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Why Haven't Terrorists Used Weapons of Mass Destruction Yet?
Friday, October 18, 2002
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service

"The release of those chemicals into the environment could cause great damage," Younger noted. "Indeed, there could be hundreds of thousands of casualties by lunchtime today and there is very little we can do about it. Once these materials are released they spread, if not by wind then by simple diffusion. Unless you are a marathon runner, it is unlikely that you'll get away from them. They can be treated, but they are labor-intensive to treat. They worry me a lot. "One can argue about whether the greater threat to America is biological or chemical, but we need to be as prepared as possible for both."

WASHINGTON -- AFIS
U.S. leaders know that terrorists know how to use some weapons of mass destruction but they haven't. Why is that?

Steven Younger, director of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, posed the rhetorical question to his audience at the Fletcher Conference here Oct. 16.

"Psychologists say terrorists like to see explosions and they like to see immediate gratification," Younger said. Another reason terrorists haven't used chemical, biological or radiological weapons, he said, is that they are concerned about alienating friends.

"It could be that there are some lines beyond which even they would not go for fear of alienating the rest of the Islamic world, upon which they depend on for various types of support," he said.

It could be the United States and the coalition against global terrorism has so broken up the cells that they cannot communicate and launch these attacks.

He said after talking with hundreds of people he has come around to this chilling possibility: "They just haven't gotten around to it yet."
(More: DoD News Source)
2002 © The United States Department of Defense.

Dan