Weapons of mass destruction threat up - CIA
Date: 01-Feb-02
Country: USA
Author: Tabassum Zakaria
The Sept. 11 attacks used hijacked planes as weapons to destroy skyscrapers in New York and damage the Pentagon near Washington, killing about 3,000 people. It was followed by an anthrax scare that killed five people and revealed the country's vulnerability to biological warfare.
Since then, extremist groups appear to be increasing their search for weapons that could destroy large populations using chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear agents, according to an unclassified CIA report to Congress.
The semiannual report on the acquisition of technology relating to weapons of mass destruction covered Jan. 1 through June 30, 2001, but a special section dealing with the post-Sept. 11 threat was also included.
"The threat of terrorists using chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear materials appears to be rising - particularly since the 11 September attacks," the report said.
Information and technology on weapons of mass destruction was widely available from the Internet and the former Soviet Union, the report said.
CONVENTIONAL TACTICS FAVORED
Several of the 30 foreign organizations the United States has designated as terrorists have expressed interest in weapons of mass destruction, although terrorists would probably continue to favor conventional tactics such as bombings and shootings, the report said.
While extremists, including Osama bin Laden, were seeking a nuclear weapon, there was no evidence that they had acquired one or the materials to build one, the CIA report said.
"Although the potential devastation from nuclear terrorism is high, we have no credible reporting on terrorists successfully acquiring nuclear weapons or sufficient material to make them," the report said. "Gaps in our reporting, however, make this an issue of ongoing concern," it said.
Bin Laden, accused by the United States of masterminding the attacks on America, has pursued development of chemical and biological weapons in his al Qaeda organization and has had a long standing interest in nuclear materials, the report said.
"We have uncovered rudimentary diagrams of nuclear weapons inside a suspected al Qaeda safe house in Kabul. These diagrams, while crude, describe essential components - uranium and high explosives - common to nuclear weapons," the report said.
Among the weapons of mass destruction, extremist groups appeared most interested in chemicals that could do widespread damage to food or water supplies, the report said.
"Terrorist groups are most interested in chemicals such as cyanide salts to contaminate food and water supplies or to assassinate individuals."
INTEREST IN TOXIC CHEMICALS
"Terrorist groups also have expressed interest in many other toxic industrial chemicals - most of which are relatively easy to acquire and handle - and traditional chemical agents, including chlorine and phosgene and some groups have discussed nerve agents," the report said.
"We see lesser interest in biological materials that appears focused on agents for use in small-scale poisonings or assassinations."
On Tuesday, President George W. Bush accused Iran, Iraq and North Korea of constituting an "axis of evil" for their alleged pursuit of weapons of mass destruction. The CIA report, completed well before the speech mentioned all three countries, among others.
It repeated assertions made in an earlier report that Iran remained one of the most active countries seeking to acquire weapons of mass destruction from abroad.
Iraq was believed to have the capability to produce chemical and biological agents in a fairly short time and had probably continued research and development associated with its nuclear program, the report said.
"The Intelligence Community remains concerned that Baghdad may be attempting to acquire materials that could aid in reconstituting its nuclear weapons program," the report said.
On North Korea, the report for the first half of 2001 said: "We assess that North Korea is
