"The Commission believes that unless the world community acts decisively and with great urgency, it is more likely than not that a weapon of mass destruction will be used in a terrorist attack somewhere in the world by the end of 2013."
Should we really be surprised?
"The intent of this report is neither to frighten nor to reassure the American
people about the current state of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction.
It is to underscore that the U.S. government has yet to fully adapt to these circumstances, and to convey the sobering reality that the risks are growing faster than our multilayered defenses.
Our margin of safety is shrinking, not growing." (bold and italics added)
Their findings included research in the "crossroads of terrorism and proliferation in the poorly governed parts of Pakistan". Thus, should there be any surprise if findings (as already speculated) in the Mumbai, India incident conclude that Pakistan is, in fact, behind those horrific terrorist attacks? Even if Pakistan is presently denying their participation?
"During the course of our fieldwork for this report, the members of the Commission had a near miss—and it served as a reminder of the urgency of our mission and message.
Asked by Congress to recommend ways of preventing weapons of mass destruction proliferation and terrorism, we were on our way to a place where these two concerns intersect—Pakistan. On September 20, 2008, we were in Kuwait City awaiting our connecting flight to Islamabad, where we would be staying at the Marriott Hotel. Suddenly our cell phones began buzzing with breaking news: the Islamabad Marriott had just been devastated by a bomb.
Minutes later, every television set in the airport was showing live footage of our destination. The Marriott was ablaze, a line of fire running its length. The hotel front was a mass of twisted iron and broken concrete. What once had been the lobby was now a huge black crater. More than fifty people lost their lives that day at the Islamabad Marriott, a gathering place for prominent visitors and influential locals.
Within hours, the attack came to be known as Pakistan’s 9/11—a frightening reminder that we live in an age of global terrorism."
It was an unfortunate incident. However, it could have been a statement from any number of terrorist factions that holdout within the Pakistani borders, and are allowed to do so. This is called harboring terrorists and Pakistan and its government are duly aware they are participating in such acts.
A statement in the Preface of the report that I call a "duh" statement reads as follows.
"...weapons will be poorly secured and thus may be stolen by terrorists or by others who intend to sell them."
In other words, "duh".
Those who want to harm will find ways to do harm. Regardless of regulations on any weapon, if someone wants it bad enough, they will find ways to get the weapon. Some may pay a high dollar amount to get the desired weapon. Some may steal the desired weapon. Some may create their own desired weapon. Throughout the ages, those who desired to do harm were able to find ways to do so. Unfortunately, technology has created forms of weapons that can create destruction on such a massive scale that it may be unfathomable for everyday citizens to envision that kind of mass terrorism. However, it is time to open our eyes to the facts that stare squarely at us. There are people who desire to do harm and they will eventually find a way to create the turmoil, fear and death they desire.
"We want to inform our fellow citizens, and thereby empower them to act."
"The Commission further believes that terrorists are more likely to be able to obtain and use a biological weapon than a nuclear weapon." Something that was not mentioned in the mainstream media regarding this detail is that someone could easily utilize a biological weapon in our nation's water supply. Have you ever been enticed or encouraged to gather an emergency supply of water? Perhaps this should be your wake-up call. Should we have an issue with our water supply, the only way to survive is to have a reserve that cannot be tainted by terrorists. This can only happen within our own homes, neighborhoods and cities. It is not something to be fearful of, but to be prepared for.
Another "duh" statement in the Executive Summary of the report states, “The risk of a
nuclear weapon being used today is growing, not receding.” Again, "duh". The technology has been around for a long time now and there are many who desire power, as well as those who desire to defend themselves. It was only a matter of time before this was going to be an issue. It has been an issue long before these public statements. There were probably no public statements prior to now because they were afraid of a mass panic.
"...we concluded early in our deliberations that this report should focus solely on the two types of WMD categories that have the greatest potential to kill in the most massive numbers: biological and nuclear weapons."(bold added)
Since the 9/11 attacks, the 9/11 Commission reported that there is a shortage in human intelligence within the United States intelligence agencies. This creates only the ability to react to situations instead of always preventing them. Although our intelligence agencies do a great job at identifying many of the threats to our American soil prior to attack so that the attacks can be thwarted, we are unable to fully utilize the agencies to prevent attacks. This poses a great risk to our nation and its people. "Though U.S. policy and strategy have made progress, they have not kept pace with the growing risks." In other words, we need to bulk up the forces in our human intelligence. Sun Tzu said, “Knowledge of the enemy’s dispositions can only be obtained from other men…Hence it is only the enlightened and wise general who will use the highest intelligence of the army...Spies are the most important asset.”, also stating the importance of human intelligence.
The best defense against the terrorist threats we now face is awareness. Not just awareness within the secret halls of governing agencies, but the awareness of the whole nation so that we can work together as a United States of America to combat this enemy.
WMDReport.pdf
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