Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

New US Terror Alert Linked to Nuke Fear
DEBKAfile ^ | 12/4/2001 | DEBKAFile

Posted on 12/04/2001 1:07:25 PM PST by Smogger

4 December: One factor in the third general terror alert raised in the United States since September 11 relates, according to US media, to intelligence information indicating that the former Saudi terrorist Osama bin Laden has gained possession of a so-called dirty or radiological bomb. The target date referred to in electronic intercepts is mid-December. It has also been suggested that such weapons may have been smuggled into the United States.

On October 12, DEBKA-Net-Weekly reported from its intelligence sources that Bin Laden had almost certainly procured a supply of uranium-235 six months before the September 11 suicide attacks. The uranium was believed to have reached him in a multimillion deal with a Ukrainian-born mobster called Semion Mogilevich.

DEBKA-Net-Weekly came back to the subject more recently on November 30, in another exclusive report: Radiation Poisoning Betrays Mule In the first week of October, a Pakistani arrested on immigration charges in the course of the FBI investigation into the September 11 suicide attacks, complained of bleeding gums and pain, symptoms of gingivitis. He was treated with antibiotics, but was found dead in his cell in Hudson Count jail in Kearny, New Jersey, three weeks later. The cause of death was not released, any more than the dead man’s identity.

DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s medical experts note that the bleeding gums the anonymous Pakistani was treated for are a symptom of radiation poisoning, suggesting he might have been a “mule” transporting nuclear materials or devices into America. (A subsequent investigation revealed that he had contracted gingivitis as a result of radiation-induced leukemia.)

This explanation would imply that more than one such carrier is employed by al Qaeda to smuggle nuclear materials or devices into the United States, Western Europe and the Middle East, their mission being to plant their deadly burdens in pre-arranged secret locations, ready for activation.

At roughly the same time, another Pakistani was detained at the Allenby Bridge crossing from Jordan to Israel. According to initial published reports, he was caught trying to smuggle in a “dirty” nuclear device (a conventional explosive mixed with nuclear materials that spreads radiation).

Then came the news blackout. An exhaustive DEBKA-Net-Weekly investigation revealed that the arrested intruder carried no nuclear device. However, he suffered the same symptoms as the man who died in Hudson Jail, New Jersey, indicating he had been exposed to dangerous doses of radiation. DEBKA-Net-Weekly’s intelligence sources reveal that Israel has recently installed hidden Geiger counters in the battery of detectors at its international border crossings. The counter pointed border officials to the suspected “mule”, who most probably reached Jordan from Abu Dhabi.

Israel handed him over to the United States, but was left asking itself: What exactly was the Pakistani’s mission? And have other members of the mule pack managed to gain entry?


TOPICS: Breaking News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-83 next last
To: Avatar_Arising
That's why there is NO cypher for the permissive action link on nukes. It's strictly a one-time use item. And the "failsafes" have nothing to do with computers. Think people! jesus!

PALs seem to rely on cryptographic principles and tamper-proof design:

There are two basic means of foiling any lock, from an automobile ignition switch to a PAL: the first is to pick it, and the second is to bypass it. From the very beginning of the development of PAL technology, it was recognized that the real challenge was to build a system that afforded protection against the latter threat. Rather than attempting to build an indestructible lock, scientists at Livermore Laboratory in 1961 directed their efforts towards constructing a system that would render a weapon unusable if an attempt was made to interfere with its PAL. By 1964, it had been demonstrated that this approach would work. The design was perfected and incorporated into weapons that utilize CAT D and CAT F PALs. With this system, the insertion of too many false codes or an attempt to bypass the PAL will render the weapon permanently inoperative, and the weapon must then be returned to the weapons plant for reassembly. The protective system is designed to foil the probes of the most sophisticated unauthorized user. It is currently believed that even someone who gained possession of such a weapon, had a set of drawings, and enjoyed the technical capability of one of the national laboratories would be unable to successfully cause a detonation without knowing the code. [SF87].

The requirement for safety in the face of an enemy with full knowledge is eerily similar to the requirements for the security of a cipher system. An admiral was less convinced of their absolute safety, though this was 10 years earlier:

All nuclear weapons have some type of command and control mechanism which is designed to preclude unauthorized use, and all nuclear weapons are equipped with safety devices that meet rigid standards.... With regard to enemy capture of a nuclear weapon, similar safety and security devices thwart the arming, fuzing, and firing of the weapon, particularly if the enemy has little or no knowledge of the mechanical or electro-mechanical operation of the protective device. It is possible, however, that these mechanisms can be defeated by a sophisticated enemy over a period of time. Thus, emergency destruction devices and procedures have been developed so that nuclear weapons may be destroyed without producing a nuclear yield in the event that enemy capture is threatened.

The Permissive Action Link (PAL) Program consists of a code system and a family of devices integral or attached to nuclear weapons which have been developed to reduce the probability of an unauthorized nuclear detonation... [M76].

It was almost certainly possible to bypass early PALs: A technical solution to the issues raised by the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy was jointly worked out by the Sandia and Los Alamos Laboratories. The concept was to embed a mechanical or electromechanical code switch in the warhead in a location such that it could not be bypassed reasily. To foil any attempt to bypass the device, the switch's appearance and markings were disguised to make its function unclear unless the weaon's manual were also available. [J89]

[SF87] Stein, Peter and Feaver, Peter. Assuring Control of Nuclear Weapons. University Press, 1987.

[J89] "Safety, Security, and Control of Nuclear Weapons", in Technology and the Limitation of International Conflict, Blechman, Barry M., ed., Johns Hopkins Foreign Policy Institute, 1989

Now what do you know about Soviet era PALS? Do we even know what devices the Soviets built had PALS and which didn't?

41 posted on 12/04/2001 2:31:18 PM PST by Smogger
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: samtheman
Ergh, soviet designs are completely different. There are no "codes" on them. Trust me, it's probably beyond the scope of most terrorists to do more than blow the pieces of an inert soviet nuke all over the place.
42 posted on 12/04/2001 2:31:54 PM PST by Avatar_Arising
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: Avatar_Arising
There's a point where you have to stop talking about things like this, Sam. Read that big red caption above the posting page.
43 posted on 12/04/2001 2:34:47 PM PST by Avatar_Arising
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Smogger
"New US Terror Alert Linked to Nuke Fear

Should a nuke be detonated in the US or Britain, I don't think a convincing
argument could be made to stop the US or Britain from vaporizing the "Islamic" world.

44 posted on 12/04/2001 2:41:44 PM PST by StormEye
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dirtboy
" Heck, my gums bleed if I'm too lazy to floss"

Dental hygiene is the number one priority in most Muslim countries, just as elimination of BO ranks high on the list to the French!

45 posted on 12/04/2001 2:42:52 PM PST by lawdude
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: Avatar_Arising
Trust me, it's probably beyond the scope of most terrorists to do more than blow the pieces of an inert soviet nuke all over the place.

Perhaps. And that would be bad enough. However, since we know very little about the design of soviet failsafe devices we can't make any assumptions. I think it is safe to say that Al Qaeda is a well financed and determined attacker (and they come complete with Pakistani nuclear scientitsts).

46 posted on 12/04/2001 2:43:45 PM PST by Smogger
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Avatar_Arising
There's a point where you have to stop talking about things like this, Sam. Read that big red caption above the posting page.

You brought up the PALS and there is some interesting information available about them on the Web. For example prior to the early 80's they were most certainly mechanical or electromechanical. Certainly most of them today are electronic and employee some kind of encryption. And not all devices are equipped with them. Don't you think terrorists have access to the Internet?

47 posted on 12/04/2001 2:48:46 PM PST by Smogger
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 43 | View Replies]

To: Smogger
Is it just me, or does December 7th 2001 (60th anniversery of P.H.) seem like an important date?
48 posted on 12/04/2001 2:48:56 PM PST by operation clinton cleanup
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 46 | View Replies]

To: Smogger
let them find it on their own bud =)
49 posted on 12/04/2001 2:49:29 PM PST by Avatar_Arising
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 47 | View Replies]

To: Smogger
"Let's assume ..."
No, but you go right ahead.

Seriously: go right ahead.
I do wish that debka stories were posted so "debka" was in the title area since the source field doesn't show up on the "latest posts" page after the first time.
Ie: "New US Terror Alert Linked to Nuke Fear (debka)".
Just a suggestion!

50 posted on 12/04/2001 2:55:00 PM PST by mrsmith
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 38 | View Replies]

To: Stevieboy
Thanks
51 posted on 12/04/2001 3:00:38 PM PST by ahariail
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 20 | View Replies]

To: mrsmith
I do wish that debka stories were posted so "debka" was in the title area since the source field doesn't show up on
the "latest posts" page after the first time.
Ie: "New US Terror Alert Linked to Nuke Fear (debka)". Just a suggestion!

You mean like:

Al Gore is the Winner (MSNBC)
Al Gore is the Next President (CBS)
Gore/Liberman Win Election (CNN)

52 posted on 12/04/2001 3:14:30 PM PST by Smogger
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: dirtboy
"Bite me. Debka has rarely scooped anything but poop."

LOLOL.. well said.

53 posted on 12/04/2001 3:16:40 PM PST by Patria One
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: TigerLikesRooster
Especially after last presidential election, people noticed that this forum may have some influence and sway momentum in some critical moments. They were sucessful in driving out some good old timers, intelligent ones, even though their opinions I sometimes dismiss. These "Apparachiks", will make "BearBottom" proud. Every one who they do not like becomes atomatically "libertarians", code word for clueless spoilers. Do not fall into their trap. Their purpose is to getting under your skin, and make you lose your temper and utter nasty words. Then they push abuse button and purge you out of the forum. The same tactic Demo's used against Clinton opponents. This is nothing to do with exchange of opinions, not even the heated exchanges. They all stay technically within guidelines and work in groups. There are here to enforce "discipline" and "unity".

Thanks for the heads up. We can use some unity of our own. The crucial test in 2002 for any group I affiliate with --- either on the street or on the net --- is this: does it work to give Bush Republican Congressional Majorities in 2002, or doesn't it.

54 posted on 12/04/2001 3:37:34 PM PST by samtheman
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: TigerLikesRooster; copycat; right_to_defend; TheBlueMax; Zathras; js1138...
I dunno.. It is strange how many of the posters that are critical of DEBKAfile or just the concept of nukes in the US appear to have joined within a week of each other and just prior to September 11th.. Hmmm...

"For the reord Tom Ridge already denied this. And it is already posted on FR." -- Mixer (member since October 23rd, 2001)

"I enjoy Debka.file. Really! It's my version of science fiction, which I don't follow."--meridia (member since member since October 28th, 2001)

"Debka File? Isn't that related to the Circular File? "--ahariail (member since October 19th, 2001)

"I don't think is true. Debka appears to be referring to Muhammed Butt, and he was reported to have died of a heart attack"--Mitchell (member since October 18th, 2001)

"Bite me. Debka has rarely scooped anything but poop."

"LOLOL.. well said."--Patria One (member since October 20th, 2001)

Scaaary! Now maybe they are all the same person. I am not so sure of their agenda though. Maybe it's to convince us of something. I think I will look into this further. ;-)

55 posted on 12/04/2001 4:00:26 PM PST by Smogger
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 28 | View Replies]

To: Smogger
Just after Sept 11th... duh
56 posted on 12/04/2001 4:05:12 PM PST by Smogger
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: Smogger; monkeyshine; Patria One
I happen to enjoy reading Debkafile.

I never read any science fiction.

I consider Debkafile, and occasionally other conspiratorial material to be my "sci fi."

IF such an innocuous remark, elicits such HOSTILITY and DISREGARD from you, much less an outright accusation that I have an agenda --- then I suggest you consult a professional about paranoia.

ANYONE who finds it at all strange that this website would have grown enormously after 911, obviously has difficulty thinking straight.

57 posted on 12/04/2001 4:08:55 PM PST by meridia
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: Jim Robinson
I had NO idea that your PUBLIC website was only to be used by longterm members --- or else their posts can be ridiculed or they get outright threats, like the above.
58 posted on 12/04/2001 4:10:42 PM PST by meridia
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: Smogger
LOL.. Do a little research on Debka.
59 posted on 12/04/2001 4:11:14 PM PST by Patria One
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]

To: Smogger
I've been here since September 1998. Nice try to deflect valid Debka criticism as something having an ulterior motive.
60 posted on 12/04/2001 4:13:12 PM PST by dirtboy
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 55 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-8081-83 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson