"Keith Willshaw" wrote in message
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"Alan Minyard" wrote in message
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On Thu, 15 Jan 2004 11:42:19 +0100, "Mike" wrote:


What I am saying is that the "suitcase" nuclear device does not exist.
No one, not the French, not the Poles, not the UK and not the US, has
them.
The "micro thermonuclear bomb is a myth, and not a very good one.

However the 'micro fission device' is very real. The USA produced the
Special Atomic Demolition Munition (SADM) that would fit in a large
duffle bag and 80-100 lbs and the soviets had a similar device

Clips of teams exercising with SADM can be seen at

Having actually seen a SADM (minus a real core, of course), I can tell you
it is not a "suitcase" device, unless you haul around one hell of a
suitcase. It is closer in size to a garbage can (like the large kitchen
variety). It pressed the ability of being a manportable device (the guy
lugging it on his back could not carry much else in the way of mission
equipment). As the Nuclear Weapons Archive describes it: "It was a cylinder
40 cm by 60 cm, and weighed 68 kg (the actual warhead portion weighed only
27 kg). Although the Mk-54 SADM has itself been called a "suitcase bomb" it
is more like a "steamer trunk" bomb, especially considering its weight."


http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontl...ssia/suitcase/

Alexander Lebed, ex Soviet General reported that a
significant number of Soviet nuclear demolition charges
were unaccounted for IRC.

Lebed's rants have been amply discounted. "Gen. Lebed has told a variety of
stories; first, that 100 were perhaps missing. Later, he said that perhaps
none were missing. Later, he seemed to be confused about the difference
between atomic demolition munitions and artillery shells. And now he claims
that perhaps, even if they're missing, they don't pose a threat."
(www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/military/ jan-june98/nukes_3-19.html ) The "Sixty
Minutes" TV report that broke his story was later revealed to have been
produced by a lady who, with her husband, had a book being published about
the alleged threat of small nukes and who was involved in the production of
a movie with a similar plotline. The Nuclear Weapons Archive has an
interesting treatment of the Lebed claims that casts further doubt as to the
specific veracity of his claims. Lastly, if they *had* developed weapons
that small, and if they *were* unaccounted for, we'd likely have seen their
use somewhere in the world by now, or at least heard more substantive
information since then.

Brooks

Keith