al-Qaida No. 2: We Have Briefcase Nukes

Yahoo News ^

[sonsofliberty2000]

SYDNEY, Australia - Osama bin Laden'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.

[Styria]

I heard that the smallest portable weapon is still the size of a trunk. Not a briefcase.

[americaprd]

The prospect that Osama bin Laden's terrorists may have gotten their hands on small, easily transportable "suitcase nukes" has some people in Washington now truly concerned. There's no evidence such a device has been smuggled into the country. And even if it had, experts say it would be extremely difficult for terrorists to detonate. And a congressman who has been studying the subject for years on the subject say there's no doubt that such nuclear suitcases do exist.

"I can tell you unequivocally we built these devices similar to this and so did the Soviets during the Cold War," said Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa. "The defense minister of Russia told me to my face, 'Yes, congressman, we built these devices. Just as your country built them during the Cold War.'"

In fact, the Department of Defense made a training video in the l960s, demonstrating how "small atomic demolition munitions" can be stuffed into parachutes and attached to Navy commandos, who then show how the weapons can be affixed to bridges and ships underwater.

"These devices were designed to be used to take out major infrastructure facilities," said Weldon. "We destroyed ours. Now the question is, do we know whether or not Russia has them all accounted for and do we know that they destroyed them all?"

Russia Defends Nuclear Inventory

This week in Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin told 20/20's Barbara Walters none of the nuclear suitcases is missing.

"I don't really believe this is true," Putin said. "These are just legends. One can probably assume that somebody tried to sell some nuclear secrets. But there is no documentary confirmation of those developments."

More on the Putin Interview

But Weldon says he got a much different answer four years ago when he went to talk to with one of Russia's top generals.

The general, formerly Russia's leading defense adviser, said 86 of 132 suitcase bombs were unaccounted for.

Where were the missing nukes?

"I have no idea," Weldon recalled the general saying.

MORE from this 2001 ABC News story here: http://abcnews.go.com/sections/primetime/2020/ross011108.html>

[americaprd]

Frontline on PBS also did a very in-depth piece on russia's Nuclear Suitcase bombs in 1999. Lots of good details, photos, technical analysis, video clips, etc.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/russia/

[crazycat]

Tks for yr very informative replies.

Judging from what you have said, the chances of All-Queer having working devices is impossible. That makes me feel a lot better.

This sounds like disinformation, even if the quotes are true.

[steve-b]

Nuclear weapons small enough to be called "suitcase nukes" contain subcritical amounts of fissile material, and require a "booster" made of tritium or some other short-lived isotope as a neutron source. Over the course of a few years the tritium decays and is no longer able to boost the reaction to criticality unless it is replaced.

Tritium has a half-life of about 12 years. Worse, it decays into helium-3, which soaks up neutrons like a sponge -- within a year or so, the chain reaction can't generate new neutrons as fast as the old ones are absorbed, and no earth-shattering kaboom.

[steve-b]

My understanding is that the Russian bombs in question were designed for operation by people who weren't rocket scientists (to coin a phrase), and, to have a decent storage life (or indecent, depending on perspective).

Er, even if it were possible (and everything I know about nuclear physics says it ain't), why would the Russians want to engineer out features that help to insure that their nukes don't slip away from Kremlin control?

[steve-b]

Looks like Dr Dufus is regurgitating what he read on the INTERNET.

I seem to recall that a search of an al-Qaeda base in Afghanistan revealed that these yo-yos had downloaded a recipe for nuclear warheads from the Journal of Irreproduceable Results, that included helpful advise on obtaining plutonium from Home Depot and the imporance of washing one's hands after handling it.

[steve-b]

Purchase a large enough lot and do it by selection of matched components

That won't get you components that stay within the fine tolerance over time, under different temperatures and pressures, etc.

[steve-b]

In world history fewer than a dozen *nations* have managed to overcome such difficulties, and only one of those countries was capable of doing it all from scratch

And we might not have managed it if our enemy hadn't conveniently driven out some of their best scientists.

[americaprd]

There was Congressional testimony several years back that Russia designed these nuclear suitcases for use by GRU sleeper agents in foreign countries. The suitcases were taken out and buried in certain locations by a select group of agents and then directions on retreiving them could be sent to the sleeper agents if the need arose.

[ought-six]

The photo is of a pipe bomb in a suitcase. The bomb, as displayed consists of what appears to be standard 1" galvanized plumbing pipe. A nuke would not employ such material.

[EQAndyBuzz]

"And I have an enchanted jockstrap."

You must have bought yours at the same store as Kerry bought his :)

[EQAndyBuzz]

The Jihadists are full of it.

Our intelligence services know what is out there. I do not believe they are the bunglers the media and RATS make them out to be.

If anything, we would be hit by some sort of virulent, like ebola that could be spread by human contact. Wow, what an idea. Seal off Gaza and the West bank and lay down an ebola strain in the marketplace. Claim the PLO was creating a bio weapon and it backfired.

[Southack]

"And we might not have managed it if our enemy hadn't conveniently driven out some of their best scientists."

Do you mean Italy or Germany? Had the NAZI's driven Heisenberg out of Germany, for instance, his erroneous atomic math probably would have been taken more seriously than the American's correct math (performed by native American Feinman, for instance).

Now Fermi from Italy, on the other hand, certainly gave us a two year or more head start.

But our guys would have done it either with or without the foreigners. Our math was correct, after all.

[Southack]

"What makes you think they'd use an implosion device, when a simple gun device obviates all need for precision timing, triggers, shaped charges, electronics, blah blah blah?"

That's simply untrue. Fire your core projectile either too fast or too slow and you will get a fizzle, not a boom. Allow any of your exhaust gasses to race ahead of your fired projectile and they will fracture your core target into a worthless shape. Ditto for vibrations from your shot (they frequently travel faster through metal than does the projectile itself, similar to how earthquake shock waves travel faster through rock than does the sound they they emit through the air above). And the speed of your shot is going to constantly be changing as the radiation deteriorates your convention explosives and electronics. You also have to deal with how fast your atomic trigger decays, and same again for how the natural radiation decay in your core and shell/case forms non-uniform impurities in what was once supposed to be a pristine shape of fissionable material.

You don't make nukes with a hacksaw and an old iron pipe. That sort of fantastic oversimplification is little more than an old wives' tale.

Consider that the entire might of NAZI Germany couldn't get one of these instantaneous self-sustaining chain reactions in 8 years of trying. In more than half a century, fewer than a dozen *nations* have managed to get past the technical hurdles for these beasts.

There are simply very few people who understand how to transport the shaped core and shell/case without causing micro-fractures in their hyper-brittle structures, without exposing the heavy metals to enough air to cause near-instant rust, and fewer still who can precisely shape the heavy metals involved.

See Post #95.

[Southack]

"My understanding is that the Russian bombs in question were designed for operation by people who weren't rocket scientists (to coin a phrase), and, to have a decent storage life (or indecent, depending on perspective)."

All of the Soviet nukes of which I'm familiar had their atomic triggers stored in entirely different buildings. They always claimed it was for security purposes.

Perhaps it was.

But...atomic triggers decay rapidly. The whole point of using the trigger is to get the fast-emitting neutrons to give you a BOOM from your core rather than simple heat (ala a typical nuclear reactor).

Of course, emitting neutrons quickly isn't something that can be done for long. You are dealing with isotopes that have half-lives measured in days.

A "long life" trigger is pretty much an oxymoron, too. Either your trigger emits neutrons rapidly (which has to come commitantly with a short life) or else it emits them slowly, in which case you don't have a bomb at all (though you might have a heat weapon).

The atomic trigger is therefor the shortest lived nuclear component (though the electrics and high explosives can run close races), only then followed by the tritium booster (typical useful life of 8 years).

[Southack]

"There was Congressional testimony several years back that Russia designed these nuclear suitcases for use by GRU sleeper agents in foreign countries. The suitcases were taken out and buried in certain locations by a select group of agents and then directions on retreiving them could be sent to the sleeper agents if the need arose."

Such tall tales make for great Hollywood stories, but there is no magic to wish away the half-life of a decaying radioactive isotope. Your atomic trigger isotope decays in less than 90 days. Your tritium booster isotope is pretty much useless after about 8 years, and your electronics are getting fried by being near radioactive fissionable materials (as does the convention explosives involved). Rust and tiny micro-vibrations are also deal-killers for getting a BOOM.

See Post #95. Lets cut out some urban legends...

[BurbankKarl]

Maybe they have a US one that was pre deployed in Europe and "lost" when some Nation of Islam convert handed it over to them. These weapons, from what I understand, werent meant to level cities, but knock down key bridges, rail yards, airports, etc in front of a Soviet land invasion.



>>>The US has been the world leader in warhead miniaturization for fifty years, and the smallest American Atomic Demolition Munition would not fit in a briefcase or even a suitcase. (This particular device was discontinued by the USA in the mid-1980s and all were dismantled).

[Doctor Stochastic]

" The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep. "

[Don Joe]

"Thanx. Lebed link, like the man himself, is dead. Better one?"

The uppercase "B" in the URL kills it. Go figure.

This one works (with lowercase "b")

http://nuclearweaponarchive.org/News/Lebedbomb.html