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  WMD
Bruichladdich - the Whisky of Mass Distinction?
US Government spies on Islay Distillery
6°21”60 West, 55°45”00 North
You have
to laugh.
We had an email recently from an observer “curious as to why the webcam that was
inside the shop/bar is no longer there, or at least, functional”. The email was
from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency in the United States.
When we replied that it was simply a short term technical problem, we asked why
on earth they could be interested in the comings and goings of a small
Distillery off the West Coast of Scotland. Were there secret manoeuvres taking
place in Loch Indaal, or even a threat of terrorists infiltrating the mainland
via Islay?
 The answer we received was even more surreal. Evidently the mission of the DTRA
is to safeguard the US and its allies from weapons of mass destruction
-chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and high explosives. The
department which contacted the Distillery deals with the implementation of the
Chemical Weapons Convention, going to sites to verify treaty compliance.
Funnily enough chemical weapon processes look very similar to the distilling
process and as part of training there is a visit to a brewery for
familiarization with reactors, batch processors and evaporators. As they said,
it just goes to show how "tweaks" to the process flow or equipment, can create
something very pleasant (whisky) or deadly (chemical weapons).
As they say: "In the post-Cold War environment, a unified, consistent approach
to deterring, reducing and countering weapons of mass destruction is essential
to maintaining our national security. Under DTRA, Department of Defense
resources, expertise and capabilities are combined to ensure the United States
remains ready and able to address the present and future WMD threat. We perform
four essential functions to accomplish our mission: combat support, technology
development, threat control and threat reduction. These functions form the basis
for how we are organized and our daily activities. Together, they enable us to
reduce the physical and psychological terror of weapons of mass destruction,
thereby enhancing the security of the world's citizens. At the dawn of the 21st
century, no other task is as challenging or demanding".
And we only knew because they told us that one of our cameras was not working…
Hunt for Bruichladdich's
Weapons of Mass Destruction!
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The Story Continues
.....
I apologize for the delay in
responding to you especially since you replied so quickly to my question. I
appreciate the information you provided.
The use of the webcam is
purely personal. I saw a television program about your distillery and have
enjoyed watching your webcams ever since.
I work at the Defense Threat
Reduction Agency. Our mission is to safeguard the U.S. and its allies from
weapons of mass destruction (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and
high explosives). Our area deals with the implementation of the Chemical
Weapons Convention so we go to sites to verify treaty compliance. I still find
it very funny that their chemical processes look very similar to your distilling
process. I mean no disrespect. As part of a training class we went to a
brewery for familiarization with reactors, batch processors, evaporators, etc.
before going in the field. It just goes to show how "tweaks" to the process
flow, equipment, etc., can create something very pleasant (whiskey) or deadly
(chemical weapons).
When I look at your webcams,
I think about my time spent in that area of the world and thoughts of going
back. If I do, your island and your distillery are on my list of places to
visit.
I hope you've had a good
summer. Thanks again.
DTRA/TDND
8725 John J. Kingman Road, MSC 6201
Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6201
Ursula Stearns
Defense Threat Reduction Agency
Operations Support Division/Security Countermeasures Branch
8725 John J. Kingman Road
(703) 767-2694, DSN 427-2694, Fax x2402
Read
more on the Whisky of Mass Distinction
The Times
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,175-832349,00.html
The Daily Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=%2Fnews%2F2003%2F09%2F27%2Fnwhisk27.xml
The Scotsman
http://www.news.scotsman.com/archive.cfm?id=1070422003
A BBC reporter said: ‘I’ve been drinking Bruichladdich for
years. If it’s a weapon of mass destruction, it obviously works very
slowly’.
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