Japan to turn over old nuclear research stockpile to U.S.
Source: New York Times, Wire Reports
THE HAGUE, Netherlands — Japan will announce Monday that it will turn over to Washington more than 700 pounds of weapons-grade plutonium and a large quantity of highly enriched uranium, a decades-old research stockpile that is large enough to build dozens of nuclear weapons, according to U.S. and Japanese officials.
The announcement is the biggest single success in President Barack Obama’s five-year push to secure the world’s most dangerous materials and will come as world leaders gather Monday for a nuclear security summit. Since Obama began these meetings with world leaders — this will be the third — 13 nations have eliminated their caches of nuclear materials and scores more have hardened security at their storage facilities to prevent theft by potential terrorists.
Japan’s agreement to transfer the material — the amount of highly enriched uranium has not been announced but is estimated at 450 pounds — has both practical and political significance.
Iran has cited Japan’s large stockpiles of bomb-ready material as evidence of a double standard about which nations can be trusted. And last month China began publicly denouncing Japan’s supply, in apparent warning that a rightward, nationalistic turn in Japanese politics could result in the country seeking its own weapons.
Read more: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/local-news/20140323-japan-to-turn-over-old-nuclear-research-stockpile-to-u.s..ece
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former military officer who is plugged in with his security briefs. I'm certain that he won't miss the opportunity to bash the President once again.
However, I have been granted "EXCLUSIVE ACCESS" to one of Mr. Conservative's security briefs and came away with this photo:
Response to TexasTowelie (Original post)
