FOE Sydney: Al-Qaeda nukes may have reached US Via NY Transfer News * All the News That Doesn't Fit [Note: It almost doesn't matter whether "Al Qaeda nukes" have reached US shores. We have plenty of nukes right here already that are ripe targets. Same with ricin, the plant-based highly poisonous chemical agent which the US is now claiming it found recipes for in Taliban Country. Ricin is already a home-grown terror from the rightwing militia types; see our covert action newsfeeds for articles on "jethro" and his arsenals. -- NY Transfer] source - FoE Sydney - Nuclear Campaign Let us hope this is not true: Al-Qaeda nukes may have reached US shores; Pugwash on Nuke Terrorism The article below claims that Al Quaeda may already have managed to get suitcase nuclear weapons, and possibly biological and other weapons of mass destruction into the US, for possible use against the coming session of UNGA. I have also appended the recent Pugwash statement on nuclear terrorism. It is from the Frontier Post (Peshawar, Pakistan). It was forwarded to me by Carol Rosin I am not in a position to judge whether or not there is any truth whatsoever in it, and hope very much that there is none. If however there is, and if Al Quaeda is successful, it will be a catastrophe. Whether or not there is truth in this particular story, the nuclear weapons dimensions of terroism remain of central importance. The story can it seems, be found on the url below. http://frontierpost.com.pk/main.asp?id=3&date111/10/2001 John Hallam Forwarded by Carol Rosin Al-Qaeda nukes may have reached US shores UNGA session possible terror target Naveed Miraj, the Frontier Post (Peshawar, Pakistan), Nov. 10, 2001 ISLAMABAD: Pakistani and American investigators converge that Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda network may have successfully transported several nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons of mass destruction to the United States, The Frontier Post learnt Friday. Already on high alert, United States security officials are having sleepless nights that Al Qaeda can strike in New York again on the occasion of United Nations General Assembly session. Investigators from Pakistan's ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence) and American FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) and CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) are jointly probing into the possibilities of Al Qaeda possessing nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. They have reached a conclusion that at least two briefcase nuclear weapons may have reached the US shores, sources close to these investigators revealed to this scribe. The investigators have been able to identify at least one briefcase weapon acquired by Al Qaeda from Central Asian rogue groups. The weapon identified is small 8-kilogram device that carries at least 2 kg of fissionable plutonium and uranium. The device, of Russian make, carries a serial number 9999 and manufacturing date October 1988. The design of the device is simple. The radioactive materials consist of Uranium and Plutonium both kept in separate compartments. At the top of the two compartments is placed the charging mechanism. The charging mechanism can be activated through a timer or even through a cell phone command. Besides nuclear devices, a chemical and a biological weapon have also been identified to be in the hands of Al Qaeda activists. They are said to be in possession of at least 70 capsules, also of Russian origin, containing a very lethal biological agent. Broken in a crowded place, this capsule can cause deaths on a huge scale. It melts human body meat to the bone. Another chemical agent in the hands of Al Qaeda operators is called Vipera Lebentina Venema. A derivative of snake poisons, this venom developed in USSR attacks through skin. Most probable way of using this agent is through mail as with Anthrax. US security agencies are already on high alert and realise that Al Qaeda can strike in New York again on the occasion of UN General Assembly. Analysis of the recent statements released by Osama bin Laden carried out by US agencies has shown that the terrorist network can pick up an important occasion like the UN General Assembly session to retaliate against US strikes on Afghanistan. * Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs Statement of the Pugwash Council Monday, 12 November 2001, London, UK The Dangers of Nuclear Terrorism The horrific nature of the September 11 attacks has demonstrated the ability of international terrorist networks to carry out well-planned and complex operations that can kill thousands of innocent civilians. The potential for biological, chemical, and/or nuclear terrorism has greatly increased. While there has long been concern about nuclear material being acquired by non-state groups, reports in the past few days indicate that nuclear weapons may now, or soon will be, available to terrorist groups. The challenges facing the international community from terrorism have been greatly compounded by the world's failure to reduce and eliminate nuclear weapons. Most immediately, the members of the United Nations must adopt and effectively implement the proposed international conventions on international terrorism and on nuclear terrorism. More generally, the large quantities of highly-enriched uranium (HEU) that are poorly controlled and otherwise unaccounted for in the former Soviet Union and dozens of other countries demand immediate attention and action by the world community. HEU poses the danger that it is far easier to manufacture into a nuclear weapon than is plutonium, so much so that even sub-national terrorist groups could accomplish the challenge. European and Asian governments especially need to join the United States in providing aid to the Russian government in controlling and destroying this fissile material (enough to build 20,000 nuclear bombs) through greatly accelerated funding and commitment to such programs as the Cooperative Threat Reduction Program (Nunn-Lugar). In addition, the international convention on the physical protection of nuclear materials must be strengthened and expanded, and greater efforts made to safeguard fissile materials in civilian use. HEU can, however, be readily diluted with natural uranium to a low-enriched level where it has high commercial value as a proliferation-proof fuel for civil nuclear reactors. Here again, an important opportunity exists for Europe and Japan to work with the United States in purchasing such fuel from Russia and greatly reducing available supplies of weapons-grade uranium. Much work will be needed on a broad range of fronts, from recognizing and addressing the root causes that facilitate the growth of terrorist networks, to bringing to justice those who commit mass murder and crimes against humanity. In order to safeguard global peace and security, it is essential that national governments and the world community recognize that the twin dangers of international terrorism and nuclear proliferation pose entirely new threats that demand immediate and sustained attention. The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize with its Founder and then President, Sir Joseph Rotblat, was founded in 1957 with the aim of reducing and abolishing nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. In the coming weeks, Pugwash will publish Issue Briefs with more in-depth analysis of ways of protecting against nuclear and biological terrorism. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytenv-11.19.01-17:07:46-7054