-=> bob klahn wrote to Dave Drum <=-


 DD>> Suitcase nukes are possible to anyone with access to
 DD>> fissile material and a decent library. And pretty easy to
 DD>> smuggle to nearly area wanted. And since nukes are an area
 DD>> weapon - close does win the cigar.

 bk>>  Are they? Do you know of any case of anyone other than a govt
 bk>>  employee having a suitcase nuke? Do you know of any government
 bk>>  that has a suitcase nuke?

 DD> No, I don't. but back in the early 60s a couple MIT
 DD> students designed a suitcase nuke that scientists said
 DD> would have worked for a 15 to 20 kiloton yield. They used
 DD> unclassified information from the public and MIT libraries.

 bk>  I remember that, but, if it actually was practical, why doesn't
 bk>  anyone seem to have one now?

That we know of. For college kids, who are basically law abiding, the problem
is getting the fissile material. For terrorists with international connections
and lots of loverly Saudi $$$ to spend - the former USSR is a fertile
marketplace for anything from weapons grade plutonium to complete nuclear
tipped missiles.

 bk>  In looking it up long ago I ran across a report that the
 bk>  Russians gave it up because the maintenance on small warheads is
 bk>  much worse than on large ones.

Terrorists wouldn't plan on long term storage of a nuke. They'd blow something
up with it right away.

 bk>>  BTW, what would a suitcase nuke weigh?

 DD> More than I care to lug around ... even with the newer
 DD> suitcases that have the built-in casters. IIRC - about 60
 DD> kilos.

 bk>  Bout 125 lbs. Bit much. And would have to be a large suitcase, I
 bk>  imagine. Does that include just the uranium, or the shielding
 bk>  etc also?

IIRC that included some shielding as the major part of the weight.

 DD>> Chemical and biological weapons (depending on wind
 DD>> direction) can be area weapons - and may win the cigar ...
 DD>> albeit not with as many sheer numbers of deaths as a nuke.

 bk>>  Don't forget, we are not talking about the theoretical ultimate,
 bk>>  but what Saddam could produce. For that we use what he did
 bk>>  produce as the example.

Most of Hussein's chemical weapons were those he bought from Donny Rum-Dum as
US Surplus.

... I was the kid next door's imaginary friend - Emo Phillips
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