Free Republic

Perhaps the newest and most relevant is the higher probability of a nuclear weapon falling in the hands of a terrorist group or rogue state, such as Iran or North Korea, as opposed to a nuclear attack by another recognized nuclear weapons state. As Dr. Irwin Redlener, a professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, explained: “the rogue state and the terrorist detonation remain a possibility and should be considered among the most serious disaster threats that the United States faces.” Despite the reality of such a nuclear attack, the United States remains largely unprepared. In 1950, United...

As if the U.S. isn’t facing enough threats from its southern borders, Americans can be concerned with yet another: terrorism in the form of nuclear weapons. The potential for smuggling in nuclear or radioactive weapons of mass destruction has been suggested for a long time, and now the Long Star state is taking the threat more seriously. Texas game wardens don’t just cover land issues such as poaching, wildlife management or even illegal chemical dumping. They’re also on the water, monitoring for fishing violations – and now, terrorism. “One fear is that terrorists could try to smuggle radioactive material into...

When Iran successfully launched its first domestically made satellite into orbit on Feb. 1, U.S. State Department official Robert Wood said Iran's activities could "possibly lead to the development of ballistic missiles" and were of "great concern." French Foreign Ministry spokesman Eric Chevallier said France was "very concerned" about the launch. UK Foreign Office Minister Bill Rammell said the launch underlined the UK's "serious concerns about Iran's intentions." Then they resumed their focus on their various economic implosions where "concerned" had been elevated to "alarmed." What continues to astonish me is how little Western nations seem to grasp the tremendous...

Dec. 8, 2006 4:43 | Updated Dec. 9, 2006 18:30 Security and Defense: Strong winds of war By YAAKOV KATZDec. 8, 2006 4:43 | Updated Dec. 9, 2006 18:30 Wearing chemical warfare suits and masks, the soldiers ran into the building and started to evacuate those wounded in a non-conventional Syrian missile attack. The "attack" was a simulation, put on Tuesday for Defense Minister Amir Peretz and Chief of General Staff Lt.-Gen. Dan Halutz at the Home Front Command's training center on the Tzrifin military base near Rishon Lezion. Following the exercise, Peretz turned to one of the soldiers and...

Dec. 9, 2006 15:34 | Updated Dec. 9, 2006 19:32 Olmert not ruling out attack on Iran By YAAKOV KATZ AND JPOST STAFF Olmert is seen during a meeting with Gush Katif evacuees in the Negev. Olmert offered wide-ranging peace concessions to Palestinians on Monday if they turned away from violence. Photo: AP Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, in an interview scheduled for publication on Sunday, told Germany's Der Spiegel magazine that he could not rule out the possibility of a military attack against Iran, and called for the international community to step up action against Teheran. Olmert called Iranian President...

Dec. 5, 2006 20:41 | Updated Dec. 5, 2006 23:31 Gates: Iranian attack on Israel possible By ASSOCIATED PRESS "If Iran obtains nuclear weapons no one can promise that it would not use them against Israel," Defense Secretary-designate Robert Gates said Tuesday during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing to replace Donald H. Rumsfeld. Gates was asked by senators about the Iranian nuclear threat and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's threats to wipe Israel off the map. Gates responded by saying that the threats were very severe. However, he added that Iran had "forces from Ahmadinejad who are interested in...

Iranian Threat Matthew Bronfman Photo: ReutersShahab 3 missiles Photo: AP Enough of global flaccidity Cooperative international response to Iranian threat is needed now, before Iran develops capacity to inflict destruction Matthew Bronfman Published: 11.21.06, 10:24 The timing and scope of Iranian war games held two weeks ago demonstrates the growing threat emanating from Tehran. The provocative exercises and Iran’s recent expansion of its nuclear program further accentuates the regime’s violent rhetoric, making the Iranian threat to the civilized world increasingly poignant. With a progressively more sophisticated military capability, it is only a matter of time until Iran’s capacity to inflict...

Most officials thought last month's Osama bin Laden tape was no big deal—maybe even a gesture of weakness. Author and ex-CIA analyst Michael Scheuer, who founded the Agency's bin Laden unit 10 years ago, thinks they're dead wrong.When the latest Osama bin Laden tape aired on al Jazeera last month, Michael Scheuer's phone was one of the first to start ringing off the hook with calls from journalists seeking a quick soundbite for that day's news cycle. Scheuer has credentials on the subject that few can match: By the time September 11 happened, he had been studying and trailing bin...

CIA: Al-Qaeda worked with ex-Pak scientists [Al-Qaeda has nukes! ]Despite repeated Pakistani denials, US intelligence agency CIA has said international terrorist outfit al-Qaeda was working with two former Pakistani scientists and is currently capable of conducting attacks with chemical, biological, radiological or even nuclear weapons. The CIA in a May 2003 report entitled 'Terrorist CBRN: Materials and Effects' named former scientists of the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission as Bashir Ud-din Mahmood and Abdul Majeed saying al Qaeda was working with them. These charges have been denied by Pakistani officials. Handwritten documents uncovered in Afghanistan suggest that Al-Qaeda's specialists did have...

Former Reagan Defense Secretary Casper Weinberger warned Sunday that waiting too long before taking action against Iraq could leave Saddam Hussein in a position to blackmail the U.S. and its allies in the Mideast with nuclear weapons. "Once he's got these weapons, then he can practice nuclear blackmail," Weinberger told WABC Radio's Steve Malzberg. "Time is not on our side. We gain nothing by waiting." "The fact that action (against Iraq) may have to come before there's been a thousand percent guaranteed certain set of proofs that (Saddam) helped the al Qaeda, if you don't take that action you're going...