
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 31, 1990                   TAG: 9004020191
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A11   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WEST INTERCEPTS IRAQ'S `MCGUFFINS'

"McGUFFIN" is a term invented by Alfred Hitchcock. It refers to the seemingly insignificant object that drives a suspense story: the microfilm of the secret plans, the key to the code, etc. The krytrons that six people were trying to smuggle into Iraq are perfect McGuffins.

Krytrons are small electrical timing switches with a variety of uses in machines such as copiers and laser systems. But they are also important components in the triggering mechanisms of nuclear bombs. Their export and distribution is controlled by the American government; 18 months ago, when Iraqi agents contacted a California firm about acquiring some of the devices, federal officials took notice.

The prolonged international "sting" operation ended at London's Heathrow Airport this week, when British customs agents seized a shipment of electronic equipment and arrested three people. To nobody's surprise, the Iraqi government denied it is working on nuclear weapons.

But facts speak louder than denials. In 1981, the Israelis bombed a power plant under construction near Baghdad because it could have been used to create weapons-quality nuclear material. In 1989, the Commerce Department refused to allow vacuum pumps, which could have been used to produce nuclear material, to be sent to Iraq. Clearly, Iraq is interested in acquiring nuclear weapons.

It is equally clear that President Saddam Hussein has few compunctions about resorting to drastic means to achieve his ends. He is known to have used poison gas against Iranian soldiers and against Kurdish citizens of his own country. If this barbaric regime acquires nuclear weapons, one of the most hideous nightmares of the 20th century may well be realized.

The worst nightmare, of course, is a full-scale nuclear conflict between the superpowers. But as the United States and the Soviet Union appear to be edging away from that brink, this other grim scenario looms larger: An unpredictable, aggressive dictator in a volatile corner of the world gets a nuclear weapon, and no one near him is safe. It may sound far-fetched, but the krytron incident proves the plot has a firm base in reality.

This time, however, the system worked. The various law-enforcement agencies cooperated and came up with a doubly successful conclusion. The Iraqi smuggling operation was thwarted, and Hussein's long-range plans have been dealt a setback of some severity.

That doesn't mean Hussein's game is over. It isn't. He will continue to look for the krytrons and pumps and nuclear material he needs to build his bomb. Law-enforcement agencies and intelligence organizations in the West will try to stop him. But for the moment at least, this particular McGuffin remains the stuff of fiction.

by CNB