This morning I found this article to be interesting and very relevent to class. During class we had talked about Klaus Fuchs and his espionage work. The discussion inevitably led to how much did the Soviets learn on their own and how much was the result of espionage, especially given the quick turnaround between the American bomb and the Soviet version. Even with all the difficulties the Soviet bomb program had during World War II. The lack of resources, especially, that hindered the development of the atomic bomb project. To develop an atomic bomb under those circumstances in less than five years after the Americans is truly remarkable.
The article today is further evidence that perhaps the Soviet's had taken more from the Americans than at once was believed. The article mentions the exploits of George Koval specifically, but also mentions that Koval was only one of a number of Soviet espionage agents working to steal the United States' atomic secrets. Koval has been a member of G.R.U, the military intelligence agency. He had unprecedented access to the Manhatten Project at Oak Ridge. Having the administrative clearance to gain access to the most sensitive areas of the plant to understad how the Americans were manufacturing nuclear fuel, perhaps the most difficult component to mass producing nuclear weapons.
Of course it makes sense to disclose of Koval's status as a spy until now. The Soviets went to great lengths to present themselves as the orgininators of their own bomb. By admitting that the bomb had been acquired through espionage, the status of Soviet science is somehow diminished, and with that the entire concept of having a bomb being correlated with a scientifically advanced society is tarnished. Yet with Klaus Fucks and now George Koval along with numerous unknown others it is becoming more evident that the ability of the Soviet Union to develop a nuclear weapon in such a quick span of time is largely due to espionage, rather than scientific activities.
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/12/us/12koval.html?_r=1&hp=&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&adxnnlx=1194886909-6Gc1nDRj+G5mxZUDmEeyAg
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My friend: have you forgotten the work of the Rosenbergs/Greenglass group? Their absence in your blog was conspicuous, to say the least. Perhaps David Greenglass did nothave the scientific chits of Klaus Fuchs or George Koval, but his reports were at the very least vital confirmation of scope of the work at Alamagordo and possibly much more in that he provided insight to how the whole contraption could be triggered.
Steve Lewin
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