.Nuke Detection is Latest Fallout from Georgia War
The Republic of Georgia is one of the primary routes for the smuggling of nuclear materials out of the former Soviet Bloc. The U.S. has spent millions training and equipping the Georgian government to thwart nuclear trafficking. The recent Russian invasion has set this effort back significantly.
A team from the National Nuclear Security Administration that was forced to flee Georgia during the Russian incursion returned to find their equipment destroyed. According to a recent Boston Globe report, a Russian cluster bomb shredded nuclear detection equipment at the Black Sea Port of Poti and severe damage at the Kutaisi Airport set back efforts to install detection equipment there. The team plans on continuing there work and expects the equipment to be operational in 2009.
There have been documented cases of nuclear smuggling in Georgia, and if a terrorist organization is looking for a chance to move nuclear materials, the chaos following the Russian invasion presents a golden opportunity for bad people. But keep the tinfoil hats in the drawer. It ain't quite conspiracy time.
It's unclear whether the damage was deliberate. Poti was the subject of a large-scale Russian attack which destroyed most of the Georgian Navy. The detection equipment was reportedly damaged by a cluster bomb which are area weapons with high probabilities for collateral damage. So my guess is that the Russians did not intend to destroy the detection equipment. No nation-state benefits from disruption to the anti-smuggling efforts, and it does not appear the Russians placed any consideration for their disruption of a multi-lateral effort designed for everyone's collective security.
Wired
Oh yeah, the Russians are innocent victims of Georgian aggression. Sure they are.
And I'm sure supplying Iran had nothing at all to do with anything, why would you even think that?
A team from the National Nuclear Security Administration that was forced to flee Georgia during the Russian incursion returned to find their equipment destroyed. According to a recent Boston Globe report, a Russian cluster bomb shredded nuclear detection equipment at the Black Sea Port of Poti and severe damage at the Kutaisi Airport set back efforts to install detection equipment there. The team plans on continuing there work and expects the equipment to be operational in 2009.
There have been documented cases of nuclear smuggling in Georgia, and if a terrorist organization is looking for a chance to move nuclear materials, the chaos following the Russian invasion presents a golden opportunity for bad people. But keep the tinfoil hats in the drawer. It ain't quite conspiracy time.
It's unclear whether the damage was deliberate. Poti was the subject of a large-scale Russian attack which destroyed most of the Georgian Navy. The detection equipment was reportedly damaged by a cluster bomb which are area weapons with high probabilities for collateral damage. So my guess is that the Russians did not intend to destroy the detection equipment. No nation-state benefits from disruption to the anti-smuggling efforts, and it does not appear the Russians placed any consideration for their disruption of a multi-lateral effort designed for everyone's collective security.
Wired
Oh yeah, the Russians are innocent victims of Georgian aggression. Sure they are.
And I'm sure supplying Iran had nothing at all to do with anything, why would you even think that?
posted by madtom at 11:57 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home