Assault On Pelindaba Nuclear Facility - tonight on 60 minutes

[bananas]

Run time: 00:31 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=avXumNK7LXI   Posted on YouTube: November 21, 2008 By YouTube Member: Views on YouTube: 0   Posted on DU: November 23, 2008 By DU Member: bananas Views on DU: 1307

 
Scott Pelley investigates the boldest assault ever on a facility containing weapons-grade uranium a still-unsolved crime that could have had calamitous consequences.

News article posted in LBN the other day:
"Brazen Nuke Facility Raid An Inside Job?"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x3611697

[snappyturtle]

1. Thanks for the heads up! nt

[Zombie2]

2. Wow.. and thanks!

I'm going to try watching this tonight.

[Seldona]

3. K&R

The piece is up at 60 Minutes website already for those like myself who missed it.

http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4628643n

Why all the denial by South African officials? It comes off as completely fabricated imo. The story they tell is absurd. Two separate groups supposedly intent on 'burglary' are at the facility at the same time, and they don't think they are related? Odd.

I hope they didn't get away with anything. They had plenty of time to do it, and got away clean it looks like.

Of course this could be something South African Intelligence might be dealing with. It would explain why no one is talking. But that is only speculation. Keeps Presidents awake at night indeed.

[tclambert]

4. Two break-ins at the same time not related? How many break-ins do they have?

The only reason to think they weren't coordinated attacks is if they get so many break-ins, they're not surprised when they overlap. The ambassador suggested they might have wanted to take a laptop computer they they subsequently left behind. Not exactly a Columbo quality conclusion, there.

It is possible the officials are trying to cover up just how bad the breach was. If the invaders made off with some HEU, would security, the plant manager, or the ambassador tell us? That would be classified information in a heartbeat.

I considered for a couple of minutes (but not 24 minutes) that it might have been a "tiger team" exercise. The way to really test the security of a complex like that is to assign a tiger team to try to break the security. It would be like a war game exercise with the goal of finding and fixing weaknesses in the system. But they shot somebody, nearly killed him. You're supposed to avoid real casualties in an exercise.

[Seldona]

6. You make several great points.

I hope that whoever did this is quickly caught. We may never hear about that, but I really hope security isn't this bad.

Can you imagine if they had that many break-ins that they wouldn't know who is who going in and out of a nuclear weapons grade material facility? Horrifying.

[CoopersMom]

5. So obviously an inside job - or possible from insider passing info

Two breaks along the same line of fencing simultaneously. And on a night when the facility was hosting a party of some kind for its workers. The only worker assigned to security a paraplegic - who was so impaired from drinking he had to be replaced - by a woman.

Come on. If this doesn't scream that a group of (former) insiders or at least someone with up-to-the minute information pulled this off, I don't know what does.

And if the radiological materials onsite are "not that radioactive", such that one can walk around with them in the palm of their hands, the WTF were these people interested in?

What else does Pelindaba have onsite that would be so tempting for such a break in?