Turkish police seize weapons-bound uranium

Ireland Online ^

[eabinga]

Turkish police seize weapons-bound uranium 28/09/2002 - 11:04:38

Paramilitary police in Turkey have seized 15.7 kilograms of uranium and arrested two Turks who they said planned to sell the weapons-grade substance, the Anatolia news agency reported today.

Police, acting on a tip, stopped a taxi near the south-eastern city of Sanliurfa, Anatolia said. They found the uranium in a secret compartment under one of the car seats.

Police in Sanliurfa confirmed the arrests but refused to give further information.

Anatolia said the uranium was enriched for use in weapons. Police believe it was smuggled from an eastern European country.

The agency did not say when the arrests were made.

Sanliurfa, 480 miles from the capital Ankara, is close to the Syrian border.

[StolarStorm]

Relax. The poster was just speculating. No one here took the comment to be a statement of fact. WE all understood the intent. Geeeshhhhh.

[Scott from the Left Coast]

There are many ways the military has of dealing with the possibility of being attacked by a nuclear device on the battlefield -- the primary one is not to use large columns of armor in massed formations. Dispersion, and small units, is the best tactic to use, particularly if you are facing an enemy with only one (or very few) such devices.

The wide use of airpower and highly mobile units also minimizes casualties from such an event.

Remember, if Sadaam lets one off in his own country -- that just means that there is that much less territory we need to worry about conquering, for it will become a no-man's land, and as long as our forces are widely (or adequately) dispersed, the casualties from such an event will be minimal.

However, the casualties in Baghdad, from the response to such an event, will be many and it will occur swiftly (Probably a submarine launch upon first notice).

[Scott from the Left Coast]

Saddom has got to be the dumbest guy on the planet right now.

Nope. He's fifth dumbest: 1. Al Gore; 2. Gerhardt Schroeder; 3. Kofi Annan; 4. Tom Dashchle; 5. Sadaam Hussein.

[LibWhacker]

I think it's probably much worse than one in ten. Probably closer to one in a hundred. And that estimate isn't taken out of thin air at all.

We already know that the success rate for interdicting other types of contraband is dismally poor even at tightly controlled choke points like the Mexican border (and that in turn does in fact give us some data upon which we can make an educated guess in this case). How much worse is it driving around the countryside of Turkey? This seizure appears to have been the result of nothing more than a serendipitous tip.

[The Vast Right Wing]

The US must now operate on the assumption that Iraq has weapons grade uranium and will have a nuclear device within 3-6 months. When Bush made his 'Axis of Evil' speech he new this, that is the reason that he said 'time is not on our side'. GWB has been preparing this country for war with Iraq since 9/11. The democrats ask about the timing, the reason for the timing is that we can only go to war in Iraq from Oct-March. We can't wait another year, time is not on our side. We must act this war-cycle.

[NukeMan]

There's no way depleted uranium, used in anti-tank shells, would be worth $5 million for 30 lbs of it.

Right you are. Still, I am dubious that it is 'weapons grade' (on the order of >90% enriched, ready to be formed into a bomb) but perhaps 'reactor grade' stuff (enrichment 3% to 20%). You can't tell just by looking at it.

[sheik yerbouty]

They are known for efficiency in such matters.

[Arkinsaw]

Excellent work. Glad the Turks are on the job. Those paramilitary policemen may have saved hundreds of thousands of lives. Maybe some of our own.

[unixfox]

What would the death of 500,000 + citizens and a major city do to the Democratic hold on the Senate?

I can think of two Sinators from New York right now that would be a good start.

[The Wizard]

you're too kind to dasshole

[Scott from the Left Coast]

Yeah, but look at the 3 goons ahead of him on the list!

[1234]

If they find 1 in 10 of every smuggled shipment of uranium that leaves about 150 Kg still out there.

pretty funny one-liner....

[Stultis]

So, what has Saddam been working on, and A-Bomb or H-Bomb? What is needed for each?

[ConservativeNewsNetwork]

Did anyone else notice the casing says, "Made in Germany?"

And does anyone know for sure what isotope of uranium the article is refering to?

[Travis McGee]

Anybody who ever dares to use a WMD against Turkey should prepare to meet one million very angry very well armed Turkish soldiers. And Turkey's enemies know it very well.

[Cold Heat]

So, what has Saddam been working on, and A-Bomb or H-Bomb? What is needed for each?

LOL! You really do not want to know that.

But,3-5lbs is enough for really big boom! And small enough to put on a intermediate range missle, from what I have read.

[Brytani]

The Turks did good catching these two guys and getting 33lbs of weapons grade uranium off the market, they have undoubtadly saved lives. Yet, this arrest leads to a much bigger question, how many shipments have made it through to Iraq?

[Utopia]

How many kilotons did we drop on Japan? Anyone?

Little Boy and Fat Man

Little Boy was the first nuclear weapon used in warfare. It exploded approximately 1,800 feet over Hiroshima, Japan, on the morning of August 6, 1945, with a force equal to 13,000 tons of TNT. Immediate deaths were between 70,000 to 130,000.

Little Boy was dropped from a B-29 bomber piloted by U.S. Army Air Force Col. Paul W. Tibbets. Tibbets had named the plane Enola Gay after his mother the night before the atomic attack.

Fat Man was the second nuclear weapon used in warfare. Dropped on Nagasaki, Japan, on August 9, 1945, Fat Man devastated more than two square miles of the city and caused approximately 45,000 immediate deaths.

Major Charles W. Sweeney piloted the B-29, #77 that dropped Fat Man. After the nuclear mission, #77 was christened Bockscar after its regular Command Pilot, Fred Bock.

While Little Boy was a uranium gun-type device, Fat Man was a more complicated and powerful plutonium implosion weapon that exploded with a force equal to 20 kilotons of TNT.

Source: http://www.atomicmuseum.com/

[Jim Noble]

Hiroshima= 12-20kt

Nagasaki= 8-12kt

And, no, you don't need 1000 kg of U-235 or Pt-239 to make a 1kt explosion. I don't know what critical mass was for Hiroshima, but I don't think it was over 50 kg.

Nita-when did your name change back-and why?

[AgentEcho]

Any idea why it would be in english?