Posted on 06/04/2010 8:34:47 AM PDT by markomalley
The Burmese Government is attempting to build nuclear weapons and long-range missiles, according to a military defector who smuggled photographs and documents of secret nuclear equipment out of the isolated dictatorship.
Evidence presented by the former Burmese officer and weapons engineer suggests that the country is still a long way from creating usable nuclear weapons. But the fact that it has even a nascent nuclear programme will cause international alarm at a time when the West is struggling to contain the ambitions of Iran and North Korea.
Jim Webb, the US senator, who in recent months has become an unofficial US envoy to Burma, yesterday cancelled a planned trip to Naypyidaw, the capital, because of concern about the reports of the defector’s testimony on the Norway-based news website, Democratic Voice of Burma. It comes after Kurt Campbell, the US assistant secretary of state, accused the Burmese junta of violating a UN resolution by allegedly buying arms from North Korea.
“It is unclear whether these allegations have substantive merit,” Mr Webb said in a statement. “However … there are now two unresolved matters related to activities of serious concern between these two countries. Until there is further clarification on these matters, I believe it would be unwise and potentially counterproductive for me to visit Burma.”
The information comes from Sai Thein Win, a former major in the Burmese Army, who is compared in the DVB report to Mordechai Vanunu, the whistleblower who was abducted and imprisoned by Israel after leaking secrets of its nuclear programme to The Sunday Times. The materials he provided have been scrutinised by Robert Kelley, a former director of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency.
(Excerpt) Read more at timesonline.co.uk ...
” Jim Webb, the US senator, who in recent months has become an unofficial US envoy to Burma, “
With all of those congresscritters conducting their own foreign policy, why do we need the State Department??
Sen. Jim Webb at least says what we need to know. He said the Sen. Armed Services Comm. should have waited for the military’s study before dumping “don’t ask, don’t tell” and now he is alerting us to another dictatorship like N. Korea working on A-Bombs. Our Hillary-care State Dept. won’t tell us the bad news or stand up for America.
Why is it that in Britain, they call it Burma, but here in the states, we have to call it Myanmar?
Burma is one of the poorest countries on earth. Seriously? How do these idiots get elected? Oh yeah, it’s a dictatorship. Dictators always seem to make such sound decisions.
Be nice and clean, shave every day and you'll always look keen.
Myanmar is the name that the military junta gave the country in the post-colonial years. It is not uncommon for nations to have 2 names. Britain is also known as the United Kingdom, and the Netherlands is also called Holland.
Genius!
LOL!!! Do you really think, a piece of paper will stop any nation from developing a nuclear arsenal? What do you think Venezuela will be up to soon, along with Brazil and a couple of other South American countries. Its spreading, get use to it, the world is no longer a safe place, not that it ever was. America, France, England, Russia, China, Israel, Pakistan, India, North Korea, soon Iran, the list keeps growing, and it will continue to grow. Looks like the planet will get a population enema in the future.
I mean it makes sense. If we need one we could just borrow it from one of our friends, right?
NO SHIT!!!!!!!
All these little tin pot regimes are striving for that.
A nuke and a delivery method for them is a life insurance policy. Like N. Korea, they can sink a vessel, kill 46 Korean sailors, fire artillery onto S. Korean islands.....fire missiles over Japan, and the US will pretend like nothing happened, we'll make a speech or something laughable like that. Maybe Hillery can ask the Europeans how they negotiated with Iran and how that round or extra double dare negotiations went. lol The rouge nations out there realize that owning a nuke and delivery system makes the the Western free industrialized world reluctant to take any action. N. Korea, Libya, Syria, Iran, Burma....... all are on the same sheet of music with this. Israel built their arrow defense system to protect them against? Syrian missiles! What did Libya do in 1986 after we bombed them? They fired missiles onto Italy........... What was Saddam trying to do? What is Iran doing today? Iran is simply a big threat and in the media spot light, but this is in reality a "trend" that began nearly 20 some years ago. Already then we knew that the these rough states are heading in that general direction. This guy deserves the "Captain Obvious Award.
Every day during this administration another issue comes to light that won’t be addressed.
Why do you think no action has been taken about the intentional sinking of a South Korean ship, the shelling of South Korean islands, and the North's firing of missiles over Japan?
When these despots graduate from the “Dr. Evils institute of greater oppressive poverty and corruption,” they all know that they need a WMD and delivery system to keep the rest of the world at bay. Once they have a WMD, they know they immediately have to light one so the rest of the world knows they have them. Then they know they have to fire off longer range missiles, telling the world they have mastered the mechanics of exo-atmospheric flight and telemetry (orbital mechanics). Next they know they can do whatever they want and NO ONE will really do anything. They'll just give extra double dare speeches that sound really good!
And it’ll trace back to either NK or Iran, two spokes in the axis of evil.
Isn’t there more to it though- Burma is how it has been known for decades.
They tried calling it “The Country Formerly Known as Burma”, but that didn’t quite work out.
Next thing you’re going to tell me is that the Duchy of Grand Fenwick is going to get the bomb.
No, but I hear Sealand is working on it...
They are very resourceful and have had some success in manufacturing military hardware like combat vehicles and small arms. They are completely self-sufficient in ammunition and most spare parts. A nuclear bomb is a big step from reverse-engineering the Humvee (one of their accomplishments) but these things have a way of building on each other as the infrastructure and basic knowledge expand.
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