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Suitcase Nuclear Weapon

Suitcase Nuclear Weapon

Members of Congress have warned about the dangers of suitcase nuclear weapons. Hollywood has made television shows and movies about them. Even the Federal Emergency Management Agency has alerted Americans to a threat - information the White House includes on its Web site.

But government experts and intelligence officials say such a threat gets vastly more attention than it deserves. These officials said a true suitcase nuke would be highly complex to produce, require significant upkeep and cost a small fortune.
Ref. https://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,695226916,00.html

Weapon Nuclear Suitcase

I think that if someone wanted to set off a nuke, there would be vastly easier and cheaper ways to do it. This concept feeds off our fears that what we see as benign can and might be used against us. Unfortunately, this fear, like you said, comes mainly from movies and television. Reality would tell us that its easier and cheaper to just create a pipe bomb instead. There are tons of easy to make bomb types, just use google on the internet for that. Why spend the time and money on a suitcase bomb when you could do it easier and cheaper else ways? No, I don't think its a realistic threat, at least not that specific kind of bomb. But who knows right? Why take the chance?

Suitcase Nuclear Weapon History & Civil Business Politics

If you would have asked me several years ago, I would have said that this is a great dream from a fertile mind. However, in the same breath, if you would have told me that someone would hijack a planes full of people and run it into the WTC and Pentagon, I would have thought your mind just as fertile. Anthrax scares, shoe bombers, waves of people blowing themselves up...we certainly do live in different times. So do I think that someone could put a small nuke into a suitcase? Sure they could. Could they do it without much help? No way! If someone is going to go this route, there is going to be a hell of a trail! So if you don't mind leaving your fingerprint all over the crime, this would be a OK way to do it. If you are trying to be sneaky...this isn't your weapon of choice.

Weapon Nuclear Suitcase

Well here's the thing, a suitcase nuke wouldn't be that powerful. Terrorists would do better with a U-Haul filled with fertilizer as far as explosive potential is concerned. The only versatility I can think of is the panic it would create.

Weapon Nuclear Suitcase

It isn't the size of the explosion, it is the quality. The amount of fear, the amount of anxiety, the amount of defenselessness that the explosion creates is what the terrorist go for. When the terrorist see the WTC fall, they see America and the West falling...not 3000 people dying. Terrorist like to blow up symbols of their enemy and if a few thousand die along with it, that is a definite bonus, but it isn't the goal. Imagine the psychological effect of having several blocks of NYC shut down from a dirty nuke and having HAZMAT Team running around the town suited up? Think anybody that saw that site would feel safe or that the government could protect them? It definitely would raise the standard for shock value.

Suitcase Nuclear Weapon

Did you know that the army has low yield nuclear ordinance for artillery pieces just laying around in armouries? It doesn't have to be a dirty bomb, just a very small nuke that MIGHT take out a city block. Adding in the smaller nukes don't put out much radiation, I'm not too concerned.
As for the response generated, from my experience Americans don't respond to attacks with fear. They respond to attacks with attacks carried out with righteous fury.

Suitcase Nuclear Weapon

If you are talking about quality of explosion and how much fear it creates, then its less the weapon, but the placement. The more crowed, and more open the place, the more vulnerable people will feel after. They know this, thats why they hit a building everyone could see for miles. The tallest buildings in the country, on fire, were seen in another state.

Suitcase Nuclear Weapon Politics Business Civil & History

Why isn't this still a big concern for most developed nations? There is lots of news about far away countries and terrorists trying to fight soldiers but what about the nuclear suitcase bombs? Have we gotten so good that we know where every bomb is located?