This article was originally published in Swedish in May of 2000 by ...

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This article was originally published in Swedish in May of 2000 by theUppsala Association of International Affairs, an Uppsala Universitystudent organization. Nuclear suitcase bombs on the lose Osama bin Laden introduced himself to the Americanconducted an inventory of the Russian arsenal of socalled public on August 7, 1998 through two simultaneous bombsuitcase bombs. blasts at the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. WithThese were tactical nuclear devices (RA115) that over 200 people killed and close to 5,000 wounded, hisweight about 60100 lbs., had a detonation force of over specialty was clear to see.1,000 ton TNT, could be activated within 2030 minutes  Massscaleterrorism. withoutsecret codes from Moscow, and were small enough  Lessthan two years later, the Saudi millionaire isto fit in a suitcase. one of the most wanted men in the world. There are good According to Lebed, he had only been able to verify reasons why, according to Jessica Stern, formerly withthe the whereabouts of 48 nuclear suitcases of an arsenal White House National Security / Nuclear Smugglingtotaling 132. Interagency. Stern believes that the terrorists within the binFrom a purely technical perspective, the existence of Laden network will soon have overcome the technical,small nuclear devices such as these were nothing new or political, moral and organizational challenges associatedremarkable. The US produced hundreds of small nuclear with the use of weapons of massdestruction. This fact,weapons in the 1960s,Special Atomic Demolition added to bin Laden’s determination, creates an AmericanMunitionshad a, that weight about 80100 lbs., had a national security problem with international implications.detonation force of about 1,000 ton TNT, and were small  enoughto fit in a bag. In March of 1995, the infamous magazineSolder ofAt first, the Russian government denied the claims Fortunepublished an article about the arrest of nuclearmade by Lebed. Eventually, it conceded that these smugglers in Lithuania. What made this particular incidentsuitcase size nuclear devices had indeed been produced noteworthy was that the nuclear bombs were small enoughand that the security surrounding them might have been to fit in a backpack. According to the article, previousless than perfect. smuggling attempts had been successful in deliveringThe 84 suitcase bombs missing might perhaps be identical nuclear devices to Iraq and North Korea. Thefound in former Soviet republics, or even in the US. In early article received little attention due to the magazine not2000, Stanislav Lunev, a former officer in the Russian enjoying much respect among the mainstream media. military agency GRU, testified before Congress that some  ofthese nuclear suitcases might have been hidden on US In the summer of 1997, the former Russian Generalsoil during the Cold War. Alexander Lebed told an American delegation of CongressThere are other possible explanations of where some representatives that he during his tenure at the Kremlin hadof these 84 missing nuclear devices might be. According to Page 1 of 2