Posted on 10/26/2001 7:40:05 AM PDT by Lurker
Israel Finds Radiological Backpack Bomb
RICHARD SALE, UPI Terrorism
Correspondent, United Press International,
October 14, 2001 -- Israeli security last month arrested a man linked to suspected terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden armed with a radiological backpack bomb, as he attempted to enter Israel from the Palestinian Territories via a border checkpoint at Ramallah, according to U.S. government officials.
The arrest took place during the last week of September, according to one knowledgeable official who spoke on condition of anonymity. He declined to give the exact date of arrest. Two other sources interviewed by UPI confirmed the incident, but also declined to give further details.
"People know how to walk a dog back," one said, meaning that relating too exact an account could lead to the identification of the source of the information.
Regarding the arrest, a U.S. government official said: "There was only one individual involved. He was from Pakistan."
Another source said U.S. officials believed that the suspect had probably gotten to the territories via Lebanon.
Information on the arrest went immediately to U.S. President Bush and a close circle of advisors, another U.S. official said. He described the appearance and character of the top-secret report circulated among the Cabinet members and signed by each official present.
Former Pentagon terrorism expert, Peter Probst, described a radiological bomb as a device with a small explosive core that is encased in radioactive material. "It would not kill a great many people, but it would contaminate a considerable area with radiation," he said.
A U.S. government expert said that the weapon captured by Israel was a backpack device that CIA officials learned about through Russian intelligence agents in place in 1995.
He emphasized it was not a so-called nuclear suitcase bomb.
The CIA had intelligence reports from senior Arab intelligence officials alleging that in October 1998 bin Laden had obtained one or two nuclear suitcase weapons from a Central Asian republic in return for $30 million in cash and two tons of heroin worth $70 million - a deal brokered by the Chechen mafia.
Russian Gen. Aleksandr Ivanovich Lebed, a former national security advisor to then-President Yeltsin acknowledged publicly in 1997 that several nuclear suitcase bombs had disappeared from Russia's arsenal.
But former CIA counter-terrorism official Vince Cannistraro has no patience with such accounts: "All talk of bin Laden having a nuclear suitcase bomb is crap," he said.
Cannistraro could not be reached for comment about the backpack device.
Nuclear suitcase bombs were designed for Soviet Speznatz or special operations troops to assault and destroy NATO command and control bunkers in Europe in the event of a NATO-Soviet war. The devices could not be detonated without matching codes held in strictest security by Moscow, a former CIA official said.
Backpack bombs have no such codes, but they were also designed for Spetznetz forces and have such an intricate and complex system of activation that the ability of a terrorist to detonate one "would be incredibly limited," according to one U.S. government official.
"There is such a complicated sequence you have to perform that some terrorist isn't going to be able to get it to work. You have to be very highly trained," an intelligence official agreed, describing the chances that the device could have been activated as "practically miniscule."
Probst is nevertheless convinced that radiological bombs are still a danger for New York City. "Bin Laden is fascinated by Wall Street. My fear is that he will attempt to smuggle in some "dirty" bomb that wouldn't kill many people but would dangerously contaminate the area," he said.
Copyright 2001 by United Press International.
My guess this is how Bill and Hitlery expect to get back into power. Obstruct the war effort, and say it's domestic enemies, and not the sainted muslims. Forget about the dead from the plane attacks, and the anthrax, and start drawing analogies to Vietnam. Say that the rags have some "justifiable" grievances, and we can't win without our fragile islamic "coalition".
The goal is to make Bush a one-term president, even if it means continued terrorism in this country. The democRATs long ago learned to not only live with crime (their elite always well-protected by the taxpayer), but use it to strengthen their grip on power. They would have no problem "looking the other way" at endemic terrorism in this country, since it would give them the excuse to inflict draconian restrictions on our freedom in the name of "fighting terrorism".
My greatest fear is that there are plenty of Republicans eager to go along with it, as long as they're promised a few crumbs from the democRATs. We're already being bombarded daily with Politcial Correctness, telling us why we have to be nice to the enemies in our midst.
Suspicious men seen on Squaw Peak trail
By Judi Villa
The Arizona Republic
Oct. 24, 2001
The Squaw Peak Hiking Association is urging members to avoid the mountain's Summit Trail because two groups of Middle Eastern-looking men were seen there with "heavy, identical orange backpacks."
"While the contents of these heavy backpacks are not known, what is worrisome is that they could contain hazardous agents, explosives or firearms, should the owners have bad intentions to those on the mountain," the group said in a news release.
However, FBI spokesman Ed Hall said there is no evidence to suggest that the mountain would be a terrorist target.
"I have no information of anything that would keep somebody from hiking Squaw Peak," Hall said Tuesday.
Muslim community members liken the group's warning to racial profiling and say it's fueled by paranoia, not logic.
"There is no reason for anybody when they see a Middle Easterner here or there to panic," said Ihsan Saadeddin, spokesman for the Islamic Community Center of Phoenix. "There are 8 million Middle Easterners in this country, and they cannot be treated like this."
The hikers group says it has received "six independent reports of suspicious activity"; three were reported to authorities. An e-mail sent to members says two of the men drew suspicion by singing in Arabic at 4 a.m. and raising their fists in the air.
[Comment: these guys can't be oblivious to current events. Given the current climate, is this a very smart thing to do, even if their intentions are benign?]
The group is asking for a police presence on the mountain.
"It's good for people to be cautious and to be alert and to report suspicious things," said Marwan Ahmad, publisher of Arizona Muslim Voice, "but if this group of men was Caucasian, doing the same and carrying the same backpacks, would there be a press release?"
In-f#ck%ng-credible. So this guy runs the Pakistan nuclear program until he retires, openly visits Afghanistan, and openly supports the Taliban, and they wait until ater he retires to arrest him.
Who can guess, at this point which or what kind of nuclear devices & material bin Laden may have? Heck, he's probably got a selection to choose from...
Mark W.
I'd have done it! You guys are all too fast for me! (Thanks for the good find, and thanks for doing the linking...)
Doesn't the World Series start in Phoenix tomorrow?!
(Now that Mark Grace has finally got there, I'd hate to see him vaporized...)
Mark W.
A radiological bomb is different from a nuke in that it uses conventional explosives to scatter radioactive dust over a wide area. If you exit the area quickly, shower, and toss the clothes you will probably be all right, but the real esate will be contaminated and unusable for years
Could they be put in backpacks?
How are they checking that botulism isnt going to be put in the food at the baseball game?
Does any one think that the Tom-Toms,Ridge and Thompson,will be able to do much of anything when the serious stuff really hits?
--Boris
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