Posted on 12/02/2008 12:24:49 PM PST by BenLurkin
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chances of a terror attack on a major city somewhere in the world using weapons of mass destruction are better than even, according to a task force mandated by the U.S. Congress, The Washington Post reported in its Tuesday edition.
A draft study by the panel warns of growing threats from rogue states, nuclear smuggling rings and the spread of atomic information in the developing world, the newspaper reported.
The panel, the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism, singled out Pakistan as a grave concern because of its network of terror groups, history of instability and nuclear capabilities, according to the report.
"In our judgment, America's margin of safety is shrinking, not growing," the newspaper quoted from the draft report.
The panel said it is more likely that a terror attack, which could also include biological weapons, will take place by the end of 2013, according to the report.
Former Sen. Bob Graham, a Florida Democrat, chaired the commission with former Rep. James Talent, a Missouri Republican, as the vice chairman.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Didn’t think they’d ignite a WMD at the horse farm across the road.....
So what’s Zero going to do to protect us?
I could have told them that for only $1 million.
Achmed, which target? New York or Yrrisari, New Mexico?
Ehh..in the cities of the Northeast, there is no more war on terrorism, heck there is no terrorist threat*, so this report is simply irrelevant.
(*Note to self, stay out of NE for the forseeable future)
How far does one need to be from a large city to feel reasonably safe?
No matter what happens or how many people will be killed...It will always and forever your fault and mine and Bush’s. Dear Leader #1 will see to it that the terrorists are considered heroes...and just fighting back against the Evil Bush empire.
Terrorists determine to attack on American soil.
Besides, do you really think the UN is just going to sit there and let some third world craphole engage in a massacre? No way Jose, we're safe in the arms of the Community Organizer Lawyer Messiah. The compassionate international elite from Syria, Iran, Russia, and China aren't going resist the ear-tickling suave Indo-Kenyan from Hawaii when he asks them, and us, to de-escalate. If we don't nuke them, they won't nuke us. And if they do, we deserve it.
Meanwhile, the chances of an *effective* WMD attack remains in the very, very low probability.
Fortunately, after years of nattering at them, the federal and State governments finally did something sensible about the hazardous materials threats that were driving around in trucks and trains within urban areas. In short order, they asked them to take different routes.
Now, that was terribly hard, huh? Yet it reduced an imminent and tangible risk by a BUNCH.
So, practically speaking, what should we worry about with terrorists?
Don’t worry about “dirty bombs”, because these are about the dumbest ways of going about terrorism. This is because light weight isotopes that would travel far in the air have short half-lives, so burn up, as it were, before they can be used. The heavy isotopes are like metallic lead dust. You throw them up in the air and they come straight down, so area contamination is minimal and easy to clean up.
Chemical weapons are just about as troublesome to handle and weaponize. So the best bet is explosives, like what Timothy McVeigh did. But if someone tries to buy a few hundred pounds of Ammonium Nitrate today, large numbers of federal agents will descend on them.
In fact, that is the biggest dilemma such as them face, because there are any number of highly motivated individuals on the lookout for them, and this makes using WMDs much, much harder.
A small nuclear bomb placed in the center of a large American city, if exploded, would produce enormous property destruction and kill tens of thousands of people almost instantly. The economic and political damage to the nation would be incalculable.
I’m not talking about a “dirty bomb”, but a normal atomic detonation.
If these maniacs were able to plant such a bomb, they would do it in a minute and not blink an eye.
I'm about 80 miles and three mountain ranges from what some call a medium sized city. That and at least 100 yards of clear sight around my house make me feel pretty safe.
ssdd
Damn, that phrase is so perfect, I wonder why I never heard it, or thought of it, before now.
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