This is such an uplifting story. Not.
Reading this makes me wonder why I quit smoking.
It takes more than fissionable material to make a bomb capable of reaching critical mass. In fact it takes a team of very cabaple scientists and engineers to make it happen, not to mention lots of $$$$$$. The best the terrorists can hope to achieve is a dirty bomb, with no nuclear yield.
Security forces are soon to be equipted with Cyber 3 radiation detectors that will find with ease the smallest amount of radioactive material. You can't hide this stuff without tons of concrete and lead. More scare talk from the control freaks that want only to eliminate freedom. They never can stoop low enough.
This is stuff that is scary but needs to be delved into more than is done now. There is obviously a huge potential risk of a major strike against mainland USA, and strategies need to be implemented that will either staunch most of these attacks or stop them altogether, preferably stopping them all. Logistic methods need to be improved, and proactive tactics need to be carried out against both the terrorist groups, and those who aid them.
The reason i added 'those who help them' is because to me it seems those in places of power seem to only go after the 'mules' and leave the real kingpins in place. For example we have all heard of Hezbollah and Hamas, and how we are trying to get them. Yet did you know there have been several meetings where the masterminds and strategists behind these groups get together, yet do so with impunity. Yet it is obvious that if we leave the clever people to plot, and just kill and capture the mules, then our fight is for naught because the world is rife with people willing to strap semtex or even carry a kiloton device.
And then there are groups like the Saudis who funnel funds in the droves to these groups. Yet, due to the fact around a third of US oil comes from the Saudis, and also due to the royal House of Saud being involved in a myriad of areas pertinent to US interest, including the military (eg did you know that in the Carlyle group which is involved in US military development there are members of the house of Saud, as well as members of the binLadin family, who are relatives of the more known bin Laden).
Then there is the issue of Pakistan, which to me seems a much greater threat than even Iraq since they already have a nuclear arsenal, and the country is always under threat from Islamic radicals. Musharaff took power through a coup de tat, and there is the possibility that one day his successor will usurp his power in the same manner. Iraq on the other hand is ruled by a dictator, and the 'advantage' in this is that Saddam rules with an iron hand. This means that in Iraq there are no islmaic radicals since Saddam would not risk any uprisings of any kind. That is why Iraq, although having many sunni muslims, is in essence a type of atheist nation. And when Saddam dies his sons will take over, and there are reports they are even worse than he is.
This means that although the regime is bad for Iraqi people, it actually is beneficial for the rest of the world since it is stable. A bad dictatorship it is, but it is predictable and stable. Pakistan on the other hand is ephemeral, and like the sword of damocles there is always a threat hanging on its leadership. Most of the people there hate the west, and the groups willing to destroy the US are virtually legion. And most of these young Pakistanis are getting a technologically based education that rivals that of the west, yet at the same time are exposed to the worst hate rhetoric and religious zeal from the madrasas. This means that when they are young they go to the religious madrasas where they learn the US is evil.... then when they reach their teens they are in 'western type' schools where they learn math computers etc. This means that in the next decade there will be a horde of very well educated lunatics, as opposed to what we are used to today.... ignorant simply lunatics. And a clever enemy is far worse than a non-educated one.
Thus it is essential for pre-emptive decisions to be made by the congress on how to handle the real threats instead of just going after the mules, and figureheads. I was actually very glad when the US went after Usama bin Laden since for once real action was taken against someone who was a real threat. And also because someone who was responsible for thousands of deaths around the world was finally held accountable and direct action taken against him (unlike what Clinton did when he just launched a couple of missiles after the '98 embassy bombings).
Actually those embassy bombings in Africa were personal for me since i am originally from Kenya and was born and raised there. And it incensed me that UBL was willing to destroy lives just to drive some assinine point of his home. And nothing would bring me greater pleasure than to see UBL brought to justice.
Anyway the US needs to take serious steps to ensure that atrocities like the one commited on 9-11 do not happen again, because if they do not and just continue letting things continue as they are it is only a matter of time before something bigger happens. And no one wants that.
I guarantee you that NBC Must See TV would still be on the air somewhere and being watched by the living clueless ...
The U.S. obligingly announced that it has no domestic means of producing smallpox vaccine, so it placed large orders for smallpox vaccine with a British company. I believe the name is Acambis. They probably gave the street address, so the terrorists can find it more efficiently.
Were I Osama Bin Laden, I would arrange for Acambis to vanish from the face of the Earth. No need to actually spread smallpox; the destruction of the source of the vaccine would have the desired terror effect.
--Boris
