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Iran could develop nuclear suicide bomb vests, claims JD Vance
(www.9news.com.au)
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this post was submitted on 27 Mar 2026
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Much more likely would be a dirty bomb. Just a regular bomb with some nuclear material that it spreads. The nuclear material isn't the bomb itself, but used exclusively for the exposure effects. You don't even need plutonium or uranium for this. There are plenty of other radiological sources to make dirty bombs. Old radiographic medical equipment for instance.
There are hundreds of thousands of orphaned sources in the world. Several of them have caused the worst radiological incidents in history.
The fact we don't see this already is quite surprising.
I'm kind of skepitical of the "dirty bomb" idea. Frankly, it sounds like a load of bullshit, because of the πr^2^ thing. Namely, if you want to irradiate and area to a sufficient extent to cause immediate radiation sickness, then keeping it concentrated is your best bet. A very small bomb, at most.
The other extreme would be a huge bomb to spread radioactive material over, say, a city. At which point it barely raises the radioactivity above background levels. Or at least doesn't cause immediately apparent effects. Imagine terrorists issuing a statement like, "Sure, it doesn't seem so bad TODAY, but wait 'til you see the slight bump in cancer rates in 20 years."
Indeed, on looking it up, I see that the experts are skeptical, too, and tests conducted by Israel didn't find much effectiveness. That could be why we haven't seen one used.
Yeah, but destruction and loss of life isn't the point. Terror is. If a dirty bomb was detonated in a city, and it contained enough nuclear material to say, cause a 10% jump in cancer outlooks over a 20 year period, that's not the point.
The point is that the Nuclear Regulatory Commission needs to come out, shut a city down, do all sorts of testing, clean the shit out of everything, and disrupt everyone's lives. The fear is the point, and as a fear-causing weapon, radiation is in a unique class all its own.
For that matter, then you don't need to put any radioactive material in it at all, but just claim it.
I think the value would be the 'terror' in the general public if a dirty bomb went in downtown in any major US city.
I think that would make for an ideal terrorist weapon for use against the US
Fuck - I'm probably on a watch list again. I think I was flagged post 9/11 for online chat around laptops, bottles of water and vodka. Every flight I took from 2000 to about 2007 I was pulled out and patted down/bag searched/turn laptop on/...
@SwingingTheLamp Then you don't understand the concept, and that's okay. Lots of people don't understand lots of stuff. I don't understand why sports is such a big deal. But I don't call it bullshit for that reason.
A dirty bomb is a terrorist weapon. It's meant to cause terror. You're focusing on practical matters that are not important to that goal. OF COURSE it's a shitty bomb. That's why no govts make them. From a practical standpoint, it's shit. But from a terror standpoint, it's great.
Geez, you don't have to be such an ass about it. The commenter was talking about sources of radioactive materials, which is irrelevant.
@SwingingTheLamp They were being full of themselves. When you make comments in public, you elect to expose yourself to possible criticism.
You'll get over it. Get some sleep.
Yeah, but you chose to be a massive dick about it. A couple of other folks commented along similar lines, but respectfully. That's on you.
I'm not that surprised. Radiation poisoning is a special kind of torture for EVERYONE. Shit would immediately invalidate any goodwill or sympathy for whomever uses them.
It would also be dangerous and expensive for the people making it.
It also wouldn't be much more lethal than a bomb of equivalent mass. If you're close enough to get a lethal dose of polonium or w/e, you're probably also getting a lethal dose of shrapnel.
That's because you're waiting for the other side to do it. Israel has used white phosphorus many times in recent times. There were also those bombs that create such a heat vacuum, they literally incinerate humans with no trace of them left behind.