Category Archives: WMD’s

Israel: UN witholding details of Iran’s nuclear program

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Very much looking forward to reading Stratfor.com’s report on this. I think Stratfor missed the boat on this by such a wide margin, it may be a deal breaker on my subscription.

Eeyore:

From Haaretz.com:

The Foreign Ministry on Saturday issued a statement accusing the International Atomic Energy Agency of not publishing information gathered against Iran’s nuclear energy program.

The statement alleges that an IAEA report on Iran’s nuclear energy program released on Friday “does not reflect the entirety of the information the IAEA holds on Iran’s efforts to advance their military program, nor their continued efforts to conceal and deceive and their refusal to cooperate with the IAEA and the international community.”

According to the statement, Israel expects the international community “to quickly take significance steps to cancel Iran’s nuclear weapons program.”

The Foreign Ministry statement comes ahead of next month’s annual IAEA committee meeting in Vienna and a special UN Security Council meeting to discuss Iran’s nuclear program.

The statement also accuses Iran of “foot-dragging” and continuing to ignore IAEA questions about its nuclear program and “continues to avoid adhering to Security Council demands to stop enriching uranium.” Continue Reading →

Middle East atomic conflict would kill tens of millions: report

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Canada’s National Post: h/t Grace

Most strategists agree there are three obvious targets that will have to be destroyed to damage Iran's nuclear program -- including the uranium conversion facility near Isfahan, pictured. Mohammad Khatami/Getty Images Most strategists agree there are three obvious targets that will have to be destroyed to damage Iran’s nuclear program — including the uranium conversion facility near Isfahan, pictured.

Peter Goodspeed,  National Post Published: Saturday, July 18, 2009

It’s the nightmare that haunts the modern Middle East –Iran succeeds in its quest for nuclear weapons and goes to war with Israel, causing massive human casualties and destruction on a demonic scale that in turn could trigger a worldwide economic collapse.

Now, researchers at Washington’s Center for Strategic & International Studies have tried to assess the extent to which civilian targets will be damaged in any Iran-Israel nuclear exchange.

The initial fireball accompanying a 100-kiloton nuclear bomb exploding in the heart of Tel Aviv will instantly kill 8,966 people and injure 3,243 more, say Anthony Cordesman and Abdullah Toukan.

But within three weeks, that death toll will soar to nearly 800,000 as a plume of radiation spreads across the country.

Given its tiny size and 7.2 million population, a single nuclear blast could devastate Israel.

It could “wipe Israel off the map in a matter of seconds,” Michael Oren, Israel’s ambassador to the United States, said recently. The Iranians could “accomplish in a matter of seconds what they denied Hitler did, and kill six million Jews, literally.”

“Any missile with a nuclear warhead landing in Tel Aviv, Israel, will affect the West Bank, causing a large number of fatalities and injuries to the Palestinian inhabitants, pollute and contaminate the agricultural land and resources that lie in the Jordan Valley and, over the longer term, fallout radiation would reach the outskirts of Amman, Jordan, which is some 108 kilometres from Tel Aviv,” the study warns.

Retaliatory Israeli nuclear strikes, with higher-yield bombs and accurate rocket delivery systems, would be far more destructive.

A single 500-kiloton Israeli nuclear bomb dropped on Tehran would instantly kill 56,771 people and the death toll would soar to 1.47 million, with 5.1 million injured, within a week.

A full-fledged Israeli nuclear response, using some, but not all, of its 200 nuclear weapons, would target most major Iranian cities and major military bases. It would kill 16 million to 28 million people within three weeks.

Metropolitan Tehran, with a population of 15 million, is “a topographic basin with mountain reflector — nearly an ideal nuclear killing ground,” the study said. Continue Reading →

US Scientists invent medication that prevents radiation death

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Cure for radiation sickness found? From Ynet News:

Exclusive: Dramatic discovery by Jewish-American scientists could change world; anti-radiation medication proves effective, safe in tests. Further experiments to be fast tracked, FDA approval possible within 1-2 years
Ronen Bergman
Published:
07.17.09, 00:18 / Israel News

Medication that can protect humans against nuclear radiation has been developed by Jewish-American scientists in cooperation with a researcher and investors from Israel. The full story behind the dramatic discovery will be published in Yedioth Ahronoth’s weekend edition.

The ground-breaking medication, developed by Professor Andrei Gudkov – Chief Scientific Officer at Cleveland BioLabs – may have far-reaching implications on the balance of power in the world, as states capable of providing their citizens with protection against radiation will enjoy a significant strategic advantage vis-à-vis their rivals.

For Israel, the discovery marks a particularly dramatic development that could deeply affect the main issue on the defense establishment’s agenda: Protection against a nuclear attack by Iran or against “dirty bomb” attacks by terror groups. Continue Reading →

Would use Pakistani nuclear weapons: al-Qaeda

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From The National Post: H/T GAR

A Pakistani soldier stands with his heavy machine gun on a hill of the Biha valley in upper Swat on Jun. 20, 2009 where the military launched an operation against Taliban militants.Abdullah Jan/AFP/Getty ImagesA Pakistani soldier stands with his heavy machine gun on a hill of the Biha valley in upper Swat on Jun. 20, 2009 where the military launched an operation against Taliban militants.

DUBAI — If it were in a position to do so, al-Qaeda would use Pakistan’s nuclear weapons in its fight against the United States, a top leader of the group said in remarks aired on Sunday.

Pakistan has been battling al Qaeda’s Taliban allies in the Swat Valley since April after their thrust into a district 100 km northwest of the capital raised fears the nuclear-armed country could slowly slip into militant hands.

“God willing, the nuclear weapons will not fall into the hands of the Americans and the mujahideen would take them and use them against the Americans,” Mustafa Abu al-Yazid, the leader of al-Qaeda’s in Afghanistan, said in an interview with Al Jazeera television. Continue Reading →

Stratfor: Video analysis on Iranian Elections | Other Iran news

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Contrast this with Christopher Hitchens essay on the recent Iranian ‘elections’. I think I lean Mr. Hitchens way on this issue.

Check this amazing site. It seems to compile Iranian Twitters to update us all on the current status in Iran. Its quite amazing. http://iran.twazzup.com/

North Korea warns Seoul of nuclear war following UN sanctions

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H/T Gates Of Vienna:

Pyongyang also vows to continue atomic weapons programme, as South’s president leaves for talks with Obama in Washington:

North Korea has warned of a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula while vowing to step up its atomic weapons programme in defiance of new UN sanctions.

Today’s Rodong Sinmun, a state-run North Korean newspaper, claimed the US has 1,000 nuclear weapons in South Korea. Another state-run publication claimed that America had been deploying nuclear weapons in Japan as well.

North Korea “is completely within the range of US nuclear attack and the Korean peninsula is becoming an area where the chances of a nuclear war are the highest in the world”, the Tongil Sinbo said.

A spokesman at the US military command in Seoul dismissed the claims as “baseless”, saying Washington had no nuclear bombs in South Korea. US tactical nuclear weapons were removed from the country in 1991 following the cold war.

Yesterday, Pyongyang threatened war on any country that dared to stop its ships under the new sanctions approved by the UN security council on Friday.

Pyongyang’s sabre-rattling presents a growing diplomatic headache for Barack Obama as he prepares for talks on Tuesday with his South Korean counterpart on the North’s missile and nuclear programmes.

President Lee Myung-bak told security ministers at an unscheduled meeting today to “resolutely and squarely” cope with the North’s latest threat, his office said. He leaves for the US tomorrow morning.

South Korea’s unification ministry today demanded that the North stop stoking tension, abandon its nuclear weapons and returned to dialogue with the South.

It is unclear whether North Korea’s statements are simply rhetoric. But they are a setback for international attempts to rein in the country’s nuclear ambitions following its second nuclear test on 25 May.

In yesterday’s statement, Pyongyang said it has been enriching uranium to provide fuel for its light-water reactor. It was the first public acknowledgment that the North is running such a programme in addition to its known plutonium one.

Today, Seoul’s Yonhap news agency reported that South Korea and the US have mobilised spy satellites, reconnaissance aircraft and human intelligence networks to obtain evidence of the programme.

North Korea says its nuclear programme is a deterrent against the US, which it routinely accuses of plotting to topple its regime. Washington, which has 28,500 US troops stationed in South Korea, has repeatedly said it has no such intention.

The latest UN sanctions are aimed at depriving Pyongyang of the financing necessary for its nuclear programme. The UN also authorised searches of North Korean ships suspected of transporting illicit ballistic missile and nuclear materials.The new sanctions

The UN penalties provided the necessary tools to help check North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons, said the US secretary of state, Hillary Clinton yesterday.

They show that “North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and the capacity to deliver those weapons through missiles is not going to be accepted by the neighbours as well as the greater international community”, she said.

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N. Korea holds rally to condemn UN sanctions

SEOUL, South Korea – Tens of thousands of North Koreans rallied in Pyongyang on Monday to condemn the U.N. rebuke of the country’s latest nuclear test amid concern the communist regime could conduct another one.

The U.S. and South Korea are scrutinizing 11 underground sites across North Korea where it could conduct a third nuclear test, based on intelligence it may do so in protest of the U.N. Security Council sanctions, Seoul’s JoongAng Ilbo newspaper reported earlier Monday.

Tension on the Korean peninsula spiked after the North declared Saturday it would accelerate its nuclear bomb-making program by producing more plutonium and uranium, two key ingredients.

The North also threatened war with any country that tries to stop its ships on the high seas as part of new Security Council sanctions passed in response to Pyongyang’s May 25 nuclear test. It conducted its first test in 2006.

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak departed for summit talks in Washington on Tuesday with President Barack Obama that are expected to be dominated by the North’s nuclear and missile programs.

In Pyongyang, a massive crowd of North Koreans packed the capital’s main square in a rally to condemn the U.N. resolution, footage from APTN in North Korea showed. The isolated, totalitarian regime often organizes such rallies at times of tension with the outside world.

APTN North Korea estimated the crowd at about 100,000.

“We strongly condemn and wholly reject the U.N. Security Council’s resolution on sanctions, fabricated at the instigation of U.S. imperialism hell-bent on its attempt at stifling” the North, Kim Ki Nam, a top Workers’ Party official, told the crowd.

Participants clapped and chanted “Condemn! Reject!” in unison, pumping clenched fists into the sky.

The North is believed to have enough weaponized plutonium for at least half a dozen atomic bombs, and a U.S. government official said last week that Pyongyang may be preparing for another nuclear test, its third.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the unreleased information and provided no details.

Also Monday, Yonhap news agency quoted an unidentified intelligence official as saying the North may have already built two to three underground test sites near its known Punggye-ri site in the remote northeast, where it conducted its first and second tests.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry and National Intelligence Service said they could not confirm the reports.

A news report from Moscow quoted an official in the Russian military general staff as saying there has been a decrease in visible activity around North Korea’s nuclear facilities in recent days.

This could either indicate that the North has prepared for a new underground nuclear test or is taking a break, according to the state-owned RIA-Novosti news agency. It did not name the official, and the general staff could not immediately be reached for comment.

North Korea has also been preparing to fire an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking the United States, U.S. officials have said. The North says the nuclear and missile programs are a deterrent against the United States.

Washington fears that cash-strapped North Korea will sell its nuclear technology to rogue nations, spreading the atomic threat.

The regime has also warned it cannot guarantee the safety of South Korean and U.S. navy ships sailing near the disputed western sea border, raising the specter for a maritime confrontation. The area is the scene of two bloody maritime skirmishes between the Koreas in 1999 and 2002.

South Korea’s navy chief of staff said a maritime skirmish could occur “at any time” and that his forces were prepared.

“We will cut off the enemy’s wrist even if they touch the tip of our finger,” Jung Ok-keun said at a ceremony marking a deadly naval clash with North Korea in 1999.

But the Defense Ministry said Monday it has spotted no unusual moves by the North’s military.

The strong ties between South Korea and the United States are a thorn in the side of wartime foe North Korea, which accuses the two countries of plotting an attack to topple the communist regime. The allies deny harboring any such intention.

But President Lee said his country’s ties with the United States are “key” at a time of “intensifying” security crisis because of North Korea’s nuclear and missile tests.

“I will use this summit to reconfirm the strong Korea-U.S. alliance,” Lee said in a radio speech before his departure for Washington.

The two Koreas remain technically at war because their three-year conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty, in 1953, and they remain divided by a heavily fortified border. The U.S. has 28,500 troops in South Korea.

The two Koreas signed an accord to ease military tensions and promote economic cooperation nine years ago Monday. However, ties have significantly frayed since Lee, a conservative who advocates a hard-line approach, took office last year. The North responded by cutting off ties and halting joint business projects.

Short Video on the results of an EMP burst over the USA

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Here is a rather well done but simple and understated short video on the consequences of a high altitude nuclear burst over the USA. Many pundits, very well versed ones in fact make the claim that Iran is working in three shifts to achieve exactly this with their nuclear weapons program. A sky burst for the EMP effect would be orders of magnitude more damaging than merely detonating a nuke on a city.

A Hiroshima sized nuclear weapon detonated on LAX airport Los Angeles would in fact destroy the airport but probably nothing outside the fence delimiting the property edge of the airport concession. Many wouldn’t know it went off in greater Los Angeles till they heard about it on the news.

If the same weapon where detonated in space at the right altitude, there would be no news. No TV etc.

New Mexico, Bubonic plague, Al Queda

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Two stories, probably unrelated but I felt I should point these two events out as if I thought of it someone else will and you may as well read it here and decide for yourself if it has any meaning. The first, a story from NM where two people have died of the Bubonic plague. Plague is not unheard of in the US. In fact, plague appears in a few spots around the world, including Algeria, where the second story comes from. An Al-Queda cell in Algeria last year is rumoured to have weaponized the plague for use as a terrorist bio WMD. That something like forty Al-Queda members died at the same time of the Black Plague is not a rumour but confirmed fact. That Al-Queda was weaponizing the plague is not confirmed but not denied. The connection between these two events I leave up to you.

death_black_plague_street_scene

From FOX News:

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —  An 8-year-old New Mexico boy has died and his 10-year-old sister was hospitalized after both contracted bubonic plague, the first recorded human plague cases in the nation so far this year.

New Mexico health officials did not immediately say Thursday how the brother and sister contracted the infectious disease, but they are conducting an investigation at the family’s residence to determine if there is any risk to other people.

Plague is generally transmitted to humans through the bites of infected fleas, but also can be transmitted by direct contact with infected animals, including rodents, rabbits and pets.

Symptoms of the bubonic form of the plague in humans include fever, chills, headaches, vomiting, diarrhea and swollen lymph nodes in the groin, armpit or neck areas. Pneumonic plague, which is an infection of the lungs, can include severe cough, difficulty breathing and bloody sputum.

The Health Department, citing privacy concerns, would not release the name of the siblings or give a location for their home, other than saying it was in Santa Fe County. Spokeswoman Deborah Busemeyer said the boy died in the last couple of days but she declined to be more specific.

Fleas collected from the area are being sent to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for testing. Health workers also canvassed the neighborhood to tell other residents that plague had been confirmed in the area.

The CDC says an average of 10 to 15 persons contract the plague each year in the United States. Modern antibiotics are an effective treatment.

——————————- Stories below go from earliest to latest. I have only put a paragraph or two of each here, you may want to click each link and read the articles in full.

Eeyore

http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=4822

For the ‘maybe there is a god’ file an Al Queda training base is hit with bubonic plague. forty die and many more give themselves up as martyrdom suddenly didn’t seem nearly as good as it did before they got sick. Apparently even the fear of waterboarding is nothing compared to the rapid painful death of the black plague.

http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=4850

UPDATE Jan 21st 2009

According to stratfor:

Algeria is one of the many areas where plague occurs naturally, and the country experiences periodic outbreaks of the disease. In 2003, there was an outbreak of plague in Algeria’s Oran province. In that outbreak, there were 11 confirmed and seven suspected cases of plague. All the cases in that episode were bubonic, indicating it was likely spread by fleas.

That said, it is possible that AQIM members were experimenting with plague as a weapon, and plague could be employed on a limited scale by infecting some suicide operatives with pneumonic plague and then sending them around to hopefully cough or sneeze on victims, or perhaps to release some infected fleas against a target area. However, either scenario is unlikely to produce mass casualties. Y. pestis might be effectively delivered against a smaller number of people. The early symptoms of pneumonic plague can be mistaken for the flu, and if the victims do not seek immediate medical attention the disease can be fatal.

http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=4932

Al-Qaeda and The Plague
by Robert Maginnis
01/23/2009

The report that some forty al-Qaeda terrorists died after the bubonic plague swept through their Algerian training camp has been treated with some glee in the media. But that schadenfreude may be misplaced. One question being investigated is whether the North African fanatics fell victim to the naturally-occurring pathogen or the possibility the group mistakenly released the killer bug while brewing it for terror attacks. This incident provides the Obama administration the impetus to assess whether our nation is prepared for a bioterrorist attack.

The Algerian terrorist franchise, al-Qaeda in the land of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), is the largest al-Qaeda group outside the Middle East. AQIM has a deadly terrorism record and a declared intention to attack American targets which makes the potential bioterrorism threat credible but not a surprise for American experts.

http://vladtepesblog.com/?p=4996

Plague allegedly killed Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb terrorists Counter terrorism blog. org
By Olivier Guitta

On Monday, the Sun ran a story reporting that 40 terrorists from AQIM had died of plague in a terrorist training camp in Tizi Ouzou. Yesterday, Eli Lake from the Washington Times confirmed through one of his source in the U.S. intelligence community that an incident had taken place at a training camp that had to be shut down as a result. The deaths were not confirmed though.

A few observations at this point that give credence to this story, which has not received the coverage it deserves:
1- There has been a total black out from the Algerian media that has not even mentioned one line about this story.

‘If Israel doesn’t remove Iranian threat, no one will’ – Benjamin Netanyahu

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If Israel does not eliminate the Iranian threat, no one will, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday. From Haaretz: Hat tip Pat Dollard

“Israel is not like other countries,” Netanyahu told his Likud faction in a meeting which came one week after his meeting with President Barack Obama at the White House. “We are faced with security challenges that no other country faces, and our need to provide a response to these is critical, and we are answering the call.”

“These are not regular times. The danger is hurtling toward us? The real danger in underestimating the threat,” Netanyahu said, addressing the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran. “My job is first and foremost to ensure the future of the state of Israel … the leadership’s job is to eliminate the danger. Who will eliminate it? It is us or no one.”

“Our relationship with the United States is of great importance,” Netanyahu said. “Our situation today is different from our situation between 1996 and 1999. Our priorities must be inline with national security needs and we must unite in order to deflect the danger. The Defense Minister and I are working in coordination; he is not conducting an independent policy.”

Netanyahu added that he reached understandings Obama, among them that the most important goal for both countries is preventing Iran from attaining a nuclear military capability. Netanyahu told Likud members that Israel received a number of key pieces of defense aid from the Americans.

Addressing the differing Israeli and American approaches to the issue of West Bank settlements, Netanyahu said the issue resembled a disagreement between good friends.

“The Defense Minister and I are working in coordination; he is not conducting an independent policy,” he said. “During the elections I said that we are law-abiding and will deal with deal with the illegal outposts.”

Israel’s government and the American administration have expressed divergent views on how they perceive some of the most sensitive issues of the Middle East conflict.

The State Department said Sunday that the future status of Jerusalem would be determined through peace negotiations, despite Netanyahu’s declaration last week that the capital would “never again be partitioned and divided.”

“Jerusalem is a final status issue. Israel and the Palestinians have agreed to resolve its status during negotiations. We will support their efforts to reach agreements on all final status issues,” a State Department spokesman said when asked to respond to Netanyahu’s proclamation that Jerusalem would always remain under Israeli sovereignty.

At a state ceremony marking the annual Jerusalem Day on Thursday, Netanyahu said” “United Jerusalem is Israel’s capital. Jerusalem was always ours and will always be ours. It will never again be partitioned and divided.”

A U.S. Congressional delegation in Jerusalem said on Sunday that it was “skeptical” that Netanyahu’s government would be able to move the peace process with the Palestinians ahead.

The five-person delegation from the sub-committee on the Middle East was headed by Congressman Gary Ackerman from New York, who is considered one of Israel’s greatest friends on Capitol Hill. The delegation met with President Shimon Peres and other senior officials in Israel and in the Palestinian Authority.

The representatives had tough questions for the Israelis on construction in West Bank settlements and protested Israel’s intention to continue building to accommodate “natural growth.” They also expressed great concern over the siege on Gaza, noting that the civilian population was suffering greatly from a lack of food and medicine.

The prime minister said he had made the same declaration about the unity of Jerusalem during his recent visit to Washington, where he met with Obama over the peace process and Iran’s nuclear program.

“Only under Israeli sovereignty will united Jerusalem ensure the freedom of religion and freedom of access for the three religions to the holy places,” Netanyahu added.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said later Thursday that Netanyahu’s position on Jerusalem was a setback to the goal of a two-state solution, which is strongly supported by the Obama administration.

“Mr. Netanyahu, by saying that, he’s saying the state of conflict will be eternal,” Erekat said.

Four Muslims connected to Pakistan arrested in NYC. Planned massive attack on Synagogue.

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U.S.: Four Arrested In Synagogue Plot
May 21, 2009 0320 GMT
U.S. agents have arrested four people who plotted to bomb a synagogue in the Riverdale section of the Bronx and to shoot down military jets with Stinger missiles, the U.S. Attorney’s office in Manhattan announced in a statement e-mailed May 20. Charges against the suspects include conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction in the United States and conspiracy to use anti-aircraft missiles. One of the four suspects reportedly told an FBI informant that he had ties with Jaish-e-Muhammad, a jihadist group based in Pakistan.

Kudos to NBC for reporting that they’re Black Muslims, i.e., convict-converts.

NBC: 4 arrested in plot to bomb NYC targets
Suspects were under heavy surveillance, authorities say MSNBC

WASHINGTON – Four men have been arrested in a plot to attack several targets in the New York City area, including synagogues, federal and local authorities told NBC News Wednesday.

[…]

Investigators say the four, described as Black Muslims from the Bronx, had planned to place bombs at various targets. But New York city police and federal agents got wind of the plot and kept the men under careful surveillance.

Two years ago, two Muslims pleaded guilty to plotting to attack synagogues in Los Angeles. But officials said that they knew of no connection between those arrests and this latest plot in New York.

New York Muslim Terror Cell Plotted to Blow Up Synagogue

by Tzvi Ben Gedalyahu
(IsraelNN.com)

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has arrested four terrorists in New York City after they bought what they thought were explosives and a Stinger missile to be used to blow up two synagogues and shoot down a plane at a nearby National Guard base.

The four men are from New York City and bear American names but told authorities they are linked with terrorists in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The FBI is still investigating their backgrounds.

The cell had been under surveillance for a year and bought phony explosives from FBI agents, who also sold them a fake Stinger missile. The men planned to place the would-be bombs in front of the Riverdale Temple in the Bronx and under parked cars as well as blow up the Riverdale Jewish Center.

An informer from a mosque helped authorities track the cell, which was arrested after New York policemen blocked the terrorists’ black SUV parked outside the temple, broke in the windows and handcuffed the suspects.

The alleged ringleader was James Cromitie, who the New York Daily News reported is the son of an Afghan immigrant and has a criminal record. His three accomplices were jailhouse converts to Islam.

Pakistan expanding nuclear facilities, Now to include plutonium weapons.

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captphoto_1242747036945-1-0WASHINGTON (AFP) – Satellite photos released on Tuesday show Pakistan has expanded two sites crucial to its nuclear program as part of an effort to bolster the destructive power of its atomic arsenal, a US arms control institute said.

The commercial images reveal a major expansion of a chemical plant complex near Dera Ghazi Kahn that produces uranium hexalfuoride and uranium metal, materials used to produce nuclear weapons, said analysts at the Institute for Science and International Security.

At a site near Rawalpindi, photos suggest the Pakistanis “have added a second plutonium separation plant adjacent to the old one,” the ISIS report said.

Pakistan in recent years also has been building two new plutonium production reactors, it said.

“All together, these recent expansion activities indicate that Pakistan is indeed progressing in a strategic plan to improve the destructiveness and deliverability of its nuclear arsenal,” the report said.

The expansion would enable Pakistan to build smaller, lighter plutonium-fission weapons and thermonuclear weapons that employ “plutonium as the nuclear trigger and enriched and natural enriched uranium in the secondary,” it said.

The commercial photos of the chemical plant in Dera Ghazi Kahn, taken on August 25 of last year, show new industrial buildings, new anti-aircraft installations and several new settling ponds as part of the expansion, ISIS said.

The satellite images follow confirmation from the top US military officer, Admiral Mike Mullen, on Friday that Pakistan was expanding its nuclear arsenal.

Mullen on Monday said US military assistance to Pakistan was not being used by Islamabad to bolster its nuclear weapons program.

Given turmoil in Pakistan with the army waging war against Taliban militants in the northwest, the ISIS said the “security of its nuclear assets remains in question.”

Continue Reading →

US official Rose Gottemoeller calls for Israel to sign non-proliferation treaty

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From The Australian, supplied by our Ozzie friend, RR

A CALL by a US official for Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has raised fears in Jerusalem that the Obama administration may be seeking to block the Iranian nuclear threat by sacrificing Israel’s reported nuclear arsenal.

US Assistant Secretary of State Rose Gottemoeller said this week: “Universal adherence to the NPT, including by India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea, remains a fundamental objective of the United States.”

The US has quietly accepted Israel’s nuclear ambitions over the years because the Jewish state’s perceived vulnerability in the Middle East lent legitimacy to its desire for a “doomsday” weapon that could deter its enemies.

“In the past, there was an informal agreement by which the Americans looked the other way (regarding Israel’s nuclear program),” said Uzi Even, a former Knesset member and a scientist who was involved in the program. “Now the US is breaching this agreement.”

A senior official in Israel’s Foreign Ministry said the ministry was “trying to verify” Ms Gottemoeller’s statement, apparently meaning it was attempting to determine whether it meant a departure by the new US administration from previous policy. “In any case, it’s baffling.”

Under the treaty, only five nations are allowed to hold nuclear weapons – the US, Russia, Britain, France and China. All other signatories are obliged not to develop nuclear weapons.

Those that already have nuclear weapons are required to gradually rid themselves of them.

The only non-signatories in the world are the four countries cited by Ms Gottemoeller. India, Pakistan and North Korea have tested nuclear devices. Israel has not but is reported to have up to 200 nuclear warheads.

Under a 40-year-old understanding reportedly achieved between then Israeli prime minister Golda Meir and then US president Richard Nixon, Washington has refrained from pressuring Israel to sign the NPT.

Continue Reading →