Whether it happens in the near future or distant future, courtesy of AQ (a.k.a. 'The Pig Suckers') or some other group, it's likely to happen. There was an episode of the McLaughlin Group (not that I'm a JM viewer anymore) about ten years back; all the conservatives present put the likelihood of nuclear terrorism against the US in the 90%+ range (IIRC), and all of the 'feel-good-liberals' put the likelihood close to zero. As usual, the 'iberals' were completely delusional. Bottom line: it's more difficult to protect a country this size than it is to sneak in a nuclear device, just once. Especially when the federal government is unlikely to say anything, if they stop an attempt at nuclear terrorism (or two, or three, or)...
if so,
watch the way the nuclear cloud moves,
and drive perpendicular.
Not again........
SSDD
I am sure if there is a threat, Bush will take care of it.
These monkeys only understand one thing...brute force! They must be crushed at all cost.
Next Congress needs to start a program where each and every nation signs (voluntary) an agreement much like diplomatic agreements. Spelling out what goes and what don’t. (Reciprocately.) Most would be happy to co-operate. Get tough with those who talk tough.
The bottom line is that a nuclear fission weapon within the technological capabilities of all but the US and Russia is limited in weight to a minimum of between 1,000 and 1,500 lbs, and is the size of a large plastic trash dumpster.
However, this is not a practical weapon for ground delivery, as it would give off a significant radiation signature, which would be very obvious at our ports of entry.
The other alternative is a “radiation bomb”, that is radiological material blown into a cloud with high explosives. It does not create a nuclear reaction. But it has an inherent problem.
Light weight particles that would be carried great distances have short half-lives. Heavier particles fall to Earth quickly, limiting the area of contamination.
A dangerous particle that was created at Chernobyl was radioactive Iodine. Its half-life is two weeks. But from the moment of its creation, the clock was ticking. So if some terrorists got their hands on a quantity, they would have to use it almost immediately or it would be decayed and no longer radioactive.
But if they got a quantity of uranium or plutonium, it is so heavy that the vast majority would just be within a few feet of were the bomb had gone off.
An al-Queda Strike on is nearing; it is the elevation of the sixth Iman to the Presidency of the United States of America.