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Nukes are "use it or lose it" in the absence of a large and extensive infrastructure to maintain them. They are complex devices that contain precision electronics, various reactive chemical compounds, and radioactive elements that emit neutrons (which affect the electronics and reactive chemical compounds). They have a finite shelf life--which is much less than a year.

Poohbah - just curious..are you speaking from direct experience, or (like a lot of us) things you've read on the 'net?

It occurs to me that there are a LOT of Rusky/Pakistani/N. Korean scientists who are available for hire, and lots and LOTS of "material" floating around to "service" rogue nukes.

I would like to believe the "it takes too much maintenance for these to remain active" angle VERY much, but I am of the (uneducated and uniformed) opinion that there are most likely ways around the "shelf-life" issue.

Any thoughts?

TIA..

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1066494/posts

"Saddam's Web of Bribery 'Went Round the World'"
The Telegraph ^ | Philip Delves Broughton and Jack Fairweather

Posted on 01/27/2004 7:44:19 PM PST by quidnunc

ARTICLE SNIPPET: "Saddam Hussein bribed his way around the world, buying the support of presidents, ministers, legislators, political parties and even Christian churches, according to documents published in Iraq.

The list of those who allegedly benefited from Saddam's largesse spans 46 countries.

According to the newspaper al-Mada, one of the new publications that have emerged since the removal of the dictator, Saddam offered each of his friends lucrative contracts to trade in millions of barrels of Iraqi crude under the United Nations oil-for-food programme.

The 270 individuals and organisations alleged to be in his pay included the sons of a serving Arab president, Arab ministers, a prominent Indonesian leader, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation, the party led by the Russian nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky and even the Russian Orthodox Church.

Abdul Sahib Qotob, an under-secretary in Iraq's oil ministry, said the documents "reveal how Saddam jeopardised the oil wealth of Iraq on personalities who had supported him and turned a blind eye on the mass graves and injustice he inflicted on the sons of the Iraqi people".

He said the ministry was building up a legal case and might seek the help of Interpol to recover the money. Interpol refused to comment."

-snip-
Excerpted - click for full article ^
Source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2004/01/28/wirq28.xml&sSheet=/news/2004/01/28/ixnewstop.html

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1066654/posts

"Pakistanis Exploited Nuclear Network"
The Washington Post ^ | January 28, 2004 | Kamran Khan

Posted on 01/28/2004 1:05:00 AM PST by neverdem

"Iran, Libya Aided Via Black Market, Investigation Finds"

Poohbah - just curious..are you speaking from direct experience, or (like a lot of us) things you've read on the 'net?

Not direct experience, but from reading the relevant history (including primary source material from the AEC and DOE). I've read Chuck Hansen's work on nuclear weapons history, and he goes into some detail on the storage and maintenance issues. A lot of money was spent on trying to develop a "wooden bomb" that wouldn't need very much maintenance; these efforts were not successful.

It occurs to me that there are a LOT of Rusky/Pakistani/N. Korean scientists who are available for hire, and lots and LOTS of "material" floating around to "service" rogue nukes.

Sure. They're going to bring those materials into the United States and service the weapons? There goes the covert posture.

I would like to believe the "it takes too much maintenance for these to remain active" angle VERY much, but I am of the (uneducated and uniformed) opinion that there are most likely ways around the "shelf-life" issue.

Yeah, there are...but not if the weapons are allegedly inside the United States. Servicing them is a major OPSEC hazard.