dduncan4163
Have at it Hoss
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CHISINAU, Moldova (AP) In the backwaters of Eastern Europe, authorities working with the FBI have interrupted four attempts in the past five years by gangs with suspected Russian connections that sought to sell radioactive material to Middle Eastern extremists, The Associated Press has learned. The latest known case came in February this year, when a smuggler offered a huge cache of deadly cesium enough to contaminate several city blocks and specifically sought a buyer from the Islamic State group.
Criminal organizations, some with ties to the Russian KGB's successor agency, are driving a thriving black market in nuclear materials in the tiny and impoverished country of Moldova, investigators say. The successful busts, however, were undercut by striking shortcomings: Kingpins got away, and those arrested evaded long prison sentences, sometimes quickly returning to nuclear smuggling, AP found.
It really is just a matter of time before ISIS or some other terrorist group gets the material for a dirty bomb.
If you would have read the second sentence, you would have known.
in the spring of 2011, with the investigation of a group led by a shadowy Russian named Alexandr Agheenco, "the colonel" to his cohorts, whom Moldovan authorities believe to be an officer with the Russian FSB, previously known as the KGB. A middle man working for the colonel was recorded arranging the sale of bomb-grade uranium, U-235, and blueprints for a dirty bomb to a man from Sudan, according to several officials. The blueprints were discovered in a raid of the middleman's home, according to police and court documents.
Wiretapped conversations repeatedly exposed plots that targeted the United States, the Moldovan officials said. At one point the middleman told an informant posing as a buyer that it was essential that the smuggled uranium go to Arabs.
maybe its because they have caught Russians red handed before? from the same article.
i don't care about the FSB/KGB angle. but i easily believe there are Russians, and others, out there looking to make money. I don't think anyone in the Russian government has made it a policy, too much of a slippery slope. but i am willing to bet they let some things slide when certain targets are mentioned.
This happens fairly often, peaking after the Soviet Union collapse and slowing since. Typically the quantities are small, or the material is useless. Just because something is radioactive, does not mean it qualifies as good bomb material.
The public needs to rethink our reactions to the words radioactive and nuclear. Just a mentioning of the words should not cause apocalyptic thoughts.
Does make good dirty bomb material. It may not be nuclear, but certainly can be extremely hazardous.
A "dirty bomb" is one type of a radiological dispersal device (RDD) that combines conventional explosives, such as dynamite, with radioactive material. The terms dirty bomb and RDD are often used interchangeably in the media. Most RDDs would not release enough radiation to kill people or cause severe illness - the conventional explosive itself would be more harmful to individuals than the radioactive material. However, depending on the situation, an RDD explosion could create fear and panic, contaminate property, and require potentially costly cleanup. Making prompt, accurate information available to the public may prevent the panic sought by terrorists.
Really depends on the material composition, isotopes involved, radiation emitted, dispersion method, etc. Smuggling a large quantity of Cs-137 would be difficult (Gamma ray shielding would be needed). Then you would need a reliable dispersion method to really affect a large number of people. At that point, would it not be easier to use a conventional bomb?
I'm not arguing it's not a threat. But is it a threat that is comparable to other daily threats?
NRC: Fact Sheet on Dirty Bombs
And nuclear bomb material is significantly harder to come by.
It's the psychology behind a "dirty bomb" attack. And as you stated before the whole stigma behind one is what terrorizes people.
I agree it's not a great threat, but most urban areas are not set up for the kind of decontamination required for even a small dirty bomb. And the psychology and panic behind such an attack will be worse than the attack itself.