Friday, January 28, 2005
NUCLEAR TERRORISM REVISITED
Dr. Milt Rosenberg of Milt's File, WGN 720 AM " Extension 720" and the University of Chicago had on his radio program last night Steve Coll, author of the highly regarded Ghost Wars:The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001. The discussion turned to the possibility of nuclear terrorism by al Qaida so I took the initiative to ask a question ( via email) that Marc Shulman, Dave Schuyler, Andrew and I debated a while back regarding the potential deterrence effect of indicating that the United States, in the event of al Qaida detonating a nuclear weapon on American soil, would target Mecca for a retaliatory nuclear strike.
Dr. Rosenberg was kind enough to read my question to Mr. Coll who responded( I'll have to paraphrase)
" This is exactly the sort of question that I would hope is being discussed in the National Security Council ".
He went on to indicate that such a stance would as a side-effect, have a huge, probably negative, effect on the war of ideas aspect of the Terror War. It was a very interesting program which presumably, will be available in Dr. Rosenberg's audio archive, if it isn't already. Coll is also, by the way, in the midst of his next book on Islamist terrorism with a focus on Saudi Arabia.
¶ 8:07 AM
Dr. Milt Rosenberg of Milt's File, WGN 720 AM " Extension 720" and the University of Chicago had on his radio program last night Steve Coll, author of the highly regarded Ghost Wars:The Secret History of the CIA, Afghanistan, and Bin Laden, from the Soviet Invasion to September 10, 2001. The discussion turned to the possibility of nuclear terrorism by al Qaida so I took the initiative to ask a question ( via email) that Marc Shulman, Dave Schuyler, Andrew and I debated a while back regarding the potential deterrence effect of indicating that the United States, in the event of al Qaida detonating a nuclear weapon on American soil, would target Mecca for a retaliatory nuclear strike.
Dr. Rosenberg was kind enough to read my question to Mr. Coll who responded( I'll have to paraphrase)
" This is exactly the sort of question that I would hope is being discussed in the National Security Council ".
He went on to indicate that such a stance would as a side-effect, have a huge, probably negative, effect on the war of ideas aspect of the Terror War. It was a very interesting program which presumably, will be available in Dr. Rosenberg's audio archive, if it isn't already. Coll is also, by the way, in the midst of his next book on Islamist terrorism with a focus on Saudi Arabia.
¶ 8:07 AM
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The new NSA, Stephen Hadley, has an accomplished record when it comes to nuclear weapons and arms control issues. The important question is whether or not his perpsective on nuclear weapons-related issues is still colored by Cold War polices. If were to guess I would say that its not. Based on the Jan. 8, 02 nuclear posture review (when Hadley was working under now Secretary Rice), it seems as though the Cold War's nuclear weapons policy is at least being re-evaluated. For whatever reason, probably the one you cite regarding the war of ideas, this subject has not been broached publicly. I'll be sure to listen to the audio of the interview to hear more on this.
This is a tough topic. The fact that the MSM is not even looking at this might change after the election is complete. Got to go listen to the audio…
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