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Locked on 08/01/2007 10:40:04 PM PDT by Religion Moderator, reason:
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Posted on 07/01/2007 2:42:24 PM PDT by nwctwx
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Fast action needed to avert nuclear terror strike on U.S.
By Graham Allison
July 2, 2007
Before 9/11, most Americans found the idea that international terrorists could mount an attack on their homeland and kill thousands of innocent citizens not merely unlikely but inconceivable.
After nearly six years without a second attack on U.S. soil, some skeptics suggest that 9/11 was a 100-year flood. The view that terrorists are preparing even more deadly assaults seems as far-fetched to them as the possibility of terrorists crashing passenger jets into the World Trade Center did before that fateful Tuesday morning in 2001.
And yet the danger of a nuclear attack by terrorists is not only very real but disturbingly likely. To assess the threat of nuclear terrorism, it is necessary to answer five questions:
1. Who could be planning a nuclear terrorist attack?
Al-Qaida remains a formidable enemy with clear nuclear ambitions. Former CIA Director George J. Tenet wrote in his memoirs that al-Qaida's leadership has remained "singularly focused on acquiring WMD" - weapons of mass destruction - and willing to "pay whatever it would cost to get their hands on fissile material."
2. What nuclear weapons could terrorists use?
They could acquire an existing bomb from one of the nuclear weapons states or construct an elementary nuclear device from highly enriched uranium made by a state. Theft of a warhead or material would not be easy, but attempted thefts in Russia and elsewhere are not uncommon. Once a terrorist group acquires about 100 pounds of highly enriched uranium, it could conceivably use publicly available documents and items commercially obtainable in any technologically advanced country to construct a bomb such as the one dropped on Hiroshima.
3. Where could terrorists acquire a nuclear bomb?
If a nuclear attack occurs, Russia would be the most likely source of the weapon or material. Russia has more nuclear weapons and materials than any other country, much of them vulnerable to theft. A close second would be North Korea. Pyongyang has boasted that it not only possesses nuclear weapons but might export them, saying, "It's up to you whether we ... transfer them." Finally, research reactors in 40 developing and transitional countries still hold the essential ingredient for nuclear bombs.
4. When could terrorists launch the first nuclear attack?
If terrorists bought or stole a nuclear weapon in good working condition, they could explode it today. If the weapon had a lock, detonation would be delayed for several days. If terrorists acquired 100 pounds of highly enriched uranium, they could have a working elementary nuclear bomb in less than a year.
5. How could terrorists deliver a nuclear weapon to its target?
The illicit economy for narcotics and illegal immigrants has built up a vast infrastructure that terrorists could exploit.
Based on current trends, a nuclear terrorist attack on the United States is more likely than not in the decade ahead. As horrific as that vision is, the most important but largely unrecognized truth is that this ultimate catastrophe is preventable.
There is a feasible, affordable checklist of actions that, if taken, would shrink the risk of nuclear terrorism to nearly zero. I have proposed a strategy for a no-loose-nukes agenda under a "Doctrine of Three Nos":
1. No unsecured nuclear weapons or weapons-usable material. All such material should be locked down as quickly as possible.
2. No new domestic capabilities to enrich uranium or reprocess plutonium. Highly enriched uranium and plutonium are bombs about to hatch. The crucial challenge to this principle today is Iran.
Preventing Iranian completion of its nuclear infrastructure will require a combination of incentives and credible threats to persuade Tehran to accept a grand bargain for denuclearization. President Bush must be prepared to give Tehran assurance of security if and when it gives up its nuclear weapons program.
3. No expansion of the nuclear club beyond its current 8.5 members, the half being North Korea.
Faced with the possibility of an American Hiroshima, many Americans are paralyzed by a combination of denial and fatalism. Either it hasn't happened, so maybe it's not going to happen, or if it is going to happen, there's nothing we can do to stop it. Both propositions are wrong. Citizens must press their elected officials to adopt a clear agenda for action and then hold them accountable for following through.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bal-op.nukes02jul02,0,41630.story?
Waiting for backsplash tile to arrive...Taking a small break on the kitchen.
Good article, Oorang.
I heard it. It was close to “Atta” but it was either Acha or Abba - very close, but not exactly Atta.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6262302.stm
Last Updated: Monday, 2 July 2007, 20:25 GMT 21:25 UK
“Yemen bomb kills Spanish tourists”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “At least nine people have been killed after a suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden car into a tourist convoy in Yemen.
Seven Spanish tourists and at least two Yemenis died in the blast at the Queen of Sheba temple in Marib.
About seven others were injured in the attack which the Spanish foreign minister said he “totally condemned”.
Yemen has faced continuing unrest in recent years, which the government often blames on al-Qaeda operatives.
An interior ministry official was quoted by the country’s state news agency as saying that the attack appeared to have been carried out by al-Qaeda.”
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Witnesses said a vehicle entered a gate at the site, known in Yemen by its Arabic name Balqis, before it ploughed into the convoy of tourist cars and exploded.
The victims were reported to belong to a group of around 14 Spanish tourists visiting the site, some 170km (110 miles) east of the capital, Sanaa.
Witnesses said the bomb went off at around 1800 (1500 GMT) on Monday as the visitors were finishing a tour of the temple, built 3,000 years ago at the time of the Queen of Sheba.”
Berlin, 2 July - Terrorist attacks similar to the failed attacks last week in British capital, London, and at Glasgow airport in Scotland, could occur in Germany, federal police chief Konrad Freiberger said on Monday.
There are some 100 individuals living in Germany who may have "the intention and the capability" to carry out such attacks, Freiberger told the Passauer Neue Presse newspaper. He underscored the importance of strengthening security measures to thwart terror plots, the chances of which he said have increased since the German army's participation in peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan.
Germany's interior minister Wolfgang Schaeuble in a TV interview on Sunday called for the number of closed circuit television cameras surveilling airports and other major traffic areas to be increased. Some opposition politicians have however criticised the plan, saying that widespread closed-circuit surveillance had not prevented the attempted attacks in Britain.
Excerpted
http://www.adnki.com/index_2Level_English.php?cat=Terrorism&loid=8.0.431123212&par=0
“PHANTOM
OSAMA HENCHMAN NAMED IN JFK PLOT
By MURRAY WEISS, LARRY CELONA and BRIGITTE WILLIAMS-JAMES
IN THE SHADOWS: Authorities had hoped to ensnare al Qaeda lieutenant Adnan Gulshair el-Shukrijumah, whose name surfaced in the investigation of an alleged plot by Russell Defreitas and Abdul Kadir (circled above). Kadir’s wife, Isha (far right), believes he was “set up because he is a Muslim and has contact with Iran.”
IN THE SHADOWS: Authorities had hoped to ensnare al Qaeda lieutenant Adnan Gulshair el-Shukrijumah, whose name surfaced in the investigation of an alleged plot by Russell Defreitas and Abdul Kadir (circled above). Kadir’s wife, Isha (far right), believes he was “set up because he is a Muslim and has contact with Iran.”
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June 4, 2007 — Video: JFK Terror Plot
This is from the New York Post, sorry, but its worth the read and a reminder.
http://www.freerepublic.com/perl/post?id=1859319%2C142Al Qaeda’s so-called nuclear whiz kid - a “tantalizing terror figure” with a $5 million bounty on his head - was the radical big shot investigators had hoped to snag in their 18-month JFK-plot probe, The Post has learned.
The name of “invisible hand” Adnan Gulshair el-Shukrijumah, http://www.nypost.com/seven/06042007/news/nationalnews/feds_target_nuke_phantom_nationalnews_murray_weiss__larry_celona_and_brigitte_williams_james.htmconversations during the probe, according to law-enforcement sources familiar with the investigation.
>’Terrorist 007’ Pleads Guilty in UK Crown Court”
Good.
Yes.
One if by land, Two if by sea indeed!
Note: The following text is a quote:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/archives/017207.php
2, 2007
Florida Muslim arrested after shouting “Allahu akbar” and “I am going to blow this place up”
He didn’t turn out to have a bomb, but did terrorism task force officials commit “Islamophobia” and “racial profiling” by taking his shouts seriously? In any case, maybe he is just crazy, or maybe he was doing his best to “strike terror into the hearts of the enemies, of Allah” (Qur’an 8:60).
“Man arrested for making bomb threat,” from The Associated Press (thanks to ocean guy):
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Authorities from a terrorism task force closed off a roughly 10-block downtown area on Sunday after a man made a bomb threat.
Youssef Bouchlarhem made threatening statements in both Arabic and English saying, “Allah is great,” “I am going to blow this place up” and “Kill Me, according to Micheal Edwards, director of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office Department of Investigations and Homeland Security.
A witness called authorities around 11:45 a.m. to report a man who was behaving strangely in the middle of the street.
When officers arrived and attempted to detain Bouchlarhem, he physically resisted and had to be restrained, Edwards said.
Bouchlarhem, 34, was charged with making a false report about planting a bomb and resisting police. He is scheduled to appear in court Monday.
It was not immediately known if he had legal representation.
Authorities searched Bouchlarhem’s home, but did not find any evidence of bomb making materials, Edwards said.
Posted by Robert at July 2, 2007 8:34 AM
June 2, 2007 on the date of the Florida allahu akbar article.
On a different subject..Breaking Per Fox News...
Breaking News >> Bush to Commute ‘Scooter’ Libby’s Prison Sentence
Probation and fines only, no prison sentence.
http://www.foxnews.com/index.html
blog:
Monday, July 02, 2007
“Ummah.com: How to Handle the Kuffar’s Demands”
UPDATE:
Banner scrolling at Sky News:
“FIVE DOCTORS HELD OVER ATTACKS”
http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-1273160,00.html
“Five Doctors Held Over Attacks”
Updated: 22:50, Monday July 02, 2007
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “Five doctors are now being held in connection with the recent attempted terror attacks - one is an Iraqi doctor who trained in Baghdad.”
Wow, 5 doctors? We couldn’t begin to count the doctors in this country and that makes this all the more interesting.
Reuters India.
NICOSIA (Reuters) - The U.S. military attache in Cyprus was found dead with his throat slit on Monday in a remote mountainous region of the Mediterranean island in what authorities are treating as a suicide.
The body of Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Mooney, 45, was found near his locked car north-west of the capital, Nicosia, four days after he went missing.
A post-mortem report said Mooney died from excessive bleeding caused by deep incisions to the throat. He was identified through dental records.
“There is no foul play involved,” forensic pathologist Marios Matsakis, who carried out the post-mortem, told Reuters.
In Washington, the U.S. State Department said there was nothing to suggest Mooney’s death was an act of terrorism.
.
The bundles were full of cocaine.
THANK YOU Swarthy Guy for that post.
OPINION: It seems an unusual way to die for it not to be terrorism.
Maybe there is more to the story than has been reported.
Yes...and who knows, the count may go higher.
I do hope they check the patient records (if any) of
these doctors.
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