(2003-05-04) — The International Atomic Energy Agency says that harmless Iraqi nuclear materials it catalogued during months of inspections have suddenly become dangerous since looters may have removed some from U.S.-guarded research facilities.
The IAEA criticized the U.S. for letting former employees return to the Baghdad Nuclear Research Facility and the Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Center where its inspectors had documented tons of uranium suitable for use in a nuclear weapons or so-called ‘dirty-bombs’.
“These materials were not dangerous in the hands of the Iraqi regime,” said an unnamed IAEA spokesman. “That’s why we said that Iraq poses no nuclear threat. However, now that they may be in the hands of looters and criminals, they have morphed into highly radioactive materials that may be sold on the black market and turned into weapons of mass destruction.”
The spokesman said he hopes that any stolen nuclear matter falls into the hands of another responsible government like Iran, Syria or North Korea.

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