Arab Nation May be Going Nuclear
January 09, 2010
Military.com |by Bryant Jordan
According to an expert on the Middle East, Israel may soon no longer be alone in possessing nuclear weapons in that volatile region of the globe.
But the other power with "the bomb" may not necessarily be Iran. While some countries claim Tehran is bent on becoming a nuclear-armed power – a claim Iran denies – an Arab country already is taking steps to go nuclear, says Jim Hoagland, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post journalist, who spoke Thursday at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
"As a senior Arab political official who was in town recently said to a small group of us, [that] it's clear there is already activity underway on the Arab side on the development of nuclear weapons," Hoagland told a packed room at the institute's offices. Hoagland did not identify the Arab official or others in the "small group," and hastened to add that there were "no details to provide."
Hoagland was at the institute to offer some analysis of remarks made earlier by Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, who gave an assessment of U.S. operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. Mullen's take, not surprisingly, is that there are encouraging signs of progress in both countries.
Mullen said little about Iran besides calling it a destabilizing influence in the region. He also said it was his opinion that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons. Mullen left immediately after his remarks and a handful of questions, and was not there when Hoagland spoke.
Hoagland did not respond to Military.com's request for additional comment and it is still unclear which Arab nation he was referring to.
Israel is the only known Middle Eastern country with nuclear weapons -- with anywhere from 100 to 400 warheads in its stockpile. The Jewish nation -- which has never signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty -- never confirms or denies its nuclear status. And the U.S., to avoid an embarrassing clash with its closest ally in the region, never confirms or denies Israel's nuclear arsenal as well.
In 2007 Israel bombed a Syrian site that it claimed was being used for nuclear weapons development. Syria has denied the accusation and an official with a Vienna-based agency that follows nuclear weapons issues says there has never been evidence shown to support the Israeli claim.
The official, who spoke to Military.com on condition he and his group not be identified, said he has heard no other claims that an Arab country was working on building a nuclear bomb.
"There have been no such reports recently, not even in the last couple of years," he said. "I haven't heard of any new findings of any new country pursuing nuclear weapons capability."
John Pike, a national security analyst and director of Globalsecurity.org, said he does not know which country Hoagland might have been talking about. He believes the Syrian facility was a nuclear weapons program, but is no longer operating.
Beyond that, he told Military.com in an email today, Egypt "has had the rudiments of a program, but never seriously" pursued one. He said he also believes Saudi Arabia has "some kind of arrangement with Pakistan."
Pike states on his Web site that the Saudis do not have nuclear weapons, but that some countries fear it may attempt to buy warheads rather than try to develop them. He says Saudi officials have discussed buying from Pakistan intermediate-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
Hoagland offered his nuclear tidbit in response to a reporter's question about U.S. offers to provide a security "umbrella" to Middle East countries in order to discourage them from starting nuclear weapons programs of their own as a hedge against Iran.
"I think there's some interesting continuity on this point," Hoagland said. "During the Bush administration there was discussion about a nuclear umbrella, a doctrine that would be directed at reassuring Arab states in the Gulf, Arab states at large, that they would be protected against an Iranian nuclear weapon."
The same guarantee was offered Turkey, but that country already operated under the assumption the U.S. was watching its back against a possibly nuclear Iran, and didn't feel the need for a nuclear program, according to Hoagland.
He said that then-Senator Hillary Clinton, as a presidential candidate in 2008, talked about a "strategic umbrella" for Israel, intended to reassure the Israelis they need not attack Iran at that time.
Hoagland, an opinion columnist for the Post for about 20 years, was also the paper's senior foreign correspondent, and staffed its desks in the Middle East, Europe and Africa. In a Jan. 3 column he announced he would quit writing weekly for the paper in order to focus on longer-term projects, including a book.
Crack New Scanner Looks for Bombs Inside Body Cavities
By David Hambling
January 8, 2010 |
The “underpants bomber” has renewed calls for new and more invasive security measures. Already, there’s a push to install scanners that show travelers’ naked bodies through clothing, using either millimeter wave or backscatter X-ray imaging. But even those scanners might not have caught the terrorist who nearly brought down Northwest flight 253.
That’s why one company is trumpeting a sensor that can supposedly “detect substances such as explosive materials … hidden inside or outside of the human body.” First step: Actually build a human-sized machine.
There has already been one report of a suicide bomber carrying explosives internally. Many sources, including the BBC, carried an early report suggesting that Abdullah Hassan Al Aseeri adopted the new tactic of “carrying explosives in his anal cavity” for an attack in September. The target, a Saudi prince, survived, but Aseeri was reportedly blown in half by the blast. Later reports suggest the explosives were actually sewn into his underwear, but security experts believe there is a real danger of “internally carried” bombs, a technique used for years by drug smugglers.
Nesch, a company based in Crown Point, Indiana, may have a solution. It’s called diffraction-enhanced X-ray imaging or DEXI, which employs proprietary diffraction enhanced imaging and multiple image radiography (.pdf).
Rather than simply shining X-rays through the subject and looking at the amount that passes through (like a conventional X-ray machine), DEXI analyzes the X-rays that are scattered or refracted by soft tissue or other low-density material. Conventional X-rays show little more than the skeleton, but the new technique can reveal far more, which makes it useful for both medical and security applications.
“Our patented technology can detect substances such as explosive materials, narcotics, and low-density plastics hidden inside or outside of the human body,” company CEO Ivan Nesch claims. DEXI allows explosives to create contrast, he adds, so it would be able to detect both the underpants bomber and the shoe bomber before they boarded.
The image above shows how a conventional radiograph does not detect two packets of “illegal materials” concealed in soft tissue, while they are plainly visible in when DEXI technology is used.
The process of taking the images, analyzing them, and then recognizing substances of interest — such as explosives — can be automated. Alerts issued can be computer-generated. Security staff would simply have to get passengers in and out of the imaging unit.
“The initial expected throughput is approximately one to two passengers a minute,” according to Nesch. “Once installed and tested in real applications, the throughput will be increased.”
Nesch has already demonstrated the technology with a unit originally designed for imaging small animals. The next stage is a human-sized unit, which is being “finalized for extensive testing.” Nesch plans to start taking orders for the new unitin March this year.
Of course, X-ray scanners always bring up a concern over the level of radiation involved. One of Nesch’s corporate slogans is “Less radiation, more information,” as DEXI uses significantly less radiation than other approaches.
“It is far less than what a passenger would receive simply by flying on an airplane across the United States,” says Nesch. “Passengers who are imaged using DEXI security will be exposed to approximately 50 times less radiation than that of a conventional radiograph. ”
There is likely to be a ready market for the new technology. Although an X-ray might be seen as more intrusive than an image of the outside of your body, it may be less controversial. In Britain, plans for “naked body” scanners may run into trouble because they break British child pornography laws: Creating “indecent” images of children is illegal. Those scans may also offend the modesty of some Muslims.
DEXI may be able to see into your body cavities, but it may be less obnoxious than some of the alternatives.
Photo: Nesch LLC
Twenty more like me, underpants bomber tells FBI
January 9, 2010
In this artist's sketch, Nigerian bombing suspect Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab (right) appears before Judge Bernard Friedman (left) in Federal Courthouse January 8, 2010 in Detroit, Michigan. Photo: AFP
A young Nigerian charged with trying to blow up a US airliner boasted during his interrogation that some 20 others were being trained to carry out similar attacks, CBS reports.
British intelligence officials said Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23, had "boasted that close to 20 other young Muslim men were being prepared in Yemen to use the same technique to blow up airliners," CBS reported on Friday.
Abdulmutallab earlier pleaded not guilty to six charges arising out of the botched Christmas Day bombing of Northwest Flight 253 from Amsterdam to Detroit.
He allegedly stitched two highly explosive substances into his clothes, and tried to detonate them as the plane carrying 290 people approached Detroit.
But the device failed, and instead Abdulmutallab was arrested after being overpowered by passengers and crew.
He has since been interrogated by FBI and US agents who are leading the investigation. US officials have said he is providing useful leads.
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