"To what purpose are powers limited, and to what purpose is that limitation committed to writing,
if these limits may, at any time, be passed by those intended to be restrained?"
-- Chief Justice John Marshall, Marbury v. Madison, 1803

Nuclear Black Market II

by Lee

A couple of weeks ago I blogged on attempts by individuals to sell components for a “dirty bomb” to terrorists.  Well, here’s another example.

Inside Makeria’s boxes were two capsules of highly radioactive metals—strontium and cesium—of a type that terrorism experts say can be used in a dirty bomb, a device that spews radiation but does not trigger a nuclear explosion. A third container held a vial of brown liquid that Georgian police identified as the substance used in mustard gas, one of the earliest chemical weapons. Only later did police learn Makeria’s role in the affair. He was a courier for criminals trading in components and materials for weapons of mass destruction.

In a scheme still not fully understood, the boxes were delivered to Makeria by another Georgian, a man with a history of drug offenses. Makeria’s job was to carry the boxes by train from Tbilisi to Adzharia province, a troubled enclave on Georgia’s southwestern frontier. From there, police believe, they were to be transported by other couriers across the border into Turkey or perhaps even Iran, for delivery to an expectant customer. The buyer’s identity remains unknown.

What is certain is that the Georgians who sought to profit from selling components of a dirty bomb are far from unique.

There have been dozens of cases of trafficking in radiological materials over the past three years, along with what some weapons experts describe as a disturbing new trend. While most sellers of such materials have traditionally been amateurs—opportunists and lone actors in search of easy profits—authorities are now seeing a surge of interest among criminal groups. In a string of incidents from the Caucasus and Eastern Europe to West Africa and South America, gangs have stalked and stolen radiological devices to sell for profit or to use in crimes ranging from extortion to murder.

It’s going to happen, folks.  And those setting it off will feel emboldened by doing so, so much so that they will pursue a full scale nuke.  I figure I’ve got 40-60 years left on this planet, and I am positively convinced that I’ll see that full nuke detonation in a major western city sometime before I kick the bucket.  The dirty bomb will probably happen in the next year or two, if not sooner.

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