Danger, Danger!!

Sydney Morning Herald (05.24.07), via DangerRoom:

"The likelihood that al-Qaeda and its fellow travellers will use chemical, biological and radiological weapons is growing, a counterterrorism adviser to the White House believes.

'For terrorists, the likelihood of using these weapons grows because they believe that they can have very significant and corrosive psychological impacts on society,' Georgetown University's Bruce Hoffman told the Herald".

Weapons of mass destruction a threat from desperate al-Qaeda

The Armchair Generalist fills us in on the gory details (05.29.07) (links in original):

"Bruce Hoffman, terrorism advisor to the stars White House, senses that al Qaeda is continuing its move toward obtaining chemical, biological, or radiological materials for terrorism. He believes that, because al Qaeda is on the ropes, its leadership is getting desperate, as seen by its use of chlorine bombs in Iraq."

Counterterrorism Expert Fears the Worst

"It absolutely amazes me that, more than five years after 9/11, counterterrorism experts still don't understand the limitations of terrorist use of CBRN [chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear] hazards, and CBRN defense specialists still don't appreciate the motivations or agendas of terrorists, either with conventional weapons or CBRN hazards. Both sides myopically stare at the technical properties of the hazards and imagine large-scale use of military-scale NBC weapons rather than the much more available industrial hazards that are 'disruptive' and not 'destructive.'"

"Hoffman has completely overplayed the threat of the chlorine VBIEDs."

Our friendly neighborhood GlobalSecurity.Org Senior Fellow has more, with his "Daily Chem Bio Terror Fearmonger" feature.