Say Anything Blog

News of the weird meets the politics of the bitter:

BELLEVIEW, Fla. - Every blue moon or so, collectibles dealer and pawnshop owner Frank Cafaro stumbles upon a buried gem amid an estate’s junk and tchotchkes.

But his latest find was so alarming he called the Fire Department.

“We were in the warehouse and we pulled out this box of rocks from an estate sale,” Cafaro said.

“Everything was individually labeled. Amethyst. Topaz. Uranium. The guy I’m working with says, ‘What’s that last one? Uranium? I think that’s illegal.’”

Within an hour, the Gold Mine Pawn was swarming Thursday with nearly three dozen emergency workers, including Geiger-counter-waving members of a hazardous materials team and the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Domestic Security Task Force.

They focused their attention on a lead container the size of a soup can.

Labeled with radioactive markings, the container protected a glass vial that held about an ounce of yellowcake uranium, a processed mineral that, in larger quantities, can be used to make fuel for nuclear reactors or enriched for weapons.

In 2003, President Bush justified the decision to invade Iraq by citing a now-discredited intelligence report that claimed Saddam Hussein had tried to buy tons of yellowcake, presumably to manufacture weapons of mass destruction.

“It was kind of scary when I heard how terrible this stuff was,” Cafaro said.

This story was picked up by papers all over the country.  But what’s with injecting a false political statement into the story?

As the Senate Select Committee on intelligence found, Iraq did try to purchase yellowcake uranium from Niger, but were unable to.

[Wilson’s] intelligence report indicated that former Nigerien Prime Minister Ibrahim Mayaki was unaware of any contracts that had been signed between Niger and any rogue states for the sale of yellowcake while he was Prime Minister (1997-1999) or Foreign Minister (1996-1997). Mayaki said that if there had been any such contract during his tenure, he would have been aware of it. Mayaki said, however, that in June 1999,(REDACTED) businessman, approached him and insisted that Mayaki meet with an Iraqi delegation to discuss “expanding commercial relations” between Niger and Iraq. The intelligence report said that Mayaki interpreted “expanding commercial relations” to mean that the delegation wanted to discuss uranium yellowcake sales. The intelligence report also said that “although the meeting took place, Mayaki let the matter drop due to the UN sanctions on Iraq.”

What else could Iraq be interested in buying from Niger?

Here is what the World Bank tells us: In 1991, Niger’s exports totaled a minuscule $270 million, of which $199 million was uranium. By 2000, exports had crept up to $283 million, of which $90 million was uranium--the decline largely the result of falling prices. Other than uranium, the only exports substantial enough to merit mention by the World Bank were livestock products, at $49 million.

If this wasn’t a hot button political issue, albeit a completely manufactured one, nobody would doubt that Saddam Hussein tried to buy uranium.  Does anyone doubt that he was interested in manufacturing a bomb, someday?

I won’t hold my breath waiting for a correction coming from the writer of this story.  He had no reason to mention the Iraq/Niger yellowcake in his otherwise inconsequential story.  But when he did mention it he should have reported it correctly that yes, Saddam did try to purchase uranium.

Now to address the other side of the story, does anyone think that an ounce of unrefined uranium would be dangerous as long as you didn’t keep it under your pillow?  I don’t know that much about it, but I’m guessing that it’s just not that strong in that state.