As your intrepid Diarist is wont to do, I was surfing around the Internet when I found this story on the front page of the
Kuwait Times.
The original article is now in pdf form (
here then click on #1) but I'm posting the entire article:
Truck carrying radioactive material sent back
KUWAIT: Informed sources said the customs department released three out of four trucks it had impounded since Thursday after suspicion they were carrying radioactive material from Iraq to Kuwait for the US Army. The trucks were driven by four Indians. Sources said it was found that three trucks did not contain any radioactive matter, while the fourth was found to be carrying a container of highly radioactive substance.
Customs officials refused to open the truck, and insisted that it not move before American military personnel and Kuwaiti security officers arrive at the scene. Sources said the American Army warned against opening the container and asked that it be allowed to proceed, but the officers refused. The sources said that it was then agreed to send the truck out of Kuwait to where it came from despite the US army's objections.
Hat tip to Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency, for catching this.
Anyone want to hazard a guess why highly radioactive material would be shipped from Iraq to Kuwait? Material that the US military refused to have inspected?
Also, it seems that the Kuwaiti customs agents impounded the four trucks on "suspicion" of having radioactive material and then they were checked later. What made the Kuwaiti customs agents even suspect it had radioactive material? I don't think the US customs agents on the Mexican border do radioactivity checks. If you have an idea what's actually going on here, please leave me a comment!
I also want to say I feel sorry for the Indian guy driving the truck with the highly radioactive material if he was not warned/informed and adequately protected from his own cargo.
Peace
-Soj