Nuclear Suitcase Bombs
Are they real? Do they exist? Unfortunately the answer is most likely yes.
Now the real question, do the terrorists and specifically al Qaeda have one?
Of this we are not sure. In an interview in Peter Bergen's book, The Osama Bin Laden I Know, chief al Qaeda lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri, stated that al Aqeda had a nuclear suitcase bomb. He stated that it was easy to buy one on the Asian black market for about $30 million and the one that al Qaeda had was being used as a nuclear deterrent. Peter Bergen in his book, himself questioned whether this was bravado or fact.
It is troubling to think that al Qaeda may have found a nuclear suitcase bomb, but when one searches farther on Wikipedia, it appears that these Soviet made nuclear suitcase bombs have a shelf life. As they get older, they become harder to detonate and may instead be used as a dirty bomb spreading plutonium radiation instead of creating a horrific nuclear explosion.
There is conflicting evidence on whether these nuclear suitcase bombs really exist. If they do, they were created during the cold war period by both the Soviets and the Americans. They are about the size of a backpack. The Soviets disavow that they had been manufactured in one conversation and then agree that they exist in another. The information in Wikipedia presents both sides of the argument.
What do I think? I think that they exist. Do I think that al Qaeda has one? Hmm, I'm not sure, but it seems that if they did, they would have already tried to use it. This is the same presumption that Peter Bergen raised in his previously mentioned book on Osama Bin Laden.
Based on the information that Wikipedia mentions, it is more likely that if a nuclear suitcase bomb does get into the hands of a terrorist that it will be used as a dirty bomb due to it's expired shelf life rather than as a nuclear deterrent or as a nuclear weapon. However, this is a bad scenario too and not much better of a tradeoff.
Now the real question, do the terrorists and specifically al Qaeda have one?
Of this we are not sure. In an interview in Peter Bergen's book, The Osama Bin Laden I Know, chief al Qaeda lieutenant, Ayman al-Zawahiri, stated that al Aqeda had a nuclear suitcase bomb. He stated that it was easy to buy one on the Asian black market for about $30 million and the one that al Qaeda had was being used as a nuclear deterrent. Peter Bergen in his book, himself questioned whether this was bravado or fact.
It is troubling to think that al Qaeda may have found a nuclear suitcase bomb, but when one searches farther on Wikipedia, it appears that these Soviet made nuclear suitcase bombs have a shelf life. As they get older, they become harder to detonate and may instead be used as a dirty bomb spreading plutonium radiation instead of creating a horrific nuclear explosion.
There is conflicting evidence on whether these nuclear suitcase bombs really exist. If they do, they were created during the cold war period by both the Soviets and the Americans. They are about the size of a backpack. The Soviets disavow that they had been manufactured in one conversation and then agree that they exist in another. The information in Wikipedia presents both sides of the argument.
What do I think? I think that they exist. Do I think that al Qaeda has one? Hmm, I'm not sure, but it seems that if they did, they would have already tried to use it. This is the same presumption that Peter Bergen raised in his previously mentioned book on Osama Bin Laden.
Based on the information that Wikipedia mentions, it is more likely that if a nuclear suitcase bomb does get into the hands of a terrorist that it will be used as a dirty bomb due to it's expired shelf life rather than as a nuclear deterrent or as a nuclear weapon. However, this is a bad scenario too and not much better of a tradeoff.
