Posted on 01/29/2003 9:27:27 PM PST by Slingshot
To make a bomb with uranium, the concentration of U-235 must be boosted from less than 2percent in the natural ore to more than 20 percent, at least. From the end of the Gulf War to 1998, inspectors systematically uncovered and destroyed buildings and equipment at Tuwaitha, Al Tarmiya, and Ash Sharquat, where Iraq had secretely maintained extensive facilities in which uranium was to be enriched by means of electromagnetic isotope separation. Iraq was using the approached to uranium enrichment used in the Manhattan Project, which is not used anymore in the United States.
Inspectors also destroyed Iraq’s nuclear weapons development and production sites, as well as its laboratory-scale reprocessing plants and gas-centrifuge facilities at Al Atheer and Al Qa Qaa. But since 1998, proliferation experts have expressed concerns about issues that were still unresolved when the inspection ended. Also, they have expressed Hussein’s ability to reconstitute his nuclear weapons program.
In fact, Iraq never surrendered its two completed bomb designs to the inspectors. Their existence was revealed only after 1998 by high-ranking Iraq defectors. One is for an implosion device, using shaped charges to detonate the nuclear core. The other is a crude gun-type bomb design of the Hiroshima type. Without those blueprints, inspectors cannot evaluate their adequacy.
Iraquis never handed over nuclear weapons components, such as explosive lenses and neutron initiators, they were known to have, nor most of the documentation for the part of Iraq’s uranium enrichment program that relied on development of compact, easily concealed gas centrifuges-the technology of choice in most part of the world since the 1960s.
In addition, Iraq still has a trained corps of nuclear scientists with the know how to reconstitute his bomb program. Adding fuel to the fires, the White House said that over the past 14 months, Iraq has tried to buy thousands of specially designed aluminum tubes intended as components of centrifuges to enrich uranium. Administration officials said that at least two clandestine shipments of tubes were intercepted before they could reach Iraq. These tubes are anodized against corrosion and specially tooled to withstand the stress of spinning.
Among the countries allied to Iraq, with the technology to manufacture the centrifuges and the aluminum tubes is Cuba. Cuba has developed in Planta Mecanica, at the NW of Santa Clara, the facilities to build specially insulated and sensitive centrifuges for the biotechnology industry, even providing Iran of such equipment for the recent finished Biotechnology Center built by Cuba to Iran.
These centrifuges can be used in the development of nuclear weapons. The tubes can be used for conventional weapons and for the development of nuclear weapons, as well as for certain processes in the biotechnology industry.
It takes roughly 20 kgs of enriched aluminum per weapon. A crude nuclear weapon can be then constructed in less than a year. This weapon would probably be the gun type, relatively easy to build and reliable to use without testing, however, hard to deliver.
The threat is very real.
Nothing would surprise me though. When you're dealing with a mad man like Saddam Hussain, The only sound policy is to remove him or kill him, We must make this stand or face far worse in the future
Exactly what is enriched Aluminum?
This was much covered in Saddam's Bombmaker. The key components to be looking for the Iraqis attempting to acquire are the high-explosive lenses used to implode the material. Iraq can't make them, and they are difficult to get because of the application to implosion-type nuclear devices.
What if there really is a great effort to produce an "Arab Bomb".
The way I see it, our news media and common-taters are out to make us believe; "They don't want to do that.", or "They wouldn't do it that way.".
I would rather look at their current ABILITIES and measure that against their CAPABILITIES.
There are at least 150 terrorist groups world wide intent on doing harm to a country called "the good ole USA." They are just the 'field troops' of a very large high finance organization, which includes some dictators, aimed at us.
IF WE ARE STUPID, we will listen to and talk about what is repeated ad infinitum on the 'boob' tube.
IF WE ARE WISE, we will listen to what is stated by the one sworn to defend us and has so far been excellant at negotiating and accomplishing his objectives.
Stick 'em Thorn Bush! Hook'em Horns!
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