Hypersonic

Uranium from Iraq reaches Canada


From the Associated Press
July 6, 2008


MONTREAL -- The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein's nuclear program -- a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium -- reached this Canadian port Saturday, completing a secret U.S. operation that included an airlift from Baghdad and a voyage across two oceans.

The removal of about 550 tons of "yellowcake" -- the seed material for high-grade nuclear enrichment -- was a significant step toward closing the books on Hussein's nuclear legacy. It also brought relief to U.S. and Iraqi authorities who had worried that the cache would fall into the hands of insurgents or Shiites hoping to advance Iran's alleged nuclear ambitions.

What's left is the final and complicated push to clean up the remaining radioactive debris at the former Tuwaitha nuclear complex, about 12 miles south of Baghdad, using teams that include Iraqis recently trained in the Chernobyl fallout zone in Ukraine.

"Everyone is very happy to have this safely out of Iraq," said a senior U.S. official who outlined the nearly three-month operation. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject.

Yellowcake alone is not considered potent enough for a "dirty bomb" -- a conventional explosive used to disperse radioactive material -- but it could cause widespread panic if incorporated in a blast. Yellowcake also can be enriched for use in reactors and, at higher levels, weapons.

The Iraqi government sold the yellowcake to a Canadian uranium producer, Cameco Corp.

A Cameco spokesman, Lyle Krahn, said the yellowcake would be processed at facilities in Ontario for use in nuclear power plants.

The deal culminated more than a year of diplomatic and military initiatives, kept hushed in fear of ambushes or attacks once the convoys were underway: first carrying 3,500 barrels by road to Baghdad, then on 37 military flights to the Indian Ocean atoll of Diego Garcia and finally aboard a U.S.-flagged ship for a 8,500-mile trip to Montreal.

Tuwaitha and an adjacent research facility were well known for decades as the centerpiece of Hussein's nuclear efforts. U.N. inspectors had documented and safeguarded the yellowcake, which had been stored in aging drums and containers since before the 1991 Persian Gulf War. There was no evidence of any yellowcake dating from after 1991, the senior U.S. official said.

U.S.-led crews transferred the yellowcake to secure barrels for the shipment.

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Hypersonic

This story hardly raised an eyebrow in the general Media ....and yet I think it clearly shows that Iraq still had the potential and desire to produce nuclear weapons.

Gullwing

Yes the media doesn't show the whole picture with Iraq.

Hypersonic

Don't get me wrong, I think the 'invasion' of Iraq was ill-advised. But every intelligence agency believed Saddam had WMDs.

There has been a huge amount of criticism of the US and the Bush administration over the absence of WMDs. This massive hidden stockpile of yellowcake is not a WMD in itself, but is a pretty clear indication of Saddam's real intentions once the UN inspectors had found nothing and left Iraq.

I notice nobody has yet been stupid enough to argue this material was intended to be used for anything other than the clandestine production of WMDs.

Monster

Day 2, and not a single word from the Australian media, considering we are one of the few nations who join forces with the U.S, I thought we will at least have some passing interest in the treatment of these potentially deadly materials.

Hypersonic

The story was old when I first read it. It is from the 6th

It is interesting how much of the Media appears to have forgotten Iraq for the time being.

Monster

With so much natural disaster going on, and things like the presidential election race, the Olympics, and the World Youth Day, the media, or the general public simply do not have enough time or mental space to pay attention to what his happening in Iraq. No doubt G.Bush is happy about this.

Gullwing

Everyone thought Saddam had weapons, because he wanted everyone to think he had them. He didn't want to be thought of as weak if everyone knew he didn't have them.
We have found WMDs in Iraq, very small amounts. Though no one talks about it. No I can't remember what it is we found or how much, it has been a year or two since I have heard anything about it.

modena_360stradale

Wasn't it Sarin nerve and mustard gas? Or the warheads for them?

I guess Saddam just 'forgot' about them, right?

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