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Osama Bin Laden Has Received Religious Backing for Possible Nuclear Attack, Former CIA Analyst Says
Terrorist mastermind Osama bin Laden has received religious authority to use a nuclear weapon, were he to acquire one, in a terrorist attack, former CIA analyst Michael Scheuer said in an interview televised yesterday on CBS’ 60 Minutes (see GSN, Oct. 29). “(Bin Laden) secured from a Saudi sheik ... a rather long treatise on the possibility of using nuclear weapons against the Americans,” Scheuer said. The document, known as a fatwa, “found that he was perfectly within his rights to use them. Muslims argue that the United States is responsible for millions of dead Muslims around the world, so reciprocity would mean you could kill millions of Americans” (Agence France-Presse/Philippine Daily Inquirer, Nov. 15). Scheuer told 60 Minutes that he believes “it’s pretty close to being inevitable” that bin Laden would attempt a WMD attack against the United States. “A nuclear weapon of some dimension, whether it’s actually a nuclear weapon, or a dirty bomb, or some kind of radiological device. … Yes, I think it's probably a near thing,” he said (CBS News, Nov. 14). Meanwhile, an al-Qaeda operative recently captured in Pakistan has said that the terrorist organization has examined plans to move nuclear materials into the United States through Mexico, according to Time magazine. The account was provided by Sharif al-Masri, who was captured in August near Pakistan’s border with Iran and Afghanistan, according to a U.S. report. The report says that al-Masri told interrogators that al-Qaeda has considered plans to “smuggle nuclear materials to Mexico, then operatives would carry material into the U.S.,” according to Time. Reports from several captured al-Qaeda operatives indicate the potential for Mexico to be used as a staging area “to acquire chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear material,” Time reported. U.S. officials are increasing monitoring of heavy trucks crossing the U.S.-Mexican border, Time reported. In addition, Mexican officials plan to increase their monitoring of flight schools and aviation facilities (Adam Zagorin, Time, Nov. 14).
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