive, it smacks of racism," he said.
McMaster's nuclear reactor, which has a good safety record, has weathered its share of suspicion over the decades. It has shed environmental fears by residents living nearby. It endured strident protests by anti-nuclear activists among its student population. And it has outlasted its original estimated lifespan.
This latest tarring, however, as a supposed "virulent hive of al-Qaeda operatives" involved in planning the deadliest wave of terrorist attacks, is one aspersion too many for the university. McMaster officials refer to it as an "urban myth" that will not go away, largely thanks to Mr. William's repetition of the allegations in radio interviews and to their spread on the Internet. In his book last year, Mr. Williams writes: "Following the success of 9/11, Adnan el-Shukrijumah received his commission to serve as the field commander for the next attack on U.S. soil -- the so-called American Hiroshima. In preparation for this mission, he -- along with fellow al-Qaeda agents Anas al-Liby, Jaber A. Elbaneh and Amer el-Maati -- was sent to McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, a facility that housed a fivemegawatt nuclear research reactor.
"At McMaster University, where the al-Qaeda agents may have registered under fictitious names, Shukrijumah and friends wasted no time in gaining access to the nuclear reactor and stealing more than 180 pounds of nuclear material for the creation of radiological bombs."
The university's lawsuit, claiming more than $2-million in damages, says the allegations are false and defamatory.
Those men never registered as students and there is no nuclear material missing from the reactor, the university says. In previous interviews with the National Post, reactor officials said Mr. Shukrijumah, nor anyone who resembles him, has ever had unescorted access to the facility. "McMaster has an excellent reputation for the safety and security of the operation of its nuclear reactor," the university's statement of claim says.
Even Mr. Williams' publisher now agrees. "WND Books/Cumberland House Publishing made statements, including a statement contained in The Dunces of Doomsday, referring to the theft of 180 pounds of nuclear material at McMaster University, the infiltration of McMaster University by terrorists and consequent risk to the public. Those statements were without basis in fact," says a statement from the publisher. "WND Books/Cumberland House Publishing unreservedly retracts the statements."
The retraction ended its status as a defendant in the university's lawsuit, although the book is still available for sale. Mr. Williams, however, remains defiant.
"I could have signed off and had this go away. I welcome this. These people have to be exposed, they're a dangerous organization," he told the National Post.
"I love them coming after us. At the end of the day these people are going to be bloodied because what I am saying is true. They are not going to walk away from this unscathed because I will proclaim what is going on at McMaster from the rooftops," he said.
The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission, the government agency that regulates nuclear energy and materials, supports McMaster in this controversy as best it can. "We can confirm that there has never been a report of any nuclear material that has been lost or stolen from McMaster's reactor," Barclay Howden, director-general of the CNSC, says in a letter regarding "false media allegations."
But Mr. Williams is quick to note the letter says no material has been reported missing--not that no material is actually missing. Herein lies the difficulty of the controversy: Mr. Williams and the university are both trying to prove what is likely unprovable. The very nature of the allegations require an inside view of national security agencies and terrorist networks, both secret by definition.
It is doubtful that the FBI knows with much precision what Adnan el-Shukrijumah has been up to. And Mr. Shukrijumah, who has a US$5-million bounty on his head, has not been granting interviews. Even Canadian corporate secrecy conspires against McMaster's efforts to dispel Mr. William's notions -- the official security report on its reactor is also a secret. Nuclear reactors in Canada are inspected and graded on nine safety areas by the CNSC. The latest report on Mc- Master, dated March 23, 2007, gave it a B grade in eight of those areas, meaning it meets the commission's requirements.
On the ninth area, security, the commission does not release its reports. Aurele Gervais, spokesman for the CNSC, said even the letter grade is considered secure information. McMaster presumably received a passing grade, however, as the commission's licence review is positive and concludes that the university is qualified to protect both "national security" and "the health and safety of persons."
With the lawsuit filed in Ontario Superior Court and Mr. Williams living in Pennsylvania, the author has now taken to the Internet to elicit support.
A Web site seeking donations to his defence fund features a photograph of the World Trade Center, which was destroyed in the deadly terror attack on Sept. 11, 2001, and portrays Mr. Williams as a staunch defender of America.
"Williams refuses to be intimidated, and indeed welcomes the lawsuit ? He will be able to expose what he believes could well be the nerve center for Osama's 'American Hiroshima' project to blow up 10 American cities with suitcase nukes," the site says. "Thank you and God bless you, and God bless America!"
As for McMaster, Mr. Downard's final words on Mr. Williams also have an American ring to them: "We look forward to seeing him in court." No date for a court hearing has been set. A public hearing on McMaster's licence renewal is scheduled for May 16 in Ottawa.
Ahumphreys@nationalpost.com
Support Paul Williams in his battle against terror and injustice
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http://www.paulwilliamsdefensefund.com
1 comment:
Shouldn't we be hugging our enemies instead of provoking them? They could be armed.
Remember, thousands of young, innocent students survived to attacks at Virginia Tech....yet the Right Wing Media keeps harping on the exceptions when they should be celebrating those thousands who were not touched.
The "Great American" BILL O'REILLY called for more gun control last week. One of O'Reilly's guests also observed that "if there had been an armed intervention, the death toll would have at least doubled. We should also heap praise upon the valiant police and FBI who had the wisdom not to enter the University buildings until the poor immigrant had the opportunity to fully vent his rage.
The Universities are "Dissident" territory, and we should continue to respect that fact.
Kumbaya
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