Explosives missing

Heard on the news today it´s Bush´s fault, 380 tons, or about a dozen containers, of Quote "High Explosives" are missing in Irag, an IAEA spokesman made a statement "That the Bush administration was warned to secure this site". Infered, the explosives could be used in the manufacture of atomic weapons.
Are these people for real? RDX the major ingrediant for most all plastic explosives and most artillery munitions, is stabilized for military use, actually made weaker by adding inhibitors and plasticizers.
Other uses for RDX are deoderant, water proofing cardboard/leather, vulcanizing tires, disenfectants, plasitics and a whole bunch of industrial processes. Wonder how many rail cars or trucks are on the rails or roads at any one moment in the US, carrying RDX. At a guess, I´d say a whole lot more than 380 tons.
Takes a pretty good charge (accelerator) to get the stuff going, more stabile than many other compounds, including many feritlizers.
I guess it was more important to secure the "RDX" than the other weapons sites (many hidden) an estimated half a million tons of munitions, scattered all over the country.
I really can´t believe the stuff these people regurgitate uke: Wonder what the talking head (female) would say If I told Her where niter comes from. And some of it´s properties. :shocked:
Wonder if Kerry, will promise next, to stop the production of niter, a highly explosive compound. And promises to remove the RDX from the plastic resins used in Catsup containers and shoe soles.
I kind of like the news most ways, figure I might be gaining some relavent insight into the world situation. But am feeling more and more, that most of it is just, mind polution.

Wonder what will happen if anyone tells Kerry whats in SPAM.:shocked:

I am always amazed. The Kerry bark eaters are so stuck on "No WMD's in IRAQ, but they can twist this in to saying they could make a Nuke bomb outta the stuff.
OK, they cannot have it both ways, IMHO. If they want to claim that the ingredients are sitting around to make a Nuke, how can they argue that there was no WMD program? arrgghhh.

Glenn said:

I am always amazed. The Kerry bark eaters are so stuck on "No WMD's in IRAQ, but they can twist this in to saying they could make a Nuke bomb outta the stuff.
OK, they cannot have it both ways, IMHO. If they want to claim that the ingredients are sitting around to make a Nuke, how can they argue that there was no WMD program? arrgghhh.

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They are gurus' of selective vison and hearing....

There are two key issues in the manufacture of nuclear devices -
1) Precision manufacturing of the explosive compression charges
2) Securing fissile material.

Given the history of MUF incidents (MUF - Material Unaccounted For,) I think that the manufacture of the implosion charges is a bigger problem. Development of the explosive blanks is a simple mathematical exercise and easily tested under use.

For detonation timing, just look in specialised industry for the kryton switches (I'd have to look up the spelling on that) and buy good-quality wiring. Take the time to ensure consistency.

However, 380 bloody TONS of RDX is enough to build an entire damn arsenal, and anyone with the wherewithal to begin a nuclear development programme has a chemist to make RDX (or anything even better for implosion charges!) and wouldn't not want to make themselves so damn obvious anyhow.

Even figuring the results of the sudden availablility of 380 tons of RDX, I think anyone willing to go to the effort of such a massive theft of material wouldn't be doing it so much as to solve a supply/logistic problem for themslves as to create one for the occupying forces (in occupational operations, it is the occupier that is at a constant tactical and strategic disadvantage.) I'd not be surprised if this stuff were found somewhere in a bunker unused and with a thick coat of dust later. An effective sabotage charge need not be large, and should be made right before the job anyhow.

Before anyone accuses me of handing out privileged information, take a few minutes to do some online searching or just go to the library reference section. For anyone wanting to build pretty much any sort of WMD, the first problem is already solved - we all know it's possible. It's not original effort, it's a duplication of effort which has already been analysed and logged. Why make any clandestine development effort obvious?

5-90

A couple of afterthoughts, Iraq´s major facility for the production of RDX, were destroyed in the first gulf war. Is this left overs or something that came in after the sanctions were imposed?
Another blurb, the stuff in artillery shells is RDX, last I heard, there weren´t 380 tons, but closer to 350,000 tons, of artiller shells floating around. I guess it´s more dangerous before you put it in the steel casing.
Don´t get me wrong, loosing 380 tons of the stuff isn´t good, it´s the hyperbol that upsets me. Like, oh my god! they got RDX. I´m saying it´s pretty common stuff. Like most of the components for TNT, can be found at any paint manufactures facilities, in rather large quantities.

The biggest problem is that people just don't realise how easy it is to make explosives (all you need is a course in middle school chemistry!) and with a little background in skilled machine trades or lensemaking, you have most of what you really need to make nuclear devices. For biological/chemical weapons, you just need a little college biology/chemistry to make that happen. It's really a lot easier than people think, and all the information you need it out there!

Heaven knows how many ways there are to make "quick and dirty" explosives. They may not be as powerful as commercial stuff, but the advantage of making most of them is the (nearly) untraceable supply.

You are also correct in that RDX is used in most artillery shells and some air-drop bombs. Where they don't use RDX (usually when they want a greater effect,) Amatol, Octol, and other "exotics" are used. Considering that a quick trip thru the drugstore can net you enough bomb-making supplies for a small revolution, why is everyone so worried about what's going on in Iraq? I'm just glad more high school kids aren't paying attention in Chemistry these days!

Of course, what I'm saying can be used to push "Homeland Security" to new lows, which is also worrisome. I really think that the key element of security is simply a well-informed and alert body politic, who are allowed the means to defend themselves. We've been on the "slippery slope" for decades, but the Holeland Security Department (and, by extension, the TSA) have made that slope very nearly vertical and recovery is not an option within the system and political climate we are stuck in. This is likely true all over the world.

As long as we keep people from focussing on what's really necessary (and this cape-waving in the news certainly does a good job of THAT!) we'll never have security or peace in this world. First, to establish peace we must eliminate political polarisation and the culture of the "haves" and "have nots." Then, we have to work to eliminate the false sense of entitlement that has been growing for the last several years, make people self-sufficient to the point where the welfare state is eliminated, and curb or eliminate inflation to stabilise world economy (a return to the Gold standard would be a good start, then cap minimum wages and oil prices - since incereasing minimum wage only devalues currency and most of the world economy is based upon petrochemistry one way or another...)

Next, if we're going to insist upon playing GloboCop, let's do the job right. Seek to eliminate these petty warlords and other tinpot tyrants and empower their former subjects. Identify, locate, and terminate all known and suspected terrorists (the bar for "suspected terrorist" is solid affiliation with known terrorist groups or ties to terrorist activity.) The World Court is an unworkable idea - seek to kill terrorists in the ways most insulting to their causes and eliminate the idea of martyrdom. Terrorism is the single greatest threat to world security, and MUST be handled harshly. Look at how they're going to treat us...

Stabilising world currency will help to get rid of the polarisation of the "haves" and "have nots." It is not strictly speaking necessary to create a new world monetary unit (thinking of the Euro writ large here...) but it IS damn sure necessary to put all of the world monetary units onto a standard which has a universal value - whether it is Gold, Silver, Platinum, Plutonium, Seed grain, or even Dirt - something with a universally-accepted intrinsic value. This paper "fiat money" is useless as anything more valueable than bumwipes or bookmarks, and the lack of backing has turned the world economy into a combination of a pure fiction and a mass hallucination. Make mosey worth SOMETHING, and you'll be able to buy more with it. In conjunction with the elimination of the petty warlords, people will finally be able to afford what they need to survive, and then live.

I'm ranting, so I'll shut up now. I've hijacked this thread enough...

5-90

Personally, it's been too long since your last 'rant'.

The youth who can solve the money question will do more for the world than all the professional soldiers of history.
Henry Ford 1922

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Glenn said:

I am always amazed. The Kerry bark eaters are so stuck on "No WMD's in IRAQ, but they can twist this in to saying they could make a Nuke bomb outta the stuff.
OK, they cannot have it both ways, IMHO. If they want to claim that the ingredients are sitting around to make a Nuke, how can they argue that there was no WMD program? arrgghhh.

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Simple.

SECRET is not a WMD. However, gather together enough Iraqis who didn't use SECRET and you have a WMD. :explosion