All that you have mentioned were prototypes, one-offs, or experiments, except for the land mine, which was deployed in small numbers and never assembled into a workable configuration outside of the US. It was considered too dangerous to use offensively, and was slated as a denial weapon. Also, all of these "projects" were initiated in the 1950's during a period of great advancement in nuclear weapons design in the US.
None of these lightweight and advanced implosion designs could be built by terrorists with a 3rd grade education using a hammer and a grenade pin in some cave somewhere, and none of these designs exist in any arsenal today. Security, storage, and usability make them impractical footnotes of history, nothing else.
“All that you have mentioned were prototypes, one-offs, or experiments, except for the land mine, which was deployed in small numbers and never assembled into a workable configuration outside of the US. It was considered too dangerous to use offensively, and was slated as a denial weapon. Also, all of these “projects” were initiated in the 1950’s during a period of great advancement in nuclear weapons design in the US.
None of these lightweight and advanced implosion designs could be built by terrorists with a 3rd grade education using a hammer and a grenade pin in some cave somewhere, and none of these designs exist in any arsenal today. Security, storage, and usability make them impractical footnotes of history, nothing else.”
Nice rewrite of history, shame it isn’t true.
Here is what your “never assembled....” project became:
The Davy Crockett was deployed with U.S. Army forces from 1961 to 1971. Between 1956 and 1963, 2,100 were produced at an estimated cost (excluding the warhead) of $540 million (in constant 1996 dollars).
The point of bringing this up is that the hardware and knowhow exists here and most likely in the former USSR. Depending on who you believe there are many nuke devices missing around the world. The Universities churn out PHDs in Nuclear Physics every year.
The now aging hardware is around, and the know how to make it work is also around. Take some firebrand USA haters and some cash, you never know what they will come up with.
America needs to quit thinking our enemies are a bunch or uneducated camel jockies. Bin Laden, for one, is highly educated, and he isn’t the only one.
Sure, they have their wingnuts, but we do too.
“terrorists with a 3rd grade education using a hammer and a grenade pin in some cave somewhere”
.
I prefer to refer to them as “Date Eaters”
Like those with 3rd grade educations could go to flight schools and learn to fly Boeing 767-222 jet airliners...