Where are all the nukes now !!??

I was doing some history reading, on the proliferation of nuclear technology, and this invariably led to IRAQ, Korea, Pakistan, and a few others...

A timeline

It appears that prior to 1990, all the nukes were in the; USA, USSR, China, Isreal, and maybe another.

Since 1990, and the beginning of the Gulf War, Pakistan, India, North Korea, Iran, Iraq, A few former soviet countries, have or could manufacture nuclear grade plutonium, and have a means of deploying it.

There is discussion about Japan back in the bomb business, and denying that it could be true..
"Japan's plutonium program is simply unnecessary for meeting its energy- security needs because of an abundance of cheap, readily available and non-weapons-usable uranium fuel," noted Paul Leventhal, NCI's president, who will retire and become president emeritus on June 1. "Japan's accumulation of plutonium is already viewed as a threat by its neighbors in the region, including both Koreas and China. Ozawa's claim that Japan could build thousands of nuclear bombs from its reactor-grade plutonium is as politically dangerous as it is technically correct.
www.nirs.org...

Now I beleive Pakistan is in the spotlight, for being so helpful the the North Koreans in their quest for Nukes.

Whether Musharraf has really stopped nuclear transfers to North Korea remains doubtful. Soon after he took over, the United States pressed him to remove the controversial czar of the Pakistani nuclear program, A.Q. Khan, who has visited North Korea 13 times. Musharraf did not oust Khan until March, 2001, and continued to retain him as a special adviser. The "smoking gun" that triggered the U.S. confrontation with North Korea over the uranium issue last October was not discovered until August 2002. A high-level State Department source told me that a British intelligence agent inside the Pakistan High Commission in London found incriminating documents showing that Pakistan was still helping North Korea at that late date, three years after Musharraf took power.
www.pakistan-facts.com...


The effort seems to be right now, is not to try to bias countries that can produce nuclear weapon material, or nukes, but bias the ones that are buying equipment, buying processes, and material.

Many companies are at fault, for turning the cheek when doing transactions. German industry seems to be a big player in equipment supply.

www.thebulletin.org...
A very interesting read, demostrates that Iraq only was
inhibited, but not prevented in procuring needed supplies, training, design changes, etc.

Some countries try to follow the rules, or should I say skirt them.

Note the new wrinkle in how to legally become a nuclear power, e.g., as now being implemented by Iran. The Russians are helping Iran get a nuclear power plant in operation, which should be on line sometime late this year. Once that plant has been in operation for one year, it will have made enough weapons-grade plutonium for about 50 nuclear bombs. The chemistry to separate the plutonium for making the bombs is a piece of cake and it can be done in a few weeks, once the material is sitting there and available. Other countries (such as Syria, etc.) are now eyeing that path, which ironically is perfectly permissible under present international agreements.

But all of them need the centrifuge...

The calutrons (advanced centrifuges for separation of isotopes) that Saddam Hussein already had in 1991, which were operating in Iraq at the time, were earlier sold to him by the Germans right out of their classified centrifuge program. After the Gulf War, we only captured just a tiny number of Saddam Hussein's calutrons, and those had residues of weapons grade U235 in them. In other words, his calutrons were already making weapons grade U235 in 1991, and most of them he still has, and they have been running now for some 12 years since the Gulf War. In a privately contracted Threat study for a foreign country, my aerospace threat team in latter 1991 concluded that Saddam Hussein probably had enough U235 weapons grade for from 7 to 12 gun assembly type weapons, in 1991. [This was the official threat study we delivered to Saudi Arabia under contract].

www.cheniere.org...


"It's a relatively simple process once you have the plans and some experience operating one or two centrifuges," he said. The key was provided, he said, when German Karl Schaab showed the Iraqis how to build and operate a centrifuge in 1989, and later helped them build a second."Our engineers videoed as it was put up, so they could build identical ones. Then he also provided 130 classified documents and charts detailing every aspect of the construction."When the inspectors took away the original centrifuge, we already had the know-how. I believe there are probably hundreds of copies today," said Mr. Hamza, who now lives in the United States. "They are easy to hide � undetectable from satellites if built within or under other buildings."
www.freerepublic.com...


So, looking at this information it appears to me that, either there will be continued effort to prevent non-nuclear countries from obtaining or manufacturing the needed technology, or nuclear proliferation will occur in exponential fashion. The countries that are being targeted are either middle eastern, or any country that has helped North Korea.

We may be at a turning point, a point where nuclear capability is the norm for a country to own. What was just one country in the 1940's, could turn out to be hundreds of countries in the near future, if no effort to limit membership to the club is enforced..



It also really makes me wonder why no WMD has been found yet in Iraq,...or has it? Just like the gold cache that was found, turned out to be copper? And millions in USD found that had to be 'replaced'.
But the White House budget office said the Pentagon was working with the U.S. Federal Reserve to exchange the damaged notes for "quality notes that can be utilized."

www.alaska-freegold.com...


Just wondering outloud,... if you attack a country that doesnt trade oil for your dollar, and you want them to use your dollar, then you remove and destroy what may give them power to resist, steal all their gold and resources, and re-dollarize their economy with loans and federal reserve notes.(new notes that are marked, not notes that have been laundered or are old and untrackable and 'out-of-the-system')


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