February 08, 2004

Al Qaeda Has Tacticle Nuke

According to the FOX ticker, I see that Al Qaeda purchased a tactical nuke weapon from the Ukraine in 1998 and has it in storage for future use. I can not find anything on the web based news sites. Can anyone else find something on this issue?

Update:
Thanks to Ith for the link

Report: Al-Qaida has obtained tactical nuclear explosives

By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service

Al-Qaida have possessed tactical nuclear weapons for about six years, the London-based Al-Hayat newspaper reported Sunday.

The Arabic daily reported that sources close to Al-Qaida said Osama bin Laden's group bought the nuclear weapons from Ukrainian scientists who were visiting Kandahar, Afghanistan, in 1998.

The report has not been confirmed.

However, the sources said Al-Qaida doesn't intend to use the weapons against American forces in Muslim countries, "due to the serious damage" it could cause. But that decision is subject to change, the sources said, if Al-Qaida "is dealt a serious blow that won't leave it any room to maneuver."

The possibility of detonating the nuclear devices on American soil was also raised in the report, although no details were given.

The sources were quoted as saying that Al-Qaida actvists have hidden the weapons - each of which is about the size of a suitcase - in "a safe place."

Kandahar was the stronghold of the Taliban, which kept Afghanistan under tight religious restrictions until the United States attacked it in retaliation for the September 2001 attacks.

In the years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, serious concern arose in the West over the possibility that nuclear technology and weapons could spread to other groups, in part due to the difficult economic situation in the former communist lands. Several reports of the nuclear arsenal in the former Soviet Union in the 1990s indicated that a few dozen nuclear explosive devices had disappeared. One of the theories was that the devices disappeared in Ukraine, which claims that it handed over all its nuclear weapons to Russia.

Update:
Aaron's Rantblog has more links on this subject.

Posted by jthunter at February 8, 2004 11:39 PM | TrackBack
Comments

From Haaretz: "...Al-Qaida actvists..."

Activists?

They call them activists?

Good grief.

Posted by: mtpolitics at February 9, 2004 09:25 AM

It does make you wonder what side of the fence they are on doesn't it?

Posted by: JT_Hunter at February 9, 2004 10:45 AM

tactical not tacticle

Thanks for the shout out.

Ha'aretz is a leftist newspaper, the LA Times of Israel. Ma'ariv is their NY Times. The Jerusalem Post is closer to center. Arutz 7 (Channel 7) is right of center.

Posted by: Aaron's Rantblog at February 9, 2004 01:48 PM
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