Breaking News: Loose Suitcase Nuke

[Protostar]

Breaking news popped up as I was researching the "climate" this morning.
News from the "russian" usually beats usa news outlets by 2 days.
Some news from this website is NOT CONFIRMED.
So, read at your own descretion. Posted because of the conflicts with
china right now....

A ‘frantic search’ occurring in the United States over what their Military Nuclear experts believes is a ‘loose’ suitcase sized nuclear weapon believed to have been smuggled into the American commercial air transportation system, and which has caused chaos in the US as hundreds of flights have been ‘suddenly’ cancelled leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded.


http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1084.htm

[JenaS62]

Breaking news popped up as I was researching the "climate" this morning.
News from the "russian" usually beats usa news outlets by 2 days.
Some news from this website is NOT CONFIRMED.
So, read at your own descretion. Posted because of the conflicts with
china right now....

A ‘frantic search’ occurring in the United States over what their Military Nuclear experts believes is a ‘loose’ suitcase sized nuclear weapon believed to have been smuggled into the American commercial air transportation system, and which has caused chaos in the US as hundreds of flights have been ‘suddenly’ cancelled leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded.


http://www.whatdoesitmean.com/index1084.htm

I so hope that this is not true. I much prefer to believe that all those flights were cancelled due to the lack of maintenance and the fact that the US is now also outsourcing aircraft maintenance which I think is the most stupid idea ever. It's one thing to pay tech help desk people $2 per week but imagine how pissed off aircraft mechanics are when making $2 per week and what damage they can inflict on us.

[Crimepunisher]

A ‘frantic search’ occurring in the United States over what their Military Nuclear experts believes is a ‘loose’ suitcase sized nuclear weapon believed to have been smuggled into the American commercial air transportation system, and which has caused chaos in the US as hundreds of flights have been ‘suddenly’ cancelled leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded.

You have to be joking.

No airline travel for me.

[lycanox]

Heathrow is causing some problems in the air because they opened a new terminal which turned out to be not working correctly.

As for the suitcase bombs. Do they still work after all these years?

[olddragon]

I don't like flying anyway.
This is truly sad.

[nicdeedoop]

http://www.mndaily.com/articles/2008/03/28/72166334

Interesting coincidence?

[MapMan]

I'm now beggining to think that the chaos at Heathrow over baggage might be a result of this frantic search for the bomb.

All those sudden cancellations and claims of 'lost baggage' now look suspicious:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7318337.stm

[serge_regulator]

That article is absolute BS.

With statements like, "By the US and its Western allies deliberate implosion of their Global banking systems these reports estimate that China has lost over $300 billion in value of their, estimated, holding of over $1.5 trillion in US dollars and Treasury Certificates." Saying that we tanked our own economy just to devalue some of China's holdings is insane. We lost a hell of a lot more than they did.

Or this one, "America has reached a point where almost half its population is described as being in some way mentally ill, and nearly a quarter of its citizens - 67.5 million - have taken antidepressants."

I did a little research and found that several people have tried to confirm the credentials of the author, Sorcha Faal, with no success.

While I do believe there are some loose suitcase nukes out there somewhere, I do not believe anything in this article.

[Skygirl]

I did a little research and found that several people have tried to confirm the credentials of the author, Sorcha Faal, with no success.

Wasn't that the name of one of the characters from the movie Willow?

[olddragon]

Sorcha Faal was a caricature from Willow.
Spelling:
Sorsha Faal. a fictitious persona.

Kind of leaves a great doubt about truth of article.

[Crimepunisher]

A related question however:

Haven't we yet graduated from "suitcase" size bombs? I mean, it's a new era....why not iBomb Nano or something?

*FBI raids house looking for any and all Apple products*

[lycanox]

*FBI raids house looking for any and all Apple products....*

...which could be linked to terrorists in iRaq or iRan.

+ YouTube Video

[Assassin X]

Um not to sound stupid but didn't Russia loose like 200 suitcase nukes years ago? Or some crap like that? It barley made the news because they didn't want cause a panic.

[Skygirl]

Sorcha Faal was a caricature from Willow.
Spelling:
Sorsha Faal. a fictitious persona.

Kind of leaves a great doubt about truth of article.

Maybe one of those little brownie guys from the movie stole it. They were always causing trouble.

[serge_regulator]

Um not to sound stupid but didn't Russia loose like 200 suitcase nukes years ago? Or some crap like that? It barley made the news because they didn't want cause a panic.

The "suitcase nukes saga" began in the fall of 1997, when General (Ret.) Alexander Lebed made several statements to the effect that during his short tenure as the Secretary of the Security Council in 1996, he received information that the separatist government in Chechnya possessed small nuclear devices. In an attempt to clarify the situation, he created a special commission under the chairmanship of his assistant, Vladimir Denisov. According to Lebed, the commission was only able to locate 48 such munitions of a total of 132, an indication that 84 were lost (subsequently Lebed changed the total number of suitcase nukes several times, stating in the end that the number was between 100 and 500, but probably closer to 100). The Russian government's statements on the matter were contradictory in some respects but denied Lebed's claims.

First they denied that such weapons had ever existed; then they said that all of them had been destroyed. However, the highest-ranking GRU defector, Stanislav Lunev, confirmed that such Russian-made devices do exist and described them in more detail. These devices, “identified as RA-115s (or RA-115-01s for submersible weapons)” weigh from fifty to sixty pounds. They can last for many years if wired to an electric source. “In case there is a loss of power, there is a battery backup. If the battery runs low, the weapon has a transmitter that sends a coded message – either by satellite or directly to a GRU post at a Russian embassy or consulate.” According to Lunev, the number of “missing” nuclear devices (as found by General Lebed) “is almost identical to the number of strategic targets upon which those bombs would be used”. He suggested that they might be already deployed by the GRU operatives. Lunev's claims have not been confirmed. Russian nuclear weapons built in the 1970's were not small. The term "suitcase" is misleading since the smallest weapons weighed at least 60 pounds with the majority of them weighing much more. Nuclear weapons of that time period also have very short-term required maintenance schedules. Nuclear weapons of this nature would have routine 6 month service schedules - not suitable for permanently deployed clandestine devices. Available evidence suggests that these stories were most probably not true, and that they were generated by incomplete information or ulterior motives.

If they exist, which is worse - not knowing who has them or knowing they have already been deployed and are just waiting to be set off?

[olddragon]

This is true, an they did tend to cause trouble every where they went.

I don't remember iNukes,

[scratbox]

A related question however:

Haven't we yet graduated from "suitcase" size bombs? I mean, it's a new era....why not iBomb Nano or something?

*FBI raids house looking for any and all Apple products*

A very good suggestion

[olddragon]

I remember those they were in the last season of 24

[Skygirl]

*FBI raids house looking for any and all Apple products*

Oh great, now I have to hide my hard cider.

[lycanox]

In 1997, former Russian National Security Advisor Alexander Lebed made public claims about lost "suitcase nukes" following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. He stated that more than 100 of the approximately 250 such weapons were unaccounted for. The Russian government's statements on the matter were contradictory in some respects but denied Lebed's claims.

First they denied that such weapons had ever existed; then they said that all of them had been destroyed. However, the highest-ranking GRU defector, Stanislav Lunev, confirmed that such Russian-made devices do exist and described them in more detail. These devices, “identified as RA-115s (or RA-115-01s for submersible weapons)” weigh from fifty to sixty pounds. They can last for many years if wired to an electric source. “In case there is a loss of power, there is a battery backup. If the battery runs low, the weapon has a transmitter that sends a coded message – either by satellite or directly to a GRU post at a Russian embassy or consulate.” According to Lunev, the number of “missing” nuclear devices (as found by General Lebed) “is almost identical to the number of strategic targets upon which those bombs would be used”. He suggested that they might be already deployed by the GRU operatives.

So which is worse - not knowing who has them or knowing they have already been deployed and are just waiting to be set off?

However, they do only have a lifespan of a couple of years. And Russia haven't even made one in the last ten years. So if the bad guys have one, they can only use it as a dirty bomb.

[ryangti]

They would not tell us anyway but we are not that stupid!
Look at this story and ask how good is the security anyway?
Authorities revealed that a man carrying a loaded shotgun was arrested in January near the US Capitol, and explosives left in his truck nearby went undetected for three weeks.

[Abyssal_Worm]

The last time this forum was in a frenzy over "Russian News" it was last year when it was "Confirmed" that the U.S. would begin a bombardment campaign against Iran on Good Friday. As we all know, nothing even remotely close happened.