- WASHINGTON [MENL] -- The
United States must assume that Middle East allies of Moscow as well as
terrorist groups have succeeded in obtaining nuclear material smuggled
from reactors around the former Soviet Union.
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- A report by a leading U.S. expert said the number of
nuclear shipments seized from the former Soviet Union is only the tip of
the iceberg. The report said a combination of corrupt officials and a thirst
for revenue by Russia's nuclear industry appears to guarantee the prospect
of widespread smuggling of nuclear material to such countries as Iran,
Iraq and perhaps terrorist groups.
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- "U.S. policymakers must contemplate the possibility
that -- as with other illegally traded commodities -- what was seized is
only a small fraction of what has been circulated through smuggling channels,"
said a report authored by Rensselaer Lee, a senior fellow at the Foreign
Policy Research Institute.
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- Lee, author of the book "Nuclear Smuggling from
the Former Union: Threats and Responses," cites Moscow's nuclear cooperation
with Iran. The analyst said the cooperation is valued at billions of dollars
and outweighs the proliferation risks of a nuclear Islamic regime.
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