Al-Qaida's U.S. nuclear targets

WorldNetDaily ^ | July 18, 2005 | JOSEPH FARAH

[Fruit of the Spirit]

© 2005 WorldNetDaily.com

Al-Qaida's prime targets for launching nuclear terrorist attacks are the nine U.S. cities with the highest Jewish populations, according to captured leaders and documents.

As first revealed last week in Joseph Farah's G2 Bulletin, the premium, online intelligence newsletter published by the founder of WND, Osama bin Laden is planning what he calls an "American Hiroshima," the ultimate terrorist attack on U.S. cities, using nuclear weapons already smuggled into the country across the Mexican border along with thousands of sleeper agents.

The series of attacks is designed to kill 4 million, destroy the economy and fundamentally alter the course of history.

At least two fully assembled and operational nuclear weapons are believed to be hidden in the United States already, according to G2 Bulletin intelligence sources and an upcoming book, "The al-Qaida Connection: International Terrorism, Organized Crime and the Coming Apocalypse," by former FBI consultant Paul L. Williams.

The cities chosen as optimal targets are New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Boston and Washington, D.C. New York and Washington top the preferred target list for al-Qaida leadership.

[calenel]

I'm not claiming it is trivial, however, lithium hydride LiH (with the H being the tritium) isn't difficult, either. Is it super hard or some other factor that makes it impossible to handle? I would expect it to be chemically active without some form of isolation (as Li probably prefers Oxygen over Hydrogen, yielding LiOH).

In any case, I have already dismissed baby nukes as not worthwhile. They want to destroy us entirely, our economy, our culture, our society. A couple of backpack nukes will not do that. In fact, a major WMD attack on us is most likely to result in the Islamic Armageddon.

[Semper Paratus]

I believe the suitcase nukes, actually more the size of a foot locker, are not completly radiation tight and leave a tell tale signature that can be picked up by monitors doing sweeps.

[Mr. Quarterpanel]

Let me give you a few items to chew on, then.

First nuclear weapons are devices. They use precise electronics, which have to have microsecond timing in order to cause detonation. Not something that you can cobble together from that old VCR. They need to be maintained in order to insure that they work when needed. They require a power source, which means batteries. Ones not available at Radio Shack. The triggers (basically switches) which set off the explosives that cause the detonation are gassed, and lose their switching speed over time. After 5 or 6 years, their timing gets off, and they become unusable, due to outgassing. Then there is the explosives themselves. They lay against the pit (plutonium core) which is thermally hot, and causes the shaped charges to degrade over time, losing their ability to fire a predictable rate after a time.

All weapons, in order to be safe, have an MSAD built in. You would not want it to go off until you want, right? This requires an external arming device, which is mated to the device (for portable ones).

I am not saying that these devices do not exist. I am dubious as to the effectiveness of a device that has been laying around for 5 years without any PM working as designed.

[F16Fighter]

"Of course it isn't feasible. W is doing EVERYTHING in his power to make sure our borders are safe and secure!!!!!!

/s"

Lol...

The Syria-Iraq border is tighter than our own!

[rattrap]

With these nuke articles from WackoNutDaily popping up so fast I bet we'll be seeing another "Prices Slashed" on the monthly "intelligence" newsletter.

[calenel]

"First nuclear weapons are devices. They use precise electronics, which have to have microsecond timing in order to cause detonation. Not something that you can cobble together from that old VCR. They need to be maintained in order to insure that they work when needed."

Most of the electronics in a nuke are unnecessary baggage. As for the required stuff, say, the timer to set off the shaped charge just right to convert the slightly sub-critical mass to a critical mass, that is very simple electronics.

"They require a power source, which means batteries. Ones not available at Radio Shack."

Do you know how much juice it takes to set off the explosives? Just plug it in to the wall. Why do you need batteries? And how do you know that you couldn't get a suitable battery at Radio Shack?

"The triggers (basically switches) which set off the explosives that cause the detonation are gassed, and lose their switching speed over time. After 5 or 6 years, their timing gets off, and they become unusable, due to outgassing."

Old tech. Off the shelf solid state electronics can do the job now.

"Then there is the explosives themselves. They lay against the pit (plutonium core) which is thermally hot, and causes the shaped charges to degrade over time, losing their ability to fire a predictable rate after a time."

So replace them. That's easy.

"All weapons, in order to be safe, have an MSAD built in. You would not want it to go off until you want, right? This requires an external arming device, which is mated to the device (for portable ones)."

There is no way it could go off unless you initiated the (brand new solid state) trigger. This is just more extra junk to prevent theft-and-immediate-use situations. And we aren't talking about portables. In fact, the scenario I see as most likely is a sufficient quantity of Pu239 salvaged from an old warhead is brought into the US and the rest of the nuke is built around it from parts acquired in the US. So we are talking about a slightly sub-critical mass of plutonium, some HE and some relatively inexpensive electronics. We aren't talking about taking an existing device and flipping a switch.

And, finally, plutonium will go critical all by itself in relatively small quantities. You have to be careful not to pile too much plutonium up in one spot because it will go off. For all you people out there who aren't keeping their plutonium piles properly separated, you have been warned.

[SevenMinusOne]

Tritium isn't all that hard to get, either. It has many commercial uses and is commonly available.

Weaponized (pure) amounts of Tritium would be extremely hard to get - In any quantity that would be needed without setting off red flags -

Tritium Production Tritium ( 3 H) is essential to the construction of boosted-fission nuclear weapons. A boosted weapon contains a mixture of deuterium and tritium, the gases being heated and compressed by the detonation of a plutonium or uranium device. The D-T mixture is heated to a temperature and pressure such that thermonuclear fusion occurs. This process releases a flood of 14 MeV neutrons which cause additional fissions in the device, greatly increasing its efficiency.

Tritium is rare in nature because of its 12.4-year half-life. It is produced by cosmic radiation in the upper atmosphere where it combines with oxygen to form water. It then falls to earth as rain, but the concentration is too low to be useful in a nuclear weapons program. Most tritium is produced by bombarding 6Li [ 6 Li(n, a) 3 H] with neutrons in a reactor; it is also produced as a byproduct of the operation of a heavy-water-moderated reactor when neutrons are captured on the deuterons present. It has been suggested that it may be feasible to produce tritium in an accelerator (electronuclear breeder) in which protons bombard an appropriate target.

Tritium can be stored and shipped as a gas, a metal hydride (e.g., of titanium) or tritide, and trapped in zeolites (hydrated aluminum silicate compounds with uniform size pores in their crystalline structure). Stainless-steel cylinders with capacities up to 5.6 ´ 10 7 GBq (1.5 MCi) of tritium gas are used for transportation and storage and must be constructed to withstand the additional pressure which will build up as tritium gradually decays to 3 He.

All five declared nuclear weapon states must have the underlying capability to manufacture and handle tritium, although the United States has shut down its production reactors due to safety considerations. Canada manufactures tritium as a byproduct of the operation of CANDU reactors. In principle, limited amounts of tritium could be made in any research reactor with the ability to accept a target to be irradiated.

[Junior]

Woo Hoo! Huntsville/Decatur, Ala. didn't make the list!

We're gonna live! We're gonna live!

[RightWhale]

I think that the fallout is what would get the claim the most victims.

That thought is the result of several decades of scaremongering by the 'Silent Spring' people right up through the polluted babies crowd of this week. Blast and fire are the main destructive components. Some are scared of the EMP. Be more afraid of rioting and panic when the local warehouse stores run out of canned goods and paper products. If your hair and skin haven't fallen off within three days of the blast, you will probably survive the nuke itself.

[RetiredArmy]

Whew. Glad I live here near Seattle where there is apparently few Jewish folks yet plenty of those appeasement loving homosexuals keeping us safe! Whew.

[RetiredArmy]

If they hit those listed cities, there goes the NFL season and the betting on the games!

[calenel]

"I believe the suitcase nukes, actually more the size of a foot locker, are not completely radiation tight and leave a tell tale signature that can be picked up by monitors doing sweeps."

Doing sweeps of what? Psuedo-Mexican illegal immigrants? Lead lined "vegetable" trucks? And, again, suitcase or backpack nukes have already been disregarded.

[calenel]

"All five declared nuclear weapon states ..."

What, India and Pakistan don't count? Wherever you cut-and-pasted this from is out of date.

"Tritium Production Tritium ( 3 H) is essential to the construction of boosted-fission nuclear weapons. A boosted weapon contains a mixture of deuterium and tritium, the gases being heated and compressed by the detonation of a plutonium or uranium device. The D-T mixture is heated to a temperature and pressure such that thermonuclear fusion occurs. This process releases a flood of 14 MeV neutrons which cause additional fissions in the device, greatly increasing its efficiency."

This is a fission-fusion-fission or boosted-fission device, a hybrid of atomic (fission) and H-bomb (fusion). In a regular old h-bomb, an atomic bomb is used as a trigger or primer. It creates the above described conditions to ignite the fusion reaction from which most of the energy is released.

"Weaponized (pure) amounts of Tritium would be extremely hard to get - In any quantity that would be needed without setting off red flags -"

Tritium is available for research purposes and is easy enough to get. What is to stop a fake research project at AQU from siphoning off a small amount? And how much do you think you would need for each bomb? (Hint: Total US production of tritium since 1955 estimated at about 500 pounds, including research and military uses.) We are not talking about the military needs of a superpower, but rather the equipping of a few bombs. What makes you think that Iran or Pakistan or North Korea haven't handed off a few grams of tritium to some enterprising (if overambitious) terrorists? And, finally, you don't even need tritium, all you need is the plutonium, which you would still need for the boosted-fission device so why bother with the added complexity? We aren't talking about boosted-fission, backpacks, etc. We are talking about a simple fission device consisting of the plutonium, some HE, a few diodes and transistors and a floor lamp.

[calenel]

At least Foxboro is well away from Boston. Go Pats!

[Osage Orange]

Heck....they don't need nukes.

Nine crack sniper teams in nine different cities would create absolute chaos....

[Euro-American Scum]

Of course it isn't feasible. W is doing EVERYTHING in his power to make sure our borders are safe and secure!!!!!!

You're going to have to get yourself an FR primer if you're going to survive around here. . . Pay attention:

al Qaeda -- bad.

Followers of the religion of peace -- good.

Illegal immigration -- bad.

Cheap illegal immigrant labor -- good.

Cheap Chinese imports -- good.

Sophisticated Chinese weapons -- bad.

American servicemen defending the country from terrorism -- good.

American veterans looking for a job -- bad.

And the one thing FReepers of all sizes and shapes can agree on. . .

WAL-MART -- totally, completely, absolutely, spectacularly good. Completely innocent, and totally blameless.

Keep all this in mind, you'll do just fine.

/sarcasm

[SevenMinusOne]

(Hint: Total US production of tritium since 1955 estimated at about 500 pounds, including research and military uses.)

Which makes my point - Tritium is NOT in abundant supply and is not "easy enough to get" (that is just false) - It also further demonstrates the fact that "Tritium" requests can be easily tracked and verified because there simply isn't a lot of this out there.

Furthermore it has a relatively short shelf life - and YOU do need Tritium for any type of "smaller Nuke" which this whole post is originally regarding.

al-Qeade does NOT have nuclear weapons no matter how much you try and spin that it is possible. It isn't. There are so many additional factors that go into having a nuclear device that become traceable. It is just foolishness to suggest al-Qeade has Nukes...AND they are in the United States. (it is rubbish to sell a book).

[Fruit of the Spirit]

If the nukes don't hit Seattle, Mt.Rainier will...but it'll take out Tacoma first. Flip a coin?

[calenel]

(Hint: Total US production of tritium since 1955 estimated at about 500 pounds, including research and military uses.)

"Which makes my point - Tritium is NOT in abundant supply and is not 'easy enough to get' (that is just false) - It also further demonstrates the fact that 'Tritium' requests can be easily tracked and verified because there simply isn't a lot of this out there."

The fact that 500 pounds of tritium is enough to service the entire nuclear arsenal of the US for 50 years and make all those glowing 'EXIT' signs and serve as a common component in medical research where it is used to track reactions involving hydrogen (the most abundant element in the universe and in most life forms on earth) should tell you that none of these uses require very much. Which means that it would be relatively easy to divert a little from some commercial application or research project - if the thieves even cared to hide the theft - and hardly anybody would know what it meant if they even noticed. Plus the other possible sources - rogue states, hostiles, etc. Good grief, Canada and Russia both sell it on the international market.

"Furthermore it has a relatively short shelf life - and YOU do need Tritium for any type of 'smaller Nuke' which this whole post is originally regarding."

The half-life is 12.3 years. Every 12.3 years your supply dwindles by 50%. 25(ish) years and you have 1/4 of what you started with. 50 years and it is 1/16th of your original quantity. So what? All the tritium does is increase the yield. You still need the fission to boost in the fission-boosting reaction. Furthermore, the original post is about nukes being snuck over the border, not necessarily restricted to backpack or suitcase nukes. And, of course, if you needed tritium for any kind of 'small' nuke then Hiroshima couldn't have happened.

"al-Qeade does NOT have nuclear weapons no matter how much you try and spin that it is possible."

Where is the spin? I didn't claim that they do, only that it was possible.

"It isn't."

It is. However unlikely. You ARE in denial.

"There are so many additional factors that go into having a nuclear device that become traceable."

Just the plutonium.

"It is just foolishness to suggest al-Qeade has Nukes...AND they are in the United States. (it is rubbish to sell a book)."

Perhaps it's all about selling the books, but it is the height of foolishness to deny a threat just because you don't like the possible outcomes. I haven't seen any support for your position in the form of documents or links (and that includes your technological assertions). That was what I specifically requested.

[Mr. Quarterpanel]

You did not do so well in chemistry, did you?

The shaped charges, and the timing of the explosion is crucial to successful detonation of the fissile material. Without them, you have a dirty bomb, and not a very powerful one. But that is another thread.
The idea of "harvesting" a pit from somewhere for some home brewed nuke is interesting. Plutonium is not particulary radioactive, but does oxydize readily in the air, and produces a fine powder in dong so that contaminates everything and is easily inhaled. Did I mention that it is EXTREMELY toxic? Once you have the pit, you have to have the mathematics necessary to know how much overpressure needed to fizz the pit, and have the specilized skills necessary to construct the charges. Not exactly something that is taught in the Madrass.
These things cannot be slapped together, and expected to work. General nuclear weapon theory is common. Having the resources to build one is not.