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CIA sees Iraq as nuclear danger
The Australian ^ | July 16 2002 | Greg Sheridan

Posted on 07/15/2002 2:42:39 PM PDT by knighthawk

IRAQ'S Saddam Hussein is no more than three years away from developing a usable nuclear weapon, according to the latest assessment by the Central Intelligence Agency in the US.

Details of the assessment, obtained by The Australian show the CIA believes Mr Hussein has been able to continue to acquire fissile material in sufficient quantities to build at least several such weapons within two to three years.

The CIA believes Iraq has also continued developing its missile program.

Nuclear weapons deliverable by missiles would be a deadly risk to all Iraq's neighbours, especially Israel, Kuwait and possibly Saudi Arabia. Israel is the only country in the region with a known nuclear weapons delivery capability.

The prospect of Mr Hussein acquiring nuclear weapons is adding urgency to US efforts to remove the Iraqi dictator from office and secure a more cooperative government in Baghdad.

But some CIA analysts believe an even greater regional threat is posed by Iraq's programs to "weaponise" biological agents.

While Mr Hussein is known to have used chemical weapons against Kurds in his own country and against the Iranians in the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s, this form of weapon is regarded as a lesser regional security threat.

Though several thousand of people are believed to have died from these incidents, the technical difficulties in making chemical weapons an effective weapon of mass destruction are formidable.

Therefore, the CIA is much more fearful of what Mr Hussein has been doing with biological weapons.

The agency has details of numerous so-called dual-use facilities, which ostensibly serve a peaceful purpose but are really used to manufacture biological weapons. Several are located in Iraqi hospitals, according to the CIA.

The CIA's assessment is that the threat of Mr Hussein's regime developing weapons of mass destruction is greater than the danger of it sponsoring international terrorism. Nonetheless, the possibility of it providing a weapon of mass destruction to a terrorist group, such as al-Qa'ida, remains a nightmare scenario.

But the assessment of the Bush administration after an exhaustive inter-agency review is that there is no "smoking gun" linking Iraq to the terrorist attacks of September 11.

Iraq has sponsored a great deal of terrorism in the past, mainly through the Abu Nidal group.

But its links with al-Qa'ida are more murky. The US has evidence of some al-Qa'ida activity in areas of northern Iraq that are not fully under Mr Hussein's control.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: bombem; cia; iraq; nuclear; retsroll

1 posted on 07/15/2002 2:42:39 PM PDT by knighthawk
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To: dennisw; TopQuark; Alouette; OKCSubmariner; veronica; weikel; EU=4th Reich; BrooklynGOP; ...
IRAQ'S Saddam Hussein is no more than three years away from developing a usable nuclear weapon, according to the latest assessment by the Central Intelligence Agency in the US.

Middle East list

If people want on or off this list, please let me know.

2 posted on 07/15/2002 2:43:12 PM PDT by knighthawk
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To: knighthawk
Two months knighthawk .....2 months and Saddam will be worm food....:-)
3 posted on 07/15/2002 2:44:26 PM PDT by Dog
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To: knighthawk
Saddam Hussein is no more than three years away from developing a usable nuclear weapon

He's been 3 years away for the last 20 years.

4 posted on 07/15/2002 2:45:38 PM PDT by RightWhale
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To: RightWhale
I think we may be seeing a new MENSA math question...what does ... "What does 3 years in nuclear years equal???"
5 posted on 07/15/2002 2:47:57 PM PDT by antivenom
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To: Dog
Agree......end of September IMHO....elections in November need to be taken off headlines...... Just my guesstimate and SWAG on the issue !

Stay Safe !

6 posted on 07/15/2002 3:08:25 PM PDT by Squantos
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To: knighthawk

Abu Nidal Organization (ANO)

From: Patterns of Global Terrorism, 2000. United States Department of State, April 2001.
Comments on the content of the material should be sent to the U.S. Department of State

Other Names
Fatah Revolutionary Council
Arab Revolutionary Brigades
Black September
Revolutionary Organization of Socialist Muslims

Description
International terrorist organization led by Sabri al-Banna. Split from PLO in 1974. Made up of various functional committees, including political, military, and financial.

Activities
Has carried out terrorist attacks in 20 countries, killing or injuring almost 900 persons. Targets include the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Israel, moderate Palestinians, the PLO, and various Arab countries. Major attacks included the Rome and Vienna airports in December 1985, the Neve Shalom synagogue in Istanbul and the Pan Am flight 73 hijacking in Karachi in September 1986, and the City of Poros day-excursion ship attack in Greece in July 1988. Suspected of assassinating PLO deputy chief Abu Iyad and PLO security chief Abu Hul in Tunis in January 1991. ANO assassinated a Jordanian diplomat in Lebanon in January 1994 and has been linked to the killing of the PLO representative there. Has not attacked Western targets since the late 1980s.

Strength
A few hundred plus limited overseas support structure.

Location/Area of Operation
Al-Banna relocated to Iraq in December 1998, where the group maintains a presence. Has an operational presence in Lebanon in the Bekaa Valley and several Palestinian refugee camps in coastal areas of Lebanon. Also has a limited presence in Sudan and Syria, among others, although financial problems and internal disorganization have reduced the group's activities and capabilities. Authorities shut down the ANO's operations in Libya and Egypt in 1999. Has demonstrated ability to operate over wide area, including the Middle East, Asia, and Europe.

External Aid
Has received considerable support, including safehaven, training, logistic assistance, and financial aid from Iraq, Libya, and Syria (until 1987), in addition to close support for selected operations.


Disclaimer Page last updated: 06/25/2002
Page maintained by the DKL Web Committee.

7 posted on 07/15/2002 3:09:30 PM PDT by TomGuy
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To: Dog
Let us hope they will also put that Uday Hussein six feet under. I get bored of his yappin' about.
8 posted on 07/15/2002 3:13:23 PM PDT by knighthawk
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To: knighthawk
The first nation to use nuclear weapons in the mideast is toast.
9 posted on 07/15/2002 3:14:06 PM PDT by exnavy
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To: Dog
Im thinking around Jan, but I like the way you think :*)
10 posted on 07/15/2002 3:18:23 PM PDT by cmsgop
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Comment #11 Removed by Moderator

To: exnavy
More like glass...
12 posted on 07/15/2002 3:25:25 PM PDT by knighthawk
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To: Confederate Keyester
They created that fiend in Panama, and then had to go in in force to uncreate him. Who knows if Saddam wasn't their creation. For all we know they might have created Soviet Russia and Communist China as well.
13 posted on 07/15/2002 3:26:28 PM PDT by RightWhale
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To: knighthawk
True, all neighbors of same will spank severly.
14 posted on 07/15/2002 3:29:19 PM PDT by exnavy
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To: RightWhale
There is no question that the west built up Saddam to counter balance a percieved threat from Iran.
15 posted on 07/15/2002 3:55:22 PM PDT by Nachum
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