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Iraq wants attention

Interview: Stephanie Höppner / nmJuly 12, 2014

Rebels stole radioactive material in Iraq, but experts say there's no major risk. Michael Brzoska of the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy says Iraq is using the incident to get the world's attention.

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Professor Michael Brzoska
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DW: According to information from the Iraq government, nuclear material has fallen into the hands of the terrorist group, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). It said the material was being stored for research purposes at the University of Mosul in the north of the country. Why wasn't such material under better protection in such a volatile country?

Michael Brzoska: It probably wasn't particularly dangerous material, but more likely slightly enriched uranium. As a source of radiation it is a little dangerous, but it can't really be used in terrorist attacks.

On the other hand, it needs to be said that the Iraqi government clearly hasn't taken the necessary safety precautions in dealing with the group "Islamic State." They could have got this material safely out of Mosul as soon as they realized there was a potential risk.

Has the government fallen asleep on the job?

The rapid advance took the government by surprise. There were also other issues that were probably more important. For example, they had to consider how the army could be reorganized if a large part of it defected.

Why was the material being stored in Iraq at all? The United States justified their invasion of Iraq, at least in 2003, with the existence of nuclear weapons that were never actually found.

There aren't any advanced nuclear activities taking place in Iraq - no nuclear power plants or anything like that. But there are research endeavors in various fields. That is to say, people in Iraq are also trained in the area of nuclear physics, and relevant materials are used for teaching purposes. For example, the uranium that was stolen is believed to have been used to make radiation measurements.

They also work with nuclear radioisotopes in the medical field - this is common international practice in the treatment of cancer. So Iraq isn't entirely free of these types of materials, but there's nothing to suggest the development of a nuclear weapon is just around the corner. Some of these medical isotopes are certainly used to induce small-scale radiation exposure, and so could also be used in terrorist attacks. But this slightly enriched material from Mosul probably wouldn't be of any use in this case.

Could the insurgents do anything with the material?

Probably not. It would be possible to enrich the uranium further, but that would require specific technical equipment. First you would have to make the uranium gaseous, and then separate the isotope in the centrifuge. There are other methods, but they are more complicated. I doubt the "Islamic State" has the capacity to carry that out. They simply don't have links with countries that could have the relevant technical infrastructure. For example, the group is an enemy of Iran, and the Iranian government supports Iraq in the fight against ISIS. Besides them, I don't see any potential ally who would help them get rid of this uranium, and in exchange give them radioactive materials or even weapons-grade uranium.

A few days ago Iraq admitted that Sunni rebels had taken control of a chemical weapons storage facility. A chemical weapons expert told Reuters news agency that tons of highly toxic chemicals, including cyanide, may be stored there. Could there now be a new phase of escalation in this conflict?

Iraq hasn't had chemical weapons at its disposal for some time. They all had to be destroyed after the Gulf War in 1990-91. Iraq disposed of them then, although many in the international community thought the measure didn't go far enough. In Iraq there are still raw materials that could be used to make chemical weapons. And now certain raw chemicals have fallen into the hands of the "Islamic State."

It's not clear, at least for the time being, whether these chemicals really pose a risk. You also have to keep in mind that it's in the Iraqi government's interest to get international support in the fight against the rebels. It's fair to say that this robbery of nuclear materials from Mosul poses no great risk.

It needs to be viewed with skepticism to ascertain whether there is real danger, or whether it's an attempt by the Iraqi government to grab the attention of the international community. The government in Baghdad is seen as being partly responsible for the rebel group's success. If they can manage to reduce international criticism by creating a situation where there's more focus on ISIS than the government, then it will also have been a propaganda success.

Michael Brzoska is a professor at the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH) at the University of Hamburg.