PipelineNews.org - FBI Director Mueller Warns Of Al-Qaeda Nuke Threat

PipelineNews.org - FBI Director Mueller Warns Of Al-Qaeda Nuke Threat

FBI Director Mueller Warns Of Al-Qaeda Nuke Threat
June 11, 2007 - San Francisco, CA - PipeLineNews.org - In a speech delivered today to the Global Initiative Nuclear Terrorism Conference being held in Miami, Florida, FBI Director Robert S. Mueller, III warned that al-Qaeda is actively seeking to obtain nuclear weapons

"Al Qaeda has demonstrated a clear intent to acquire weapons of mass destruction. In 1993, Osama bin Laden attempted to buy uranium from a source in the Sudan. He has stated that it is Al Qaeda's duty to acquire weapons of mass destruction. And he has made repeated recruiting pitches for experts in chemistry, physics, and explosives to join his terrorist movement."

Calling nuclear terrorism "one of the most dangerous and deadly threats we face" Mueller suggested a three step approach to stop such an attack – securing "loose nuclear material," sharing intelligence and standing "strong together" to develop a "global response."

Mueller stated that al-Qaeda thinks "big" and that a nuclear attack would produce many times the impact of 9/11.

He cautioned that while al-Qaeda remains the biggest concern that other groups and individuals, including homegrown terrorists with only a philosophical connection to bin-Laden's message, must not be overlooked.

While the threat is high, the FBI and other intelligence agencies have made strides recently in their ability to identify suspicious containers. In 2005 for example, a joint operation led by the United States was mounted when a radiation sensor was tripped at the Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka.

Though the substance was eventually identified as non-weapons grade material before it entered the U.S., Mr. Mueller said the danger, "illustrates the need for a quick and a coordinated response."

Key to that coordination lies in the training of foreign governmental partners in the methods of detecting WMDs with 5,000 participants having been so-far trained, and that though this effort is still in its initial stages that it can't be allowed to fail.

©1999-2007 PipeLineNews.org LLC, all rights reserved.

http://www.pipelinenews.org/index.cfm?page=mueller61107.htm