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| Terror Networks |
| Al-Qaeda ’was making dirty bomb’ |
| 2003-01-31 |
| 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 |
| #4 "...he lived in a house on Montague street with five hippies and a dog, and four of them (including the dog) were working for the FBI..." |
| Posted by: mojo 2003-01-31 14:35:27 |
| #3 Perhaps the reason we haven't seen the hundreds of thousand Al Queda trainees attacking in droves is that most of them were secret agents from around the world checking out the training camps. Just a bizarre thought. |
| Posted by: Yank 2003-01-31 13:03:41 |
| #2 I'm not too sure where the surprise that seems to be associated with the "dirty bomb" idea is coming from. Making one wouldn't be a technological marvel. There are only two ingredients: the bomb and the dirt. Pashtuns in the NWFP and Paleostinians who're affiliated with Hamas keep bombs in their underwear drawers, just in case, so the only "real" problem in building one is getting the "dirt" - material sufficiently radioactive as to produce some sort of harm. Qaeda was great friends with the Pak Ummah Tameer e-Nau, a "charity" run by Sultan Bashir-ud-Din Mehmood and Abdul Majid, who worked for Pakistan's Atomic Energy Commission until retiring in 1999. They're also good buddies with various Pak physicians, who would also have access to radioactive materials used in cancer treatments. There are also their close friends in or associated with the ISI, like retired Gen. Gen. Hamid ("It's not that difficult to obtain a SUITCASE-size nuclear weapon. Just the thing for retaliation against London or New York.") Gul, who would be glad to help in any exercise against the Great Satan. The only surprise is that they haven't managed to detonate one, if only in Pakland or Paleostine. |
| Posted by: Fred 2003-01-31 12:17:01 |
| #1 To quote Charile Brown,"Good Grief!" Interesting times, likely to get more interesting.....Lord Help Us.... |
| Posted by: Rifle308 2003-01-31 10:22:11 |