Don't drop that bomb on me

[Connie Clark]

I composed the email below this morning (thank
goodness I saved a draft), but it hasn't showed up yet
on the list, so forgive me if this turns out to be
duplicated.  

Incidentally, I do rely upon the people on this list,
who I have deep respect for no matter what we agree or
disagree on, or how cranky they may seem to be; to be
accurate with their information, and/or give us
credible information sources.  I've always perceived
ghettoites as well above average, and reluctant to
admit intellectualists. Sorry about the awkward
grammer here...in a hurry.

We are in very emotional times right now, probably all
of us are experiencing difficulty with concentrating
on the mundane or routine work of livlihood, just
about now really catching up on us. So lighten up on
each other, and the deep (or shallow) feelings
expressed. 


Now for my original depressing post about the war:

Thus we move on to the next peril realization:

excerpted summary* of possible a-bomb plans by our
enemies:

"Besides the fissile materials, Saddam has been trying
to obtain the other components necessary to construct
a bomb--sometimes with the help of our Western allies.
Now that Iraq's oil export ban has been essentially
lifted--the United Nations allowed Iraq to sell $17
billion worth of petroleum last year--Saddam has cash
and has been spending it on the high-tech market. In
1998 Iraq ordered from a German company six
lithotripsy devices, extremely expensive machines that
treat kidney stones without surgery. Why did Iraq
require lithotripsy when millions of its citizens lack
basic antibiotics? Presumably because the lithotripter
employs an incredibly high-speed switch modeled on the
high-speed switches in atomic warheads. Justified as a
medical purchase, Iraq obtained eight of the switches,
one in each machine plus two spares. Initially Iraq
ordered 120 spare switches, a figure totally unrelated
to the normal operation of lithotripters, and one that
should have made Saddam's real purpose unmistakably
clear. The German company balked at the purchase order
for 120 switches, but happily sold the eight. 

"While iraq may be the state sponsor of terrorism most
likely to develop atomic weapons, it is not the only
one trying. Iran is completing construction of a
Russian-designed reactor in the port city of Bushehr.
The purpose is ostensibly peaceful energy production,
but it could also be used to enrich uranium. In an
overlooked statement released just a few days before
the September 11 attacks, the CIA reported that Iran
is actively trying to build atomic warheads. Israeli
officials estimate that like Iraq, Iran is about five
years away from being able to make an a-bomb. Lack of
fissile materials seems to be Iran's main obstacle. 

"Then, of course, there is Al Qaeda. Here as well, the
primary obstacle is obtaining the fissile materials.
And, here as well, they are trying. In testimony
widely ignored at the time, Al Qaeda member Jamal
al-Fadl said in federal court last winter that he had
helped Osama bin Laden's operatives arrange meetings
aimed at acquiring black market fissile materials,
probably from former Soviet states. The Wall Street
Journal recently reported that last spring a draft
report on nuclear proliferation by the International
Atomic Energy Agency said bin Laden's group was
"actively seeking" an atomic bomb."


---any of which, if smuggled into the US and assembled
into a SUV, detonated in a major city, kill probably
100,000 immediately, and another ...

Wishing I was in Folsom.
Connie

*Source here is:
The New Republic, Senior Editor, G. Easterbrook. 
Agree or not with conclusions or politics, I find that
the information research of this pub to be thorough. 
The mag has been around spouting opinions in print for
about 90 years. 





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