Article

2007-11-24 Syria-Lebanon-Iran

What the Israelis bombed may not have been a reactor

Archived material is restricted to Rantburg regulars and members. If you need access email fred.pruitt=at=gmail.com with your nick to be added to the members list. There is no charge to join Rantburg as a member.

Posted by Mike 2007-11-24 14:36|| || Front Page|| [8 views ] Top

#1 Hopefully this took a lot of the specialized talent and machinery with it. Assembling nuke warheads is a very difficult and precise process. Off by even small amounts and you get a fizzle instead of a boom (Ask N Korea).

Posted by OldSpook 2007-11-24 15:12|| 2007-11-24 15:12|| Front Page Top

#2 Assembling nuke warheads is a very difficult and precise process.

Especially when a 500lb bomb with "Death from above" pencilled on its nose is crashing through the rooftop!

Posted by anonymous5089 2007-11-24 15:53|| 2007-11-24 15:53|| Front Page Top

#3 Wouldn't there be traces in the atmosphere? I thought that was how we verified who sold what to who?

Posted by Bobby 2007-11-24 16:25|| 2007-11-24 16:25|| Front Page Top

#4 Wouldn't there be traces in the atmosphere?

Even if they used non-explosive "cement" bombs, there would still be significant atmospheric ejecta from the resulting impacts. I find it unimaginable that we would not have had airborne assetsmanned or unmannedsampling the subsequent upwelling. No matter how closely we were working with the Israelis, this is not something you leave to anyone else nor take their word on as to post facto analysis. America's ability to accurately identify isotopic fingerprints goes to the very heart of our deterrence regarding a proxy terrorist nuclear attack. Few nationswith the notable exception of Iranwould be so foolhardy as to hand over a nuclear device to their terrorist proxies knowing full well that we could just as easily identify the fissile material's country of origin and respond in kind.

This is why the ongoing security of Russia's nuclear stockpile represents such a defense nightmare. Being required to retaliate against Russia forinadvertently or notlosing control of a nuclear device is one of the few remaining post Cold War doomsday scenarios.

Posted by Zenster">Zenster 2007-11-24 16:51|| 2007-11-24 16:51|| Front Page Top

23:53 3dc
23:15 trailing wife
23:14 trailing wife
23:08 Pappy
22:11 phil_b
22:09 trailing wife
22:07 twobyfour
22:07 ryuge
22:03 twobyfour
22:02 phil_b
21:59 trailing wife
21:36 Zenster
21:28 3dc
21:17 trailing wife
20:48 trailing wife
20:40 Old Patriot
20:31 Grumenk Philalzabod0723
20:28 Grumenk Philalzabod0723
19:26 Steve
19:06 ed
19:05 Zhang Fei
18:50 NoMoreBS
18:31 danking70
18:21 Old Patriot