Can Terrorists Build a Nuclear Bomb?

kjh1 writes "Popular Science is just chock full of good articles this month. One in-depth article addresses the question many are afraid to acknowledge is a possibility - can terrorists acquire the raw materials and then deliver a nuclear bomb? A good read that explains the difficulty in doing all of the above, while pointing out calmly that it is still possible." From the article: "Most experts with whom I spoke said that a nuclear terror attack is plausible but not inevitable, and that there's no way to precisely gauge the odds. 'I don't think the public ought to lose a lot of sleep over the issue,' says nuclear physicist Tom Cochran of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "

Comments

Someone has to say it ...

[grunherz]

... might as well be me.

Let's not pussyfoot around this issue.

If terrorists decide to detonate a nuke anywhere in the United States, the retaliation would make Afghanistan and Iraq look like an episode of the Ashlee Simpson Show in comparison.

There would be no surgical strikes, there would be no "trying to spare innocent casualties" there will be "shock and awe" on a scale never before seen in human history.

The United States would project its full power and might and the rest of the world would have to band together in a mighty big hurry to stop it.

Can you do that? Will you do that?

Who could?

China?

Europe?

And even if they did ... what then?

World War III?

The America haters of the world have a deep rooted fear of the power of the United States, and any self-respecting America-hater better hope to whatever God you believe in that terrorists are smart enough to never detonate a nuke anywhere near the USA or its allies.

Unfortunately I think the hatred of the USA by the extremists (and the casual hater, and there are a lot of you) is more powerful than the foresight to see what a catastrophe such an act would bring to the world ...

The United States would wipe the earth into a barren wasteland, starting with the Arab States (innocent or not) and moving on to whomever else decides they want to stand in its way.

There will be no winners. There will be no "good guys" or "bad guys", just a lot of death, destruction, grief and misery not seen since the Mongol Hordes marches across Asia and Europe.

This is just one take, but I'm sure a lot of folks whether they want to or not, have to reluctantly agree that this is the case.