Turkish Atomic Energy Institute Says Seized Material Not Uranium The Associated Press Published: Sep 30, 2002 ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - Atomic energy officials said Monday that a substance seized by police near the Syrian border was not weapons-grade uranium as Turkish officials first reported, according to the Anatolia news agency. Atomic Energy Institute chief Guler Koksal said the material was harmless, containing zinc, iron, zirconium and manganese. The announcement ended days of speculation that the substance might have been destined for neighboring Iraq, which the United States accuses of trying to smuggle in nuclear material for a secret weapons program. Police, acting on a tip, recovered the material in a taxi last week in Sanliurfa province, near the Syrian border. Two Turks who were trying to sell the material as uranium were released from custody. The seizure alarmed intelligence agencies around the world when the Turkish police said it weighed 35 pounds last week. On Monday, police said the material weighed only 5 ounces. The disparity occurred because authorities initially included the weight of the lead container in which the material was placed, police said. AP-ES-09-30-02 2038EDT mothers, hide your children...run for cover....omg!!!!! the sky is falling....what will we ever do??? Bush please save us!!! God have mercy on our souls.... it's too late...saddam has got the zinc bomb!!!!
The Shchuch'ye stockpile, one of seven in Russia, is a major concern: The weapons are portable and ready to use, making them a more attractive target for theft than the bulk containers of toxins stored at other Russian sites. Many of the shells and warheads at Shchuch'ye are easy to hide and are launchable from widely available artillery pieces and rockets. The stockpile is vulnerable. It sits in an impoverished region near the border with Kazakhstan and Asian havens for al-Qaeda and other terror networks. Security, despite recent upgrades, is weaker than at Russian nuclear facilities and other sensitive sites. There's no reliable inventory, so thefts by an insider could go unnoticed. The munitions are deadly. Most of the shells and warheads are packed with sarin, soman and VX gasses, all of which can kill in minutes. An 85mm shell of sarin â the smallest artillery piece at Shchuch'ye â can kill up to 140,000 if set off in a densely populated area. It can fit in a briefcase. Paul Walker, who toured Shchuch'ye as a congressional staffer on the first U.S. inspection, in 1994, calls it "one of the most vulnerable and worrisome sites worldwide." cut and paste
Is it just me, or is this the same country (Russia) that is having a problem with the U. S. having Iraq VERIFY its weapons quantities? Are they are implying that inventory verification should be a word of mouth thing, like they use?
...Only a few months ago, the Pentagon sent out a press release stating 140,000 U.S. soldiers were exposed to low-levels chemical agents near Khamisiyah, Iraq during the Gulf War. While these soldiers appeared to return home healthy, many tens of thousands face long-term disabling medical problems that are difficult to treat..... Vaccinate our solders even at risk of death and other side effects? ...Research shows long-term adverse side effects from mandatory vaccines given to U.S. soldiers deploying to the war zone. According to the product label insert made by BioPort in Michigan, the sole producer, the experimental anthrax vaccine has caused several deaths. The National Academy of Sciences this year concluded there are some risks to the hotly debated vaccine... Too much radioactivity already, where are we going to send them? ...The Gulf War battlefield remains radioactive and toxic. Scientific research funded by the military and released two years ago links exposure to depleted uranium (DU) ammunition with cancer in rats. Solid depleted uranium bullets, ranging in size from 25mm to 120mm, are used by U.S. tanks, helicopters and planes to attack enemy tanks and armored personnel carriers. The Gulf War battlefield is already littered with more than 300 tons of radioactive dust and shrapnel from the 1991 Gulf War... Wow we re asking them to serve but we cut funding? So much about patriotism in front of TV and media: ...Most veterans now wait six months to see a VA doctor, and most veterans wait more than six months to receive a decision on a VA disability claim. Many of those waiting in line are Gulf War veterans, many with unusual illnesses. According to VA, of the nearly 700,000 veterans who served in Desert Shield and Desert Storm, more than 300,000 have sought VA healthcare, and more than 200,000 have filed VA disability claims. Two weeks ago, President Bush slashed $275 million from the healthcare budget of the Department of Veterans Affairs.... Sure let's send our brothers and sons to spill their blood...ggg And the ones that comeback we will treat them even better. http://www.commondreams.org/views02/0913-01.htm I just hope cool heads prevail. Josh