Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Author: Al-Qaida Has Nuclear Weapons, Likely Inside U.S.
NewsMax ^ | 7/14/04 | Stewart Stogel

Posted on 07/13/2004 7:11:31 PM PDT by wagglebee

A new book written by a former FBI consultant claims that al-Qaida not only has obtained nuclear devices, but likely has them in the U.S. and will detonate them in the near future.

These chilling allegations appear in "Osama's Revenge: The Next 9/11: What the Media and the Government Haven't Told You," by Paul L. Williams (Prometheus Books).

Williams claims that al-Qaida has been planning a spectacular nuclear attack using six or seven suitcase nuclear bombs that would be detonated simulantaneously against U.S. cities.

"They want the most bang for the buck, and that is nuclear," Williams told NewsMax.

"I expect such an attack would come between now and the end of 2005," the author said.

In addition to writing several books on terrorism, Williams, an investigative journalist, has worked as an FBI consultant.

Williams' contention is not far from what U.S. intelligence believes, a source close to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has told NewsMax. The source said Ridge claimed that U.S. intelligence believes terrorists already have smuggled into the U.S. actual atomic devices as opposed to so-called “dirty nukes” that simply are conventional bombs that help spread radiation.

The Bush administration has warned for years that terrorists pose a nuclear threat to America.

Williams' book presents a review on the increasing spread of nuclear weapons technology, which the author says can be traced to India's nuclear tests in the early 1970s. It accelerated when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.

Shortly after the Indian nuclear tests, Pakistan made an all-out effort to join the nuclear club, the author says. Islamabad received "help" from sympathetic nations, namely China and North Korea.

Williams traces the rampant spread of nuclear bomb development to a leading Pakistani scientist, Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan.

Khan, described as an "Islamic extremist," has also been depicted by former CIA chief George Tenet as "the father of Pakistan's nuclear program."

It is believed the Pakistani gained his expertise while working in the Netherlands, where he allegedly stole technology used in uranium reprocessing, a key procedure for building an atomic bomb.

Pakistan successfully detonated two nuclear weapons inside a northern mountain range in the late 1990s.

Khan, arrested by Pakistani police in February, under White House pressure, admitted selling nuclear technology to numerous foreign countries including North Korea and Libya.

Williams reports that Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl was investigating Khan at the time he was kidnapped and later killed (2003).

Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, fearing a backlash from radical Muslims, granted Khan a pardon but restricted his travels.

According to Williams, another beneficiary of Khan's "contacts" was al-Qaida. The author reports that the U.S. got its first "hard" evidence of a connection when it invaded the Afghan capital of Kabul in 2001.

A former al-Qaida safe house was found to be loaded with documents detailing dealings with the Pakistani scientist.

The finding was so serious, says Williams, that Tenet traveled to Afghanistan and Pakistan to follow up on the discovery.

Tenet: 'They Are Coming'

Perhaps it was such intelligence that led Tenet to say in October 2002: “The threat environment we face is as bad as it was before September 11. It is serious. They have reconstituted. They are coming after us."

Almost from the moment 9/11 happened, the U.S. has been on heightened state of alert and worry over the possible use of nuclear weapons. On the day of the attack, President Bush left Florida and began criss-crossing the country in Air Force One in maneuvers consistent with a president preparing for a nuclear attack.

Shortly after Sept. 11, Taliban leader Mullah Omar claimed to BBC that the main intent of al-Qaida was the “bigger cause,” which he described as the “destruction of America.”

Asked pointed if this meant the use of nuclear weapons againt the U.S., he responded: “This is not a matter of weapons. We are hopeful for God's help. The real matter is the extinction of America. And, God willing, it will fall to the ground.”

Omar cryptically suggested a nuclear plan was already under way at the time of Sept. 11. “The plan is going ahead and, God willing, it is being implemented. But it is a huge task, which is beyond the will and comprehension of human beings. If God's help is with us, this will happen within a short period of time; keep in mind this prediction.”

The Russian Connection

The author points out that the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 only made matters worse:

"The Chechen Mafia reportedly sold twenty nuclear suitcases in Grozny to representatives of Osama bin Laden and the Mujahadeen [in 1996]. For their weapons, bin Laden paid $30 million in cash and two tons of heroin."

Al-Qaida's leader, says Williams, is a major drug producer and runner in Afghanistan.

"It is the drug money, not the bin Laden family fortune, that is the financial engine for al-Qaida," he points out.

Today, Williams says, more than 40 Russian "nuclear suitcases" cannot be accounted for.

The suitcases are miniaturized tactical nuclear bombs (in some cases weighing less than 40 pounds) that were originally planned by the Cold-War-era Kremlin to be detonated inside the U.S. in the event of war.

These bombs were estimated to have an explosive power of between 1-10 kilotons, says Williams.

Most could cause damage equal to or greater than the crude device Washington dropped on Hiroshima during World War II.

The author says some of these weapons still remain stateside in a "sleeper" status controlled by Russian military officials who believe a war with the U.S. "is still possible."

Others, as many as 10, might be under al-Qaida's control, says Williams.

What kind of damage could such a weapon do? The CIA estimates the Russian nuclear suitcases to have an explosive yield approaching 10 kilotons.

Williams, referring to estimates by Theodore Taylor, a prominent American physicist who miniaturized the atomic bomb and visited the site of the World Trade Center in 1993, says a suitcase bomb could "emit intense thermal radiation, creating a fireball with a diameter that would expand to 460 feet. The core of the fireball would reach a maximum temperature of 10 million degrees Celsius ... ." The author says the heat that collapsed the Twin Towers never exceeded 5,000 degrees Celsius.

Had such a bomb been used in 9/11, Williams claims, "The World Trade Center towers, all of Wall Street and the financial district, along with the lower tip of Manhattan up to Gramercy Park and much of midtown, including the theater district, would lay in ruins."

Of those who might survive the blast, 50 percent of the survivors could expect to die at the rate of "250,000 people on any given day," Williams reports.

And how could al-Qaida manage to transport such weapons into the U.S.?

Williams points out that the borders with Mexico and Canada are still dangerously porous and not equipped to detect the smuggling of nuclear materials.

U.S. seaports are even more vulnerable, he argues.

Though New York City would seem to be the No. 1 target of another attack by al-Qaida, Williams points out other U.S. cities have been mentioned in intercepted intelligence chatter.

Among those discussed: Boston, Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, Philadelphia, Miami, Washington and Rappahannock County, Va.

Why a small rural county in Virginia? Williams says it houses the underground command center the White House would use in time of war.

He hastens to add that time "may not be on our side."

"It was eight years between the World Trade Center attacks. Islam preaches patience. They will attack when they want," Williams concluded.

More chilling was the response from the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog.

One official, speaking on background told NewsMax: "We have no comment. It is not within our responsibility to track atomic bombs."


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Foreign Affairs; Front Page News; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: 90dayhalflife; alqaedanukes; alqaida; alteredtitle; blackhelicopters; bookreview; doomed; drivel; fbi; homelandsecurity; intelligence; khan; kooks; krl; kukoo; likelynotinrealtitle; loosenukes; newsmaxdrivel; nuclearweapons; obl; oldnukesdontwork; osamasrevenge; paullwilliams; repost; retread; suitcasenukes; terror; theskyisfalling
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120 ... 161-174 next last
To: Ethyl
Come on, I want to sleep tonight.

This is pretty scary stuff.

It makes me deeply saddened.

81 posted on 07/13/2004 8:43:17 PM PDT by Mister Baredog ((Part of the Reagan legacy is to re-elect G.W. Bush))
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 72 | View Replies]

To: Ethyl

A wet dream from the religion of nuke lust.

82 posted on 07/13/2004 8:45:26 PM PDT by LibWhacker
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 72 | View Replies]

To: doug from upland
The entire Islamic world is all over the world. Are you shooting for a nuclear winter?

No, just a hot time in Mecca and Medina.

83 posted on 07/13/2004 8:45:42 PM PDT by Nachum (HATRIOTS = LIBS)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 50 | View Replies]

To: Dog Gone
Had he used a Bic lighter, or had he been smart enough to do this in the lavatory, the plane would have gone down.

I guess he didn't try it in the restroom as he wanted to not violate the rule about tampering with lavatory smoke detectors. (grin)

I saw a program about the lady that stopped him. It kinda messed up her life, emotionally. I don't remember her name, but keep her in your prayers.

84 posted on 07/13/2004 8:48:02 PM PDT by feedback doctor (My dear liberals, It seems someone really needs to quote Dick Cheney to you)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 66 | View Replies]

To: Dog Gone

I was just joking.


85 posted on 07/13/2004 8:50:58 PM PDT by mlbford2 (Sorry for spelling errors, I'm a product of a state university)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 66 | View Replies]

To: feedback doctor

I think Kerry's reaction will make the Spanish reation seem like bold defiance.


86 posted on 07/13/2004 8:56:07 PM PDT by mlbford2 (Sorry for spelling errors, I'm a product of a state university)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 70 | View Replies]

To: 1_Inch_Group
Richard Reid can best described as an imbecile, his attempt to destroy the plane was not a “dry run”.

If he had been successful it would have taken months perhaps a year (if ever) for the cause of the blast to have been discovered. If other aircraft had been destroyed thousand would have died and international air travel would have been crippled with financial losses running into the 10’s of billions of dollars.

As to the prison convert idea, I would say that is happening as we speak without the need for elaborate plots to place the converters in prison.
87 posted on 07/13/2004 8:57:22 PM PDT by KiaKaha
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 73 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
I saw this on GoGov.com about three months ago. Very scary read. Too bad our government is not serious about protecting us. There would not be a flood of people coming across this border every day if it was, people here illegally would be rounded up and sent packing.

Some will reply in defense of the current government that it is just not politically practical to start rounding up people or to militarize our borders. They are of course correct. Look what happened when a border patrol office made a raid recently in Southern California.

Thinking optimistically, you have to hope the current political landscape that prevents proper protection of our country does not change. It seems the only thing that will change it will be a day like 9/11 or one far worse like the article talks about that none of us ever want to see.

And who will be to blame? The current administration or the people that complain about even mild initiatives like the Patriot Act.

88 posted on 07/13/2004 8:58:57 PM PDT by BJungNan (Kerry = No1 Liberal, Edwards = No 4 Liberal)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Joe Bonforte
There's only one problem with this assertion. If al Qaeda has the nukes here, why haven't they already used them?

It seems they operate according to dates that are significant to them.

89 posted on 07/13/2004 9:00:37 PM PDT by BJungNan (Kerry = No1 Liberal, Edwards = No 4 Liberal)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: Pharmboy
They know that if they nuke us not one of their mothers, fathers, daughters or sons will escape a Made in the USA mideast holocaust.

I don't think they do know that. I don't know that. It is a "religion of peace" after all. I don't see the will to "go nuclear", if you'll pardon the expression, on any Arab/Muslim country or city.

90 posted on 07/13/2004 9:00:39 PM PDT by TigersEye (Intellectuals only exist if you think they do!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 24 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
Until Mullah Omar and his idiot buds realize their countries are poor in spite of sitting on oceans of oil because of their 14th century ways, not because of us or Israel, they'll remain a threat. Mutually assured distruction belongs on the table. Time to tell them about reality: we will fight back.

Shortly after Sept. 11, Taliban leader Mullah Omar claimed to BBC that the main intent of al-Qaida was the “bigger cause,” which he described as the “destruction of America.”

91 posted on 07/13/2004 9:02:40 PM PDT by GOPJ
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

As long as the blame can be placed on the Clinton Administration, the result, politically, may be to advantage of the Republican party.


92 posted on 07/13/2004 9:02:47 PM PDT by Doe Eyes
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

If we're wiped out, maybe Putin will nuke them for us. It would be a great act of kindness.


93 posted on 07/13/2004 9:04:17 PM PDT by GOPJ
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: All

The premise of Chechens selling nukes to OBL is pure drivel. After Grozny? Yeah, the Chechens would sell them rather than use them on the Russians after Grozny. Sure.


94 posted on 07/13/2004 9:17:41 PM PDT by datura (The Difference Between a Democrat and a Communist Is????)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 93 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee
""The Chechen Mafia reportedly sold twenty nuclear suitcases in Grozny to representatives of Osama bin Laden and the Mujahadeen [in 1996]."

The smaller the nuke, the shorter the shelf life.

The less shielding that you have, the sooner that your electronics and conventional explosives deteriorate from the radiation.

The less fissionable material that you have, the faster you generally need your atomic trigger isotopes to emit neutrons. The faster you emit neutrons, the shorter your half-life. The shorter your half-life, the less time that you have before the nuke simply fizzles instead of booms.

This is simple physics. Moreover, heavy metals like uranium and plutonium are among the most brittle materials known to man, and the slightest bit of humidity turns them into uranium oxide or plutonium oxide (i.e. worthless rust).

So a "suitcase nuke" from 1996 is likely little more than a rusted, shattered, fragmented collection of wiring and explosives today.

But I guess that sort of thing doesn't sell books...

95 posted on 07/13/2004 9:17:54 PM PDT by Southack (Media Bias means that Castro won't be punished for Cuban war crimes against Black Angolans in Africa)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: wagglebee

We should let CHINA know that as well...


96 posted on 07/13/2004 9:20:49 PM PDT by ChildofReagan (Deus Vult)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies]

To: The_Media_never_lie
And if they really have nukes, why haven't they tested one?

Maybe they have and the test was a failure.

97 posted on 07/13/2004 9:21:28 PM PDT by technomage
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 16 | View Replies]

To: Southack

~~ slightest bit of humidity turns them into uranium oxide or plutonium oxide (i.e. worthless rust).~~

Wwwwwwwwweeeeeeeewwwwwwww!! I guess I'm safe here in Houston. Humidity capitol of the South.


98 posted on 07/13/2004 9:28:48 PM PDT by mlbford2 (Sorry for spelling errors, I'm a product of a state university)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 95 | View Replies]

To: Joe Bonforte
They gain nothing by delay, and nukes don't have an indefinite shelf life.

Bingo!

prisoner6

99 posted on 07/13/2004 9:33:46 PM PDT by prisoner6 (Right Wing Nuts hold the country together as the loose screws of the left fall out!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 5 | View Replies]

To: El Gato

I've got to believe the US has considerable ability to seek out any unauthorized nuclear materials in the US. Certainly we have satalite technology that never stops scanning the US looking for radiological hot spots. Would I be wrong in guessing that weapon grade uranium in a bomb would have a rather unique radiation signature?


100 posted on 07/13/2004 9:43:05 PM PDT by GLH3IL (What's good for America is bad for liberals.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 49 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-20 ... 61-8081-100101-120 ... 161-174 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
News/Activism
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson