Iraq Trip: A Cool end to a typcial week

On Saturday evening, on my way to Mass, one of the officers from the Econ Division asked if I would like to join him on a trip to Al Tuwaitha on Sunday. I reviewed my schedule in my head and said, “Yes, I have to clear it with the Chief as I have a project due to him tomorrow and by the way what is Tuwaitha?” (A trip is a trip and I was going no mater what – only the second trip in 4 months!). Since I had just seen the Chief running into the gym, I went up and asked. He said yes, I went to mass and then back to the office for 3 hours to complete the report.

Up at 5 on Sunday (I was tired) to get ready for the Helo ride to the site. Tuwaitha is basically the site where Saddam completed all of his research on making an atomic bomb. The Iraqis had progressed quite far in the process, but US bombing in 1991 effectively ended their program (something we now all know in hind sight). The project now is clean-up and my mission was to accompany the researchers from Texas Tech who were assisting the Iraqis in executing the clean up of the site. I will take about 15 to 20 years to complete the project. The contamination is localized to a few building. Here are a couple of articles on the site written by the scientists I was escorting.

http://www.thebulletin.org/web-edition/op-eds/what-we-found-al-tuwaitha

Having been on board a nuclear submarine I was well aware of where to go and not to go. For the most part I will let the pictures do the talking.

Before I get to the pictures, my mom asked me about what Iraqis were like and what is the culture like. As to the culture I would have to get an article - I am not expert. As to the people, they are much like everyone else. People are people. They love their families, want to do well and take pride in their work. As a group I find they are searching to define their future. For decades anyone who stepped out with initative and unpopular (although right idea) was killed. I am amazed as the few Iraqi men I meet. They are hard working to change a way of life deeply engrained by the decades of dictatorship. It will take a long time.

This is about ¼ of the site. The burms were put in place to protect the site from attack. Didn’t provide much protection from the air dropped bombs.

This is me overlooking the site. The reactor site in the background is the “French reactor”

The French Reactor Close up. The man in uniform is an Iraqi Policeman. US military need to be accompanied by either the Iraqi Police or Iraqi Army when ever leave the bases.

This is one of the other reactors (the "Italian" one I think). None of them produced electricity, they were all used for research (weapon, chemical and biological) and weapon fuel production.

The same reactor from a different angle. The “hot” is the marking for a radioactive hot spot. For my Nuc power friends you will notice that this in not the normal standard for markings.