Report: Al-Qaida has obtained tactical nuclear explosives...

[Dúnedain]

Well this is rather disconcerting! One of my friends just sent me this link. I just hope it's not true...

From here: http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/392006.html


Last Update: 09/02/2004 05:06

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.

[Nurvingiel]

There's kind of no point worrying about stuff like that. (I don't blame you for being worried, I'm just trying to cheer you up.)

We might as well go on living our lives, the government will most likely deal with it, or perhaps they don't have the nukes. If they do have them, the biggest blow you can deal terrorists is to not be afraid.

[Dúnedain]

Originally posted by Nurvingiel
There's kind of no point worrying about stuff like that. (I don't blame you for being worried, I'm just trying to cheer you up.)

We might as well go on living our lives, the government will most likely deal with it, or perhaps they don't have the nukes. If they do have them, the biggest blow you can deal terrorists is to not be afraid.

I'm not worried about it, I just think it would be horrible if they did have these nukes. I am the antithesis of a worrier, it is still disconcerting though one way or the other...

[Drgnslyer]

Even if the message's facts are true, I won't personally worry about it for two reasons...

The governments of the world have untold resources available to them, and the fact that theyr'e releasing this information now means that it has likely already been dealt with.

Second, even if it isn't dealt with, as an individual there isn't a whole heck of alot I can do about it, and worrying about it will only serve to further the terrorist cause, make my own life more unfomfortable, and add even more stress into my daily routine, whuch as i can imagine for most, doesn't need the added levels of stress.

[Insidious Rex]

Why havent I heard anything about this in ANY news medium yet? I tried searching the web and got nothing. Seems to me it would be a pretty massive story. And why is it that they spell the word Al Qaida? And not Al Qaeda

Edit: Woops one just appeared in the Seattle Times just now. Any others yet?

[GrayMouser]

Originally posted by Insidious Rex
Why havent I heard anything about this in ANY news medium yet? I tried searching the web and got nothing. Seems to me it would be a pretty massive story. And why is it that they spell the word Al Qaida? And not Al Qaeda

If they had one for six years, they would have used it before 9/11 when security was much laxer- why try to hijack a plane when you can stick a nuke in a shipping container- sounds like disinformation to me.

Arabic writing doesn't have vowels, so when it's transliterated people use different spelling based on their own choice of letters to represent them.

[Valandil]

Originally posted by GrayMouser
Arabic writing doesn't have vowels, so when it's transliterated people use different spelling based on their own choice of letters to represent them.

Aye - 'Stealth Vowels'!!!

[Grey_Wolf]

Report: Al-Qaida has obtained tactical nuclear explosives

If these complete morons have this capabilitiy then they could see to it that the whole world would lay itself waste in one glorious nuclear war, couldn't they?

[Radagast The Brown]

Originally posted by GrayMouser
Arabic writing doesn't have vowels, so when it's transliterated people use different spelling based on their own choice of letters to represent them.

Yes. It is said as 'ca-ee-da' and not 'ca-e-da'. It's a problem in English, it usually ruins names in other languages.

If they had one for six years, they would have used it before 9/11 when security was much laxer- why try to hijack a plane when you can stick a nuke in a shipping container- sounds like disinformation to me.

Yes, it is a bit strange. It doesn't sound serious to me... there are no proves, just a Saudian newspaper.

Did you notice the quote is taken from an Israelian newspaper? *proud*