Terrorists May Be Planning Dirty Bomb Detonation
Posted: Thursday, January 01, 2009
by Joel Hendon
http://hebronics.org/index.html
Everyone understands that the radical terrorists lay awake planning for the most horrible incident they can successfully pull off. And even though they could care no less about how many casualties they might cause, their primary objective is terror. Of course, the more casualties they can inflict the better, as that also increases the fright.
Within a few days after this tragedy, it became fairly obvious that there were no more such events that were imminent, so life became somewhat normal again in a relatively short period.
If they could successfully explode a "dirty bomb" in a highly strategic spot, panic would again surely ensue. Short of being able to fire a rocket with a nuclear warhead into our shores, the dirty bomb may be their highest priority.
So, just what is a dirty bomb? Following is a brief description taken from the army-technology.com website:
A dirty bomb is an improvised nuclear device, created from radioactive nuclear waste material and conventional explosives. When a dirty bomb is detonated the explosion carries the nuclear waste material into the atmosphere where it is subject to dispersal by wind and rain. The aim of the dirty bomb is to cause wide-spread contamination of the target area. If detonated in a city a well designed dirty bomb could cause panic, radiation-related illnesses (both long-term and short-term) and possibly the abandonment or demolition of highly contaminated areas.
So physical infrastructure damage would likely not be extremely heavy, but the contamination from radioactive fallout could be extensive. Another plus for them, over and above the amount of immediate panic, would be the fear they might be able to repeat the process if indeed they did it once. This type of bomb takes very little advanced technical knowledge, any more than preparing a car bomb plus the possession of radioactive materials to wrap around the explosive.
The BBC news explains the possible effects of such a bomb below:
Although it is estimated that the inclusion of radioactive isotopes would cause very few immediate additional casualties there could still be a major psychological effect, with some people trying to flee the affected area and local businesses seriously damaged
In the worst-case scenario, whole areas could be rendered uninhabitable for up to several months or even years
Both American and British scientists are working to devise means of helping to contain and minimize the effects of the radioactive materials. They also have to be concerned of the same type of bomb containing bacteriological materials or dangerous chemicals. Most experts are convinced that the terrorists are determined to try these methods of spreading panic in a number of countries. It is enough that Americans should be willing to give our government wide authorization to seek out and gain as much information concerning these matters as is needed.
There is no decency or morality to those who cowardly inflict these acts of terror on us, and they deserve no better in return.
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)It is frightening especially when so many people feel that there is no real problem. 'Talking with those who wish our demise will solve the problem.'Yes Nancy, it is frightening and I do fear that so many will take it lightly until it does happen. All we can do is pray for the best and try to encourage our legislators. Thanks for reading and commenting.
I am afraid of the thought that people could use bacteriological materials or dangerous chemicals in bombs. Many innocent lives will be lost.Thanks for reading and commenting Monique, yes it is frightening and the worst part is that fear is exactly what they want out of us. I just pray that the day will not arrive that they are able to pull these horrors off. One would be terrible but if they could continue to do that, one every now and then, it would disrupt this entire nation and our economy would go through the bottom.
This brings to mind the scripture that talks about the time of the last days, where it says that "men's hearts will fail them for fear."Thanks for reading and commenting, David.
Yes, I remember reading about the "dirty bomb" shortly after the 9/11 incident. What a frightful thought this is. I am a Vietnam vet, and was in combat for 3 tours, and I have seen what conventional bombs can do, along with agent orange. These terrorist have no value for human life, not even their own, and I agree with your comment;"There is no decency or morality to those who cowardly inflict these acts of terror on us, and they deserve no better in return".Well written, excellent content, and subject matter that needs to be taken seriously. As always Mr. Hendon, your articles always hold my attention....from beginning to end. Looking forward to your next article, your fan, Gary.Thank you Gary, do appreciate you kind comments.
Joel, after reading your article, and knowing how our new President plans on handling our foreign affairs, I have a whole new level of optimism for 2009.NOT!And there are still people who believe we should reason with these insane maniacs? Where is the common sense?Amen, David. Thanks for your comment.It is preferable to use reason rather than force where possible, but no-one (specifically Obama) is saying that we should not back up our words with other measures, including military options. Many terrorist groups are simply not amenable to reason, being so caught up with their extreme religious and political ideology.Terrorism is not an easy problem for any free society to solve - most of the effective ways to reduce it involve reducing the freedom of those within the society, which is a victory of sorts for the terrorists, although it can be the "lesser of two evils" and seems to be necessary in the current situation.Military action can also be useful, but equally it can also be counter-productive (it can be like stamping on a hornet's nest - yeah, you'll kill a bunch of them and damage their infrastructure, but you'll leave the rest of them angrier and more likely to sting you).If there was an easy solution any president would take it. But there isn't. Obama's attitude seems more realistic than that of the outgoing President...but regardless of who is in charge, I can only wish them the best of luck in tackling an extremely difficult problem that has major implications for all of us.A dirty bomb is certainly a plausible and worrying threat, but I find the possibility of a biological threat far more worrying as this could have the ability to be self-spreading.I hope the world leaders of all countries will work together to tackle the problem of terrorism, and I hope that they can find a solution that doesn't reduce the freedoms we have any more than is necessaryWell said, Ben. If any of my remarks sounded contrary, they were not so intended. Your next to last paragraph mentions a strong possibility with a dirty bomb type explosion as well as nuclear waste. It is all of great concern and I cannot personally see the end of it. Thanks for your commentActually, small scale biological warfare has already happened in the U.S. In 1984, followers of the Bagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho) sprayed a solution of salmonella onto a salad bar in Dulles, Oregon, infecting 750 people. Not as sexy a story as Joel's fearful fancy.Yes, we've had several limited problems such as this, you also remember the letters sent out (since 9-11) containing Anthrax. But these sorts of things are usually known as being limited in scope, by a single individual or small group. Unlike the present global terrorism. I appreciate your comments.
No Joel, "Everyone DOES NOT understand that the radical terrorists lay awake planning for the most horrible incident they can successfully pull off."The terrorist are in your country and their faces look very similar to yours.Scare tactics and government propaganda. Including encouragement to American's to give even more rights away to further the "war on terror" agenda. Helping to plan the next "attack" by "non-christian" people. Sad!!!!!
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