Castro has been in absolute power in Cuba for the last 48 years. The Cuban people have been terrorized, jailed, shot, confiscated their properties.  There is no freedom of any type or kind whatsoever. This is a fact.

Castro, both brothers, have intervened, assisted, invaded, or provided logistic and armaments to groups, terrorists, and organizations throughout the world: Africa, South America , Central America, North America and Asia. Cuba serves as a sanctuary to hundreds of criminals, terrorists, from diverse parts of the world. Cuba has provided, and still does, military training to thousands of  persons who later on have returned to their respective countries to try to overthrow their legitimate governments. This is a fact.

Castro has expressed in innumerable occasions, in public and private appearances, nationally and in foreign countries his hate towards the United States, its way of live, its political system, its economic system.  This is a fact.

Castro allowed the Soviet Union in 1962 to install atomic warhead missiles in Cuba. Once discovered, he tried very insistently to launch a surprising missile attack against the United States. This is a fact.

Cuba has been classified by the United States government, for the last several years , as a terrorist nation. This is a fact.

With these premises, let us analyze what facilities and infrastructure Cuba has that could be used in terrorist activities.

I. CUBA's ELITE MILITARY GROUP: SPECIAL TROOPS

      What are Cuba's elite forces? Who commands them? Who trains them? Where is

      their training camp? What are the main missions they are prepared for?

      Since mid 1980s, Cuba established in Los Palacios, Pinar del Rio, in a

      region known as El Cacho, a special troop military training school.

      It is named Baragua school. It is situated in a big valley, near the Pinar del

      Rio mountains. A very large training camp, with artificial lakes, and the

      most modern training technology. The School is exactly located where the

      first missiles were seen during the 1962 missile crisis.

The School was founded by the de la Guardia brothers. It was until very recent
under the command of General Jose Luis Mesa, very close to Raul Castro.
General Mesa is 63 years old. Speaks fluent English, well mannered. Veteran of
Vietnam as a young officer, and the African wars. He was assisted by Colonel Ramirez, a      
veteran of Angola, Vietnam, and other war places. Colonel

      Ramirez is an expert on this kind of special troop training. Presently

      they have assistant from special personnel from China and Vietnam.

      The special troop school has about a constant flow of 2500 men in

      training.

      Their age range from 18 to 35 years old. They are a breed apart,

      a cut above the rest. Unquestionable, one of the world's finest

      unconventional warfare experts. Certainly, second only to the United

      States Delta Forces in this Hemisphere. They are kept on an uncommon

      physical and mental caliber. Mature, highly skilled, and superbly trained.

      They are always ready to serve anywhere, at any time. Infiltrations,

      commando operations, biowarfare, cyberwarfare, espionage.

      Special troops are trained to deliver people, equipment, and weapons with

      surgical precision. Locate high-value, strategic, movable targets, and

      deliver firepower more accurately. They are trained to operate in small

      independent units.

      They have advanced personal camouflage with enhanced

      protection against harsh environments and climatic conditions.

      Clothing will offer them individual body armor and safeguards against

      biological and chemical agents. They have helmets fitted with enhanced

      sensory head-up displays including thermal, image-intensified, and

      acoustic sensors. External and imbedded optics enable them to see long

      distances clearly without using handheld optical systems.

      They have external skeletal systems that will improve individual skills,

      enabling special operators to move faster, jump farther, and lift more

      weight. Such enhanced physical attributes allow them to deliver more

      deadly force with greater accuracy and penetrating power. They also have

      miniaturized command, control, and communication functions, as well as

      embedded artificial intelligence for situational decision making.

      In Baragua School, Special troops are trained to perform the following

      missions:

·         Unconventional Warfare, UW: A broad spectrum of military operations

      conducted in politically sensitive territory or "enemy" held territory.

      Including interrelated fields of guerrilla warfare, evasion and escape,

      subversion, sabotage.

·        Direc Action, DA: Either overt or cover action against an "enemy" force.

      Seize, damage, and destroy a target. Short duration, small scale offensive

      actions. Ambushes, direct assault tactics, emplace mines.

·        Special Reconnaissance, SR: Infiltration behind "enemy" lines. Collect

      meteorological, hydrographic, geographic, and demographic data.

·        Psychological Operations,PSYOP: Induce or reinforce foreign attitudes

      and behavior favorable to Cuba objectives. Influence emotions, motives,

      and behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and

      individuals.

      They also receive additional training and skills in freefall parachuting,

      underwater operations, target interdiction strategic reconnaissance, and

      operations and intelligence.

·        This is a fact. It has been documented by NBC Nightly News and MSNBC, with    video footage and interviews with General Jose Luis Mesa, and some training sessions.  Mr. Robert Windrem, senior NBC producer, and Ed Rabel, former reporter for NBC were part of the TV crew. The video footage has been shown on national TV.

II. CUBA’S BIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT

   Main Centers

Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology

The most important institution in Cuba's biotechnology industry is the

Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, CIGB. It was

established in La Habana, in 1986. Located west of La Habana. 31 Ave,

between158 and 190 Streets, Cubanacan.

The CIGB has the most modern and efficient technology for bioscientific

research as well as facilities for manufacturing and continuous work

flow. It has a total area of 60,000 square meters. The Center has

state-of-the-art equipment, second only to the United States in the

Americas.

At the center work outstanding scientists and engineers dedicated to

genetic research, virology, cloning, vaccines development.

The main CIGB buildings cover an area of 43,200 square meters and

contain specialized labs for both general purposes and dedicated

research. The CIGB has a biotherium, barrier zones or white rooms, which

allow research with sensitive and lethal agents.

The CIGB's modern andefficient technological equipment includes mass
spectrometers, infraredand ultraviolet, electron and scanning microscopes,
gamma counters, DNA synthesizers.

 Also, and very important, downstream fermenters, drying

and milling machines, centrifuges, which can, therefore guarantee

research and development of bioweapons, such as bacteria and virus

agents.

In the CIGB work more than 700 highly skilled researchers, scientists,

and engineers.   Russians scientists cooperated with the CIGB several

times, including, according to certain intelligence sources, assisting

in the development of altered strains of bacteria. Major General Yury

Kalinin, chief of the Main Directorate, and Deputy Minister of Russia,

was invited to Cuba in 1990 to discuss the creation of a new

biotechnology plant ostensibly devoted to single-cell protein.

To facilitate the development of biological agents without suspicion,

the CIGB has efficient, flexible, and dynamic organizations. It is

structured into several large sub-directions made up, in turn, by a

number of divisions with specifically oriented work lines.

The main ones are: research and development in diseases in humans;

development of new vaccines by genetic engineering; recombination of

enzymes; analysis, design and modeling of peptides and proteins.

The process of weaponizing anthrax, for example, could be done easily at

these facilities. A few grains of freeze- dried bacteria are kept in a

stoppered vial. Then, a small amount of a nutrient medium is put into

the vial. A mother culture is created. With tiny pippettes, a scientist

draw the mixture out of the vial and transfer a small amount into

several slightly larger bottles. The bottles are left to incubate in a

thermostatic oven for two days. So far, this process is very similar to

the one to make a vaccine.

A seed stock in a standard vial will swell to billions of microorganisms

after 48 hours, but it will take weeks to of brewing to produce the

quantities required for weaponization. Once the culture emerges from the

oven, it is siphoned off into large flasks. The flasks are taken into a

special room where they are connected to air-bubbling machines, which

turn the liquid into a light froth. The bacteria can grow now more

efficiently.

Each new generation of bacteria is transferred into larger vessels,

until is vacuum pressure into fermenters. These fermenters incubate the

substance for two days. The bacteria continue to multiply until

scientists decide they have reached maximun concentration. At this

point, they process it through a centrifuge to be concentrated as much

as thirty times further.

Fermenters, and centrifuges, are equipment very similar to the ones used

in the dairy industry, in the sugar industry, and liquor industries.

These are industries where Cuba has had experience for years. Therefore,

the equipment is now manufactured in Cuba. Even at this stage, there is

not a weapon. The pathogen has to be mixed with special additives to

stabilize it over a long period.  A scientist works with recipes. The

raw ingredients are similar, but quantities and combinations of nutrient

media, heat, and time vary. If something fails, the scientist has to

start all over again.

Smallpox requires no concentration. Also, it is a

virus, not a bacteria. Tissue cells are obtained from animals or humans.

The tissue has to be kept alive outside its natural habitat in cell

lines and stored at precise temperatures. Cells can be taken from the

kidneys of green monkeys or from the lungs of human embryos.

The nutrient media needed to cultivate tissue cultures are different

from those used to grow bacteria. A special complex of amino acids,

vitamins, salts, and sera, distilled with de-ionized water, is crucial

to the process that promote tissue cells and ultimately viruses to grow.

The CIGB, in conjunction with other Cuban biological centers and

institutes, like the Finlay Institute, or the Biocen, are quite capable

of weaponizing such agents.

Commercially, the CIGB has developed a number of preparations, such as:

·        Heberbiovac HB, a hepatitis B recombinant vaccine, the production of

which has now been switched to a new purpose-built plant

·        Heberkinasa, a recombinant streptokinase. Applied by intravenous or

intra-coronary injection, it rapidly dissolves life-threatening blood

clots. This product is one of 50 types of enzymes obtained in Cuba

·        Hebermin, a healing and antiseptic cream containing human recombinant

epidermal growth factor.

·         Hebertrans, which contains human transfer factor obtained from human

leukocytes. It is used to treat herpectic infections

The CIGB also has a computer network created in 1991 to provide computer

communications, database access, information services and data

processing to the Cuban scientific research community.
 

Biocen

The National Bio-preparations center, Biocen, located in Bejucal, south

of Habana province, at Carretera de Beltran km 1 1/2 is engaged in

industrial scale production of human vaccines.

Also, culture media, nutritive bases and a wide range of genetic engineering products,

developed at the CIGB and the Finlay Institute. It was created in 1992,

at a cost of $4 million dollars.

Biocen's culture media plant has an annual 40 tons. capacity. It is

equipped to carry out homogenization, hydrolisis, dehydration, milling,

sifting, filtration, and several other processess required not only for

the biotech and pharmaceutical industries, but for bacteria and virus

weaponization.

A new department that manufactures recombinant products

went into operation in 1993. The complex also includes a plant producing

immunological reagents and two vivaria labs.

Innovative techniques have been developed at Biocen for obtaining

culture media, substituting the traditional expensive nutritive bases,

like meat, casein. They have developed 14 alternative protein sources.

The development is vital for the creation of bioweapons.

Among Biocen's special products are allergenic extracts, dust mites,

insects, atmospheric fungi. A prominent Cuban scientist, Dr. Mario

Estrada has done extensive research on fish-transgenesis with the

assistance of the CIGB. Most of the more lethal toxins are developed

from fish and marine research.

This is a fact

The Finlay Institute

The Carlos J. Finlay Medical Research Institute is commercially best

known for the development of the world's first effective vaccine against

both meningitis B and C. It is located in Ave. 27, No. 19805, La Lisa,

Habana.

The Institute occupies an area of 23,000 square meters, divided

into three areas: fermentation, purification, and "clean rooms".  Over

950 persons work at the Institute. Of these, 60% are engineers and

scientists.

The Institute has done extensive work in the research and development of

new vaccines. Among them, vaccines against Leptospirosis, Hepatitis,

Cholera, and Meningitis. The Plant III area is well prepared for the

production of bioweapons.

The main areas of research and production of the Institute are related

to bacteria and viruses. The Institute has been as important as the CIGB

in the research and production of bioweapons. Commercially, it has

worked on research and production of vaccines.

 The Institute of Tropical Medicine

The Institute was founded in 1937 by Dr. Flori, a very well known Cuban

scientist. The center's research area is in microbiology.  The Institute

has the necessary state-of the-art equipment for research and

development of bioweapons related to tropical bacteria and viruses.

Lately, the Institute has done extensive work on the strains of viruses

and cells related to parainfluenza 3, adenovirus 3, measles, and

influenza type A.  Hep2 two cell line was grown in minimum essential

medium, MEM, containing 10% fetal calf serum, 1% glutamine, 100 U/ml

penicillin and 100 mg/ml streptomycin sulfate.

Clinical specimens were processed using nasopharyngeal exudates of

children who had been admitted to the William Soler Pediatric Hospital,

in La Habana. An extensive scientific process was followed to evaluate

the ability of the RNA-PCR method.

The Institute has also conducted extensive research on yellow fever.

Yellow fever is a viral disease that has caused large epidemics in the

world. Infection causes a wide spectrum of disease, from mild symptoms

to severe illness and death. The yellow in the name is explained by the

jaundice that affects some patients. The disease is caused by the yellow

fever virus, which belongs to the flavivirus group.

The virus remains silent in the body during an incubation period of

three to six days. There are two disease phases. Those patients who

enter into the second phase or toxic phase develop jaundice, bleeding,

kidney function deteriorates. Half of the patients in the toxic phase

die within 10 days.

A weaponized yellow fever virus produces a strong strain of what is

known as urban yellow fever. There is no specific treatment for yellow

fever. Prevention is through vaccination. There are other tropical

disease that could be used as bioweapons, such as: malaria,

dracunculiasis, filariasis, leishmaniasis, dengue, dengue hemorrhagic

fever.

Dengue is caused by the Dengue viruses. The disease is tropical in

origin. There is no specific treatment available. Intravenous fluids and

oxygen therapy are often used for patients who experience shock during

their illness. Dengue is characterized by the rapid development of

fever, intense headache, joint and muscle pain, and a rash.

The hemorrhagic form of dengue fever is more severe and associated with

loss of appetite, vomiting, high fever. Untreated hemorrhagic dengue

results in death in up to 30 percent of cases.

The Institute is probably the best in the world in research and

development related to  tropical diseases. The Institute is funded in

many activities by UNESCO, OMS, and the French government.

This is a fact 

CIM

The Center for Molecular Immunology is a 15,000 square meter, two floor

facility. Over 250 employees work at the Center, of which, 200 are

scientists and engineers. The ground floor includes development,

pharmacology, and toxicology. The auxiliary technical services, and

secret research and development are on the second floor. Hollow fiber,

fermenters, and "cleaning in place" units are installed on this floor.

Their main research activities are on antibodies-hybridoma, molecular

biology, celular immunology.  CIM has laboratories equipped for cell

culture, immunochemistry, and radiochemistry. Their work on the immune

system is related to the development of stronger strains of virus and

bacteria. The Center has all the pertinent equipment to produce

bio-weapons.

CONCLUSIONS

Cuba's biotechnological capacity places it  in group four of the World

Health Organization's five national categories. To reach group five,

which contains the seven top industrial economies, Cuba must produce at

least 20% of the 260 basic materials. It regularly produces 17% of these

and certainly has the scientific ability to produce the others with

biotech methods.

This is a fact

Priority access to research and development funding, 160 distinct

research units and over 10,000 researchers give the Cuban scientific

establishment an edge over their counterparts even, in some Western

countries.

Research is ongoing in medicine, genetic engineering, biotechnology,

industrial applications.. Development of hardware and

software for the research effort has been also a priority.

The range of products, and research and development areas,

include:monoclonal antibodies, vaccines against hepatitis B and

bacterial meningitis, a neural growth factor, a range of interferons,

enzymes, streptokinase, culture media with 14 alternative protein

sources, several reagents, transgenetic fish, interferon beta,

proteolytic peptides, lipopolysaccharide peptides, LBP-derived synthetic

peptides, human Papillomavirus 16, MT-4 cells, and many others.

This is a fact

Certainly, a country with such capacity can produce bioweapons. There is

really no technical solution to the problem of bioweapons in Cuba. It

would need an ethical, human, and moral solution, which is obviously

impossible while the government is in the hands of a sociopath. Ordinary

intelligence and surveillance techniques cannot prove the existence of a

biological warfare program.

Even the highest resolution satellite imagery can't distinguish between

a large pharmaceutical plant or center and a weapons complex. The only

conclusive evidence comes from first hand information. A site inspection

of Cuba's facilities, by an objective international team must be

requested.

III. CYBER DEVELOPMENT

Background

Cuba has surprising talent and experience in the areas of electronics,

computers, computer software and data processing. The country benefited

from its association with the former Soviet Union, and some European

countries, which turned out many skilled electrical and computer

engineers, as well as technicians.

 Cuba's electronic industry has its origins in the mid-1960s when the

Ministry for Iron and Steel Machinery (SIME) began assembly of radios

from imported parts. In 1974 SIME started producing black-and-white

television sets. Then came a plant to produce batteries (1975),

telephone switchboards (1981), and color television sets (1985). In 1985

SIME also started production of semiconductors.

In 1976 a separate electronics institute was created, the National

Institute of Automated Systems and Computer Skills (INSAC). In 1994

INSAC was incorporated into the newly created Ministry of Steel, Heavy

Machinery and Electronics. The Ministry of Communications is also

responsible for small-scale production of certain electronics-related

products.

The entity Cuba Electronica was created in January 1986 as part of the

Foreign Trade Ministry. It is responsible for importing electronic

equipment and exporting computers, peripherals, semiconductors and

software.

An Irish expert says that the Cuban information-technology industry

matches that of the Republic of Ireland, which has been particularly

successful in persuading a range of information technology companies to

establish their European base in Cuba.

One of the most advanced areas of the electronics industry in Cuba is

production of medical equipment. The Central Institute for Digital

Research(ICID) in collaboration with the Biotechnology Centers, has

developed high technology medical equipment including the Cardiocid-M,

an electrocardiographic system for diagnosing cardiovascular system

diseases; Neorocid, an electromyographic and electro-neurographic system

for diagnosing peripheric nervous system diseases, and various

applications for high- technology genetic engineering research.

The main developments of Cuba's electronic industry occurred between

1975 and 1989. Among others:

·        Computer equipment plant, established in 1978, with a 4,300 square

meters production area

·        Printed circuit board plant, established 1982, with a 4,900 square

meters production area

·        Electronic modules production plant, with 4,000 square meters

production area

·        Mechanical production plant, with 7,500 square meters  production area

·        Monitors and television set plant, established in 1975, with an annual

capacity of 100,000 units

·        Alphanumeric keyboards plant, established in 1988, equipped to produce

keyboards compatible with IBM, DEC and other microcomputer systems.

Production capacity of 250,000 units per year

·        Printed circuit boards plant, which can produce 35,000 square meters

per year of circuit boards. It uses Betamax material and carries out the

printing by serigraphy.

·        Electronic Research and Development Center, established in 1985.

·        Electronic Components Complex, (CCE), produces active and passive

components, established in 1985.

·        Medical equipment complex, established in 1989. Produces instruments

and equipment for the Biotechnology Centers.

Computing in Cuba dates back to the mid- 1950s when two first generation

U.S. computers were installed. During the 1960s came computers from

France, followed by Soviet and East- European systems. During the 1970s

Cuba embarked on a program to develop its own second minicomputers based

on Digital's PDP-11.

 Most of Cuba's early computer specialists were trained in East Germany

and the Soviet Union. In mid 1980s two main centers of computational

research were established one at the CUJAE and the other at Universidad

Central de Las Villas.

Prior to the August 1991 coup attempt, the KGB was developing computer

viruses with the intent of using them to disrupt computer systems in

times of war or crisis. In early 1991, a highly restricted project was

undertaken by a group within the Military Intelligence Directorate of

Cuba's Ministry of the Armed Forces.

The group was instructed to obtain information to develop a computer

virus to infect U.S. civilian computers. The group spent about $5,000

dollars to buy open-source data on computer networks, computer viruses,

SATCOM, and related communications technology.

This is a fact.  Declassified CIA document.

In 1995, Russia started the construction of an espionage base to be

operated by the Cubans. The base is located at Bejucal, south of La

Habana. The agreement, and the supervision of the entire project, was

directed by General Guillermo Rodriguez del Pozo. Equipment for the base

was shipped secretively from Russia through the port of Riga, in Latvia.

This country does not have an embassy in Cuba. However, Cuba maintains a

large embassy, over 50 persons, in Latvia.

The base is now fully operational, similar but smaller than Lourdes, and

with all state-of-the-art equipment. The unit is referred to by some as

The Electronic Warfare Battalion, EWB. The request for the base came

because Cuba does not have access to Lourdes. They only get copies of

the Russian intelligence summaries on issues that could affect the

nation's security.

Cuba Bejucal's Base is very powerful, and it has the capabilities,

besides running signals intelligence operations, that is, eavesdropping,

of conducting cyberwarfare.The Interior Ministry's General Directorate

for Intelligence is in charge of the Base.

It also runs a smaller center, located at Paseo, between 11th and 13th

streets, in Vedado, La Habana. The center is mainly radio listening and

transmitting, and for limited telephone espionage.

The Electronic Warfare Battalion has the necessary equipment to

interfere Radio and TV Marti, and the equipment to interfere TV Marti if

it transmits in UHF. The equipment is not used as yet. However, the base

has offensive jamming capabilities, capable of disrupting communications

deep inside the United states. This is indeed a unique facility because

of its size and location and capability.

Interference of radio and TV Marti is now disseminated through the

Island, in what is called project Titan. In charge now of Chinese

personnel, which since March 1999 has also taken partially over the

operations of the Bejucal base, or EWB.

Early in 1999, the Pentagon's military computer systems were subject to

ongoing, sophisticated and organized cyber attacks. Officials stated

that this latest series of strikes at defense networks was a coordinated

effort coming from abroad. Deputy Defense Secretary John Hamre, who

oversees all Pentagon security matters confirmed the attacks have been

occurring since 1998.

Secretary Hamre called them a "major concern". Officials believe some of

the most sophisticated attacks are coming from a country routing through

Russian computer addresses to disguise their origin.

The probes and attacks are also against U.S. military research and

technology systems-including the nuclear weapons laboratories run by the

Department of Energy. Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., chairman of the House

Armed Services research and Development Subcommittee stated "What we

have been seeing in recent months is more  of what could be a

coordinated attack....that could be involved in a very planned effort to

acquire technology and information about our systems in a way that we

have not seen before".

These attacks coincide with the fact that the Bejucal base is fully

operational, and also with the new presence of China military and

intelligence personnel in Cuba.

Rep. Curtis Weldon also stated "it is not a matter of if America has an

electronic Pearl Harbor, it is a matter of when". For two days in

January, 1999, cyber attacks were made into military computers at Kelly

Air Force Base in San Antonio-the center for the most sensitive Air

Force intelligence, the kind of information critical to American troops

abroad.

Joseph Santos, aka "Mario", one of the persons arrested by the FBI in an

alleged spy ring, on September 1998, is an electrical and computer

engineer, with great expertise in computer networks, and member until

1996 of a research computational center in a University in Cuba.

According to the indictment, Santos' assignment was to infiltrate the

new U.S. Southern Command headquarters in West Dade.  He had, as his

fundamental assignment, the penetration of the headquarters of said

command. Maps of several cities, including San Antonio, were found in

his apartment.

It is a fact that both, Lourdes and the EBW bases, are a threat to the

U.S. security, capable of intercepting not only U.S. military secrets

but also commercial and trade intelligence.

BEJUCAL BASE LOCATION 22 deg 56’ 00”  82 Deg 23’30”

Conclusions

The United States' dependence on computers makes it more vulnerable than

most countries to cyberattack.  The president's Commission on Critical

Infrastructure Protection has identified eight critical areas in need of

protection: information and communications, electrical power systems,

gas and oil industries, banking and finance, transportation, water

supply systems, emergency services and government services.

Many traditional and non-traditional adversaries of the United

States-according to Louis J. Freeh, Director, FBI, today are

technological sophisticated and have modified their intelligence

methodologies to use advanced technologies to commit espionage. In

telecommunications, even some smaller (Cuba?) intelligence adversaries

now use equipment the FBI is unable to monitor.

The international terrorist threat can be divided- according again to

Louis J. Freeh- in three general categories. Each poses a serious and

distinct threat, and each has a presence in the United States. The first

and most important category, and the concern of this study, is

state-sponsored terrorism. It violates every convention of international

law. State sponsors of terrorism include Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Cuba,

and North Korea. Put simply, these nations view terrorism as a tool of

foreign policy.

The director of the CIA stated before the Senate Select Committee on

Intelligence, 1998, that there are six countries presently conducting

electronic espionage that poses a threat to the United States, they are:

France, Israel, China, Russia, Iran, and Cuba.

DIRTY BOMBS

Of the countless scenarios of terrorist mayhem, none quickens the pulse quite like the menace of a nuclear bomb, and for good reason. A nuclear weapon embodies essentially everything a terrorist could hope for: the ability to kill at least tens of thousands of people at once, a fiery explosion that reverberates globally in images of death and destruction, and a lingering, lethal legacy, in the form of radioactive fallout.

Fortunately, most groups and terrorist nations are limited in their resources and lack the infrastructure to build a nuclear bomb. But, why build a bomb when there are far cheaper and simpler ways of waging nuclear terror?

There are two other possibilities that, for their comparative simplicity, would deliver much of the bang of a bomb. Flying a fully fueled jumbo jet into a nuclear reactor is one. The other is using radioactive nuclear materials to kill or sicken people or render tracts of land uninhabitable by, for example, scattering the materials with a conventional explosion.

Nuclear reactors are surrounded by a massive containment structure with concrete-and-steel walls more than a meter thick. These containments were designed to withstand earthquakes and extremely violent impacts, but not the sort a plunging jumbo jet would cause if fully loaded with fuel, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), in Vienna, Austria.

In a 26 September release, the agency suggested that such an impact would not trigger a runaway nuclear reaction, because automatic safety systems would flood the reactor with water. A direct hit by a large, fueled aircraft might nevertheless breach the containment and damage the reactor, possibly causing a leak of radioactive steam and fallout.

The IAEA’s assessment predicts that the worst damage would be confined within 10 Kms. of the plant. Even so, dangerous levels of radioactivity would likely persist for 10 to 15 years.

Radiological dispersion devices-the poor man’s nuclear weapon-, or dirty bomb, are another possibility likely to attract increasing interest from terrorists. Scattering radiation without a nuclear explosion, they are a near-term terrorist threat. Several nations-including a few sponsors of terrorism-have dabbled in dispersion devices. In the 1980s, Iraq produced and tested conventional bombs filled with radioactive materials-apparently, spent fuel from its research reactors, according to a 1991 report by the CIA. Cuba, by the way, has two research reactors.

Spent fuel is the obvious choice for the radioactive material in a terrorist device. Many tens of thousands of tons of it lie scattered around the world, including small accumulations in Iraq, Iran, Algeria, Libya, Syria, Pakistan, North Korea, and Cuba.

A single, half-ton spent fuel assembly from a reactor contains more than enough radioactivity to put a transportation terminal or some other strategic location out of action for months, or years, if the radioactivity is well dispersed.

The most accessible nuclear device for any terrorist would be a radiological dispersion bomb. This so-called ‘dirty bomb’ would consist of waste by-products from nuclear reactors wrapped in conventional explosives, which upon detonation would spew deadly radioactive particles into the environment.

This is an expedient weapon, in that radioactive waste material is relatively easy to obtain. Radioactive waste is widely found throughout the world, and in general is not as well guarded as actual nuclear weapons. In the United States, radioactive waste is located at more than 70 commercial nuclear power sites in 31 states. Enormous quantities also exist overseas — in Europe and Japan in particular. Tons of wastes are transported long distances, including between continents (Japan to Europe and back).

Cuba, since 1988 has two experimental nuclear reactors in La Habana. Very low power. One is a 10 Watts. The other is referred to as zero Watts. They are used for nuclear medicine and research on nuclear biotechnology. But they do generate nuclear waste.

In Russia, security for nuclear waste is especially poor, and the potential for diversion and actual use by Islamic radicals has been shown to be very real indeed. In 1996, Islamic rebels from the break-away province of Chechnya planted, but did not detonate, such a device in Moscow’s Izmailovo Park to demonstrate Russia’s vulnerability. This dirty bomb consisted of a deadly brew of dynamite and one of the highly radioactive by-products of nuclear fission — Cesium 137. Extreme versions of such gamma-ray emitting bombs, such as a dynamite-laden casket of spent fuel from a nuclear power plant, would not kill quite as many people as died on Sept. 11. Worst-case calculation for an explosion in downtown Manhattan during noontime: more than 2,000 deaths and many thousands more suffering from radiation poisoning. Treatment of those exposed would be greatly hampered by inadequate medical facilities and training. The United States has only a single hospital emergency room dedicated to treating patients exposed to radiation hazards, at Oak Ridge, Tenn. A credible threat to explode such a bomb in a U.S. city could have a powerful impact on the conduct of U.S. foreign and military policy, and could possibly have a paralyzing effect. Not only would the potential loss of life be considerable, but also the prospect of mass evacuation of dense urban centers would loom large in the minds of policy-makers.


 The threat from radiological dispersion dims in comparison to the possibility that terrorists could build or obtain an actual atomic bomb. An explosion of even low yield could kill hundreds of thousands of people. A relatively small bomb, say 15-kilotons, detonated in Manhattan could immediately kill upwards of 100,000 inhabitants, followed by a comparable number of deaths in the lingering aftermath. Fortunately, bomb-grade nuclear fissile material (highly enriched uranium or plutonium) is relatively heavily guarded in most, if not all, nuclear weapon states. Nonetheless, the possibility of diversion remains. Massive quantities of fissile material exist around the world. Sophisticated terrorists could fairly readily design and fabricate a workable atomic bomb once they manage to acquire the precious deadly ingredients (the Hiroshima bomb which used a simple gun-barrel design is the prime example).


Obviously, intelligence that helps localize the bomb is the main key to success. Just as obviously, intelligence of such quality is seldom available — as proven on Sept. 11. Such a search could be truly looking for a needle in a haystack, as detection normally would succeed only if the detectors come within a few feet or so of the hidden bomb. Disabling a bomb is easy by comparison. A radiological bomb might be surrounded by a tent enclosure several tens of feet in height and width, then filled with a special foam to contain the deadly radioactive material (such as Cesium 137) if the bomb explodes during further defusing attempts. For a nuclear device there are available a set of options for disabling the weapon, including using explosives to wreck the bomb’s wiring to prevent the triggering of the nuclear detonators. Because of the difficulty inherent in finding a nuclear weapon once it entered the country, near-term U.S. response efforts would be best focused on prevention and intervention to secure possible sources of nuclear terrorism.
 A state sponsor of terrorism would simply give the spent fuel or perhaps even an entire dispersion device to terrorist groups. We must be on the alert, and start thinking from the terrorist’s perspective of maximizing the destruction.