Most all of you should have read about the recent removal of Yellowcake from Iraq. For those of you unfamiliar with Yellowcake, this is a form of concentrated uranium that is used as a precursor for nuclear fuel for power plants, or for fuel grade enrichment programs.
So on July 5, the Assosicated Press reported here that:
The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein’s nuclear program – a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium – reached a Canadian port Saturday to complete a secret U.S. operation that included a two-week airlift from Baghdad and a ship voyage crossing two oceans.
The removal of 550 metric tons of “yellowcake” – the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment – was a significant step toward closing the books on Saddam’s nuclear legacy.
Over at American Thinker, and elsewhere, there have been a number of good rundowns on this event. Here are the two things that I want you to think about:
- Was there really WMD threat that was posed by Iraq? If you say no, go read the articles and then think about your answer.
- 550 metric tons, 1.2 million pounds of yellow cake. Let’s put that in perspective… if youe were able to take a tractor trailer rig and fill the trailer absolutely to the max (assuming the density of the yellowcake would allow, as well as the radioactivity and heat risks) that would work out to over 27 semi truckloads. That’s a lot of material.