Absolutely correct as to the first part. I disagree that their capabilities are only destined to grow. Their movement is essentially parasitic on Western civilization. They are unlikely to develop truly effective weaponry on their own, they can only steal or buy it from others. This is not a way to win a war in the long run.
We were sucker-punched on 9/11. They had been at war with us for over a decade. In our arrogance and complacence, we had simply ignored them (which must have really p*ssed them off!). Well, they aren't being ignored anymore. Things are changing.
another leap in capability will reasonably result in the death of millions and millions if you consider the biological technology sought, if not owned by our enemies
What capability is this? Three anthrax deaths in a month? They could go down to the local mall with a shotgun and do better than that. Biological weapons are militarily unreliable, although they might be great for causing fear, if your enemy's media cooperates, like the American media has.
All I am saying is that it would take thousands of nukes to destroy America in any meaningful sense, not a couple or a couple of dozen, which is the most any terrorist group is likely to come up with.
Could some enormous advance in biological or physical science make these statements of mine completely obsolete? Of course. However, militant Islamists are not a likely group to make such advances.
One suggestion to prevent them from doing so: Offer well-paying jobs here and future American citizenship to all Russian bio-weapon specialists. Many of them literally cannot feed their families and are thus tempted to work for whoever will pay them.
Their expertise could be put to use developing defenses for Americans and the rest of the non-terrorist world.
I sure hope you are correct. But our enemies are numerous, creative, emboldened and focused on our every move. I would be surprised if China is not a conspirator behind the scenes.
Stopping the possession of destructive technology is extremely difficult, and we can only hope to keep proliferation to a manageable level, by military and economic means.
The latest ecalation is just a point in a constellation of technological developments by Iraq, N. Korea, Pakistan, China and others. The middle east is an anomaly since the wealth and power and available technology of the tyrannies is amplified by oil money, but the trend is obvious.
I agree the anthrax stuff is not too fearsome, but I think it's more of a test of our civil defenses for something later than an all-out attack.
Perhaps the deaths of millions is not a present danger. The possibility of tyranny at home, led by our radical leftists, in the wake of more attacks, is also worrisome.