Right ... here's the math:
+
+
=
Posted on 07/06/2007 4:23:33 AM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
Attack likely to exploit existing network of cross-border human, drug traffickers.
A nuclear terrorist attack on the U.S. is better than an even bet in the next 10 years, says a former assistant secretary of defense and author of a book on the subject.
"Based on current trends, a nuclear terrorist attack on the United States is more likely than not in the decade ahead," says Graham Allison, director of the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government and author of "Nuclear Terrorism: The Ultimate Preventable Catastrophe."
Allison, who has testified before Congress on the subject, says the illicit economy for narcotics and illegal alien trafficking "has built up a vast infrastructure that terrorists could exploit" in delivering a nuclear weapon to its target in the U.S.
Al-Qaida, which has threatened to launch an "American Hiroshima" attack on the U.S., remains Allison's No. 1 suspect to pull off such a mission.
"Former CIA Director George J. Tenet wrote in his memoirs that al-Qaida's leadership has remained 'singularly focused on acquiring WMD' – weapons of mass destruction – and willing to 'pay whatever it would cost to get their hands on fissile material,'" Allison wrote in an opinion piece appearing in the Baltimore Sun prior to Independence Day.
Allison says there are several viable options open to terrorists determined to secure nuclear weapons.
"They could acquire an existing bomb from one of the nuclear weapons states or construct an elementary nuclear device from highly enriched uranium made by a state," he wrote. "Theft of a warhead or material would not be easy, but attempted thefts in Russia and elsewhere are not uncommon."
Allison says terrorists are capable of building their own nuclear weapons if they can simply secure the fissile material.
"Once a terrorist group acquires about 100 pounds of highly enriched uranium, it could conceivably use publicly available documents and items commercially obtainable in any technologically advanced country to construct a bomb such as the one dropped on Hiroshima," he states.
The threat is imminent, says Allison.
"If terrorists bought or stole a nuclear weapon in good working condition, they could explode it today," he explains. "If the weapon had a lock, detonation would be delayed for several days. If terrorists acquired 100 pounds of highly enriched uranium, they could have a working elementary nuclear bomb in less than a year."
WND first broke the story of Osama bin Laden's plans for a nuclear terrorist attack on multiple cities in the U.S.
President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and the 9/11 commission have all concluded a nuclear terrorist attack is not only the nation's No. 1 nightmare but also something of an inevitability at some time in the future.
Earlier this year, WND reported how the most extensive study of the effects of nuclear detonations in four major U.S. cities paints a grim picture of millions of deaths, overwhelmed hospitals and loss of command-and-control capability by government.
But the three-year study by researchers at the Center for Mass Destruction Defense at the University of Georgia says a concerted effort to teach civilians what to do in the event of a nuclear attack is the best – perhaps only – thing that could save an untold number of lives that will otherwise be needlessly lost.
"If a nuclear detonation were to occur in a downtown area, the picture would be bleak there," said Cham Dallas, director of the program and professor in the college of pharmacy. "But in urban areas farther from the detonation, there actually is quite a bit that we can do. In certain areas, it may be possible to turn the death rate from 90 percent in some burn populations to probably 20 or 30 percent – and those are very big differences – simply by being prepared well in advance."
Right ... here's the math:
+
+
=
“If the device uses smuggled material, it will probably be used close to the border crossing, to reduce the chance of detection and interception en route to the target city.”
Insightful idea. The less such a device has to travel the less chance it will be detected. Of course the DoD/CD has nuclear detection set on high right now and every major port, city, and road is being closely watched. That doesn’t mean the bad guys won’t get super clever but when we refuse to watch who comes into this country I’d say the odds are real good that such a device could make it in, be assembled, and detonated. I mean, if the 9/11 operatives made it in just who the Hell are we turning away, anybody?
Or Iran or North Korea or Pakistan or maybe even China could supply such a weapon to the terrorists and using cutouts, deny it had anything to do with it. We would have to rely on the weapon’s radioactive signature to figure out who might be responsible, but there would always be some doubt. And then the question is how and against whom do you retaliate?
Hope I’m home sick that day!
I agree completely. Of all the states mentioned, China is perhaps the one most capable of pulling it out. It has the resources, its shills, and the access to clandestine groups. They’ve basically fathered the nuclear weapons of Pakistan and N. Korea. They fuel insurgencies in almost all of the surrounding neighbours. They are the ones who would love to see the US engaged in a tough battle against an un-targetable enemy, especially at a time when Taiwan starts looking like an irresistable, and within-reach, victim.
Yes, but here we are dismantling a portion of our nuclear arsenal. Not sure if it will affect our ability to react to anything that might happen to our country in the future, but I hope we are able to retaliate.
The “American Hiroshima” plot, also known as “The Day of Islam,” is supposed to involve a simultaneous nuclear attack on seven U.S. cities:
New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Miami, Houston, Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Our wide-open border with Mexico is our number 1 security threat, but our doofus president couldn’t care less.
One can only hope.
NYC is th largest Jewish city on earth.
Unfortunately, this is not an episode of “24”. I do not believe this nations spineless political heroes have the b@lls to pull the trigger, even if attacked here.
Good point, especially when China starts putting more pressure on Taiwan once the 2008 Olympics are over and the US is in the middle of an election campaign. Early 2009 would give them a window opportunity with a new US administration. The only drawback would be the loss of US trade and the impact that would have on its economy.
Well, they may not try to take Taiwan if it so compromises their exports. But the way things are going, and with the massive amounts of trade involved, will an enbargo on Chinese trade be viable? It will definitely affect economies the world over, if ever imposed. The volumes of trade are phenomenal to be suddenly disrupted.
It takes a Pearl Harbor to wake us up, especially after the liberals put us to sleep by boring us to death about nonexistent threats.
Not to worry. We have plenty of “deterrent”. The warheads being dismantled are tactical, not strategic. These are the smaller, lower yield weapons that really only served a purpose when used against large military formations. The world changed, and they have no real purpose anymore.
Think about the Navy: 18 Trident subs, each carry 24 Trident missiles with a range of 8400 miles. Each missile can carry 8 MIRV warheads.
3456 warheads on target. More than enough to get some attention.
True, except politics ultimately rules their use.
I could see an ultra-liberal US government scraping the sub fleet.
Had one of those 9-11 planes crashed into Wash. DC and killed a bunch of politicians,the attitude would have been a lot different. - tom
Detroit?
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.