Daily Wisdom

April 17, 2006

Iran Building Secret Enrichment Facility

NEYSHABOUR, Iran -- According to DEBKAfile, intelligence sources say that Iran is constructing a uranium enrichment facility in Neyshabour, which is about 600 km northeast of Tehran. The plant is scheduled for completion and start-up by the end of 2007. The facility has been built 150 meters deep and will house 155,000 centrifuges. This compares with the 54,000 centrifuges slated for Natanz. About 3 years from now, the facility could produce enriched uranium for 9-15 nuclear bombs per year, according to the article. It is believed that Russians designed the facility in 2003 and that construction was started in early 2004. It is assumed that the Iranians fear Natanz and other nuclear sites will be targeted for destruction, hence this hardened facility.

Read more Here.

13 Comments:

At 4/17/2006 6:59 PM , Blogger maniacprovost said...

Well as long as they're getting their technology from the Russians, we can rest easy.

 
At 4/17/2006 8:06 PM , Blogger Barb said...

Very Scary. Some of the talking heads were saying in January that the Israelis would take action by March. But with the fiasco of their elections ,it doesn't seem they are willing to save themselves. Of course ,the US would have to be agreeable and we seem to be acting so limp-wristed lately,it is hard to see how this is can have a good outcome.
Prayer is always good .

 
At 4/17/2006 8:15 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

ManiaC Provost,
I know where you're coming from, and wish I could laugh about it, but... we now rely on the Russians to take U.S. astronauts back and forth to the space station. And it was the Russians who invented the AK-47: probably the most ubiquitous firearm on the planet... and the most difficult to stop from working.

 
At 4/17/2006 8:17 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

Barb,
Very scary indeed. And what's worse is that to the best of my knowledge, the U.S. does not have a 'bunker buster' weapon in its arsenal that can reach to a depth of 150 meters.

 
At 4/17/2006 9:13 PM , Blogger Just call me Shelly said...

Hey, easy on the bunker busters--you may awaken me. Nobody asked me if I wanted a looney liberal, but you can have them, I live in a town that is 98% looney liberals, therefore the bunker.

 
At 4/17/2006 9:23 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

Ms RW,
Not to worry... Hawkeye only uses bunker-busters on ENEMY bunkers. You're a friendly! Put on another cup of coffee and break out the chocolate chip cookies. We'll watch the fireworks together, OK? Mmmm... running downstairs for another CCC right now!

 
At 4/18/2006 3:12 PM , Blogger boberin said...

Scary stuff for certain but not as scary as
A) North Korea, we don't have to wonder when they might get them or their sanity
B) Our "threat" (a very real one I'm told) to use "tactical nukes" as a means of dissuading others from seeking the weapon we are using to stop them from seeking it. I'm getting woozy just typing this, how is it that the idea makes sense to anyone?
Tactical indeed...sheet o' glass or not at all. Gonna bust em out, do it right, gonna "play around" someones going to get hurt.

 
At 4/18/2006 4:31 PM , Blogger boberin said...

Hey, am I reader #15?

 
At 4/18/2006 9:10 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

boberin,
If Iran has a facility that's 150 meters or 450-500 feet deep, then the only thing that might knock it out is a nuke. If we use something like a bunker-buster that goes 100 or more feet down into the earth before it explodes, then the surface destruction might not be too bad. The Hiroshima bomb was detonated at 1900 feet altitude and the Nagasaki bomb was detonated at 1650 feet altitude. In both cases, the destruction would have been worse if the altitudes were even higher. Maximum destruction was estimated at 2200 feet for Hiroshima, and up to 3100 feet in the case of Nagasaki. Obviously, nukes should be considered a "last resort" weapon, but hey... the average Iranian might be less sympathetic to a regime that wants one if they meet one up close and personal, eh? Look what it did for Japan... nuclear free zone.

On a lighter note, you might be "Viewer" #15, but the question is... are you a "faithful Viewer"? Hee-hee!

 
At 4/20/2006 7:29 AM , Blogger camojack said...

I still think they might have an "accident", playing with fissionable materials like that.

Y'know what I mean?

Oh yeah: ELEVENTEEN!!!

 
At 4/20/2006 12:13 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

Darth,
Yeah, but the bomb has to explode beneath the earth's surface. The first test of the atomic bomb in New Mexico (code-named Trinity) was exploded from a tower only 100 feet above the ground. The blast pretty much went up and away from the ground and radioactive fallout travelled some ten miles.

 
At 4/20/2006 12:24 PM , Blogger Hawkeye® said...

Camo,
Gotcha! I'm reminded of Psalms 141...

"9 Keep me from the trap which they have laid for me, and from the snares of evildoers! 10 Let the wicked together fall into their own nets, while I escape."

 
At 4/20/2006 6:20 PM , Blogger boberin said...

Pretty faithful but not enough to technically count...yet
Ah, contolled nukes, teaching the world not to persue nukes by using them. Interesting theory

 

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