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| East/Subsaharan Africa |
| UN: Al-Qaida Planning Dirty Bomb |
| 2002-12-13 |
| Source: National Post United Nations experts charged with probing al-Qaeda warn that the group appears determined to produce a "dirty bomb" capable of spreading radioactive material over a wide area after Tanzanian police seized what is believed to be raw uranium. Police seized 110 kilograms of suspected raw uranium last month, after confiscating five canisters of suspected uranium early this year, says the report by the UN Monitoring Group on al-Qaeda. "The Group remains highly preoccupied by the potential for al-Qaeda to manufacture some kind of 'dirty bomb,' " the report warns, adding that uranium is a "highly radioactive material." I wonder if they managed to sieze the perps at the same time they siezed the uranium? The report, to be discussed privately by United Nations Security Council diplomats on Friday, says the experts could not tie the seized material directly to the terrorist network. However, it adds, "the possibility cannot be excluded of these illegal movements of raw uranium reaching al-Qaeda or their associates in East Africa. "The Group is following [up] with the Tanzanian authorities and maintaining contact on this matter with the International Atomic Energy Agency, Department of Safeguards," says the UN report. That means the Tanzanians haven't worked over the middlemen. Probably they're "clean," so the local bleeders can piss and moan until they're released with nothing more serious a good talking-to... A "dirty bomb" is a conventional explosive laced with radioactive material that would kill few people in the initial blast but would create fear, panic and a long-term cancer risk with the spread of the radioactive material. Huge financial losses would also result as people fled contaminated areas. U.S. authorities believe they stymied al-Qaeda planning for a "dirty bomb" attack on a U.S. city with the May arrest of Jose Padilla. The former Chicago street-gang member who became a radical Islamist was on a scouting mission for the terrorist network, they say. Our domestic bleeders have been bitching and moaning about the "lack of evidence" against Padilla, too, just like the Tanzanians will be doing about whoever got snagged... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |
| #4 U-235 has a half-life of 700 million years and thus hardly qualifies as "highly radioactive". It's primary decay is through alpha particle emissions; alpha particles (helium nuclei) can usually be stopped by a sheet of notebook paper. Also, given the expense of enriching it, only a damn fool would use U-235 for the much-discussed and highly overrated dirty bomb. Dirty bombs are much more likely to made of something like Cobalt-60, which has a half-life of 5.2 years and is noted for its energetic gamma emissions. Co-60 is what is typically used in sterilizing equipment. |
| Posted by: Dreadnought 2002-12-13 21:42:52 |
| #3 Quite true, Frank. If they think it's the real bad stuff... |
| Posted by: Ptah 2002-12-13 21:13:48 |
| #2 True Ptah, but given enough time, it'd be nice to store the ore they have with the prisoners - I'd bet they'd sing like canaries |
| Posted by: Frank G 2002-12-13 18:55:11 |
| #1 Unless it's pure 235 (which I very much doubt), "Raw" uranium isn't that radioactive. If they bothered to listen to the news, or read LGF, they'd know Cesium is the stuff to go after: OPen a can, and the stuff blows like fine dust. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2002-12-13 13:44:16 |