DEP Press Advisory on Deer Hunting Cancellation, October 2, 2001

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o chemical or biological agents.! !en. Bob Graham, D- provided higher confidence in the results. o o ■ Poisoning a city is harder than Fla., chairman of the Senate’s Select Committee on Equally important, the attacks on the World c Intelligence, said that the CIA told him that “there Trade Center and the Pentagon indicate that bin 3 in our nightmares o were other acts of terrorism n the U.S. and else­ Laden sought to achieve the following objectives: =3

where that were part of this j: Ian. Not necessarily hijacking another airliner bi t maybe putting -a First, inflict mass casualties to signal the ruth­ By AVIGDOR HASELKORN chemical in a city’s water syst ;m.” On Sept. 18, the lessness of the attackers and frighten aqd intimi­ LOS ANGELES TIMES NEWS SERVICE_________________________ Senate Press Gallery told reporters they would be date the United States. Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect in master­ given gas masks as a precaution. Yet on closer ex­ Second, cause mass destruction, allowing bin minding the terrorist attacks on the United States, amination it appears that bi i Laden so far has Laden show to his followers as well as enemies that has never denied his interest in acquiring nuclear, opted for using “conventional" weaponry in his war U.S. power would turn into rubble when confronted biological and chemical weapons — although that on the United States. by Islam’s warriors. doesn’t appear to be the direction in which he is There are numerous reasons for this choice. First, Third, martyrdom; by opting for a suicide mis­ headed. while it is relatively easy to produce chemical and sion, bin Laden has signaled that he is undeterrable. In a television interview in 1999, he said, “To seek biological agents, dispersing ;hem effectively re­ “We will win because we are ready to go all the way to possess the weapons that could counter those of quires a high level of technical proficiency. Recall and pay any price,” is the unmistakable message. that early Iraqi attempts to copduct chemical ivar war- Fourth, destroy the symbols of America’s might; the infidels is a religions duty.” Indeed, in court documents unsealed in 1998 in fare in its war with Iran were not only ineffective, the attack was aimed at the centers of the U.S. mili­ connection with the trial of the bombers of the U.S. they ended up contaminating Irraqi —; — •viarc them- soldiers tary and economic power. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, U.S. prosecutors While chemical and biological attacks could cer­ selves. The Japanese terrorist group Aum Shinrikyo,I, also tainly cause mass killings and could even be pin­ charged that bin Laden has made efforts to obtain the components of chemical weapons as early as known as the Aum Supreme T uth, simultaneously pointed against a building such as the Pentagon, 1993. One of his disciples, Ahmed Ressam, who was released the chemical nerve a) [ent sarin on several such attacks would not provide the spectacular de­ sentenced to 140 years in prison for his role in the Tokyo subway trains in 1995.1’ was able to kill just struction that bin Laden sought. Moreover, biologi­ plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport, tes­ 12 people and injure several th lusand — most of the cal and chemical warfare does not lend itself to tified In court that he and others were taught to use latter from the ensuing panic — because of prob­ martyrdom the way a fiery crash of a plane does. cyanide, including how to feed it into air ducts in lems with the agent as well as ts method of dissem­ Thus, if these criteria continue to hold, the great­ buildings to kill large number of people. ination. The group attempted to disperse anthrax est care should be given to protecting the U.S. gov­ In an affidavit filed recently by the U.S. Justice and botulinum toxin at least five times without suc­ ernment’s nuclear, biological and chemical facili­ cess, despite the fact that the group had at its dis­ ties and laboratories from a suicide attack either Department to extradite two members of bin La­ posal chemists and molecular biologists as well e<= as from the air or the ground. den’s Al Queda terrorist organization from Britain, modern laboratories. evidence was presented of at least two attempts by Similarly, attempts to poison the population of a Avigdor Haselkorn is the author of “The Continuing Storm; Iraq, Poison­ the group to buy enriched uranium to make a nu­ U.S. city by contaminating it; water supplies with ous Weapons and Deterrence.”

clear weapon. chemical or biological agents would likely fail, The recent attacks on U.S. soil amply demon­ Palestinian terrorists hav tried the chemical strate that America’s strategic deterrence has route against the Israel mtional water carrier failed. Indeed, in the wake of the horrific attacks on the U.S., many have concluded that the use of weap­ ons of mass destruction may be imminent. On Sept. 11, the FAA temporarily grounded all without success. Generally, chlorinated water sup­ plies inactivate toxins within 20 minutes. Even fresh water naturally inactivates botulinum toxin SLficitanffi crop-duster.s for fear they could be used to spray The three within is six point to days. that bin Laden's method of attack q-30-0(