Special Ops boarding ship to search for Nuclear Material off the NJ shore

Fox News Alert | 9/12/02 | Brytani

[Brytani]

Fox News just broke in with an alert. Special Op's are now searching a Liberian flagged ship 8 miles off the coast of NJ looking for nuclear material. More information to follow.

[js1138]

I think if the public is informed of what a dirty bomb is, they'd be plenty concerned. A bit of plutomiun up the nose, and death is a lot more painful than from being vaporized.

[hchutch]

If they've sent a NEST team, there has to be some fire to all of this smoke.

If there is a device, and NEST can't findit, and it goes off, then what?

[eastsider]

Best I can do it Vanilla Coke...

Finally know someone who's tried it. Is it any good? (I'm a Cherry Coke freak.)

[hellinahandcart]

Sink the darn ship and the device before it detonates?

It's evidence. We need it. I doubt if anything's "going to blow" all by itself.

Actually, as long as we have every piece of communist flotsam in the world here for the UN General Assembly, I wish they'd tow the damned thing up the East River and anchor it right off of 43rd St. Might adjust their attitudes.

[Peach]

I haven't heard when Cheney will come back out. Maybe when they neutralize whatever is on this ship?

[RobFromGa]

If Trent Lott wasn't such a capon he would call for an immediate vote on the full senate floor.

As much as I dislike the leadership of Trent Lott, HE did just what you are asking for just after noon today. (and he had megalo-McLame with him).

Today, for this day only, Trent Lott was a rooster.

[Grampa Dave]

Vanilla Coke works. That combo soothes your stomach and keeps your cns firing.

[Brytani]

An Iraqi who by all accounts if pro-Saddam and living in the US, gave (and Ritter officially admitted to accepting) 400k to Scott Ritter to produce a pro-Saddam movie that is now completed. Ritter admits the movie went 38k over budget but says the money didn't go into his bank account.

Other interesting tid-bits from the interview, Ritter claims Butler is/was a spy sent in by US intelligence and he admitted during the interview that he has received NO intelligence out of Iraq since 1998, yet he knows Saddam has no weapons. David Asman conducted a fantastic interview and called Ritter on every point.

[Lazamataz]

Well, did they get a search warrant? (kidding)

I know you are kidding, but I think there are a few factors that aid the authorities here:

1. This is a Liberian-registered ship. I'm pretty sure the 4th Amendment only applies to US Citizens.

2. Should the 4th Amendment apply to foreign nationals in US territory, getting a warrant would be a snap since radioactivity certainly is probable cause.

3. Getting a warrant would also be easy because this ship has been intercepted and immobile for at least a day. Lots of time to get the papers in order.

I think this is a clean bust.

[The Vast Right Wing]

My guess is they have been practicing for this scenario since about 1950.

[mhking]

Is the bomb "salvage fused?"

Is the bomb connected to a GPS device and a computer with complicated logic? ("If the ship moves east of XXX degrees longitude, detonate."

Slow down kids - do we have a confirmation of a device yet? I know we're all a little hyper (a little, the man says!), but we've gotta be as calm as possible.

[Constitution Day]

Navy SEALs Inspecting Radioactive Ship Off New Jersey

Thursday, September 12, 2002

NEWARK, N.J.  — Pentagon officials confirmed to Fox News Thursday that Navy SEALs had been, and were still, involved in the inspection of a possibly radioactive container ship off the coast of New Jersey. 

The Liberian-flagged M/V Palermo Senator was ordered back to sea by the Coast Guard Wednesday after traces of radioactivity were found in the hold during a routine inspection at the Port of Newark. 

The 708-foot freighter, owned by a German subsidiary of South Korea-based Hanjin shipping, was anchored in an exclusion zone six miles from shore. 

U.S. Navy radiation specialists from the submarine base in Groton, Conn., were heading to the ship, the Pentagon sources said. 

Sandra Carroll, a spokeswoman for the Newark FBI office, told the Associated Press that investigators from the U.S. Department of Energy were to conduct testing either on or near the ship Thursday. 

The Palermo Senator had stopped in Singapore, Malaysia and Egypt, among other destinations, before docking at Newark on Tuesday. 

Authorities would not say what the readings were, or whether they were at levels considered dangerous. 

Inspectors had hoped to test the ship Wednesday, but high seas whipped by 55 mph winds made that impossible, Carroll said. 

It was not immediately known what form the tests would take, or whether they would be carried out on board the ship or from vessels near it. Officials at the Energy Department did not immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

[CIApilot]

...very close to the port of long beach, ca. I am very very worried. Fortunately I am moving toward point mugu soon.

Point Magu=major target (navy ops there)

[Peach]

A neutron detector is what picked this up? Jeez. I know my internal alert chart went from orange to red in the instant I read your post.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Depends on how big the first gun fired is, and who uses it. Bush asked the UN if they want to take that gamle.

Would you?

[Dog]

Depends on the size of the device.....and it's kick.

[hchutch]

I just hope that the device doesn't have anti anti-tampering devices.

[ItisaReligionofPeace]

If that were true why would they have ever escorted it into our Port!? Your theory has wholes, sir.

[EternalHope]

Can you confirm that a neutron detector was what was tripped? I have been looking for that specific piece of into, and have not seen it in any news accounts. Thanks.

BTW: Neutrons are much more likely to be emitted from enriched uranium or plutonium than from any other source. That makes neutron emissions a good way to check for possible nukes.

BTW2: The idiotic news story about smuggling radioactive material into the U.S. was based on U-238. Almost zero neutrons are emitted from U-238. U-235 is the bad stuff. More proof the networks know nothing about nukes.

[RedBloodedAmerican]

Liberian-registered

No relation.