Just like we did with the Japanese. We should drop a couple of our biggest bombs on the middle east and bring them to there knees and knock some sense into them.
Gingrich sits with her on a couch in a bizarre black and white ad, saying (paraphrased) “We don’t agree on a lot of things, but we agree we have to do something about climate change.” Isn’t it something like Carter going to talk with Hamas?
Just wait until Obama loses the election.
The American people would after such an overt attack likely expect the perpetrators and any and all who supported them to be punished severely. I would expect mosques to be burned and calls for the rounding up and internment of Middle Eastern nationals. A perceived weak and ineffective President would be forced to resign. The pacifists and anti-war types in Congress would have a lot of explaining to do. However, the American people will do what they have always done in the face of tragedy ...come together and pick up the pieces.
BTTT!
There will be nuke terrorism, but the threat of a nuke blast in the US is extremely remote—not for lack of trying or tough security, but the technology actually doesn’t exist. There are numerous studies that disprove the hollywood notion of a “suitcase bomb”—the smallest any fissable weapon can be would require several foot lockers of equipment and shielding. The would-be terrorists have a much much higher likelihood of dying from radiation exposure in the time it would take to put one together. Then they’d have to create a trigger mechanism—no easy task and in some ways, much more difficult to figure out than getting the fissable materials (itself almost impossible). A dirty bomb (less-than critical mass of radioactive materials spread by conventional bomb) is a bigger threat, but again too many variables (wind, timing, radioactive poisoning killing the terrorists before they could trigger the explosion, etc.). Plus, dirty bombs of even substantial size would do minimal death (though arguably it would create much “terror”).
The only terrorist group known to have come close to access to a real nuclear device is Aum Shinrikyo, the ultra-nationalist Japanese cult. There have been persistent rumours that these guys did obtain nukes from former soviet states; it is known that they bribed guys working for Yeltsin to the tune of $100m (US) in order to get such access. These nutjobs went below the radar screen after the Japanese government busted them in response to the Sarin release back in the 90s that affected over 5,000 people (how soon we forget).
The real threat is a nuke delivered to Israel via conventional ballistic missle (e.g., modified SCUD) fired from Iran or by al-Qaeda (or both) either out of Iraq or Iran. As most Israelis know, Israel is a “one bomb” state, meaning that a nuke strike on Tel Aviv would effectively destroy the entire infrastructure of the government (they don’t have anything like FEMA) and would be the end of Israel in a single flash. People who complain about Israeli “fearmongering” of Iran’s nuke program fail to grasp this singular fact; but it’s something Ahmadinejad is very well aware of. This is why Jimmah Carter is such an incredible fool.
Another possibility to be considered is a nuke strike by Iran or terrorists on Mecca. Why? Because the damage to the qabah would be minimal, but by blaming such an attack on the US or Israel, they could ignite WW3. At any rate, I think the terrorist threat of a nuke may be real, but we are much more likely to be nuked in some way by Iran than al-Qaeda. And again, it’s not for lack of trying. Keep in mind, Iran is not so interested in the fate of the Palestinians, of whom they could care less; nor are they really seeking to establish a greater hegemony for its own sake. The radical apocalyptic cult that was established there by Khomeini is interested in triggering nothing less than the end of the world, and Ahmadinejad is on record as believing that he himself is the man who will do this.
When Hitler ranted and raved about his plans in Mein Kampf, it was written off in the west as mere bragadoccio and nearly 40 million people died as a result. We make the same mistake now in thinking al-Qaeda (who might well work with Iran to be the delivery vehicle) or Iran merely want some separate peace or influence for themselves, or more laughable, the right of return for Palestinians (neither al-Qaeda nor Iran gives a damn about the palestinians). When they say they want to burn the world, we best take them at their word.
I would not have asked permission for this. I'd have gone ahead and done it and hang the consequences if it saves three American soldiers. Speaking of consequences, the people who blocked this wiretap should be fired from their jobs and escorted out of the office - in Baghdad, preferably.