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July 27, 2007
What if?
What if enriched weapons-grade uranium and other equipment including including plutonium was loaded on two ships in Korea and sent out on the high seas, headed for Iran? Would such a thing bring Iran's nuclear bomb program closer to fruition, bring them closer perhaps by at least a year? How much would that be worth to Iran? Perhaps a cool $500 million?
What if the terms of sale were agreed upon but delivery had to be accelerated because, well, perhaps there were some UN nuclear inspectors scheduled to visit Pyongyang to confirm the dismantling of its nuclear facilities and the motherlode had to be moved out fast?
What if US intelligence was tracking the freighters? What if there were detected signs of radioactivity, indicating the presence of nuclear materials aboard? Is that kind of technology available? Maybe it is, maybe not.
What if that North Korean ship was getting close to an area patrolled by Iran?
What if the President ordered US Marines to sink the bastards rather than seize the ships, because, well, it would be better to just sink them and avoid explanations and... why expose our troops to possible radiation contaminiation?
What if, after the attack, a few lifeboats were spotted, with a bunch of sorry assed North Korean soldiers aboard, all dying or already dead, and all evidencing radioactive contamination?
What if everyone involved just kept their mouths shut, after all, no one wants or needs a major international incident now, Korean doesn't need anymore sanctions against it and Iran isn't ready for war with America, at least not yet.
What if? Nah. Such a thing could never happen.
Posted by LindaSoG at July 27, 2007 06:50 AM
Comments
Nah. Can't be. Haven't heard any simpering whining or cries of outrage or claims of "FOUL!!" or "Bush has gone completely nuts! Now he's attacked a sovereign nation's commerce on the high seas. IMPEACH HIM NOW BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!!" from the nutless left.
Besides, I'm confident in neither our intel apparatus to manage such a neat job nor our Command & Control hierarchy to order it without the appropriate Congressional oversight, handwringing, and harumphing.
Sounds too suspiciously like something whipped up by SNL or The Daily Show.
Posted by: eros total at July 27, 2007 12:27 PM
Love to know the name of the vessel. Another N Korean freighter "disappeared" 3 weeks ago, are the reports confused?
Something doesn't seem right with the story. There is all kids of shipping traffic in that area and surely the vessel got some sort of distress call out. With no other news reports about it, I'm skeptical. It's certainly plausible, but it's not passing the "reasonable" test, given the lack of any detail and the likelihood others knew about it.
I'll be watching for news of it though.
Posted by: oceanguy at July 27, 2007 12:32 PM
Well, the Hunt for Red October "never happened" either. The sub sank supposedly because of a radiation leak.
To paraphrase Admiral Josh Painter's astute observation- The Norks don't take a dump, son, without a plan.
Posted by: Vince at July 27, 2007 01:01 PM
Remember the howls of protest at the intervention when the shipment of "Yellow Cake" from Yemen was "diverted". I like the don't ask don't tell policy, especially when it comes to dealing with that great obfuscator the UN.
Of course there are those who love sleeping amongst scorpions and they are the ones who welcome the Islamists with open arms, the very same mentality that invites those misfits who can't get along in their own Moslem lands are of the same mentality as those who forced repatriation operations of free people back into Communist slavery at the end of WWII.
I can't condemn a skipper who acted to protect our interests and that of the free world.
Posted by: Jack at July 27, 2007 02:26 PM
I doubt this happened, for the reasons eros total gives. It is too difficult to keep such an action quiet. I have no doubt whatsoever that it could. But there would be leaks. The NORKS would not think twice about selling fissile material and related equipment to Iran, if they could keep their fingerprints off the deal. I would expect them to fly a shipment of fissile material, rather than ship it, because it is faster and less prone to interdiction.
Oh, yes, we do have highly sensitive radiation detectors, the capabilities of which are naturally highly classified.
Iran may have A.Q. Khan's bomb design. Open sources cannot agree on this. They do agree that the NORKS have it. Their bomb was a fizzle - small consolation.
Posted by: Mark at July 27, 2007 03:10 PM
I believe the scenario is entirely possible.
It could be true. It could be false.
I don't have the answer but I did think it was interesting.
Posted by: LindaSoG at July 27, 2007 06:19 PM
I'd like to believe this is true, but I doubt it for all the reasons others have given above. I have no faith that we could keep anything quiet with all the lefties in our Gummint. All it would take is one person to squeal like (they always do) a pig.
Posted by: root@localhost.localdomain at July 27, 2007 08:40 PM
> I have no faith that we could keep anything quiet with all the lefties in our Gummint
Are you kidding? why would the lefties want this out? it would justify in a lot of minds action against Iran.
I take it with a grain of salt because I don't know who this is reporting it and it essentially is unsubstantiated rumor.
Posted by: Obloodyhell at August 4, 2007 04:02 AM