Nuclear, biological attack 'likely': US commission

Nuclear, biological attack 'likely': US commission

A US Congressional commission has warned that terrorists are "likely" to use nuclear or biological weapons in the next five years, and highlights Pakistan as the weakest link in world security.

The bi-partisan Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism reported that without urgent action, "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."

The 'World at Risk' report, based on six months of research, warned the incoming US administration of Barack Obama: "America's margin of safety is shrinking."

The main dangers are the rapid spread of atomic technology in countries such as Pakistan and Iran and poor security in biotech industries worldwide.

According to the report, although Pakistan is a close US ally, its inability to control swaths of territory, violent political instability, and a nuclear standoff with neighbouring India make the Islamic nation the most lethal tinderbox of all.

"Were one to map terrorism and weapons of mass destruction today, all roads would intersect in Pakistan," the report said.

"There is a grave danger it could also be an unwitting source of a terrorist attack on the United States, possibly with weapons of mass destruction," the report said.

Speaking on CNN television, one of the authors of the report, former senator Bob Graham, called Pakistan the "intersection of the perfect storm."

The commission said terrorists are more likely to be able to obtain biological than nuclear weapons, with anthrax a particular danger, and warned that threats are "evolving faster than our multi-layered response."

But despite the message in 'World at Risk' that the United States is unprepared, the White House welcomed what it said was proof of President Bush's strong security record.

"Our WMD preparedness has been transformed," White House spokesman Joe Stanzel said .

However, Congresswoman Jane Harman, the Democrat heading the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Intelligence and Terrorism Risk Assessment, downplayed the warnings.

"It's time to retire the fear card," she said in a statement.

"We need to educate and inform the American people, not terrify them with alarming details about possible threats to the homeland ... Congress has in fact done a great deal to minimise and mitigate WMD threats."

Source: [link to www.abc.net.au]