[ RadSafe ] AW: Re: Alazan ...

[Franz Schönhofer]

Gerry,

 

Thank you for your answer and the photos. What I see (besides the papers
which I cannot read, because I do not know Russian) is just a simple
„rocket“, which I believe any skilled mechanican can construct, whether in
the USA, Russia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Austria, Botswana, Australia 

and could
be loaded with certain radionuclides for RDD. To my knowledge no such
rockets are anymore used for preventing hailstorms, but the silver-iodide is
nowadays emitted by small aircraft, because they are much more effective to
distribute the AgI over larger areas. That any such rocket can be loaded
with radionuclides – what is surprising about it? One can load it with
bacteria. That’s a fact. Everybody, not only states are vulnerable. Why
should one be afraid of it? There are more than enough natural disasters
claiming their toll – should people be afraid of it? 

 

This was somehow referring to RADSAFE issues, but most of your postings do
not. Perhaps you could refrain from posting them to RADSAFE and find another
discussion group?

 

Franz

 

Franz Schoenhofer

PhD, MR iR

Habicherg. 31/7

A-1160 Vienna

AUSTRIA

phone (international) -43-699-1168-1319

phone (national) 0699-1168-1319

-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: Gerry Blackwood [mailto:gpblackwood at yahoo.com] 
Gesendet: Mittwoch, 11. Mai 2005 00:24
An: Franz Schönhofer
Betreff: Fwd: Re: Alazan ...

 

Franz

 

Yeah I was afraid you were going to say " NaI(Tl) detectors (portable ones
exist) or by high resolution gamma-spectrometry with germanium detectors or
similar."  Not every arms dealers walks around with these..... There has to
be a simpler way without drawing attention.Moreover you are more than likely
very correct it was a scam. But the Alazan 5 was a originally designed as a
Soviet meteorological rocket, carrying a chemical payload to make rain so as
to prevent crop-damaging hailstorms.The rocket was altered to a surface to
surface missile in the early 1990's by the Chechens. A former Moldovian Army
officer, stated the warheads were also modified and that 24 of the nuclear
devices were located in Silo 13 of the 4043th military division, located in
the airdrome in Tiraspol. Another 14 nuclear devices had been deposited in
an abandoned shaft in a quarry outside the village of Bacioc in Dubasari
County. the shaft part was confrmed. The other 12 supposedly went missing in
December of 2003. The IAEA, USG and the OSCE has been investigating these
since December 2003.

 

Yes reporters are idiots! No matter where they live! Attached is a photo of
the system as well as the the specs and inventory from the Kolbasna Arms
Depot. Read Russian? If not I will have to dig up the translations. Gerry

Report: 'Dirty bombs' missing from Moldova

By Associated Press
Published December 9, 2003


  _____  


CHISINAU, Moldova - Dozens of rockets outfitted with so-called dirty bombs -
warheads designed to scatter deadly radioactive material - appear to be
missing in a breakaway region of Moldova, an expert said Monday. 

Oazu Nantoi, a political analyst who works at the nongovernmental Institute
for Policy Studies in Chisinau, said he had seen photocopies of Russian
military documents showing that the dirty bomb warheads - 24 ready to use,
14 dismantled - were missing from a storage depot near the Trans-Dniester
Tiraspol military airport.

Nantoi is a respected expert on the region of Trans-Dniester, which has been
policed by Russian troops since the region's fight for independence from
Moldova 12 years ago.

Nantoi said the documents came from a disgruntled Russian military official
who said he had not received compensation for exposure to radioactive
material.

Thousands of tons of weapons and ammunition remain stored in Trans-Dniester
after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.

Nantoi said reports first reached him in 1998 that Alazan rockets - normally
used in the former Soviet Union for weather experiments - had been fitted
with warheads modified to carry radioactive material.

Since then, the rockets and warheads appear to have disappeared from their
storage area, and "I could not discover what had happened to them," he told
the AP.

Moldova's government declined to comment. An official of the Trans-Dniester
Defense Ministry in Tiraspol called the claims "propaganda from Chisinau."

  

>From the ABC News article linked to below: 

Intel Surge
U.S. Intelligence Learn of Possible Threats to New York and Other Cities 

Dec. 19— Authorities are evaluating a surge of information related to
possible terrorist threats to a number of cities in the United States,
including New York City, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., ABCNEWS has
learned. 

Threat information is coming from intelligence intercepts, interrogation of
recent detainees and other methods, sources say. 

Sources say the threat to New York City possibly involves a female suicide
bomber, but no specific target has been identified and intelligence sources
are still evaluating the credibility of this threat. The New York City
Police Department released a statement saying it has "no credible
intelligence pointing to a specific or imminent terrorist threat" in the
city. 

In the threats received for other cities, including Los Angeles and
Washington, no mode of attack has been identified and no location or
specific cells were named. 

Senior officials from the Department of Homeland Security, intelligence and
law enforcement have a planned meeting Monday to evaluate the recent surge
in information related to possible terror threats. 

"We have remained concerned about the volume of reporting of threats and
that is why the Department of Homeland Security has sent out several
bulletins over the past few weeks to homeland security officials and law
enforcement personnel, urging all to continue be on heightened state of
alert especially, as we enter the busy holiday season," White House
spokesman Scott McClellan said today at a news conference. 

Preparations Already Under Way 

Officials around the nation were already actively engaged in serious
discussions with the Department of Homeland Security about whether events,
chatter and the time of year warrant elevating the threat level inside the
United States to orange, or high, for the upcoming holiday season that
starts tonight at sunset. 

Considerations underpinning the discussions include the capture of Saddam
Hussein, information gleaned from online chat rooms, classified information
arising from one of the former Soviet republics and increased concerns of
authorities in Italy, the United Kingdom and Poland, sources say. 

The discussions are part of an intense series of conference calls and
personal meetings between officials that have been ongoing since at least
Wednesday, as the nation enters the holiday rush. 

An estimated 500,000 people are expected to flood into New York City for
this year‘s Times Square New Year Eve‘s bash. There, they will watch as
retired Army Spc. Shoshana Johnson, a former prisoner of war in Iraq, will
press the Waterford crystal button that signals the dropping of the ball. 

Mitigating against raising the level to orange are fiscal considerations.
State officials say the cost of raising the threat level is too high unless
there is a specific threat. Today in New York City, law enforcement
officials began finalizing their plans for the New Year‘s security package,
which will include the welding shut of manhole covers, the removal of post
office boxes, and the preparation of a rodeo-like series of pens and gates
that funnel backpack-less revelers into the area along Broadway. 

Heavy weapons teams, bomb squads, city, state and federal weapons of mass
destruction units, bioterror sensors, undercover agents, thousands of
uniformed officers and so-called Arch Angel convoys — units trained to
remove dignitaries in case of an incident — are all part of the plan. 

Sources said there is only a "slight chance" the nation could go to orange
and it is much more likely that additional alerts will go out and local
officials can then choose how to respond on their own. 

The five levels of terrorism alerts, as well as recommended government and
private-sector responses include the following: 

Green: Low risk of terrorist attacks. 

Refine and exercise planned protective measures. 

Ensure emergency personnel receive training. 

Assess facilities for vulnerabilities and take measures to reduce them. 

Blue: Guarded condition. General risk of terrorist attack. 

Check communications with designated emergency response or command
locations. 

Review and update emergency response procedures. 

Provide the public with necessary information. 

Yellow: Elevated condition. Significant risk of terrorist attacks. 

Increase surveillance of critical locations. 

Coordinate emergency plans with nearby jurisdictions. 

Assess further refinement of protective measures within the context of the
current threat information. 

Implement, as appropriate, contingency and emergency response plans. 

Orange: High risk of terrorist attacks. 

Coordinate necessary security efforts with federal, state and local law
enforcement agencies or any National Guard or other appropriate armed
forces. 

Take additional precaution at public events and possibly consider
alternative venues or cancellations. 

Prepare to work at an alternate site or with a dispersed work force. 

Restrict access to threatened facilities to essential personnel only. 

Red: Severe risk of terrorist attacks. 

Assign emergency response personnel and preposition specially trained teams.


Monitor, redirect or constrain transportation systems. 

Close public and government facilities. 

Increase or redirect personnel to address critical emergency needs. 

ABCNEWS‘ Richard Esposito, Pierre Thomas and Chris Isham contributed to this
report. 



 



Jeffrey Lewis <armscont at armscontrolwonk.com> wrote:

Nope. Wanna clue me in?

 

"Dante once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who
in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality."

 

 

"Dante once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who
in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality."