Posted on 08/25/2006 8:30:34 PM PDT by HAL9000
Tehran, 25 August (AKI) - News agencies in Iran are predicting a new announcement from outspoken president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his country's nuclear progress. There is intense speculation that it may come next Tuesday on the first anniversary of the formation of the government after last year's elections. In the Iranian capital there are reports that Ahmadinejad, who several months ago announced the entry of Iran into the 'nuclear club' will provide details on progress in the field of heavy water reactors. It has a heavy water reactor under construction at the Arak plant in central Iran, 360 kilometres from Tehran.Western diplomats close to the UN nuclear watchdog said last year that Iran had already laid the foundations for the 40-megawatt heavy-water research reactor at Arak, despite calls by the European Union and the United Nations to scrap the project.
Heavy-water reactors can be used to produce significant quantities of bomb-grade plutonium, which can then be extracted from the spent fuel in a process known as re-processing.
Hey what happened to nuclear war breaking out on Aug 22?
Apparently, you can produce prodigious amounts of plutonium this way. You can attenuate the reaction using graphite, or heavy water. Except with heavy water, the uranium interacts with the deuterium and thru a couple of short half-life isotopes, becomes plutonium. Plutonium is so highly reactive it is dangerous to design a gun-type bomb because of pre-ignition. A link describing the process: www.fas.org/nuke/intro/nuke/plutonium.htm Iran is basically telling the west to stick it.
I was wondering exactly the same thing!
It looks like he didn't make the big announcement yet.
I guess it's too much to ask of Heaven that this ass-clown be struck down with the heartbreak of psoriasis.
You mean you missed it? It was in all the papers! :-)
Yawn. I don't know why people have been so freaked out about this. Personally, I think he's going to do one of his stupid 3rd Reich/Stalinist style dramatic presentations, and that will be that. In the Muslim world, of course, it appears that...er, rooster-waving and loud screaming are almost as good as the actual deed. But I really don't think we want to summon up our best dancers and magicians to go head to head with Iran.
Too boring. Tell Mad Ad to go out and check all the wells in his territory. Maybe the 12 billionth imam is hiding in one of them.
You know.....I'm I the only one who is really growing tired of the WRONG people getting press and TV coverage these days???
I've been thinking more along the lines of a debilitating stroke.
I'm not making light of the fact this lunatic is pursuing weapons and, who knows, could even have them. Though I kinda expect if he did he'd land a mushroom cloud in the desert as proof. At least.
But I am not going to hang on his every word giving him the attention and power he craves by fidgeting at every self aggrandizing statement.
Up to this point he's been blowing smoke. Sure, I support taking him out so he can't ever fulfill the goals he has, but if we're not going to do that....then I demand he shut up or produce evidence he's got these weapons already. The drama from him has gotten old.
KA-BOOOOOOM!!!
"The bombing begins in five minutes."
"I'm not making light of the fact this lunatic is pursuing weapons and, who knows, could even have them. Though I kinda expect if he did he'd land a mushroom cloud in the desert as proof. At least."
I'm guessing that any mushroom cloud this clown would be responsible for would rise above Israel rather than somewhere out in the desert. We can hope that Israel takes out their Nuke program first.
No you are not the only one. Nutjob is getting old fast. He seems to get off on jerking the world's chain. What a pissant.
Power plant reactors like CANDU are in the 800 - 1000 megawatt range using no heavy water. This a telling characteristic.
I think he was saying that something important would happen on that day. The only thing I can think of is pat buchanan's latest book was released on the 22nd...that might be important to an Islamic terrorist intent on destroying Israel and killing Americans.
I stand corrected: CANDU's do use heavy water.
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.