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| Terror Networks |
| Report: Al-Qaida has obtained tactical nuclear explosives |
| 2004-02-09 |
| From 9/2, not the most reliable source, and it just doesn’t sound right. But make of it what you will. Al-Qaida have possessed tactical nuclear weapons for about six years, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported Sunday. The Arabic daily reported that sources close to Al-Qaida said Osama bin Laden’s group bought the nuclear weapons from Ukrainian scientists who were visiting Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 1998. The report has not been confirmed. I’ll bet. However, the sources said Al-Qaida doesn’t intend to use the weapons against American forces in Muslim countries, "due to the C’mon, if they had them, they’d have used them on us already. The sources were quoted as saying that Al-Qaida actvists have hidden the weapons - each of which is about the size of a suitcase - in "a safe place." Septic tank next to Saddam’s? In the years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, serious concern arose in the West over the possibility that nuclear technology and weapons could spread to other groups, in part due to the difficult economic situation in the former communist lands. Several reports of the nuclear arsenal in the former Soviet Union in the 1990s indicated that a few dozen nuclear explosive devices had disappeared. One of the theories was that the devices disappeared in Ukraine, which claims that it handed over all its nuclear weapons to Russia. No doubt the Uke’s were sloppy in handling lots of stuff so this is plausible. But if al-Q had one, they would have used it already. |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #12 I highly suggest Al-quaeda follow the building instructions provided here. After all one can never be too sure of the quality of such devices unless one is thoroughly involved in the process. |
| Posted by: Val 2004-2-9 4:43:46 PM |
| #11 Yeah, B-a-R's right - don't worry about that critical mass stuff - it's just another Jooo plot to throw you off your game. |
| Posted by: .com 2004-2-9 3:48:34 PM |
| #10 Note to Al Qaida members: Radioactive material is best stored in a confined area, in close proximity to other like materials..... |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-2-9 3:35:09 PM |
| #9 Mike Sylwester, exactly. Btw, my favorite was the claim that AQ put out that they would only use the nukes if their existence was threatened... pretty obvious for "holy sh-t we're getting our ass kicked! Maybe if we threaten we have and we'll use nukes they'll stop whoopin us so bad!" |
| Posted by: Damn_Proud_American 2004-2-9 1:40:33 PM |
| #8 This story was debunked when it first rolled around after Sept 11. Fact is, if Al Queda had such weapons they would have used them long ago. They are not a subtle bunch. This is more attempting to sew fear through words because they are unable to actually do anything tangible any longer. |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2004-2-9 12:26:44 PM |
| #7 My feeling is that al Qaeda is extremely vulnerable to fraud. How would al Qaeda know whether what they're getting is genuine? Radioactive materials are a dime a dozen - and even if you could put together something with the radioactive profile of a mass of uranium, how do you know what you have is a bomb, and not just a blob of uranium? It's not as if al Qaeda has a nuclear testing facility available. Any country that hosted such a test - and a suitcase bomb would have a specific detectable seismic profile - would probably be targeted by American nuclear retaliation if something similar took place on US soil. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2004-2-9 10:53:43 AM |
| #6 It is possible to have something that can go boom, be easily hidden and have a radioactive fallout result (dirty). But logic indicates that if AQ has this or even something bigger hidden in M&I intensive environment (big doubt) then why did they not use them here when we were most vulnerable (pre 9-11)?? My bet is on BS and not reality! |
| Posted by: Jack is Back! 2004-2-9 10:17:00 AM |
| #5 Each of these suitcases has a nuclear bomb inside. Don't open them! They'll explode, damn it!! Now, give me the five million dollars. |
| Posted by: Mike Sylwester 2004-2-9 9:30:37 AM |
| #4 Personally I dont think they have them - or if they do they don't work. Just more talk and no walk which is getting to be so typical of Al-Q. Having said that we still need to take this seriously. Perhaps tell Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Iran that if one is used the reaction would be to turn Mecca, Medina, and their capital cities into glass parking lots -- and yes this is a threat. Just in case they are under the mistaken assumption that we would fold up and beg for mercy. See if we can get them to chase down and disarm the threat. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2004-2-9 9:23:44 AM |
| #3 I have to agree with mhw here. Nukes need maintenance, and I doubt the al-Q's have the capability to keep them in working order. Plus we'd know if they had them, Mecca would be a smoldering radioactive wasteland...cause they would have used it on us and we would have no choice but to reply in kind. Surely they realize that the American people would demand retribution. And ours are a LOT bigger than theirs. |
| Posted by: Swiggles 2004-2-9 9:16:48 AM |
| #2 ...Without getting into great detail, two things need to be kept in mind. First, a nuclear warhead is quite possibly the most labor intensive - and surprisingly delicate - military device ever built. That is why ours are constantly undergoing maintenance and inspection. If you don't do the M&I, the weapon goes questionable surprisingly fast. Again, without getting into much detail, there are certain aspects of the weapon that unless they are M&I'd on a regular basis will fail within months. Secondly, the smaller the warhead, the more dificult it is to maintain. Take everything I've already mentioned and multiply it by a factor of two or three, and you can see that challenge. My call would be that Al-Q may very well have suitcase nukes. They are nothing more than very expensive doorstops. Mike |
| Posted by: Mike Kozlowski 2004-2-9 9:01:00 AM |
| #1 I don't doubt that the Soviets had small nukes which could be considered tactical. However, the suitcase sized module is not so easy to build and once built, I don't think it would stay 'fresh' for a decade. |
| Posted by: mhw 2004-2-9 7:45:04 AM |