Nukes For Sale?
Since the early 1990s, former Sen. Sam Nunn has been sounding alarms about the danger of so-called "loose nukes" falling into the hands of terrorists.
"The thing I worry about most is nuclear weapons being in the hands of a group that does not have a return address. North Korea has a return address. The question is who they may sell the material to, or weapons to," Nunn says.
That's one danger. Another is a rogue state like North Korea funneling nuclear ingredients directly to them, CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian says.
"That's the raw material for terrorism, and it's not properly secured in many cases. Small amounts, but enough to make a crude weapon," Nunn says.
What alarms Nunn and others is the amount of weapons-grade uranium and plutonium available on the worldwide black market. Some sellers are working inside countries like Pakistan, others are working out of the trunk of a car.
In fact, the number of "confirmed incidents" of illegal trafficking in nuclear materials has grown from about 25 worldwide in 1996 to nearly five times that number two years ago, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
That's why the U.S. government is taking new steps to track nuclear ingredients.
"We're looking at instruments that can help us detect the movement of nuclear materials," says Dr. Ralph James of Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, not far from New York City.
At Brookhaven National, James is developing a new generation of nuclear sensors meant to be deployed around the country at airports, seaports, bridges and tunnels.
It will be a difficult task. It's not easy to determine, often on the fly, the difference between gamma rays emitted from a pack of kitty litter and a dirty bomb being driven into the heart of a major U.S. city.
Nevertheless, James says his technology is not just scientific smoke and mirrors. "These detector technologies are plenty capable of detecting radiation," he says. "But I don't want to diminish the fact we're still trying to increase their sensitivity."
It's an increasingly urgent mission now that North Korea may be a nuclear country, one with a history of selling its weapons to any willing buyer.
Copyright 2009 CBS. All rights reserved. "The thing I worry about most is nuclear weapons being in the hands of a group that does not have a return address. North Korea has a return address. The question is who they may sell the material to, or weapons to," Nunn says.
That's one danger. Another is a rogue state like North Korea funneling nuclear ingredients directly to them, CBS News chief investigative correspondent Armen Keteyian says.
"That's the raw material for terrorism, and it's not properly secured in many cases. Small amounts, but enough to make a crude weapon," Nunn says.
What alarms Nunn and others is the amount of weapons-grade uranium and plutonium available on the worldwide black market. Some sellers are working inside countries like Pakistan, others are working out of the trunk of a car.
In fact, the number of "confirmed incidents" of illegal trafficking in nuclear materials has grown from about 25 worldwide in 1996 to nearly five times that number two years ago, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
That's why the U.S. government is taking new steps to track nuclear ingredients.
"We're looking at instruments that can help us detect the movement of nuclear materials," says Dr. Ralph James of Brookhaven National Laboratory on Long Island, not far from New York City.
At Brookhaven National, James is developing a new generation of nuclear sensors meant to be deployed around the country at airports, seaports, bridges and tunnels.
It will be a difficult task. It's not easy to determine, often on the fly, the difference between gamma rays emitted from a pack of kitty litter and a dirty bomb being driven into the heart of a major U.S. city.
Nevertheless, James says his technology is not just scientific smoke and mirrors. "These detector technologies are plenty capable of detecting radiation," he says. "But I don't want to diminish the fact we're still trying to increase their sensitivity."
It's an increasingly urgent mission now that North Korea may be a nuclear country, one with a history of selling its weapons to any willing buyer.
But just in case, here is a list of things you can do on an individual basis to increase your chances of survival:
1. Don't live in a major city. Of course you would never consider living in New York. Forget about living anywhere near a city over 1 million people, eiter. Move to a smaller city that just wouldn't be worth blowing to kingdom come.
That's it! Short list, huh? Follow my advice and not only will you survive the looming nuclear cataclysm, but you will enjoy the benefits of cleaner air, lower cost of living, and less crime, too. Win-win!
Republican Senator John McCain had some tough words for Senator Hillary Clinton's criticism of the Bush administration's policies. McCain said "her husband's administration" came up with a framework agreement that was a "failure."
But the William J. Clinton Foundation calls it an "unfortunate" attempt to "rewrite history to score political points." Their statement says under Clinton's watch, the North Koreans never conducted a nuclear weapons test.
His wife's spokesman says this is no time to "play politics of the most dangerous kind" with the North. He also blames the Bush White House for doing nothing to stop the North.
lol, Oh hillary doesnt want to play politics now?
Compared to the strict U.S. policy, China did not discourage its client states, North Korea and Pakistan, from developing nuclear weapons. Instead, China has overtly and covertly assisted both nations to develop and deploy active weapons upon working delivery systems.
Nature abhors a vacuum, especially in the case of nuclear weapons. The whole equation of Asian defense has changed overnight. As a result of China's nuclear proliferation, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan may now have to follow Pyongyang's lead and begin their own atomic weapons programs. That decision will be made in Tokyo, Seoul and Taipei, not in Washington.
It should shock no one, including the China lobby and DNC apologists, that Beijing will continue to support North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
However, some fools continue to be suckered by Beijing's obvious ploy to dominate Asia. The fools' hope that China will restrain Pyongyang continues to echo off the lips of the leftist media, as if by simply wishing it were true will make it so.
The fact remains that Bill Clinton's legacy is an unstable world filled with hungry dictators and nuclear weapons. The result of the Clinton appeasement policy toward China is a new arms race.
U.S. Pressure on Asian Allies
In contrast, the U.S. repeatedly told India, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan that they should not develop nuclear weapons. The U.S. position was that the no one had the right to bring a new arms race to Asia.
The U.S. also backed up this policy by placing severe restrictions on the export of nuclear and ballistic missile technology to India, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. The trade agreements also had teeth built into them in case U.S. technology was abused.
For example, when India developed and tested its nuclear bomb, the U.S. responded with hefty sanctions and a diplomatic freeze that is just now beginning to thaw.
Axis of Evil and Friends
North Korea was not left all alone in its effort to obtain nuclear weapons. North Korea relied heavily on China, its closest ally, to assist in its all-out effort to obtain the atomic bomb.
Beijing elected to covertly aid its North Asian ally by proliferation. China allowed Pakistan to send nuclear technology purchased from Beijing to North Korea in exchange for No Dong missile technology.
Beijing provided Pakistan with its nuclear weapons technology, including an operational atomic bomb design. Pakistan is now providing North Korea with equipment and engineering to assist in its bomb-making efforts.
The fact remains that North Korea acquired some key equipment for its nuclear weapons program from Pakistan in 1998. The key equipment, including a working gas centrifuge used to enrich uranium, was shipped to Pyongyang in the coffin of the murdered wife of a North Korean diplomat.
Beijing's indirect assistance includes allowing Pakistani C-130 cargo flights over China to Pyongyang that carry key equipment for nuclear weapons production. The flights return to Pakistan with North Korean No Dong missile parts.
For example, former Clinton adviser Paul Begala, now serving as a talking head on CNN, claimed that the Clinton administration contained the threat from North Korea. Clearly, Mr. Begala missed the 1990s.
Of course, Mr. Begala simply forgot that Clinton's military chief of staff testified in 1998 that North Korea did not have an active ballistic missile program. One week later the North Koreans launched a missile over Japan that landed off the Alaska coast.
During the early Clinton years, hard-liners and so-called conservative hawks advocated a pre-emptive strike to halt North Korea's nuclear weapons development before it could field an atomic bomb. Instead of taking the hard line, President Clinton elected to rely on former President Jimmy Carter and decided to appease the Marxist-Stalinist dictatorship.
Carter met with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang and returned to America waving a piece of paper and declaring peace in our time. Kim, according to Carter, had agreed to stop his nuclear weapons development.
The Clinton appeasement program for North Korea included hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, food, oil and even a nuclear reactor. However, the agreement was flawed and lacked even the most informal means of verification.
In return, Kim elected to starve his people while using the American aid to build uranium bombs. The lowest estimate is that Kim starved to death over 1 million of his own people, even with the U.S. aid program.
Thanks for being real tough with those North Koreans! Instead of talking to them like Clinton was doing, you let them know right away they were part of the "Axis of Evil", just like Iraq was after we stopped liking Saddam.
When you faked some WMD evidence and invaded Iraq, you let the North Koreans know that we don't mess around with the evil nations.
Yep, George, you scared 'em all right, scared em real good! In fact, you scared em so good they went out and got themselves a nucular bomb. Nice job George, you ole cowboy, you.
"The Blame Game"
Just one of the latest Rovian/Orwellian phrases that has been permeated through mainstream media into the collective unconsciousness of the American Sheeple, to remind everyone that it is now unfashionable to hold your elected officials accountable. Think about it.
Thanks for that intellectual conversation.The worst thing about the involvement of religion into polictics is that every unjustified and non sense action can be justified on the name of religion because when people talk about religion they refer to God and God can't come infront of the people and tell that this guy is a liar,I never said this.That's how RADICAL CHRISTIANS impose their point of views on other people without any reasoning accepted by a normal mind.Those people who love JESUS and believe him as a CHRIST are GOD-NEGLECTED people because of being born in a race NOT CHOSEN BY GOD.Whereas those who don't believe in JESUS as a MESSIAH are GOD CHOSEN PEOPLE becasue of being born in a race CHOSEN BY GOD.Human beings shouldn't be treated on the basis of their actions but should be treated as GOD NEGLECTED or GOD CHOSEN based on the race they are born in.When this NON-SENSE,UNJUST and RACIST ideology becomes the fundamental base of our politics,the purpose of life of GOD-NEGLECTED AMERICANS becomes limited to the service,slavery,protection and support to the NON-AMERICAN GOD-CHOSEN EUROPEAN INVADERS IN PALESTINE,to sacrifice the existance of UNHOLY UNITED STATES for the EXISTANCE of HOLY LAND ISRAEL.We ignored the threat posed by North Korea and keep on ignoring it till we'll be nuked one day only for that NON-SENSE RELIGIOUS REASON.