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While we can't absolutely out the suitcase nuke theory, it's not logically necessary to make the threat on Air Force One credible.

What do we know with reasonable certainty?

1. Stupid as they appear to have been, the terrorists probably didn't think they could take out AF1 with a hijacked jetliner. They probably had another option.

While they could have gotten their hands on a nuke, and probably will soon, odds are they don't have it yet. Does the Taliban have another means of taking down an airplane?

2. Of course they do... Stinger missiles.

We know this, because it was necessary for the U.S. under President Reagan to supply Afghanistan with these weapons to defeat the Soviets there in the 1980s.

I know I'm stating the obvious here, but we can't ignore the obvious while quite reasonably considering the nightmare scenario of a suitcase nuke.

>>While we can't absolutely out the suitcase nuke theory, it's not logically necessary to make the threat on Air Force One credible.<<

I THINK the plan MAY have been to detonate the nuke when AF-1 was known to be landing at Andrews,but detonating it anyway if something were to happen to keep it from showing up. Chances are the early public reports about Bush flying back to DC were done to buy time.

>> They probably had another option. <<

Yup,the one mentioned above is the most likely in MY opinion,and the crashes into the Pentagram and possibly the capital were diversions.

>>While they could have gotten their hands on a nuke, and probably will soon, odds are they don't have it yet.<<

If they didn't do this last week,they WILL do it sometime in the future. It is inevitable.The only way we can stop it is to quietly make it know to every country in the world that has nukes that if ANY of their nukes are used by a third party group to attack the US,we will launch a all-out nuke attack on their countries. And that's only a "maybe"

>>Does the Taliban have another means of taking down an airplane?

2. Of course they do... Stinger missiles.<<

I don't think so. I have read that the Stingers we gave to them had a specially-treated propelleant that gave it a short shelf-life. In other words,any Stingers they have now won't fire.

Having said that,it is only splitting hairs. They DO have Soviet shoulder-fired SAMS that they captured during that war,and the SAMS WILL fire.

>>I know I'm stating the obvious here, but we can't ignore the obvious while quite reasonably considering the nightmare scenario of a suitcase nuke.<<

IMHO,we can't afford to ignore any reasonable possibility. The fact that Bush went to Nebraska is what convinces me it was a nuke or bio weapon in DC. Otherwise,he could have flown to any number of other secure US air bases.