[Iwo Jima]

You are right, and the counter weapon for this psychological weapon is to cure the ignorance which causes the thought of a "dirty" bomb to be so effective. Any bomb is a danger, but a dirty bomb is no more dangerous than a "clean" bomb.

Ashcroft plays right into the terrorists' hands when he makes such a big deal over Padillo and acts like thousands of lives have been saved because someone interested in making dirty bombs has been detained.

[vannrox]

How Bad Can A 'Dirty Bomb' Be?

It can ruin your whole day.