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> I was wondering if any of you nuclear physicists might know > whether or not SH > would have to conduct N-tests prior to having a functioning bomb. > I received > good info from Glen R. on the aluminum tubes, but was thinking that if > nuclear tests were required then geological 'listening' stations > would pick it up...yes? No? I hope that an economist's opinion will serve as a stop gap: 1. I would imagine that, like anything else, testing and practice give one more confidence in something's functioning. If a bomb is obtained from abroad, then one may still wish to test to ensure that it isn't a dud. Of course, after a bomb's been tested, it can't be reused. 2. the 'advantage' of possessing nuclear weapons is largely felt to be a deterrent one: states hold them, hoping that this ensure that they don't have to use them. For this to work, one must be known to hold them. This may have been a central purpose behind the India and Pakistan tests. Iraq's case is slightly different: would a test, assuming possession, cause the US to back off or would it generate support for a US attack? 3. I don't know how sensitive seismic equipment is, but there seems to be a lot of confidence in its ability to detect nuclear explosions. Seismic data seem to be what clinched the case against Gwynne Robert's claim that the Iraqi government tested a nuclear bomb after the Iran war. Best, Colin Rowat work | Room 406, Department of Economics | The University of Birmingham | Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK | web.bham.ac.uk/c.rowat | (+44/0) 121 414 3754 | (+44/0) 121 414 7377 (fax) | c.rowat@bham.ac.uk personal | (+44/0) 7768 056 984 (mobile) | (+44/0) 7092 378 517 (fax) | (707) 221 3672 (US fax) | c.rowat@espero.org.uk _______________________________________________ Sent via the discussion list of the Campaign Against Sanctions on Iraq. To unsubscribe, visit http://lists.casi.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/casi-discuss To contact the list manager, email casi-discuss-admin@lists.casi.org.uk All postings are archived on CASI's website: http://www.casi.org.uk