Third World War menace looming

The international security system is falling to pieces: the UN, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and other organizations cannot restrain the increasing nuclear chaos.

The world is now on the brink of a nuclear conflict. International agreements, conventions and treaties are open to question. There is little trust between people today. Every dictator wants to have an atomic bomb, which is not a problem at all, as bomb components are available for anyone. The world is wrapped into a network of illegal traffic in nuclear components and technologies.

IAEA leader Mohammed El-Baradei says the illegal nuclear market is wisely developing. “Some countries make schemes and others produce centrifuges that further go through a third party to undisclosed ultimate consumers. Nuclear experts, dishonest companies and even governmental agencies are involved here," he says.

The scandal with the leak of a secret nuclear technology from the Dutch company of Urenco is a confirmation of the statement. At least four countries – Pakistan, Libya, Iran and North Korea – used the technology to make a centrifuge for uranium enrichment.

It was Pakistan that sold the stolen technology. Now, the special services from Netherlands and the USA are investigating the crime. But majority of problem countries have managed to obtain the secret technology within the past twenty years.

In November 2003, Iran admitted it had got the draft and components of the centrifuge from several mediators, Pakistan among them. In December 2003, an international inspection discovered that Libya also had centrifuges made using the design created by Urenco in Holland and its subsidiary in Germany. 
 
The Pakistani authorities deny they handed the nuclear technology to Libya. However, they admit that people wishing to ear money could sell nuclear technologies to Iran early in the 1990s.

Libyan President Muammar al-Qadhafi's son Saif al-Islam, says Libya spent about $40 million to produce weapons of mass destruction. He added, some illegal dealers from Malaysia, Asian and South African countries supplied components for the weapons. Libya got technologies to create its weapons from Pakistani researchers who developed nuclear programs for Islamabad. Saif added the researchers did so at their own responsibility. 

It is not ruled out that Syria also holds nuclear technologies. Syria President Bashar al-Assad in an interview to The Daily Telegraph admitted the country had weapons of mass destruction. He said Syria needed the weapons to defend itself from Israel's aggression.

The CIA states Syria holds chemical and biological arsenals. Even though Syria President Bashar al-Assad insists the Middle East conflict must be peacefully settled, he still supports Palestinian suicide terrorists. Under these conditions, suicide bombers may easily get an atomic bomb.

There are some illegal dealers in nuclear materials in Russia as well. Deputy Director of Atomflot Alexander Tyulyakov  negotiated selling uranium mixture for $55 thousand. The FSB managed to prevent the transation.

Alexander Tyulyakov explained at a trial that at the end of the 1980s some man naming himself Fyodor asked him to make an analysis of some substance. The mixture consisted of uranium-235, uranium-238, radium-226 and radioactive products. Tyulyakov kept a container with the mixture in his garage for a couple of months and then dumped it somewhere out of town. In ten years, another acquaintance of Tyulyakov asked him to give the container back. This may sound strange but Tyulyakov went to the dump and managed to find the container that he had thrown away many years ago. He again put the radioactive components to the garage. Then, one more acquaintance said he was ready to buy the container for $55 thousand, a pretty nice sum indeed. This third acquaintance was an FSB officer who stopped the illegal transactions. 
 
Judges did not trust the story about some strange Fyodor. Alexander Tyulyakov perfectly understood that illegal sale of radioactive components was dangerous. He obviously did not care who and for what purpose might buy the radioactive container.  
 
According to expert estimates, the substance in the container was a strong source of ionizing alpha and beta radiation. It may cause serious damage to people’s health and contaminate water and soil. What is more, the mixture could have been used as a “dirty” atomic bomb for acts of terrorism. This dreadful transaction was prevented; however, the investigation has not found out where Alexander Tyulyakov got the nuclear components.  

Based upon publications in Russian and foreign press