US reveals Iraq nuclear operation

[Bhaisahab]

The US has revealed that it removed more than 1.7 metric tons of radioactive material from Iraq in a secret operation last month.
"This operation was a major achievement," said US Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham in a statement.

He said it would keep "potentially dangerous nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists".

Along with 1.77 tons of enriched uranium, about 1,000 "highly radioactive sources" were also removed.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/low/world/middle_east/3872201.stm

[FreakinDJ]

1. So why were the weapons inspectors oblivious to this

exactly how did the weapons inspectors never find these goodies and why did the US military keep them out of the loop until after it is already removed

[ET Awful]

3. This is KNOWN radioactive material . . .

you know the stuff that everyone knew was there forever that had been sealed by UN inspectors a decade ago, etc.

Most likely what you're discussing is stuff like iridium sources (used to verify weld integrity in pipeline structures, etc.). This isn't material that could ever be used to make a nuclear device, but could be used in a "dirty" bomb. The "highly radioactive sources" are legitimate items that ANY NATION WITH A LARGE PIPELINE would have, it's the only way to verify integrity of welds. It basically means nothing.

[Kellanved]

they weren't

Almost none of the Uranium is Nuke-Grade. Leftovers from the nuclear program.
After the war, many nuclear research facilities were looted. There were quite shocking reports about people using radioactive materials to build shacks.

Apparently the uranium was removed from Iraq just in time for Bremer's escape.

[jpak]

13. All that uranium was declared and under UN seal prior to the war

Iraqi personnel never tampered with any of these sealed materials.

Some of it, however, was looted after the war because US forces left these facilities completely unguarded.

[Voice_of_Europe]

5. Not weapons..

because those are not weapons... those are various radiological devices that could be used for socalled dirty bombs but not for actual nuclear weapons.. they don't count as WMD...

[radwriter0555]

6. None of it was illegal or undisclosed. It was just materials used for

nuclear devices such as power, perhaps radiation for xrays and mris. There is no mention in the article that the materials were used for weaponry. Most of it was just uranium.

Hell, it sounds like the US pilfered it for their own use. Mpre theft of iraqi resources.

[thecrow]

9. Well, isn't that special?

Don't the Iraqis need xrays and MRIs?

[displacedtexan]

2. Last month?

Just another "time-sensitive" front page above-the-fold headline...

guaranteed to shore up the repuke base

and be soundly debunked on p. D-28 in a week or two.

[Oggy]

4. How much of this

was Depleted Uranium left by the US and UK military? :-)

[bos1]

7. It's not WMD, and was already known about for 4 years

This low enriched stuff has been known about for at least 4 years (see below), and apparently the fact that it hasn't been diverted shows that in effect the Saddam regime was complying with the restrictions on this one, too.

That explains why the administration gave the announcement to the lowly Energy Secretary (instead of having Rumsfeld or Bush crow about it), and the careful wording of his statement (it is not even called a "discovery"), and why FOX etc. isn't ballyhooing it.

It seems that the Bush administration is not even trying to pretend this is "WMD" evidence.

From a Nuclear Control Institure press release of Jan. 2000
http://www.nci.org/pr/pr11200a.htm
IAEA inspectors will attempt to verify that Iraq has not diverted some 1.7 metric tons of uranium enriched to 2.6% U-235 (so-called “low enriched uranium,” or LEU). According to officials involved in the decisions, the IAEA decided in late 1991 or early 1992 to permit Iraq to keep this LEU, as well as some 13 metric tons of natural uranium, for possible future use in a ‘peaceful’ nuclear program.

[keithyboy]

8. How about revealing Israeli nuclear operations?

Every country in the ME should be armed with nuclear weapons to protect itself from the US and Israel. History proves this.

[section321]

10. So I guess they removed all the barium from the hospitals?

eom

[Barrett808]

11. Here's a list of related stories over the last year

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=668676&mesg_id=668773

I'm somewhat skeptical of this story -- I understood that all this stuff was looted, because the Texecutioner failed to secure and guard the nuclear sites at Tuwaitha (preferring instead to guard the oil fields).

[ItsThePeopleStupid]

12. which is probably why

they had Spencer Abraham announce this in order to play it down--you never know, someone in our mainstream media might bring up the history of this stuff. For all the talk of WMDs before the invasion, the US military didn't even bother to guard Tuwaitha. If Osama wanted to make a dirty bomb, all he would have had to do is send someone there.

[Barrett808]

14. In addition, Greenpeace found that the people of Tuwaitha were exposed...

...to the looted radioactives and had symtpoms of radiation poisoning. The US would not allow IAEA inspectors to check the local population, and allowed inspection of only one of the seven sites.

[Briar]

15. So this stuff was so "dangerous"

it could be left in Iraq for over a year after the fall of Saddam?

[ItsThePeopleStupid]

16. IAEA: removing it was illegal

The Energy Department said it seized the materials "consistent with its authorities and relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions," and removed them from Iraq "to ensure the safety and security of the Iraqi people."

But IAEA officials said the United States lacked the legal authority to seize the materials.

"Now that the Americans have taken it, the IAEA has no access to it and no right to account for it or inspect it," said one agency official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=J5YF3Z1SCDPHMCRBAEKSFEY?type=topNews&storyID=5611283&pageNumber=1