[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Suitcase nukes. That is one of worst scams perpetrated on the American public since the global warming hoax and one-hour Martinizing.

[cripplecreek]

As I understand it a "suitcase nuke" would be about the size of a small refrigerator. Then there's the problem of maintaining a nuke. Ive read that a nuke requires some pretty intensive maintenance that requires someone pretty highly trained to do it.

[al baby]

one-hour Martinizing.


What about 3 hour hannitizing?

[Mind-numbed Robot]

Suitcase nukes. That is one of worst scams perpetrated on the American public since the global warming hoax and one-hour Martinizing.

Typo. That should be a suicase Nike, with swoosh.

[jammer]

I disagree. One-hour Martinizing is still worse.

(Thanks for a good laugh--and good point).

[jbstrick]

"Suitcase nukes. That is one of worst scams perpetrated on the American public since the global warming hoax and one-hour Martinizing."

Absolutely. The required maintenence on these devices is high, the lack of shielding becaule of the small size causes the electronics to decay quickly. not to mention all of the other issues.simple detection, etc.

[MindBender26]

They may not be here, but in 1965, I was "familiarized" with the 155mm nuc round. About 200 lbs, 6 inches by 20.

[Criminal Number 18F]

worst scams

You got that right.

The Soviets had backpack/suitcase nukes prepositioned in the USA since the mid-1970s

He got that wrong. The US had a roughly similar system, the Small (and Special) Atomic Demolition Munitions, from the 1950s through the 1980s. We gave up on it because it was a bad idea. The weapon was very low yield and could (barely) be carried by one strong man. Cruise missiles made these weapons obsolete.

As far as the Soviets are concerned, anybody who thinks the Sovs lost track of nuke one needs to hit some books on how the evil empire maintained its nukes. The military didn't even have control of them -- the KGB, which passed down intact to the FSB and similar services in the other Republics, had them. One reason the Soviets were always fearing that we would do a first strike, is that they might have suffered nuclear decapitation.

As far as terrorists getting such a weapon from Iran or Pakistan -- Muslims are crazy enough to try. Viz. Abdul Qadeer Khan. But -- making a small nuke is significantly harder than making a big one. To be man-portable it needs to be an extremely small nuke. Even assuming they blew off shielding (bad idea with Pu-239, even if your guy is a suicide you want him to last long enough to emplace the weapon) it's still a heavy, bulky thing.

And do not assume that the hostiles could move a radioactive weapon through the borders and through the nation with the ease they move conventional explosives.

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F

[Phantom Lord]

Suitcase nukes are real. That is not debatable.

Does AQ have them and have they smuggled them into America? That is debatable.