Al Qaeda seeking nuclear kit for attacks-UK official

[GaryC 7]

And some of you still scoff that there really is a "war on terror"

By Sophie Walker

LONDON, Nov 13 (Reuters) - Al Qaeda is trying to acquire the technology that would enable it to use a nuclear device to attack Western targets including Britain, a senior British official said on Monday.

"We know the aspiration is there. We know attempts to gather materials are there, we know that attempts to gather technology are there," the senior Foreign Office official told reporters.

The comments at a briefing came days after the head of Britain's domestic spy agency said Muslim extremists were plotting at least 30 major terrorist attacks in Britain which could involve chemical and nuclear devices.

The Foreign Office official, asked whether there was any doubt that Al Qaeda wants to gather nuclear material for use against Western targets, said: "No doubt at all."

Eliza Manningham-Buller, head of intelligence agency MI5, said last week young British Muslims were being groomed to become suicide bombers and her agents were tracking some 1,600 suspects, most of whom were British-born and linked to al Qaeda in Pakistan.

Britain suffered its worst peacetime attack in July 2005 when four British Islamists blew themselves up on London's transport network, killing 52 commuters and wounding hundreds.

Earlier this month Dhiren Barot, 34, was jailed for a minimum of 40 years for plotting to blow up the New York Stock Exchange and carry out attacks in Britain with gas-filled limousines and a "dirty bomb".

Evidence against him included copious research into explosives, chemicals and radioactive materials.

In a separate ongoing terrorism trial, prosecutors say one of the suspects had told police in an interview that his superior in a Pakistan training camp had asked him to help contact the Russian mafia about buying a nuclear bomb.

However Salahuddin Amin, who is accused of plotting conventional bomb attacks in the UK using ammonium nitrate fertiliser, said he did not believe it was a genuine plot and nothing appeared to have developed from the plan.

Prime Minister Tony Blair will focus on the fight against against terrorism when he unveils the last package of laws of his premiership in a programme to be read to parliament on Wednesday by Queen Elizabeth.

http://today.reuters.com/news/articlebusin...p;from=business

[almaty 19]

hmmm...heard it before...

[GaryC 7]

hmmm...heard it before...

Lets hope we don't hear it again with a nuclear explosion somewhere. That would be bad mcay?

[rclouse 0]

Let's see how the neo-cons can somehow blame this on the "libruls" and "Dems".

[GaryC 7]

Let's see how the neo-cons can somehow blame this on the "libruls" and "Dems".

If they gut the Patriot act and give our civil rights to the terrorists then it will be their fault.

[almaty 19]

hmmm...heard it before...

Lets hope we don't hear it again with a nuclear explosion somewhere. That would be bad mcay?

right you are brother gary...

[mawilson 2,133]

I seriously doubt they can acquire a nuke from the "Russian mafia", otherwise they would

have done so by now.

As for chemical and biological weapons, they are nothing but hype. There are clear

and high hurdles that a terror group must overcome before it can turn half-baked plans

into reality, and nobody has.

Aum Shinrikyo spent $30 million, had a team of trained scientists, top-class equipment

and at least one factory at its disposal. They thought they could manufacture nerve

agents and kill hundreds of thousands, yet their worst attack killed 12 people.

[Ban Hammer 13,645]

I seriously doubt they can acquire a nuke from the "Russian mafia", otherwise they would

have done so by now.

As for chemical and biological weapons, they are nothing but hype. There are clear

and high hurdles that a terror group must overcome before it can turn half-baked plans

into reality, and nobody has.

Aum Shinrikyo spent $30 million, had a team of trained scientists, top-class equipment

and at least one factory at its disposal. They thought they could manufacture nerve

agents and kill hundreds of thousands, yet their worst attack killed 12 people.

bio weapons are less costly to make

[mawilson 2,133]

bio weapons are less costly to make

Except they don't work. If Aum Shinrikyo couldn't do it (and they were good), nobody can.

According to official reports, Aum Shinrikyo perpetrated at least ten chemical

and nine biological attacks on their Japanese countrymen between 1990 and 1995.

By almost any standard, Aum Shinrikyo was a terrorist nightmare—a cult flush

with money and technical skills led by a con-man guru with an apocalyptic vision,

an obsession with chemical and biological weaponry, and no qualms about killing.

This combustible combination left scars on Japan and by proxy on the rest of the

world. Aum Shinrikyo, it is fair to say, changed the way the world thinks about

terrorism. Now that more is known about the cult’s weapons programs and the

subsequent rescue operations, it is important to see if the appropriate lessons

were taken from Tokyo.

[...]

One of the hallmarks of Aum Shinrikyo was the unusual emphasis that the cult

placed on recruiting scientists and technicians for its weapons programs. Aum’s

weapons teams had ample resources and years in which to unravel the intricacies

of making and disseminating chemical and biological weapons. Yet, from obtaining

virulent seed cultures to spreading germs, Aum’s bio program a total bust. The cult’s

chemical weapons program was certainly more mature, but it was also something

of a risky business, involving numerous toxic leaks and accidents as well as

dissemination attempts that jeopardized the lives of cult members. Thus, terrorists

might look at the Aum experience and see successfully acquiring and using these

weapons as a hard rather than an easy proposition.

Source: Rethinking the Lessons of Tokyo

[rclouse 0]

Let's see how the neo-cons can somehow blame this on the "libruls" and "Dems".

If they gut the Patriot act and give our civil rights to the terrorists then it will be their fault.

Umm, we need to gut the "Pattiot" act to give our civil rights back to ourselves.

[PlatyPius 5]

Let's see how the neo-cons can somehow blame this on the "libruls" and "Dems".

If they gut the Patriot act and give our civil rights to the terrorists then it will be their fault.

Whereas I say that BECAUSE of the Patriot Act, we've ALREADY given our civil rights to the terrorists. They accomplished their goal - terror. Americans are so terrified that they've willingly given up their most basic rights in exchange for "safety".

[fozzie 41]

The authorities just like to release info like this at key times to keep us on our toes. There are always things going on, threats and the like. Britain has been dealing with terrorism for half a century and they stop the majority of it from happening. IIt's all a lot of hype, just be glad that they know there are these threats and are doing what they need to do to stop them.

[PurrSuede 0]

If they gut the Patriot act and give our civil rights to the terrorists then it will be their fault.

You mean the civil rights that were taken away from us under the guise of "you don't have any rights anymore because there's a war on terror"??

Oh yeah... those, huh??

And some of you still scoff that there really is a "war on terror"

No, I just scoffed at Iraq having any kind of WMD's...

oh wait, that's right, it turned out they didn't.... hmmmmmm.. go figure...

the scoffing-ones were right...

:: scoff scoff ::

[Ban Hammer 13,645]

bio weapons are less costly to make

Except they don't work. If Aum Shinrikyo couldn't do it (and they were good), nobody can.

really? read this and then change your story.

Gruinard Island is a small Scottish island, located in Gruinard Bay, about halfway between Gairloch and Ullapool.

In 1942, it was the site of a highly successful biological warfare test by British military scientists from Porton Down. .................Starting in 1986, a determined effort was made to decontaminate the island, with 280 tonnes of formaldehyde solution diluted in seawater being sprayed over all 520 acres (2 km²) of the island, and the worst-contaminated topsoil around the dispersal site being removed. A flock of sheep was then placed on the island, and remained healthy. On April 24, 1990, after 48 years of quarantine, the then junior defence minister, Michael Neubert, personally visited the island and announced its safety by removing the warning signs.

link

don't bet on these nutcases not making anthrax, even if just for the purpose of making land uninhabitable.

[mawilson 2,133]

In 1942, it was the site of a highly successful biological warfare test by British military scientists from Porton Down

I didn't say the British military couldn't do it. I'm saying Mohammed al-Jihad cannot do it.