Al-Qaida has suitcase nuclear bombs: Pakistani journalist

Associated Press | March 21, 2004

[CurlyDave]

Don't those puppies require periodic maintenance?

Something about tritium being used in the trigger?

[Betaille]

"Al-Qaida has suitcase nuclear bombs"
Does Kerry still think this is just a distraction from Jobs and Health Care? HE is the one that is out of touch. I am absolutely horrified, this could quite easily be true. The only thing that leads me to beleive that Al Qaeda probably doesn't have such bombs is that I'm pretty sure they would have used them by now if they could have.

[Skibane]

WTH is a "smart" briefcase bomb? Does it sprout legs and deliver itself to its intended target?

[jpsb]

That is my understanding, about a two shelf life. 2-5 kt, nasty weapon, not a city killer but much more destruction than 9-11, much much more.

[MediaMole]

Hamid Mir is a Taliban apologist. Perhaps al qaeda propagandist is more accurate.

Here is an interview with Hamid Mir

... and a few choice morsels...

IOL: How well do you know bin Laden?

HM: I know him from last four years. I met him twice, spend many days with him. He is not a scholar, he is a fighter. He wants to liberate Palestine. He wrote many poems against Israel. He is a jihadi [warrior] poet. His poems will come out very soon. I always ask him difficult questions and he answers my questions with patience.

IOL: Do you think that bin Laden is behind the 9-11 attacks?

HM: I don't think a man living in [the] mountains, without any communication facilities inside America can manage such kind of big operation.

[jpsb]

Personally, I don't think they have one.

[CurlyDave]

On a little further thought, there is another possibility.

They did buy some, and when they tried to use one, it was a dud--nothing happened.

I can not believe that they have nukes and have not tried to use them, but even the islamics realize that testing one would be a give-away. We are constantly on the lookout for nuclear tests, and can detect one anywhere in the world, 24/7.

So, they tried one out untested--probably in a truck bomb. Pushed the button and nothing happened. Probably New York, WTC before 9-11. Possibly Washington, DC. Could probably take out both the White House and congress.

Now they have a problem. If anyone finds out they have them, the western powers (even Spain) will unite and wipe them out. It is far easier to refurbish one that was professionally made than it is to make one from scratch, but it is still very hard.

Nothing worse than the world knowing you have nukes that don't work...

[pepsionice]

I'm willing to bet that the Russian mafia ordered a bunch of parts from Radio Shack...and built something to look like a nuke suitcase...and sold it for $$$. These dimwits from Al-Qaida have continually surprised me as to how stupid they really are. When you look at the capability of such a case...its not a weapon you would use to destroy an entire city. It might work well on a ship, or in a shopping mall.

[endthematrix]

"Nothing worse than the world knowing you have nukes that don't work..."

What about NK, where we know they work and still do NOTHING.

[staytrue]

My understanding is that you need at least 25lbs. of plutonium to make a bomb. You need a moderating agent, a neutron reflecting shell, some tnt to squish the thing, and some shielding so you don't set off every radiation detector in town.

I am guessing the "suitcase" nuke has to weigh in at least 100 lbs.

I think it would be hard to move one around undetected.

[Howlin]

Yes, they do.

[Howlin]

Is this the same guy who said that they have/had #2 surrounded this week?

[squidly]

What about NK, where we know they work

We don't know any such thing about NK, but we do have strong cause for suspicion.

[CurlyDave]

What about NK, where we know they work and still do NOTHING.

The North Koreans are not actively at war with us.

[Hamza01]

"Hamid Mir is a Taliban apologist. Perhaps al qaeda propagandist is more accurate."

Worse. Mir has been bending over for every jihadist psycho in Pakistan for the last 15 years. In fact, the whole Urdu language press in Pakistan is about as objective as Pravda or TASS in the old days.

Fortunately, he's also a liar and you can safely disregard anything he says.

[endthematrix]

WND article, 2002
Bush, Blair warned of bin Laden nukes Al-Qaida purchased 20 suitcase arms from former KGB agents, says report

[squidly]

Interesting to me that the price tage quoted in the WND article is the same as that quoted by the Pakistani journalist. Also interesting, in light of previous comments on this thread, that it was six years ago.

[endthematrix]

You mean NK is not currently at war with us. You mean not shooting at our direction.

[Axenolith]

Tritium is in thermonuclear weapons, suitcase nukes are (to the best of my knowledge) solely fission weapons. Any shelf life issues probably revolve around the stability of the chemical explosive initiator, the half life of the core is to long to be of consequence.