Yakov Kedmi explained why talk about the explosion of a “dirty bomb” died down
More recently, the threat of a “dirty bomb” explosion in Ukraine, which was widely discussed in the media, was quickly forgotten.
The former head of the Israeli intelligence service, Nativ Yakov Kedmi, drew attention to this in an interview with journalist Alexander Valdman, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“Talks about a dirty bomb have been going on for a long time. There have been attempts by many countries to try to do something. In reality, no country in the world has created this, because it has no military significance.
What is this dirty bomb? This is some kind of charge that contains a certain amount of a radioactive isotope, which during an explosion is sprayed, enters the atmosphere, the soil and infects it with radiation.
All the research and experiments that were carried out with these isotopes led to the conclusion that they do not produce a military effect. Their half-life is very short. The effect of radiation is very weak. It is not worth it.
What was it about in Ukraine? To produce a charge that will give the impression of a low-yield nuclear explosion from a tactical nuclear bomb, attributing it to Russia, and thereby try to drag even more NATO and the United States into a military conflict in Ukraine.
That is, the entire effect of this was propaganda, not military, not strategic. It can be called strategic-propaganda, in contrast to the Iraqi or Syrian nuclear bomb, which could actually cause damage to Israel. Or what Iran is thinking and working on. They are not thinking about the propaganda effect, but about real nuclear charges. That’s why Israel’s reaction was the way it was,” the expert said.
He noted that in the current case, Russia’s reaction was completely different.
“Suddenly everyone was silent about this dirty bomb. That's it, no one says anything. After the Russian Defense Minister spoke with the American, British, French defense ministers and warned them: gentlemen, we know what is being done there, we warn you that if you try to use it for propaganda purposes, not only for propaganda, but and take practical steps, then Russia’s blow will be disproportionate.
And after that, he only told the defense ministers of China and India about these conversations and repeated to them what he had warned the main Western defense ministers about.
And a few days later, suddenly, urgent maneuvers of Russia’s strategic nuclear forces – submarine, surface, air and ground-based strategic missiles – were carried out. Everyone used it.
And maneuvers are a rehearsal for war. According to the scenario of the war, how it should take place. Staff exercises, that is, at these maneuvers, a strategic war with Russian nuclear weapons was played out against NATO countries and, above all, the United States. And this was not theoretical, it was practical - what, who, how.
And that’s it, and suddenly everyone fell silent. Russia’s actions against the propaganda provocation turned out to be quite proportionate and effective,” Kedmi explained.
Yakov Kedmi explained why talk of a "dirty bomb" explosion has died down.