Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Arizona Republic (Phoenix)
May 31, 2008 By Associated Press
LONDON - Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff downplayed suggestions Friday that al-Qaida-inspired terrorists could launch a nuclear attack against the West, saying the U.S. was more concerned about their use of conventional arms.
Chertoff told students and journalists at London's Oxford Union that while some Islamic militants appear interested in acquiring weapons of mass destruction, they don't yet pose a serious threat.
"In the immediate or near term, the focus is on conventional weapons, which can still be quite damaging. Something on the scale of 9/11 or the attacks on your transportation system. We have to look at the whole spectrum," he said at the famed debating society.
Chertoff's remarks followed a recent series of anonymous postings on al-Qaida-affliated Web sites, including a 39-minute video, that exhorts militants to pursue weapons of mass destruction for use against the U.S.
Although none of the postings is known to be authentic, taken together they raise questions about whether jihadists have such capabilities and whether they can launch some kind of attack.
But Chertoff downplayed the idea of any such attack, though he said that officials remained concerned that al-Qaida is interested in developing such capability.
"The short answer is the intent is there. Its probability, particularly in the short term, is lower than conventional weapons," he said.
The Washington-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant Web traffic, said the video presents the U.S. as vulnerable and suggests that militants could use such weapons as a deterrent to any nuclear attack against an Islamic country.
The video is just part of a propaganda campaign to frighten the West, SITE director Rita Katz said.
May 31, 2008 By Associated Press
LONDON - Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff downplayed suggestions Friday that al-Qaida-inspired terrorists could launch a nuclear attack against the West, saying the U.S. was more concerned about their use of conventional arms.
Chertoff told students and journalists at London's Oxford Union that while some Islamic militants appear interested in acquiring weapons of mass destruction, they don't yet pose a serious threat.
"In the immediate or near term, the focus is on conventional weapons, which can still be quite damaging. Something on the scale of 9/11 or the attacks on your transportation system. We have to look at the whole spectrum," he said at the famed debating society.
Chertoff's remarks followed a recent series of anonymous postings on al-Qaida-affliated Web sites, including a 39-minute video, that exhorts militants to pursue weapons of mass destruction for use against the U.S.
Although none of the postings is known to be authentic, taken together they raise questions about whether jihadists have such capabilities and whether they can launch some kind of attack.
But Chertoff downplayed the idea of any such attack, though he said that officials remained concerned that al-Qaida is interested in developing such capability.
"The short answer is the intent is there. Its probability, particularly in the short term, is lower than conventional weapons," he said.
The Washington-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant Web traffic, said the video presents the U.S. as vulnerable and suggests that militants could use such weapons as a deterrent to any nuclear attack against an Islamic country.
The video is just part of a propaganda campaign to frighten the West, SITE director Rita Katz said.