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| Africa: North |
| New nuke challenge emerging in Algeria; ChiComs helped |
| 2004-04-01 |
| From Geostrategy-Direct.... Algeria could become the latest nuclear proliferation challenge for the United States. Just what we need, another challenge... According to sources, Algeria has acquired the capability of completing the nuclear cycle through its own installations and components. This means that Algeria would be able to produce bomb-grade plutonium. So who do they need to protect themselves from now? Or are they looking into marketing, like the Paks? Algeria is no stranger to nuclear weapons. Between 1960 and 1965 France conducted 14 underground nuclear tests at two separate locations in the Algerian desert. Most of these sub-surface sites are still intact, sources said. What does that mean? Must be the support infrastructure is my guess. I sure as hell hope that the test sites are! Algeria’s nuclear program involves about 2,000 trained personnel, many of them engineers. In July 1998, a Spanish defense intelligence report said Algeria has the capability of starting a nuclear weapons program. The U.S. intelligence community has not publicly confirmed the report. We can say no more. The Al Salam nuclear reactor and a Hot Cell Laboratory near the city of Birine, about 250 kilometers south of Algiers, have served as the nerve center for Algeria’s nuclear program. A tunnel connects the two facilities. Ah, the infamous tunnels. Al Salam is believed capable of producing as much as six kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium per year. The methods for producing the plutonium include irradiating natural uranium in the core of the reactor, increasing the reloads of low-enriched uranium fuel and switching to natural uranium fuel. Western diplomatic sources said the United States has been quietly advising Algeria to open its nuclear facilities to inspection. The sources said Algeria has acquired a large nuclear infrastructure that could be converted to assemble nuclear weapons. Sounds like they are already there. The United States and Spain have been monitoring Algeria’s nuclear program for the last 15 years. U.S. spy satellites have tracked the construction of nuclear facilities at Birine. So far, the sources said, the United States has not determined whether Algeria was a client of the nuclear smuggling network headed by Pakistani government scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan. Will be interesting to know if the network extended to Algeria. Al Salam is said to house a 15-megawatt thermal heavy water reactor purchased from Argentina. A reactor this size, using low-enriched uranium fuel for irradiation purposes, could produce several kilograms of weapons-grade plutonium per year, the sources said. The United States has also been following nuclear cooperation between Algeria and China. In 1997, China agreed to provide Algeria with a radioisotope production laboratory to produce Cobalt-60. IIRC, Co-60 is mainly used for nuclear medicine. Beijing was also believed to have discussed the sale of a heavy water production plant. U.S. officials have been concerned that Algeria will soon acquire several high-performance computers needed to design nuclear warheads. The computers, with a capability of 8.5 billion theoretical operations per second, could also be used to simulate the aerodynamics of ballistic missiles. Fred, maybe if they disarm, you could get one of their computers cheap for a major server upgrade! |
| Posted by:Alaska Paul |
| #5 Somehow, I get this feeling that the Phrench had more of a hand in this than those Commies in China. |
| Posted by: Bomb-a-rama 2004-04-01 6:24:36 PM |
| #4 .com---If the Algerians do get a missile, the guidence system and the missile will be outsourced, or if it is homebuilt, when it launches, it will fly like Gandalf's Smaug fireworks rocket.. I am more concerned with their accumulation of Plut more than anything else. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-04-01 6:21:56 PM |
| #3 Now that's just plain mean Frank G. Tiny mushroom clouds. |
| Posted by: Shipman 2004-04-01 6:05:28 PM |
| #2 Salafist Group for Preaching, Combat, and Mushroom Clouds |
| Posted by: Frank G 2004-04-01 5:21:42 PM |
| #1 LOL! "8.5 billion theoretical operations per second" Theorectially these will be mathematical computations... GeoStrategy Direct - Dot Com can help you with your computer terminology. I was one of the very first Cray programmers (even studied vector programming at the feet of Dr Cray hisownself!), have programmed on several other vector / parallel computing systems. I even do mathematical computations on my laptop. I can help you. Honest! My fee will correlate with your ability to pay - I'm an equal opportunity Thx, AP - I need the laugh cuz the idea of Algerians getting a nuke is beyond my capacity, today, for comprehending extreme insanity! |
| Posted by: .com 2004-04-01 5:14:06 PM |