Al-Qaida on brink of using nuclear bomb

[Cronus]

This isn't good.

I'm not even going to post any text from the report,it speaks for itself,if true.

'Al-Qaida on brink of using nuclear bomb'

[badapple]

Where did the story originate from...Tony Blair or George Bush?
And which country is Al-Qaida planning there attack from...
Iran or Syria.
We all know that Iran & Syria are next on Americas hit list!

...and where are those WMDs which could be fired in 45 minutes from Iraq?

[super jumbe]

I always been thinking were does Al-Qaida get the money from, they have been fighting wars for over 30 years and who is funding them?
Tony Blair the Middle East peace convoy has been a joke, since Mr Blair became the middle man, there was no peace the man is well out of order and we are now going to suffer for long time.

[barrowmanandrew]

I always been thinking were does Al-Qaida get the money from, they have been fighting wars for over 30 years and who is funding them?

thats a very good question...
got my mind working overtime now......

[asmoridesagain]

well isn't this a jolly old piece of bad news - rather coinscidental timing that it's released while the middle east is in the midst of instability mind.

I don't think its anything to be truly alarmed about mind; while the terrorists may be more technologically advanced than we expect, there is no way on earth that Al-Quaeda or similar could have a nuclear enrichment facility, have the capability to build an actual nuclear or hydrogen bomb, nor have the ability to deploy one from the air (which is what causes the most damage) either dropped from an aircraft or missile borne. More than anything, this is just a realisation that they'd still like to make dirty bombs and that there are many places in the world where they could get material from. Hell, after the collapse of the USSR that stuff is everywhere anyway.

And where to Al-Quaeda get their funding? Take your pick - Ransom for hostages/from Somali pirate skirmishes; Iran, Pakistan, or if we go back far enough, the good old U S of A.

[cablefreejunkie]

when you have an alleged leader(bin laden) that can evade the most advanced ,dictatorship(USA) many people will fund your ambitions
personally i think its all phoney,but thats my view,nucleur bomb,im not sure about that one,which dis-information service did you get that one from cronus ?

[super jumbe]

I thought it would have been the other way round, bin laden is very old to be a leader when I last saw him on TV 25years ago, but not a dictator because he dose not govern any country to my knowledge. But I can tell you his family in Saudi Arabia are the richest in the world, every way you go in the Kingdom you will see his empire Bin Laden hotels, Bin Laden gate in the heart of Mecca, and there is a bounty hunt for over 1 million pounds dead or alive by Americans, so why he is involved in this wars when he has got every thing he need in life?

[Canker_Canison]

Lets get this right.....

Funding came from the CIA

Bin Laden is already dead. He was seriously ill with either liver or kidney problems prior to 9/11. While in hospital one of his visitors just happened to be a high ranking CIA official working from Saudi.
Given Bin Laden has been in hiding for a few years now, without the specialist equipment & drugs needed to keep him alive...he is deffinatley dead.


As far as nuclear weapons go, not a chance. Even North Korea are struggling to get their weapons, ooops, I mean nuclear power program going. Even if terrorist groups have managed to get hold of the material needed, it will be more harmful to themselves due to inadequate shielding during production & storage.

[super jumbe]

So lets get this 50/50 Bin Laden is dead, we are just pulling the leg of some good citizen that the Americans are saying he is alive and kicking, therefore all the bounty hunters are vesting there time to get over 1 million pounds dead or alive and are just the dream for some who are as we speak looking for him, Canker_Canison I am lost mate.

[cablefreejunkie]

So lets get this 50/50 Bin Laden is dead, we are just pulling the leg of some good citizen that the Americans are saying he is alive and kicking, therefore all the bounty hunters are vesting there time to get over 1 million pounds dead or alive and are just the dream for some who are as we speak looking for him, Canker_Canison I am lost mate.

its quite simple jumbe.you cant have a never ending war on terror without an enemy,so the easiest way round that is to create an enemy in the public eye,make that enemy youre number 1 enemy and tell your citizens that this is our top priority to find this man dead or alive,every now and then release some dodgy video footage proclaiming to be bin,whilst all along hoodwinking the ever so naive(hope i spelt that right)public into believing they are under constant attack from some nutter in a cave in tora bora or somewhere thereabouts
launch ileegal wars in the middle east and if anyone asks uneasy questions tell them its all part of the war on terror
this is bush/blair mantra
you should all know this by now

[Cronus]

As far as nuclear weapons go, not a chance. Even North Korea are struggling to get their weapons, ooops, I mean nuclear power program going. Even if terrorist groups have managed to get hold of the material needed, it will be more harmful to themselves due to inadequate shielding during production & storage.

The headline is very misleading. They are talking of terrorist groups acquiring nuclear material to construct 'dirty bombs and not a nuclear bomb itself.

A radiological "dirty bomb" would use conventional explosives to disperse radioactive material across a large geographical area.

[Meat-Head]

Lets get this right.....

Funding came from the CIA

Bin Laden is already dead. .he is deffinatley dead.


.

Is this the word on the street or a confirmed rumor?

This is why it is worth paying subs to DK - so Devilfish can afford a decent server company (remind me to pay again)

Several forms use old bunkers to store servers - *HOPE* DK servers are stored safe. Don't matter if we are all glowing in the dark, as long as DK is still on line, so what.

[Canker_Canison]

Ok, my bad on understanding the meaning on a dirty bomb. Always taken it to be a very crudely built nuclear/hyrogen bomb that's less effective but gives out more radiation. Not just radioactive material atomised by high order explosives.


Look back in time to before & after 9/11, Bin Laden was proclaiming his holy war on the west through video releases every couple of weeks...a month at most between releases.

When was the last time you saw a new video with him in it?

Do you really think if he was alive he would stay quiet for so long?

All information about bin Laden should be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism. A Pulitzer Prize-winning 2006 book, The Looming Tower [1], scoffs at previous reports -- apparently well-regarded by the CIA -- that bin Laden has Marfan syndrome or kidney disease.
Vital Statistics

• Bin Laden was born on March 10, 1957 [2a] .

General Appearance [How tall is Osama bin Laden?]

• A journalist who met bin Laden in the 1990s described him as 6 feet 4 inches in height and "lithe and muscular" [3].
• His beard has been streaked with white since around January 2000 (at least), when he was described as "visibly aged" [2b] . He dyes his beard [1b].

Cardiovascular and General Health

• A slim biography, published in Egypt in 1991 reported that about 1987 bin Laden had health problems that:
  forced him to lie down intermittently for hours at a time. He suffered from low blood pressure, which was treated by an Egyptian doctor from Peshawar, and diabetes, for which he received insulin shots. [2c]
  Comment: Being "forced to lie down" could be a result of hypotension, autonomic dysfunction, or some other cause of weakness. It could also be a sign of pathological sleepiness (see below). Autonomic dysfunction can be a complication of diabetes.
  
• "The CIA has determined that bin Laden has an enlarged heart and chronically low blood pressure" [4].
• On Dec. 8, 1998, NBC News reported that bin Laden had only "months to live," explaining that he was suffering from heart problems and possibly cancer [2d] . Oops.

Mental State (i.e. Psychiatric)

• "At one point, medical analysts thought bin Laden was a 'bit of a hypochondriac,' said one former official, noting that the United States had heard of his constant health complaints. That profile, said one of the officials, was developed with the aid of defectors from al-Qaida [sic] as well as foreign intelligence services, bin Laden family members and U.S. technical intelligence." [4]
• Of his experience fighting the Soviets, bin Laden has said:
  Once I was only thirty meters from the Russians and they were trying to capture me. I was under bombardment, but I was so peaceful in my heart that I fell asleep. [2e]
  Comment: This may be related to the condition that "forces him to lie down" (see above). If not due to disease, sleeping in such conditions is even more startling than Gordon Cooper's famous nap-before-liftoff.

Wounds

• Age 16 or 17: Amazingly, unhurt after driving his Chrysler into a culvert, destroying it. [1c]
• "Based on an analysis of the breathing and speaking patterns Osama bin Laden exhibited in a videotape released in December [2001], Western intelligence officers believe he had suffered a severe chest wound but survived a U.S. air and ground assault in eastern Afghanistan" [5].
• Bin Laden is missing two toes "from a war wound suffered in Afghanistan fighting the Soviet Union" [4]. A short 1991 Egyptian biography of bin Laden shows a picture of him tending a wound in his foot about 1987 [2c] .
• Several video segments show bin Laden walking with the aid of a stick [3], but the reason for this is unclear.
• A short 1991 Egyptian biography of bin Laden shows a picture of him getting a shot after being exposed to "poisonous gas" about 1987 [2c] . Dr. Zebra supposes this occurred while fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan.

Diabetes [Does Osama bin Laden have diabetes?]

• A slim biography, published in Egypt in 1991 reported that about 1987 bin Laden had diabetes, for which he received insulin shots [2c] .
• According to Time Magazine (July 1, 2002) "physicians who analyzed photos of bin Laden determined that he probably suffers from secondary osteoporosis, which is often related to diabetes and kidney trouble" [6].

Kidney (i.e. Renal) [Does Osama bin Laden need dialysis?]

• There have been reports that bin Laden requires dialysis because of kidney disease [7].
• CIA thought thought possibility of kidney disease was credible [1d].
• The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency has concluded that bin Laden does not need dialysis, but does suffer from kidney stones [4].
• A journalist who visited bin Laden's camp in the 1990s reported camp members saying that bin Laden had a kidney problem requiring him to drink large amounts of water. The journalist witnessed bin Laden constantly sipping water and green tea in the time they spent together [3].
• On July 1, 2002, Time Magazine "reported that physicians who analyzed photos of bin Laden determined that he probably suffers from secondary osteoporosis, which is often related to diabetes and kidney trouble" [6].
• Comment: Renal failure can be a complication of diabetes (which he may or may not have -- see above). Interestingly, occasional persons may have their diabetes improve after renal failure occurs, because insulin is retained longer in the body when kidney function is impaired.

Marfan Syndrome / Bones [Does Osama bin Laden have Marfan syndrome?]

• "Just over six feet tall -- not the giant that he was later made out to be" [1e].
• [During Sudan years:] "He was not tall, but he was handsome." -- Issam Eldin al-Turabi [1f]
• CIA thought bin Laden was 6 feet 5 inches tall [1d].
• Bin Laden is said to be 6 feet 4 inches tall, as noted above.
• There is an often-repeated statement, not "supported by firm evidence," that bin Laden has Marfan syndrome, e.g. [8]. [Persons with Marfan syndrome are classically tall and thin. They are generally not muscular, but there are exceptions, e.g. the occasional college basketball player that proves to have the condition.]
  
• On July 1, 2002, Time Magazine "reported that physicians who analyzed photos of bin Laden determined that he probably suffers from secondary osteoporosis, which is often related to diabetes and kidney trouble" [6].

Family History [All references in curly braces are page numbers from The Looming Tower [1].]

• Father: "brilliant with figures, which he could effortlessly calculate in his head, and he never forgot a measurement" {74}.
• Children: Seventeen by 1992 {187}.
• Note: A man whose eldest son is named X becomes known as "Abu X." A woman whose oldest son is named X becomes known as "Umm X." {92}
• Wives and their children:
  • Wife #1 = Najwa Ghanem, 1974, age 14. Unusually tall. "Quite beautiful." {90} "Umm Abdullah" {92}. Jealous {287}. Left around 2001 {382}.
    • 11 children {92} {382}
    • #1 = Abdullah, born 1978 {92}, whereupon bin Laden becomes "Abu Abdullah" {92}. Suffers from asthma since childhood {219}.
    • Second son, Abdul Rahman, was born with hydrocephalus. OBL took the baby to the UK for treatment, but declined to have shunt placed. Instead, he returned to Saudi Arabia and treated the condition with honey (a folk remedy). The boy ultimately became mildly retarded. {92-93} {221}
    • Oldest daughter, Fatima, born 1983. "... fun, but a little slow." {285}.
    
    
  • Wife #2 = Umm Hamza, from Sabar family in Jeddah {94}. Seven years older than OBL {286}. Frequent miscarriages. Weak eyes. Frail {286}.
    • One child {286}, a son {94} {286}. Son is named Hamza. 12 years old circa 2001. Long black eyelashes, his father's thin face {377}
  • Wife #3 = Umm Khaled {285}
    • daughter Khadija, born 1986 {285}. "Very very bright" {286}
  • Wife #4 = Umm Ali {94}. Asks for divorce 1994 {221}.
  • Wife #5 = Amal al-Sada, circa 2001, age 15, a Yemeni {382}
  
  

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Wright, Lawrence. The Looming Towern. New York: Vintage, 2006. ISBN 978-1-4000-3084-2 @ Amazon [b] p. 377 [c] p. 89 [d] p. 301 [e] p. 95 [f] p. 189
   
2. Bergen, Peter L. Holy War, Inc.: Inside the Secret World of Osama bin Laden. New York: Free Press, 2001. ISBN 0-7432-0502-2 @ Amazon [a] p. 44 [b] p. 185 [c] p. 57 [d] p. 32 [e] pp. 122-123
   
3. Frontline television show. "Meeting Osama bin Laden." Public Broadcasting Service. KCSM-TV. 5 April 2005.
   
4. Robert Windrem. "CIA is looking for a few good doctors." NBC News, Dec. 29, 2004.
   At: NBC: CIA recruiting doctors - U.S. news - Security - msnbc.com
   
5. Susan Schmidt and Douglas Farah. "Al Qaeda's New Leaders." Washington Post. October 29, 2002; Page A01.
   
6. Anonymous. "Bin Laden Alive as of Late December Report." Reuters; Sun Jun 30, 2002; 2:11 PM ET.
   
7. Rohan Gunaratna. "[interview]." Charlie Rose television show. KQED-TV. July 14, 2004.
   
8. Barton Gellman and Thomas E. Ricks. "U.S. Concludes Bin Laden Escaped at Tora Bora Fight." Washington Post. April 17, 2002; Page A01.

[super jumbe]

You got the point there Canker, bad man is dead job done, no more to worry about the nuclear bomb, the END.

[chroma]

Nuclear armaments are a nightmare to produce, you need an enriched radioactive isotope like Plutonium (you need to remove the majority of Pu-240 isotopes to be left with a bulk ratio of Pu-239) or Uranium (enriching uranium to include more U-235 isotopes than U-238) this creates a lot of left over "depleted Uranium" or U-238.

The thing is you need to allow the material to go into fission by blasting an isotope with a slow moving neutron, this then splits and bombards other isotopes causing them to split and in the blink of an eye you've got millions of splits happening an things go bang. High concentrations of either Pu-240 or U-235 means things get unstable and a stray particle can cause the entire thing to decide to detonate, the ratios have to be spot on.

All this needs specialised gear and labs in order to actually get it to happen with any real degree of success.

Dirty bombs however are FAR simpler, they just use conventional explosives wrapped with waste products like depleted uranium or low grade plutonium, left over radium, radon, cadmium, americium and the like, essentially nuclear waste.
Stuff that's easily obtainable, its waste after-all, worthless, and people are looking to be rid of it.
The worrying thing is that real nuclear weapons kill you almost instantly and are generally pain free (as free as your flesh getting vaporised off your bones allows)

Dirty bombs just cause damage and shrapnel, then you've got a few weeks of an agonising radiation sickness then death to look forward to... the rest of the population get to eat the radioactive crops and food and drink the radioactive water and slowly die of sickness too.
A long drawn out affair :/