Ex-SAC Chief Predicts Nuke Terror Strike

San Antonio Express-News | 04/24/2002 | Sig Christenson

[Icthus]

Thanks General.....I'm sure terrorist across America just took note.

[Travis McGee]

Dear radical muslim fanatics:

20 minutes after a nuke goes off in America....

Think hard: is your global jihad worth it?

[TopQuark]

A former chief of the Strategic Air Command predicted today that it is inevitable that the United States will someday face a terrorist attack using such weapons as a small nuclear bomb. Don't blame him: his is the product of our sick culture that refuses to defend itself.

We do not necessariyl face a nuclear strike. We do not need to spend our billions protecting airports. We do not need to live in fear.

If the terrorists knew that their respective countries would be leveled, there would be no strikes again us, nuclear or any other.

[glock rocks]

nice graphic. are we to grandma's house yet?

[Travis McGee]

Freeper Howie made it from images I found on webshots.com.

[Husker24]

Well, it doesnt take a rocket scientist to figure out a Nuke blast in DC is gonna kill people and blow things up, which is all he is basically saying in this article.

[vetvetdoug]

This guy is a pragmatist and from the Curtis Lemay school of practical thought. I say nuke Medina and Mecca and take Iraq for oil and give Iran to Russia. Folks had better listen to these older wiser military men before we have the next Pearl Harbour with a nuke (Sept 11th was the first and to my way of thinking we have not sent the correct message to the daiper heads).

[Balata]

20 minutes after a nuke goes off in America....

I certainly hope you are right about our response, Travis. The problem is, the terrorist have to believe we will respond this way.

[Excuse_My_Bellicosity]

Bush should put out word that if any nukes go off here, every capital of every Islamic state and Mecca will get hit with hydrogen bombs 10 minutes later.

[Southack]

The part that the general overlooks is that we have radiation monitors on ships, land, in the sky, as well as on customs/INS personnel and in the military.

You would really have to shield a nuke to get it in here without a missile (and we'll have the missile option covered soon enough - circa 2004).

One can also assume that one of the few tasks that our spooks do well is to monitor those places in the world capable of manufacturing weapons grade materials.

[Jesse]

The part that the general overlooks is that we have radiation monitors on ships, land, in the sky, as well as on customs/INS personnel and in the military.

Sounds great in theory, but in practice our radiation monitors are just random spotchecks. It isn't that difficult to fully encase nuclear material in a lead jacket and shield it from monitors. Only a fraction of the cargo sent into the US is checked every day. And there are other ways to smuggle radioactive material into the US which have been successfully used by drug cartels...from small private boats or airplanes flying below radar level, to fixing materials to bottom of ships with magnets and recovering with scuba gear.

[TopQuark]

Ahh, who am I kidding. Colin Powell would never go for it. That's exactly the thing. And it is not just Colin Powell: a great number of American people will not go for it. That is why we loose our fellow Americans: 3000 since Sep 11 and counting...

[APBaer]

"Fallout most likely spreads south from the District of Columbia"

No, General, prevailing winds would blow stuff in Northeast direction.

[Pushi]

The Bush Administration denial scares me. It makes me wonder if they think it is likely, and they don't want to alarm the public.

[DeaconBenjamin]

Fallout would spread south into Virginia? Why? Prevailing winds are to the north and east, into suburban Maryland. I should think Montgomery and PG would be hurt worse than NoVa.

[Tolerance Sucks Rocks]

Damn, I gotta gun up. I wouldn't panic, but all the sheeple idiots probably would, and I would want to protect myself.

[concerned about politics]

The Bush Administration denial scares me. It makes me wonder if they think it is likely, and they don't want to alarm the public.

You're probably right. If a bomb is already here, which it could be, how could they stop it?
The borders should have been closed, but that didn't happen. Nor did the INS ship out those who are here illegally.
I felt much safer before 9/11, that's for sure.