U.S. and Russian officials whisked away 100 pounds of weapons-grade uranium from an aging nuclear reactor in Yugoslavia on Thursday in a military-style operation described as the first of a series of pre-emptive strikes against the danger of nuclear terrorism.
The uranium–enough to make up to three nuclear bombs–was removed from Belgrade’s Vinca Institute of Nuclear Sciences before daybreak with an escort of Yugoslav army helicopters and 1,200 heavily armed troops. The uranium was loaded onto a plane and flown to Russia to be converted into a form that cannot be used in weapons. The mission had been planned in secrecy for a year.
The extraction was hailed by the Bush administration and non-proliferation groups as one of the most significant actions to prevent nuclear proliferation since Sept. 11. It also was described as evidence of a new level of cooperation with Russia.
