US investigating whether nukes in country

Washington Times ^ | 12/20/01 | RICHARD SALE

[JustPiper]

Federal law enforcement officials are investigating to determine whether sleeper cells or freelance agents of Saudi terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden may have smuggled small, portable nuclear weapons or radiological bombs into the United States.

The deepest concern centers on the chance that bin Laden has acquired and will use a finished nuclear weapon. Rep. Chris Shays, R-Conn., chairman of the House subcommittee on national security, told United Press International: "It's possible, and it's very scary."

[InfraRed]

Bump! There many details in this report that I haven't seen before.

[InfraRed]

There are many details in this report that I haven't seen before.

[satire]

The piece says that one of the devices has a 1 kiloton yield and the other style of device has a 3 to 5 kiloton yield. Can someone here translate that into "potential damage done" for me and for other readers? In terms of cityscapes, for instance.

[backhoe]

Keep these handy & pass 'em around the 'net:

Nuclear, Biological, & Chemical Warfare- Survival Skills, Pt. II

[BADROTOFINGER]

If they had been doing their effing jobs in the first place they would probably know if there were or not at least. If they were doing their jobs there wouldnt be any foriegn nukes, illegals, etc PERIOD...JFK

[jslade]

If one of these things goes off in America, just say goodbye to Mecca and Medina. I mean it. Vaporize them. The gloves would be off!

[Don Joe]

A "damn them to hell" bump.

[AmericanInTokyo]

You know that this means, Joe? We have got to take the gloves off now.

This means across the board assassinations of all terrorist organization cells and leadership ANYWHERE in the world, and embargoes if not outright acts of war upon all nations which officially harbor terrorist organizations. It means World War but I would rather have it this way, with the blood and suffering occuring overseas, than portions of LA, NYC or D.C. leveled by a nuclear blast or teeming with radiation.

[AppyPappy]

Hmmmm....LA could probably be considered a free square.

[Zorobabel]

1 kiloton would be the equivalent of 1000 tons of TNT. The explosions that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki were between 10 and 15 kilotons yield. These were airbursts that would intensify the blast damage. The bombs were detonated around 1500 feet above ground level if I remember correctly. Depending on where the device was detonated, and the yield 1 or 3 to 5 kilotons, your talking several square city blocks destroyed on the low end. It would be a catastrophe either way with thousands dead and injured.

[cibco]

"Regarding the latest terror alert, "The pucker factor is very high," a former senior CIA official said."

This could be some Christmas. CIA & FBI must be stressed to the max by now. They have my sympathy on this holiday period. Wish them the best.

[Don Joe]

This article corroborates what Christopher Hitchens said a couple of weeks ago in "The night of the weak knees". It's definitely must-read material, just as much as the article at the top of this thread is required reading for everyone other than the head-in-the-sand/It-Can't-Happen-Here crowd.

I'm glad I live in a very rural area, but that's faint consolation when realizing that my country may very well be brought to its knees in the not too distant future.

[Zorobabel]

"This could be some Christmas. CIA & FBI must be stressed to the max by now. They have my sympathy on this holiday period. Wish them the best. "

I wish them the best too, but based on past performance.....well let's hope this turns out to be not true. God help us all if a nuke is detonated in an American city.

[Stevieboy]

Boy, this article didn't last too long on the Washington Times' website. Breaking news late yesterday; removed today.

[Intimidator]

That dog won't hunt. If they had nukes they would have already used them.

[harpseal]

FYI

[Zorobabel]

"Boy, this article didn't last too long on the Washington Times' website. Breaking news late yesterday; removed today. "

Maybe somebody called the editor and put the kibosh on the story. Perhaps they're afraid of a panic. It's not making me feel too good about the holidays, that's for sure.

[freebilly]

It's not like a nuclear weapon has an eternal shelf life. If you don't use one by such and such a date, you're likely not to be able to use it at all. Look at your lawn mower that you left in the garage all winter -- it requires some work before you can use it again."

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[New Horizon]

Try this link.