MOP
07-13-2004, 06:12 PM
Importance: High
I hope this doesn't freak you out. The sky isn't falling, however, to the degree humanly possible, I believe we need to be as prepared and vigilant as possible.
I believe we should have a family plan as to what we would do should a Terrorist attack take place. How would we communicate and where would we meet if communications were disrupted?
Needless to say, there is only so much anyone can do to prepare. I myself put my faith and trust in my relationship with God. That doesn't mean, however, I shouldn't take all prudent steps I can.
Ron
The Omega Letter Intelligence Digest
Vol: 34 Issue: 12 - Monday, July 12, 2004
"Blood, Fire and Pillars of Smoke"
There is a new book out, written by Paul L. Williams, that claims Osama bin-Laden not only already has nuclear weapons, but has already planted them in a number of American cities. According to Williams, bin-Laden intends to launch a mega-attack, most likely nuclear, in 'seven to nine' American cities, sometime before the elections in November.
Williams has appeared several times on Fox News and CNN -- something that would be unlikely if Williams was a nutbar -- and it fits with the warnings issued recently by the Department of Homeland Security.
Indeed, Homeland Security is working on a contingency plan to POSTPONE the presidential election if necessary. On September 11, New York State postponed a Democratic primary scheduled on that day, due to the attacks, but the federal government has no mechanism in place to do the same thing.
In any case, isn't because the author possesses any secret intelligence not available to the public. The information contained in the book is startling, but it's not new.
If you've been a subscriber to the Omega Letter for any length of time at all, you already know what Williams knows. All Williams has done in his book is to connect the dots in book form. But the resulting picture was already out there, in jig-saw puzzle form.
Fears of loose Soviet nukes date back to 1991. Alexander Lebed's claim that 84 Russian suitcase nukes was made during sworn testimony before the US Congress in 1997.
Osama Bin Laden boasted possession of several of these devices as early as November 2001, telling a journalist, "If you have contacts in Russia and with other militant groups... [suitcase nukes] are available for $10 million and $20 million."
And we've known since last year that the international nuclear black market birthed and nursed by Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan is bigger and more sophisticated than most experts had dared imagine.
Across the board, the situation is much worse than most people assume it is.
Three years before 9/11, the head of the Congressional Task Force on Nonconventional Terrorism told an audience in Washington, "There is no longer much doubt that bin Laden has succeeded in his quest for nuclear suitcase bombs."
Uncovering the A.Q. Khan network also uncovered an alliance between al Qaeda and Pakistani nuclear scientists, nine of whom have been underground since 1998, some with known extremist sympathies. Since even the simplest devices require relatively sophisticated maintenance, the aid of sympathetic Pakistani or disgruntled Russian scientists is crucial.
And there is no shortage of under-employed Russian nuclear scientists looking for part-time work.
Assessment:
As previously noted, none of this is based on secret intelligence. The September 11 Commission cited the lack of border security as one of our biggest vulnerabilities. A terrorist could ship a nuclear bomb in a bag of golf clubs via FedEx. He could walk it over one of the many unguarded border crossings between Canada and the United States.
A terrorist could drive a pleasure boat across the Niagara River, or the Detroit River, and there are miles and miles of unguarded beaches on the US side where he could smuggle in a nuclear weapon undetected. In the summer, both rivers are filled with pleasure boats from both sides of the border.
A boat from Canada could easily pass a weapon to a US-based pleasure craft. US pleasure craft are not inspected at any border crossing point when they return home from a day on the water.
Then there are the millions of cargo containers that enter US ports, only three percent of which are searched at point of entry.
Because background radiation makes weapons-grade nuclear material impossible to detect unless at extremely close range, even the most sophisticated sensors cannot home in on a bomb without precise intelligence on its location.
Unless each cargo container is opened and searched by hand, any talk about port security is largely aimed at reassuring the public.
Even if terrorists couldn't buy a working nuke, they could build one. Plans for nuclear weapons were found in Afghanistan after the Taliban were defeated. The only thing we don't know for sure is if they have if they have acquired fissile material. If so, a functioning bomb is not hard to make.
In a simple gun-model bomb, one baseball-sized "bullet" of weapons-grade uranium is shot at high speed down a barrel against a second slab of enriched uranium.
The result is a chain reaction that could reduce much of Manhattan to radioactive rubble and kill about a million people before you can say 'Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction'.
By 1981, Saddam had 27.5 pounds of weapons-grade plutonium. The Israelis bombed the Osirek reactor into rubble, but what happened to Saddam's plutonium? It was assumed to be destroyed by the attack, but plutonium is hard to destroy and easy to find amid the rubble with a Geiger counter. Where is it now?
And Russia holds an estimated two million pounds of weapons-grade uranium-enough for 80,000 bombs. Throughout the 1990's there have been numerous cases in which smugglers have been arrested for possessing plutonium and enriched uranium stolen during the confusion surrounding the collapse of the Soviet Union. How many smugglers DIDN'T get caught?
A recent report from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace pointed out that, unlike countries, which may fear retaliation; terrorist groups are undeterred about using nuclear weapons.
"If the U.S. and others just keep doing what they are doing today, a nuclear 9/11 is more likely than not in the decade ahead," said Graham Allison, director of Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
Agence France-Presse reported in late April that U.S. analysts believed North Korea had at least eight nuclear weapons, rather than two as previously suspected. And Iran's ambitions to produce nuclear weapons appeared more real after Iran announced it would resume enrichment activities, defying the IAEA.
And Egypt, Saudi Arabia or other nations might follow Iran's lead and initiate or renew nuclear programs, the report said.
The Book of the Revelation records the emergence of a huge, fanatical army, 'the kings of the east' that has traditionally been identified as China. After all, China is the only country on earth that could field an army that large, and it just so happens that there are about two hundred million Chinese men of military age alive today.
But as we get closer to the end of the age, a number of previously assumed interpretations are being challenged. In John's day, there were only about five hundred million people on earth, so it seems logical that, for the first time in history, there is a nation big enough to fit John's prophecy.
For that reason, there is always a danger in being dogmatic about trying to make prophecy fit into current events. Current events change, but the prophecies have remained unchanged for twenty centuries.
And Daniel noted twenty-FIVE centuries ago that the prophecies for the last days were 'sealed up, until the time of the end' when people will move rapidly from place to place, and 'knowledge is increased'. (Daniel 12:4)
Well, we are living in the 'time of the end' that Daniel describes so precisely. And we've noted in the past that there are some 1.9 billion Muslims, give or take, and we've listened to the mantra, 'ninety percent of Muslims are peace-loving moderates' until our eyes glazed over to the degree we overlook what the other ten percent really means.
Ten percent of roughly 2 billion Muslims are roughly two hundred million fanatical Muslims who would be only too happy to chop off your head, given the chance. Or nuke your city.
"And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them."
The Apostle John describes what he calls the 'three woes,' saying, -- and this is important -- "One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter." (Revelation 9:12) John's two hundred million man army is one of these 'woes'. Of the three woes, John writes,
"By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths." (Revelation 9:16, 18)
As noted, the closer we get to the end of the age, the clearer the picture seems to get.
Note:
For anyone interested, here is a link to Williams' book, "Osama's Revenge" at Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1591022525/
qid=1089636908/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-1751623-5387226)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archives of past issues of The Omega Letter Intelligence Digest plus many other Omega Letter member features can be found at: www.omegaletter.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Omega Letter is published daily by Jack Kinsella and exists through subscriptions and free will contributions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope this doesn't freak you out. The sky isn't falling, however, to the degree humanly possible, I believe we need to be as prepared and vigilant as possible.
I believe we should have a family plan as to what we would do should a Terrorist attack take place. How would we communicate and where would we meet if communications were disrupted?
Needless to say, there is only so much anyone can do to prepare. I myself put my faith and trust in my relationship with God. That doesn't mean, however, I shouldn't take all prudent steps I can.
Ron
The Omega Letter Intelligence Digest
Vol: 34 Issue: 12 - Monday, July 12, 2004
"Blood, Fire and Pillars of Smoke"
There is a new book out, written by Paul L. Williams, that claims Osama bin-Laden not only already has nuclear weapons, but has already planted them in a number of American cities. According to Williams, bin-Laden intends to launch a mega-attack, most likely nuclear, in 'seven to nine' American cities, sometime before the elections in November.
Williams has appeared several times on Fox News and CNN -- something that would be unlikely if Williams was a nutbar -- and it fits with the warnings issued recently by the Department of Homeland Security.
Indeed, Homeland Security is working on a contingency plan to POSTPONE the presidential election if necessary. On September 11, New York State postponed a Democratic primary scheduled on that day, due to the attacks, but the federal government has no mechanism in place to do the same thing.
In any case, isn't because the author possesses any secret intelligence not available to the public. The information contained in the book is startling, but it's not new.
If you've been a subscriber to the Omega Letter for any length of time at all, you already know what Williams knows. All Williams has done in his book is to connect the dots in book form. But the resulting picture was already out there, in jig-saw puzzle form.
Fears of loose Soviet nukes date back to 1991. Alexander Lebed's claim that 84 Russian suitcase nukes was made during sworn testimony before the US Congress in 1997.
Osama Bin Laden boasted possession of several of these devices as early as November 2001, telling a journalist, "If you have contacts in Russia and with other militant groups... [suitcase nukes] are available for $10 million and $20 million."
And we've known since last year that the international nuclear black market birthed and nursed by Pakistani scientist A.Q. Khan is bigger and more sophisticated than most experts had dared imagine.
Across the board, the situation is much worse than most people assume it is.
Three years before 9/11, the head of the Congressional Task Force on Nonconventional Terrorism told an audience in Washington, "There is no longer much doubt that bin Laden has succeeded in his quest for nuclear suitcase bombs."
Uncovering the A.Q. Khan network also uncovered an alliance between al Qaeda and Pakistani nuclear scientists, nine of whom have been underground since 1998, some with known extremist sympathies. Since even the simplest devices require relatively sophisticated maintenance, the aid of sympathetic Pakistani or disgruntled Russian scientists is crucial.
And there is no shortage of under-employed Russian nuclear scientists looking for part-time work.
Assessment:
As previously noted, none of this is based on secret intelligence. The September 11 Commission cited the lack of border security as one of our biggest vulnerabilities. A terrorist could ship a nuclear bomb in a bag of golf clubs via FedEx. He could walk it over one of the many unguarded border crossings between Canada and the United States.
A terrorist could drive a pleasure boat across the Niagara River, or the Detroit River, and there are miles and miles of unguarded beaches on the US side where he could smuggle in a nuclear weapon undetected. In the summer, both rivers are filled with pleasure boats from both sides of the border.
A boat from Canada could easily pass a weapon to a US-based pleasure craft. US pleasure craft are not inspected at any border crossing point when they return home from a day on the water.
Then there are the millions of cargo containers that enter US ports, only three percent of which are searched at point of entry.
Because background radiation makes weapons-grade nuclear material impossible to detect unless at extremely close range, even the most sophisticated sensors cannot home in on a bomb without precise intelligence on its location.
Unless each cargo container is opened and searched by hand, any talk about port security is largely aimed at reassuring the public.
Even if terrorists couldn't buy a working nuke, they could build one. Plans for nuclear weapons were found in Afghanistan after the Taliban were defeated. The only thing we don't know for sure is if they have if they have acquired fissile material. If so, a functioning bomb is not hard to make.
In a simple gun-model bomb, one baseball-sized "bullet" of weapons-grade uranium is shot at high speed down a barrel against a second slab of enriched uranium.
The result is a chain reaction that could reduce much of Manhattan to radioactive rubble and kill about a million people before you can say 'Saddam had no weapons of mass destruction'.
By 1981, Saddam had 27.5 pounds of weapons-grade plutonium. The Israelis bombed the Osirek reactor into rubble, but what happened to Saddam's plutonium? It was assumed to be destroyed by the attack, but plutonium is hard to destroy and easy to find amid the rubble with a Geiger counter. Where is it now?
And Russia holds an estimated two million pounds of weapons-grade uranium-enough for 80,000 bombs. Throughout the 1990's there have been numerous cases in which smugglers have been arrested for possessing plutonium and enriched uranium stolen during the confusion surrounding the collapse of the Soviet Union. How many smugglers DIDN'T get caught?
A recent report from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace pointed out that, unlike countries, which may fear retaliation; terrorist groups are undeterred about using nuclear weapons.
"If the U.S. and others just keep doing what they are doing today, a nuclear 9/11 is more likely than not in the decade ahead," said Graham Allison, director of Harvard University's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.
Agence France-Presse reported in late April that U.S. analysts believed North Korea had at least eight nuclear weapons, rather than two as previously suspected. And Iran's ambitions to produce nuclear weapons appeared more real after Iran announced it would resume enrichment activities, defying the IAEA.
And Egypt, Saudi Arabia or other nations might follow Iran's lead and initiate or renew nuclear programs, the report said.
The Book of the Revelation records the emergence of a huge, fanatical army, 'the kings of the east' that has traditionally been identified as China. After all, China is the only country on earth that could field an army that large, and it just so happens that there are about two hundred million Chinese men of military age alive today.
But as we get closer to the end of the age, a number of previously assumed interpretations are being challenged. In John's day, there were only about five hundred million people on earth, so it seems logical that, for the first time in history, there is a nation big enough to fit John's prophecy.
For that reason, there is always a danger in being dogmatic about trying to make prophecy fit into current events. Current events change, but the prophecies have remained unchanged for twenty centuries.
And Daniel noted twenty-FIVE centuries ago that the prophecies for the last days were 'sealed up, until the time of the end' when people will move rapidly from place to place, and 'knowledge is increased'. (Daniel 12:4)
Well, we are living in the 'time of the end' that Daniel describes so precisely. And we've noted in the past that there are some 1.9 billion Muslims, give or take, and we've listened to the mantra, 'ninety percent of Muslims are peace-loving moderates' until our eyes glazed over to the degree we overlook what the other ten percent really means.
Ten percent of roughly 2 billion Muslims are roughly two hundred million fanatical Muslims who would be only too happy to chop off your head, given the chance. Or nuke your city.
"And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them."
The Apostle John describes what he calls the 'three woes,' saying, -- and this is important -- "One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter." (Revelation 9:12) John's two hundred million man army is one of these 'woes'. Of the three woes, John writes,
"By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths." (Revelation 9:16, 18)
As noted, the closer we get to the end of the age, the clearer the picture seems to get.
Note:
For anyone interested, here is a link to Williams' book, "Osama's Revenge" at Amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1591022525/
qid=1089636908/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-1751623-5387226)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archives of past issues of The Omega Letter Intelligence Digest plus many other Omega Letter member features can be found at: www.omegaletter.com
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Omega Letter is published daily by Jack Kinsella and exists through subscriptions and free will contributions.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------