-Caveat Lector- Uh, thanks for bringing up the subject, in the same breath as "Trust me" ... Serbs Unlikely To Have Nuclear Arms By SUSAN LADIKA .c The Associated Press VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- An international nuclear watchdog agency today dismissed reports that Yugoslavia might attempt to produce nuclear weapons and said the only danger might be posed if NATO bombs inadvertently struck a nuclear research facility. NATO forces are aware of the Vinca Institute of Nuclear Science, located about 10 miles from the Yugoslav capital of Belgrade, said David Kyd, spokesman for the United Nations' International Atomic Energy Agency. ``The risk of Yugoslavia misusing this material is low. The higher risk is that a stray missile might go in this direction,'' Kyd said. The 6.5-megawatt, Soviet-designed research reactor has about 130 pounds of highly enriched uranium, including 5,000 uranium fuel rods stored in 30 drums in a pond on the site, along with fresh fuel, he said. Officials from the Institute for Science and International Security, an arms control research group in Washington, were quoted in recent newspaper reports as saying there was enough material at the facility to make nuclear weapons. ``I can't imagine in my wildest dreams what they would do with this,'' Kyd said. Producing nuclear weapons could pose a danger to the Yugoslavs themselves, and could provoke retaliation, he explained. IAEA inspectors normally visit the Vinca facility each month. But no inspection has been conducted since late January because of security risks in Yugoslavia. If the agency feared the nuclear materials were being misused, it could request special permission to visit the site. But the country has always complied with its nuclear obligations, Kyd said. ``I'm pretty confident we'd find everything as it should be'' if the IAEA did an inspection, he said. The Yugoslav government has stressed that no NATO airstrikes hit the facility, which is located in a sparsely populated area. ``No one in their right mind'' would deliberately target the facility, Kyd said. The possibility remains that a bomb could go astray, but it is impossible to predict the environmental damage it could do. ``You can't make a back-of-the-envelope calculation,'' he said, because everything would be contingent on factors such as the strength of the weapon and whether the facility took a direct hit. An indirect hit could cause local contamination and radiation could seep into the groundwater, he said. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om