Originally posted by: eskimospy
Originally posted by: TastesLikeChicken
I think you overestimate our capabilities in that department.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/re...08/02/080216142207.htm
Besides that, the material could potentially be stolen so it doesn't necessarily finger a culprit. I doubt that Iran would be stupid enough to use their own uranium if they wanted to use a terrorist proxy in a nuclear attack anyway.
Nope, don't overestimate them at all. That paper is mostly concerned with the speed at which we could make the determination and a worry that this capability is deteriorating due to lack of funding and replacement personnel. While I would totally agree that we need to be able to make this determination quickly in the case of a nuclear attack in order to avoid acting rashly, it is highly unlikely that we would be unable to determine the source of a nuclear bomb.
The means by which a bomb is identified go far beyond where the uranium came from, there are also signs from the enrichment process, the non-nuclear components, the signature of the detonation, etc. So unless Iran is stealing someone else's enriched uranium along with someone else's bomb design, there will be quite a few clues. (and if they're stealing all that, stopping their nuclear program seems pretty pointless anyway doesn't it?)