(Guardian-UK) Nick Hopkins and Suzanne Goldenberg - Renegade scientists have provided al Qaeda with the technical knowledge to develop chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons, and it is "only a matter of time" before an attack is launched against a city in the West, the director general of MI5, Eliza Manningham-Buller, warned Tuesday at the Royal United Services Institute, the Whitehall defense think-tank. "We are faced with the realistic possibility of some form of unconventional attack" from Osama bin Laden, or one of the Islamist networks loosely affiliated to him, she said. "Political dialogue and a process of reconciliation are not on the horizon as groups like al Qaeda have aims that are absolute and non-negotiable," she added. See also Thai's Arrest Deepens Terror Fears (Wall Street Journal, June 18, 2003) The seizure last week in Thailand of a highly radioactive substance that could be used to make a terrorist bomb - along with indications that more of it is stashed in neighboring Laos - is raising concern about the proliferation and availability of such material. The U.S. suspects al Qaeda and other international terrorist organizations of pursuing radioactive materials for use in bombs that could be deployed against American targets. Thai and U.S. agents captured a man attempting to sell cesium-137. Unlike uranium, which can be used in nuclear weapons, cesium-137 isn't a controlled material deemed to require high security.
2003-06-19 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive