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Al-Qaeda âwas making dirty bombâ
British officials have presented evidence which they claim shows that al-Qaeda had been trying to assemble radioactive material to build a so-called dirty bomb. They have shown the BBC previously undisclosed material backing up their claim. It includes secret intelligence from agents sent by Britain into al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan. Posing as recruits, they blended in and reported back. They revealed that Osama Bin Laden's weapons programme was further on than anyone thought. I'm glad that at least MI5 was able to infiltrate agents in, considering John Walker Lynd Et Al al-Qaeda doesn't seem to have had a very rigorous screening process, which means other countries could have sent in guys too British officials said on Thursday Bin Laden now had gained the expertise and possibly the materials to build a crude radioactive bomb. The government says evidence suggests that by 1999, Bin Laden's priority was to develop a weapon of mass destruction. He had acquired radioactive isotopes from the Taleban to do this, officials said, adding that development work on the "dirty bomb" had been going on in a nuclear laboratory in the Afghan city of Herat. I wonder if those radioactive Isotopes came from those every friendly Paks? The government even has al-Qaeda training manuals which detail how to use a dirty bomb to maximum effect. For a second opinion, the BBC showed some of the material to an expert on al-Qaeda. "I think this is genuine," said Dr Mustafa Alani, of the Royal United Service Institute. "It is credible. This is proof that al-Qaeda put a lot of effort into collecting information and educating other members of the organisation. Why the British government would release such top secret information has been questioned by some commentators in the Arabic world. Abdel Bari Atwan, the editor of Al Quds al Arabi, said it was an attempt to revive fears in Britain and the US about 11 September. "They would like to prove their point that there are links between Saddam Hussein and al-Qaeda," he said. And I am sure you would like the opposite Posted by: Paul 2003-01-31 |
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