WMD terrorism: The next phase?
June 18, 2003
"Moreover, new intelligence reports following the capture of Al Qaeda operations chief Khalid Sheik Mohammed in March suggest the organization has a more advanced biological- and chemical-weapons program than the scientific community previously believed. Seized documents, computer drives, and debriefings of Mohammed point to various plans and stockpiled materials for the manufacture of botulinum, salmonella toxins, and cyanide, as well as a production plan for anthrax.
In sum, each of the paths for a terrorist group to use WMD has varying levels of probability. There is no consensus, yet, on the strength of the links between terrorists and WMD. But there's little doubt that, left unchecked, terrorist groups will gain the sophistication needed to acquire and deliver WMD. Indeed, in May, exercises by the Department of Homeland Security to simulate a bio-terror attack of pneumonic plague in Chicago and a "dirty bomb" in Seattle testify that the threat from weapons of mass destruction is being taken seriously."