Russian man faces weapon of mass destruction charges in Pennsylvania

[IDemo]

Source: CNN

Authorities in Pennsylvania arrested a 19-year-old Russian man Friday and charged him with possession of a weapon of mass destruction, Altoona police said in a written statement.

Police officers were investigating a reported marijuana-growing operation when they discovered a homemade bomb and bomb-making materials in a suitcase, the news release said.

Vladislav Miftakhov, a Russian citizen, was arrested and charged with possessing a weapon of mass destruction, risking a catastrophe and drug-related offenses. He was arraigned Friday and bail was set at $500,000, Blair County corrections officer James McMahon said Sunday.

According to a criminal complaint, police found one pound of atomized magnesium and one pound of Chinese potassium perchlorate along with a package labeled potassium nitrate powder. They also found fuses and several containers of compressed air.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2014/01/26/justice/pennsylvania-teen-bomb-arrest/

[Maedhros]

1. Wow - "weapon of mass destruction" has become as meaningless a term

as "terrorist."

TWO POUNDS of bomb-making chemicals now constitute a "weapon of mass destruction?"

A "weapon of mass destruction" (WMD or WoMD) is a nuclear, radiological, biological, chemical or other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans or cause great damage to man-made structures (e.g. buildings), natural structures (e.g. mountains), or the biosphere. The scope and application of the term has evolved and been disputed, often signifying more politically than technically. Coined in reference to aerial bombing with chemical explosives, it has come to distinguish large-scale weaponry of other technologies, such as chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear. This differentiates the term from more technical ones such as chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons (CBRN).

(from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weapon_of_mass_destruction)

A standard heavy machinegun can do far more damage than whatever home-made bomb this guy was cooking up. Does that mean every Humvee in our military carries a "weapon of mass destruction?"

[dipsydoodle]

2. Seemingly a threat to more than one person.

[Distant Quasar]

4. Legally, conventional bombs over a certain size have been WMD for a long time

I agree the terminology is silly. I'm just saying, this is the typical federal charge in such cases - it isn't anything new.

No matter how you slice it, "weapons of mass destruction" is not a coherent concept at all and never has been. The only true weapons of mass destruction are nuclear arms and perhaps advanced biological weapons. Everything else pales in comparison.

[uppityperson]

5. What do you think about drones?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

6. Surveillance Drones? Missile-launch drones?

Pizza delivery drones?

Government/Defense drones?

Police drones?

Privately owned drones?

[Distant Quasar]

7. Drones are a delivery device

They're only as destructive as whatever munitions they're carrying. I wouldn't classify them as WMD.

[madrchsod]

9. really?

how about a gasoline storage or a natural gas facility. gasoline ,oil,or natural gas pipes through a city? i hate to think about a chemical plant. a bomb this size could start something that would be classified as a wmd.

[yurbud]

15. In other news, in Africa a chimp threatened a game warden with a weapon of mass destruction

a biological weapon, his own feces.

[JDPriestly]

17. That it wasn't a nuclear, etc. weapon begs the question: What in the world was he doing with

that dangerous stuff in his bag?

Is he insane or part of some horrible plot?

A terrorist or mentally ill?

I'm glad they caught him.

[Herself]

21. Boston Marathon Bombing comes to mind

You can't carry a heavy machine gun into a crowded mall, theater, ball game, street and conceal it.

I'm pretty sure we would recognize a humvee with a machine gun mounted on it as a "possible" threat...

[Burf-_-]

3. what a list of chemicals !

This guy was going to blow up something BIG. potassium perchlorate is akin to solid rocket fuel, atomized magnesium would create a highly compressed gas fireball effect along with the potassium nitrate..... I'M DAMN GLAD THEY CAUGHT HIM !!!. It was ammonium perchlorate that blew up in this video

at the old PEPCON plant. Not that its exactly the same, but these chemicals are both highly active oxidizers....which means it basically consumes itself until all the oxygen is burnt out on its own, no stopping it.

[Maedhros]

10. Oh - I agree: this guy needed to be caught, and needs to be severely punished.

True weapons of mass destruction are atomic and fusion bombs, not homemade explosives. Possession of explosives with the intent to detonate should be charges enough to send this guy away for a long time. Tacking on a "weapons of mass destruction" charge is just...sensational.

[yurbud]

16. even real chemical and bio weapons are at best weapons of medium destruction

their advantage over regular explody weapons being that they don't damage property as much (as long as you let it air out).

[davidpdx]

22. What about the bomb used by McVeigh in Oklahoma City?

That was homemade, but hardly a toy. I think it is possible for someone who is not in the military to build a bomb that would be classified as a weapon of mass destruction.

[Maedhros]

27. "Weapons of Mass Destruction" historically referred to atomic and hydrogen bombs,

as opposed to conventional explosives. Bombs that could level an entire city and render the location uninhabitable. Chemical and biological agents were later included in the definition as well. When we invaded Iraq to search for Husseins "weapons of mass destruction" we weren't searching for TNT or C-4.

[davidpdx]

29. Historically is the key word

It is possible to make bombs that would do similar damage. I don't think it's that much of a stretch to call what McVeigh built a weapon of mass destruction.

[Maedhros]

30. It really is something of a stretch.

The OK City bomb was of the same scale as thousands of bombs dropped on Germany and Italy late in WWII. "Weapons of Mass Destruction" was a term used to describe bombs of a clearly greater scale, that would not destroy entire buildings but entire cities or even entire geographical features.

My point is that the term has become so politicized that it really means nothing now. Two pounds of binary explosive ingredients now constitutes a WMD. I've actually seen the term used in reference to a hand grenade.

Like "terrorism", "weapons of mass destruction" is being misapplied for political effect to keep us frightened.

[AAO]

11. It was ammonia perchlorate not potassium perchlorate.

[madrchsod]

8. good thing they got this guy off the street...

he could have blown up something very big with what he had.

[Alamuti Lotus]

12. Russians have always been the enemy, we have always been at war with Russians

[Comrade Grumpy]

13. I used to know guys who liked to blow shit up.

I guess now they'd be considered terrorists.

[happyslug]

14. According to the local paper, just a kid wanted to see an explosion

http://www.altoonamirror.com/page/content.detail/id/578482/Roommate--Bomb-suspect--a-crazy-kid-.html?nav=742

Here is the actual Criminal Complaint:

http://www.altoonamirror.com/pdf/news/578482_1.pdf

And the criminal docket on this case:

http://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/MDJReport.aspx?docketNumber=MJ-24103-CR-0000052-2014

[JDPriestly]

18. Typical criminal: When the police asked him what he was going to do with the explosive, he said

he was going to blow things up. It's just unbelievable. What did he think he wanted to blow up? Himself?

[JoeyT]

19. So homemade fireworks are WMDs now.

Well at least the paranoid defenders of the security state can pat themselves on the back that he was caught before he...I dunno, blew off a finger. That's not enough explosives to do much.

[LTG]

20. All available over the internet

There are a number of online companies selling fireworks chemicals and components. This is about $30 - $35 worth of stuff.

[Herself]

23. in SC you can legally buy fire crackers in "packs" the size of suit cases

Last week, there were several unexplained explosions near where I live.

It was Tannerite. Someone was using it to blow up 55 gal drums for fun.

It's legal to have, and only violated "noise ordinance" ...

Nice huh?

[LTG]

24. Also available online

As a binary explosive Tannerite can be shipped UPS. It does not even require HAZMAT fees.

It is also available forms hundreds of retailers in all regions and most states, no record keeping required.

I've seen video of people mixing 50 lbs and blowing up small buildings and vehicles, add a little highly flammable substance like gasoline or propane, and quite a fireball will accompany the explosion. It also can throw shrapnel quite a ways.

Under ATFE regulations, binary explosives fall in a very different class than regular explosive materials.

I'd have expected ATFE to place greater restrictions on it long before now.

[kelliekat44]

25. So why isn't he being deported immediately and never allowed back in this country? nt

[JoeyT]

26. Because he's not actually a terrorist.

Overcharging to a stupid degree to force people to plead guilty to a lesser charge and forfeit their right to a trial is the new normal.

[muriel_volestrangler]

28. Because most countries like to charge people with the crimes committed on their soil

It's a deterrent - if you think that, because you're a foreigner, the worst that can happen to you is deportation, you might commit all kinds of crimes. This way, he's put in prison, if found guilty.