Homeland Security Committee Agrees That WMD Terror Attack Likely by 2013; Drones Coming Soon to American Airspace

Democrats and Republicans on Homeland Security Committee Agree That WMD Terror Attack Likely by 2013

June 11, 2010

CNSNews.com - Representatives from both parties on the House Homeland Security Committee said on Thursday that they agree with the assessment made by the Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism that it is likely that by 2013 terrorists will launch an attack somewhere in the world using a weapon of mass destruction. The commission had warned that terrorists were "more likely" to use a biological than a nuclear weapon.

"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," stated the bi-partisan report, "World at Risk." "The Commission further believes that terrorists are more likely to be able to obtain and use a biological weapon than a nuclear weapon. The Commission believes that the U.S. government needs to move more aggressively to limit the proliferation of biological weapons and reduce the prospect of a bioterror attack."

The U.S. Commission on the Prevention of Weapons of Mass Destruction Proliferation and Terrorism released the report in December 2008. The commission was chaired by former Democratic Sen. Bob Graham of Florida, who once served as chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, and former Republican Sen. Jim Talent of Missouri.

On June 10, 2010, during a press conference on Capitol Hill, CNSNews.com asked a bi-partisan panel of members of the House Homeland Security Committee if they agreed with the commission’s warning about the likelihood of a WMD terrorist attack by 2013.

“Nothing I’ve seen [from the intelligence community] would say it would not happen,” Rep. Peter King (R-N.Y.), the ranking Republican on the panel, told CNSNews.com.

“Just in the last year we’ve seen three attacks against the United States ... you add radioactive material to that and we’re talking about a WMD,” said Rep. King.

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.), another member of the homeland security panel, echoed his Republican counterpart, saying,

“I found that the supportive evidence leads me to believe that [the Commission’s warnings are] right on target.”

The New Jersey Democrat added that the assessment that a WMD terrorist attack is likely by the end of 2013 is “not meant to alarm people but to really provide a sense of urgency to get off the dime and get something done for a change.”

In highlighting the urgency for the United States to deal with the threat of a potential terrorist attack involving WMDs, Rep. Pascrell said,

“It’s [been] nine years since 9/11 and we need to deal with this and we need to deal with it yesterday. So I can assure you that everything is going to be done to do that.”

Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science and Technology, told CNSNews.com,

“There’s no reason not to believe that the [WMD Commission’s] predictions are true.”

“We’ve been very fortunate thus far that we haven’t seen a major massive casualty event in our nation since 9/11, but clearly people are working at coming up with the magic bullet that will cause this,” she said.

During his opening remarks, Rep. Bernie Thompson (D-Miss.), the chairman of the Homeland Security Committee, acknowledged that when the WMD Commission chairmen testified before his committee, “both were quite clear … that something bad will happen somewhere between now and 2013.”

Thursday’s news conference was focused on the introduction of a bi-partisan bill, “The Weapons of Mass Destruction Prevention and Preparedness Act of 2010,” which is sponsored by King and Pascrell.

Chairman Thompson (D-Miss.) described the bill as “comprehensive legislation to address the WMD threat.”

“It’s especially important to note that our legislation concerns all weapons of mass destruction threats, but we give special emphasis to the emerging threat of biological, in which the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission gave an F to the United States government for failing to do enough to prevent a biological attack,” said Pascrell.

The bill “shows that we are attempting to bring that sense of urgency to our colleagues in the Congress and hopefully to the White House over” the WMD problem, said Rep. Dan Lungren, the ranking member of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Emerging Threats, Cybersecurity, and Science and Technology.

“You can’t deal with an enemy unless you know that enemy, you admit that enemy’s strength, you try to understand their weaknesses, and you try to understand your own vulnerability--that’s what this bill does,” said Lungren.

In December 2008, the same month the commission released its report on the WMD threat, then-DNI Mike McConnell made a similar assessment of the threat of a WMD terrorist attack in a talk he delivered at Harvard University.

“With weapons of mass destruction that could result in the death of many people--chemical, biological, nuclear--we assess biological as the more likely,” said McConnell, “and it's better than an even chance in the next five years that an attack by one of those weapons systems will be conducted in some place on the globe--not necessarily in the United States, but somewhere."

Chairman Thompson indicated that the White House would be issuing an executive order that would resemble the bill that was introduced on Thursday.

“The White House should be issuing an executive order on this issue also very shortly and I don’t think you’ll see much of a departure conceptually than what we have been talking about here today in that executive order,” said Thompson.

During the press briefing, CNSNews.com also asked the lawmakers about the border security implications of the WMD threat.

“If weaponry … came across the borders, obviously we need to have everything in place to intercept,” said Rep. Pascrell. “When you understand how a biological weapon is put together … the ingredients are out there.”

“It’s easier to deliver that kind of a weapon than a nuclear weapon -- that isn’t to say that we are in any way, shape, or form minimizing the threat of a nuclear attack,” explained Pascrell.

Coming Soon: Unmanned Aircraft All Over U.S. Skies

June 14, 2010

Free Press International - The Federal Aviation Administration has been asked to issue flying rights for pilotless planes of all sizes. They range in size from an airliner to a bee, believe it or not.

There are two types of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV’s): Drones, which are automated planes pre-programmed to fly and UAV’s that are remotely controlled by someone on the ground.

Some of the uses include Tornado research, monitoring pipelines, and search and rescue.

State police hope to send them up to capture images of speeding cars’ license plates and tracking fleeing suspects. This is where UAV’s could be easily abused by government.

Another concern is lost communication between unmanned aircraft and the operators who remotely control them.

Planes entering low flying areas are not required to have warning systems or transponders. It’s done visually

UAV’s are already being used for border patrol and can fly for 20 hours without refueling. Which begs the question, Why do we need a fence if we have UAV’s. Something not quite right there?