Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

New PreWarDoc fits with Gwynne Roberts article about Iraqi nuclear test
www.rayrobison.com ^ | 19 April 2006 | Ray Robison

Posted on 04/19/2006 9:18:35 PM PDT by RayRobisonblog

Fitting the pieces together

In February 2001, the Sunday Times ran the article Was this Saddam’s Bomb by Gwynne Roberts. I couldn't find the original but it is also on Globalsecurity.org .

I only recently read this article and found it interesting but very hard to believe. One of the newly released documents CMPC-2003-015757 contains the Roberts' article in English. This is the first time I have seen it. I did some research and found no serious academic or professional rebuttals other than people who also found it hard to believe. However, it seems that supporting evidence has been right in front of us for a few weeks now.

The article describes a conversation with a man called “Leone” who claimed to be a nuclear scientist working in Iraq. He approached Gwynne with tales of hidden nuclear programs, hidden nuclear weapons and most surprisingly a claim of a successful nuclear test performed in the Rezzaza Lake area of southern Iraq in 1989.

Leone claimed that the test was conducted underground in a massive tunnel. He said the tunnel required workers who were sacrificed for the secrecy of the project.

The tunnel and the entrance were huge and the manpower needed to block it up massive. Leone had told me that thousands of political prisoners worked on the tunnel after a presidential amnesty. "They were well fed and lived in comfortable caravans. In return, they worked hard. But none of them came out of it alive," he said. "Many were contaminated with radioactive waste. Friends working for Iraqi security who were guarding them said they were buried in caves nearby. The Iraqi regime hoped the secret of the Rezzaza lake test would die with them. "Hussein Kamel gave the order to kill these people . . . I was disgusted by it and it's one of the major reasons I fled." This grotesque story was corroborated by Imad. He said he was aware that political prisoners who worked on the Rezzaza tunnel were massacred by Iraqi security guards to conceal an unspecified secret military project. He did not know this was the nuclear test site.

I am not sure how these workers would have been contaminated if this test occurred as stated by Leone. But I don’t think it is beyond the bounds of reason that even though the tunnel was plugged deep inside, radiation could have penetrated the 50 meter concrete plug Leone described. Then when the workers went down into the tunnel to completely fill it in they were exposed to radiation. It also seems like the deaths of hundreds of prisoners caused by radiation would certainly be hard to conceal, even in Iraq. But putting this story together with a newly released document does present an intriguing clue.

A few weeks ago a man named Joseph or screen name “Jveritas” started putting original translations on the Free Republic website. One of them was interesting but did not receive a lot of attention: ISGQ-2004-00224003

In this Iraqi document ISGQ 2004-00224003 dated February 7 2001, there was a discussion in upper echelon of the Iraqi intelligence about mass graves in Southern Iraq and how to shift the blame to the Coalition forces and make it look like these mass graves as the results massacres committed by the Coalition forces back in 1991 during Desert Storm Operation. Beginning of the Partial Translation The Republic of Iraq The Intelligence Apparatus Date: 7/2/2001 No 1687 In the Name of God the Merciful the Most Compassionate Secret To the respectful Mr. Director of the Fourth Directory Your letter secret and immediate numbered B 264 on 2/4/2001 1. No information is available to us about the Mass Graves in the Southern Region. 2.We see to achieve the observation the following matters: A. Inspect the graves to confirm the existence of Nuclear Radiations. B. Were they buried alive or their death was by suffocation. C. Are they military personnel or civilians. D. Are there tombstones that carry the names of the martyrs E. Identify accurate marks and proofs of the graves and the possibility to reach it quickly and identify it. 3. We do not agree that the declaration about it through a direct Iraqi media in the first stage at least and not to cause public and party reaction so that the subject will take as a priority an international interest, and we should work on the following direction during this stage: A. Leak the news through reliable sources.. News agencies or Satellite stations.. and that there is confusion, and indications from the members of the Coalition forces about the existence of mass graves civilians and military personnel in the South of Iraq. B. The attempt to search for soldiers from the Coalition forces in a serious way to mention these truth through the agencies.

This document is describing a mass grave filled with people who are suspected of suffering radiation exposure. The IIS intends to argue the bodies have been there since 1991.

So let’s put this in context. Leone tells a story in 1998 about a nuclear test in 1989. In February of 2001, the IIS is talking about a mass grave site that must have been there for many years. Why are they talking about it now (2001)? The U.N. was not in Iraq at that time. And it happens to be the same month that Gwynne Roberts takes this story public. Did the IIS find out about the article and begin planning the media manipulation to cover up a nuclear test? Or, this article may not have been the first time Roberts wrote about the graves. Perhaps there was an earlier work I couldn’t find and that’s why the IIS was concerned. Either way, the IIS seems to be reacting to his story. But it seems like the IIS is exploring ways to leak the news of the radioactive graves so it can be managed before the claim is made by another source, in other words, spin control.

In my research I could find no other triggering event for this discussion by the IIS like an actual discovery of mass graves by an external source.

The IIS seems to expect radiation to be present when they wrote in this memo “confirm” the presence of radiation.

The location matches, both describe the graves in Southern Iraq.

So the IIS document matches the story of Leone in location, radiation exposure, mass graves, and close enough for the timing as far as we can infer from the document.

And one more thing. Leone described a Group Four responsible for nuclear testing: see rest at http://rayrobison.typepad.com/ray_robison/2006/04/fitting_the_pie.html


TOPICS: Politics
KEYWORDS: 1989; cmpc2003015757; group4; groupfour; gwynneroberts; harmonydocs; humanrights; husseinkamel; iraq; iraqdocuments; iraqibomb; iraqiintelligence; isgq200400224003; jveritas; kamel; leone; massgrave; massgraves; nukes; onfreep; prewardocs; rayrobison; rezzaza; rezzazalake; undergroundtest; wmd
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-46 last
To: Tijeras_Slim

thanks, this is from the arms control association
http://www.armscontrol.org/act/1998_05/vimy98.asp

"Verification, of course, can never be achieved with 100-percent confidence. There will always be some level of nuclear testing below which the United States will not be able to monitor with high confidence using seismic means alone. Discovery of very small tests below the seismic threshold would depend on unquantifiable information from human or signal intelligence or photo reconnaissance. Although, the possibility of such information provides a further deterrent to the clandestine testing of low-yield nuclear devices, our ability to enforce the objectives of the treaty is measured by the efficacy of the monitoring system."

"The network is expected to detect all seismic events anywhere in the world of magnitude 4 or larger on the Richter scale, and to locate those events within a 1,000-square-kilometer error ellipse, the maximum area permitted for an on-site inspection under the terms of the treaty."

So they are saying the new proposed technology will have limitations. So I think it is safe to assume the old technology had greater limitations. Which means seismic detection has limitations and we do not have a magic wand for detecting nuclear tests, independant of whether this claimed test happened or not.


41 posted on 04/21/2006 12:28:58 PM PDT by RayRobisonblog
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 40 | View Replies]

To: RayRobisonblog; potlatch; ntnychik; Smartass; Boazo; Alamo-Girl; PhilDragoo; ...

look at this ping


42 posted on 10/08/2006 9:16:53 PM PDT by bitt ("And an angel still rides in the whirlwind and directs this storm.")
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bitt

WOW! Major bump!!


43 posted on 10/08/2006 9:24:37 PM PDT by Enterprise (Let's not enforce laws that are already on the books, let's just write new laws we won't enforce.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: RayRobisonblog; jveritas; bitt

"This document is describing a mass grave filled with people who are suspected of suffering radiation exposure."


WOW!

You guys are doing awesome work!
Thank you, both, so very much.
Thank you, bitt, for the ping.

And, a very belated welcome to Free Republic, Ray!


44 posted on 10/08/2006 9:27:58 PM PDT by dixiechick2000 (There ought to be one day-- just one-- when there is open season on senators. ~~ Will Rogers)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: bitt
Hmmmmmm.......

Why was RayRobisonblog banned?

45 posted on 10/08/2006 10:18:50 PM PDT by Fiddlstix (Warning! This Is A Subliminal Tagline! Read it at your own risk!(Presented by TagLines R US))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 42 | View Replies]

To: Fiddlstix

Yes...what is this all about? We have a six month old thread, suddenly brought to the surface, and the author is banned...it must not be on the basis of this thread or behavior, right? Must be something else.


46 posted on 10/09/2006 3:31:41 AM PDT by rlmorel (Islamofacism: It is all fun and games until someone puts an eye out. Or chops off a head.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 45 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-46 last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
Bloggers & Personal
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson