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-- Journalist: al Qaida has nukes

Journalist: al Qaida has nukes

quote:

SYDNEY, Australia - Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s terror network claims to have bought ready-made nuclear weapons on the black market in central Asia, the biographer of al-Qaida's No. 2 leader was quoted as telling an Australian television station. In an interview scheduled to be televised on Monday, Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir said Ayman al-Zawahri claimed that "smart briefcase bombs" were available on the black market. It was not clear when the interview between Mir and al-Zawahri took place. U.S. intelligence agencies have long believed that al-Qaida attempted to acquire a nuclear device on the black market, but say there is no evidence it was successful. In the interview with Australian Broadcasting Corp. television, parts of which were released Sunday, Mir recalled telling al-Zawahri it was difficult to believe that al-Qaida had nuclear weapons when the terror network didn't have the equipment to maintain or use them. "Dr Ayman al-Zawahri laughed and he said `Mr. Mir, if you have $30 million, go to the black market in central Asia, contact any disgruntled Soviet scientist, and a lot of ... smart briefcase bombs are available,'" Mir said in the interview. "They have contacted us, we sent our people to Moscow, to Tashkent, to other central Asian states and they negotiated, and we purchased some suitcase bombs," Mir quoted al-Zawahri as saying. Al-Qaida has never hidden its interest in acquiring nuclear weapons. The U.S. federal indictment of bin Laden charges that as far back as 1992 he "and others known and unknown, made efforts to obtain the components of nuclear weapons." Bin Laden, in a November 2001 interview with a Pakistani journalist, boasted having hidden such components "as a deterrent." And in 1998, a Russian nuclear weapons design expert was investigated for allegedly working with bin Laden's Taliban allies. It was revealed last month that Pakistan's top nuclear scientist had sold sensitive equipment and nuclear technology to Iran, Libya and North Korea (news - web sites), fueling fears the information could have also fallen into the hands of terrorists. Earlier, Mir told Australian media that al-Zawahri also claimed to have visited Australia to recruit militants and collect funds. "In those days, in early 1996, he was on a mission to organize his network all over the world," Mir was quoted as saying. "He told me he stopped for a while in Darwin (in northern Australia), he was ... looking for help and collecting funds." Australia's Attorney-General Philip Ruddock said the government could not rule out the possibility that al-Zawahri visited Australia in the 1990s under a different name. "Under his own name or any known alias he hasn't traveled to Australia," Ruddock told reporters Saturday. "That doesn't mean to say that he may not have come under some other false documentation, or some other alias that's not known to us." Mir describe al-Zawahri as "the real brain behind Osama bin Laden." "He is the real strategist, Osama bin Laden is only a front man," Mir was quoted as saying during the interview. "I think he is more dangerous than bin Laden." Al-Zawahri � an Egyptian surgeon � is believed to be hiding in the rugged region around the Pakistan-Afghan border where U.S. and Pakistani troops are conducting a major operation against Taliban and al-Qaida forces. He is said to have played a leading role in orchestrating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...l_qaida_nuclear




I find this to be hardly creditable, a "journalist" in Australia says on TV "yeah, they told me they have" is supposed to be reliable information? al Qaida has been using disinformation since it has been founded and from the looks of it, this is just another "huff and puff" tactic to scare all of us. Never mind the fact they some how some been able to miniaturize nuclear technology into the size of a briefcase and create mulitple trigger devices....or obtain uranium at all for that matter.

Ah, I know what show this is going to be on. I'll make sure I watch it later on tonight.

But yeah, I know a fair bit about the interviewer, bur precious little about the interviewee, Bin Laden's biographer. Should be interesting to watch regardless.

Re: Journalist: al Qaida has nukes

quote:

Originally posted by PHALPAX I find this to be hardly creditable, a "journalist" in Australia says on TV "yeah, they told me they have" is supposed to be reliable information? al Qaida has been using disinformation since it has been founded and from the looks of it, this is just another "huff and puff" tactic to scare all of us. Never mind the fact they some how some been able to miniaturize nuclear technology into the size of a briefcase and create mulitple trigger devices....or obtain uranium at all for that matter.

I agree suitcase technology is beyond their means, but it's not unimaginable for Al Qaida or other terrorists to obtain a warhead from one of the old Soviet nations. They wouldn't have to build it, just ignite it. The warhead could be from a missile, artillery round, or even a torpedo. What's even more discerning are the Soviet's loose controls over chemical and biological munitions. The greatest dangers to obtaining those are handling them, since they are degrading by the year and could leak very easily. The US is in the process of destroying a stockpile of chemical munitions at Anniston, AL right now, and several of those have sprung leaks while handling.


[[[smoke]]]

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Originally posted by arctic Ah, I know what show this is going to be on. I'll make sure I watch it later on tonight.

rooflz, TT? ACA?

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Originally posted by tathi rooflz, TT? ACA?

Enough Rope with Andrew Denton.

It's a pre-recoded interview, as the guy also aired allegations that the AQ No.2 who just escaped in Pakistan visited Australia sometime in the 90's. Ruddock has been out and about with his usual sneer trying to hose down the fire.

the only time i've watched that show was when Chopper Reid made Andrew look like a tool

The former soviet arsenal has always been a much more likely source of rediological material for anyone than one of these fledgling weapons programs in Iraq or Iran. But the administration want to keep that fact quiet because they either do not have the methods to stauch the flow (likely) or they do not have the will to do so (also likely) or both (most likely).

The biggest problem with the soviet loose nukes is they are all plutonium which is infinitely more potent than the enriched uranium weapons that Pakistan has and Iraq and Iran were at one time were trying to build. There also are no exact recordss of how much plutonium was produced in the 30 odd years that the nuclear arms race was going on. The quota system meant that plant managers would over produce if possible and adjust their books accordingly so that if there was a low production month they would have a surplus from previous quota periods to augment the unde-production. These surpluses were never properly documented so it is entirely possible that when the soviet control structure crumbled, some of these surpluses could have been pilfered for future sale.

The only plsu side to this system is that a vast majority of Soviet plutonium production facilities were in closed cities in Siberia for security reasons. No one in their right mind would ever try to invade Siberia first and it is several thousand miles from the nearest border crossing into even the next republic.

I am not sure if Al Queda has procured radilogical material or even a full fledged nuclear weapon, but I can say with certainty that they will most likely procure such material in the future if we do not shift our focus from the loose threats like Iraq to the more dangerous and less well known threats of loose nuclear material.

MrS

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