[ReignOfError]

Nukes aren't easy to handle, they don't preserve well, and the fact that we haven't been nuked (nor has Israel) is virtual proof that Islamists don't have them. There is nothing in their history to suggest that they would hold back for an instant, if they did have them.

9/11 proves al Qaeda is patient. They didn't just grab a plane, they waited until they had a plan to grab four. They wouldn't pop off a nuke in one city if they could hit multiple cities at the same time by waiting a while longer.

That said, the maintenance issues make me dubious of the report. I've never seen any sign that AQ has anywhere near that level of technical expertise -- it sounds like they would need almost as much skill to maintain a bomb as to build one of their own.

[RightWhale]

The chance of discovery would increase the longer the device is kept around. If there are multiple devices that chance of discovery would be that much greater. Discovery of even one would mark a fundamental change in our society about as significant as discovering a war fleet of space aliens two days out from earth.