http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2004/12/29/125349.shtml
Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2004
Bin Laden Receives OK for Nuclear Bomb, but ...
Having received "permission" from a Saudi Muslim cleric to obtain a
nuclear bomb and use it against the United States, Osama bin Laden
faces the far more difficult task of getting his paws on a doomsday
bomb. Experts say it's doubtful he could pull that off in the near future.
As the Washington Post reported today in an exhaustive examination of
the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction, "In the case of
nuclear and biological weapons there are technical and scientific
hurdles that have proved daunting, even for nations with sizable
budgets and state-of-the-art facilities."
Story Continues Below
Counterterrorism and nuclear experts told the Post they considered the
danger more distant than immediate, pointing to enormous technical and
logistical obstacles confronting would-be nuclear terrorists, and to
the fact that neither al-Qaida nor any other group has come close to
demonstrating the means to overcome the snags.
"I would say that from the perspective of terrorism, the overwhelming
bulk of the evidence we have is that their efforts are focused on
biological and chemical" weapons, said John R. Bolton, undersecretary
of state for arms control and international security. "Not to say
there aren't any dealings with radiological materials, but the
technology for bio and chem is comparatively so much easier that
that's where their efforts are concentrating."
But despite the hurdles, the danger that bin Laden will get a nuke
cannot be dismissed. "The thing to keep in mind is that while it is
extremely difficult, we have highly motivated and intelligent people
who would like to do it," said Daniel Benjamin, a former National
Security Council staff member and senior fellow at the Center for
Strategic and International Studies.
Even if bin Laden could succeed in obtaining nuclear material, there
remain a great many steps between that and setting off an explosion,
according to the Post.
Experts told the daily that the uranium would have to be smuggled out
of the facility where it was kept and then transferred, possibly
across several borders, seaports and airports, to a location where the
nuclear device could be assembled.
Intelligence sources say bin Ladan would prefer to get a nuclear
weapon that's already assembled, probably by stealing or buying one
now in the the hands of the Russians or Pakistanis. Even then, experts
told the Post, it would be very difficult for terrorists to figure out
how to work a Russian or Pakistani bomb.
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