Originally posted by Burginthorn
What do you make of this:
"For now, suitcase-sized nuclear bombs remain in the realm of James Bond movies. Given the limitations of physics and engineering, no nation seems to
have invested the time and money to make them.
Rebuttal...
James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
It has been disclosed that these weapons were indeed intended for Spetsnaz. Two versions of these devices were created - RA-155 for the army and
RA-115-01 for the navy (to be used under water). The weight of one device was 30 kilograms and it could be armed by a single operator in just 10
minutes.[4] These weapons, which were called "nuclear backpacks" ("yadernyi ranets"), had a yield of 0.5 to 2 kilotons and could contaminate areas
of up to 10 square kilometers.
Originally posted by Burginthorn
Both U.S. and the USSR built nuclear mines (as well as artillery shells), which were small but hardly portable–and all were dismantled by treaty by
2000.
Rebuttal...
Russia was supposed to have eliminated all "nuclear mines" - the category, into which "nuclear suitcases" should fall - according to the 1991
unilateral statements by Presidents George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev, but implementation of these initiatives has not yet been completed. In 2002,
Russia announced that the deadline for completion was extended from 2000 to 2004 due to insufficient funds. To date, there has been no official update
on the status of this work.
Originally posted by Burginthorn
Alexander Lebed’s claims and those of defector Stanislev Lunev were not based on direct observation.
Rebuttal...
the sensational statement by General Lebed was based on an incomplete study. That study was launched in 1996 in response to reports that several
portable nuclear devices had been stolen and landed in the hands of Chechen separatists, but it was not completed by the time Lebed was forced to
resign from the position of the Secretary of the Security Council. It remained unknown whether the study was completed and which methods were used,
specifically, whether the commission only checked records or also matched records to actual weapons.
Originally posted by Burginthorn
The one U.S. official who saw a small nuclear device said it was the size of three footlockers–hardly a suitcase.
Rebuttal...
Academician Alexei Yablokov, claimed that "suitcase nukes" had been under the control of the KGB, and consequently the records of the Ministry
of Defense were incomplete).
IMO
the Official would have never been given access to, nor had the ability to see a "suitcase nuke" that the
KGB had sole custody of, and (at the time) claimed they didn't exist.
Questons to ponder...
Why would they conduct a study to see if some of them were stolen if they did not exist?
Why would Mitner make the claims that they didn't exist when the above information was already available?
Also see:
Stanislav Lunev who testified to Congress about
the RA-155 and RA-115-01
Alexei Yablokov who testified to The House National Security
Committee.
General Vladamir Dvorkin even agrees they exist.
[edit on 5/25/09 by makeitso]
