Sanity, Terror and Nukes

May 29, 2009 | 1426 GMT Thomas Starke/Getty Images A warning placard on a container at a decommissioned nuclear facility Summary STRATFOR’s Geopolitical Intelligence Report on May 26 generated many questions and responses from our readers concerning various scenarios of nuclear terrorism and nuclear proliferation. We take a closer look at issues of terrorism, loose [...]

Po 210

Po-210 is a terrible choice for a poison. Extremely toxic, radioactive, and is extremely difficult to handle. It emits alpha particles and becomes lead. It has a half life of 138.4 days. This means half of the original amount of Po-210 turns into lead every 138 days. It has a short shelf life, which limits [...]

Can A Nuke Fit Into A Suitcase?

Could the next chapter of our national nightmare be a nuclear one? How hard would it be for operatives of Osama bin Laden to deliver a “suitcase nuke” to our doorstep? INTERACTIVE GRAPHICS Map: Hunting Osama Map: Nukes Pipeline Interactive: Taliban P.O.W. Revolt More Graphics Tora Bora Nukes Pipeline Taliban Revolt Last Bastions Women & [...]

Terrorists Build A Nuke?

Can Terrorists Build Nuclear Weapons? Carson Mark, Theodore Taylor, Eugene Eyster, William Maraman, Jacob Wechsler J. Carson Mark is a member of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Ad visory Committee on Reactor Safeguards and of the Foreign Weapons Eval uation Group of the U.S. Air Force. He is a former division leader of Los Alamos National [...]

Are Suitcase Bombs Possible?

Are Suitcase Bombs Possible? By Carey Sublette Last changed 18 May 2002 It is impossible to verify at the time of this writing whether nuclear devices sized to fit in side a suitcase were actually manufactured by the former Soviet Union, as alleged by Alexander Lebed in September 1997. It is certainly possibel to assess [...]