By now everyone has seen the latest IAEA Iran report, GOV/2012/23. Among other bits that have drawn attention is paragraph 28, concerning swipe samples taken at the subterranean enrichment facility outside of Qom in mid-February. These samples “showed the presence of particles with enrichment levels of up to 27% U-235,” more than the level that’s …
Memorial Day
by | 2012-05-28 | 6 Comments
My Dad was one of five brothers — first generation American citizens whose parents emigrated from Kiev. During World War II, he worked at the Watertown (Massachusetts) Arsenal making munitions. The metallic substances he ingested there most likely caused his kidney cancer, which eventually took his life at age 48. Two of his brothers, Mickey …
On That East Coast GMD Site
by | 2012-05-25 | 13 Comments
As you probably know, the House Armed Services Committee wants to build a third missile defense site somewhere on the East Coast of the United States. Al Kamen is running a very funny contest to suggest possible sites (“Where to Put It?”). I am submitting Mianus, Connecticut. Let’s have a little fun with that, before …
Detonation Chamber at Parchin
by | 2012-05-24 | 59 Comments
Some commentators are annoyed that I haven’t written much about Iran. In my defense, I now direct a nonproliferation program focused on East Asia. Still, they have a point. This post is a small step in that direction. I wanted to write about the “detonation tank” reportedly at Parchin in Iran, where Iran may …
