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I have a question that I hope you guys may also have considered. Perhaps, as a military officer you might have an insight, g'nad, and I know you study it carefully, Carton.

How likely do you think it is that terrorists might set off a WMD in the U.S.?

If they get hold of one or more, I'm not sure that we could stop them, and it sure seems like they'd want to use them, just for the sake of causing death and satisfying their hatred.

I am imagining the effect on all our lives if, say, a "suitcase" nuke went off in NYC or Washington, or even Miami or Philadelphia, for that matter. I'd say, just for starters, that the effect on our economy could immediately put lots of people out of work, along with having a catastrophic effect on the securities markets, which would in turn destroy everyone's retirement, insurance and, probably health plans. Plus, most institutions and corporations are fairly closely tied into the markets.

Anyway, I feel more and more a strong responsibility to be giving this my utmost consideration, in order to fulfill my responsibility take care of my family, at the minimun. The shadow is growing, so to speak.

I do believe that Bush also feels the danger, and is doing everything he can to hold it at bay, which means to destroy it. I for one believe it is possible he can succeed, but it seems clear to me that things might be dangerous just now.

As a sometimes fairly serious investor, I'm not sure that getting out of the market altogether is wise, after all, a catastrophe will likely screw up even the value of cash and real estate. Nevertheless, I think alot about attempting to reposition, as best I can.

I posted this question directly on a financial discussion here on FR, but no one so much as replied. Heads in the sand, maybe, or maye just wiser than me.

Anway, I note that Warren Buffet and Sean Hannity are both in print as to thinking the question is "when," not "if."

These days, I find that I empathize pretty strongly with the free folk of Middle Earth who were facing an enemy of implacable evil. Though I hope that with a little luck, we may be successful in defeating it, the danger seems real to me.

In my opinion... they only reason they have not done so is that they don't have one, but I believe they are working to get them.

The purpose of terror is not to cause death and satisfy their hatred. The purpose of terror against citizens is to inspire fear in the citizens so that they will pressure the government to capitulate to the terrorists demands. And there are demands in Al-Queda... and they are more than "get out of Saudi Arabia... and kill all the Jews!"

For all the flack President Bush took for saying "get on with your life... go shopping..." it had the necessary affect. It calmed the public. It reduced the number one aim of terrorists.

Right now, terrorists lack the power to destroy us. They do not lack the will. We have the power to destroy them. We lack the will.

September 11th made use of the weapons that they had.

But consider this.... 5 pounds of smallpox released in the NYC subway would kill more people than a nuclear device detonated in NYC.

BTW, there is an interesting article at World Net Daily about Iraq's ties to Al Queda.

I hope this answers your question.

It's a major concern for me too, Sam. Especially since a lot of these terrorists seem to have South Florida residences and/or connections.

I have family in Chicago, but it's safe to say that I wouldn't really feel any safer there.

I think it's important to set up a "buddy system" of sorts just in case something goes down and the internet is unaccessible to a friend in the affected area.

In terms of investments, real estate should remain a safe bet although any property owned in the area of an attack would be rendered worthless. For those who own outside of that area however, the value should skyrocket.

If I had the money, I would buy land in a rural, less populated area where the likelyhood of attack would be slim to none. That way, should I lose everything where I am now, I still have a place to go and live, even if it's in a trailer home.

carton's statement is very poignant:

Right now, terrorists lack the power to destroy us. They do not lack the will. We have the power to destroy them. We lack the will.

I believe there is no way to prevent a WMD attack on the U.S. ... Our borders are too open... society is too mobile... this facet of our society which makes us great, is also a weakness...

The only thing we can do is try and stop the development and proliferation of these weapons... by destroy those entities with evil intentions building WMDs or trying to obtain these weapons... destroy them where they are, where ever they are... For this to be effective, we must be ruthless and perseverent... this is a fight that will never end as long as there is discord and religious strife...

my expertise in investments is poor at best... But I am diversifying... stocks, CDs, savings, etc... I would try to develop as much independence as possible... I'm buying land with water, tillable land, timber and wildlife... this is not for everyone I know... but for a short term crisis, you don't want to be helpless...

You are right friend... the Shadow is growing... the battle is coming... it's already begun...

We gave this a lot of thought right after 9/11. Sir SuziQ decided the best way we could prepare would be to be in as liquid a position as we could be given the 401Ks and a home that we own. He's trying to get into a position that gives us plenty of cash on hand (in the bank, we certainly won't be putting it under our mattress!), and each time we have refinanced with the lower interest rates, we have lowered the mortgage amount so that we have more equity each time. This way, even if we have to sell the house at an amount that is lower than its value right now, we'll still get plenty of equity out of it.

If he could get a good paying job in the South, we could buy some land and build a house. We'd love to be more self-sufficient; deep well, solar electric and hot water, gray water irrigation system, wood burning inserts in the fireplaces for better efficiency, lots of trees to burn, a garden, pond etc. Ideally this shangri-la would be on a lake so I can sit on the porch in a rocking chair and drink coffee every morning, or whenever I felt the urge. I love the water, and would love to live where I could see it all the time.

In that place we'd feel less tied to what happens in the cities, and I think we'd feel safer. With greater self-sufficiency, our lives would be less disrupted if the infrastructure of the nearest city were out of action for a while.