Iraqi Physicist: Saddam Funded Nuke Program Till 2003

Newsmax ^

[mrplind]

The Iraqi physicist who ran his country's uranium enrichment program says that Saddam Hussein continued to fund efforts to develop nuclear weapons right up until the U.S. invasion in March 2003. ...

In an interview with WABC Radio's John Gambling, the Iraqi centrifuge scientist said he was ordered to keep his nuclear bombmaking research concealed from U.N. weapons inspectors.

[PureSolace]

the Iraqi centrifuge scientist said he was ordered to keep his nuclear bombmaking research concealed from U.N. weapons inspectors.

Uht oh! ... too bad the MSM will ignore this, just like all the othr scientists... pity.

[DSBull]

Be careful of this guy..I seem to remember someone,although I can't remember if it is this guy, saying different stuff during the war.

So although I hope that this is true, I would want to verify this guy isn't trying to sell a book deal now..

[piasa]

Or you may have it backwards. He'd make more money writing a book trashing the Bush administration much as Richard Clarke and so many others have. Writing a book that doesn't undermine the Bush admin is not the way to riches and fame.

Why assume his first interviews were the accurate ones and the recent ones false? In his first interviews, he was trying to preserve his family's life and his own as he was still in Iraq when interviewed. As a scientist he was quite the target, not just for Baathists to try to kill but for those who profited off of Iraq's situation during the Hussein regime and wanted that 'business' to return.

[ovrtaxt]

Only 3 replies?

BUMP!

[Chilldoubt]

bump an important article to the top

[dc-zoo]

Very good points. I believe this fellow deserves a hearing.

[nmh]

Is THIS the October surprise?

:)

If so, what will the media do? Cover it up? Or acknowledge it?

[ovrtaxt]

Well, let's see- there's this, the Kerry connections to Iran's regime, the documents detailing Saddam's WMD program, and that was just yesterday!

We have a whole month to go.

[Rutles4Ever]

The Iraqi physicist who ran his country's uranium enrichment program

Hm. I like how the "lead physicist in Saddam's uranium enrichment program" lists all the storage sites, laboratory locations, weapons development and research centers, test sites, because, well, he would know, wouldn't he?

This is utter BS. We could have immediate scientific verification of radioactive/chemical materials if this guy was for real. He could at least tell us WHERE he did all his research.

[Rutles4Ever]

No, this is not the October surprise. This is another Iraqi opportunist.

We know the weapons existed. This guy doesn't give up any useful information. He could make a goldmine if he was really that closely involved with Saddam's program because he could lead the Coalition to the stockpiles (or at least the places they were once stockpiled).

An October surprise, in my opinion, would consist of verification of the translated documents being exposed by CNS, or a direct admission from Syria (or Saudi Arabia) that they facilitated the removal of the WMD from Iraq in the months leading up to the war.

[OXENinFLA]

WATCH Mahdi Obeidi, Author, "The Bomb in my Garden" ON C-SPAN HERE...

From sunday

[justshutupandtakeit]

Why don't you read the article before popping off?

There was no ongoing enrichment program since the centrifuges were not built. He had the plans to build them as soon as the heat was off. Once they were built the actual enrichment would be a piece of cake since Iraq had tons of nuclear material available for use.

[smith288]

Wonder if Bush's major speech will highlight recent wmd stories?

[nmh]

"Well, let's see- there's this, the Kerry connections to Iran's regime, the documents detailing Saddam's WMD program, and that was just yesterday! "

You know the liberal media will bury that. If forced to mention it, it will be tagged as Republican demagoguery. There's not enough time for a "commission" to be set up and facts validated.

[DSBull]

Oh, I am not assuming, just being careful. I really hope that he is right and more importantly can be proven right,,

[SunkenCiv]

Nuke program parts unearthed in Baghdad back yard
Mike Boettcher,
David Ensor,
and producer Maria Fleet

Experts said the documents and pieces Obeidi gave the United States were the critical information and parts to restart a nuclear weapons program, and would have saved Saddam's regime several years and as much as hundreds of millions of dollars for research. David Albright, who was a U.N. nuclear weapons inspector in Iraq in the 1990s, said inspectors "understood that Iraq probably hid centrifuge documents, may have had components, and so it is very important that those items be found." ...Obeidi said he felt unsafe in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion and that he was getting pressure from different corners of the country. He also said other Iraqi scientists were watching to see if he was safe after he cooperated with the U.S. government. Now that he and his family are safely out of Iraq, Obeidi said he believes other scientists would come forward with other components of Iraq's weapons program.

Iraqi uranium found but concerns remain
by Rob Edwards
16:56 23 June 03

On Thursday, IAEA inspectors will complete their first mission to Iraq since the war. But they have not been allowed by the US to check the safety and security of these radiation sources, which are used in hospitals and factories or kept in storage. Many of the sources contain potentially lethal amounts of caesium 137, cobalt 60 and other radioactive isotopes. If stolen, they could be combined with a conventional explosive to make a bomb that would contaminate a city centre. They could also pose a serious threat to public health if mislaid or mishandled. Looting has been repeatedly reported at the biggest radiation store, the Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Centre near Baghdad. Doctors in the area say they are seeing dozens of people every day with symptoms of radiation poisoning such as diarrhoea, rashes and nose bleeds... According to the IAEA director general, Mohamed ElBaradei, "most" of the uranium is accounted for, though he is still waiting for the final report from his inspectors. The material has been kept under IAEA seal since 1991 to prevent it from being manufactured into high-enriched uranium for atomic bombs.

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[AFPhys]

Thanks for the reprise.
.

[MizSterious]

More evidence which might interest you.

[SunkenCiv]

You're most welcome. Since we've got some (ahem) doubters, I figured everyone would find it educational and edifying. Obeidi is mentioned in the first of those. Hamza headed to exile in the west (smuggled himself out through the Kurdish area) and wrote that book about how he built the bomb, but goes into detail as to how and why Saddam never got the fissionable material to make it go boom.