Nuke component unearthed in Baghdad back yard From David Ensor CNN Washington Bureau Wednesday, June 25, 2003 Posted: 6:10 PM EDT (2210 GMT) WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The CIA has in its hands the critical parts of a key piece of Iraqi nuclear technology -- parts needed to develop a bomb program -- that were dug up in a back yard in Baghdad, CNN has learned. The parts were unearthed by Iraqi scientist Mahdi Obeidi who had hidden them in his back yard under a rose bush 12 years ago under orders from Qusay Hussein and Saddam Hussein's then son-in-law, Hussein Kamel. U.S. officials emphasized this was not evidence Iraq had a nuclear weapon -- but it was evidence the Iraqis concealed plans to reconstitute their nuclear program as soon as the world was no longer looking. The parts and documents Obeidi gave the CIA were shown exclusively to CNN at CIA headquarters in Virginia. Obeidi told CNN the parts of a gas centrifuge system for enriching uranium were part of a highly sophisticated system he was ordered to hide so as to be ready to rebuild the bomb program at some time in the future. "I have very important things at my disposal that I have been ordered to have, to keep, and I've kept them, and I don't want this to proliferate, because of its potential consequences if it falls in the hands of tyrants, in the hands of dictators or of terrorists," said Obeidi, who has been taken out of Iraq with the help of the U.S. government. Centrifuges are drums or cylinders that spin at high speed and separate heavy and light molecules, allowing increasingly enriched uranium to be drawn off. Former U.N. arms inspector David Kay, now in charge of the CIA search for unconventional weapons, started work two days ago in Baghdad. CNN spoke to him about the case over a secure teleconferencing line. "It begins to tell us how huge our job is," Kay said. "Remember, his material was buried in a barrel behind his house in a rose garden. There's no way that that would have been discovered by normal international inspections. I couldn't have done it. My successors couldn't have done it." CNN had this story last week but made a decision to withhold it at the request of the U.S. government, which cited safety and national security concerns. The U.S. government told CNN the security and safety issues have been dealt with and there is no risk now in telling the story fully. The gas centrifuge equipment dates to Iraq's pre-1991 efforts to build nuclear weapons. Experts said the documents and pieces Obeidi gave the United States were the critical information and parts to restart a nuclear weapons program and would have saved Saddam's regime several years and as much as hundreds of millions of dollars for research. Obeidi said he felt unsafe in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion and that he was getting pressure from different corners of the country. He also said other Iraqi scientists were watching to see if he was safe after he cooperated with the U.S. government. Now that he is safe, Obeidi said he believes other scientists would come forward with other components of Iraq's weapons program.
It's hilarious that this is breaking news. It had been buried for twelve years and was thus certainly a clear and present danger.
more breaking news, I have information that Iraq attempted to build a nuclear reactor at Osirak at some point in the 80's... details to follow...
While we're on a streak, North Korea actually has nuclear weapons and Iran is about twelve years ahead of Iraq in nuclear capabilities, but we spent our wad in Iraq ( and will for a while ).
What the hell you talking about? once those oil wells are up and running, this thing'll pay for itself! Quit whining and enjoy your tax cut buddy.
Yeah humor is usually the way to discredit something that you don't want to believe. Funny the location of this centrifuge was known by the Iraqi scientist. You guys cannot envision a scenario where it would be dug up and used if needed? It should have been destroyed according to several UN resolutions.
agreed, But Bigtexx come on, <i>Experts said the documents and pieces Obeidi gave the United States were the critical information and parts to restart a nuclear weapons program and would have saved Saddam's regime several years and as much as hundreds of millions of dollars for research. </i> research from 12 years ago is "pre-emptive" danger to us now? Now if the other scientists start coming forward, then we'll see.
Do you want a centrifuge which can be used to enrich uranium in the hands of Saddam Hussein? It absolutely is a danger to us now because it can be dug up and used NOW. The scientist knew exactly where it was, so he could have used it had Saddam threatened to kill his family if he didn't dig it up and use it.
Did I say I didn't believe it? Do you think that the debate is over whether or not Iraq had an active WMD program prior to the FIRST Gulf war? Cause that's when this is from.... But maybe more scientists will come forward to tell us tales of Iraq's WMD program during the 80's, or better yet we can ask the American companies who sold chemical weapon components to Iraq during that time...
That would be a valid argument if this piece of equipment was destroyed in the 80s. If was not. It could be used today. Therefore it is a threat today, and should not be ignored.
<i>Do you want a centrifuge which can be used to enrich uranium in the hands of Saddam Hussein? </i> Obeidi turned over a two-foot-tall stack of documents that includes detailed designs for centrifuges, intelligence officials said. Obeidi told intelligence officials the parts from his garden were among the more difficult-to-produce components of a centrifuge. Assembled, the components would not be useful in making much uranium.<b> Hundreds of centrifuges</b> are necessary to make enough to construct a nuclear weapon in such programs. http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm.../ap/20030625/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_centrifuge_2 You don’t get it Bigtexx, we know Iraq wanted a nulucer [sic]bomb! We were told he had one NOW!!!! By the way, we gots lots more than they do! but that's another thread...
Twelve years from now maybe we'll find a can of anthrax in a rose garden somewhere and then W will have his proof!
Funny, Here is proof that Saddam was cheating on his UN sanctions and clearly had every intention of building WMD and yet you people dismiss it as no big deal. I guess you won't think it is a big deal until a terrorist plants a bomb in your home town..... Unbelievable. DD
This war is now justified. Phew, for a while there, I wasnt too sure if we were doing the right thing.
Hey DD . Guess what, I've seen terrorists attack right down the street from me, but I don't really know what that has to do with anything. "had every intention"? Oh, gee, I didn't know this debate was over whether or not Saddam was a bad guy. I always thought he was a good guy, I mean that's what I've been saying for teh past year. Guess this proves me wrong. This was a pre-emptive war, sold on the basis of an imminent threat, not a threat that was neutralized last decade.
and the government has said repeatedly that this is not a smoking gun. it's just not. they've been very forthright in saying so.
Yes, I know. Others have been hyping it as a smoking gun, but the Administration has been careful to point out that it is not, and I applaud them for it. It's the first WMD-related truth we've heard from them in a while!
Saddam was a thug rattling his saber to hype his own stature. Would he have built a nuclear bomb and then sold it on the open market or used it against Israel, knowing we would retaliate with a full nuclear strike and thus reduce his country to nothing? Americans' sense of revenge is pretty acute. Besides, I don't trust the media anymore, one way or the other, especially if it's information from a "defector" or some such. If you gave me a big enough bank account, I'd say whatever you want. To tell the truth, though, I was surprised it took them so long to "find" something. Valid or not (and not even close enough to even begin building a bomb), I always believed Iraq would have SOMEthing. Every country has SOMEthing. But it was always an excuse, not our real aim. Question: Yes, but would EVERYbody use that SOMEthing against others? Answer: Well, no. So far, the U.S. has been the only country to subject another to nukes used in anger. (And in that case, not even necessary: Japan was beaten, half-destroyed; Nimitz and Eisenhower said not to use them, but paranoid Truman wanted to scare the Russians in the post-WWII era).
Actually, I would suggest that until very recently (before the 1st Gulf War?), the world considered America to be a "paper Tiger". All talk and no action. That's why Saddam had no problems going into Kuwait - he was absolutly sure the U.S. wouldn't do anything because, in his opinion, as soon as American soldiers were killed the country would lose it's stomach for war and the U.S. would pull out. History shows that Saddam doesn't learn from his past mistakes very well because with regards to the recent Iraq conflic Saddam thought the same thing. He never learned from the first war that 1) there wouldn't be a whole lot of American casualties and 2) even if there were a few it wouldn't stop us. Also, you have to remember that Saddam wasn't working towards a nuclear weapon to use per se but, like the rest of the world, he was going to use it as a deterent. If he had nukes when he invaded Kuwait there would have been NO way to stop him. He wouldn't have used them, but he would have made it clear that he would have if we intervened. I think that Saddam's actions recently shows that he won't back off regardless of the consequences. He just lost his country because he wouldn't show the world that he didn't have WMD that he, apparenlyt DIDN'T have! What kind of craziness is that? You can't assume that people like Saddam think reasonably. He may be VERY smart (like most serial killers) but that doesn't make him reasonable nor rational
