Massive nuke smuggling confirmed

662 confirmed cases worldwide from '93 to '04 raising terror fears

Sen. John Kyl, chairman of the Terrorism, Technology and Homeland Security Subcommittee, is suggesting it's time for a 'Manhattan Project' commitment by the U.S. to prevent nuclear terrorism, confirming 'there have been plenty of efforts by terrorists and smugglers to acquire nuclear materials.'

Pointing out that terrorists would need no more that nine pounds of plutonium or 35 pounds of highly-enriched uranium to create a nuclear explosion, Kyl headed a hearing with top government experts on the prospects of detection and prevention of the feared nuke attack on the U.S.

According to the International Atomic Energy Agency between 1993 and 2004, there were 662 confirmed cases of smuggling of nuclear and radiological materials.

'And those were just the instances that we know about,' said Kyl. 'Of those confirmed cases, 21 involved materials that could be used to produce a nuclear weapon, and over 400 involved materials that could be used to make a dirty bomb.'" From the G2 Bulletin. By paid subscription only.