Posted on Feb 22, 2016
Stolen Radioactive Material Missing in ISIS-Ravaged Iraq
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The missing item is an industrial radiography device, a tool that uses a radioactive isotope to beam gamma radiation. In this case, the beam of radiation was being used to test oil pipelines for structural problems such as weakening welds. The device is about the size of a laptop. It was taken from a storage facility near Basra. In Iraq, government officials are declining to talk about this. They released a statement saying, "We do not own, operate or control sources or the bunker where the sources are stored," and a senior environment ministry official, who declined to be named as he is not authorized to speak publicly, told Reuters the device contained up to 10 grams (0.35 ounces) of Ir-192 "capsules," a radioactive isotope of iridium also used to treat cancer and another senior official said, "We are afraid the radioactive element will fall into the hands of Daesh." Iraq classifies this device as "highly dangerous" and reported the stolen material to the International Energy Agency in 11/2015 but has not requested assistance to recover it.
This could be added to explosives to make a dirty bomb, causing significant loss of life if left in a crowded area or if mishandled could cause radioactive pollution of "catastrophic proportions"
This could be added to explosives to make a dirty bomb, causing significant loss of life if left in a crowded area or if mishandled could cause radioactive pollution of "catastrophic proportions"
Stolen Radioactive Material Missing in ISIS-Ravaged Iraq
Posted from nbcnews.com
ISIS
Science
Technology
Middle East
Posted 9 y ago
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Why is this not surprising CPT (Join to see). There has been corruption in Iraq since it was created in 1920. One of my USMA classmates was on the team which identified, tagged and removed the yellowcake barrels discovered in Iraq during OIF.
I have been reading an Osprey Campaign book titled Iraq 1941 with subtitle the Battles of Basra, Habbaniya , Fallujah and Baghdad. After a series of assassinations, in April 1941 a radicalized muslim cabal led by by four colonels essentially took over the fledgling government of Iraq and made a pact with Nazi Germany for air support with the hope of more support to break away from Britain. This campaign was initiated by Britain to secure Iraqi and Iranian oil and keep it away from the Germans. At the time most oil came from the USA the Saudi peninsula oil fields had not been "discovered" yet. The Iraq rebels had a spiritual adviser who went by the title the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.
On the British side there are names such as Gen Claude Auchinleck and LtGen William Slim who at the time commanded the 10th Indian Division. This was the only campaign where Churchill overruled a commander in the field Gen Wavell who thought Iraq was of minor importance.
Britain won the campaign by 6 June 1941. [at the time Rommel's Afrika Korps was pushing towards Egypt from the west, Germany had swept through Greece and defeated the British expeditionary force there and the on Crete, and Germany was getting ready to kick off Operation Barbarossa into Russia.]
We would do well to learn from history.
SrA Christopher Wright SGT John " Mac " McConnell COL Mikel J. Burroughs PO3 Steven Sherrill SSgt Robert Marx LTC (Join to see)
I have been reading an Osprey Campaign book titled Iraq 1941 with subtitle the Battles of Basra, Habbaniya , Fallujah and Baghdad. After a series of assassinations, in April 1941 a radicalized muslim cabal led by by four colonels essentially took over the fledgling government of Iraq and made a pact with Nazi Germany for air support with the hope of more support to break away from Britain. This campaign was initiated by Britain to secure Iraqi and Iranian oil and keep it away from the Germans. At the time most oil came from the USA the Saudi peninsula oil fields had not been "discovered" yet. The Iraq rebels had a spiritual adviser who went by the title the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem.
On the British side there are names such as Gen Claude Auchinleck and LtGen William Slim who at the time commanded the 10th Indian Division. This was the only campaign where Churchill overruled a commander in the field Gen Wavell who thought Iraq was of minor importance.
Britain won the campaign by 6 June 1941. [at the time Rommel's Afrika Korps was pushing towards Egypt from the west, Germany had swept through Greece and defeated the British expeditionary force there and the on Crete, and Germany was getting ready to kick off Operation Barbarossa into Russia.]
We would do well to learn from history.
SrA Christopher Wright SGT John " Mac " McConnell COL Mikel J. Burroughs PO3 Steven Sherrill SSgt Robert Marx LTC (Join to see)
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SSgt Robert Marx
In the end, the Allies did keep Nazi Germany from tapping into any Mid East oil. The Caucasian oil fields were never rehabilitated by the Germans due to not holding onto them long enough. The limit of their reach was into 1942 and they were into the outskirts of Grozny which is the capital of Chechnya now but then I am not sure of its status. Stalin was a master at disbursing & murdering his opponents and it is a matter of record how he disbursed the Kazaks & other nomadic herdsman. Hitler's Achilles heal was oil and in the end much of the war machine he had became grounded due to no fuel & lubricants.
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It was found intact in southern Iraq:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/21/middleeast/missing-radioactive-material-found-iraq/
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/21/middleeast/missing-radioactive-material-found-iraq/
Missing radioactive material found in Iraq
Iraq has found some potentially deadly radioactive material that had been missing for months.
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CPT (Join to see)
CW4 Guy Butler Thank you for sharing. I had this article for a couple of days, waiting to see what would happen, I missed this one about it yesterday. I'm glad it was found.
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