Nuclear Capabilities May Elude Terrorists, Experts Say

(Washington Post) Dafna Linzer - Intelligence reports indicate that Osama bin Laden received fresh approval last year from a Saudi cleric for the use of a doomsday bomb against the United States. Even a small nuclear weapon detonated in a major American population center would be among history's most lethal acts of war. Counterterrorism and nuclear experts say they consider the danger more distant than immediate, pointing to enormous technical and logistical obstacles confronting would-be nuclear terrorists. Yet "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.


2004-12-30 00:00:00

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