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Politics : WAR on Terror. Will it engulf the Entire Middle East? -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scoobah who wrote (1603)	2/22/2002 8:27:53 AM
From: Cage Rattler	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 32591

Italian police foil alleged cyanide attack on Rome By John Eldridge and Nick Brown 22 Febraury 2002 <JANES> The arrest, 20 February, of four Moroccans in possession of 4 kg of potassium ferrocyanide (PF) has highlighted concerns over the continuing acquisition by terrorist groups of weapons of mass destruction. The significance of this arrest was underscored by the fact that the terrorists were also in possession of detailed maps of the US embassy, the Rome water supply network and reports that 100 false residence permits were also found. Italian officials said on 21 February that the four would face charges of subversive association, though they are currently being questioned on the technical charge of receiving stolen goods. So far, it has not been officially acknowledged if the group was working for a terrorist organisation, but claims have been made that they are part of the Salafist Group for Call and Combat (GSPCE) – a faction of the Armed Islamic Group (Groupe Islamique Armee) of Algeria. Parallels have also been drawn with the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Centre, as the bomb was unsuccessfully surrounded by cyanide, which burned off in the explosion. Similarly, if the alleged attack on Rome’s water supply had been successful, it’s debatable how much damage it would have caused. Emilio del Mese, a government official claimed "if this substance had been put in the water network it appears that it would not have been capable of causing any damage whatsoever." The form of cyanide found on the group was potassium ferrocyanide (chemical formula K4Fe(CN)63H2O), which comes in the form of yellow crystals and is widely used industrially. However, vast quantities of the chemicals would be needed to produce lethal affects in a large water supply. A litre of water can dissolve just under 300g of the crystals and can be reduced with acid to release cyanide gas. The resulting hydrogen cyanide (HCN) is highly volatile: it boils at 26°C and, being lighter than air, very quickly evaporates clear of the release point. HCN is produced in large quantities all over the world by the chemical industry where it is used, for example, in the production of acrylic resin plastic and other organic chemical products. Accordingly, the chemical weapons convention lists it as a 'Schedule 3 Chemical' - one that has been stockpiled in the past for use in war but which also has wide legitimate industrial use. As a chemical weapon agent, Cyanide pellets were used by Germany in World War II as the principal means of generating the agent used in gas chambers, where it was known as Zyklon B. Cyanide also reportedly formed part of both the Soviet and the US arsenals in the 1950s and ‘60s. During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was thought to be planning to use hydrogen cyanide as a 'blitzkrieg' weapon to clear a path through the opposing front line, knowing that the harmful gas itself would quickly evaporate and allow unprotected access to the captured zone. In a separate case, seven Tunisians are currently on trial in Milan on charges of plotting attacks in Europe, trafficking explosives and poisonous chemicals, and supplying money, documents and safe houses to al- Qaida activists. >>