posted September 23, 2004 11:25 PM            

CNN examines threat of 'Nuclear Terror'
Friday, September 17, 2004 Posted: 9:27 AM EDT (1327 GMT)

ON AIR
"CNN Presents: Nuclear Terror" airs on CNN International this Saturday-Monday, September 18-20, by region (all times GMT):
• Asia and South Asia: 1200 Sat; 0400/1100 Sun
• North America: 1200/1900 Sat; 0400/1100/1700 Sun; 0200 Mon
• Latin America: 1900 Sat; 1100/1700 Sun; 0200 Mon
• Europe, Middle East and Africa: 1900 Sat; 1100/1700 Sun

(CNN) -- Nuclear terrorism is the ultimate nightmare. As the world marks the third anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the prospect of terrorist organizations acquiring nuclear material has become an increasingly serious source of anxiety for governments and intelligence agencies around the world.

It's also the topic of "CNN Presents: Nuclear Terror," which examines how terrorists might get nuclear weapons -- and what would happen if they used them.

The physical, psychological, political and economic damage from any kind of nuclear attack by terrorists -- whether a "dirty bomb," in which nuclear material is mixed with explosives, or a more sophisticated nuclear device -- would be devastating.

"If terrorists succeeded in putting together a crude nuclear bomb and they put it in Grand Central Station in New York, and set it off on a typical work afternoon, within days half a million people would be dead. You would have to evacuate all of Manhattan," says Matthew Bunn of Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government.

Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden has spoken openly of his desire to acquire nuclear know-how. Intelligence sources, government officials and scholars point to three countries they fear could be the source of nuclear material for terrorists:

When the Soviet Union collapsed, Russia inherited a huge stockpile of nuclear weapons -- much of which is poorly guarded and easily vulnerable to theft.

Pakistan is believed to have at least 50 nuclear weapons, and it's known that at least two Pakistani nuclear scientists met with bin Laden in August 2001.

North Korea has for years sold ballistic missiles to almost any country that asked, including Iran, Iraq, Libya and Yemen. Experts believe North Korea now has at least a half dozen nuclear bombs. In addition, law enforcement and diplomatic sources say, North Korea has long been heavily involved in a host of other illicit activities, including drug trafficking, counterfeiting and money-laundering. These have given the North Koreans close connections with a wide assortment of criminal networks across Asia, providing the Pyongyang regime with a ready-made infrastructure for any potential deal to sell nuclear material to terrorists.

"CNN Presents: Nuclear Terror" brings together a team of CNN correspondents, including U.S. National Security Correspondent David Ensor, Moscow Bureau Chief Jill Dougherty and Senior Asia Correspondent Mike Chinoy, to investigate whether the threat of nuclear terrorism has grown worse.

posted September 23, 2004 11:32 PM            

Posted 9/22/2004 11:43 PM Updated 9/23/2004 10:08 AM

Airport screeners missed weapons
By Mimi Hall, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Undercover investigators were able to sneak explosives and weapons past security screeners at 15 airports nationwide, according to a government report on aviation security.

The government watchdog for the Department of Homeland Security, Clark Kent Ervin, delivered the results of the tests in a classified report to members of Congress. "The performance was poor," said Ervin, the department's inspector general, in releasing a less detailed version Wednesday.

The tests were done during the second half of 2003. But they highlight ongoing vulnerabilities in the nation's aviation security system, particularly in detecting explosives such as those that Russian authorities say were used to bring down two airliners last month.

Rep. John Mica, R-Fla., chairman of a House aviation subcommittee, confirmed that the longer, classified report showed weapons and explosives got by screeners. He said the results on weapons were "bad enough," but the results on explosives were "absolutely horrendous."

An earlier report in 2003 by the Government Accountability Office had found that undercover agents were able to slip guns, knives and box cutters past screeners.

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks, the government installed explosive-detection machines in airports nationwide for checked baggage. But it has not installed equipment to check for explosives on all passengers and their carry-on bags. They are sent through metal detectors and only occasionally checked by explosive trace detection equipment.

"Unfortunately, it may take some horrific wake-up call to get attention," Mica said.

Ervin's report blamed poor training and management of the thousands of screeners who work for the Transportation Security Administration, a division of the Homeland Security department. It also cited the need for better equipment and technology.

Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Ore., the top Democrat on the House aviation panel, said: "You're not going to find plastic explosives with a metal detector, no matter how hard you try."

TSA officials said improvements have been made since Ervin's tests, which were done from July to November 2003. Walk-through explosive-detection machines are now being tested at five airports. Machines that can detect trace amounts of explosives on documents are being tested at four airports. And airport screeners recently were given more authority to conduct "pat-downs" of passengers in an effort to detect explosives hidden under clothing.

"We're aggressively pursuing all the solutions available to us," TSA spokeswoman Yolanda Clark said.

Mica and other members of Congress are promoting the use of low-radiation X-ray machines that reveal what is under passengers' clothes. DeFazio said privacy concerns have slowed their development.

The lack of explosive-detection technology at passenger checkpoints nationwide "absolutely drives me out of my mind," Mica said. "It's so frustrating."

In the wake of Sept. 11, the government installed explosive-detection machines in airports nationwide for checked baggage.
By Tim Dillon, USA TODAY

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So what is Tom Ridge doing other then busting former rock stars and getting together with Attorney General John Ashcroft and placing further restriction on the American people and pocketing the funds for this failed system?!