Uh, right. The Hiroshima bomb was twice that size and dirtier. This is a picture of Hiroshima today:
That's the Peace Museum in the foreground. I've been to Hiroshima several times. Beautiful place.
Posted on 07/14/2004 7:11:55 PM PDT by ThermoNuclearWarrior
Bin Laden's Goal: Kill 4 Million Americans
Stewart Stogel
Wednesday, July 14, 2004
"It is not a question of if....it is a question of when," so claims the author of a controversial new book "Osama's Revenge: The Next 9/11: What the Media and the Government Haven't Told You," (Prometheus Books).
Paul Williams, an investigative journalist and author, says information he has obtained and some he was given access to, all point to another attack by al-Qaeda on the U.S. mainland.
"I believe that between now and 2005, Osama Bin Laden and al-Qaeda will attack the U.S. with (stolen) nuclear weapons, I have no doubt about it," says Williams.
The allegations were made during an extensive interview with NewsMax.
Williams says his "intelligence" concludes the most likely means of attack would come in the form of a so-called "suitcase (size) tactical nuclear bomb."
"The chatter that everyone is referring to is coming from the nest in Pakistan, a virulent nest in Iran, the chatter is all about nukes being here....the best bang for the buck is nuclear, they (al-Qaeda) know that."
Such bombs are estimated to have an explosive strength of approximately "10 kilotons" and could weigh less than 35 pounds.
"With today's technology and the Internet, an experienced person could easily assemble such a bomb in his home garage," Williams explained.
A bomb of that strength could easily level Manhattan and spread lethal radiation throughout the NYC-Metro area says the author. "It (the nuke) could render Manhattan unlivable for 1,000 years," he estimated.
According to Williams, several of the "suitcase nukes" are already inside the U.S. Some may have been smuggled in overland from Canada or Mexico, or shipped from overseas via container ships, he explained.
Another, more ominous method, was a throwback to the Cold War era.
Williams, quoting Russian military officials, says Moscow secretly slipped into the continental U.S. several suitcase nukes to be activated in case of the breakout of hostilities with Washington.
Today, Williams says many of those "sleeper" nukes remain in place because some in the Kremlin still believe a conflict with the U.S. is possible.
The author insists that Al Qaeda has "thousands" of sympathizers and numerous sleeper cells in the United States ready to carry out new attacks when given the OK.
Among the cities Williams says are vulnerable include: New York, Chicago, Washington, Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas, Valdes, Alaska (oil pipelines-shipping) and Rappohoneck County, VA.
Why a Small County in Rural Virgina?
Williams says it is the home of the underground command center the White House would move to in the event of war.
The author refers to recent comments made by Vice-President Dick Cheney as verification the nuclear threat from Osama Bin Laden is real.
He also points out that al-Qaeda and Bin Laden have publicly proclaimed their goal is to kill "4 million Americans."
Why 4 Million?
Williams claims that Bin Laden estimates that U.S. policy in the Mid-East and in Eastern Europe have resulted in the deaths of 4 million followers of Islam.
The author is at a loss as to explain why the White House has not taken more definitive actions.
"I cannot figure out why they (the Bush administration) have not done more to address the threat. Maybe they don't know how or hope nothing will happen."
He also blasts the U.S. mass media for not reporting the "problem:"
"With the exception of Fox News, the problem has received or little or no attention, despite comments from the Vice-President of the United States. Maybe they just don't understand what it is going on."
Williams says such nukes made it onto the black market after the collapse of the Soviet Union (1991) and during the following decade when Pakistan (with the assistance of China and North Korea) exploded its first atomic bombs.
Flush with cash from his secret Afghan/Pakistan poppy/heroin operations, Osama Bin Laden had the funds not only to buy such weapons, but the technicians and scientists needed to maintain and transport them as well.
Williams says his intelligence estimates that Bin Laden could actually possess "10 or more" of the suitcase nukes.
Recent reports from the Central Intelligence Agency could not confirm that such nukes may have been stolen, but could not discount the possibility.
Last month, the U.S. Dept. of Energy secretly removed a stache of highly radioactive materials from Iraq citing "security concerns." Washington would not disclose where in the U.S. the atomic materials were moved to, but did insist they were now in a highly-secured location.
Targets
Could the upcoming national political conventions in Boston and New York City be a target for these nukes?
Williams says "perhaps" but most likely not.
"Islam practices patience...remember it was more than 8 years between attacks on the World Trade Center. They (al-Qaeda) are in no rush. They will attack when they are ready."
It's spelled Rappahannock. Wonder why the article got it wrong.
Ridiculous. Hiroshima is a thriving city today, and the bomb that levelled it had a higher yield than a suitcase nuke.
DING DING DING DING DING!!!! We have a winner!!!!!!!!
Dead men have no goals.
And that's just in the last day.
It's NewsMax. They need an editor badly.
If a nuke goes off in the USA, I hope and prey that we launch 10 at their most holy cities (like Mecca and others), and then tell them, "okay, hit us with another one and see what happens".
Somehow, I don't think al Quada and the rest of the islamist bunch would care to see Mecca go up in flames should they try something so stupid.
Why in the world would they smuggle in suitcase nukes when they could bring whatever they wanted in under diplomatic seal? They could easily bring in the big puppies.
I used to drive by the Soviet embassy in San Francisco on my way to work in the early 80's, and I always wondered if there was a hundred megaton warhead in the basement.
Uh, right. The Hiroshima bomb was twice that size and dirtier. This is a picture of Hiroshima today:
That's the Peace Museum in the foreground. I've been to Hiroshima several times. Beautiful place.
(For Paul Williams)
Where does the author live?
Is he taking measures to protect himself (including leaving the most likely threat areas)?
I hope sales are brisk.
Not sure. But undefeated in 22 professional Middleweight fights (18 by Knock Out), I'm not going to argue with Paul "The Punisher" Williams
What are you talking about? I bought the H-bomb Heathkit on eBay, and it didn't take me much longer than a couple weekends to throw together.
Watch out, Trinidad and Tobago. There's a new power in the Lesser Antilles.
These stories have floated around since before the end of the Cold War. They were supposed to be brought in as a deterrent to an attack by the United States. The FBI took the story serious enough to scan the cities with geiger counters. The problem lies in being able to shield the bearer of the bomb from radiation in such a light package. It all sounds far-fetched but a former intelligence official wrote the book.
He will go to work on achieving that goal over here in ernest if john kerry is elected.
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