HOME    WORLD    U.S.    POLITICS    CRIME    ENTERTAINMENT    HEALTH    TECH    TRAVEL    LIVING
December 5, 2008
WMD terrorism fears are overblown
Posted: 03:30 PM ET
Share this on:
Share | Permalink | 7 Comments
Police watch over travelers at New York's Grand Central Terminal before Thanksgiving.
Police watch over travelers at New York's Grand Central Terminal before Thanksgiving.

Editor's note: Peter Bergen is CNN's national security analyst. His most recent book is "The Osama bin Laden I Know: An Oral History of al Qaeda's Leader."

Peter Bergen
CNN National Security Analyst

The congressionally authorized Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism issued a report this week that concluded: "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 findings of this report received considerable ink in The New York Times and The Washington Post and plenty of airtime on networks around the world, including on CNN. And the day the report was released Vice President-elect Joseph Biden was briefed on its contents.

So is the sky falling?

Not really. Terrorists have already used weapons of mass destruction in the past decade in attacks around the world, and they have proven to be something of a dud.

Read More...

7 Comments
More about: Peter Bergen •  Terrorism •  War on Terror •  al Qaeda
7 Comments
Cindy   December 5th, 2008 3:39 pm ET

I totally agree with Peter on this one. I think the commission went a bit overboard with this. I don't think that the terrorists can get a nuclear weapon at all. And like Peter said they have used bio-weapons that didn't kill many people.

So yes we should keep an eye out for it but no we shouldn't go into hysterics over what this report says.

Cindy...Ga.

Melissa, Los Angeles   December 5th, 2008 4:53 pm ET

I wonder if terrorists will go as far to kidnap our scientists so that they could build a nuclear bomb? Sound to far fetched?

Hollis   December 5th, 2008 5:31 pm ET

Let's hope the commission IS overblown. We've run into extreme issues in the past when we've underestimated the capabilities of our enemies.

After 9/11, I'd prefer they err on the side of caution and over warn vs. not warn us enough and then we get blind-sided. Again.

Monika   December 5th, 2008 5:36 pm ET

I think it's called FEAR-MONGERING, something the U.S. government has so much practice in and is apparently not willing to give up any time soon.

Max   December 5th, 2008 8:01 pm ET

WHY don't WE just BLOW ourselves UP and GET it over WITH????

:) )))))))))

jim   December 5th, 2008 8:06 pm ET

Your so called expert security analyst is wrong. The muslims do have WMD's They just don't have the logistics to implement a attack. If they were to get logistics support, we would have numerous terrorists attacks in this country. Especially with a left wing liberal president in office.

Mario   December 8th, 2008 1:04 am ET

On the contrary, I beleive that terrorists do have access to weapons of mass destruction. Even though they will not be able to use them, at least no any time soon, many muslim nations such as Pakistan do have nuclear weapons and they could very possibly fall into the hands of terrorist organizations, whether intentionally or not. The September 11th terrorist attack was planned years in advance. Before that time not many people thought that kind of attack would have been possible either but the terrorists have all the time in the world to come up ideas. On the other hand I beleive that this statement from the commission is no more than a scare tactic to scare the American public into supporting the war on terror. In this age of informational warfare, the government is very strategic about what information they give out and most of the time it is either true but with a different agenda or it is just a straight up lie. This is just another one of those stunts where they make a statement without any real support or evidence and just wait for the media to make a huge deal out of it. In fact it is not so much the fault of government officials as much as the media because the media never questions authority, or look for any alternative suggestions. The lack of objectivity in the reporting about such claims causes for much more fear in the public than the actual statement does and as a result of that fear people are going to lean on the side of safety and support whatever the government wants to do about the situation without hesitating. This is simply another case of psychological warfare that is meant to get a certain reaction from the public in hopes of justifying future actions on the grounds that they have public support.

Comments have been closed for this article

subscribe RSS Icon
About this blog

A behind the scenes look at “Anderson Cooper 360°” and the stories it covers, written by Anderson Cooper, the AC360° staff and a network of contributors. Insight you can’t find anywhere else.

We search the news each day to show you what’s on our radar and what we’re planning for the show each night.

For more details, read our tips on how to win 360° approval for comments.

Send your instant feedback to Anderson Cooper 360°.

Featured Contributors
Candy Crowley
Candy Crowley is CNN's senior political correspondent and an AC360° contributor
David Gergen
David Gergen is CNN's senior political analyst and former presidential advisor
Roland S. Martin
Roland S. Martin is a nationally award-winning journalist and AC360° contributor
CNN Comment Policy: CNN encourages you to add a comment to this discussion. You may not post any unlawful, threatening, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or other material that would violate the law. All comments should be relevant to the topic and remain respectful of other authors and commenters. You are solely responsible for your own comments, the consequences of posting those comments, and the consequences of any reliance by you on the comments of others. By submitting your comment, you hereby give CNN the right, but not the obligation, to post, air, edit, exhibit, telecast, cablecast, webcast, re-use, publish, reproduce, use, license, print, distribute or otherwise use your comment(s) and accompanying personal identifying and other information you provide via all forms of media now known or hereafter devised, worldwide, in perpetuity. CNN Privacy Statement.
Home  |  World  |  U.S.  |  Politics  |  Justice  |  Entertainment  |  Health  |  Tech  |  Travel  |  Opinion  |  Living  |  Business  |  Sports  |  Time.com
Podcasts  |  Blogs  |  CNN Mobile  |  Preferences  |  Email Alerts  |  CNN Radio  |  CNN Shop  |  Site Map
© 2009 Cable News Network LP, LLLP. A Time Warner Company. All Rights Reserved.
Powered by WordPress.com VIP