Israel Matzav

And you thought Iraq didn't have any nukes

Iraq may or may not have had any nuclear weapons when George W. Bush invaded them in 2003, but they apparently did have 'nuclear materials.' Now, those materials have fallen into the hands of ISIS, the Islamist offshoot from Islamist al-Qaeda (Hat Tip: Memeorandum).

Nearly 40 kilograms (88 pounds) of uranium compounds were kept at Mosul University, Iraq's U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim told U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in the July 8 letter obtained by Reuters on Wednesday.

"Terrorist groups have seized control of nuclear material at the sites that came out of the control of the state," Alhakim wrote, adding that such materials "can be used in manufacturing weapons of mass destruction."

"These nuclear materials, despite the limited amounts mentioned, can enable terrorist groups, with the availability of the required expertise, to use it separate or in combination with other materials in its terrorist acts," said Alhakim.

He warned that they could also be smuggled out of Iraq.

A U.S. government source familiar with the matter said the materials were not believed to be enriched uranium and therefore would be difficult to use to manufacture into a weapon. Another U.S. official familiar with security matters said he was unaware of this development raising any alarm among U.S. authorities.

 Of course. Nothing worries US authorities these days. What could go wrong?

Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Iraq, Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, ISIS

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:17 AM