Stewart Stogel, NewsMax.com
Wednesday, July 14, 2004

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  Paul Williams, an investigative journalist and author, says information he has obtained and some he was given access to all point to another attack by al-Qaida on the U.S. mainland.

"I believe that between now and 2005, Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida will attack the U.S. with [stolen] nuclear weapons. I have no doubt about it," says Williams.

The allegations were made during an extensive interview with NewsMax.com.

Williams says his "intelligence" concludes the most likely means of attack would come in the form of a "suitcase [size] tactical nuclear bomb."

"The chatter that everyone is referring to is coming from the nest in Pakistan, a virulent nest in Iran. The chatter is all about nukes being here. ... The best bang for the buck is nuclear; they [al-Qaida] know that."

Such bombs are estimated to have an explosive strength of approximately "10 kilotons" and could weigh less than 35 pounds.

"With today's technology and the Internet, an experienced person could easily assemble such a bomb in his home garage," Williams explained.

A bomb of that strength could easily level Manhattan and spread lethal radiation throughout the New York City metro area, says the author. "It could render Manhattan unlivable for 1,000 years," he estimated.

According to Williams, several of the "suitcase nukes" are already inside the U.S. Some could have been smuggled in overland from Canada or Mexico, or shipped from overseas via container ships, he explained.

Another, more ominous method, was a throwback to the Cold War era.

Williams, quoting Russian military officials, says Moscow secretly slipped into the continental U.S. several suitcase nukes to be activated in case of the breakout of hostilities with Washington.

Today, Williams says many of those "sleeper" nukes remain in place because some in the Kremlin still believe a conflict with the U.S. is possible.

The author insists that al-Qaida has "thousands" of sympathizers and numerous sleeper cells in the United States ready to carry out new attacks when given the OK.

Among the cities Williams says are vulnerable include: New York, Chicago, Washington, Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Dallas, Valdez, Alaska (oil pipelines and shipping), and Rappahannock County, Va.

Why a Small County in Rural Virgina?

Williams says it is the home of the underground command center the White House would move to in the event of war.

The author refers to recent comments made by Vice President Dick Cheney as verification the nuclear threat from bin Laden is real.

He also points out that al-Qaida and bin Laden have publicly proclaimed their goal is to kill "4 million Americans."

Why 4 Million?

Williams claims that bin Laden estimates that U.S. policy in the Middle East and in Eastern Europe have resulted in the deaths of 4 million followers of Islam.

The author is at a loss as to explain why the White House has not taken more definitive actions.

"I cannot figure out why they have not done more to address the threat. Maybe they don't know how or hope nothing will happen."

He also blasts the U.S. mass media for not reporting the "problem."

"With the exception of Fox News, the problem has received or little or no attention, despite comments from the vice president of the United States. Maybe they just don't understand what it is going on."

Williams says such nukes made it onto the black market after the collapse of the Soviet Union (1991) and during the following decade when Pakistan, with the assistance of China and North Korea, exploded its first atomic bombs.

Flush with cash from his secret Afghan/Pakistani poppy and heroin operations, bin Laden had the money not only to buy such weapons, but the technicians and scientists needed to maintain and transport them as well.

Williams says his intelligence estimates that bin Laden could possess "10 or more" of the suitcase nukes.

Recent reports from the Central Intelligence Agency could not confirm that such nukes might have been stolen, but could not discount the possibility.

Last month, the U.S. Department of Energy secretly removed a stash of highly radioactive materials from Iraq citing "security concerns." Washington would not disclose where in the U.S. the atomic materials were moved to, but did insist they were now in a highly secured location.

Targets

Could the national political conventions in Boston and New York City be a target for these nukes?

Williams says "perhaps" but most likely not.

"Islam practices patience ... remember it was more than eight years between attacks on the World Trade Center. They are in no rush. They will attack when they are ready."

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