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Uranium And Cyanide Found In Drums At Bin Laden Base
The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 12-24-2001 | Barbie Dutter/Ben Fenton

Posted on 12/23/2001 4:21:04 PM PST by blam

Uranium and cyanide found in drums at bin Laden base

By Barbie Dutter in Kandahar and Ben Fenton
(Filed: 24/12/2001)

URANIUM has been found in an al-Qa'eda base outside Kandahar - the first evidence that Osama bin Laden had obtained materials for a nuclear arsenal, it was revealed yesterday.

The discovery gives some credibility to the fear that he could unleash a weapon of mass destruction as his dying act.

Anti-Taliban leaders in Kandahar revealed that the uranium and other materials, including cyanide, had been discovered in a tunnel complex beneath the former base near the city's airport. The find was confirmed by American officials.

It was also revealed that when tribal forces took the al-Qa'eda complex earlier this month they found hundreds of jars, drums and metal cases in an underground labyrinth at the desert compound where Arab fighters staged a bloody last stand before Kandahar was surrendered by the Taliban.

The cache included low-grade uranium 238, which could be used to make a so-called "dirty bomb" if wrapped around a conventional explosive. It would spread radiation over a large area.

Specialised equipment and facilities would be needed to turn uranium 238 into a fissile device like the Hiroshima bomb, and so it would not be suitable for building such a weapon.

American intelligence officials told Newsweek magazine that al-Qa'eda had enough of the material to make a "dirty bomb" and it seems certain that their knowledge is based on the discovery at Kandahar airport.

Haji Gullalai, now the interim intelligence chief for Kandahar province, told The Telegraph that immediately after capturing the airport area, his men had entered one tunnel and discovered the materials in a vast underground workshop.

The find was reported the same day to "international military personnel", thought to be American special forces, who sent experts wearing masks and protective clothing to examine the substances, Mr Gullalai said.

He added: "We knew we were not well equipped to deal with these things so we called in foreign experts who told us it was uranium.

"For our own safety we did not touch the bottles but from a distance we saw there were hundreds of different kinds of containers - small jars and big jars, sealed with metal lids and containing powders and liquids, white and yellowish in colour.

"There were big drums the size of petrol drums and metal boxes with sides seven or eight inches thick. The bottles were labelled in four different languages - Chinese, Russian, Arabic and English."

American officials said that Russia, the states of the former Soviet Union, China and Pakistan were all possible sources for the uranium.

It has been estimated that several hundred Arab al-Qa'eda fighters were killed in the battle for the airport, led by Gul Agha - now Kandahar's new governor - with Mr Gullalai playing a senior commanding role.

The area where the tunnels were found is known locally as Turnak Farms. It is thought to have been the al-Qa'eda network's principal training and military base in southern Afghanistan and and held up to 1,800 people.

Kandahar airport has now been taken over by around 1,500 US marines and coalition forces.


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Okay, all you physicists, can't these uranium isotopes be traced back to a source?
1 posted on 12/23/2001 4:21:04 PM PST by blam
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Comment #2 Removed by Moderator

To: blam
YUP! Same source as the ANTHRAX. (I R A Q )
3 posted on 12/23/2001 4:26:53 PM PST by Henchman
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To: blam
bump
4 posted on 12/23/2001 4:29:11 PM PST by Centurion2000
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To: blam
Traced back to a source - Hmmm. I'll bet before this thread is done - the concensus will be - CHINA! BTTT
5 posted on 12/23/2001 4:29:51 PM PST by ChaseR
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To: backhoe; Black Jade
fyi
6 posted on 12/23/2001 4:30:52 PM PST by ChaseR
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To: cdwright
"The discovery gives some credibility to the fear that he could unleash a weapon of mass destruction as his dying act."

Why do we have to assume this is likely to be his "dying act"? We need to wake up and smell the roses. This guy is at war with us and he thinks he has a credible plan to win. So far we haven't seen any evidence he is wrong--he has managed the agenda from September 11 on (maybe much earlier) and we are still marching to his timetable. A well planned nuclear attack on domestic North America might very well be enough to destroy America.

7 posted on 12/23/2001 4:32:04 PM PST by David
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To: blam
This isn't the end of it either. I don't think we've found the main cave at Tora Bora yet. Who knows what we'll find there.
8 posted on 12/23/2001 4:34:54 PM PST by McGavin999
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To: blam
 

Chapter Head
Table of Contents
Glossary

Radioactivity in the Natural Environment

The radioactive nuclei, or , found naturally on Earth can be grouped into three series–headed by uranium-238, uranium-235, and thorium-232–plus several isolated beta-particle emitting nuclei, most prominently potassium-40 and rubidium-87. Average abundances of these nuclides are listed in Table 15-1.

    Table 15-1. Half-lives and average abundances of natural radionuclides.

 
40K
87Rb
232Th
238U
Half-life (billion years)
1.277
47.5
14.05
4.468
         
Upper continental crust
       
Elemental abundance (ppm)
28000
112
10.7
2.8
Activity (Bq/kg)
870
102
43
35
Activity (nCi/kg)
23
2.7
1.2
0.9
Activity (kCi/km3 )
66
8
3.3
2.6
Oceans
       
Elemental concentration (mg/liter)
399
0.12
1x10-7
0.0032
Activity (Bq/liter)
12
0.11
4x10-7
0.040
Activity (nCi/liter)
0.33
0.003
1x10-8
0.0011
Ocean sediments
       
Elemental abundance (ppm)
17000
 
5.0
1.0
Activity (Bq/kg)
500
 
20
12
Activity (nCi/kg)
14
 
0.5
0.3
Human body
       
Total activity (Bq)
4000
600
0.08
0.4*
Total activity (nCi)
100
16
0.002
0.01

    * In the human body the activity of 210Pb and 210Po, both progeny of 238U, is much greater than that of 238U itself.

The most interesting of the series is the uranium-238 series which decays via a chain containing 8 alpha decays and 6 beta decays to lead-206. This chain includes the longest-lived isotopes of radium and radon: radium-226 and radon-222, respectively. In each of the three chains the parent nucleus has a much greater lifetime than does any of the progeny. Therefore, a steady-state is established in which, for a given sample of material, each member of the series has the same activity–aside from deviations due to differences in chemical properties, which cause different elements to be transferred at different rates into or out of a given sample of material.

Including all the succeeding decays, the total activity in the thorium-232 and uranium-238 series is, very roughly, ten times the activity indicated for thorium-232 and uranium-238 alone. Thus, for each of the series, the total activity in the Earth's crust averages roughly 30,000 Ci/km3. For both series together and including the contributions of potassium-40 and rubidium-87, the total activity in the crust averages about 100,000 Ci/km3. There is also a considerable amount of radioactivity in the oceans, with potassium-40 dominant in the ocean itself and thorium-232 relatively more important in the ocean sediments. For the oceans as a whole (1.4x1021 liters), the total activity is about 4x1011 Ci for potassium-40 and 1x109 Ci for uranium-238. Potassium-40 is also present in significant amounts in the human body, especially in muscle tissue.

In addition to these ancient radionuclides and their progeny, some radionuclides are being continually produced by cosmic rays. The most prominent of these is carbon-14, produced in the interaction of cosmic ray neutrons with nitrogen in the atmosphere.

    Table 15-2. Average radiation doses in the United States, 1980-1982 (effective dose per year).*

   
Effective dose
 
Radiation source
Comments
mSv/yr
mrem/yr
Natural sources
     
indoor radon
due to seepage of 222Rn from ground
2.0
200
radionuclides in body
primarily 40K and 238U progeny
0.39
39
terrestrial radiation
due to gamma-ray emitters in ground
0.28
28
cosmic rays
roughly doubles for 2000 m gain in elevation
0.27
27
cosmogenic
especially 14C
0.01
1
total (rounded)
 
3.0
300
       
Medical sources
     
Diagnostic x-rays
excludes dental examinations
0.39
39
Medical treatments
radionuclides used in diagnosis (only)
0.14
14
total
 
0.53
53
       
Other
     
consumer products
primarily drinking water, building materials
0.1
10
occupational
averaged over entire US population
0.01
1
nuclear fuel cycle
does not include potential reactor accidents
0.0005
0.05
       
TOTAL (rounded)
 
3.6
360

    *From Ionizing Radiation Exposure of the Population of the United States, NCRP Report No. 93 (National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements, Washington DC, 1987).

  last updated: August 9, 2000 webmaster

9 posted on 12/23/2001 4:35:53 PM PST by Straight Vermonter
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To: blam
I must say, I'm not gonna be sleeping any easier knowing that what has been thought all along has now been CONFIRMED.
10 posted on 12/23/2001 4:37:01 PM PST by week 71
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To: David
A well planned nuclear attack on domestic North America might very well be enough to destroy America.

Certainly true, but you left out how the uranium found cannot be used in a nuclear bomb. I'll worry about the destruction of North America just as soon as I know that those with willingness to do it have the capability to do it.

11 posted on 12/23/2001 4:39:40 PM PST by be-baw
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To: week 71
"The cache included low-grade uranium 238, which could be used to make a so-called "dirty bomb" if wrapped around a conventional explosive. It would spread radiation over a large area."

Okay, I'm one that said if he had it he would have used it already. Apparently I was wrong. So, now the question is, why didn't he use it?

12 posted on 12/23/2001 4:44:51 PM PST by blam
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To: David
TO All,

I think it would be a mistake to think that finding this cache of deadly materials is evidence that we have neutralized or contained the threat of OBL's AlQaida. Someone commented a couple of days ago that the real threat is not from the AlQaida in Afghanistan or even the rest of the middle east, it is from the ones already in this country and those in other friendly countries. So much deadly material and devices could have been smuggled into this country, and so many "sleeper" terrorists could already be here that it is dangerous to assume that any threat is contained. The INS, and the State Dept, do not seem to be doing their jobs in having a sensable regard for the nations safety. I am refering to both immigration policy and keeping track of prior immigrants. Also there is NO emphasis being put on deporting illegal immigrants.

Their "political correctness" can get significant numbers of the rest of us killed.

13 posted on 12/23/2001 4:52:04 PM PST by rboatman
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To: blam
It may be safe to assume that the supply found was not all of it, and he may have an insane attack planned for Christmas or New years. I just pray it is not successful.
14 posted on 12/23/2001 4:57:20 PM PST by week 71
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To: rboatman
"Their "political correctness" can get significant numbers of the rest of us killed."

I agree 100%. So, what do we do?

15 posted on 12/23/2001 4:57:23 PM PST by blam
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To: blam
IF the source was documented, yep. Of course, I wouldn't necessarily trace it back to Iraq (though that'd be a good place to start just for general purposes)
16 posted on 12/23/2001 4:58:33 PM PST by steveegg
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To: alamo-girl;amom; Razorback-bert;Chapita; Harrowup, Frogmom
Interesting find here!
17 posted on 12/23/2001 4:58:52 PM PST by Yellow Rose of Texas
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To: cdwright
Nope..he had a watch factory..the uranium was used to make the dials that glow in the dark....
18 posted on 12/23/2001 5:02:24 PM PST by ken5050
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To: blam
Specialised equipment and facilities would be needed to turn uranium 238 into a fissile device like the Hiroshima bomb, and so it would not be suitable for building such a weapon.

In particular, you have to put it in a reactor and bombard it with neutrons. That will get you plutonium, eventually. Short of that trick, all you have is the stuff of great tank-buster bullets.

19 posted on 12/23/2001 5:02:54 PM PST by VadeRetro
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To: blam
There's nothing he can do with U-238. It's as harmless as lead. Same material is used for sabots (??? the bullet part of, say, a 20mm cannon shell).

There is no way he could make a nuclear or even a dirty bomb from uranium 238.

20 posted on 12/23/2001 5:04:34 PM PST by Henk
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