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Posted on 06/01/2007 7:57:59 PM PDT by nwctwx
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Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism Law Enforcement Conference
On June 11 last week, a five-day conference began at the Intercontinental Miami Hotel, to discuss the threat of nuclear terrorism. The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism Law Enforcement Conference was attended by about 500 law enforcement officers. Speakers included Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, Ms. Frances Fragos Townsend, Homeland Security Advisor to the President and Dr. Richard Falkenrath of the NYPD, Deputy Commissioner, Counterterrorism for the City of New York. Several US government agencies were represented at the conference. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the European Union had also sent representatives to witness the proceedings. The meeting coincided with another conference in the same program, which took place simultaneously in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. There were satellite link-ups to the Kazakh convention, where representatives of 40 nations were present.
The Miami and Astana conferences were the latest to be held to discuss the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, a program which was officially announced on July 15, 2006, during the G8 summit in St Petersburg, Russia. Originally a joint US/Russian initiative, the program is now subscribed to by 50 other nations. On October 29-30, 2006, the inaugural conference of the program in Rabat, Morocco, was attended by representatives of 12 nations. That event saw Morocco becoming the 13th member of the program, and concluded with a resolution to fight the threat of nuclear terrorism from a broad front, involving other willing nations, to create a "vast alliance". The second conference took place in Ankara, Turkey, in February.
The opening speech of the Miami conference was made by the head of the FBI, Robert S. Mueller III. In this speech, Mr. Mueller stated that the need to secure "loose nuclear material" was paramount. He said: " Al Qaeda has demonstrated a clear intent to acquire weapons of mass destruction. In 1993, Osama bin Laden attempted to buy uranium from a source in the Sudan. He has stated that it is Al Qaeda's duty to acquire weapons of mass destruction. And he has made repeated recruiting pitches for experts in chemistry, physics, and explosives to join his terrorist movement.... We have often said that the next terrorist attack is not a question of if, but when. If we up the ante to a nuclear terrorist attack, we know it is a question of if, but we cannot let it become a question of when. Now is the time to act."
On Tuesday June 12, Dr. Richard Falkenrath addressed the conference and spoke of security agencies' preoccupations with the dangers of shipping containers potentially carrying nuclear components. He said: "This is the big focus. I don't know why they've gotten so much attention. They are important and I am not suggesting to ignore them, but they should not be the focus of attention above and beyond all others as a potential delivery vehicle." He warned that trucks and vans (which are easy to acquire and pass unnoticed in large cities) and also small aircraft and light vessels, could become the vectors by which nuclear weapons could be transported.
On the same day, Vayl Oxford, Director of the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office in the Department of Homeland Security, said that the US Coast Guard would be furnished with radiation detection technology. He said that more than 90% of all cargo entering the US is already being scanned for radiological content. He said that agents of the FBI are detailed full-time to the Domestic Nuclear Detection Office.
Dr. Vahid Majidi, head of the FBI's Weapons of Mass Destruction Directorate spoke of the conference's success in "opening a dialogue with our partner agencies and the international community on the entire scope of weapons of mass destruction." He mentioned bilateral agreements which took place last week between the US and five nations which would lead to greater intelligence cooperation. Those countries are Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Chile, and Mexico. On Wednesday at Miami's Orange Bowl, delegates from 28 nations watched a demonstration of how law enforcement officers would tackle a radiological dispersal device ("dirty bomb" or RDD) being constructed in a mock warehouse. Two SWAT teams and a team from the Department of Energy Radiological Assistance Program descended on the scene. Once the radiological materials and "dirty bomb" were "discovered", these were neutralized by a robot, which sprayed water onto them.
There is a real need for agencies to be prepared for the threat of a nuclear attack, but while making preparations to combat such a scenario, government agencies seem to be simultaneously trying to avoid spreading panic. The FBI writes on its website "even if the likelihood of such an attack in the near-term is fairly low".
Fissile Nuclear Devices
There are valid reasons to be concerned about the plausibility of a nuclear attack, and particularly one aimed at the heart of a major US city, such as Washington DC or New York. The simplest nuclear fission device would involve highly enriched uranium (HEU), in a "gun-assembly" of the type used in Hiroshima. Essentially, the Hiroshima A-bomb comprised a six foot-long gun barrel, only six inches in diameter, and sealed at both ends. One end of the barrel contained a mass of Uranium-235, with a second mass housed in the center of the barrel. At the opposing end, sealed within the barrel, were conventional explosives. Once detonated, the conventional explosives propelled the central mass of uranium isotope into the mass at the opposing end, causing nuclear fission.
The minimum amount of HEU needed for a fissile device is far more than weapons-grade plutonium - about 25 kilograms or 55 pounds, though with a beryllium reflector less than 15 kilograms (33 pounds) is needed. Hiroshima's "Little Boy" bomb is said to have contained 60 kilograms (132 lbs) of uranium-235. The "Fat Man" bomb which was detonated at Nagasaki contained 6.1 kilograms of plutonium-239. To extract 25 kilograms of easily fissionable HEU from natural uranium, a starting quantity of 3,570 kilograms or 7,860 pounds is required.
Excerpted
ON THE ‘NET:
www.pflp.ps/
www.youtube.com/results?search_type=search_videos&search_query=PFLP&search_sort=video_date_uploaded&search_category=0&search=Search&v=
http://www.tkb.org/Group.jsp?groupID=85
“Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)”
GROUP PROFILE SNIPPET:
“Aliases: al-Jabha ash-Sha’abiya li-Tahrir Falastin
Base of Operation: Israel; West Bank/Gaza”
re: Russian fighter planes sale to Syria alarms Israel
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
No Cause for Alarm
http://formerspook.blogspot.com/
Israeli officials are expressing concern about Russia’s delivery of MiG-31 Foxhound fighter jets to Syria. AFP, citing a Russian newspaper report, says the transfer of five Foxhounds to Syria has begun, and the deal should be complete by the end of the year. Russia also plans to sell an unspecified number of MiG-29 Fulcrum fighters as part of the package, although there was no word when those aircraft would be delivered. Syria already has a small number of Fulcrums in its inventory, and was an early recipient of the MiG-25 Foxbat, forerunner of the Foxhound.
Israel’s largest Hebrew-language daily, Yediot Aharonot, is sounding the alarm about the MiG-31 deal, complete with an inflated estimation of the Foxhound’s capabilities, and dire warnings from a member of the Parliament:
The MiG-31, considered one of the best fighters in the world, can carry guided missiles with a range of more than 200 kilometres (125 miles) and is capable of striking 24 different targets simultaneously, the paper stated.
“This information is more concerning when put in the context of massive armaments purchases made recently by the Syrians,” Yuval Steinitz, an MP from Israel’s right-wing opposition Likud party, was quoted as telling the daily.
“If Syria acquires the MiG-31 we can no longer rule out the idea that this country is preparing for war,” said Steinitz, a former chairman of Israel’s defence and foreign affairs parliamentary committee.
While the Foxhound represents an upgrade for the Syrian Air Force, it’s hardly a world-beater, as implied by the Israeli daily. In terms of overall capabilities, the MiG-31 is roughly equal to the F-14 Tomcat, recently retired by the U.S. Navy. The Foxhound was the first Russian fighter with a true lookdown/shootdown capability, allowing it to find low altitude targets amid ground clutter, and engage them with a long-range missile, the AA-9 “Amos.” It’s cutting edge technology, circa 1982.
Like the older MiG-25, the Foxhound and its missiles are not optimized for dog-fighting. The MiG-31’s powerful radar (nicknamed “Flashdance) and the AA-9 were designed to engage non-maneuvering stand-off targets (like the B-52) and penetrating cruise missiles. Against a maneuvering, fighter-sized target, the AA-9 is much less likely to score a hit, despite its range and large size (the missile weighs over half a ton). In a dogfight against Israeli F-15s and F-16s, the MiG-31 would actually be at a disadvantage, given the “fire and forget” capabilities of the IAF’s AMRAAMs.
Syrian pilots are also hampered by limited flying time (which reduces tactical proficiency) and a rigid command-and-control system that stresses ground control of intercepts. Without the ground controller to literally “guide” them through a tactical engagement, Syrian fighter pilots are typically clueless, making them easy meat for their IAF counterparts, who are among the best in the world.
In fact, there’s a certain irony the Syrian Air Force’s decision to acquire the MiG-31. With its on-board radar (and a weapons system operator or WSO in the back seat), the Foxhound crew can actually perform the tasks typically assigned to ground controllers. But “running” their own engagements would place Syrian pilots in an environment for which they are unprepared and untrained, leaving them at a severe disadvantage against the IAF.
Damascus also faces the challenge of essentially creating (or greatly expanding) a WSO training program, since most of its current fighters are single-seat models. It wouldn’t surprise me to see Iranian “advisers” turn up at Syria’s Foxhound base; the Iranians have long experience with two-seat fighters, operating both the F-4 and F-14, and could provide some assistance in such areas as crew coordination, and the tactical “division of labor” between the pilot and WSO. However, the tactical proficiency of Iranian crews has also declined in recent years, so it’s debatable if Syria would gain anything from Iran’s WSO cadre.
It’s also significant that Damascus is not getting SU-27/30 Flanker airframes, easily the best Russian fighter currently on the world market. Syria has a heavy debt from past arms purchases from Moscow, and likely can’t afford Flankers at this time. That gives Moscow a convenient pretext for offering the MiG-31 to Damascus, a jet they’ve tried to peddle in the past (with no success) in locations ranging from Malaysia to South Korea.
The Foxhound isn’t a bad fighter. It’s extremely fast, has a very capable radar, and long-range missiles. But it’s hardly the optimum solution for a client (Syria) that faces tactically advanced adversary across the border in Israel. Against the IAF, five MiG-31s won’t make much of a difference, although they will impress Bashir Assad as they streak overhead at the next military day parade.
As for the Israeli pundits and politicians, they’d be better occupied by concentrating on threats that really matter, namely Syria’s growing missile arsenal, the long-range menace from Iran, and those rocket launchers in Gaza and southern Lebanon.
Labels: Israel; Syria; MiG-31 Foxhound; Flashdance radar; AA-9 missiles; Iran
# posted by Spook86
Yes, I read that in the wee hours this morning.
Thanks for the blog link.
I should clarify, I read an article on this subject in the hours...
Hey, the 19th is almost over and nothing happened!
(Or am I being opimistic, because there’re still a coupla hours left?
placemark
bookmark
The latest phase of the Internet revolution, which has been widely referred to as Web 2.0, has not been overlooked by web-based terror networks. A recent study by the Artificial Intelligence Lab of the University of Arizona details precisely how these net-savvy terrorists are using the Web for fund-raising, recruitment, propaganda, logistical support, communications, training, and even cyber warfare.
The following table breaks down terrorist objectives and how they are supported by web sites and web-based features:
Excerpted
http://analysis.threatswatch.org/2007/06/terror-web-20/
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=muslimbrotherhood
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=hamas
#
OPINION: Just Say NO.
#
http://www.nysun.com/article/56899
“Administration Weighs Reaching Out to Muslim Brotherhood”
By ELI LAKE
Staff Reporter of the Sun
June 20, 2007
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is quietly weighing the prospect of reaching out to the party that founded modern political Islam, the Muslim Brotherhood.
Still in its early stages and below the radar, the current American deliberations and diplomacy with the organization, known in Arabic as Ikhwan, take on new significance in light of Hamas’s successful coup in Gaza last week. The Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood is widely reported to have helped create Hamas in 1982.”
#
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1853143/posts
~
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=56259
“Hamas: We’ll obtain emergency U.S. aid
After seizing American weapons in Gaza, ‘hopes’ more arms provided to West Bank”
Posted: June 19, 2007
5:20 p.m. Eastern
By Aaron Klein
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1853189/posts
“Trial of CIA operatives is delayed in Italy (26 American & 8 Italian defendants)”
International Herald Tribune ^ | 6/18/07 | Elisabetta Povoledo
Posted on 06/19/2007 10:18:09 PM PDT by Libloather
Thanks for the ping.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=internet
#
http://analysis.threatswatch.org/2007/06/terror-web-20/
“Terror Web 2.0
The Net-Centric Operations of Terrorist Groups Today”
By Guest Contributor Jeffrey Carr
SNIPPET: “The latest phase of the Internet revolution, which has been widely referred to as Web 2.0, has not been overlooked by web-based terror networks. A recent study by the Artificial Intelligence Lab of the University of Arizona details precisely how these net-savvy terrorists are using the Web for fund-raising, recruitment, propaganda, logistical support, communications, training, and even cyber warfare.
The following table breaks down terrorist objectives and how they are supported by web sites and web-based features:”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=kenya
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=youths
#
http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=87&art_id=nw20070618215628424C751044
(Sapa - AFP)
“Kenyan cops kill one in ambush”
June 19 2007 at 02:00AM
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Nairobi - Kenyan police on Monday killed an armed youth, arrested at least 25 others and recovered several machetes in an ambush on an illegal training camp on the country’s coast.
The move was part of a growing police crackdown on rebel groups suspected of being hired by politicians to stir up violence ahead of elections due at the end of the year.
National police spokesperson Eric Kiraithe said a patrol team ambushed the camp in Mungunipa forest in the coastal Kwale district.
“Our officers received information that there was a group of youths in the forest and when they challenged them to stop, they defied the orders and instead attacked our officers,” Kirathe said.”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “In 2005, police killed at least five youths from the same group training in the same coastal location.”
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=un
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=unitednations
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=cuba
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=belarus
#
http://www.washingtontimes.com/article/20070619/FOREIGN/106190022/1001
“UN. council halts permanent probes of Cuba, Belarus”
By Betsy Pisik
June 19, 2007
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
NEW YORK —
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “But delegates yesterday voted to eliminate those investigators for Cuba and Belarus, a move opposed by the United States. Neither had allowed the U.N. rapporteur to visit their countries.”
Hi, I wish I could believe that these were just empty threats, but a radical islamic center opened up only one block from my house— and I live in the Heartland! You can see it online from Microsoft Earth if you want.
With respect to Venezuela, it’s really deteriorating quickly. I tell myself that Bush could have invaded, but decided to first let Chavez pick up the tab for installing “infrastructure” before the USA claims it’s 51st State! (It just gets so tiring to have to move into these countries and build them from the ground up!!) I just know there’s room for at least one more star on the USA flag :)
How are you doing? What do you think? Are we winning this war on terrorism?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=northkorea
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=nkorea
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=missile
#
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1853227/posts
A few more details UPDATE:
Note: The following text is a quote:
North Korea fires a short-range missile
AP by way of The China Post (Taiwan) ^ | 20JUN07 | Kwang-Tae Kim
Posted on 06/20/2007 1:51:30 AM PDT by familyop
North Korea fired a short-range missile toward waters between the Korean Peninsula and Japan, a South Korean intelligence official said Tuesday, amid signs of progress in ending North Korea’s nuclear weapons program. The North “fired the short-range missile around 3:30 p.m. (0630 GMT),” the South Korean official said, asking not to be named, citing the sensitivity of the issue.
He said the range of the missile is about 100 kilometers (62 miles) but did not give further details.
The missile launch, the second in as many weeks, came as the United States and South Korea and their regional partners explore ways on how to persuade Pyongyang to quickly shut down its bomb-making reactor. The U.N. nuclear inspectors plan to visit the communist nation next week to discuss how to monitor and verify the shutdown of the Yongbyon nuclear reactor, as agreed to by Pyongyang under a February agreement.
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