Posted on 11/14/2003 8:54:23 AM PST by joyful1
Al-Qaida 'bought uranium' in Congo
Friday 14 November 2003, 19:18 Makka Time, 16:18 GMT
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An al-Qaida representative bought enriched uranium capable of being used in a so-called dirty bomb from the Congolese opposition in 2000, according to a French newspaper report.
In sworn testimony an unnamed former soldier from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has told investigators looking into the murders of two Congolese opposition figures in France in December 2000 that he attended a meeting earlier that year at which the uranium was sold, the Lyon-based Le Progres reported.
The man "described a meeting which took place on 3 March in (the German city of) Hamburg between some Congolese men and an Egyptian by the name of Ibrahim Abd," the newspaper said.
It quoted the man as saying, "I realised it was al-Qaida."
According to Le Progres, the Egyptian was able to acquire two bars of enriched uranium 138.
Dirty bomb
Only highly enriched uranium can be used in the manufacture of an atomic bomb, but anti-terrorist experts take more seriously the threat of a "dirty bomb", in which radioactive material is disseminated via a conventional explosive.
The unnamed source spoke of the purchase in December 2002 in an affidavit to German police, who passed it to their French counterparts. The evidence is part of the dossier compiled by the team looking into the deaths of the two Congolese opposition figures.
Coup money
According to Le Progres, the man is himself close to Congolese opposition circles and told the German investigators that the money paid for the uranium was needed to finance a putsch against late DRC president Laurent-Desire Kabila.
The man has been interviewed by the American and French security services, but could give no information on the source of the uranium, the paper said.
The burned bodies of Philemon Naluhwindza and Aime Atenbina were found not far from Lyon in December 2000. An official close to the investigation confirmed to AFP that they had been seeking funds for a coup attempt against Kabila.
AFP
Whoever wrote this report, doesn't know anything about chemistry. Natural Uranium is 99.28% U238 and 0.71% U235. There is no such thing as U138. Weapons grade Uranium is made by increasing the percentage of U235. Taken from my Introduction to Nuclear Engineering by Raymond L. Murray (Second Edition) text book.
Depleted Uranium is almost 100% U238.
Good Hunting... from Varmint Al
TURKEY, November 14, 2003 - A leading newspaper in Saudi Arabia, Al-Riyadh has accused the Al Jazeera television station for promoting violence in its broadcasts.
In the paper's editorial today, it was stated that instability in the Kingdom was not beneficial to Qatar and that the small country's bullyish attitude towards a big state was ironic.
The two countries have been on bad terms since Riyadh recalled its ambassador from Doha in September 2002.
Decorated soldier returns to Iraq with 'job to do'
No one was killed in the attack. Walden sustained injuries to his knees, ankles and elbows and was transported by Medivac helicopter to a local hospital. While recuperating in the hospital, he was approached by a U.S. military officer in search of a photo opportunity. Obligingly, Walden posed with the officer from his hospital bed. After the snapshot, the officer instructed 34-year-old to call home and tell his family "it’s not true." At the time, Walden said he had no idea why the officer made such a strange request. It was only later that he found out Arab TV station Al Jazeera had reported Walden and his Bradley members dead. Today, alive and well, he carries a copy of the news report with him, along with the Purple Heart he earned to remind him of that Independence Day.
Exactly. Both isotopes have low specific activity. Plenty of people worked at the Hanford Reservation, etc. and are just fine.
There ain't no such animal.
Al Jazeera quoting a French newspaper??? LOL, the only thing "enriched" is the Bravo Sierra in this story.
As Ditto pointed out in his #10, enriched or otherwise, uranium is not nearly "dirty" enough for a dirty bomb and second, the Congo does not have the ability to enrich uranium.
But perhaps more telling as to the fraud in this story, if al-Qaida had access to enriched uranium, why in hell would they bother building a "dirty bomb", when they could use the enriched uranium to build a real atomic bomb???? Duh!
The only thing that could make this report less credible would be for Debka to run with the story.
--Boot Hill
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